Language Learners

Formation of past and present tense of English verbs

The present tense of a regular verb is the same as the base form of the verb, except that an -s is added to the verb when it has a noun or he, she, or it as a subject. This form is called the 3rd person singular form. I live in the country. He likes his job. The window looks… Read More

Spanish words of the week: tejo or teja?

Time to separate the wood from the trees with another pair of potentially confusable Spanish nouns… Join us as we look at tejo and teja. Starting with tejo, you can listen to its pronunciation here:… Read More

French word of the week: carte

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 'carte'. Read More

Simple tenses

Simple tenses show moments in time, timeless states, and habitual or repetitive actions. The simple tenses consist of a single word.  There is a present simple tense: I like I live you like you live he likes he lives  I like my steak rare. It tastes good. Julie keeps a diary. Rob usually walks to school. There is also a past simple tense: I liked I lived you liked you lived he liked he lived  He liked to walk to the… Read More

Spanish words of the week: foco or foca?

Today we look at two more Spanish nouns which are identical in form apart from their endings but whose meanings are very different. These are foco (masculine) and foca (feminine). Foco (masculine) is the commoner of the two and has many more meanings. You can listen… Read More

French word of the week: devant

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 word 'devant'. Read More

Mass Nouns

Mass nouns are nouns that refer to a substance that can be divided or measured but not counted, e.g. sugar, water. They do not usually have an indefinite article in front. Meat is usually more expensive than cheese. Sugar is quite cheap. Mass nouns only take a plural in special cases, for example, when they refer… Read More

Learning French: making a purchase

Our Learning French blog is back, and we're taking a look at the French phrases that'll come in handy if you're popping out to the shops. Read More

Spanish words of the week: paso or pasa?

It’s that time of the week when we step into the world of potentially confusable Spanish nouns and separate out how a particular pair is used. Today it’s the turn of paso (masculine) and pasa (feminine). Read More