Listen and repeat. Please do NOT read and repeat. The spelling won't help. Use your ears and your brain. 1. I saw a balloon in a cartoon.2. It was cool in the swimming pool.3. The table top was very smooth.4. Th...

The present perfect and present perfect continuous  generally allow us to talk about things which start in the past and continue into the present.1. I’ve lived in Turkey for three years. I’ve been living in Turkey for three...

Verb tense review: the present continuous (also called the present progressive.The present continuous is mostly used for actions which are happening right now. Sometimes we also use it for future actions. Compare these two sentences:...

Verb tense review: the simple past.The simple past is used for actions that took place in the past and are finished. For example:“Yesterday I went to the gym after work.”“Last week I met a woman who is a yoga instructor.”<...

In writing, regular English verbs add “ed” to the infinitive to show past tense. So hope becomes hoped, grab becomes grabbed, and wait becomes waited. Now close your eyes and listen to the ending sound of these three verbs.Hoped, hoped, ...

I wrote this poem this morning to use for reading and pronunciation practice in my class on Tandem. I didn't write it deliberately to be good for teaching English, but it turned out that it was. Hope you like it.I’VE LOST MY MIND<...

More simple present: the verb “to be”1- I am from Costa Rica. He is from Cuba.2- This is my brother. His name is Jack.3- This is my adopted cat. Her name is Nefertiti.4- How old are you? I’m twenty-seven.5- Ar...

Another quickie podcast. Over the next week or two or three, I will record short podcasts going through the most commonly used English verb tenses. In this one the examples are from the simple present. This tense is used to describe habits and ...

(This podcast is for Irma who reminded me about this construction.)Note: this podcast has fewer repetitions than usual. That DOES NOT mean you shouldn't play it and practice is many times. It just means my time is limited....

1- I have never seen or met an abominable snowman, also known as a Yeti.2- I.R.S. is the abbreviation for the Internal Revenue Service.3- My uncle is an aeronautical engineer.4- I put the books in alphabetical order. 5- My ...

Suggestion: Read the sentences first and then put them away. Do NOT try to read the words while you listen and repeat. Reading will NOT help your pronunciation. Train your ears. Repeat: train your ears. 1- The fires in Los Angeles ...

It's okay to read the sentences if you need to, but please do NOT try to read them while you're repeating with the podcast. English spelling is a distraction. It's NOT a useful guide to pronunciation.* Close your eyes (unless you're driving!) a...

November 2, 2024Hello everybody. I've been meaning to record a short podcast to tell you what's going on, and here it is. I've been very busy the past month and November and December are shaping up to be even busier. So I'm not going to...

If your native language doesn’t include many consonant blends, English can be a challenge. An example is “st” as in the word “test.” These blends can appear at the beginning of a word, in the middle, or at the end. Let’s practice. 1...

(From - Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll: beginning of Chapter 7.)There was a table set out under a tree in front of the house, and the March Hare and the Hatter were having tea at it: a Dormouse was sitting between them, fast asleep...

Here are three more Phrasal Verbs based on “take”:1- As soon as all the passengers were seated and buckled in, the plane took off. [the plane left the ground]2- When the burglars heard our key in the lock, they took off...

Imaginary businesses with tricky-to-pronounce names. Use this podcast as an exercise to warm up your pronunciation. Go slowly before you try to go fast!1- Rudy’s Radioactive Radiator Repair2- Thea’s Thursday Seances Featuring Thin...

To “take over” has a couple of meanings. It can mean to “take control of” something, but it can also mean to control by being bossy.1- While I was sick, weeds took over the garden. Now it looks terrible.2- When my father died, I h...

Another expression with the verb take. Let’s practice with “to take advantage of.”To “take advantage of” can be good or bad. Here’s an example of the bad kind: “He took advantage of his friend’s generosity by borrowing money ...

Let’s continue our practice with the verb “take”, this time with “take place” which means to “happen”, usually for organized events.1) The next summer Olympic Games will take place in Los Angeles. I hope it won’t be too hot.2) The...

The verb “take” is very common in English and it’s used in many ways. One of the expressions is to “take a look.” Here are some examples:1) “Doctor, please take a look at this X-ray.”2) He took one look at the snake and said, “It’...

August has been very busy but here's a podcast so you won't think I've run away somewhere. We use the word "so" in many ways. Here are some sample sentences.1- That is a beautiful painting?Do you really think so?2- Is it t...

This podcast contains 26 sentences. Each sentence includes at least one 4-syllable word. The words are in alphabetical order, so the 4-syllable word in the first sentence is “alligator” beginning with “A” and so on. Sentence number 26 contains ...

Fixed expressions are little English phrases that native speakers use all the time. If I were in your shoes, I would learn lots of fixed expressions.For variety, this podcast uses several synthetic voices to read the sen...

Practice with the DJ sound, as in “judge” and “ginger.”1 - His travel agency has a large budget for advertising. 2 - Have you ever heard of an angel with an allergy?3 - The archaeologist apologized to the biologist.&nb...