Gerund vs. infinitive

Numerous exercises on gerund vs. infinitive along with their key are hereby made available for you to have access at your convenience.  You can also find the list of verbs used with gerund and/or infinitive here.

Here you can find more information and exercises on the same topic.

Cambridge Dictionary

Here you can have access to the online Cambridge Dictionary, in which you can listen to the British and American pronunciation of words.

Job applications

Here you can find the BBC website on covering letters, CVs and interviews.

Interviews:
Have a positive demeanour and use verbs, adverbs, adjectives and nouns which express positive emotions. E.g., love, like, willingly, enthusiastic, great opportunity, etc.
Be as concise as possible, and do not repeat the information in your CV unless it is particularly relevant for the position and/or question you are being asked.
Some questions one can expect during a structured job interview are as follows:
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
Strengths (Maximum 3):
Vocabulary: Some adjectives used to describe your strengths: resourceful, diligent, flexible, open-minded, organized, determined, goal-oriented, efficient, team-spirited, tenacious, cool-headed, etc.
It could be nice to spice up your strengths with some past professional experiences and/or anecdotes. Remember: you want them to remember you.
Weaknesses (1 - 2):
Try to avoid negative sentence structures and words with negative connotations.
Some phrases that can be useful are:
There is room for improvement concerning ...
My friends and colleagues tell me that I tend to ...
I have been working on improving ...
How can you contribute to our organization?
Do your homework about the organization and/or vacancy.  Be as specific as you can based on what you know about them and/or the vacancy.
Where do you see yourself in 5 - 10 years?
If it is your dream job, you can use the term 'vocation', as in "If I get this position, it will most likely/certainly be my vocation for the remainder of my professional life."
Try not to burn any bridges and miss any trains while being honest.
What do you consider to be your most significant achievement/worst failure?
Do not come across as boastful as you talk about your most significant achievment(s). Present a failure(s) as an invaluable learning experience(s).
Why are you applying for this position?
Do your homework and be as specific as possible, referring to your professional and personal qualifications.  This could also be the place to say a few positive words about the organization, which can then register as its main attraction. E.g., "I am applying for this position because your Unit has an excellent reputation for undertaking administrative tasks in the most efficient manner."
What would be your approach to conflict resolution at the work place?
I would make sure that there is no misunderstanding by getting more information about the person's (people's) position, and if there is still a disagreement, I would try to reach a compromise.

Greetings and closers

Here is a list of greetings you can use in your formal emails depending on the recipient:

• Anonymous singular:

1. Dear Sir/Madam
2. Dear Madam/Sir
3. Dear Sir or Madam
4. Dear Madam or Sir

• Anonymous plural:

1. Dear Sirs/Ladies
2. Dear Ladies/Sirs
3. Dear Sirs and/or Ladies
4. Dear Ladies and/or Sirs

• With a given male name: Dear Mr Smith

• With a given female name:

1.  Dear Ms Smith (civil status irrelevant or unknown)
2.  Dear Mrs Smith (married)
3.  Dear Miss Smith (single and younger than fifty)

• With given names to a group of less than three people (male):  Dear Messrs Smith and Jones

• With given names to a group of less than three people (female):

1. Dear Mses Smith and Jones (civil statuses unknown, irrelevant or different)
2. Dear Mesdames Smith and Jones (both of them married)
3. Dear Misses Smith and Jones (both of them single and younger than fifty)

• With given names to a group of less than three people (mixed gender and not related to each other by marriage or blood): 

1. Dear Messrs Smith and Jones, and Ms Presley 
2. Dear Ms Presley, and Messrs Smith and Jones

• With a given name to a couple who use the same last name:

1. Dear Mr and Mrs Smith 
2. Dear Mrs and Mr Smith 

• With given names to a group of more than three people (mixed gender):

1. Dear Sirs/Ladies
2. Dear Ladies/Sirs
3. Dear Sirs and Ladies
4. Dear Ladies and Sirs

• With given names to a group of more than three people (all male): Dear Sirs

• With given names to a group of more than three people (all female): Dear Ladies 

• With a given first and last name and the gender is not clear:  Dear Alex Smith

Here is a list of closers which apply to all formal emails regardless of their content:

• With kind regards
• Kind regards
• Regards

You can hereby find a document on how to address various VIPs in different contexts.

Sample business letter

Miles Davis
Rue du Bebop 12

B-1000 Brussels

Tel: 02 217 7855

Email: davis@email.com

Brussels, 17^th of January 2013

Ms Jennifer Smith

Director of Human Resources

Joint Research Centre

Rue Guimard 10

B-1049 Brussels

RE: The project manager vacancy (reference no. 123)

Dear Ms Smith,

Having seen the project manager vacancy posted on your HR website, I would like to hereby apply for the position.

Currently, I work as a project manager assistant in DG Research and Innovation at the European Commission. During my three years here, I have had the opportunity to acquire extensive experience not only as a team leader but also as the Acting Project Manager working on nuclear fusion research support.

In addition, I specialised in nuclear fusion as a biophysicist during my PhD studies, with a Dissertation on transgenetic mutations. Due to my deep fascination with the intricacies of this matter, I have always been keen on pursuing my professional endeavours within the same field.

Moreover, I cherish working in a multicultural environment, since I see diversity of perspectives as an invaluable asset in approaching a given issue.

Even though working in DG Research has been a very rewarding experience concerning my professional and personal development, I am now ready for new challenges. Therefore, I am very enthusiastic about the prospect of joining your team, since you have an excellent track record in supporting nuclear fusion research. On a more personal note, I also share your views on making nuclear technology environmentally sustainable. Thus I am confident that my profile is a perfect match for the position, especially given the fact that you specialise in eliminating radiation exposure in France, where I did part my research as a PhD candidate.

Should you want to meet me in person to discuss the details of my CV,  I would be happy to come in for an interview at a time suitable for you.

Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Looking forward to hearing from you at your soonest convenience,

Sincerely yours,

SIGNATURE

Miles Davis

Enc: CV

Tenses and key words

Here you can find many exercises on tenses.  I am also hereby making a list of all the tenses and key words available

Conversation Exchange

Here you can have access to the Conversation Exchange website.

Telephone conversations

Here you can have access to the BBC webpage on telephone conversations.
Here you can find more material on the same topic.

Prepositions

Basic prepositions:
Here you can find some exercises on basic prepositions.  The key to the exercises is hereby made available. (Source: English Grammar in Use: Intermediate by Raymond Murphy)

Noun, adjective and verb + preposition:
Here you can find some exercises on nouns, adjectives and verbs which are used with certain prepositions.  The key for the exercises are also hereby made available. (Source: English Grammar in Use: Intermediate by Raymond Murphy). Here is a list of words with prepositions.

Phrasal verbs:
Here you can find some exercises on phrasal verbs.  The key to the exercises is hereby made available. (Source: English Grammar in Use: Intermediate by Raymond Murphy)

You can hereby find a link for more online exercises on the topics above.

BBC on meetings

Here you can have access to the BBC website on meetings, where they have useful expressions and/or phrases contextualized in short dialogues available as audio streams with transcripts.

State vs. action verbs

Here is  a document where you can find information and exercises on state vs. action verbs, along with key for the  exercises. (Source: English Grammar in Use: Intermediate by Raymond Murphy)

Here is a link for a webpage where you can find some  exercises on the same topic.   

Here you can find the list of verbs we have looked at. (Source: LONGMAN Advanced Learners’ Grammar by Mark Foley &  Diane Hall)

Four sources for audio and video streams

Here you can have access to the NPR of the NYC region.  It could be useful if you want to improve your listening comprehension of American English.  You can listen to the live FM broadcast or go to their show archives.  I personally like Radiolab, Selected Shorts and Fresh Air among the shows they air.

Here you can have access to the BBC website, which also airs on the WNYC in the mornings Brussels time.  It could be useful to improve your listening comprehension of British English.  They also have links under "Learning English", where you can find numerous tools for learners of English as a second language.

Here you can have access to the audio and video streams on The Economist website.  This again is a good source for improving British English listening comprehension.

Here you can have access to TED which is a good source for numerous talks on a very wide range of topics.  Most talks are given by Americans and Canadians, but there are also other speakers of different nationalities, including some British.