Express in English

28/09/2022

02/03/2020

Have you noticed that there are some words that we come across with startling frequency, while reading , listening. These are vogue words, pretty much like vogue in clothes, dances and entertainment. Not all of these are merely passing fancies, but some are viable, offer shortcut in communication and they contribute a little something that wasn't in the word/words they replace. For example 'dialogue' - its more formal than a conversation, less formal than a debate, less boring than a conference and most importantly it guarantees an exchange of ideas, which none of the others do.

So, those with special skills and knowledge have 'expertise', an attractive personality has 'charisma, we don't offer suggestions or draw blue-prints, but we lay down 'guidelines', more than the impression that we make on the world, we are concerned with the 'image'. We no longer discuss or attend a conference, or debate but we have 'dialogue', nothing builds up or increases, it 'escalates' and seldom anything spreads like wild-fire, it 'burgeons' or 'proliferates'

I welcome , some more vogue words from my readers, for inclusion :)

02/03/2020

A word is dead
When it is said,
Some say.
I say it just
Begins to live
That day.
Emily Dickinson

02/09/2018

Never Ever

Never is a contraction of 'not ever'.

Ever means 'at any time'. It is an adverb which you use to add emphasis in negative sentences, commands, questions, and conditional structures.

I haven't ever been to a discotheque before. = I have never been to a discotheque before. ( use 'ever' in negative sentences with 'not')

She barely ever replies to my emails = She never replies to my emails (adding emphasis to negatives)

Don't you ever touch it. (command)

Have you ever been to Agra? (use 'ever' for questions)

Doesn't he ever help? = Does he not ever help? ('not ever' for negative questions)

She was trying harder than ever. (comparitives)

If you ever go to Paris, drop me a postcard. (conditional)

Sometimes 'ever' can mean 'always'.
He's as kind as ever.
I will love you for ever and ever.
The prince and princess lived happily ever after.

We use 'never ever' to make the meaning of 'never' stronger.

I'll never ever come here again!

16/08/2018

Have you ever won­dered if you should say, “Suresh and myself…” or “Myself and Suresh…” or “Suresh and I…” or “Me and Suresh…” or “Suresh and me…?

Believe it or not, the basic English words “Me”, “Myself”, and “I” can become quite a challenge to incorporate properly.

I is a subject pronoun. Use it before the verb. A subject does the action of a verb in a sentence.

I run.
I spoke to my friend yesterday.
I went to the movies last night.

If you are not sure if you should use I or me with another person, remove the other person from the sentence and check if the sentence is still correct:

Latika will travel with Vishesh and myself.

EXPLANATION: Let’s remove “Vishesh and” from the sen­tence. Latika will not travel with myself. “Myself” must be a reflec­tion of “I,” and there’s no “I” in the sen­tence.

CORRECT FORM: Latika will travel with Vishesh and me.

When you have a double subject that includes I, always use 'and I'.

My mom and I love movies.

NOT: I and my mom love comedy movies.


My mom and I or my mom and me???

My mom and I love comedy movies.
My mom and me love movies.

'Me love movies' is not a correct English sentence. The subject should be I, so you should say my mom and I.



Me is an object pronoun. Use it after the verb. An object receives the action of the verb in a sentence.

He asked me a question.
She gave me her camera.
My dad told me to call.

Important note: Not all verbs are followed by an object. You can’t use me after certain verbs. For example,

He suggest me ...
She say me …
Can you explain me … ?


Me can also be the object of a preposition. After prepositions, use me.

Are you talking to me?


When you talk about two or more people including yourself, you can use me and … or … and me.

This is a photo of me and my brother.
This is a photo of my brother and me.

Myself is a reflexive pronoun.
It refers back to the subject of the sentence. In other words, a reflexive pronoun is a word that expresses something you do to yourself.

I love myself.
I bought myself a new car!
I gave myself a manicure.
Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt myself.


Use myself after a preposition when the object of the preposition is the same as the subject of the sentence, or the when object of the preposition and the object pronoun are the same person.

I am proud of myself!
I did it all by myself!
He asked me some questions about myself.

01/08/2018

Continuing our series on confusing words...

Adept vs Adapt vs Adopt

Three words. Similar spellings. Somewhat similar pronunciations. Very different meanings.
A single vowel sound change brings about a huge difference in the meaning.

Adapt is a verb. It means to adjust to new conditions or to change something to make it useful for a new purpose.

When we say that we adapt something, we mean that we alter or change it in a small way. Eg : The camera has been adapted for underwater use.

When we say that someone adapts him or herself, we mean that the person is changing, adjusting or getting used to a new situation or circumstance.
Eg: Though hailing from a remote village, Shilpa adapted herself to the hustle and bustle of urban life quite easily.

Finally, adapt also means to change a book or text and make it suitable for a different medium of presentation and interpretation.
Eg: Pride and Prejudice is perhaps Jane Austen’s most well-known and most-beloved novel, and the number of film adaptations reflects that.

Adept is typically used as an adjective. It refers to someone who is very proficient at something.

In order to succeed in any job, you must be adept at communicating and working with those around you.

Adopt is a verb. It means taking in a child (a child from another family, or a child who has no family) and raising it as one's own.
Eg : They decided to adopt a child after they realised they weren't able to have one of their own.
It also means to take on, accept or follow a plan, idea or attitude.
Eg: Farmers should adopt organic farming.

19/07/2018

The below post is contributed by our reader Lve Lorn.

How to Use the Verb “Suggest”

A lot of English learners struggle with the verb suggest because suggest is an unusual English verb. It is not used in a sentence the same way that other verbs are.

Suggest means mention or recommend something to think about, or something someone should do. You suggest a thought or an idea.

1. “I suggest that you call him.”

suggest that someone do something

This is the most difficult use of suggest for English learners to understand, so take some time to read this part of the lesson carefully.

You want to tell someone your opinion. You want to tell them to do something.

Don’t use me, us, you, etc. as indirect object pronouns after suggest. Use a that-clauseafter suggest.

What is a that-clause?
A clause is any part of a sentence that has a subject and a verb. A sentence is one or more clauses joined together. A that-clauseis a clause that starts with the conjunctionthat. A conjunction joins two clauses or sentences together into one longer sentence.

Start your sentence with this specific structure:

I suggest that…

The next part of the sentence needs a subject and a verb, because it’s a clause.

I suggest that someone do something

“Someone” is the subject of the clause. The subject is followed by the verb phrase “do something.”

REMEMBER: Don’t use an infinitive aftersuggest. Don’t say “I suggest to do something.”


Example sentences

I suggest that you memorize sentences instead of grammar rules!

Emily suggests that we go out for dinner after the movie.

My mom suggested that I get a summer job.

Her brother suggests that she study harder so she can get into a good university.


Hmmmmm. Let’s look at that last sentence. Do you notice something strange about the verb?

Her brother suggests that she study harder so she can get into a good university.

Shouldn’t it be “she studies“?

No. This is what makes the English verb suggest different from other verbs.

Remember, in this structure, I suggest is followed by a that-clause. A clause contains a subject and a verb.

The verb in the that-clause is the subjunctive form.

Don’t let the word subjunctive scare you! This is a very rare verb form, and it is rarely used in English today.

Learn more: Advanced English grammar: The subjunctive mood

In the subjunctive form, the verb doesn’t change. Don’t add -s or change the verb after the subjects he, she, or it. The verb says in the base form of the verb. The base form, or the bare infinitive, is the simplest form of a verb. It’s the way that you find a verb in the dictionary.

Her brother suggests that she study harder.
NOT: Her brother suggests that she studies harder.


NOTE: You cannot use another verb tense in the that-clause. You cannot use the simple past. You must use the subjunctive form.

Also, in American English it is not common to use should in the that-clause. It is more common in British English.


More example sentences

She suggests that he go to France instead of Italy this summer.

I suggested that she be Queen Elsa from Frozen for Halloween!

I suggested that he ask someone else for help.


Tip: You don’t need to include that in the sentence. It is still a that-clause even if you don’t say or write that in this sentence structure

I suggest you memorize sentences instead of grammar rules!

Emily suggests we go out for dinner after the movie.

My mom suggested I get a summer job.

Her brother suggests she study harder so she can get into a good university.

I suggest you go to the doctor!

She suggests he go to France instead of Italy this summer.

He suggested I ask someone else for help.


Tip: Make the that-clause negative by adding not in front of the verb.

The teacher suggests we not waste time playing video games after school.

Learn more: The subjunctive mood + more verbs used in the subjunctive form



REMEMBER: You suggest that someone do something.



2. “He suggested going for a walk together.”

suggest doing something

suggest + gerund

I suggest memorizing sentences instead of grammar rules!

Don’t use an infinitive after suggest! If you use a verb after suggest, use a gerund!

What is a gerund? A gerund is a noun that is formed by adding -ing to a verb.

Example sentences

Her brother suggests studying harder so she can get into a good university.

My doctor suggests eating less and exercising more.

Her family suggested waiting a few years before she gets married.

I suggest not waiting so long to go to the doctor.

The meaning of this sentence is the same assuggest that someone do something.



3. Suggest an idea for a grammar lesson!

suggest something

suggest + noun

Can you suggest a good hotel in Paris?

I can suggest some interesting apps.

I really love this app and will suggest it to everyone.

No politician has suggested a way to improve the economy.

He suggested several different things to do after dinner.

14/07/2018

Contractions

A contraction is a word made by shortening and combining two words.
The apostrophe replaces any letter/s that are in the original words, but that aren't(are not) in the contraction.
Could + not
Couldn't

Contractions fit into the spoken and informal English category.
Use them in informal conversations, letters, emails, messaging, posts, blogs, advertisement (especially where space is at premium), fiction, newspapers, instructions but avoid them in formal communications, academic writings, reports, speeches etc.

We can only make contactions with certain words.
We often use the short form when we have words like 'I', 'we', 'you', 'they', 'he', 'she', 'it' followed by be (am/is/are), 'has/have' or 'had'.

She is playing tennis.
She's playing tennis.

He has taken a bath.
He's taken a bath.

They had seen the movie.
They'd seen the movie.

When a noun is followed by 'is', we use contractions.

The train is late.
The train's late.

We use contractions a lot in negative sentences.

He is not planning to come back.
He isn't planning to come back.

You do not want to eat out?

You don't want to eat out? or
Don't you want to eat out?

We use the short form when we have a question word followed by 'is'.

Where is the party?
Where's the party?

Will :The future tense word “will” is often contracted with subjects

I/He, She, It/They will become I'll/ He'll,She'll, It'll/ They'll

Would:The word would can too be contracted with subjects

I would = I’d
you would = you’d
he would= he’d
she would= she’d
they would= they’d
we would= we’d

If you know the words that are commonly contracted and familiarise with how they sound, then you will understand and speak English more effectively.

09/07/2018

Euphemism

A euphemism is a generally innocuous word or expression used in place of one that may be found offensive or suggest something unpleasant.
People use euphemisms to protect themselves and others from the harsh realities of life. Thus we use, senior citizen for old person, passed away for the dead etc.
Euphemisms often deal with profanity, body parts, bodily functions, s*x, death, murder, societal taboos, superstitions, or other issues that may not be considered fit for polite conversation or writing.

Some instances...
little thin on top - losing his hair

between jobs - unemployed

cognitively challenged - stupid

didn't make it -has died

differently abled - disabled/handicapped

kicked the bucket/departed - has died

letting you go - you're fired

lost his marbles - mad

over the hill - too old to function effectively

preowned - used ( a favorite with second hand car dealers)

collateral damage - in a bombing, civilian casualties and destruction (a Hollywood patent)

out‐source - send work to workers outside of the organization (a corporate priority)

perspiration - sweat

W.C./rest room - toilet

special child - disabled or learning challenged

affirmative action - a preference for minorities or the historically disadvantaged, usually in employment or academic admissions('reservation' in India)