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stay + vacation. If you choose to stay home for vacation instead of going somewhere, (may be to a beach or mountains or another city) you are on staycation. Being on staycation doesn’t necessarily imply dearth of entertainment. You could catch up on your reading or spend more time with the kids. You could walk … Continue reading
We do not use ‘in front of’ to mean ‘across a road/river/room.’ We use ‘opposite’ for that. In American English, ‘across from’ is also used for this purpose. Example: There’s a shop opposite my house. ‘in front of’ is used often to imply the opposite of ‘behind’ [location]. Example: The woman in front of me … Continue reading
THAT should be used to introduce a restrictive clause. WHICH should be used to introduce a non-restrictive or parenthetical clause. A restrictive clause is one which is essential to the meaning of a sentence – if it’s removed, the meaning of the sentence will change. Example: The book that you gave me last night has several pages missing. Can … Continue reading
Positive: That’s okay. No worries. That’s all right. Please don’t worry about it. I understand. It’s not important. I accept your apology. You couldn’t help it. It’s not your fault. Negative: I’m sorry, an apology isn’t enough. I don’t think I can accept your apology. I’m afraid an apology isn’t enough.
That was a good one! That was brilliant! You crack me up! That’s so funny! [with stress on ‘so’] Well said! [to a particularly witty one]
Oh I’m so sorry to hear that! That’s terrible! That’s shocking! That’s so disappointing! That’s awful! I hope things get better soon. That must have been terrible/awful! You must be feeling terrible/awful! I heard about….; I’m very sorry to hear about it. I heard about…..; you must be having a hard time! I heard about…; … Continue reading
Expressing regret: I’m really/very/awfully sorry! My apologies! I apologize for… I owe you an apology. Please forgive me for… Please pardon my… Please excuse my… Providing explanation: I wasn’t thinking! I didn’t see you/that. The glass slipped. I’m just too preoccupied with… I totally forgot… It totally slipped my mind. It’s an oversight. It’s totally … Continue reading
The easiest way to give orders would be to use imperatives. For instance, ‘Fill up this form.’ But of course, that sounds quite rude, doesn’t it? Using a ‘please’ might sound better (Fill up this form, please) but there are more ways to soften your orders and instructions and make them sound less bossy. The … Continue reading
Wouldn’t it be better to……………………….?(not direct; negative question asking for agreement) Would it be better to……………………………?(very indirect; open question) I’d say ………………. What if we….
English Notes 