The English Lessons Portal

Learning English is an activity undertaken by more and more people around the world. It is estimated that about a quarter of the world's population either speaks English as a first language or studies it as a second or foreign language. Whether you study English at school, university, adult education classes or spoken language courses, WhiteSmoke's online English grammar software is the ideal solution to help you learn English and write better, right now.

In addition to the WhiteSmoke writing and grammar program, we are proud to launch the new and improved WhiteSmoke English Lessons pages. The following links lead you to the main sections of our English Lessons pages. You will be able to find detailed information on diverse areas of language study and use, enriched with illustrative examples. After reading these pages, you will be able to understand why WhiteSmoke corrects and enriches your texts the way it does. You should still note, however, that even experienced writers make grammar, spelling and punctuation mistakes and always use a language editor to correct and improve their work.

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Grammar Guide

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The grammar of a language describes its structures and aids in the construction of words and sentences to convey meaning correctly, clearly and effectively. It is important to be familiar with basic grammar terms as they are used in any other area of language learning. Grammar topics are sorted according to the parts of speech (verbs, nouns adjectives etc.) and sentence grammar points (phrases, clauses etc.). Go to the grammar guide index to read the best web pages about topics such as the present perfect, singular and plural nouns, or clause types.

Spelling Guide

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English is notorious for having highly complex and unpredictable spelling (e.g. beautiful, gauge, psychiatry). However, in contrast to what most people think, there are some very important and useful rules that will help you create order in the spelling chaos. In addition, if you know specific letter combinations (phonics) which are used repetitively in English spelling, you will be able to better control it within a short time and maybe even improve your pronunciation. After reading about short and long vowel sounds (ee, igh, ow), consonant letter combinations (sh, ph, sc, kn) and syllables (open and closed),and the doubling rule, you might even become yet another phonics fan.

Punctuation Guide

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The world of periods, commas, semicolons and question marks comes alive in these pages. Good punctuation is very important as it organizes your thoughts and ideas into well-separated clauses and sentences. Punctuation influences the meaning of your sentences, especially in cases where double meanings may result due to careless punctuation. Punctuation may even affect the emotional tone of what you are trying to say. As you will see, there is much more to punctuation than just tiny dots and hooks.

Vocabulary Guide

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As English has the largest vocabulary compared to other languages, with estimates running between 500,000 and one million word items, it is important to know how to enrich your vocabulary. Words together form phrases, figures of speech and idioms which enrich one language figuratively and symbolically. In addition to tips on memorizing words, you can access information on word formation and derivation (roots, prefixes and suffixes), phrasal verbs, synonyms, antonyms, word origins in English, dictionary use, cliches, jargon, and words commonly confused.

English Writing Guide

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Writing is a complex skill that requires time to develop as many elements are weaved together to form one final product. Writing is more than just putting words and sentences together, as it should also address questions of writing purpose (to convince, inform or narrate), audience (friends Vs. business associates, teenagers Vs. University professors), genre (argumentative, descriptive, narrative), style (avoiding sexist and biased language, conciseness, and emphasis), register (formal. Informal, technical, jocular) and format (article, report, contract, letter, e-mail, memo etc.). To achieve a good piece of writing, there are some essential and well defined stages within the writing process that make sure you will actually end up with the piece of writing you intended to have.

"How to Write" and Writing Templates Guide

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Different writing purposes frequently warrant the usage of specific formats, which by convention are expected to be used, using specific headings, graphic layout and specialist terminology. As nearly all writers in all levels, find it sometimes hard to start writing what they have in mind, a good writing template with a ready-made structure, key words and phrases can serve as an excellent springboard. For example, when writing informative texts in expository style for school or for journalistic purposes, it is recommended to use an agreed upon structure for a review article, a student's 5-paragraph essay on Napoleon or a news item. Persuasive writing is based on a strong persuasive style, which empowers opinion essays, newspaper editorials or business proposals. Academic writing, for college or university, expects certain models for writing assignments, from a research report or a book review; through to a lab report, literary analysis, or a term paper; and all the way up to a full thesis.

The world of business writing uses common formats for business e-mails, press releases, financial plans or even simple memos confirming a business meeting. Resumes stand in a category of their own, as various occupations merit various resume styles. Legal documents, such as real estate contracts, power to an attorney or wills, or medical documents such as insurance policies and autopsy reports require careful attention to technicalities. Various letter formats are very useful for letters of resignation, complaint or recommendation.

In contrast to the hard factual approach taken in expository writing, Creative writing lets you give vent to personal thought, subjective feelings and practically anything that comes to mind without having to provide evidence to support arguments. Such writing includes diary entries, personal blogs, love letters and just about any kind of free written reflection. Finally, literary writing, attempted by layman and artist alike, produces narratives for short stories or novellas, lyrical poems and sonnets, and dramatic prose for plays or movie scripts.

How to Learn Languages Guide

Go to the How to Learn Languages Guide
If you are reading these introductory pages to our WhiteSmoke English Lessons, you must be interested in language, as these lessons are one of the ways WhiteSmoke tries to help improve your English skills. You may be asking yourself about methods or tips to ease your way into language learning. How to study vocabulary, grammar and generally approach language study is the goal of these pages, which give you information about the world of foreign language learning.

We hope you find these educational English Lessons pages useful together with the many benefits of the WhiteSmoke online English writing software.

For easy access to any of our English lesson web pages, please click here or on any of the above mentioned guide names.