Teacher Discussion Forums

Thanks for the welcome fluffyhamster (love the handle BTW!). I know what you mean.. but the mechanics that I've been teaching (and usually work) are that 'active' verbs (e.g. was carrying) in a relative clause are converted into an active/present participle (e.g. carrying), while a passive verb is c...

Hi! I'm not an American, and the phrase "from A through B" is mostly used in the US and Canada, whereas "from A to B" is more usual in other countries. However, I am sure 1. is correct both ways, and I think 2. sounds correct both ways as well. No. 3 is ok too, as long as you mean that you live in C...

I've worked both ESL and EFL, in the UK, Aus, Japan and Hong Kong and I'm not sure i would 100% agree with jimbobob. I can quite understand the strain that immersion in a culture can put on families immigrating to the US or Australia. However, I think that the strain comes mainly from other factors ...

Everyone is familiar with slightly different idiom of course, but I have certainly heard the phrase 'bend the truth' as well as 'bend the law' and 'twist someone's words'. 'Twist the truth' is unfamiliar to me, although the meaning would be clear enough. To me, 'bend the truth' would suggest to me a...

Here's a tricky one I came across the other day: I usually teach particple phrases as a form of reduced relative clause: i.e. 'The lorry which was carrying logs crashed.' reduced to 'The lorry carrying logs crashed.' However a student asked me "can I say - the lorry crashing was carrying logs." The ...