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7 Great Holiday Phrases: Easy English Blog

2021-02-28T11:40:55+01:00

Today is December 1st and that means we are in the holiday season (the time of year we celebrate lots of holidays)! Winter is here, Thanksgiving (in the US) is over, and it’s time to start decorating the house with holiday cheer! What are some holiday phrases in English that you could say to your old or new friends at this time of year? Here on our second Easy English Blog, I'll teach you! Here are some great holiday phrases to get you in the mood! If you missed last month's blog, here it is again - we wrote about [...]

7 Great Holiday Phrases: Easy English Blog2021-02-28T11:40:55+01:00

When to use Affect or Effect

2022-10-30T21:24:08+01:00

You know this situation: you are writing a text and suddenly (in an instant) you can’t remember if you have felt the affect or effect of something. Or did something affect or effect you? Oh no! Don’t worry. Even the best of us make mistakes (errors, typos) sometimes, no matter our field (or native language!). However, this one is easy to fix. One mistake in English that gives even native speakers an unreasonable (not fair, not logical) amount of trouble is knowing whether to use affect or effect. Almost identical (the same) spellings, a similar pronunciation, and a similar meaning [...]

When to use Affect or Effect2022-10-30T21:24:08+01:00

10 Common Latin Words in English

2022-10-30T21:23:19+01:00

Last week, we covered ten Latin words used in English and their English derivatives (words that come from other words). Because it was such a success (popular), because Latin is such an important source for English, and because we promised a part two…here are ten more Latin words in English! If you are the type that loves word etymology (where words come from) and word borrowings, check out our past blogs with words that come from French, Yiddish, and German here and here! So, get a bit ancient with your vocabulary and check out the list below: Gravis Latin meaning: heavy [...]

10 Common Latin Words in English2022-10-30T21:23:19+01:00

Latin Words Used in English

2022-10-30T21:22:00+01:00

I was the worst Latin student of all time (ever). I took one year of Latin when I was in 7th grade, hoping it would help me later in college when I studied English. It might have benefited (helped) me more, however, if I had decided to go into the medical field, but I still think it's fun to find Latin words used in English and try to remember what they mean. As with our borrowings from French, Yiddish, and German here and here, we've gained a lot as a culture from the Ancient Romans and their language, Latin, such as [...]

Latin Words Used in English2022-10-30T21:22:00+01:00

Easy English Blog: Great Tips to Learn English

2022-10-30T21:21:01+01:00

English can be hard. A new language takes a lot of effort (time, determination) to learn. Do you think you need some help? Here in the beginner's blog, I have some tips to learn English faster! Read this blog to help you learn English in an easy way. If you are more advanced, you can check our other posts with tips to learn English like How to Use More English Everyday,  How to Learn English Fast , or KISS-Other ways to Learn English!  You will soon be speaking English like a native (someone who grew up speaking a language)! Post-it Notes [...]

Easy English Blog: Great Tips to Learn English2022-10-30T21:21:01+01:00

Halloween Traditions in the US

2023-10-03T16:57:55+01:00

Next week is October 31st . Why is that important, you may ask (want to know)? Because it’s one of my favorite days of the year! I finally get to write about Halloween traditions in the US! Halloween is always on October 31st and it's one of the best holidays ever. I remember my grandma dressing up (wearing a costume) as a witch, and us kids trick-or-treating around the neighborhood (the area where people live). Now that I'm an adult (a fully grown person), I don't trick-or-treat anymore, but I still dress up- even though my costumes are usually bad, carve pumpkins, and watch [...]

Halloween Traditions in the US2023-10-03T16:57:55+01:00

UK English vs US English Words

2022-10-30T21:13:45+01:00

Over the past few weeks on the Bespeaking blog, we've discussed the differences between British and American spellings and pronunciations. To finish up with this series, we'll finally talk about UK English vs US English words. This one is particularly (very) interesting to me as I find myself using more and more British English vocabulary words the longer I’ve lived in Germany. I know that sounds strange, but as I've said before, most of my friends here in Berlin are British, so I've been picking up on (learning/using) a lot of their vocabulary over the past year. Between that and [...]

UK English vs US English Words2022-10-30T21:13:45+01:00

British vs. American English Pronunciation

2022-10-30T21:11:42+01:00

A friend of mine who was educated at Oxford told me once, “The difference between British vs. American English pronunciation is that British English is correct.” As an American, I feel it’s my duty to disagree. But accents and pronunciations aren’t right or wrong, just different. After the American Revolution and the two countries started to diverge (separate), Americans started doing some things differently from the English in an attempt to differentiate themselves. This is why the Americans, as an example, use their forks the way they do with the tines (the pointy parts of a fork) up, and not [...]

British vs. American English Pronunciation2022-10-30T21:11:42+01:00

American versus British English Spelling

2022-10-30T21:10:18+01:00

If you're someone learning English, the differences in spelling may be confusing, especially if you look at American versus British English spelling. The order of certain letters can be different depending on which variation (type) is spoken, or there can even be some extra letters (like those extra Us. I'm lookin' at you, Brits). English wasn't standardized (where something should be done the same way for everyone) until the mid to late 18th century, so for a good while there, people spelled words all sorts of ways. In the States, we have a tendency (like to) to prefer to spell [...]

American versus British English Spelling2022-10-30T21:10:18+01:00

9 French Words Used in English

2023-07-09T17:48:41+01:00

As we all know, English is a great "catch all" language in that it is one big mish-mash of other languages, and boy oh boy, does English love taking words from French! We've already written about German loan words here and here, and last week about Yiddish.  But what about French words used in English? About 45% of English words have a French origin. 29% of those words are directly stolen from French. (This is the same percentage of words in English with Latin origin). Suffice it to say (it is sure that), French is one of the biggest influencers [...]

9 French Words Used in English2023-07-09T17:48:41+01:00

10 Yiddish Words Used in English

2022-10-30T20:58:12+01:00

English is a wonderful language because it can be a bit of a "catch-all" from other languages. We've written before about German loan words, and the next language we steal directly from is Yiddish. Yiddish is the language spoken by Central and Eastern European Jews and derives (comes) from Hebrew, Slavic languages, and other Germanic influences. I love Yiddish words, partly because they're so much fun to say. English borrows a bunch of words from Yiddish, so here are 10 of our favorite Yiddish words used in English: Bagel Bagels (Yiddish: beygel) are one of my all-time favorite breakfast foods. [...]

10 Yiddish Words Used in English2022-10-30T20:58:12+01:00

English Idioms You Should Know: Quiz 2

2022-10-30T20:55:32+01:00

Last week's blog post was our most popular ever! Thanks for that! Here is Part Two of “The List” of English idioms you should know to help you translate your thoughts and understand what is being said to you. Good luck! Check out these ten more common German everyday phrases in English. Can you get them all right? Echt? a) Genuine? b) Real? c) Really? d) B or C While you can use echt in German to talk about the reality of something (for example, echtes Leder instead of Kunststoff), when echt is phrased as a question, the best is, [...]

English Idioms You Should Know: Quiz 22022-10-30T20:55:32+01:00
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