I often write about false friends and various other confusing words for learners of English. But one of my recent French lessons reminded me of a word that often confuses Anglophone learners of French: magasin. Continue reading
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The Reflex!
No, not more classic pop.
I was doing my French homework this evening, and one of my tasks was to find the reflexive verbs in a Youtube video about French clichés. What’s that? What’s a reflexive verb? Good question. Continue reading
Oliver’s Army
I’ve been listening to the album Armed Forces by Elvis Costello & the Attractions a lot recently (and currently listening to Kate Bush while drinking a glass of red wine: I think at some point I became someone’s mother without noticing). The album’s best-known song is undoubtedly “Oliver’s Army,” and every time I hear the song on the radio, I think, You never have that song much anymore. Continue reading
Goosebumps!
Did you know there’s a scientific, very Latin-sounding term for the experience of getting goosebumps? Continue reading
Big Issue!
Do you want to keep track of some the most important issues in the world today? Maybe you could pick up an issue of the magazine The Big Issue to read about them.
Issue. Continue reading
He Walked Through the Door
‘OW!! That hurt!’ he said.
A little earlier, the song “Pure Shores” by All Saints came on the radio. Amid the waves of turn-of-the-millennium nostalgia, one section struck me: Continue reading
In Concert
I was thinking about the word concert recently. A very common word, but it struck me that, like so many others, we use it in different ways without really noticing. Continue reading
English-Language Thoughts 