Tuesday, 29 May 2018

A common fault: using adjectives instead of adverbs.

Do not use adjectives where adverbs are needed.

These sentences are wrong:
The contractor worked real quick.
She painted good.
The clock struck loud.

They should be:
The contractor worked really quickly.
She painted well.
The clock struck loudly.

Friday, 25 May 2018

Spelling Mnemonics for words beginning with 'a'


  • abundance: Is it -ance or -ence? Remember "An abundance of people can dance."
  • ache: Remember the first letter of each word of this sentence,"Aches Can Hurt Everywhere".
  • acquire: Most misspellings miss the c. Remember: " I want to ACquire AirConditioning".
  • across: One c or two? Remember: "Walk across a cross walk"
  • address: One d or two? Remember: "I'll add you to my address book"
  • aisle: Remember the first letter of each word of this sentence: "Athletics In Stadiums Looks Easy"

Thursday, 3 May 2018

The prefix 'AMBI'

The prefix AMB or AMBI means 'around', 'about', 'both'.It comes from the Latin ambo, ambioambitio.  This last is the basis for the words ambition and ambitious, especially for candidates seeking election.

Word
part of speech
Meaning
amble
AMB le v.
Walk leisurely about
ambidexter
AMBI dexter n.
One who uses both hands adeptly
ambidextrous
AMBI dextrous adj.
Using both hands adeptly or skillfully
ambition
AMBI tion n.
Desire to achieve
ambitious
AMBI tious adj.
Desirous to achieve
ambiguity
AMBI guity n.
Uncertainty of meaning, position
ambiguous
AMBI guous adj.
Where the meaning is uncertain
ambiparous
AMBI parous adj.
that has both leaves and flowers
ambit
AMBI t n.
Boundaries of a place or subject
ambient
AMBI ent adj.
Surroundings, moving around
ambilateral
AMBI lateral adj.
Relating to both sides
ambivalence
AMBI valence n.
Simultaneous attraction & repulsion
ambivalent
AMBI valent adj.
Being simultaneously attracted & repelled
ambivert
AMBI vert adj.
One who is both an introvert & extrovert
ambisinister
AMBI sinister adj.
Clumsy with both hands
ambitendency
AMBI tendency n.
Having both tendency and counter-tendency
amburbia
AMBI urbial adj.
Related to circuit of a city
perambulator
per AMB ulator n.
Wanderer, baby carriage
ambulance
AMB ulance n.
Vehicle to transport the sick and injured



Tuesday, 24 April 2018

Words from Native American languages

AS with other languages, English adopted several words from Native American languages.Some of them are familiar to most of us and some less so.
Have chosen a few below:-

  • Caribou - a large deer, related to the reindeer.
    caribou
  •  Caucus - a group of people that advise/ form policies for a political party.
  • Canoe: A slim boat. 
  • Cassava: An edible root!
  • Chipmunk: a range of squirrels found in North America
  • Coyote: a kind of wolf-like animal, but much smaller
  • Eskimo: a person who lives in Alaska, Northern Canada and Greenland.
  • Guacamole: A sauce made from avocados.
  • Hammock: a net tied between vertical supports, a good place for resting
    hammock
  • Hickory: a group of North American trees that bear edible nuts. Their wood is also very valuable.
  • Hurricane: a violent storm
  • Husky: a large dog used for pulling sledges.
  • Kinkajou: It is a very cute animal that lives in trees.
  • Mangrove: A tree that grows on shorelines 
  • Maize: Corn! the stuff that makes popcorns, tacos and nachos.
  • Moccasin: a very comfortable kind of shoe.
  • Moose: a large deer that stands about 6 feet tall as an adult.
  • Muskrat: A semi-aquatic North American rodent with a musky smell
  • Opossum: A North American marsupial with a prehensile tail
  • Persimmon: A fruit with a sweet and tart taste.
  • Racoon: A mammal with eyes ringed with a spectacle like making
    racoon
  • Squaw: A word for wife, in Native American
  • Terrapin: A tortoise
  • Tobacco: The stuff that makes cigarettes and lung cancer.
  • Toboggan: A native American sled.
  • Totem: A decorated pole with Native American cultural significance.  
  • Wapiti: A native American word for 'elk'.
  • Wigwam: A native American tent.
  • Woodchuck: A Groundhog.

Friday, 2 March 2018

Pronoun Shifts

"Pronoun shifts" also known as "shifts in point of view" involve the inconsistent matching of pronouns, either in terms of person and number. Within a single sentence (and perhaps within an entire paragraph or essay), the first person should be matched with the first person, the second person with the second person and the third person with the third person. A common mistake involves matching the third person "one" or "a person" with the second person you. Another mistake involves matching the third person singular "he," "she," "one" or "a person" with the third person plural "they."
 eg: 
Incorrect: To know that person can't vote is to know that you don't have a voice.  
Correct: To know that a person can't vote is to know that a person/he/she/one doesn't have a voice.

Incorrect: One cannot really understand another country until they have studied its history and culture. 

Correct: One cannot really understand another country until one has studied its history and culture.      

Friday, 23 February 2018

Verbs 2

There are 2 kinds of verbs: Lexical verbs and Auxiliary Verbs

Lexical verbs are what we consider as 'normal' verbs, they reflect action like so :

I drink tea.
She ran the 200-metre hurdles race.
They thought about the proposal for a while.
The Doctor forgot about the appointment.

The others are Auxiliary verbs which are used in the forming of tenses, moods, and voices of other verbs. They are further divided into:
1) Primary - be, do and have
2) Modal - can, could, may, might, shall, should, will and would. 

Tuesday, 20 February 2018

'As', 'because' and 'since'

These three words, when used as a conjunction to convey the meaning " for the reason that" are all interchangeable.
'As everyone has a vehicle, let's go in a convoy'
'Because the teenagers were bored they decided to go for a movie'
'Since we have time, let us prepare for the trip'