An interesting sight

An interesting sight

From Learning English Grammar by BBC Radio

March 3, 2026 · 10 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the use of specific phrases to describe uncertain observations, illustrated through a story involving a festival in India.

George thought he was witnessing a crime and Phil thought a town in India was quiet until he came across an exciting festival. Neil and Pippa, and our grammar guru, Georgie teach you to use 'seem', 'it was as if' and 'it was as though' when you see something happening and you're not sure what's going on. Find a transcript and worksheet at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/learning-english-grammar/260303 Want to boost your speaking skills? Try Beating Speaking Anxiety, our series to help fight your fears of speaking English: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/beating_speaking_anxiety Get our latest programmes. Subscribe to our free email newsletter https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/newsletters

People in this episode

Hosts: Neil, Pippa, Georgie, Phil

Topics covered

  • grammar
  • language learning
  • festivals
  • communication
  • English speaking skills

Keywords

  • grammar
  • seem
  • it was as if
  • it was as though
  • English speaking skills
  • festivals
  • language learning

Mentioned in this episode

Places: India

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