Transcript LIFESTYLE_LESSON_16_PART3

It’s vs. Its
• It’s is a contraction of it is or it has.
E.g.
It’s cold outside although it’s high noon.
• Its is the possessive form of it.
E.g.
Do you know its owner?
Please remove its cover.
Its color is beautiful.
Lie or Lay?
• Lie – a verb which means to recline. It doesn’t take a direct
object.
E.g.
I will lie down in the evening.
Let’s all lie on the carpet.
• Lay – a verb which means to place or set down. It always takes
a direct object: the thing that is placed or set down.
E.g.
Lay the newspaper on the table.
I have laid the flowers near the grave.
Like or Such as?
• Like – used when we are talking of large, indefinite fields of
similarity
E.g. Movie like this one are very entertaining.
In this example, like means “similar to”.
• Such as – used when we are talking of specifically named
persons, places, or things included in a small field
E.g. Countries such as the United States and Japan are important to the
world’s economy.
In this example, the use of such as intends to specify those countries as
examples, not just to put them into a broad category of countries that are
important to the world’s economy.
Littler and Littlest
Although sometimes used, both these forms
(littler, littlest) are regarded as juvenile, or
perhaps dialectical.
When size is involved, the better forms
are smaller and smallest; when quantity or
importance is involved, the better forms
are less (sometimes lesser) and least.
Majority is or Majority are?
Many words that mean a group of things — number, total, and majority, for
example — can be singular or plural. Sometimes they mean the group
acting as a whole, sometimes the members of a group.
As with the other “two-faced” words, consider whether these are referring to
the whole or the parts.
A little hint: The before the word (the number, the majority) is usually a clue
that it's singular; while a (a total, a majority), especially when of comes
after, usually indicates a plural.
E.g. The majority is unhappy over the decision. Still, a majority of the
members are hoping for a reconsideration.
May or Might?
• May expresses likelihood
E.g. She may attend the court hearing.
• Might expresses a stronger sense of
doubt, or a contrary-to-the fact
hypothetical
E.g. She might have been able to attend the hearing if
she hadn’t gone to the doctor.
Me, Myself, or I?
•Traditional grammar dictates that “the first person singular
pronoun is I when it's a subject and me when it's an object.”
E.g. The letter had to be signed by both Peter and me.
•The -self pronouns are called either reflexive or intensive,
depending on how they are used in a sentence. In either case,
myself should not be used unless there is an I previously in the
same sentence.
E.g.
I saw the ghost myself.
I consider myself lucky.
Me, Myself, or I?
Note: Don’t use -self pronouns when a nominative
objective pronoun is in order.
E.g.
She gave the award to him and me. (Not myself.)
He and I (not myself) are going to hear mass.
• If you separate each pronoun into its own sentence, it
will be easier to determine which pronoun to use.
•E.g.
They gave the prize to her and _______.
Separate it into: “They gave the prize to her.” and “They gave the
prize to me.” The answer, thus, is me.
Mrs./Ms./Miss
• Mrs. is used to refer to a married woman.
• Ms. is widely used in business and public life to refer to or
address a woman, particularly if her marital status is either
unknown or irrelevant to the context.
• Miss is used to refer to an unmarried woman.
Note: Some women may indicate their preference, which should
be honored. If a woman has a professional or academic title
(e.g. Doctor, Captain, or Professor, for instance), use this
instead of Mrs., Ms., or Miss.
Not only...but also
This can be a difficult correlative conjunction to work with
because of the extra words and their placement in the
sentence.
Just make sure that the parts that follow each set of words are
formatted the same way; i.e., use two verbs that make
chronological sense, two nouns, or two adjectives.
E.g.
Good: He is not only a great speaker, but also a wonderful writer.
Bad: He is not only a great speaker, but also writes wonderful novels.
Note: Make the second example better by rewriting it with two verb clauses:
He not only speaks with ease, but also writes wonderful novels.
Number or Amount?
• Number refers to things that can be counted
as individuals.
E.g. A number of girlfriends, a number of cars, a
number of problems
• Amount refers to a mass quantity; i.e., things
that cannot be counted as separate items.
E.g. An amount of stress, an amount of debt, an
amount of sympathy
OK or Okay?
OK, Okay, or O.K. – colloquial English word
denoting approval, agreement, or
acknowledgment.
The Chicago Manual of Style recommends okay.
The Associated Press recommends OK.
Both of these are acceptable in informal writing;
however, it’s best to avoid these in formal
writing.
On or Upon?
• On and upon are interchangeable, but upon is overly
formal for most communications.
E.g.
The results were based upon their findings. (Too
formal!)
The results were based on their findings. (Better!)
In or Into?
• Into – a preposition that shows both the direction and the
result of the movement.
• In – may be used both with verbs that show movement and
with verbs that do not show movement.
For verbs showing movement, in and on may be used instead
of into and onto , although into and onto are clearer. In
this case, they show both direction and result.
With verbs that do not show movement but show location, use:
in - within, or inside
on - touching the surface of, or topside
In/Into
Study the following examples:
E.g.
Mark jumped into/in the pool. (You may use both, but into
shows both the direction and the result of the movement).
Mark says that the water in (not into) the pool is cold.
Miranda threw her coat on/onto the table. (You may use both,
but onto shows both the direction and the result of the
movement).
Miranda left her coat on (not onto) the table.
All right or Alright?
We have always been taught that “alright is not all
right”.
However, the American Heritage Guide to Contemporary Usage and Style states:
•
“Alright” as one word “has never been accepted as standard”...but it then also
goes on to explain that “all right” as two words and “alright” as one word have
two distinct meanings.
E.g.
The numbers are all right. (Meaning: the figures are all accurate.)
The numbers are alright. (Meaning: the figures are satisfactory.)
Although alright is now very common, it is still considered by some as a misspelling of,
or less acceptable than, all right.
Shall or Will?
• In Britain: Shall is used to indicate the future if you are using
1st person (I or we); Will is used if you are using 2nd or 3rd
person.
E.g.
I shall have tea with my cousin this afternoon. He will arrive at
around noon.
• Shall is also used to express intention or determination on
the speaker (someone other than the subject of the verb).
E.g.
Tomorrow, you shall be my wife.
Shall or Will?
• In America, will has replaced shall in all except a few
cases – in legal documents, in lofty prose, or in being
polite or offering an invitation.
E.g.
This contract shall take effect on June 1, 2013.
“We shall overcome...”
“...that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of
freedom...”
“Shall I take your coat, sir?”
Sic
In academic writing, quotations should be copied exactly as they appear in
your reference, but you should also produce a paper that does not contain
grammatical or mechanical errors. A way to ‘handle’ a source that contains
an error is to rephrase the quotation in your own words (while crediting
your reference for the idea). If the quotation will not be given justice if you
rephrase it, however, and you decide to keep it despite the error, then use
[sic] (an abbreviation of the Latin sicut, which means ‘thus’). This would
indicate that the original source is responsible for the error.
E.g.
“I’d rather die then [sic] marry you.”
Since vs. For
• Since – indicates a point in time (since + starting point)
E.g.
I have lived in Winnipeg since I was 11.
• For – indicates the length of a period of time (for + period of
time)
E.g.
I have lived in Winnipeg for 10 years.
I have been living there since a long time – Incorrect
I have been living there for a long time – Correct
So...that, Such...that
• So [adverb/adjective] that
So is paired with that to create emphasis. So (an
adverb) intensifies or modifies an adjective or adverb
in the cause-clause. That follows in the effect-clause
with a remarkable or extraordinary comment.
(Note: very cannot be used in place of so.)
E.g. The wedding was so moving that there wasn’t a dry eye in
the room.
So...that, Such...that
• Such [adjective + noun] that
Such is paired with that to create emphasis. Such
(an adjective) modifies the adjective + noun phrase
in the cause-clause. The that-clause complements
the such-phrase with an effect of extraordinary or
remarkable nature. Such is one of the few adjectives
that occurs before the article (determiner) of the
noun.
E.g. It was such a moving sight that we were all speechless.
Such, So
• So + adjective or adverb
• Such + noun (with or without adjective)
So and such are used to add emphasis.
E.g.
It’s so warm today.
It’s such a warm day.
It’s such a pity.