ESL Blogs

There was an old homeless woman. She built a small house next to the fence of a king’s palace .
One day, the king saw her small simple house during his morning tour
” whose home is this?” asked the king.
“it belongs to a poor woman” people replied , “she is in the forest now to bring food."
The king ordered his soldiers to destroy her home immediately , because the simple home distorted the view of the fence of palace .

later on , when the poor woman returned home, She was astonished as she saw

I love to travel. I was fortunate to be able to travel to a few countries due to business and also leisure. I have been to the United Kingdom, Ireland, Holland, Germany, France, Belgium, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore to name a few. Most these countries are "familiar" to me. I've read about them and more or less prepared.

However, in 2010, I was asked to follow a team from my Company to go to Kathmandu, Nepal and study some business potentials over there. It was a last minute decisio

The 5 symptoms of laziness:

1.

Are you from Paraguay or Dominica ?

I would like to hear from anyone in these countries.

Many years ago I lived in Paraguay and I have relatives in Dominica.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Ian

Have you ever seen an abacus?

The abacus (plural abaci or abacuses), also called a counting frame, is a calculating tool used primarily in parts of Asia for elementary calculating.

We were in shopping last week (for buying a curtain) and the seller used an abacus for calculating the price. It was really amazing that he still used Abacus instead of calculator.

He was an old man and I took a photo from him abacus.

It is his abacus picture:

Perfect tenses with

this is the first time..., etc

1. We use present perfect tense after the following   ..*expressions: 

     *This/that/it is the first/second/third/fourth/ etc

     *This/that/it is the only...

     *This/that/it is the best/worst/finest/most interesting/ etc

       Examples:

           This is the first time (that) I've heard her sing.

           (NOT This is the first time that I hear her sing.)

           That's the third time you've asked me that question.

           (NOT That's t

You may have learned English for a very long time, but chances are you'll still find yourself having problems choosing a proper or suitable word to use. That can be a big problem for learners.

Both in conversation and in writing, learners often hesitate when they are trying to choose or use a proper word for a situation. They may find there are a lot of words with the similar meaning, and they have to choose only one from them to express themselves in the context. They may find it difficult to di

I 'm   looking for a true friend to match  to  my  soul but I can't find  him or her.

Walking at least a hour per day, is essential to keep the health.. Well it's what I've heard. So I try to follow this suggestion.. more or less. ^_^

It was nice sunny winter day, good for one of such walk. They're building a new road around of town, or highway, or I don't know what it's called. It's for the transit to bypass the town.. To reduce traffic in downtown. I decided to set that construction areas northern end, that's closest to me, as my goal today. To go to see if they have already rea

When I was in Khartoum (the Capital of the Sudan). I found a small book has an attractive title (learn English in 4 days without a teacher), in a very local bookshop. There are some word and phrases translated in Arabic in the book. I thought is easy to learn English in a few days, and I bought that book.

After the mentioned four day, I discovered it is so difficult to learn English in the identified period. Therefore I tried to join an English language university diploma. The course was a progr

I wish....

1. We can use wish + infinitive to mean want. 'Wish' is more formal.

     I wish to see the manager, please.

2. We can also use wish to express regrets - to say that we would like things to be different. We use a past tense with a present meaning in this case.

     I wish + subject + past tense

     I wish I was better-looking.

     I wish I spoke French.

     I wish I had a yacht.

     I wish it wasn't raining.

In formal style, we can use were instead of was after I wish.

     I wish I

I live in a rural area of Northern California. In my opinion, it's one of the most beautiful and majestic places on the planet. My property closely borders this large lake. https://www.google.com/search?q=folsom+lake+images&hl=en&newwindow=1&rlz=1C2GGGE_enUS468US468&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=pCIlUebnNIzuigKX4oDYBg&ved=0CDMQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=667 

The town is located about thirty miles east of Sacramento. Sightings of wild deer, turkeys, and coyotes, are not uncommon. There are many other w

Please write a caption to the picture in the comments bellow. The best caption will be added next Wednesday! thank you!

Forgive me if this blog seems too long. (Well I know it is a bit long, I can't help it).

In the loving memory of Kiwi_John, the late ESL Admin. To all previous ESL Admins; Cobra, Teabag and Chuck and to all my former chatter friends in ESL Room (now known as 1997 Chat Room); Snjura, Shrek, Tito, Shu_Man, Maria_fer, Bajo, Tiffita, Lolly, Aurora, Little Ngoh, Tristan, Maru and the rest (forgive me for I am unable to remember all your nicks).

People always asked me how do I came to know about this si

The Fact

      There was a joke about the sun. It was said that two persons were arguing about the sun. The first said, "This is the sun." The second said, "No, this is not the sun." Suddenly a  man appeared and they asked him whether that yellow ball above was the sun or not. His answer was, " I am not from this country." If the truth, the fact are in front of you, surrender.

It seems that I cannot stop writing at the moment. I guess I was bitten by the writing bug. I just want to keep on writing and so afraid that one of these days the so called "writer's block" will hit my head hard, and I cannot even write a simple sentence.

However, I am not good in what people call "creative writing". There are a few ideas running through my mind, but I cannot seem be able to put a few coherent sentences. So, I decided for the moment, I will write my experiences such as my workin

the same

......1.  We always use the before same.

................A.  Give me the same again, please.
....................    (NOT Give me same again, please.)

................B.   I want the same shirt as my friend’s.
....................    (NOT I want a same shirt like my friend.)

......2.  We use the same … as before a noun or pronoun.

................Her hair’s the same colour as her mother’s.
................(NOT Her hair’s the same colour like her mother’s.)

......3.  We use the same … that be

Here are some common acronyms that you'll often see when chatting to English speakers in an informal environment.

LOL - (I am) laughing out loud.
ROFL - (I am) rolling on the floor laughing.
ASL? - (What is your) age/sex/location?
BRB - (I will) be right back.
GTG - (I have) got to go.
BB - Blackberry
WTF - What the funk!
TTYL - Talk to you later.
OMG - Oh my goodness/god!
GG - Good game.
TY - Thank you.
ETA - Estimated time of arrival
WB - Welcome back.
ASAP - As soon as possible.

Some of you are now aware that we are no longer allowed to post useful links in the main page.  This is becasue a few have been posting malicious links.  This has allowed the perpetrators to win and the majority have lost out on having this useful feature.  As you are aware I can often post a link to any questions regarding english or post a link to start a topic for discussion.

 Surely we can be treated as adults and a warning could have been posted on the home page.  Also there is plenty of dow

There are too many friends however good friends are hard to find. Diamonds are scarce however good friends are scarcer. Diamonds can be purchased by money but good friends can’t be. Those are lucky who have good friends, and those are rather luckier who know the value of good friends earlier before it become too late. In times of prosperity friends are plenty; in times of adversity not one in twenty. The real friend is the one who comes in when the world goes out. Your just one word can save a l