Spanish words of the week: madera or madero?
On the workbench today are two more similar-looking Spanish nouns with different endings, genders and meanings. These are madera and madero. Let’s split apart their differences. Read More
French word of the week: heure
This series of weekly blogs takes a closer look at words from our French dictionaries. The word we're focusing on this week is the French noun 'heure'. Read More
British and American English spelling differences
While the British and the Americans understand each other the vast majority of the time, there are still many important differences between British and US English, which can lead to confusion or humorous misunderstandings. On paper, the most obvious difference between British and American English is the spelling (just as… Read More
The Gentle Art of Persuasion: Soft Power in Language and Culture
In a period of global political and financial upheaval, as well as many armed conflicts, there has been much recent discussion about the place of ‘soft power’ in the world today. What is soft power? ‘Soft power’ denotes the ability to influence through attraction and persuasion rather than coercion or… Read More
Spanish words of the week: tinta or tinto?
Another opportunity to look at the commonest senses of some similar-looking nouns with different endings and genders and ink in their differences. This week’s words are tinta (feminine) and tinto (masculine), and perhaps we should throw in tinte… Read More
French word of the week: aussi
This series of weekly blogs takes a closer look at words from our French dictionaries. The word we're focusing on this week is the French adverb 'aussi'. Read More
What’s the difference between its and it’s?
Its and it’s are homophones that are often confused by learners and native speakers of English alike. Here is a short guide to help understand the difference between them. its Its is a possessive determiner. You use its to show that something belongs or relates to a thing, place, animal, or child. The… Read More
Spanish words of the week: manto or manta?
Here we go: a chance to put to bed the differences between another pair of similar-looking but differently used Spanish nouns. This time it’s the turn of manto (masculine) and manta (feminine). Read More
Seven of the Most Beautiful Words in the Dictionary
It’s not every day that a world leader – in this case, US president Donald Trump – declares a somewhat functional word such as tariff the most beautiful word in the dictionary and, by implication, the English language. Admittedly, Trump later changed his mind by declaring God, religion and… Read More