Language Blog

The truth about conditionals

If. If is a long word in English. It may only have two letters, but placing those two letters in a sentence completely changes the meaning of that sentence. These kinds of sentences in English are often referred to as conditional sentences. Conditionals are used by every English speaker, and every English learner studies them at some point. Sometimes though, the rules aren’t as clear as you might think. If you’d like to learn more, then read on...

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We don’t need another hero

Did you know that it’s the end of the road for the Alpha male corporate animal like legendary General Electric CEO Jack Welch?

There’s no place for a Caesar type figure in modern organisations. The manager who runs his department like a king and takes all decisions himself is now dead. Long live Post Heroic Leadership.

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PTE Academic Course

Are you planning to study in the UK or another English-speaking country? If the answer is ‘yes’ then your chosen university will usually ask you to prove your level of English. Find out more about a new way we can help you to do this: our PTE Academic course.

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This is just to say...

Have you ever read a poem in English? Have you ever written one? My IGE class did both of these things this week! We read ‘This is Just to Say’ by William Carlos Williams (1883-1963), which is like a note to say ‘sorry’:

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Causative Have, Haircut

I had a few weeks off recently and during that time I decided to have my hair cut, as my hair was getting ridiculously long and untidy.

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A trip to the market!

So, did you have a good Easter? Did you follow Jon’s advice to get out of the city? I spent the long weekend in Cornwall, visiting The Eden Project and The Lost Gardens of Heligan. I have to admit, coming back to London after a few days in the countryside can seem a little unappealing at times. But three things I never get bored of in London are its parks, markets and museums. This week I’ll be giving you some useful language for strolling around markets.

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How to spend Easter weekend!

As you probably know we have a four day weekend coming up in the next few days. A lot of people, including me, will use this as an opportunity to escape the hurly burly of London by taking a short holiday.

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The Olympics London 2012

With only 120 days until The London 2012 Olympic Games begins, I thought I’d write a blog post to provide a heads-up on what is happening.

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How are you?

It's often the simplest of situations where we can feel awkward or confused when trying to speak English. This week, one of our trainers Ed wants to know: how are you?

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iPhone English: English Grammar in Use

In the latest post in our on-going series on learning through technology, this week we’re taking a look at the new English Grammar in Use app, one of the most recognisable English language learning titles out there.

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