How to write a blog entry / post

 

Summary as in the book

Characteristics (bullet points)

Inthinking 

Samples + explanations

Blogging students (The Guardian)

GIVING EXAMPLES

 

PRACTISE GIVING EXAMPLES ABOUT THESE CATEGORIES:

1. Places you’d like to go 
2.  People you’d like to meet 
3. Scientists 
4. British people 
5. European people 
6. Things which are becoming less popular
7.  Crimes which you imagine are more common abroad 
8. Sources of the news you rarely or never use 
9. Things I have watched in English without Japanese subtitles 
10. Things I can cook 
11. People I admire 
12. Songs I know the lyrics of

REPORTED SPEECH (ADVANCED)

WRITTEN EXPLANATIONS with QUIZZES,  by the  The British Council

Reported Speech 1 (statemenents):  

Reported Speech 2 (questions) 

Reported Speech 3 (reporting verbs) 

EXPLANATION WITH TABLES: Perfect English Grammar

VIDEO EXPLANATION

 

VIDEO EXERCISE  

PUT IT INTO PRACTICE: report what Lenlen (not her real name) said about being kicked out when she caught Covid.

 

EXERCISES:

English Grammar: intermediate and advanced

Agendaweb: lots of exercises on the reported speech

TEST YOURSELF KAHOOT

LOCAL vs BUILDING

 

• a local accent
• local issues
• a local newspaper/radio station
• Most of the local population depend on fishing for their income.
• Our children all go to the local school.
• Many local shops will be forced to close if the new supermarket is built

• an apartment/office building
• Many buildings were badly damaged or destroyed by the earthquake.
• The museum is an impressive building.
• an office/apartment/industrial building

.

CONNECTORS OF ADDITION: TOO, ALSO, AS WELL (AS), EITHER

 AS WELL AS

English Grammar: explanation + good examples + exercises offline (AS WELL AS = IN ADDITION TO)

Learning English

EspressoEnglish

Exercise: Also, As Well As, Or Too (choose)

Exercise: Too-Also-As well (choose)
Exercise: also, too as well (choose)

ALSO -TOO - EITHER

Explanation of ALSO, TOO, EITHER  in English, with examples

Explanation + exercises: change the sentences form affirmative to negative
Exercise : choose also, too, either

Exercise: also / too or either.

AS WELL AS

As Well As” in a Sentence: How to Use It (with Examples)

Explanation + Quiz: AS WELL AS

VIDEO explanation: correct use of AS WELL AS

SENTENCES with AS WELL AS

Exercise : ADDITION, ADVANCED LEVEL . Two-answer-choice (furthermore, what's more, moreover, as well as, in addition to, besides, also)

Advanced level

"I wish I were" vs "I wish I was"

I wish I were is actually the preference of grammar experts because you’re talking about something that hasn’t actually occurred.

How to use I wish I were in a sentence

The subjunctive refers to words that describe doubtful situations—like wishes for things that aren’t real, that is wanted or desired but is not immediately possible.That’s why you’ll see I wish I were used in these examples:

I wish I were joking, but I really did crush the cake as it was coming out of the oven.

My mother was a great baker, and I wish I were more like her.

I wish I were older—I really want my own car!

 Why we still hear I wish I was

I wish I was a little bit taller

Well, let’s face it: some of our favorite songs are chock full of grammatical errors. These ’90s favorites aren’t exactly wrong. They’re simply non-standard.

While grammarians will tell you to stick to I wish I were to follow the rules of the subjunctive, language has evolved, and the non-standard I wish I was has become increasingly popular. Our advice?

If you’re looking to write a hit song, it’s fine to use the less formal I wish I was. If you’re writing a paper for your English professor, on the other hand, stick with the grammarians, and use I wish I were. (Thesaurus)

Alternatively, you should use the phrase “if I was…” when referring to something that actually happened. For example, 

“If I was late for curfew when I was a teenager, my parents grounded me.”

This variation is a lot less common, but it does come up.

A good trick to decide which you want to use is to determine if the thing you are talking about is something that actually happened or something that you are wishing or imagining might have happened. If it really happened, use “if I was,” but if not, go with “if I were.” (Reader's Digest)

See Wordreference Forums   Quora forum

"I wish I were" is the most correct form, and, if you are writing a formal piece of writing, definitely go for it. No one can tell you that you are wrong.

Verbs to use after RECOMMEND and SUGGEST

Each verb can be followed by:

a noun phrase

a that-clause

or a gerund

RECOMMEND and SUGGEST

1)    recommend + gerund

My doctor recommends eating fresh fruit every day.

 I suggest taking a walk after lunch.

2)    recommend + that + independent clause

We recommend that you buy your tickets early.

 Toni suggests that we hit the road by 6 in the morning.

 hen we use pronouns in the THAT clause, we always use the subject pronoun before the base verb. Usually, in American English, the base verb is used regardless of the subject of the that clause (even with he, she, or it): subjunctive.

She suggested that I go (went) to that store.

I suggested that she go  (went)to that store. Not, I suggested that she goes…

Jack recommended that he go (went) to that store. Not, I suggested that he goes…

The sofa? The decorator recommended that it go (went) in front of the window. Not, …recommended that it goes…

EXPLANATION 1: Spanish

EXPLANATION 2: English (with two videos)

P.S: it's not correct to use infinitive or SHOULD, no matter whether you see it in some webpages. They're typical error made by non native speakers (infinitive mistake) or even native people (SHOULD mistake)