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Tutor Zach McLaughlin 's Column

Talking about difficulties in English

Freitag, 7. Mai 2021, 04:21

This week’s column topic is Struggles you experienced while living abroad, so for anyone studying English, here are some expressions that you can use to talk about your difficulties!


All of these phrases express the same idea and all of them use to have + noun + with. Because with is a preposition, it should be followed by a noun, pronoun, or gerund (-ing form). With is optional before a gerund.

  • To have difficulty with s.t. (Ex. I have difficulty with math.)
  • To have trouble with s.t. (Ex. Many people have trouble (with) saving money.)
  • To have a hard time with s.t. (Ex. We used to have a hard time with our neighbours.)

The verb struggle can also be followed by with to express a similar idea.

  • To struggle with s.t. (Ex. I’ve always struggled with organizing my schedule.)

Struggle can also be followed by an infinitive.

  • To struggle to do s.t. (Ex. I struggled to communicate with the locals.)

Another way to express these ideas is to say that you find it hard, tough, or difficult to do something.

  • To find it hard/tough/difficult to do s.t. (Ex. I found it tough to sleep at night.)

When you encounter a difficult situation, you can use the verb face or the phrasal verb run into.

  • To face trouble/challenges (Ex. I faced several challenges when I lived abroad.)
  • To run into trouble/challenges (Ex. We ran into trouble with the police.)

I hope this will help you to talk about your difficulties in English!


Zach


This column was published by the author in their personal capacity.
The opinions expressed in this column are the author's own and do not reflect the view of Cafetalk.

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