Let’s explore the puzzling world of English apostrophes.

This tiny punctuation mark may seem harmless, but its usage can be a tricky path to navigate—even for native speakers of English.

The Misunderstood Mark

So what exactly does this tiny squiggle do? Well, it has a few jobs:

• Contractions: One of its favourite gigs is joining two words together and making them shorter. For example, “can not” becomes “can’t.” “Will not” becomes “won’t,” and so on.
• Possession: The apostrophe also likes to show ownership. When something belongs to someone or something, the apostrophe steps in. For example, “my colleague’s books” means the books belonging to my colleague. But if a person’s name ends with an ‘s,’ an apostrophe plus ‘s’ is added. For example, “Charles’s birthday is in June.”

The Tricky Part: Apostrophes and Plurals

The apostrophe goes before the ‘s’ for singular nouns or names. But for plural nouns, it goes after the ‘s.’

For instance, “My colleagues’ books” refers to the books of several colleagues. But “my colleague’s books” are the books of one single colleague.

Remember these tips, and you’ll be an apostrophe pro!

False friends can cause confusion because they look and sound like words you know. But they actually have a different meaning.

Imagine you’re sitting in a meeting with international colleagues. You want to impress them and proudly announce, “I’m actually a chef“. Even though you’ve taken a cooking class, you’re not a professional chef. This could confuse them.

And the word ‘actually‘ means ‘tatsächlich‘, not ‘aktuell‘. Remember?

So, there we have it—pure confusion!

What about the harmless-looking ‘eventually‘?

It doesn’t mean ‘eventuell‘, but ‘schließlich‘ or ‘irgendwann einmal’. If you want to express the idea “Ich werde eventuell kommen“, say “I might come.” Don’t use “I will eventually come.”

You’re telling someone they are wise or smart when you say, “You are sensible.”  It’s a compliment for their ability to think and understand things well. You’re not suggesting that they are easily upset or sensitive.

And finally, we have the word ‘become‘. No, it does not mean ‘bekommen‘ at all, but ‘werden‘! So, if you say, “I become a coffee“, you will certainly get strange looks.

But don’t worry. With a little practice and awareness, you can elegantly avoid these little pitfalls.

Are there other false friends that you have stumbled across?

Question tags are like little stickers you put on the end of sentences. They’re similar to the German: “oder?” and “nicht wahr?”.

But why do we use them?

1. To confirm information. Imagine you’re in a meeting. You want to ensure everyone understands and agrees on the topic being discussed. You could say, “We’re meeting again next Tuesday at 9am, aren’t we?”
2. To seek agreement. For example, at lunch together, “This pizza is delicious, isn’t it?“
3. To soften a statement. Instead of claiming, “You don’t understand,” you could say, “You do understand, don’t you?“
4. To add emphasis. For example, if you want to convince someone that your solution is the best, you could say, “Our solution is the most efficient one, isn’t it?“

Question tags are a fun and easy way to make your English sound more natural. So next time you’re speaking English, try using a few and see how it goes!

Now here’s a mini-quiz to see how well you understand question tags:

1. You speak English very well, _____?
2. They’ve been living in London for years, _____?
3. It’s going to rain tomorrow, _____?
4. Mark doesn’t play tennis, _____?
5. I’m late, _____?
6. They flew to Malta, _____?
7. You don’t need my help, _____?
8. It won’t cost too much, _____?

Good luck!

And now the answers:

1. don’t you
2. haven’t they
3. isn’t it
4. does he
5. aren’t I
6. didn’t they
7. do you
8. will it

You’re at a networking event, chatting with someone, and then… well, silence.

How do you escape this situation? How can you leave without coming across as rude or leaving a lasting negative impression?

Don’t worry, I have a few tips for you!

1. Thank the other person for their time. While this may seem obvious, this gesture is actually very powerful. It shows respect and appreciation for the other person and their time. Saying “Thank you for our inspiring conversation” is powerful. Expressing “I really appreciated your thoughts on this” can also have a strong impact.
2. Then comes the transition. We all know those moments of silence when no one knows quite what to say next. Use phrases like “It’s been great chatting with you” or “I should get going.” These are perfect for putting an end to the conversation while still exuding friendliness.
3. Offer to stay in touch. You can simply say, “Let’s connect on LinkedIn.” Or you might express real interest with, “I’d love to hear how your project is progressing.” By offering to keep the connection going, you show interest and openness for future discussions.
4. And finally, say goodbye with a smile. This makes the other person feel good and cheers up their day. It doesn’t matter what kind of conversation you both had beforehand.

So, how do you go about it when it’s time to go? What do you say?

You know how sometimes English can feel a bit like a mysterious maze?

Well, don’t worry! Today, we’re going to explore the “present continuous” or “present progressive” tense.

Imagine you’re telling someone in German, “Ich fahre ins Büro, um meine Papiere zu holen.“

In English, you might say, “I drive to the office to get my papers.” 

But wait. We need the present continuous to talk about things happening right now!

So, instead of saying, “I drive to the office,” it would be correct to say, “I’m driving to the office.”

Do you see the difference?

Let’s dive deeper and see how to use the present continuous correctly:

1. Right Now Actions: Use it for things that are happening at or around the time of speaking: “I’m talking to my colleague on the phone at the moment.“
2. Future Plans: Use it for things you have already arranged to do in the future. “We’re meeting our client tomorrow.”
3. Always Actions: Use it with words like “always” or “constantly” if something happens often. For example, “She’s always forgetting her keys.” (It means she forgets them a bit too much!)

And there you are!

Before you go, tell me: What’s the funniest language mix-up you’ve ever had?

PS If you’re looking for cool English grammar tips or have specific topics you’re interested in, please tell me!