Alfred Tennyson was a celebrated 19th century English poet whose life and work largely coincided with the reign of Queen Victoria. He was in many ways the embodiment of the Victorian literary tastes and widely recognised as Britainโs leading poet of the time, not the least through being honoured with the title of the Poet …
Flocks of birds: ‘a murder of crows’ and other terms of venery
As Iโm writing this on an early autumn evening, I can see a large group of crows flying over the nearby trees. With a golden sunset as a backdrop, itโs a stunning sight, and one I get to enjoy a lot this time of year. Inspired by that scene, in this post I'd like to …
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Eighty years of “The Famous Five”
Enid Blytonโs book series The Famous Five turns eighty this year! Still much loved by children all over the world and translated into numerous languages, the series describes the holiday adventures of brothers Julian and Dick, their sister Anne, cousin George (Georgina, that is), and Georgeโs pet dog Timmy.
Grammar practice: adjectives in -ed and -ing
[This post has been written with ESL/EFL students in mind, CEFR level B1 and above.] Are you bored or boring? Was the last film you saw interested or interesting? There are many adjectives in English that can be used with the endings -ed and -ing, and students sometimes confuse them. If you are unsure when …
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