The English Grammar Club

🍵 Loose-leaf or tea bag? There’s a grammar choice hiding in the comparison too.

Loose-leaf tea is often preferred ______ tea bags because the leaves have more room to expand.

a) from
b) than
c) to

Which one fits best? 👇



Curious about your overall level? Try our test: https://www.artofspeaking.it/

You can discuss your work, explain a technical problem and answer questions in a meeting. Then someone asks what you did at the weekend, and the conversation suddenly feels much harder.

Small talk rarely follows a clear structure. You have to choose a suitable topic, judge how much detail to share and keep the exchange moving without knowing exactly where it is going.

There are also social expectations to interpret. Is the other person genuinely interested? Should you ask a question in return? How do you avoid sounding too formal or too direct?

Even confident English speakers can find these informal moments surprisingly demanding.

Our latest Knowledge Centre article explores why small talk can feel difficult in English and what makes casual conversation a skill in its own right.

https://www.artofspeaking.it/why-is-small-talk-so-difficult-in-english/

Which feels harder in English: talking about your work or making small talk?

Why Is Small Talk So Difficult in English? Why is small talk so difficult in English? Explore why informal conversation can feel harder than more structured speaking, and what can make it easier.

You can also follow on Instagram to see more.

🍎 One simple fruit, a lot of symbolism.

The apple is often used ______ a symbol of health, knowledge or temptation.

a) like
b) as
c) for

Which one fits? 👇



Curious about your overall level? Try our test: https://www.artofspeaking.it/

You can hold a conversation, explain your ideas and deal with unexpected questions in English. Yet somehow, you still feel like a beginner.

This often happens because we judge our English by the moments that feel difficult rather than by everything we can already do.

A forgotten word, an awkward pause or a sentence that comes out differently from the one in your head can quickly overshadow an otherwise successful conversation.

Comparing your English with your first language makes the gap feel even wider. Naturally, you notice everything you cannot yet express with the same sp*ed, precision or personality.

The result is that your ability may have improved considerably while your perception of it has barely changed.

Our latest Knowledge Centre article looks at why competent speakers can underestimate their progress and what a more realistic view of your English might look like.

https://www.artofspeaking.it/why-can-i-speak-english-quite-well-but-still-feel-like-a-beginner/

How often do you judge your English by what went wrong instead of what you communicated successfully?

Why Can I Speak English Quite Well but Still Feel Like a Beginner? Why Can I Speak English Quite Well but Still Feel Like a Beginner?

Some people cook.
Some people boil, simmer, fry, bake, roast, grill, steam, toast or barbecue. 😄🔥

If your entire cooking vocabulary is “cook”, we need to talk.

How many of these nine do you actually use?

How much has the camera in your pocket changed photography? 📱📷

Smartphone cameras have improved so much that many people now rely _____ them instead of carrying a separate camera.

a) from
b) on
c) of

Which one fits?

Some English vocabulary doesn’t always make it into the textbook. 😄

Fart, gargle, throw up, spit, p*e, poo, burp, sneeze, cough…

How many of these did you already know?

Let’s get your English off on the right foot. 🦶

To get off on the right foot means to start something well.

“We got off on the right foot and worked well together from day one.”

But while we’re talking about feet, how well do you know the vocabulary?

Ankle, heel, sole, instep, arch, ball of the foot…

Some parts are surprisingly difficult to name, even when we’ve been walking around with them all our lives.

How many did you already know?

Do you know English like the back of your hand? ✋

If you know something like the back of your hand, you know it extremely well.

You might say:

“I know Milan like the back of my hand.”

“I’ve been doing this job for twenty years. I know it like the back of my hand.”

But here’s the question.

How well do you actually know the back of your hand… in English?

Index finger, middle finger and thumb might be easy.

But what about knuckle, palm, wrist and little finger?

Sometimes the most familiar things reveal vocabulary we’ve simply never needed to learn.

So, do you know your English like the back of your hand?