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10/12/2021

THE VOWELS

A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y … and W? Yes, the letter W can behave as a vowel. It’s time to level up your Scrabble game, people. And, to all our grade-school peeps out there, get ready to knock the socks off your spelling teacher.

First, what is a vowel?
A, E, I, O, U, Y, and, as we’ll see, W, are called vowels, but let’s get technical. They are symbols (letters) that represent a special type of speech sound called a vowel.

According to phoneticians, a vowel is a speech sound that is made without significant constriction of the flow of air from the lungs.

In making vowels, the tongue can be at various heights in the mouth (e.g., high, mid, or low) and at various positions (front, central, or back). The lips can be variously rounded (cf. a long O and E). Vowels can vary in pitch and loudness, too.

If you do restrict or close your airflow in a significant way, you’re making a consonant. Where that restriction or closure occurs in your vocal tract determines what consonants you are making. B sounds are produced by bringing the lips together, for instance (bilabials). K sounds are produced by bringing the back of the tongue up to your soft palate (velars).

Why is W sometimes a vowel?
W is a rebel: it defies categories. To put it simply, it’s a little bit of both, vowel and consonant.

Linguists call it a semivowel or glide, “a speech sound having the characteristics of both a consonant and vowel, especially W in wore and Y in your and, in some analyses, R in road and L in load.”

Nope, this ain’t your spelling teacher’s alphabet, folks.

In English, W can behave this way at the beginning of a syllable, where it’s followed by a full-fledged vowel (e.g., wonderful). It can also behave this way as part of a diphthong (which is a vowel plus a glide), as in How now, brown cow?

Back in Old English, W was represented by an altogether different symbol: Ƿ/ƿ, called wynn. It was gradually replaced by the Norman (French) double U, which was literally two U‘s back to back, uu, hence its shape … and name, double-u!

10/12/2021

Don't say 'yes' when you're supposed to say 'no'.

If the response is negative, negative response should be given.

Example
Have you eaten today? Yes, I have eaten today.

OR

No, I have not eaten today.

Have you eaten today? Yes, I have not eaten today. - wrong

21/11/2021

Question:
Is it on December or in December?

Answer:

in December:

We are going to answer all the questions we asked in March in December.

Using Prepositions:
Prepositions are words used to show the relationship between words, people, and objects. Examples of prepositions include on, off, in, out, under, behind, beside, and with. When choosing a preposition to use in a sentence, pay careful attention to the preposition's meaning and connotation.

Right ways to write.
03/03/2019

Right ways to write.

13/02/2019

*'As' and 'Has'*

'As' is a comparative, for example It is as tall as a skyscraper.

'Has' is a singular verb and is also the present participle of the verb 'to have' for example 'He has a building named after him.

12/02/2019

'Whose' Vs 'Who's'

Whose is an interrogative adjective e.g Whose shoes are these?

Who's is a contraction form of 'who is' e.g Who's that girl that is standing beside the gate?

02/01/2019

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

23/11/2018

***Irregular Verbs in Present Tense, Past Tense, and Past Participle***

Fly-flew-flown: I can fly the kite by myself. I flew the kite by myself. I have flown the kite by myself before.
Rise-rose-risen: Let him rise on his own. He rose too soon. He had risen before they told him not to.
Shrink-shrank-shrunk: The cotton material will shrink. The cotton material shrank. The cotton material had shrunk in the dryer.
Sink-sank-sunk: The boat might sink in the Gulf of Mexico. The boat sank in the Gulf of Mexico. The boat had sunk in the Gulf of Mexico.
Feel-felt-felt: I feel wonderful today. I felt wonderful yesterday. I had felt great until yesterday.
Bite-bit-bitten: The dog might bite you. The dog bit your hand. The dog has bitten many people in the past.
Come-came-come: Please come to my house. She came to my house. All of my teammates have come to my house.
Catch-caught-caught: I can catch the ball in the air. I caught the ball in the air. I have caught all of the balls in the air.
Draw-drew-drawn: I can draw the picture. I drew the picture. I have drawn many pictures.
Drive-drove-driven: I can drive there easily. I drove there easily. I might have driven there easier if I had the correct directions.
Eat-ate-eaten: Let's eat the large pizza. We ate the large pizza. We have eaten many large pizzas.

25/07/2018

USING TOWARD AND TOWARDS

Is that car hurtling toward you or towards you? Are you looking toward or towards a fulfilling retirement? While the meaning of “toward” and “towards” are contextually the same, much like “gray” and “grey,” where and how they are used can make a difference.

As typically used to mean “in the direction of,” toward and towards are equally acceptable spellings. According to the Chicago Manual of Style and the Associated Press Stylebook, toward is preferred when writing for American and Canadian English speakers, while towards — with the ending “s” — is preferred by English speaking persons outside of North America.

However, both manuals note that these are merely recommendations, not hard-and-fast rules, and exceptions are common.

While the Oxford English Dictionary suggests that towards is a more colloquial or informal usage in British English, most grammarians say there is little evidence that this is true in modern British writing.

However, it should be noted that the rules of formal English writing do not always apply in informal settings. For example, American writers and speakers, when intentionally attempting to write or speak in a more colloquial or “down-home” style sometimes use towards rather than toward. In such cases, the use of towards in North American English is completely acceptable.

Usage of Toward and Towards

As a preposition, toward and towards are commonly used interchangeably in these cases:

In the direction of something or somebody — The train was headed toward the French border. — Her back was toward me.

Getting closer to achieving something — The research is a major step toward a cure.

Getting closer to a point in time — Storm clouds usually gather toward sundown.

In relation to somebody — “She held warm feelings toward her old school.” — “The poem expressed his attitude toward war.”
Obtaining things of material value — “Your donation will go toward a new library.”

11/07/2018

HANGED OR HUNG?

Definitions
The verb hang means to fasten or suspend from above--to place something (a poster, for instance) so that it's held up without support from underneath. In a related sense, hang can mean to kill someone by putting a rope around the person's neck, attaching it to something overhead, and then causing the body to drop suddenly.

For centuries, hanged and hung were used interchangeably as the past participle of hang. However, most contemporary usage guides insist that hanged, not hung, should be used when referring to executions: convicted killers are hanged; paintings are hung.

Examples

1.Don't mention a rope in the house of someone whose father was hanged.(English proverb)

2. A room hung with pictures is a room hung with thoughts. (Joshua Reynolds)
3. William Heath was hanged in January 1733 for stealing four shirts, part of somebody's washing that had been hung out to dry.

26/06/2018

Who vs. Whom

Whom should be used to refer to the object of a verb or preposition. When in doubt, try this simple trick: If you can replace the word with “he”’ or “’she,” use who. If you can replace it with “him” or “her,” use whom.

Who should be used to refer to the subject of a sentence.
Whom should be used to refer to the object of a verb or preposition.

Who or whom? If you’re like most English speakers, you know that there’s a difference between these pronouns, but you aren’t sure what that difference is. After reading this, you might conclude that knowing when to use who or whom is not as difficult as you think.

10/06/2018

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PEOPLE AND PEOPLES

The word people has several different meanings. The first meaning is simply the plural of person – in other words, two or more human beings. Here are two example sentences with this meaning:

We met all sorts of people on the trip. (people = more than one person, in this case, probably many)
My neighbours are nice people. (people=more than one person, in this case, probably just a few)
However, people can also mean “all or most humans,” or “all humans of a particular type,” as in these examples:

He doesn't care what people think of him. (people = all people)
Young people carry their mobile phones everywhere. (young people=all or nearly all young people)

Finally, a third meaning of people is “a group of people who belong to the same culture, ethnicity, nation, or race.” Here’s the confusing part: When more than one such group is being referred to, people becomes peoples.

Here are some examples:

To travel on the ice, hunt, and stay warm, the Inuit people developed a unique way of life. (the Inuit people=the people who belong to the ethnic group known as “Inuit”)
In 1991, Australia began a formal process of reconciliation with indigenous peoples. (peoples=different groups with different languages, cultures, etc.)

In sum, the only time you will want to use the word “peoples” is when you are referring to groups of people from multiple ethnic, cultural, racial, or national backgrounds.

Have a great day!

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