Today we’re diving into a part of English grammar that doesn’t follow the usual rules – but native speakers use it all the time without thinking twice. Especially in American English. It’s called the subjunctive mood – and while that might sound technical or tricky, it’s actually pretty simple once you know how it works. So today, I’ll walk you …
904 – How come we can say foods, hairs, and freedoms?
Did you know? Eating healthy foods can make you healthy, but I heard that drinking certain wines with cheeses can make you happy. Foods? Wines? Cheeses? You know, English is a strange language sometimes. Like, words that are usually uncountable suddenly show up with an “s” on the end. Like…foods, cheeses, and wines? Wait a minute — aren’t those uncountable …
888 – Using Tag & Negative Questions To Comment And Confirm In English
Hey, let me ask you a question – You’ve studied English grammar, haven’t you? And you’ve probably heard tag questions or negative questions before, right? Well, isn’t this going to be an interesting lesson for you! It’s a nice day, isn’t it? That’s a Tag Question, and today, I’ll show you how these work — and how you can use …
886 – Learn The Difference Between Have Got And Have In English
You know what? I’ve got a question for you. Or… should I say, I have a question for you? Hmm. Which one sounds better? Or… are they both OK? For many English learners, “have got” can be a little confusing. I mean, we’ve got “I have a dog,” and “I’ve got a dog”… and both are correct? What’s going on …
868 – Saturday Short – Learn The Difference Between Stop Doing & Stop To Do
Welcome to another Saturday Short, your quick tip for speaking English naturally. Today, let’s clear up something tricky: stop doing vs. stop to do. These two sound similar, but they mean totally different things. Here’s how we use them. Enjoyed this lesson? Get free weekly English lessons, podcast updates, and practical tips to help you speak more natural, confident …
814 – I Agree
The verb agree is an interesting word because it can be used with a variety of prepositions, each one with its own usage. So for today’s English lesson podcast, let’s have a look at how we use this vocabulary. To see all of the example sentences and to get the details of this English lesson, you need to listen to …
807 – To Be or Being – Which Works Better?
Maybe you’ve been wondering how to start a sentence. Like, is it better to say, eating pizza makes me happy, or to eat pizza makes me happy. At first glance, these seem to mean the same thing. After all, both “Eating pizza” and “To eat pizza” are subjects, right? But here’s the twist: gerunds and infinitives aren’t always interchangeable! Let’s …
799 – Is it Don’t or Haven’t?
Even though I have my own business don’t like doing bookkeeping. I use some software to help me with that, but I haven’t had any real training in anything like accounting. Actually I don’t understand that stuff too much. Don’t or haven’t. Did you notice what I did there? In some sentences I used don’t and in others I used …
796 – 7 Ways To Use The Simple Present Tense
Yesterday I go to the pizza place down the block and I find out they have new owners. And I look behind the counter and they have all of these weird kinds of pizza. They even have one with pineapple and tuna. I don’t think that’s really pizza. Hey, are you wondering why my story about yesterday uses all present …
775 – How To Ue Gerunds & Participles To Describe Things In English
This podcast, which I produce for you each week, is designed to help you improve your English. I’m sure that English learners who listen to the Happy English podcast can find something useful in each episode. Did you notice those relative clauses? In a nut shell, relative clauses are kind of like these little phrases that we add into our …