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...
25:36 And the true servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk the earth with humility and when the ignorant address them, they respond with words of peace.
I've always confused with the use of "had" and "have"
He had been a good person in life
He has been a good person in life
Can you tell me what is the difference?
He had been a good person in life
The word 'had' in this sentence indicates that the particular person was a good person, but later he may have changed OR he was good throughout his life, but he has died long ago, so the word 'had' has been used.
He has been a good person in life.
The word 'has' in this sentence indicates that the particular person was a good person throughout his life, and has died just recently.
Hmm, now that you say that, i'm guessing i sent you a PM, but it was for the sis, you know the one that writes a whole loada bull, in place of a few words, the funny n cute one!
And her name is..czgibson...so i thought.
Peace be upon those who follow guidance.
"Whoever lives amongst you will see much differing, so adhere to my Sunnah" Muhammad (صلّى الله عليه و سلم)
Not possible. The sentence is an imperative (this means it is a command), and can only be precisely expressed using an active verb. A passive imperative would be something like: 'Let the work be done', which isn't quite as direct.
Can you please give me any specific reason why you have not answer my question?
sincerely
syilla
25:36 And the true servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk the earth with humility and when the ignorant address them, they respond with words of peace.
czgibson, are you familiar with The Tempest, by William Shakespear? I have to write an essay on how Shakespear portrays the character Caliban. My teacher says I have a good writing style, but I need subtance.
Can you please give me any specific reason why you have not answer my question?
sincerely
syilla
Sorry - I must have missed it.
You asked about 'I had had'. This tense of the verb is called the past perfect. We use it when we want to talk about something that happened before something else in the past. Here are some examples, using the verb 'make' in the past perfect:
Compare this:
When I got home, my wife made coffee. [I got home, then my wife made coffee.]
with this:
When I got home, my wife had made coffee. [I got home, and the coffee was already made beforehand.]
Just adding the word 'had' changes the order of events.
czgibson, are you familiar with The Tempest, by William Shakespear? I have to write an essay on how Shakespear portrays the character Caliban. My teacher says I have a good writing style, but I need subtance.
I'm very familiar with it. There's lots you can say about Caliban - is the essay no more specific than a general discussion of his character?
The best thing to do is to read as much as you can about him.
I use "listen to me".
But then, i have heard people using both. Why do they do that? is it because, they think they are conveying the same message as "listen to me", or because of too much slang.....they end up eating words from a sentence.For example:
You have given me those things.
You have given to me those things.( The right one)
I have all the things that you have given me.
I have all the things that you have given to me.(The right one)
You asked about 'I had had'. This tense of the verb is called the past perfect. We use it when we want to talk about something that happened before something else in the past. Here are some examples, using the verb 'make' in the past perfect:
Compare this:
When I got home, my wife made coffee. [I got home, then my wife made coffee.]
with this:
When I got home, my wife had made coffee. [I got home, and the coffee was already made beforehand.]
Just adding the word 'had' changes the order of events.
I'm very familiar with it. There's lots you can say about Caliban - is the essay no more specific than a general discussion of his character?
The best thing to do is to read as much as you can about him.
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