everything you wanted to know about english but were afraid to ask
TRANSCRIPT
1. a, an
• a: goes before a consonant sound
• an: goes before a vowel sound
• Example:
–a boat
–an hour
2. accept, except
• accept: “to receive”
• except: “to leave out”
• Example:– He acceptedaccepted the award.– Everyone got an A exceptexcept Kate.
3. affect, effect
• affect: (verb) “to influence”
• effect: (noun) “the result of an action”
(verb) “to bring about”
• Example:– The loss of McNabb did not affect the
Eagles.– The movie had great special effects.
5. already, all ready
• already=previously
• all ready=ready to go
• Example:– I already saw that movie.– The family was all ready to leave for
vacation.
10. bad, badly
• bad is an adjective.
• badly is an adverb.
• Example:– Those socks smell bad.
(noun) (adj)
– I did badly on the test.(verb) (adv)
11. between, among
• Use between when referring to two things at a time. (Between has two ee’s.)
• Use among when referring to a group.• Note: among and amongst have the
same meaning.• Example:
– Steve sits between Lorin and Amanda.– We split the food among the three of us.
12. bring, take
• bring=“to come carrying something”
• take=“to go carrying something”
• Example:– I will bring home takeout Chinese food.
13. bust, busted
• Don’t use them as verbs. Use burst or break or catch or arrest.
• Example:– The teacher caught the lying student. (Not
busted.)
14. could of, should of, would of, might of, must of, ought to of
• All are incorrect!
• Use have instead.
• Example:– I should have studied.
15. desert, dessert
• desert-think sand
• dessert-think yummy!
• (There are two S’s in dessert because you go back for seconds.)
16. doesn’t, don’t
• doesn’t=does not
• don’t=do not
• Example:– He doesn’t know how to swim. (Not
don’t.)
18. farther, further
• farther=extent of physical distance.
• further=extent of time or degree.
• Example:– He throws the ball farther than Pete.– We’ll talk further tomorrow.
19. fewer, less
• Use fewer with plural words.
• Use less with singular words.
• Example:– Fewer plants grow in the desert than in
the tundra.– She needs less help than he does.
20. good, well
• good-adjective• well-adverb• Example:
– I did well on the quiz.(V) (adv)
• (Note: Well can be an adjective meaning “healthy.”)
• Example:I don’t feel well.
22. hardly, scarcely
• They both have negative meaning.
• Don’t use them with another negative word (like not).
• Example:– I can hardly read this.
26. its, it’s
• An apostrophe with a pronoun is always a contraction!
• its=belonging to it
• it’s=it is
• Example:– It’s time for the dog to run on its own.
27. kind, sort, type
• This, that, these, and those should agree in number with kind, sort, and type.
• Example:– He likes this kind of music, not those
kinds.
29. learn, teach
• learn=to acquire knowledge
• teach=to instruct (give knowledge)
• Example:– Ms. Hoover is teaching me to not eat
paste.
31. lie, lay
• lie=to rest (does not take an object)
• lay=to put something in a place (takes an object)
Base Present Participle
Past Past Participle
lie is lying lay have lain
lay is laying laid have laid
lie, lay (continued)
• Example:– She laid the gloves on the desk. – When I got home, I lay down to sleep.
32. imply, infer
• imply=to give a hint or suggestion
• infer=to take a hint or suggestion
• Example:– He implied that I had something in my
teeth, and I inferred it.
33. like, as if, though
• Like is often used where as if or though should be used.
• Example:– She behaved as if she hadn’t heard her
name.
36. real
• Don’t use real the same way you’d use very, really, or extremely.
• Example:– That test is extremely hard. (Not real.)
37. reason…because
• Use reason…that instead.
• Example:– The reason I did well on the test was that I
studied. (Not because.)
38. rise, raise
• rise=to go up (doesn’t take an object)
• raise=to lift up (takes an object)
Base Present Participle
Past Past Participle
rise is rising rose have risen
raise is raising raised have raised
rise, raise (continued)
• Example:– The sun rises every morning.– My boss raised my salary ten percent.
(Salary is the direct object of raised. That is, it is what is raised.)
39. set, sit
• set=“to put something in a place”
• sit=“to rest in a chair” or “to be in a place”
Base Present Participle
Past Past Participle
set is setting set have set
sit is sitting sat have sat
41. than, then
• Than is used for comparison.
• Then is used with time. (When? Then.)
• Example:– The Eagles are better than the Falcons.– I read my book then did my homework.
42. their, there, they’re
• their=belonging to them
• there=a place (Where? There.)
• they’re=they are
• Example:– Their books are over there.
47. use to, used to, suppose to, supposed to• Don’t leave off the –d when writing
these.
• Example:– I used to live in Philadelphia.
48. way, ways
• Use way (no –s) when referring to distance.
• Example:– We have a long way to go. (Not ways.)
49. when, where
• Don’t use these words when writing a definition.
• Example:– An infomercial is where a TV show that is
a long advertisement.
51. who, which, that
• They are all pronouns, but they are used to refer to different kinds of nouns.
• Who refers to people.• Which refers to things.• That refers to either people or things.• If you’re not sure, use that.• Example:
– This is the ring that I want.
52. who, whom
• who=subject
• whom=object (usually goes with or to)
• Example:– Who is that guy with the hook for the
hand?– To whom should I give this money?
53. who’s, whose
• who’s=who is or who has
• whose=ownership
• Example:– Whose pants are these?– Who’s there?
54. without, unless
• Don’t use without for unless.
• Example: – I can’t go to the game unless I do my
homework. (Not without doing.)