British Bad Words

One of the most interesting and difficult things about learning a new language is learning which words are bad, and how bad they are. If you learn English, for example, we have the words crap and shit. Both have the same meaning, but shit is a much stronger word. Your mom might tell you not to say shit, but most people don't mind crap.

A recent article at British newspaper The Indepedent describes a survey that was done by the British government's Ofcom (of + com = office of communications). This office decides what language is okay to say on TV. In the UK some language and content is acceptable after 9:00, when most kids are not watching, but not okay before that.

In the survey, they asked 200 people to rank bad words. Different rankings were mild (not bad, okay for kids), medium (maybe okay on TV before 9:00pm), strong (mostly okay on TV after 9:00pm), strongest (never okay before 9:00, generally okay after).

Here's the full list (sorry Mom! 🙊)

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If you like this, check out these other great English posts!

Collocates with Summer

Collocates with summer

It's summer in Boston! ☀️😎🏖

Let's take a look at some of the words that are most common after summer. Remember, a collocate is a word that is often used with another word.  Focusing on collocation is a very good way to learn common English phrases and expressions. 

Here are some of the most common words after summer that we hope you find useful as you learn English!

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If this was helpful, check out these other English collocates!

This, That, These, Those - Demonstratives

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What are This, That ,These, and Those?

This, that, these, and those are called demonstratives.

Demonstratives are grammar words that we use to show if an object or idea is close to or far from the person speaking. You can say that we use demonstratives to demonstrate where things are and how many there are.

This and that are both singular demonstratives. These and those are both plural.

This hat is Jayne's.

That scarf is Ennio's

These sneakers are Santiago's

Those gloves are Maya's

This and these are used for things that are here, close to the speaker. That and those are used for things that are there, far from the speaker. Close and far here can mean physical distance or psychological distance.

This pen here is Jayne's

These keys I'm holding are Ennio's

That stapler over there is Santiago's

Those books on the table are Maya's

There are two ways that we use the determiners this, that, these, and those. We can use them as pronouns or as determiners.

Demonstrative Determiners

Demonstrative determiners come before a noun, as part of the noun phrase. Because they come before a noun, demonstrative determiners are sometimes inaccurately called demonstrative adjectives.

this fish

that squid

these clams

those crabs

Demonstrative determiners give us information about the quantity and location of nouns. If we say this apple, we know there is one apple, and it's right here. If someone says those apples, it usually means many apples, and they are over there, not close to the speaker.

This and that are both singular, meaning they only talk about one thing.  This is for a thing that is close to us, and that is for a thing that is far away. These and  those are both plural, used to talk about many things. These is for things that are close to us, and those is for things that are far away.

This, that, these, and those are all demonstratives: they demonstrate where things are and how many there are. In the examples above, they all come before nouns, which makes them  determiners. But these same four words can also be used without nouns, acting as pronouns. In that case they are called  demonstrative pronouns. 

Demonstrative Pronouns

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Today, we will take a look at another, similar way to use this, that, these, and those. We can also use these words without a noun after them. For example, we can say, "This is a hammer." Here, this doesn't go before the subject of the sentence; it is the subject of the sentence. It works takes the place a noun and represents the thing, the hammer. Words that stand in place of a noun are called pronouns. So in these sentences, this, that, these, and those are called demonstrative pronouns. See the graphic below for some more examples.

One more time, if they come directly before a noun, this, that, these, and those are called demonstrative determiners. If they replace a noun, acting as a subject or object, they are called demonstrative pronouns.

Notice that the meanings are the same for demonstrative determiners and demonstrative pronouns. This and that are both singular. These and those are both plural. This and these are both for things that are close. That and those are both for things that are over there.

Other free grammar resources

Anatomy of an Email - Greeting

The punctuation you use at the end of an email greeting is important!  

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Launch - Definition

Lead, Supervise, Manage, Oversee, Direct, Administer

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Sky Collocates

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