English Explained Simply

I. THE INFINITIVE AND THE -ING FORM AFTER VERBS I wanted to call you but I ran out of time. They enjoy learning English . 1) After some verbs , we use the infinitive with to:   - She decided to train as a nurse .  - She hopes to find a job near her parents' home.  - Students want to find accommodation not far from their university.  - Students plan to visit an apartment tomorrow afternoon under the auspices of a real estate agency .  2) And after some verbs, we use the -ing form:   - She doesn't mind sleeping in the top bunk at a youth hostel . - I have just finished drafting an email to my supplier. - They enjoyed speaking foreign languages . - He suggested walking to the supermarket, which was just a stone's throw from their home. But we can also say: He suggested they walk to the supermarket, which was just a stone's throw from their home. 3) Here are some of the most common verbs of both types: a) Verbs + the infinitive with to: agree, arran...

I. WHAT / WHEN / WHERE / WHICH / WHO / WHOSE / WHY / HOW / HOW MUCH / HOW MANY / TO WHAT EXTENT - What are you doing right now? I'm watching a thriller series on Netflix => asks about actions or things. - When did you start English lessons? Early February. => asks about time. - Where is the CEO? He is on his way to headquarters, from northern France to Paris. => asks about place. - Who gave you these books? Anne Lavigne . => asks about people. - Whose car is this? It's hers => asks about possession. - Why didn't you eat at the restaurant? Because I had a busy schedule. => asks about reason or purpose. - How did you get here? By car. => asks about means. - How did you find me here? I was warned by your sister. => asks about manner. - How much does it cost? It costs €10. => asks or talks about the cost of something. - How much butter do you need to make a cake? Check the recipe, but 220g seems to be the ideal amount => asks or talks a...

I. THE ARTICLES A/AN   A and AN are used with countable singular nouns :  1) To introduce a thing or person being mentioned for the first time: - I bought a new car. - We saw a good movie yesterday. - She went to a concert last night. - I spoke to a woman two days ago. 2) With job titles: - She's a bank advisor at the city's main bank. - He is an engineer specializing in road and safety issues. - She became a legal expert in a law firm. However, you can omit the article when referring to a single function: He's a headmaster / He's headmaster of Oakland International High School . 3) To express a general statement: - A cat is smaller than a cheetah . - A toothpick is sharper than a fork tine . 4) In a distributive sense, to indicate prices, frequency or speed: - These avocados cost €1 each, or €4 a kilo. - Take one pain relief tablet two or three times a day. - I was driving at 30 miles per hour downtown. 5) After a preposition: - She took advantage of a loophole in th...

You must choose the correct answer from the four options. This exercise is obviously not based on chance. Mastering the rules of conjugation is essential to succeeding in this test.  However, it is sometimes possible to find the correct answer purely by luck. Nevertheless, reviewing the grammar rules is a valuable asset for understanding them fully and memorizing them permanently.     To memorize or review grammatical rules, you can refer to previous posts: ' Present tenses - Past tenses - Present-perfect tenses and Past-perfect tenses ' (dated June 30, 2025) as well as: 'How do the present, past, present-perfect and past-perfect compare' (dated October 10, 2025). The level of this exercise is  B1.  (The answers to this exercise can be found at the bottom of this page). EXERCISE: 1. The doomsayers who predicted you failure in business have so far …  a) to be going unheard.    b) gone unheard.    c) to be unheard.    d...

You are asked to find the correct tense of the verbs in round brackets. To memorize the grammatical rules, you can refer to the previous posts: 'Present tenses-Past tenses-Present-perfect tenses and Past-perfect tenses' (dated June 30, 2025) as well as: 'How do the present, past, present-perfect and past-perfect compare' (dated October 10, 2025). The level of this exercise is A2.  (The answer to the exercise is a little further down). EXERCISE: 1. Water ( boil)  at 100° Celsius . 2. We ( want) to settle here. 3. Cows ( graze)   on the grass. 4.   Stop, you (repeat)   everything I say and it ( be)   not funny! 5 .  Look, she ( misbehave) again.   6. Wild animals ( live) in the jungle. 7.   Look who has just arrived, she ( wear) an orange sweater with electric green pants and black sneakers. 8.   Stop it, they ( get) angry! 9. We ( import)   raw materials to make our products. 10. She ( not know)   how to appreciate ...

Dear learners, there are short expressions that allow you to express past, current and future habits that you often neglect, either because you do not know them or simply because you do not think of using them.  The goal of this post is to make you take them into consideration when talking about habits because they are useful for expressing things in a synthetic and precise way. I. USED TO + INFINITIVE VERB = PAST HABITS A) USE:   Refers to a habit that occurred in the past and is no longer in effect as we speak. We have given up this habit now. B) GRAMMATICAL FORMS: - In a question: did + subject + use to + infinitive verb (Did you get use to ride a bicycle?). - In a positive statement: subject + used to + infinitive verb (I used to ride a bicycle). - In a negative statement: subject + didn't + use to + infinitive verb (I didn't get use to ride a bicycle). II. BE USED TO + ING VERB = CURRENT HABITS A) USE: Refers to a habit that is still in effect as we speak. It means that w...

Can you tell these tenses apart?   My goal here is to compare the present, past, present perfect and past perfect tenses using a single example sentence. I imagine you're still having trouble distinguishing between these different tenses. How can you clearly distinguish them without falling into the trap? The first thing to do when you have sentences of different natures is to go back to their definitions. As you know, tenses apply to a specific period of time, depending on what you want to say. I'd like to illustrate this in a single sentence so you can see the differences between the sentences. The only sentence to use for my illustration is: working with IBM . I. SIMPLE PRESENT VS. PRESENT CONTINUOUS   - I regularly work with IBM on specific assignments = we use the simple present tense to talk about things that happen again and again, it focuses on repeated facts and events.  - I am currently working in my IBM office = in this situation, the action is taking place no...

I) MODAL AUXILIARIES  IN THE PRESENT TENSE A) Can:  expresses an ability, an opportunity   - Exemplification n°1: Can you speak English? - Exemplification n°2: Can you drive a van? B) Can/May:  express a permission   - Exemplification n°1: You can use your telephone to call 911 - Exemplification n°2: You may use the emergency telephone number 911 C) Mustn't/Can't: express an obligation   Exemplification n°1: You mustn't be warmly clad if you want to travel to the South Pole Exemplification n°2: You can't be just the two of you call for backup D) Don't have to/Don't need to/Needn't: express an absence of obligation   - Exemplification n°1: You don't have to worry about me - Exemplification n°2: You don't need to stay up so late, finish the project tomorrow E) Shall (used with I and We): expresses a suggestion  - Exemplification n°1: Shall I go see if my car has been fixed? - Exemplification n°2: Shall we let it...