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(Photograph from Wix) So, how did you get through immigration so quickly? When answering this type of question about a past reason, the past perfect really shines.  It makes the order of events clear for the listener.   For example, “I went through immigration quickly.  I had already gotten my visa.”  Did you spot the past perfect in the second sentence?  You will remember it uses “had” and the past participle of the main verb, in this case “gotten”.  In this situation, even

The good news is that for most students, you will have covered the math you need for GMAT before you graduated high school.  In other words, it is not high level math.  The problem is translating the English word problem into numbers and mathematical functions/operations like +, - , x, / and =.   Then, write out the formula (mathematical sentence?) including the unknown as variables like x or y. Usually there are two of these that can be combined to give an answer.  Operation

Image from Wix.com In starting ROI Business English here in Canada, there are certain steps that have to be completed. As you know, there are rules and regulations regarding setting up a business. The following of regulations is called 'compliance ': a very common and important formal business term. In our discussion, maybe it is best to start with the verb ' to comply '. You can comply with your company policy or comply with any authority when you do what they s

Image by Nano Banana Pro (Gemini) Have you ever re-taken a language test after a significant break just to see what your score would be, and if your level has changed? Fun right? I think both students and friends can relate to this one. So, in December, I retook the JLPT (Japanese TOEFL/IELTS/TOIC) that I passed many years ago. I haven't lived in Japan for 15 years but my wife is Japanese and I did a bunch of test practice questions as review over the previous few months

3..2...1... Liftoff! Vocabulary in Use: Launch, Kick off, Get the ball rolling This is the exciting launch or start of my teaching website, January 2026 which makes me think a little about words and expressions for starting things. "Launch" comes from the first time a new boat hits the water or a rocket leaves the earth. It is the beginning of a big thing. You can see why it is used for websites, products and companies. And, you can use it as a noun as I did, or a verb. For

If you need some data on almost any kind of business topic, you can take a look at the website Statista.com . Every new years, people make promises for the upcoming year called 'resolutions'. You can use the base verb, to resolve to do something, for formal decisions and promises such as, "The Board resolved to reduce waste by 10 percent." These resolutions are usually mostly personal, but I notice on this years list that there are two work related ones (see chart below

Josh Johnson, a hot American comedian, regularly posts his shows on YouTube.  He has a slow/relaxed speaking style that you might find easier to understand then the usual fast speaking comedians. M y YouTube feed ‘fed’ me his recent show ‘AI Teachers… ’.  That compares learning with an App AI and human teacher.  He comments that he and his friends have not been successful using Apps alone to learn new languages. The then suggests that the Apps are made to make money, whil

I’d like to comment on the 2025 words of the year.  Every year, certain words are recognized as particularly significant.  Dictionary sites are known to make this type of post every December.  So, what are the big winners of this year?  Parasocial (Cambridge ), an imagined relationship with a famous person or AI online.  Rage bait (Oxford), social media posts designed to provoke anger and outrage in order to get clicks. And finally, slop (Miriam-Webster), junk content online