I've been thinking for a while that it might be useful to have a thread where people can ask questions about the English language - spelling, grammar, punctuation and things like that. After getting the thumbs-up for this idea on the "Down Crack" thread, I've decided to give it a go. Also, if anyone has questions about specific texts they are studying at school, people who've read them might be able to help out with those, too.
I'll get things started with a quick explanation about something that confuses lots of people (English or otherwise) - the apostrophe (').
Apostrophes have two main functions:
1. to show that letters have been left out of a word
2. to show that something belongs to someone or something.
They should never be used for plurals, so writing something like "I love animal's" would be wrong.
Here are some examples with the correct usage:
It's raining.
I'm feeling fine.
He's very silly.
They've moved house.
The apostrophes are there to show that the writer means "It is...", "I am...", "He is..." and "They have...".
Incidentally, when writing about decades, we don't need an apostrophe, because no letters have been left out:
The 1980s
That's simple enough, now for the more tricky part.
When we want to say that something belongs to someone or something, we write an apostrophe after the owner, and add the letter 's':
The dog's bone. (One dog owns the bone.) John's house.
If the person or thing ends with the letter 's', or we want to talk about something with more than one owner, it's common to put an apostrophe after it, and not to add another 's':
James' football. The dogs' bone. (More than one dog owns the bone.)
We always put the apostrophe after the owner, so in the two doggy examples above, in the first one the owner is "the dog", in the second the owner is "the dogs".
Still with me? OK. Now for the confusing part - the word "its". How do we know whether to write "it's" or "its"?
The answer is that we only use "it's" when we mean "it is". If you want to talk about something that is owned by something else, use "its":
Every rose has its thorn. The dog was playing with its bone.
Right, I hope that's been useful for somebody. For now, bring on the questions...
Can Yu check my work for me? Pretty please with a carrot on the top?
Luckily for you, I'm at a bit of a loose end at the moment. Holidays - hooray! etc.
I'll give your work a cursory glance if you like, and I could tell you what I think of it, but at no stage will I do the work for you. Do bear that in mind.
You can send it to me in a PM or put it here on the thread - up to you.
Luckily for you, I'm at a bit of a loose end at the moment. Holidays - hooray! etc.
I'll give your work a cursory glance if you like, and I could tell you what I think of it, but at no stage will I do the work for you. Do bear that in mind.
You can send it to me in a PM or put it here on the thread - up to you.
Peace
I wasn't gonna make you do it for me, you just look through it, don't be silleh, I'm a good girl =D
I wasn't gonna make you do it for me, you just look through it, don't be silleh, I'm a good girl =D
Ah, but sometimes you have to be silly. That's just a general principle of mine - on to the reason why:
I often get asked to look through people's work, and a lot of the time what they mean is "can you improve it for me so I get a better mark when I hand it in?"
I'm not saying that's your reason for asking, just letting you know that it's not what I'm here for. I'll point you in the right direction with your work if I can, then it's up to you to get going with it.
I dun the work, just need to type it up!
Good stuff - you seem to be pretty well-organised.
I'll be online this evening, but away over the next few days.
Ah, but sometimes you have to be silly. That's just a general principle of mine - on to the reason why:
I often get asked to look through people's work, and a lot of the time what they mean is "can you improve it for me so I get a better mark when I hand it in?"
I'm not saying that's your reason for asking, just letting you know that it's not what I'm here for. I'll point you in the right direction with your work if I can, then it's up to you to get going with it.
Good stuff - you seem to be pretty well-organised.
I'll be online this evening, but away over the next few days.
Peace
Well organised. :X I started yesterday and it's due in on Monday, we actually have aaaaaages to do it, but I were unwell. . No pressure =D
No I don't want Yu to do the work, dat'll make me gay, Yah happy, what were you thinking?
Ima PM you in a bit and then let you enjoy your holiday(s)!
Where is our forum English teacher when we need him???
Believe it or not, I'm just back from giving an extra English lesson! The son of a friend of mine has his English GCSE coming up and he needs every bit of help he can get.
It looks like I've got a lot of questions to get through, so here goes:
format_quote Originally Posted by Hafsah
Is it 'sang' or 'sung'? I always get confused and say 'singed' instead
Here is a verb table for the verb 'to sing':
Present: sing [As in 'I like to sing.']
Past simple: sang [As in 'He sang for two hours.]
Past participle: sung [As in 'Our choir has sung in many large venues.']
When it comes to sang and sung, one easy way to remember which one to use is this:
If you're just using a pronoun then the verb, use sang. Examples: 'We sang', 'you sang', 'they sang'.
If you're using a pronoun, then an auxiliary verb (like was or had), then the main verb, use sung. Examples: 'She has sung', 'The tune will be sung', 'They had sung'.
format_quote Originally Posted by Alpha Jr
If you don't mind can you explain the usage of "who" and "whom"? Thanks!
It's possible to get through life without ever using the word 'whom', which is not used nearly as much as it used to be. It's almost always possible to rephrase things to allow the use of 'who'.
What's the best way to learn all phrasal verbs without too much trying?
Practice and memory. I'm afraid there doesn't seem to be a shortcut for this!
format_quote Originally Posted by transition?
I always get farther and further mixed up.
Muezzin's explanation is excellent.
I would only add that very few people nowadays are too bothered by this distinction. If in doubt, use 'further', and only the most extreme pedant would complain.
I hope those are helpful answers - let me know if you'd like any clarification and I'll try to reply before too long.
Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.
When you create an account, we remember exactly what you've read, so you always come right back where you left off. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and share your thoughts. Sign Up
Quote
. No pressure =D
Hide
Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.
Bookmarks