Objective and Subjective Language

An excellent skill for an ESL learner to have is the ability to distinguish objective and subjective language, and then to be able to write objectively when the situation requires it.

In business, it is important to state issues objectively when writing reports. In the academic world, it is important when writing a paper.

Here are notes on this topic for general learners:

http://www.roadtogrammar.com/notes/objective.html

Here is the accompanying activity:

http://roadtogrammar.com/?objective

Here are notes on this topic for learners of business English:

http://roadtogrammar.com/businessenglish/notes/?ref=objective

Here is the accompanying activity:

http://roadtogrammar.com/businessenglish/quiz.html?objective

New Business English Content: Writing a Short Proposal

Here is some new content in the business English section of Road to Grammar: Writing a Short Proposal:

URL: http://roadtogrammar.com/businessenglish/biz17/

This content includes notes, a model proposal with analysis, a comprehension task and three writing tasks.

It is suitable for self-study or for for teachers to use in their business English classes.

Enjoy!

New Game: TIDBITZ

If you like word games, check out this one!

Tidbitz offers a series of challenges; each has to be completed before the timer runs out.

What's the highest score you can get?

Game URL:

http://www.roadtogrammar.com/tidbitz/

Screenshots:

Update: IELTS VOCABULARY ACTIVITY

The IELTS vocabulary activity has now been updated for the following features:

• better look 
• review section with definitions and audio clips

You can try the activity here:

http://www.roadtogrammar.com/ielts/vocabulary/

Screenshots:

New Teacher Resource: Conditional Question Generator

The Conditional Question Generator is a simple tool that generates questions based on zero conditionals, first conditionals, second conditionals and third conditionals.

Use this tool if you wish to come up with questions on these topics for your students.

You can copy and paste the questions to use elsewhere, or you can use a projector to show the questions to your class. Or you could even give the link to the students to try.

The link is: http://www.roadtogrammar.com/tools/conditionals/

New Feature: Improved Kids Page

The Road to Grammar Junior page has now been moved to a separate subdomain, so that there is no crossover between the content for adult learners and the content for younger learners.

At the same time, the Junior pages have had a redesign to look more attractive.

You can access the Road to Grammar Junior site here:

http://junior.roadtogrammar.com/

New Feature: Quiz Intros

 All 365 quizzes on roadtogrammar.com now have a new feature: quiz intros.

Now, when a user clicks on a quiz to begin, they will be presented with a choice to begin the quiz or to view intro slides.

Putting Adjectives AFTER a NOUN

In English, as we know, the adjective comes BEFORE the noun:

George has a black cat.

This can be compared to many other languages where the adjective comes AFTER the noun, such as Spanish:

George tiene un gato negro.  (un gato negro = "a cat black")

However, there are SOME adjectives in English that do come after a noun. Here are some examples:

He is the Attorney General. (general = adjective)

This is the best room available. (Shortened from 'the best room which is available')

Another interesting example is 'galore':

She has shoes galore. (lots of shoes).

We use galore in the way that we would use an adverb here, but it's an adjective. In fact, the word was first used as a noun in the 1800s, before it slowly started to become used as an adjective. Dictionary editors discussed whether the word should be classified as an adjective or adverb, but finally agreed it was clearly an adjective. Many words in English have interesting histories like this and are used in strange and unusual ways.

Reference: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/what-kind-of-word-is-galore

Business English Microquizzes

Sometimes I put together short MCQ quizzes of five or six questions for my own students to practise various topics with them.

I'd like to share a couple here. You or your students may find them useful.

Talking about your career:
www.roadtogrammar.com?movingup

CAPABLE and similar words:
www.roadtogrammar.com?capable

DISPUTE and similar words:
www.roadtogrammar.com?dispute

How to Be Friendly in an Email

There is a new business English article on roadtogrammar.com, complete with examples and a quiz.

This article explains how to write an email which sounds friendly, while still sounding professional and polite. It is based on my experience with my business students.

Check out the article here:

http://roadtogrammar.com/businessenglish/biz16/

Context: Learn Vocabulary Through Reading

Context is a series of 10 short reading passages (with more to come) designed to help English learners improve their range of vocabulary.

Each one is around 150 words in length at either B1 or B2 level and features 6-7 new vocabulary items. Each activity includes a short text, a set of MCQ questions and a short glossary.

Try the activity here:

www.roadtogrammar.com/context