Noun + Noun compounds

Often in English a noun + noun compound is formed to create an expression.

EX:

a horse race (a kind of race)

a race horse (a kind of horse)

baby bottle (a kind of bottle)

a conference room (a kind of room)

In some classifying expressions we use a structure with possessive 's. This is common when we are talking about things that are used by a person or animal: the first noun refers to the user.

EX:
a woman's magazine
a man's sweater

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Emphasis in English Part II

1) Constructions with an anticipatory “it” also serves the purpose of emphasis:

Eg:

It was he who broke the window.

It was in the middle of the night that the fierce fire burst out.

2) Sentences with the construction: of + objective case of the personal pronoun is also an emphatic construction:

Eg:

Not for the life of me could I do such a stupid thing.

It will be the unavoidable death of him.

I can not bear the terrible sight of it.

3) The so-called repetition group are another favorite device to make a word prominent:

Eg:

He added improvement after improvement to his machine.

She thought of it again and again.

It was miles and miles of winding forest path.

4) Abstract noun and names of materials are made emphatic when used in the plural:

Eg:

The snows and frosts of an Arctic winter killed them.

A thousand pardons were produced when she made a mistake.

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Word Use: Hardly and Scarcely

When do you use "hardly" and "scarcely?"

Hardly and 'scarcely are adverbs mostly used with past perfect to show something that happened in quick succession in the past.

Ex: Hardly had I come in the door, when Mariana arrived.

EX: Luisa had scarcely finished her meal when she received the call from Juanito.

Extra tip: Barely is also an adverb with similar use.

Ex: I had barely finished my work when my boss gave me another assignment.

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The Least and The Fewest

What's the difference between "the least" and "the fewest?" Confused?

The least is the superlative form of 'little' used with uncountable nouns.

Ex: Juani does the least work of anyone in class.

The fewest is the superlative form of 'few' used with countable nouns.

Ex: Maria has made the fewest mistakes on the test than anyone in class.

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Emphasis in English Part I

The English language uses the following means to make a word or a word-group prominent:

1) Using intonation in spoken language, prominent stress in word-group, or using bold type, italics, underlines, … can be used to express emphasis.

Eg: I have seen him. I have seen him lately.

2) A word or a word-group becomes emphatic when it is put in any abnormal position:

Eg:

Strangely fast fled his days in the valley.

Down, down they ski off the hill.

Foot steps, quick and light, mounted the stairs and went into the next room.

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Confusing English Words Part II

Here is our second list of confusing English words:

credit:

adverse, averse: Adverse means unfavorable. Adverse conditions make a trip unlikely. Averse means disinclined or reluctant: The secretaries are averse to changing the dress code.

advice, advise: Advice is a noun: Take my advice. Advise is a verb: I advise you not to go.

affect, effect: The most common mistake here is to confuse the verb affect with the noun effect. The verb affect means to influence, while the noun effect means result. The decision to strike affects us all because the effect of a strike at this time will be devastating. (If you can put the in front of it, the word is effect.) Less frequently, effect is used as a verb meaning to bring about, to accomplish: Harris effected a change in company policy. Still less frequently, and with the accent on the first syllable, affect is used as a noun meaning an emotion or mood as a factor in behavior or a stimulus arousing an emotion or mood. The use of this noun is limited to psychology.

aid, aide: Aid means assistance (noun) and to assist (verb). It doesn't mean a person who is an assistant. That word is aide: Her aide spoke to the press.

all ready, already: All ready means all prepared. I am all ready to go on the picnic. Already means by or before the given or implied time: I was already aware that the plan wouldn't work.

all right, alright: All right, meaning safe, is correct; His performance was all right. Alright is an incorrect spelling.

all together, altogether: All together means all at one time or in one place: When we rescued the five men, they were all together on the ledge. Altogether means completely, in all. Altogether, we rescued five men.

allude, refer: To allude to something is to speak of it without specifically mentioning it: When he said his father was unable to care for himself, he was probably alluding to the filthy house and empty refrigerator. To refer to something is to mention it directly: He referred to the filthy house and empty refrigerator as evidence that his father couldn't live alone

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Confusing English Words - Part I

Some English learners and natives alike confuse these words. Word choice is an important skill in any language.

How many do you know?

source:

alot, a lot: A lot is a colloquial expression meaning very much or very many; avoid using it in formal writing. Alot is a misspelling of a lot.

a while, awhile: These words mean essentially the same thing, but there is a distinction to be aware of. While means period of time, and therefore it is correct to write He left for a while. However, awhile means for a period of time, with the for as part of the definition. Therefore, it is correct to write He waited awhile but not He waited for awhile.

accept, except: Accept means to receive or to agree with: I accept the gift; I accept your proposal. Except as a preposition means leaving out or (as a verb) to exclude: Everyone except you is invited; He was excepted from the requirement.

adapt, adopt: When you adapt something, you change it to suit a purpose, such as adapting a novel for a screenplay, or adapting yourself to a new environment. When you adopt something, you take it as it is and make it your own. For example, the local chapter of a club may adopt its national organization's constitution.

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Improve Your Writing Skills

Unfortunately, writing suffers in foreign language instruction.

The focus is on oral communication and its compliment, reading comprehension.

Here are some practical writing tips:

1) Practice makes perfect: Write, write, write! Writing is learning by doing.

2) Variety: Write different types of texts: reports, emails, blog posts, or an interesting short story. Different techniques and strategies apply to the type of text involved.

3) Read: Yes, reading is essential in writing better. Learn from other authors about style, phrasing, effective word order, and how to say the most in the least words (brevity is the soul of wit says Shakespeare).

4) Overcome fear: Express your ideas clearly and succinctly. Find your writing voice. Have confidence in your writing.

5) Focus on your weakness: Do you have problems with the opening sentence to capture attention? Is it difficult to organize your thoughts?

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Active vs Passive Voice

Write using active verbs and avoid the passive voice!

The main difference between active and passive voice is the action the subject is more direct and upfront in an active construct.

Ex: John threw the ball to first base.

The passive voice construction uses the "being verbs" and the subject of the sentence is less noticeable, almost hidden from the reader.

Ex: The ball was thrown by John to first base.

The passive voice allows the writer to evade expressing concrete and sound thoughts which may be the author's purpose depending on the text.

The best advice is use active verbs to boldly and unequivocally express the idea so your reader can understand the point.
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Shakespeare the Great

No holds Bard — Jennifer Moody

Ms. Moody's article pays homage to the Bard as William Shakespeare is known. Check out the famous one-liners.

Most native speakers of English get some exposure to great poet and dramatist of Elizabethan England.

Besides the popular "Hamlet," "Macbeth," and "Othello," - some of his top tragedies - "Twelfth Night" has always fascinated.

Perhaps you'll agree.

The first line of the play is 'If music be the food of love, play on, play on!"

Also, another remarkable line is:

'Some are born great; some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them.'

Using literature in English-language courses among advanced students is an excellent manner to teach culture and truly test reading comprehension. Incorporating writing and critical analysis guarantees a deeper understanding of the language.

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Mind Your -mb's in English

Silent -b words

English words ending in -mb bedevil students. They often try to pronounce the 'b' at the end of the word. It is silent!

Examples

The following are examples of the silent ' b' :

• climb
• crumb
• dumb
• comb
• tomb
• womb

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A more complete list of -mb words with a silent 'b' can be found here.


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English Grammar Point: Gerunds in Passive Voice

We often use a gerund after the verbs need, require and want. In this case, the gerund has a passive voice.

• I have three shirts that need ironing. (need to be ironed)
• This letter requires signing. (needs to be signed)
• The house wants repainting. (needs to be repainted)

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English Grammar Point: Gerunds follow certain verbs

We sometimes use one verb after another verb. Often the second verb is in the infinitive form.

Example:

• I want to sleep.

But sometimes the second verb must be in gerund form, for example:

• I like sleeping.

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This depends on the first verb. Here is a list of verbs that are usually followed by a verb in gerund form:

• admit, appreciate, avoid, carry on, consider, defer, delay, deny, detest, dislike, endure, enjoy, escape, excuse, face, feel like, finish, forgive, give up, can't help, imagine, involve, leave off, mention, mind, miss, postpone, practice, put off, report, resent, risk, can't stand, suggest, take, understand

Examples:

• She is considering taking a vacation.
• Do you feel like going out?
• I can't help falling in love with her.
• I can't stand not seeing him.

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English Grammar Point: "-ing" not always a gerund!

"-ing" ending could also be a present participle

When a verb ends in -ing, it may be a gerund or a present participle. It is important to understand that they are not the same.

When we use a verb in -ing form more like a noun, it is usually a gerund:

• Bowling is fun. (Verbal noun - gerund)

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When we use a verb in -ing form more like a verb or an adjective, it is usually a present participle:

• Juani is bowling. (is bowling is the present participle)
  
• I have a boring teacher. (boring is the adjective)
  

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English Grammar Point: "-ing" and Prepositions

Which sentence is correct?

A) Are you interested in learning English?
B) Are you interested in learn English?

Well, A is the correct choice.

Why? Because when the prepositions in, at, with, of, for, about and so on are used before a verb, the verb must use -ing.


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More Examples

'I'm scared of swimming in the lake.'

'Thanks for giving me a lift.'

'My brothers are good at playing soccer.'

'How about taking the bus?'

'I'm not interested in reading history books.'

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English Grammar Point: Using the Gerund

The Gerund

What is a gerund? How do you use it?

The OWL at Purdue University defines a gerund as "a verbal that ends in -ing and functions as a noun. The term verbal indicates that a gerund, like the other two kinds of verbals, is based on a verb and therefore expresses action or a state of being."


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Example

Using a gerund is helpful to express oneself in English.

"To use" is the verb while the -ing form "using" is the gerund. When a verb is turned into a noun, a gerund is formed.

Gerund Usage

Since a gerund is a noun, it may occupy the same position of nouns in a sentence: a subject, subject compliment of verb 'to be,' direct object, and object of preposition, phrasal verbs, compound nouns, and certain expressions.

We will examine each case in later posts.

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English Grammar Point - All together vs Altogether

All together

All together means everyone or everything together.

It's time to practice singing. All together now!

The last time we were all together was in 1997.

Put the books all together on the table.

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Tip: If the two terms can be separated, that's a sure clue that the term you want is all together.

It's time for all of us to sing together now!

The last time all of us were together was in 1997.

Put all the books together on the table.

Notice how all and together are apart and the meaning of the sentence does not change.

Altogether

Altogether is an adverb and means "all in all," "all told," "wholly" or "completely."

That was altogether (completely) too difficult

Altogether (all in all) , not a bad day's work.

It cost over a thousand dollars altogether (in total).

The Bottom Line

If you can replace the term with something like "completely" or "all in all," you are altogether better off with altogether. If you can rewrite the sentence to use all and together separately, the term you want is all together.

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English Grammar Point - Phrasal Verb List

Phrasal Verb List

Sometimes it is best to memorize phrasal verbs to become familiar with how they are used in the language.

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About.com has a great listing for quick reference. Make sure to make it a bookmark in your English language folder.

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English Grammar Point: Three Word Phrasal Verbs

Three Word Phrasal Verbs

If phrasal verbs were not complex enough for intermediate or advanced English language learners, enter the three word phrasal verb.

Some verbs are followed by two prepositions (or adverbs). These three word phrasal verbs are ALWAYS inseparable.

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Example of Three Word (Transitive) Phrasal Verb

1) I was talking to Mom on the phone when the operator broke in on our call.

2) Unfortunately, I wasn't able to keep up on the news while I was away on vacation in Bora Bora.

Note the verb and its two prepositions/adverbs are all together and not separated.

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English is a Stressed Language

English is considered a stressed language while many other languages are considered syllabic.

In French or Italian, for example, each syllable receives equal importance. There is stress in each, but each syllable has its own length.

English pronunciation focuses on specific stressed words while quickly gliding over the other, non stressed, words.

The Importance

Why is this so important to understand?

If you know where the stress is, you can better pronounce the language. Native speakers automatically know where the stress lies.

Students of English need to realize how words are stressed in the language to improve their pronunciation.

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The Best Way

The best way to improve your pronunciation is to work with a native speaker to mimic the sounds and learn the stress in sentences. A native speaker can also help with the cadence or rhythm which together with proper stress leads to better pronunciation.

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