English Tips for ESL Learners

October 12, 2008

English can be a challenging second language.  It’s a big language with a daunting amount of vocabulary.  Much of that vocabulary is confusing or contradictory, with homonyms that sound the same but are spelled differently, and inconsistent spelling rules.  Regular verbs in English are fairly simple to conjugate, but there are many, many irregular verbs.  When the rules and exceptions have been mastered, you still must learn English idioms, phrases which mean more than the literal translation of their words.

English Vocabulary

English is a living and evolving language with a rich, diverse history.  Much of English has its roots in Latin, and this gives the language a certain order and predictability.  English, however, has borrowed from dozens of languages over the years.  This wealth of diversity makes the study of English an endlessly fascinating challenge.

Homonyms

One of the toughest challenges in building an English vocabulary is differentiating between homonyms, words which sound the same but have a different meaning.  Sometimes the spelling is the same.  A “vault” is a safe or strongbox.  “To vault” is to jump over something.

Often homonyms are spelled differently.  Here is a list of a few common homonyms.  There are many more.

It’s - It is.
Its - Belonging to it.  This is an exception to the usual rule about using an apostrophe to indicate possession.

Led - Past tense of the verb “to lead.”
Lead (pronounced “led”) - a soft, heavy grey metal.

Break - To badly damage something; a gap or interruption.
Brake - To stop.

Higher - With more height.
Hire - To employ.

Peace - The opposite of war or strife.
Piece - Part of something.

Spelling Rules

English spelling can be distressingly inconsistent.  “Stuff,” “tough,” and “Ralph” all end with the same sound.  “Ambitious,” “vicious,” and “shoes” just about rhyme, while “tough” and “plough” sound very different.  To make matters worse, spellings vary in different parts of the world.  “Plough” is the British spelling for a farming implement that would be called a “plow” in the United States.

Here is an example of a mnemonic device for remembering spelling.

I before E, except after C,
or when sounded like “ay,” as in “neighbor” and “weigh.”

This covers many situations.

I before E - this covers words like “relief” and “grieve”

except after C - this covers words like “conceive” and “receipt”

or when sounded like “ay,” as in “neighbor” and “weigh” - this covers words like “freight”

However, there are still exceptions.  The past tense or plural form of words ending in “cy” will be “cied” or “cies.”  Examples include “fancied” and “emergencies.”  There are many other exceptions, including “conscience,” “ancient,” “glacier,” and “society.”

Plurals

The rules in English for creating the plural form of nouns are fairly simple.  Add an “s” to the end of the word.  If the word ends in “y,” change the “y” to “ies.”  If the word ends in “f,” change the “f” to “ves.”  There are, however, many exceptions.  Here are a few examples.

Singular    Plural
mouse    mice
moose    moose
goose        geese
cow        cows or cattle
child        children

Verbs

The English language has many irregular verbs.  The most significant example is the verb “to be.”

I am hungry.
You are hungry.
He is hungry.
I will be hungry.
Yesterday I was hungry.

Many verbs have an irregular form in the past tense.  Here are some common examples.

Present    Past
catch         caught
come        came
do        did
fly        flew
freeze        froze
get         got
hide         hid
send        sent
sleep        slept
take        took
tell        told

Idioms

An idiom is a common figurative expression.  An idiom will usually be recognized immediately by a native English speaker, but the meaning may not be clear to someone from another culture.  Here are some examples of common English idioms.

A bit much - excessive; too much

A little bird told me - someone told me, and I don’t want to say who

A penny for your thoughts - what are you thinking about?

About-face - a complete change of direction or opinion

Made of money - has plenty of money

Make a mountain out of a molehill - make a small problem seem much bigger
Much ado about nothing - a lot of fuss about something insignificant

Packed like sardines - extremely crowded

Pain in the neck - something annoying

Paint the town red - go out partying and drinking

Put your foot in your mouth - say something inappropriate or embarrassing

Tall order - something difficult to achieve

Tall tale - a story that is exaggerated and untrue

Think outside the box - think creatively, without limitations

Tongue in cheek - something spoken “with tongue in cheek” is not meant to be taken seriously

Baby boomer - an American or Canadian born just after World War II

Egg on your face - you look foolish or embarrassed

Elbow grease - hard physical work

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