Today you're going to learn one of the "shortcuts" to expanding your vocabulary - focusing on prefixes and suffixes, the beginnings and endings of words. The word "colorful" means "full of color," and the word "colorless" means "without color." ...but some of these words aren't as simple as they seem! For example, "fruitful" doesn't necessarily mean "full of fruit," the opposite of "helpless" is NOT "helpful," and there's a difference between "mindful" and "thoughtful." Click here for the lesson text

The English language has a number of words that are very similar. These eight verbs in English seem like they are the same… but there are some small differences in their meanings and/or use. Listen to this lesson to make sure you don’t confuse them! close & shut start & begin listen & hear end & finish Click here for the lesson text

Do you know the difference between OB-ject and ob-JECT? Today you’ll learn 8 English words that can be pronounced two different ways… the meaning and use of these words changes based on how you pronounce them. Click here for the lesson text

Phrasal verbs are combinations of a verb + preposition, such as take out, take off, take over, take in, etc. In today’s lesson, you’ll learn 18 different phrasal verbs with the word “take” - with examples to show you how they are used! Click here for the lesson text

In this episode, you’ll learn the idiomatic expressions: like a fish out of water come hell or high water in deep water in hot water dead in the water not hold water test the waters keep your head above water a watering hole water under the bridge Click here for the lesson text!

The word “just” can be used in two ways: 1) Recently Be careful – I just washed the floor, and it’s still wet. (= I washed the floor a few minutes ago) He just finished a big project. (= he finished the project very recently) 2) Only I have just one brother. (= I have only one brother) I thought you were hungry, but you ate just half of your sandwich. (= you ate only half of your sandwich, and no more)   Click Here for the episode text!

This is a free sample from the e-book  600+ Confusing English Words Explained. It will help clear up your doubts about how to use English words correctly, so that you can speak and write more confidently. Click here for more information!

MANY students write to me and ask how they can become fluent – so here are my top 10 tips for reaching your goal of fluency! Click here for the lesson text - http://www.espressoenglish.net/how-to-speak-fluent-english-top-10-tips/

In spoken English, just saying “I disagree” is often too direct. Most English speakers use phrases that are modified to be more polite, or indirect methods to express disagreement. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to disagree without offending anyone! Click here for the lesson text - http://www.espressoenglish.net/practical-english-speaking-how-to-disagree-politely/

Time, time, time – here are 16 different ways to use time in English! Learn these common English collocations to improve your vocabulary. spend time waste time make time for something save time free/spare time have time kill time / pass the time take your time on time just in time have a hard/rough time it's about time pressed for time run out of time stall for time take time off Click here for the lesson text - http://www.espressoenglish.net/16-common-english-collocations-with-the-word-time/

Phrasal Verb Definition in Context hit on someone demonstrate romantic / sexual interest ask someone out invite someone for a date (a romantic encounter) lead someone on give the person false hope or expectations about the relationship hit it off with someone have a great connection from the first moment you meet the person fall for someone fall in love with the person split up / break up separate, end the relationship drift apart slowly go in different directions over time hook up with (slang) have sex with make up reconcile after a fight put up with someone / something tolerate a difficult, annoying, or unpleasant person or situation cheat on someone kiss or have sex with another person(who is not your husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfriend) make out with someone kiss the person very passionately jerk someone around manipulate the person or use them for your own advantage go out with someone 1) go on a date with the person once2) be in a relationship with the person settle down be in a long-term stable relationship Click here for the episode text - http://www.espressoenglish.net/phrasal-verbs-for-romantic-relationships/

#1 - “My boss hit the ceiling when I told him I’d lost the documents.” The idiomatic expression “hit the ceiling” means to get very angry and upset. Other expressions for sudden anger include “go ballistic” and “blow a fuse.” Listen to the episode to learn more expressions! Click here for the episode text - http://www.espressoenglish.net/10-english-phrases-for-extreme-emotion/

There are two ways to talk about the future in English: will/won't and going to. Use going to for plans/arrangements Use will for promises, offers, and decisions made in the moment Use either will or going to for predictions Click here for the episode text - http://www.espressoenglish.net/grammar-in-use-willwont-vs-going-to/

This is a story about the daily life of New York Nate, who lives in the United States; and London Laura, who lives in England. As you can see, they have very similar lives… but the vocabulary words they use are very different! Click here for the episode text - http://www.espressoenglish.net/british-english-vs-american-english-vocabulary/

Using "linking words" can improve your spoken and written English by helping you form longer, more complex sentences. In today's lesson, you'll learn how to use: but / however although / even though despite / in spite of while / whereas / unlike Click here for the episode text - http://www.espressoenglish.net/linking-words-contrasting-ideas/

If you frequently confuse the words SAY, TELL, and SPEAK, you’re not alone – these are some of the most commonly confused English words! In this lesson, I’ll teach you the rules for the difference between say, tell, and speak. Click here for the episode text - http://www.espressoenglish.net/difference-between-say-tell-and-speak/

Adjectives are words that describe the qualities of something. Some adjectives in English are gradable - that means you can have different degrees or levels of that quality. For example, the weather can be a little cold, rather cold, very cold, or extremely cold. Extreme adjectives or non-gradable adjectives are words that mean “extremely + adjective” – for example, “freezing” means “extremely cold.” The weather can’t be “a little bit freezing” or “very freezing” – because the word “freezing” itself automatically means “extremely cold.” Click here for the lesson text - http://www.espressoenglish.net/extreme-adjectives-in-english/

Do you have difficulty speaking English? Sometimes the hardest part is simply starting a conversation. Learn these expressions for starting a conversation in English in any situation – formal or informal, at work, school, or other contexts! Click here for the episode text - http://www.espressoenglish.net/how-to-start-a-conversation-in-english/

In this lesson you’re going to expand your vocabulary with 37 words to describe a person’s appearance. Let’s begin with the word beautiful – in English, this word is mostly used for women. We use the word handsome for men. To describe beautiful women, we also have the words pretty, lovely, gorgeous, and stunning – “stunning” means extremely beautiful, like a woman who is so beautiful that she attracts a lot of attention. Listen to the lesson for the rest of the vocabulary words! Click here for the episode text - http://www.espressoenglish.net/37-english-words-for-describing-a-persons-appearance/

These two words can be confusing, but I’ll teach you the difference – and teach you 60 common collocations with example sentences to help you! Use DO for actions, obligations, and repetitive tasks. Use MAKE for creating or producing something, and for actions you choose to do. DO generally refers to the action itself, and MAKE usually implies that there is a result/product. For example, if you “make breakfast,” the result is an omelet! If you “make a suggestion,” you have created a recommendation. Click here for the episode text - http://www.espressoenglish.net/difference-between-do-and-make-60-collocations/

In the active voice, the subject of the sentence DOES the action: Jake wrote a letter.subject / verb / object In the passive voice, the subject of the sentence is acted upon: A letter was written (by Jake).subject / verb Notice that the object of the active sentence (letter) became the subject of the passive sentence. If we want, we can include “by Jake” to say who did the action. Today's lesson is the complete guide to the passive voice in English. You'll learn when to use the passive voice, how to form the passive voice in all English verb tenses, and more. This is a free sample lesson from the Advanced English Grammar Course. Click here for the episode text - http://www.espressoenglish.net/passive-voice-in-english/

Don’t say: “I’m studying every day for improve my English.” Say: “I’m studying every day to improve my English.” The prepositions to and for are very easy to confuse! In today's lesson, I'll explain 6 situations in which we use the word TO, and 7 cases in which we use the word FOR. Click here for the lesson text - http://www.espressoenglish.net/difference-between-to-and-for/

A lot of English as a Second Language learners confuse the words TRAVEL, TRIP, and JOURNEY. In today's lesson, you'll learn how to use each word and avoid common mistakes. Click here for the episode text - http://www.espressoenglish.net/difference-between-travel-trip-and-journey/

Forming questions in English can be confusing. Don’t worry – I’m going to teach you a simple formula that works for asking questions in almost ALL the verb tenses! This formula is called QUASM: QU estion wordA uxiliary verbS ubjectM ain verb In today's lesson, you'll see how QUASM works for forming questions in various verb tenses. Click here for the lesson text - http://www.espressoenglish.net/an-easy-way-to-form-almost-any-question-in-english/

Both present perfect and past perfect talk about something that happened before a point in time (reference point).   In the present perfect, our reference point is the present. In the past perfect, our reference point is in the past. Click here for the episode text - http://www.espressoenglish.net/difference-between-present-perfect-and-past-perfect-in-english/

Speaking English is difficult for many learners. In this article, I’ll give you 10 ways to speak English better: 5 ways to improve your spoken English at home, and 5 ways to improve your spoken English while in a conversation. Click here for the lesson text - http://www.espressoenglish.net/speaking-english-10-ways-to-improve/

Should have, could have, and would have are sometimes called “modals of lost opportunity” because they describe situations when we are imagining that the past was different. Click here for the lesson text - http://www.espressoenglish.net/past-modals-should-have-could-have-would-have/