This takoyaki tastes amazing!

I am writing this lesson on my laptop right now. I used the verb write in its progressive form (with the be verb) because I am writing now. We use verbs in the progressive form when we talk about actions that are happening right now. Here are some other examples:

• I’m working until 10pm tonight.
• Jack’s sister is staying at his house this week.
• Jane is listening to music while doing her homework.

Most present actions are described using the progressive form. However there are several kinds of verbs that are not used in the progressive, even if we are talking about right now. Today, I want to show you this English grammar and give you some example sentences.

First of all, there are verbs that show mental states (such as believe, know, remember, want, etc):

• I believe this is the correct answer. Not, I am believing ~
• I know how to fix that computer problem.
• Yes, I remember what he asked me.
• I want to have pizza for lunch.

Next, there are verbs that show emotions (such as love, like, hate, prefer, etc)

• I love pizza. I’m sure you already knew that!
• Bob said he likes his new job.
• I prefer coffee to tea.

Third, there are verbs of the senses. These verbs (feel, hear, see, smell, sound, & taste) are not used in the progressive when they refer to the action of the senses. Generally, the subject of the sentence is the thing being described:

• This cup feels hot.
• Does this milk smell right to you?
• That music sounds so relaxing.
• The cheesecake she made tastes great.

Lastly, there are some special cases that you need to remember:

1. Have is not used in the progressive when it means possession or ownership, but it is used in the progressive in other meanings (like experience) or in certain collocations:
   1. I have an iPhone, but my sister has an Android.
   2. Everyone is having a great time at the party!
   3. Jane is having a baby!
2. Feel can be used in the progressive when it describes using your fingers to check something:
   1. I am feeling this glass carefully for cracks or chips.
3. Think is not used in the progressive when it means opinion but it is used in the progressive when it means using one’s brain. Compare these two sentences:
   1. I think studying English is a good way to expand cross-cultural communication.
   2. I am thinking about the answer to this math problem, but I can’t figure it out.
4. Look is not used in the progressive when it means seem but it is used in the progressive when it means using one’s eyes. Compare these two sentences:
   1. That cake looks delicious!
   2. Why are you looking at me that way?
5. Weigh and measure are not used in the progressive when we describe the weight or length of something, but they are used in the progressive when we describe the action of weighing or measuring:
   1. I am weighing the coffee to see how much is in the bag. It weighs 5 pounds.
   2. Jack is measuring the table. He says it measures three meters long.

Well, that’s a lot of English rules! I hope you don’t feel too tired. How about using the comment box below and writing some original sentences using this grammar. I’ll check them for you!

If you know anyone who has trouble with this English language point, why not help them out! Just share this lesson with them.

Thanks for studying today!

He said he liked pizza!

When you want to tell someone what another person told you, you can use reported speech. Here’s an example:

In the morning, you have this conversation with your friend Jack:

• Michael: Hi Jack. What’s new?
• Jack: I started a new job last week.
• Michael: Really? How’ it going?
• Jack: Oh, it’s pretty busy.

Later that day, you have this conversation with your friend Jane:

• Michael: I talked to Jack this morning.
• Jane: How’s everything going with his new job?
• Michael: He said it was pretty busy.

A lot of students have a hard time with using reported speech. Today, I will show you how to use this English grammar:

We usually change the verb in the time clause to the past form:

• “Oh, it’s pretty busy.” → He said it was pretty busy.
• “I drink coffee every morning.” → He said he drank coffee every morning.
• “I saw Jane this morning.” → He said he had seen Jane this morning.

This is the usual grammar, and I recommend you use the above grammar, especially if you have an English test in school. However, there are a few exceptions:

Exception #1: We don’t change the verb in the time clause when we report something that was just said. Imagine you are in a meeting, and the boss is talking. You may have a conversation like this with your coworker:

• Joe: What did the boss say about the next meeting? I couldn’t catch it.
• Michael: He said he wants us to meet next Tuesday.

Exception #2: We don’t change the verb in the time clause when we report something that is a general or usual truth. Here is a conversation from a cooking class:

• Jack: What did the teacher say about fresh cream? I couldn’t catch it.
• Michael: She said it is usually fresh for just one week.

Exception #3: We usually don’t change the verb in the time clause when we report something that we believe is still true about someone’s feelings or a situation. There are a lot of examples of sentences like this from pop songs:

• “She says it’s cold outside…” – Matchbox Twenty, 3AM
• “She says she love you…” ­– The Beatles, She Loves You
• “He says I am beautiful…” – Candice Glover, I Am Beautiful

Even though there are these three exceptions, most English teachers follow the basic rule that says to change the verb in the time clause to the past. I’ve checked a few text and reference books and all of them say that we “usually” change the verb. This is a case where there is no clear cut answer, so just try to remember the basic rule and the three exceptions. If you have any additional ideas about using reported speech, why not leave a comment?

If you know anyone who has trouble with this English language point, why not help them out! Just share this lesson with them.

Thanks for studying today!

1. What is the relationship between these two people?
2. Why are they at the train station today?
3. What do you think will happen next?

Write you answers and ideas in the comment box below, and I’ll check your work for you.

If you know anyone who has trouble with this English language point, why not help them out! Just share this lesson with them.

Thanks for studying today!

Get Happy English iPhone APP

Get Happy English eBook for iPhone / iPad or Galaxy / Android or Amazon Kindle

A lot of people have trouble with the words clothes and cloth. The difference is pretty easy to remember. Cloth is the material used to make clothes. Have a look at today’s lessongraphic and you’ll see some different examples of these words!

If you know anyone who has trouble with this English language point, why not help them out! Just share this lesson with them.

Thanks for studying today!

Get Happy English iPhone APP

Get Happy English eBook for iPhone / iPad or Galaxy / Android or Amazon Kindle

In Sydney Australia, International students got the chance to take a special class from Instagram celebrity, Ido Simyoni aka @ido8all when he stopped by Kaplan’s English school in Sydney. The social media icon, with over a hundred thousand followers on the online photo-sharing and social networking service, shared his tips and even a few Instagram secrets with the students, encouraging them to share their once in a lifetime experience on the site. Ido gave a class in the school on photo shooting techniques and how to get the most out of Instagram. After that, the students got a practical lesson in Hyde Park, where Ido shed some light on what makes his photos stand out. Ido’s photography expertise is well known across the internet thanks to his social media movement “Stop the Terror”, which has generated more than 11,000 pictures from all over the world.

Ido is no stranger to the Kaplan international network. He attended their English school here in the Big Apple, where he shared his experience on Instagram. His iphoneography classes were such a big hit, he was invited to give classes to students at Kaplan English Schools in the US, the UK and Australia. One of the participants said, “Ido has an amazing eye for the finer details in life. His class encourages you to capture reality in a different light and share your experience with the world.”

After his stay in Sydney, Ido cruised to the breezy coast of the Manly Beach campus, before leaving to give the Adelaideans the hallowed master class. He also made stops at Kaplan’s schools in Melbourne and Auckland, New Zealand.

According to Internet legend, the best formula to tell a story and share it with others is getting to know people from across the globe in great locations. He said that Kaplan students are having this amazing experience when studying abroad. These days thousands of students from Kaplan schools around the world are now posting their photos on Instagram, making it clear that the Kaplan Experience is an unforgettable one, and definitely one worth sharing. How are you sharing your international experience? Leave a comment below and let me know!

 
If you know anyone who is interested in this topic, why not help them out! Just share this article with them.
Thanks for studying today!

I want pancakes!

I want to eat something different for breakfast. Almost every day, I eat the same thing: Greek yogurt and granola cereal. It’s healthy, but getting boring. So I went to the diner today. For those who are not living in the USA, a diner is a restaurant that is usually open all day and serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner dishes all day long. If you visit New York, I want you to think about going to a diner. I think I either want pancakes or a waffle. I want bacon too. I usually don’t eat bacon, but today I want to have it.

Today, I am going to show you the different ways we use want in English. I used these grammar patterns in the opening paragraph, so please take a look at that again and then check out today’s lesson.

We use want + [noun] to talk about the thing we desire:

• I want pancakes for breakfast.
• Jack said he wants a new laptop because his is running Windows XP.
• Everyone who comes to the meeting will want a copy of the meeting minutes.

We also use want + to verb with the same meaning:

• I want to eat pancakes for breakfast.
• Jack said he wants to buy a new laptop because his is running Windows XP.
• Everyone who comes to the meeting will want to have a copy of the meeting minutes.

Finally, we use want [someone] + to verb when we talk about an action we want another person to do. This grammar is also used to give a command or order:

• I want you to study English hard and practice this grammar!
• Jenny wants her husband to get her a new laptop.
• We want Chris to stop smoking.

Now it’s your turn to try. How about trying to write an original sentence using with and one of the patterns I just explained above. Use the comment box below and I’ll check your answers.

If you know anyone who has trouble with this English language point, why not help them out! Just share this lesson with them.

Thanks for studying today!

Get Happy English iPhone APP

Get Happy English eBook for iPhone / iPad or Galaxy / Android or Amazon Kindle

A lot of companies send their employees to work overseas. I’ve met a lot of businesspeople who are now living in New York City on business. Many of these people come alone and leave their family back in their home country. It must be lonely to leave your family and go to a foreign country alone. Luckily, New York City is big enough and has a lot of people, so even if you are here alone, you’ll never feel lonely.

A lot of students ask me the difference between alone and lonely. Today’s lessongraphic has a few different examples showing the difference between these two confusing English words.

Alone describes a situation and means “by oneself.” A person who lives alone does not live with anyone else. A person who goes somewhere alone goes their without another person. Being alone means being somewhere just yourself.

Lonely describes a feeling and means “feeling sad because one is alone.” A person who is lonely feels sad because they are separated from  someone or their family.You may be lonely if your partner leaves you , or if you have to live away from your family for a long time.

Now it’s your turn. Hpw about writing a sentence using these two words in the comment box below. I’ll check it for you!

If you know anyone who has trouble with this English language point, why not help them out! Just share this lesson with them.

Thanks for studying today!

Get Happy English iPhone APP

Get Happy English eBook for iPhone / iPad or Galaxy / Android or Amazon Kindle

A happy bottle of wine!

Yesterday we looked at the preposition around. For today’s English lesson, I want to show you how to use the preposition of. There are a number of grammar patterns that we have when we use of, so let’s get started!

#1. We use of when we want to show the connection or relationship between two nouns:

• Jack is a friend of mine.
• I saw a picture of Times Square in an old textbook.
• The day of your birth is called your birthday.

#2. We use of when we want to talk about an artist or musician and their collective work:

• You can see the complete works of Picasso at MOMA this month.
• I love the paintings of Salvador Dali.
• This CD set contains the complete works of Mozart.

#3. We also use of when we want to show the connection between one part and an entire thing:

• I had a slice of pizza for lunch.
• Do you want a piece of cake?
• Jack used the last slice of bread.

#4. In a similar way, we use of when we use quantifiers, such as containers or groups of food:

• We bought a bottle of wine for the party.
• Jack drinks a liter of milk every day.
• The supermarket has a bunch of grapes for just $0.69!

#5. We use of when we talk about measurement:

• This handle can extend to a length of 30 inches.
• The recipe calls for one cup of sugar and two cups of cocoa.
• I think two pounds of pork should be enough.

#6. We use of to talk about directions or locations near a certain point or place:

• There is a big drawer at the bottom of the oven.
• You can find many old buildings on the lower east side of Manhattan.
• The entrance to this building is on 40^th Street, just to the left of the bank.

#7 We use type of / kind of / sort of + noun to describe a category:

• A smartphone is a type of computer.
• Japanese nabe is a kind of soup.
• Pink Floyd plays sort of experimental music.

#8. We use made of / built of, etc to show the type of material used in making something:

• This building is built of iron and steel.
• Many items we have at home are made of plastic.

There are a lot more combinations of verbs + of, including phrasal verbs, in English. Do you know any others? If you do, let me know. In the meantime, how about trying to use some of these patterns? Write a sentence or two in the comment box below!

If you know anyone who has trouble with this English language point, why not help them out! Just share this lesson with them.

Thanks for studying today!

Get Happy English iPhone APP

Get Happy English eBook for iPhone / iPad or Galaxy / Android or Amazon Kindle

I walked around the Library

Today I am going to show you how we use around, which is both adverb and a preposition. I am sure you will find learning this English Grammar helpful, especially if you are preparing for the TOEIC or TOEFL exam.

We use around to mean approximately:

• There are around thirty English Language schools in New York City.
• Jack is tall. He’s around 190cm.

We use around to mean near:

• There are a lot of restaurants around my office.
• You can see many interesting people around Times Square.

We use around with the meaning of encircle or surround something:

• The hotel is build around a swimming pool.
• We sat around the table during the meeting.

We use around with the meaning of moving in a circle or toward the other side of (like a corner):

• The man walked around the corner.
• The kids ran around the tree.

We use around to talk about moving to many different places in one area of a city, office, shop, etc:

• We walked around Chinatown for three hours on Saturday.
• Let’s look around the museum.

We use turn around to talk about changing the direction or movement in an opposite direction:

• The road was closed so I had to turn the car around and go a different way.
• Everyone turned around when we heard the loud noise in the office.

We use be around to mean exist in a location:

• I’ll be around until 3:00, then I have to leave the office.
• That café has been around since 1970.

I think I’ve covered most of the common ways to use around. If you know another way to use around, let me know. In the meantime, how about trying to use some of these patterns? Write a sentence or two in the comment box below!

If you know anyone who has trouble with this English language point, why not help them out! Just share this lesson with them.

Thanks for studying today!

Get Happy English iPhone APP

Get Happy English eBook for iPhone / iPad or Galaxy / Android or Amazon Kindle