Ron's ESL Blogs

English has an ability to express an idea or concept with the finest details possible.

This can be done using synonyms.

A synonym is a word with the same, or almost the same, meaning as another word.

For example, you could say, “Janet wears a blue hat and a red dress.”

You could also say, “Janet sports a navy cloche and a burgundy gown.”

Let’s explain the second sentence:

“Sport” means “to wear in a proud way.”
It is a synonym of “wear.”

“Navy” means “very dark blue.”
It is a synonym of “blue.”

“Cloche” means “a woman’s hat that is shaped like a bell and fits close to the head.”
It is a synonym of “hat.”

“Burgundy” means “dark red,” like the Burgundy wine.
(That’s wine from an area in eastern France called Burgundy.)
It is a synonym of “red.”

“Gown” means “a long woman’s dress, worn in special occasions.”
It is a synonym of “dress.”

If we didn’t have the above words in the English vocabulary, we would probably say something like this:
“Janet proudly wears a very dark blue hat. Her hat is shaped like a bell and fits close to the head. She also wears a dark red long formal dress.”

This is longer and slightly less accurate. (Though definitely clearer if you are unfamiliar with the above words!)

- Now reread the first and second sentences.
- After reviewing each, Imagine Janet’s appearance.
She looks quite different, doesn’t she?  :-)

This is only one way of using synonyms.

Understanding synonyms (and their opposite – the antonyms) is important to truly mastering the English language with all its “colors” (= aspects).

1) So what are synonyms and antonyms?

2) Pretty, beautiful, handsome… what’s the difference?

3) Why are synonyms and antonyms important?

4) How to use them to improve vocabulary?

5) How to use them to improve writing skills?

Visit the Synonyms and Antonyms lesson to get the answers.

I am a chinese, i have beenn studied english for about 10 years. The first time leaning english was in my primary school, i think the english is fresh and interesting, i was reading every day that is fun.

howere, i transferred to high school. The english is very dry and difficult that is one of the most important sujects in my high school life. Almost every one knows that we should learn english well, but i don’t know how to learn it well. My english exam failed again and again , i am worred. English is very difficult to me, i try to give up, because i don’t need use it in my life in china. But the god will make a joke to people.

In the end of my high life, i got a chance to go to  the Unite State, but  i was so afraid, because i am not ready and i cant speak english as well as, i regretted why i didn’t study english. At present, i am almost afraid of talking to people. usually,” sorry i don’t understand.” i knew english is very important in my life. I try to study it now, It is the first step that is troublesome, and i lost much time in my before, i should get a new start.

I try to get some english class in my college, i got key points in study english. firstly, we should be brave to talk with in english, by doing this , i can improvetalking and listening skill. secondly. i try to listen to all kinds of english programmes,news,radio as much as possible. in this way , i can gradully improve our pronunciation. thirdly, i should often reading in english.

let’s start on the way!

Articles are words that we use before a noun to show whether the noun refers to something specific or not.

The English articles are a, an, the.

1) If you are talking about something specific ==> use the.

Example: “We saw the movie you told us about.”

Meaning: We saw that specific movie you told us about.

2) If you are talking about something general ==> use a/an.

Example: “I would like a drink and an apple.”

Meaning: I would like one of your drinks and one of your apples, but I am not saying which.

So What Is the Zero Article?

Zero article = when we don’t use any article before a noun.

Examples:

Incorrect: “I don’t like the horror movies.”
Correct: “I don’t like horror movies.”

Incorrect: “She is from the Italy.”
Correct: “She is from Italy.”

Incorrect: “Let’s stay at the home.”
Correct: “Let’s stay at home.”

Click here for additional tips if you want to learn to write in English.

Interjections are sounds, words or phrases that express the speaker’s emotion.

Here are some examples:
Ouch! It hurts!
Hmm… That’s an interesting question.
Hey! What are you doing?
Wow, that’s wonderful!
My goodness, what happened?

What is special about interjections is that they remain unaffected by the rest of the sentence. They do not change their form. They do not have singular/plural form, different tenses etc. Also, a single interjection can be considered as an Entire sentence!

Example:
Goodbye!
(That’s the whole sentence…)

Sometimes regular words in the language function as interjections.

Examples:
Yes!
Sorry!
Ok.

How to use interjections?
You can use them to express emotions such as surprise (e.g. oh!), annoyance (e.g. damn!), joy (e.g. Hurray!), etc. They are also used to greet (e.g. hi!), pause your speech (e.g. um…) and so forth.

Writing tip: When combining the interjection with the rest of the sentence you should usually use an exclamation mark (!) or a comma (,) depending on the strength of the statement.

Examples:
Wow, this is awesome!
Ah, that’s nice.

Interjection is a part of speech. Click here for more data on the English parts of speech.

English plural forms tend to be pretty simple, in most cases. You usually add s/es/ies in the end of the word and your job is done.

Examples:

kid -> kids

box -> boxes

baby -> babies

However, some words change differently.

Examples:

child -> children

man -> men

woman -> women

person -> people

mouse -> mice

foot -> feet

fish -> fish

sheep -> sheep

datum -> data

bacterium -> bacteria

How can you know the plural form of each word? You can always check it in the dictionary.

Ola Zur is the editor of Really Learn English Vocabulary and Grammar with Illustrations, an illustrated guide to English.