PhraseMix Articles

What's the difference between "still better", "better still", and "better yet"?

I recently got this question on Twitter:

@phrasemix Speaking of still, do still better,better still and better yet have similar meaning?

— Sergio Rodrigues (@serpiro) June 26, 2012

The answer is "no". Here's what each of them means:

Still better

Use this when something was better before,...

English phrases for talking about swimming

Phrases to describe the activity of swimming

• Go swimming
• Go for a swim
• Go for a dip (in the pool, in the ocean, etc.)
• Take a dip (in the pool, in the ocean, etc.)
• Jump in the pool

Places to swim

• A "public pool" is available for anyone to swim in, sometimes for free and sometimes for a charge....

Double negative

A "double negative" is a verb like this:

I don't got no money.

This means "I don't have any money." It's called a "double negative" because it has two negative particles:

I don't got no money.

This is a feature of English that's considered incorrect. You shouldn't use it in formal writing or...

How should I start and end a business email?

The old way

When I was in elementary school, I remember learning how to write a letter. A business letter was supposed to go like this:

Dear Mr./Mrs./Ms. (Last name):

(Write the message here.) 

 

Sincerely,

(Your full name)

When I graduated college and started looking for a job, I...

When should you use "I" vs. "me" in English sentences?

The words "I" and "me" both refer to yourself. You decide which one to pick based on how they're being used in the sentence. Usually it's easy to decide which one to use:

I like it!

She hit me.

Give it to me.

You use "I" as the subject of a sentence,...

How do you feel about calling yourself "fluent"?

Do you feel comfortable calling yourself "fluent" in English?

I started thinking about this topic recently when I was telling someone about my experiences living in Japan. She asked whether I'm fluent in Japanese, and I started to give my usual complicated answer.

I'm never sure what to say. On...

How to respond to "How are you?", "What's up?", and other conversation starters

There are a few questions that English speakers ask at the beginning of a conversation. These questions are simple tools to find out if there are any interesting topics to discuss:

How are you?

How's it going?

What's up?

What's happening?

You've certainly heard these...

15 ways to say "Hello" in English

You might know two or three ways to say "Hello" to someone, but there are actually dozens of different expressions.

Why do we need so many different ways to say "Hello"? One reason is that English speakers like to avoid repeating words. If one person says "Hello", the other person might...

The PhraseMix Method

This is how I suggest using the audio lessons on PhraseMix to improve your English skill:

1. Read the lesson. Start with the situation. Try to imagine yourself in that situation. Then read the example sentence.
2. Read the explanation. The goal is not to understand everything about the...

99 English Phrases to say 'I love you'

When you're learning English, you can find a lot of phrases that seem to mean the same thing, but are a little bit different. It can be really hard to know which phrase you should use. A good example is phrases that you use to tell someone that you love them. There are so many different...