Vocabulary

Look at the linking words in these sentences:

"They arrived home just as I was about to call the police."
just as – at the same time or at the start of another action.

"The workers stopped as soon as the bell rang."
as soon as – immediately after

As many of you might already know, knowing how to spell will improve your reading and writing skills. That means you will have less problems with vocabulary and comprehension.

Sharpen up your spelling skills with this quiz.  All you have to do is choose the correct spelling of the eight words below. Good luck!

Lesson by Krista

Spelling quiz 1

Look at how these sentences are linked:

1 Because it was raining, we stayed at home.
2 Because of the rain, we stayed at home.
3 Due to the rain, we stayed at home.
(Because + clause) – (Because of + noun) (Due + to + noun)

Here are some adjectives and the prepositions we use with them. There is no real system and so the only way to learn them is to treat them as a 'fixed combination' and record them as you meet them when you read or listen. There are many adjective preposition combinations which are not show here.

at

I'm good at learning languages but bad at maths.
He's terrible at expressing his ideas.

As and Like are both used to compare situations or actions. But here are some differences:

As

We use as to talk about something we do or how something is used.

I worked as a graphic designer for eight years.
She used her jacket as an umbrella when it started raining.

'As adjective as' is used to compare things or people.

It's not as cold as it used to be.
He studied as hard as he could for the exam.

The English language has more than its fair share of descriptive and enjoyable similes. They come in all shapes and sizes!

You might know that in a simile, two things are directly compared to one another because they share a common feature. The word as or like is used to link the two words:

We use still to show that something continues up to the time referred to. It is used in the past present or future. Still is placed in front of the main verb:

Even though he was a teenager he still loved playing outside.

They are still living in the old farmhouse.
We will still be at work when you arrive.

Richard is an actor. This is what he said about his profession:

Some of us can’t live without the first meal of the day, others would much rather do without it. Then there are others who believe skipping it can contribute to weight gain!