Learn English with Max

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, fake news is spread like butter on toast. Our vocabulary review for today features the words "misinformation" and "disinformation." What's the difference between these two words? Are they the same?

Although both words involve the dissemination of false information, there exists a difference between the two.

Misinformation refers to fake news or out-of-context information that is presented as fact, regardless of an intent to deceive. Disinformation, on the other hand, is a type of misinformation that is deliberately false and is intended to deceive or mislead. All disinformation are misinformation, but not all misinformation are disinformation.

In any case, don't be an unwitting victim of misinformation. Check your facts against reliable sources of information. Google lang yan, kapatid.

The Guinness world record is held by Budimir Šobat, a Croatian free diver. 24.5 minutes is really a long time, considering I can only hold my breath for no more than 1.5 minutes!

Anyway, to continue with our SVA rules series, we will discuss the rule on distances, periods of time, and sums of money. Distances, time periods, and money amounts, no matter what size or length, always use the singular verb, if they are considered as a unit.

For example,

✅Five minutes is such a short time for a coffee break
✅94 feet is the official length of an NBA court.
✅Ten pesos buys you one "isaw."

So the answer to our poster statement is, of course, "is." I hope this clarifies our SVA rule on distances, time periods, and money amounts.

Yep, it's back to school for most of our students, hence the theme of our poster. The statement featured in the picture reads "Either the teacher or the students is/are excited for this year's opening of classes." So which is the correct verb to use in this case?

To continue with our subject-verb agreement rules discussion, if one subject is singular and the other is plural and they are connected by the words "nor," "either/or," "neither/nor," or "not only/but also," they follow the "or" rule from our previous post. The subject closest to the verb takes precedence over the other subject. If the noun or pronoun nearest the verb is singular, then the verb should be singular; if it's plural, the verb should be plural.

For example,

✅Yorme Isko nor the members of his staff are perceived as corrupt by the Manila constituents.
✅Either the dolphins or the killer whale puts on a great show for the SeaWorld audience.
✅Neither a third vaccine dose nor booster shots guarantee a hundred percent immunity from the coronavirus.
✅Not only neighboring countries but also the Philippines is going crazy over the Netflix series "Squid Game."

I hope this SVA rule is clear and understandable. By the way, the answer to our statement on the poster is "are."

Try the following exercises to test your newfound knowledge of this rule.

🔅They nor she believe/believes in the power of the mind.
🔅Either the giraffe or the lions escape/escapes from the zoo.
🔅Neither the producers nor the director know/knows about the actor's drug problem.
🔅Not only Luzon provinces but also Metro Manila hate/hates the lockdown.

Answer in the comments. Good luck!

The next rule in subject-verb agreement involves connectives. Connectives, phrases such as "along with," "as well as," "together with," "combined with," "added to," "coupled with," or "accompanied by" do not change the number of the subject. They're usually set off with commas.

Fo example,

✅Nancy, along with her brothers, plays the slots at the casino.
✅Jimmy, as well as his friends, belongs to a gang.
✅Quezon City, together with other Metro Manila cities, is on GCQ.
✅Ricky and Jerome, accompanied by their common friend Liz, travel the globe.

I hope that clarifies the rule on connectives in subject-verb agreement.

Let's test your newfound knowledge on connectives in subject-verb agreement. Choose the correct verb in the following sentences.

🔅Physics, coupled with Biochemistry, is/are a hard subject.
🔅The officers, together with the chief of police, investigate/investigates the murder of the drug pusher.
🔅Reuben, as well as Harry and Rachel, love/loves fast food.
🔅Coffee, combined with milk and sugar, is/are latte.
🔅COVID-19 patients, along with a nurse, stay/stays inside that facility.

Answer in the comment section. Good luck!

Hi, I'm back!

So, on this post, we will continue discussing the rules of subject-verb agreement.

The next rule is all about nouns that are joined by the conjunctions "and" and "or." Let's start with nouns connected by the word "and." Normally, nouns that are joined by the word "and" take a plural verb.

For example,

✅Mario and Luigi are going to the bank.
✅The twins and their parents ride the elevator.
✅Cheetahs and lions run very fast.

There is an exception to this rule. If the nouns don't each have an article, a singular verb can be used instead. If the second noun does not have a separate article (the, an, a), it usually means that the first and the second nouns are just one person.

For example,

✅The president and CEO of the company is waving at me.
✅The valedictorian and class president presides over the meeting.

If the nouns joined by "and" have each an article, then they take a plural verb. The presence of a second article indicates that these are two separate people.

✅The chairman and the board president are seriously discussing project plans.
✅A politician and an Oscar-winning actress were seen leaving the hotel.

Now, what about nouns joined by the conjunction "or"? For nouns joined by "or," the nearest noun to the verb takes precedence over the other noun. If the nearest noun to the verb is singular, then the verb must be singular. If it's plural, then the verb must be plural.

For example,

✅The ladies or the gentleman is looking for the newlyweds.
✅The priest or the nuns make the sign of the cross.

I hope this clarifies the rule on subject-verb agreement for nouns joined by the conjunctions "and" & "or."

Here's a simple exercise to test your knowledge of the rule that was just discussed. Choose the correct verb in each sentence below.

🔅Jamie and Linda is/are holding hands.
🔅The secretary and the treasurer was/were entering the building.
🔅The athletes or the coach expect/expects spectators to behave themselves.
🔅The police officer and personal bodyguard of Ariana Grande protect/protects the celebrity.
🔅The gorilla or the chimpanzees play/plays hide and seek.

Answer in the comments. Good luck!

Before we talk about subject-verb agreement or SVA, let's review the English grammar staple: the sentence. In its popular definition, a sentence is a word or group of words that expresses a complete thought. It has a subject, usually a noun or a pronoun, and a predicate that contains a verb.

Subject-verb agreement states that the verb of a sentence must correspond or agree to the number (singular or plural) of the subject. The basic SVA rule is:

* If the subject is singular, the verb must also be singular. If the subject is plural, the verb must also be plural.

But, the English language, with its many weird structures and formats, have differing, no, opposing, rules when pluralizing nouns and verbs. In nouns, we normally add an -s or -es to pluralize it. For verbs, generally, we add an -s or -es to make it singular. See how that could be confusing for us, Filipinos?

So, for example,

✅The dog barks.
✅The cats purr.

Notice that the singular subject "dog" (without an -s) agrees with its singular verb "barks" (with an -s). In the second sentence, the plural subject "cats" (with an -s) agrees with its plural verb "purr" (without an -s).

In using subject pronouns, the basic SVA rule does not necessarily apply. For the singular pronouns,

*He, she, and it,

use singular verbs. For the plural pronouns,

*We, and they,

use plural verbs.

For example,

✅He eats.
✅She leads.
✅It shines.
✅We eat.
✅They lead.

For the pronoun "I," even if it is singular, a plural verb is always used.

For example,

✅I eat.
✅I lead.
✅I shine.

For the pronoun "you," a plural verb is also always used, whether "you" refers to one person or more.

✅You eat. (if you're talking to one person)
✅You shine. (if you're referring to a group of people)

Let's practice. Choose the correct verbs in the following sentences.

✴️The lady walk/walks by.
✴️The birds fly/flies south.
✴️It feel/feels extra humid today.
✴️We need/needs medicine and food.
✴️You wear/wears your IDs at all times. (speaking to students)
✴️You keep/keeps your dog out of my yard. (warning a neighbor)
✴️I learn/learns things the hard way.
✴️They see/sees a movie once a month.
✴️The pigs, along with the chicken, run/runs around the farm.
✴️The boy, together with the girls, play/plays hide-and-seek.

Comment your answers below. Good luck!

The last conditional in the English language is the third conditional. Third conditional sentences are used to explain that present situations or circumstances would be different if something different had happened in the past. Usually, there's a hint of regret or a feeling that something would have transpired differently if another thing had been done.

If you look at the example on the poster, the third conditional is formed by using the past perfect tense of the verb (had + past participle) in the if-clause and a modal auxiliary (would, could, should, etc.) + have + past participle in the main clause.

Ex.
✅If you had told me you liked me in high school, we could have ended up becoming lovers.
✅If I had bet on my lottery numbers in the last draw, I would have been 500 million pesos richer by now.
✅If they had kept everything in secret, we wouldn't have been in such a mess right now.

Come on, try using the third conditional yourself. Comment your own examples below.

Some of the best examples of the second conditional are found in Beyoncé's "If I Were A Boy" lyrics. Consider the first few lines of the song (check the poster below).

But what is the second conditional used for? Second conditional sentences are used for expressing outcomes that are totally unrealistic or are highly unlikely to happen. This is where wishful thinking and glorified fantasies are great examples.

Examples
✅If I owned the White House, I would ask Donald Trump to leave and never come back.
✅If you asked me to, I just might change my mind and let you in my life forever. (another popular song - this time from Celine Dion - making use of the second conditional)
✅If the Philippines had a first-world healthcare system, we could overcome the pandemic so easily.

Notice how the second conditional is structured in the above sentences. The if-clauses use the simple past tense of the verbs (owned, asked, had) while the main clauses use a modal (would, might, could) PLUS the base forms of the verbs (ask, change, overcome).

Also the simple past tense of the "be" verb "was" is never used here. Use "were" instead, for all pronouns and nouns, regardless if they're singular or plural.

✅If she were taller, she could have joined the Miss Universe pageant.
✅If Michael Jackson were alive today, he would keep making music.
✅If it were snowing in Africa, they might not have a water crisis over there.

Can you give your own examples? Comment your answers below.

Also share this page and post when you can. If you shared this page, I would give you a million dollars! 😉

Today, let's discuss the first conditional. First conditional sentences are used for situations where the outcome or result is likely or possible but not guaranteed.

Check these examples.

✅If you sleep now, you will feel better.
✅If you leave me, I will feel sad.
✅If you start now, you will finish tomorrow.

Notice that the if-clause uses the simple present tense while the main clause uses the simple future tense. Also, you could use "am/is/are going to" interchangeably with "will."

✅If I don't eat, I am going to get hungry.
✅If they fail, he is going to fail with them.

Can you come up with your own first conditional sentences? Comment your own examples below. Like and share this post if you can. Ask others to like the page, too.

Until the next conditional, take care!

Before we start our lesson for today, I'd like to apologize for the long wait. Aside from the challenge of coming up with relevant English grammar topics, I have been busy with work these last few weeks. Yes, I have other stuff to keep me busy too. 😊

With that out of the way, let's dive right in to my post for today. There are four types of conditional sentences in the English language. We will discuss each type separately in the coming days.

Let's start with the zero conditional. Zero conditional sentences are used for scientific facts and general truths. If something happens, something else ALWAYS happens, without a doubt.

Check this example.

✅If water is heated to 100 degrees Celsius, it boils.
✅When water is heated to 100 degrees Celsius, it boils.

In the sentences above, you notice two things: both clauses in the sentences use the simple present tense (is and boils) and "if" and "when" can be used interchangeably.

When water reaches 100 degrees Celsius, there is no other result but it boiling. That's why it's incorrect to say,

❌If you heat water to 100 degrees Celsius, it WILL boil.

You can't use the simple future tense here. This tense is reserved for another conditional, not the zero conditional.

Here's another example,

✅If you don't water your plants, they die.

Here is a general truth. That's why we use the zero conditional in this case.

The zero conditional may also be subjective, meaning your general truth may be different from others.

✅If i report late to work today, I'm fired.

If you know for certain that becoming tardy on this particular day will cost you your job, then use the zero conditional.

Hope you learned something new and helpful with this post. Don't be afraid to share and ask others to like this post and page. Until our next lesson, Godspeed!

In our last "lesson," we talked about "at," "on," and "in" as prepositions of place. Today, we will discuss how these same prepositions are used to indicate or reference time.

The preposition of time "at" has the following uses:

❇️clock time

Ex.
✅at one o'clock in the morning
✅at 3:00 p.m.

❇️holiday or special time of the year

Ex.
✅at Christmas
✅at Easter

❇️beginning and end

Ex.
✅at the beginning/start of
✅at the end of

The preposition of time "on" has the following uses:

❇️day of the week

Ex.
✅on Monday
✅on Sundays

❇️specific date

Ex.
✅on September 27, 1972
✅on May 23
✅on the 14th of February

❇️special day

Ex
✅on Christmas day (but "at Christmas")
✅on Easter Sunday (but "at Easter")
✅on my birthday

Last, the preposition of time "in" has these uses:

❇️month

Ex.
✅in July
✅in March 2020

❇️year/decade/era

Ex.
✅in 1884
✅in the eighties/80s
✅in the Middle Ages

❇️season

Ex.
✅in summer
✅in winters

❇️part of the day

Ex.
✅in the morning
✅in the afternoon

Note: You can say "AT night" when you're referring to any night in general.

Ex.
✅I like looking at the stars at night.
✅The rats come out at night

"IN the night" can be used to refer to a short specific moment during the night.

Ex.
✅I woke up from a vivid dream in the night.
✅When I was young, I got sick and heard the screen door open and close 11 times in the night.