#learningenglish — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #learningenglish, aggregated by home.social.
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It's the spring equinox and the time for another quarterly ebook. This time it's a short story by Sherwood Anderson (1876-1941).
"Departure" is about a young man leaving his small hometown to begin a new life in a big city. As he sets off, thoughts about the familiar people and places fill him with melancholy.
It’s a bittersweet story that I hope you will enjoy! As always, there are vocabulary explanations in the footnotes.
Visit the Grammaticus website today to get you free PDF: https://grammaticus.blog/2026/03/21/free-ebook-departure-by-sherwood-anderson
#literature #shortstory #reading #americanliterature #englishteacher #learningenglish #books #ebooks
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It's the spring equinox and the time for another quarterly ebook. This time it's a short story by Sherwood Anderson (1876-1941).
"Departure" is about a young man leaving his small hometown to begin a new life in a big city. As he sets off, thoughts about the familiar people and places fill him with melancholy.
It’s a bittersweet story that I hope you will enjoy! As always, there are vocabulary explanations in the footnotes.
Visit the Grammaticus website today to get you free PDF: https://grammaticus.blog/2026/03/21/free-ebook-departure-by-sherwood-anderson
#literature #shortstory #reading #americanliterature #englishteacher #learningenglish #books #ebooks
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It's the spring equinox and the time for another quarterly ebook. This time it's a short story by Sherwood Anderson (1876-1941).
"Departure" is about a young man leaving his small hometown to begin a new life in a big city. As he sets off, thoughts about the familiar people and places fill him with melancholy.
It’s a bittersweet story that I hope you will enjoy! As always, there are vocabulary explanations in the footnotes.
Visit the Grammaticus website today to get you free PDF: https://grammaticus.blog/2026/03/21/free-ebook-departure-by-sherwood-anderson
#literature #shortstory #reading #americanliterature #englishteacher #learningenglish #books #ebooks
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It's the spring equinox and the time for another quarterly ebook. This time it's a short story by Sherwood Anderson (1876-1941).
"Departure" is about a young man leaving his small hometown to begin a new life in a big city. As he sets off, thoughts about the familiar people and places fill him with melancholy.
It’s a bittersweet story that I hope you will enjoy! As always, there are vocabulary explanations in the footnotes.
Visit the Grammaticus website today to get you free PDF: https://grammaticus.blog/2026/03/21/free-ebook-departure-by-sherwood-anderson
#literature #shortstory #reading #americanliterature #englishteacher #learningenglish #books #ebooks
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It's the spring equinox and the time for another quarterly ebook. This time it's a short story by Sherwood Anderson (1876-1941).
"Departure" is about a young man leaving his small hometown to begin a new life in a big city. As he sets off, thoughts about the familiar people and places fill him with melancholy.
It’s a bittersweet story that I hope you will enjoy! As always, there are vocabulary explanations in the footnotes.
Visit the Grammaticus website today to get you free PDF: https://grammaticus.blog/2026/03/21/free-ebook-departure-by-sherwood-anderson
#literature #shortstory #reading #americanliterature #englishteacher #learningenglish #books #ebooks
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Free ebook: “Departure” by Sherwood Anderson
Dear all,
It’s the spring equinox and the time for another quarterly ebook. This time it’s a short story by Sherwood Anderson (1876-1941), American novelist and short story writer best known for his book ” Winesburg, Ohio: A Group of Tales of Ohio Small Town Life.”
Departure comes from that same collection of stories. It’s about a young man leaving his small hometown to begin a new life in a big city. As he’s leaving, thoughts about the familiar people and places fill him with melancholy. It’s a bittersweet story that I hope you will enjoy!
To get your PDF copy with vocabulary notes, please click on the link below:
If you’d like to access more ebooks, visit the English Library section of this website.
NOTES
I’m a freelance language tutor (English, Latin, Classical Greek), researcher, and a literary scholar currently based in Belgrade, Serbia.
If you wish to receive new content from my blog – as soon as it’s published – please enter your email address in the box below. You can also subscribe to my free monthly Newsletter and get a regular recap with additional content.
To support my work, you can send me a donation via PayPal. It would be greatly appreciated!
COVER PHOTO CREDIT
#AmericanLiterature #ebook #English #EnglishLiterature #EnglishVocabulary #freeDownload #freebie #learningEnglish #literature #readingComprehension #readingSkills #shortStory -
William Carlos Williams, died #OTD in 1963.
Visit the Grammaticus blog today and enjoy his short poem "Winter Trees" - it may appear to be about trees in winter, but it’s just as much about us.
https://grammaticus.blog/2025/01/22/winter-trees-by-william-carlos-williams/
#poem #poetry #williamcarloswilliams #literature #americanliterature #learningenglish #englishteacher
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William Carlos Williams, died #OTD in 1963.
Visit the Grammaticus blog today and enjoy his short poem "Winter Trees" - it may appear to be about trees in winter, but it’s just as much about us.
https://grammaticus.blog/2025/01/22/winter-trees-by-william-carlos-williams/
#poem #poetry #williamcarloswilliams #literature #americanliterature #learningenglish #englishteacher
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William Carlos Williams, died #OTD in 1963.
Visit the Grammaticus blog today and enjoy his short poem "Winter Trees" - it may appear to be about trees in winter, but it’s just as much about us.
https://grammaticus.blog/2025/01/22/winter-trees-by-william-carlos-williams/
#poem #poetry #williamcarloswilliams #literature #americanliterature #learningenglish #englishteacher
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William Carlos Williams, died #OTD in 1963.
Visit the Grammaticus blog today and enjoy his short poem "Winter Trees" - it may appear to be about trees in winter, but it’s just as much about us.
https://grammaticus.blog/2025/01/22/winter-trees-by-william-carlos-williams/
#poem #poetry #williamcarloswilliams #literature #americanliterature #learningenglish #englishteacher
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William Carlos Williams, died #OTD in 1963.
Visit the Grammaticus blog today and enjoy his short poem "Winter Trees" - it may appear to be about trees in winter, but it’s just as much about us.
https://grammaticus.blog/2025/01/22/winter-trees-by-william-carlos-williams/
#poem #poetry #williamcarloswilliams #literature #americanliterature #learningenglish #englishteacher
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Latest on the blog: a short poem by the father of Canadian poetry, Sir Charles George Douglas Roberts.
Set in the cold and silent month of February, "The Brook in February" captures the tension between winter’s stillness and the hidden vitality of the coming spring.
As always, vocabulary exercise included!
https://grammaticus.blog/2026/02/25/the-brook-in-february-roberts/
#poem #poetry #canada #canadianliterature #winter #february #englishteacher #learningenglish
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Latest on the blog: a short poem by the father of Canadian poetry, Sir Charles George Douglas Roberts.
Set in the cold and silent month of February, "The Brook in February" captures the tension between winter’s stillness and the hidden vitality of the coming spring.
As always, vocabulary exercise included!
https://grammaticus.blog/2026/02/25/the-brook-in-february-roberts/
#poem #poetry #canada #canadianliterature #winter #february #englishteacher #learningenglish
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Latest on the blog: a short poem by the father of Canadian poetry, Sir Charles George Douglas Roberts.
Set in the cold and silent month of February, "The Brook in February" captures the tension between winter’s stillness and the hidden vitality of the coming spring.
As always, vocabulary exercise included!
https://grammaticus.blog/2026/02/25/the-brook-in-february-roberts/
#poem #poetry #canada #canadianliterature #winter #february #englishteacher #learningenglish
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Latest on the blog: a short poem by the father of Canadian poetry, Sir Charles George Douglas Roberts.
Set in the cold and silent month of February, "The Brook in February" captures the tension between winter’s stillness and the hidden vitality of the coming spring.
As always, vocabulary exercise included!
https://grammaticus.blog/2026/02/25/the-brook-in-february-roberts/
#poem #poetry #canada #canadianliterature #winter #february #englishteacher #learningenglish
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Latest on the blog: a short poem by the father of Canadian poetry, Sir Charles George Douglas Roberts.
Set in the cold and silent month of February, "The Brook in February" captures the tension between winter’s stillness and the hidden vitality of the coming spring.
As always, vocabulary exercise included!
https://grammaticus.blog/2026/02/25/the-brook-in-february-roberts/
#poem #poetry #canada #canadianliterature #winter #february #englishteacher #learningenglish
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“The Brook in February” by Sir Charles George Douglas Roberts
Charles G. D. Roberts (1860-1943) was a prominent Canadian author and public intellectual, often referred to as the father of Canadian poetry. He wrote numerous works of fiction, but he also did a lot of nature and travel writing, largely focused on Canadian themes.
The short poem presented here was first published in his collection “The Book of the Native” in 1896. Set in the cold and silent month of February, it captures the tension between winter’s stillness and the hidden vitality of the coming spring.
If you’re an English language learner, don’t miss the vocabulary exercise found below! (Answer key available.)
A snowy path for squirrel and fox,
It winds between the wintry firs.
Snow-muffled are its iron rocks,
And o'er its stillness nothing stirs.
But low, bend low a listening ear!
Beneath the mask of moveless white
A babbling whisper you shall hear—
Of birds and blossoms, leaves and light.VOCABULARY EXERCISE
Match the following words from the poem with the definitions:
WIND (v.) | FIR (n.) | MUFFLED (adj.) | BABBLE (v.) | BLOSSOM (n.)
- wrapped up, enveloped
- to make the low, continuous noise of water flowing over stones
- a small flower on a tree or plant
- an evergreen tree with leaves like needles
- to have many twists and bends
To check your answers, please click here.
ADDITIONAL LINKS
Sir Charles George Douglas Roberts (The Canadian Encyclopedia)
E-book versions of C. G. D. Roberts’ works (Project Gutenberg)
NOTES
I’m a freelance language tutor (English, Latin, Classical Greek), researcher, and a literary scholar currently based in Belgrade, Serbia.
If you wish to receive new content from my blog – as soon as it’s published – please enter your email address in the subscribe box below.
To support my work, you can send me a donation via PayPal. It would be greatly appreciated!
COVER IMAGE CREDIT
Photo by Richard Wang via Unsplash
#Canada #CanadianLiterature #CharlesGeorgeDouglasRoberts #English #EnglishVocabulary #February #learningEnglish #literature #nature #poem #poetry #readingSkills #winter -
In the latest blog post I'm doing a short explainer on these deceptively similar words:
* part
* a part
* apartNot sure what the difference between them is? Visit https://grammaticus.blog/2026/02/05/part-a-part-apart/
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In the latest blog post I'm doing a short explainer on these deceptively similar words:
* part
* a part
* apartNot sure what the difference between them is? Visit https://grammaticus.blog/2026/02/05/part-a-part-apart/
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In the latest blog post I'm doing a short explainer on these deceptively similar words:
* part
* a part
* apartNot sure what the difference between them is? Visit https://grammaticus.blog/2026/02/05/part-a-part-apart/
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In the latest blog post I'm doing a short explainer on these deceptively similar words:
* part
* a part
* apartNot sure what the difference between them is? Visit https://grammaticus.blog/2026/02/05/part-a-part-apart/
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In the latest blog post I'm doing a short explainer on these deceptively similar words:
* part
* a part
* apartNot sure what the difference between them is? Visit https://grammaticus.blog/2026/02/05/part-a-part-apart/
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What is the Japanese cheesecake yoghurt trend?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zmxsmbk
#Japanese #English #英語 #LearningEnglish
#LearningJapanese #Japan #JapaneseCulture -
Right from the beginning, the author creates a dark and gloomy atmosphere of a harsh winter’s night. The spell she is seemingly under is a “tyrant” that completely paralyzes her. Yet at the same time, there’s something resilient about the poet...
Visit the Grammaticus blog today and delve into Emily Brontë's poem "Spellbound:"
https://grammaticus.blog/2026/01/14/spellbound-by-emily-bronte/
#englishliterature #learningenglish #englishteacher #poem #poetry #emilybronte #winter
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Right from the beginning, the author creates a dark and gloomy atmosphere of a harsh winter’s night. The spell she is seemingly under is a “tyrant” that completely paralyzes her. Yet at the same time, there’s something resilient about the poet...
Visit the Grammaticus blog today and delve into Emily Brontë's poem "Spellbound:"
https://grammaticus.blog/2026/01/14/spellbound-by-emily-bronte/
#englishliterature #learningenglish #englishteacher #poem #poetry #emilybronte #winter
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15 English words that instantly change from nouns to verbs with a simple shift in our voice
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I’m very happy to share with you the 13th title in the Grammaticus Free Library series!
The latest release is a story by the American writer William Sydney Porter (1861-1910), better known as O. Henry. Like many of his other short stories, "The Gift of the Magi" has a delightfully surprising ending.
https://grammaticus.blog/2025/12/17/free-ebook-the-gift-of-the-magi-by-o-henry/
#literature #shortstory #americanliterature #ohenry #learningenglish #ebook
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Free ebook: “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry
Dear all,
I’m very happy to share with you the 13th title in the Grammaticus Free Library series! If you are not familiar with it, each GFL ebook contains notes explaining more complex vocabulary (some of them also include additional exercises), and they are all available as free PDF downloads.
The latest release is a story by the American writer William Sydney Porter (1861-1910), better known as O. Henry. Like many of his other short stories, The Gift of the Magi has a delightfully surprising ending.
In a nutshell, this is a delightful Christmastime tale of a young couple, each sacrificing their most prized possession to buy a gift for the other. In the end, they discover that true wealth lies in their selfless love.
To download your copy, please click on the link below.
To browse all the previous titles in the Grammaticus Free Library series, visit the Library section of this website. Here I would just like to draw your attention to three other stories with a winter setting available there, perfect for the season:
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
“The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry – listen to and read a simplified version of the story, adapted for English language learners
Listen to “The Gift of the Magi” narrated by Julie Harris
Watch the 1980 short film “The Gift of the Magi“, produced by Encyclopaedia Britannica
NOTES
I’m a freelance language tutor (English, Latin, Classical Greek), researcher, and a literary scholar currently based in Belgrade, Serbia.
If you wish to receive new content from my blog – as soon as it’s published – please enter your email address in the box below. You can also subscribe to my free monthly Newsletter and get a regular recap with additional content.
To support my work, you can send me a donation via PayPal. It would be greatly appreciated!
COVER IMAGE CREDIT
Clay LeConey via Unsplash
#AmericanLiterature #Christmas #ebook #EnglishLiterature #EnglishVocabulary #freeDownload #learningEnglish #literature #OHenry #shortStory #winter
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One of the most frequent mistakes I hear from students has to do with the use of the words “work” and “job”. 😬
In my latest blog post, I explain their core meaning and try to make a clear distinction between them. If you never know which one to choose, this post is for you!
Link in bio or visit
https://grammaticus.blog/2025/12/03/work-vs-job/#learningenglish #englishteacher #englishvocabulary #englishlesson #education
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One of the most frequent mistakes I hear from students has to do with the use of the words “work” and “job”. 😬
In my latest blog post, I explain their core meaning and try to make a clear distinction between them. If you never know which one to choose, this post is for you!
Link in bio or visit
https://grammaticus.blog/2025/12/03/work-vs-job/#learningenglish #englishteacher #englishvocabulary #englishlesson #education
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One of the most frequent mistakes I hear from students has to do with the use of the words “work” and “job”. 😬
In my latest blog post, I explain their core meaning and try to make a clear distinction between them. If you never know which one to choose, this post is for you!
Link in bio or visit
https://grammaticus.blog/2025/12/03/work-vs-job/#learningenglish #englishteacher #englishvocabulary #englishlesson #education
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One of the most frequent mistakes I hear from students has to do with the use of the words “work” and “job”. 😬
In my latest blog post, I explain their core meaning and try to make a clear distinction between them. If you never know which one to choose, this post is for you!
Link in bio or visit
https://grammaticus.blog/2025/12/03/work-vs-job/#learningenglish #englishteacher #englishvocabulary #englishlesson #education
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One of the most frequent mistakes I hear from students has to do with the use of the words “work” and “job”. 😬
In my latest blog post, I explain their core meaning and try to make a clear distinction between them. If you never know which one to choose, this post is for you!
Link in bio or visit
https://grammaticus.blog/2025/12/03/work-vs-job/#learningenglish #englishteacher #englishvocabulary #englishlesson #education
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Gobble gobble 🦃
This Thanksgiving Day, I'm sharing with you two lovely holiday-related poems that you can use to revise your English:
👉 “A Thanksgiving Dinner” by Maude M. Grant (1876-1941) - a children's poem with useful food-related vocabulary.
https://grammaticus.blog/2022/11/23/thanksgiving-dinner/
👉 "Thanksgiving" by Ella Wheeler Wilcox - a longer poem about appreciating the simple joys of life.
https://grammaticus.blog/2023/11/22/thanksgiving-by-wilcox/
Visit the Grammaticus blog (https://grammaticus.blog) and search for more seasonal content!
#learningenglish #englishteacher #englishvocabulary #poetry #education #americanliterature #thanksgivingday
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The Advent season hasn't started just yet, but I couldn't wait 😊 In the latest blog post I'm presenting one of my favourite Advent hymns, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel."
The post includes:
* a brief explanation of the biblical references,
* vocabulary exercises for ESL/EFL students,
* a separate set of vocabulary worksheets designed for Latin language learners, based on "Veni, veni, Emmanuel" - the original Latin text of the hymn,
* and more!https://grammaticus.blog/2025/11/25/veni-emmanuel/
#learningenglish #englishteacher #latin #learninglatin #advent #jesus #churchhymns #adventhymns #christianity #education
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The Advent season hasn't started just yet, but I couldn't wait 😊 In the latest blog post I'm presenting one of my favourite Advent hymns, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel."
The post includes:
* a brief explanation of the biblical references,
* vocabulary exercises for ESL/EFL students,
* a separate set of vocabulary worksheets designed for Latin language learners, based on "Veni, veni, Emmanuel" - the original Latin text of the hymn,
* and more!https://grammaticus.blog/2025/11/25/veni-emmanuel/
#learningenglish #englishteacher #latin #learninglatin #advent #jesus #churchhymns #adventhymns #christianity #education
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The Advent season hasn't started just yet, but I couldn't wait 😊 In the latest blog post I'm presenting one of my favourite Advent hymns, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel."
The post includes:
* a brief explanation of the biblical references,
* vocabulary exercises for ESL/EFL students,
* a separate set of vocabulary worksheets designed for Latin language learners, based on "Veni, veni, Emmanuel" - the original Latin text of the hymn,
* and more!https://grammaticus.blog/2025/11/25/veni-emmanuel/
#learningenglish #englishteacher #latin #learninglatin #advent #jesus #churchhymns #adventhymns #christianity #education
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The Advent season hasn't started just yet, but I couldn't wait 😊 In the latest blog post I'm presenting one of my favourite Advent hymns, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel."
The post includes:
* a brief explanation of the biblical references,
* vocabulary exercises for ESL/EFL students,
* a separate set of vocabulary worksheets designed for Latin language learners, based on "Veni, veni, Emmanuel" - the original Latin text of the hymn,
* and more!https://grammaticus.blog/2025/11/25/veni-emmanuel/
#learningenglish #englishteacher #latin #learninglatin #advent #jesus #churchhymns #adventhymns #christianity #education
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The Advent season hasn't started just yet, but I couldn't wait 😊 In the latest blog post I'm presenting one of my favourite Advent hymns, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel."
The post includes:
* a brief explanation of the biblical references,
* vocabulary exercises for ESL/EFL students,
* a separate set of vocabulary worksheets designed for Latin language learners, based on "Veni, veni, Emmanuel" - the original Latin text of the hymn,
* and more!https://grammaticus.blog/2025/11/25/veni-emmanuel/
#learningenglish #englishteacher #latin #learninglatin #advent #jesus #churchhymns #adventhymns #christianity #education
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Did you wake up to a thick blanket of snow this morning? ❄️ Then it's the perfect time to revise some English #vocabulary and learn a few new words related to #snow! ✍️
https://grammaticus.blog/2021/12/07/snow/
#learningenglish #englishteacher #englishvocabulary #englishlesson
Image credit: Pei Yu via Unsplash
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Did you wake up to a thick blanket of snow this morning? ❄️ Then it's the perfect time to revise some English #vocabulary and learn a few new words related to #snow! ✍️
https://grammaticus.blog/2021/12/07/snow/
#learningenglish #englishteacher #englishvocabulary #englishlesson
Image credit: Pei Yu via Unsplash
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Did you wake up to a thick blanket of snow this morning? ❄️ Then it's the perfect time to revise some English #vocabulary and learn a few new words related to #snow! ✍️
https://grammaticus.blog/2021/12/07/snow/
#learningenglish #englishteacher #englishvocabulary #englishlesson
Image credit: Pei Yu via Unsplash
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Did you wake up to a thick blanket of snow this morning? ❄️ Then it's the perfect time to revise some English #vocabulary and learn a few new words related to #snow! ✍️
https://grammaticus.blog/2021/12/07/snow/
#learningenglish #englishteacher #englishvocabulary #englishlesson
Image credit: Pei Yu via Unsplash
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Did you wake up to a thick blanket of snow this morning? ❄️ Then it's the perfect time to revise some English #vocabulary and learn a few new words related to #snow! ✍️
https://grammaticus.blog/2021/12/07/snow/
#learningenglish #englishteacher #englishvocabulary #englishlesson
Image credit: Pei Yu via Unsplash
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Florida State University: Florida Center for Reading Research at FSU launches database to advance children’s literacy research. “FCRR, based at Florida State University, has launched an open-access database called the developmental English Lexicon Project (d-ELP) that features word reading data on 9,961 of the most frequently printed English words for children in grades 1 through 5.”
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Some use it all the time, others consider it unnecessary. Let’s discuss the (in)famous Oxford comma!
https://grammaticus.blog/2025/11/18/the-oxford-comma/
#learningenglish #punctuation #englishteacher #writingtips #blog
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Ok... Here we go.
My English is bad (as you can see now...). Suprisingly bad although I'm academically educated. As I said yesterday, my English is from fantasy videogames without grammary 😅That's why I and @Turre had started to speak and write in our IRC channel English during workday. I have to practise my English because maybe I'll have a chance to be in panel conversations at different conferences (practically at Eurocons 😅 ). And maybe my books and novelettes translate to other languages.
So that I could get more practise I start light threads here. Maybe somebody else want to practise too? This is a right place! Of course everyone can join, need practise or not 😊
Welcome aboard 🫡
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In my latest blog post you can read Carl Sandburg’s Halloween-themed poem “Theme in Yellow,” and do a simple vocabulary exercise.
It's a playful, festive, and wonderfully evocative poem - unusually written from the perspective of a pumpkin! If you love this time of year as much as I do, I’m sure you’ll enjoy “Theme in Yellow!”
https://grammaticus.blog/2025/10/29/theme-in-yellow/
#poem #poetry #learningenglish #englishvocabulary #englishteacher #americanliterature #Halloween #carlsandburg
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In my latest blog post, "Let's talk about mushrooms," I'm presenting some basic English vocabulary that may come in handy. :)
* parts of a mushroom
* a few common words and phrases
* adjectives to describe their flavour, aroma, and textureSuitable for learners at the B1 level (and above).
Link in bio or visit https://grammaticus.blog/2025/10/23/lets-talk-about-mushrooms/
Happy mushrooming! 🍄
#englishteacher #englishvocabulary #learningenglish #fungi #mushrooms
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Let’s talk about mushrooms!
[The following post is primarily intended for English language learners, level B1 and above.]
If you’ve been following this blog or any of my social media accounts, you probably know how fascinated I am with the incredible world of mushrooms. I just love seeing them in nature, taking photos of them, reading about them… They are so weird and amazing!
In this blog post I’ll present some of the basic words you’ll need when describing mushrooms in English. You never know when they might come in handy. You’ll notice that all of them have other meanings, so you probably already know at least some of them from other contexts.
In the post I’ll be using photos made earlier this month on one of my walks through the Forest of Bojčin, some 30 km from Belgrade.
PARTS OF A MUSHROOM
What you notice first when looking for mushrooms is their top, which often looks like an umbrella. This is a cap. The official botanical term is pileus, which is a Latin word for a type of cap worn in some parts of Europe in ancient and mediaeval times.
The stalk supporting the cap is called a stem or stipe. The latter word comes from the Latin stipes – a post, a trunk.
If you look at the underside of a mushroom, some of them have these elegant, almost geometrical structures known as gills. Fish also have gills, which allow them to breathe. In mushrooms, these gills serve to produce and distribute spores. The Latin term is lamella (pl. lamellae), which literrally means “a thin plate.”
In the same photo you can see the ring, which is simply a translation of the Latin term annulus. As a mushroom grows, some of the tissue is left over on the stem. The presence of rings can help a lot when identifying mushrooms.
I used to have these on my fingers, and I hated them – warts! On humans and animals, warts are benign (but annoying) growths on the skin caused by certain viruses. On some mushrooms they look like scales or flakes. They are not an infection, but are the remnants of a structure that covered the mushroom when it was young (the so-called “universal veil”).
As you can imagine, there are many more words to describe mushrooms in much greater detail. To explore, have a look at the list of recommended resources at the end of this post.
SOME COMMON WORDS AND PHRASES
I never pick wild mushrooms by myself, because I’m never sure which ones are edible and which ones are poisonous.
- wild mushrooms grow in nature; the ones you can buy in a supermarket are cultivated mushrooms
- edible is an adjective meaning suitable or safe to eat; the opposite is inedible; another possible antonym is the adjective poisonous – those ones can easily kill you
Some mushrooms contain a powerful chemical substance that causes hallucinations. Such mushrooms are known as magic or psychedelic mushrooms or simply shrooms.
Mushrooms with healing properties are referred to as medicinal mushrooms.
DESCRIBING TASTE AND SMELL
I love adjectives that bring to mind the rich taste, aroma and texture of food. These ones you can also use when talking about mushrooms.
- woody: this one can refer to either taste, aroma or texture – or all three combined; when describing fungi and vegetables, it can refer to their tough texture which may be difficult to chew, or the taste similar to earthy – some people love it, others think it tastes like mud!
- earthy: deep taste or aroma often used to describe vegetables such as potatoes and beetroots
- nutty: tastes like nuts
- savoury: salty; also very tasty and flavourful
- delicate: has a light and subtle flavour
- fruity: has a sweet taste or smell, like fruits
- meaty: it has a lot of flesh, feels like eating meat
The following ones describe more unpleasant flavours or aromas:
- bitter: if you chew on a bitter mushroom, it’s typically a bad sign; this is a sharp taste that some people (myself included) actually like – think of black coffee or dark chocolate: yum!
- musty, mouldy (A.E. moldy): mould, in this case, is a nasty, dark type of fungus growing on wet surfaces, often in bathrooms or basements; you can use these adjectives to describe something with that unpleasant earthy taste and smell
- astringent: this is a very rich word that describes something that’s at the same time sharp, sour, bitter, and feels kind of dry; certain berries have that astringent taste, also many mushrooms
Here are some more of my lovely mushrooms. For homework, choose one of them, write a brief description, and post it in the comments section! I’ll be happy to read and check your writing!
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Mushroom Anatomy: A Deep Dive Into the Parts of a Mushroom
The Parts of a Mushroom – online vocabulary quiz
NOTES
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