Archive for 'English Grammar'
“Coulda Shoulda Woulda” Posted by Gabriele on Mar 9, 2012
“Woulda coulda shoulda” or “coulda shoulda woulda” and “shoulda coulda woulda” are all expressions that mean the same thing; they express a feeling of regret or second-guessing. These expressions (really all just variations on one expression) all use an informal form of the conditional subjunctive verb tense: would have = would’ve = woulda, could have…
Expressing Quantity with Count and Non-count Nouns Posted by Gabriele on Mar 6, 2012
In my last two previous posts I gave an introduction into the difference between count and non-count nouns and discussed some exceptions to the rules regarding these types of nouns. Today I am going to review what adjectives to use to express quantity based on whether a noun is count or non-count. Like articles (the…
Count and Non-Count Nouns: The Exception to the -s Posted by Gabriele on Mar 5, 2012
Yesterday, I began a discussion and presented an overview of count versus non-count nouns. Today I’m going to tell you about some exceptions to the rules I presented yesterday. There are almost always exceptions to the rules! Certain nouns in English can be both count and non-count nouns and when they are, they have both…
Count and Non-count Nouns Posted by Gabriele on Mar 4, 2012
Nouns in English can be classified or grouped together in many different ways: people, places or things, proper or common nouns, count or non-count nouns, etc. For my next three posts I am going to focus on the differences between count and non-count nouns (“non-count” or “noncount” nouns are also sometimes called “mass” nouns). Knowing…
Bored vs. Boring Posted by Gabriele on Mar 1, 2012
A very common error I often hear ESL speakers commit is the misuse of the words “bored” and “boring.” These two words are homophones. Unfortunately, when you misuse or interchange one of these words for the other there is a big difference in meaning! When you say someone or something is “boring” you are saying…
I.E. Versus E.G. Posted by heather on Feb 25, 2012
Who knew two little letters could cause so much confusion? Yet, the mere presence of e.g. or i.e. is scary enough to make some people’s legs start to shake. I.e. and e.g. are both abbreviations for Latin terms. I.e. stands for id est and means “that is.” E.g. stands for exempli gratia, which means roughly…
What is an –ology? Posted by Gabriele on Feb 20, 2012
Yesterday I discussed the suffix –ism and a number of different nouns that end with this suffix. A similar, but not identical, suffix is –ology. So, what is an –ology? The suffix –ology is added to a noun to denote that this is a subject of study or a branch of knowledge. Most words that…