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The words “ We Forget” are spoken on Remembrance Day, commemorating the end of the First World War when the armistice brought hostilities to an end “at the 11th hour…
at present, these days
Often the use of the simple present tense suffices to indicate that an assertion is being made about the present state of affairs, including the “factual present” sense used when…
in (the) future
In the future is used at the beginning or end of a sentence and means from some point in the future onward: There will be peace on earth in the…
Effects, etc.
Some sentences from the BAWE Corpus (via Web Concordance English) to help prise apart the meanings of the related nouns effect, result, influence, impact, consequence, repercussion, outcome, fallout, aftermath, upshot,…
Folding, flattening, weaving
The convoluted paths of etymology lead us from many English words* to the Latin verb plicare – to fold or weave. Here we look at three examples common in academic…
A heart-to-heart
Take heart, don’t take it to heart. The fact that, with a sinking heart, you have seen the heart of your argument collapse (in your heart of hearts you knew…
Collocations: the word information
Which words collocate (go together) with the word information? Dictionaries of collocations are available in bookshops and online and can be a very useful tool for academic writing. One example…
The word ‘data’
Is data countable or uncountable? Singular or plural? Can you identify incorrect use of the word data in two of the sentences below? 1 After comparing the data from the…
Historic or historical?
Both words are adjectives but they have very different meanings. In a _____________ step towards nuclear disarmament, Gorbachev and Reagan signed the INF Treaty in 1987. Czech attitudes towards religion…