A common problem for English learners is spelling. Oh, let’s be honest, whoever designed English spelling needs to be _____ (I’ll let you fill in the blank with your idea for the best punishment). Despite all the horrible spellings, there are usually rules to most words—we just have a LOT of rules with their nuances (and exceptions).

These are probably among the most misused false friends, undoubtedly due to their incredible similarity with their Spanish counterparts. However, they have no relation at all!

Actual and Actually are used to present factual information, usually after another person has said something wrong. It’s a great way to politely correct someone. It’s similar in meaning to “real(ly).

Verb Tenses: Choose the right one

1.March is always / has always been my favorite month.
2.A lot of very interesting things happened / have happened in this 31-day period.
3.Back in 44BC, Julius Caesar has said / said his famous last words: “Et tu, Brute?”
4.In 440AD, St. Patrick died and gave / has given the Irish an excuse to drink.
5.And in 1983, I born / was born.

While success and suceso both do ultimately derive from the Latin word successus, their meanings have changed over the millennia.

In English, success is the noun used to describe situations in which some goal has been achieved, or a person has obtained great wealth, respect, awards, etc. Its verb is to succeed, and its adjective is successful.

Success can come with a heavy price.

Despite having an amazing voice, Eva Cassidy was not successful until after she died.

Choose the best option.

Kerry is my next-door neighbor. She live / lives by herself but has many cat / cats. Sometimes, she and I go out with several of our mutual friend / friends, who run / runs a pizza parlor downtown. I’ve heard some people think / thinks she’s lonely, living with all that cat / those cats, but I know she has / have such a busy social life / lives that she doesn’t have time for a boyfriend / some boyfriends. She works with a couple of good friend / friends of hers in a shop in the mall, and makes a lot of money / a lots of money.

Can you correct these sentences?

Jeff and Veronica met two years ago, and they love themselves a lot.
They want to get married the next summer.
But I think they shouldn’t ever get married.
I like Veronica, but I don’t think he’s right for Jeff.

Complete the text with of, from, since, for.

Mark is originally (1)___ South Africa, but he moved to Barcelona when he graduated college, and has lived there (2)___ fifteen years. He moved into and has lived there (3)___ he arrived. His girlfriend, Helena, is also an immigrant: she is (4)___ Athens, the capital (5)___ Greece. They’ve been going out (6)___ 2008, and they’ve lived together (7)___ six months; in fact, she was one (8)___ the first people he met in Catalonia. (9)___ they’ve been going out, he’s met a lot (10)___ new people, and now he really likes living in Barcelona.

Listen to the song and complete the gaps with the words you hear.
Lord, I was born a ramblin’ man
Tryin’ to make a livin’ and doin’ the _____________ I can
And when it’s time for leavin’
I hope you’ll _____________
That I was born a ramblin’ man

Articles are always an issue for English learners, so try practicing by putting in the right one (a/an, the, or nothing) in the following text:

Have you ever gone to (1)___ drive-in cinema? I love them. I went to my first one when I was (2)___ 12. My father took me to (3)___ one at the edge of town. We parked our car in (4)___ front row, and tuned our radio to the local station. We saw (5)___ comedy film and (6)___ action film, and while I didn’t really enjoy (7)___ movies,

Many English learners’ native languages either don’t distinguish between masculine and feminine pronouns, or don’t use pronouns at all. Strangely, despite having eliminated sex from regular nouns, all 3rd-person pronouns referring to people have sex. It is extremely important to keep them in order, as mixing them up can cause great confusion. In the following exercise, write in the correct pronoun.