Morteza Mirmojarabian

Articles: a, an, or the?

2026-11-01T00:00:00+03:30

Articles are small words that cause big headaches. This short exercise covers the four choices you make every day: a, an, the, and no article at all.

Quick reminders

Use a / an for one of many, or the first time you mention something. Choose between them by sound, not spelling: an hour, a university.
Use the when both people know which one you mean, or when there is only one.
Use no article with meals (have breakfast) and with general plurals and uncountable nouns (I like music).

Affect vs. Effect: A Simple Rule That Works Almost Every Time

2026-10-30T00:00:00+03:30

Affect and effect sound almost the same, look almost the same, and are closely related in meaning, which is exactly why they cause so much trouble. The good news: one simple rule gives you the right word nine times out of ten.

The rule

Affect is usually a verb. It means to influence or to change something.
Effect is usually a noun. It means a result or a change that has happened.

Word	Part of speech	Meaning	Example
affect	verb	to influence	The noise affected my concentration.
effect	noun	a result	The noise had a bad effect on my concentration.

A memory trick

Affect is an Action (a verb). Effect is the End result (a noun).

You can also swap in a synonym to test yourself:

Smoking can affect your health. You could say influence your health, so it is affect.
Smoking has a harmful effect on your health. You could say a harmful result, so it is effect.

The exceptions (for the curious)

You will meet these two in more formal English:

Effect as a verb means to bring about: “The new manager hopes to effect real change.” She wants to cause the change.
Affect as a noun is a psychology term for visible emotion: “The patient showed a flat affect.”

If you are learning English for everyday life, you can safely ignore these two uses for now. You will recognize them when you see them.

Try it yourself

Choose the correct word:

The new rule will (affect / effect) everyone in the department.
What (affect / effect) did the medicine have on you?
Lack of sleep can seriously (affect / effect) your memory.
The special (affects / effects) in the film were amazing.

Show the answers

Present Perfect: Fill in the Blanks

2026-10-27T00:00:00+03:30

The present perfect (have / has + past participle) connects the past with the present. We use it for experiences, for situations that continue until now, and for past events that matter now.

Not sure when to choose it over the simple past? Read Present Perfect or Simple Past? How to Choose first, then come back and try the exercise.

Present Perfect or Simple Past? How to Choose

2026-10-24T00:00:00+03:30

Many learners know the forms of both tenses but still hesitate when they have to choose. This post gives you one question to ask yourself and a short list of signal words.

One question to ask

Is the time finished and clearly in the past, or does the situation connect to now?

Finished time: use the simple past. I visited Isfahan in 2019.
Connection to now (or time that is not finished): use the present perfect. I have visited Isfahan three times.

Signal words

Usually simple past	Usually present perfect
yesterday	already
last week / month / year	yet
in 2019	just
two days ago	ever / never
when I was a child	for / since
(any specific, finished time)	so far / recently / lately

A very common mistake

Because yesterday names a finished time, the present perfect does not fit:

I have seen him yesterday.

I saw him yesterday.

Same verb, different meaning

The tense changes what the listener understands:

I lived in Tehran for five years. I don’t live there now.
I have lived in Tehran for five years. I still live there.
How long did you work there? You don’t work there any more.
How long have you worked here? You still work here.

Practice

Ready to test yourself? Try the Present Perfect fill-in-the-blanks exercise.

Build the Sentence: Word Order Practice

2026-10-20T00:00:00+03:30

Word order is one of the biggest differences between languages, and English is strict about it. In this exercise you rebuild six sentences from scrambled words. Tap a word to add it to your sentence, and tap it again to take it back. Some sentences can be built in more than one natural order, and every natural order is accepted.

Tip: find the verb first, then ask who does it and what happens next.

Five Collocations That Make Your English Sound Natural

2026-10-18T00:00:00+03:30

A collocation is a group of words that naturally go together. English speakers say heavy rain and make a decision. They don’t say strong rain or do a decision, even though you would be understood. Choosing the right partner word is one of the quickest ways to sound more natural.

1. Make or do?

make	do
make a decision	do homework
make a mistake	do the dishes
make progress	do your best
make an effort	do research

Make is often about creating or producing something, and do is often about tasks and activities. That is only a tendency, so learn the phrases as whole units.

2. Heavy or strong?

heavy: heavy rain, heavy traffic, a heavy smoker
strong: strong coffee, strong wind, a strong accent

3. Take a…

take a break, take a photo, take a chance, take your time

4. Pay attention

We pay attention, not give it. Other natural partners: pay a compliment, pay a visit.

5. Fast or quick?

fast describes speed: a fast car, a fast train, fast internet
quick describes something that takes a short time: a quick look, a quick question, a quick shower
Some pairs are fixed: fast food

How to learn collocations

Learn chunks, not single words. When you meet decision, write down make a decision.
Notice them when you read. Highlight verb + noun pairs in articles and stories.
Use a learner’s dictionary. Good ones list the common partners of each word.
Use them. Write one sentence about your own life for each new chunk.

Tip: when a phrase feels odd, check it. Translating word for word from your first language is the most common source of unnatural collocations.

How to Learn Phrasal Verbs Without Memorizing Long Lists

2026-10-10T00:00:00+03:30

A phrasal verb is a verb plus a small word (a particle) such as up, out, or off. Together they often mean something different from the verb on its own: give up (stop trying), look after (take care of), run out of (have none left).

Why long lists don’t work

There are thousands of phrasal verbs, and many have several meanings. Pick up can mean to lift something, to collect someone, to learn something casually (pick up a few words), or to improve (sales picked up). A list cannot show you which meaning you need, but a situation can.

Habit 1: Learn them in situations

Group phrasal verbs by the place or moment where you would use them:

Situation	Phrasal verbs
At the airport	check in, take off, pick someone up, see someone off
At the office	set up a meeting, carry on, call off, hand in

Habit 2: Notice what the particle does

Particles often carry a pattern of meaning:

up: increase or finish (speed up, use up)
down: reduce (slow down, cut down)
out: disappear or share (run out, hand out)
off: start or end (set off, call off)
back: return (come back, pay back)

These patterns are shortcuts, not rules. They help you guess, but always check.

Habit 3: Check whether it can be split

Some phrasal verbs are separable: turn off the light, turn the light off, turn it off (never turn off it). Others are not: look after the kids, look after them (never look the kids after). A learner’s dictionary marks this for you.

Habit 4: Use them within a week

Write three sentences about your own day with the new phrasal verbs, then look at them again after two days and after a week. Seeing a phrase a few times, spaced out, is what moves it into your active vocabulary.