More Tenses in 'We Didnt Start the Fire' In today's Everyday Grammar, we finish our discussion of Fallout Boy's remake of the song We Didn't Start the Fire, which was written and performed by Billy Joel. The new version of the song lists historical e...
Grammar and Cleaning, Part 2 Cleaning is one of those activities that we have to do. But what kinds of words and structures do we use to talk about this common activity? In today's Everyday Grammar, we will explore a few ways to talk about cleaning....
Present Tense in 'We Didnt Start the Fire' The band Fallout Boy recently released a version of the song, We Didn't Start the Fire. The song was first released in 1989 by the singer/songwriter Billy Joel. Joel's song was about notable events and peopl...
Grammar and Cleaning Whether you enjoy it or not, cleaning is an activity that all of us have to do from time to time. As a result, we should explore how to talk about it. In this Everyday Grammar, you will learn about different kinds of verbs we use...
Blend Words: Portmanteaus What do the words tween, Barbenheimer and brunch have in common? These words are portmanteaus -- words that are formed by combining parts of two separate words. But unlike compound nouns, which are formed from two words, por...
Grammar and Libraries Imagine you are at a library a place where books, movies, and other publications are available to borrow. What kinds of terms and structures would you need to know in order to express yourself well at a library? In today's Every...
A Close Reading of 'Looking for America,' Part 2 In today's Everyday Grammar, we finish our discussion of the 2019 song, Looking for America, by singer Lana Del Rey. By making a close reading of the song's words, we will understand more about its sou...
Recommendations, Part Two Imagine you want to ask for information. Perhaps you are looking for a good restaurant, a nice hotel, or a fun activity. How should you ask your question? In this week's Everyday Grammar, we continue our exploration of recom...
A Close Reading of 'Looking for America' In today's Everyday Grammar we do a close reading of Lana Del Rey's 2019 song, Looking for America. The song explores different places in the United States, American culture and even fireworks. What is a close...
Grammar and Recommendations Imagine you want to give or ask for a recommendation. This recommendation could be for a restaurant, a clothing store, a hotel, or an activity. How would you do it? In this Everyday Grammar, you will learn about a point of...
Grammar and the Economy: Negotiations Imagine you are shopping at a market. Perhaps you are in a situation in which you need to negotiate a price. How do you do so? In today's Everyday Grammar, we will explore a point of connection between grammar an...
Reviewing Your Message about Guests, Part 2 A few weeks ago, we asked our readers and listeners to write about having guests over. Many of you wrote us using the words you learned. One reader, Gerardo, wrote to us about his cousin Peter coming for a...
Reviewing Your Message about Guests A few weeks ago, we asked our readers and listeners to write about having guests over. Many of you wrote in using the words you learned. One reader, Gerardo, wrote to us about his cousin Peter's visit. In this week...
Grammar and the Economy: Prices Consider a time that you discussed prices. Perhaps it was at a market, at a store, or with friends. How did you discuss the issue? In today's Everyday Grammar, we will explore a point of connection between grammar and...
Grammar for Guests Do you like to have guests? Who would you invite over to a party? Would you have a guest stay overnight? In this week's Everyday Grammar, we will learn the language of inviting and visiting. I invited my niece for a visit. I hosted...
