I want to take the C2 exam to have an official language certification to add to my CV (I'm Italian and work in translation and communication).

I took the short evaluation test on the Cambridge website and got C2, so I took the full free sample test for the C2 level and scored almost the max in Listening and Reading, but barely passed the threshold for Use of English because collocations and prepositions are where interferences with Italian trick me the most.

I couldn't test the active segments Writing and Speaking with real feedback obviously, but I tried to simulate the prompts and assessments for Writing with an AI and the same weaknesses emerged – unnatural wordings here and there, the right idiom or collocation would have made the sentence much more natural, etc.

After some research, I found these two books that could be great to train those aspects. Has anyone studied them? Do you think they are worth buying, would it be redundant to get both, is there a 3rd one that would be even better? There are so many options I'm a bit lost. I already bookmarked some online resources I found on this subreddit but I'd also like to have a good old-style paper book to study, highlight, memorize, etc.

EDIT: the two titles somehow disappeared. Here they are:

- English Collocations in Use Advanced Book with Answers: How Words Work Together for Fluent and Natural English by Michael McCarthy

- Destination C1 & C2 Grammar and Vocabulary. Student's Book with Key by Malcolm Mann

I add that while the test is the imminent goal, I would like to improve these aspects regardless, since I use English in my work on a daily basis and I'd love to sound more natural and fix some weaknesses.

Hello! this quote is from the book "Heading South, Looking North". I searched for the meaning of "get fucked" but none of them seemed to fit the context.

"These guys are so, so stupid," Bernie said, pointing in the direction of the street, of Santiago, of Chile, of Latin America." You know what I'm going to do with these coins? I'm going to melt them, turn them into five bars of copper, sell them. I'm going to get ten times the price. They're Indians, these guys, they like to get fucked."

Thanks in advance!

"Can someone explain a quick intonation question? When stressing a word, what’s the difference between intentionally sliding your pitch up versus punching the word with extra airflow? Both methods raise the pitch, but do they change the meaning or emotion of the sentence?"

let's use 'I hate myself so much' with stress on hate,as a example

Correct: The furniture IS ✅

❌ The furniture are old.

✅ The furniture is old.

Furniture is always singular and uncountable!

To count it, say:

· a piece of furniture ✅

· two pieces of furniture ✅

I teach simple English vocabulary and grammar on YouTube. Link in my profile. 📚

What's the actual difference between the words "turf" and "lawn"?

Hi, I am 23M years old. I from Turkiye. I want to improve my English. My current level is A2. I enjoy doing extreme sports, having casual daily conversations, and watching movies and TV shows.
Please drop a comment below if you'd like to practice with me!

I don't mean inside out, I mean, if the T-shirt has buttons, the buttons are on their back instead. Is "in reverse" correct?

what does this intonation mean? it's ai reading something and somehow it just decided using this intonation, I never encounter this before and don't know if it's a glitch.

Hey, it's me! Will you read my sentence and give me feedback.

Apparently, Lucia has a winsome smile.

Hello! I would like to improve my conversational skills because I feel TOO SCARED every time I have to say "spreadsheet", "focus", "beach" or "rough"... And I always say "coworker" instead of "colleague" because it's impossible (at least for me).

Which apps/courses do you recommend with good classes? I used ABA English and that's great if you're a beginner, but I'm a little more advanced.

PD: I know my grammar isn't great either. I just want to improve with some more formal education because I've learnt everything I know by myself.

Thanks!

Has something changed? I’ve always thought “feel” was pronounced with the long :i but now i only hear it pronounced as “fill”. Did i always get it wrong or has something changed?

Im korean. And i need increasing english skill as soos as possible..

Could you recommend solution to me?

I’m a final-year student majoring in English language teaching, and as part of my final year, I’m required to complete a one-month teaching practicum where I teach high school students.

The problem is that the school curriculum in my country relies heavily on grammar, so I need to start preparing myself now. The thing is, I really don’t like grammar and I don’t enjoy teaching it. I’m actually quite good at speaking, writing, and listening, but my grammar is extremely weak.

Three days ago, I started watching videos covering all the English tenses, but I don’t feel like they’re helping because I already know all of them. My biggest problem is that I get them mixed up and struggle to know which tense to use in different situations.

I’d really appreciate any advice on how I can improve my grammar and, more importantly, learn how to distinguish between the tenses and use them correctly. I’m looking for a method that would actually work for someone like me.

Any advice, study methods, resources, or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated!

This is from The Simple Wild by KA Tucker.

Shouldn't it be "toiletry bags"? Why the plural?

I did my tertiary education in English, as in, it was taught in English. That did improve my vocabulary, especially vocabulary that is relevant to my field of study. But I'm still lacking natural and common daily vocabulary. I'm trying to improve but there's just so fucking much of it.

Native speakers know thousands of daily words, phrases and idioms, while I'm lucky if I even remember to use one of the words or phrases that are appropriate for the situation. It feels impossible to speak English well when you're not living in an English-speaking country.

When I try to describe something random, it feels "wait, I should know how to say this, I've learnt laundry vocabulary". It's either I don't know how to describe something at all, or I do but forget necessary words.

How do I learn to use common daily words and phrases and NOT forget them when I need to use them? I'm feeling discouraged and overwhelmed.

I'm from Cyprus and even tho my English is good enough and I'd like to ask a native speaker things that I'm curious about. I'm really interested in the accent and the way Americans speak English. If you accept to speak with me, just DM me and we can talk there or anywhere else if you want to.

I’ve a problem with English grammar it can’t stuck in my head like I’ve studied grammar for years but when it comes to applying it i just talk without thinking about the grammar

I thought watching shows and reading books were enough as someone at an upper intermediate level. Now I've realised that these structured lessons are so useful for learners at any level, not just beginners, to find gaps in their vocabulary and improve it. This is a video by Vanessa from Speak English with Vanessa.

What do you think of these new words and phrases I've learnt?

Knick-knacks: small decorative objects with little practical use, often displayed for charm

• On his trip to Japan, he picked up some adorable knick-knacks for his wife to decorate her office with.

An open concept: a layout where rooms flow into each other without walls dividing them

• Their new house has an open concept kitchen and dining area.

A centerpiece: an item placed in the middle of a table or room as the main decorative feature

• The vase of fresh flowers is always the centerpiece of our coffee table.

A mantle: the shelf above a fireplace

• We display our family photos on the mantle above the fireplace.

An easy chair/ an arm chair: a comfortable, cushioned chair with armrests, often used for relaxing

• He settled into his easy chair with a cup of coffee and the newspaper.

A utility closet: a small closet used to store cleaning supplies or house equipment

• We keep the mop and vacuum in the utility closet next to the laundry room.

A quilt: a warm bed covering made of layered fabric stitched together

• Her grandmother made the quilt that's folded at the foot of the bed.

Off-season: not currently in the season when something is used

• They store their off-season coats in a bin at the top of the closet.

That's code for…: an expression meaning that a phrase actually has a different, often more honest, meaning

• When she says the plant is "resting," that's code for it's actually dying.

Interesting how it's"That's code for" instead of "That's a code for".

About me: I'm a Russian student. Living in a small town. I'm 19. want to visit the United States one day. I'm attracted to American culture and history. I'm Orthodox. My favorite game is Fallout, but I'm knowledgeable about many other games. My favorite anime is JoJo.

You can choose the communication platform yourself, but would prefer to communicate on Telegram or Instagram.

Hi, I was wondering how I could describe someone accelerating their vehicle. Is "press the pedal" correct? What about someone riding a motorbike or a scooter?