ARE WE DONE LEARNING?

Is The Grammar Blog dead?

I am happy to inform you that the answer is no. We are back with our posts and curiosities about grammar and the English language. And also, I am happy to announce that three friends and I have just launched our online platform for cooperative learning, called LEARN.

It is a compilation of reliable sources and websites where you can practice English at your own pace and learn more on your own.

Here you are the link to our page. You can also access it by clicking on the link on the right tab.

Besides that, since our page is back, you are welcome to email me at jeanish101@gmail.com with questions on issues that I can attempt to clarify to you and to other people all over the world.

Hope I will see you around here!

Cheers,
J.

CAN THE PAST BE SIMPLE?

Well, the Simple Past was already mentioned before HERE. However, I believe it deserves its own entry in this blog. So, here you are:

We use the Simple Past to talk about actions that happened in a specific moment in the past.

e.g. I worked yesterday.
When? Yesterday.

Observe the paragraph below:


All the verbs in the paragraph above are in their simple past forms.

Some verbs undergo a simple transformation: we only add ed to the end. These are regular verbs:

We travelled to our countryhouse [on Sunday].

travelled - travel

.Some verbs change completely. These are irregular verbs:

We went to the club [on Saturday].

went - go

You can find a list of irregular verbs HERE.

However, in the negative and in the interrogative form, the verbs do not change. We use did instead of do.

Negative:

Present: I don't work on weekends.
Past: I didn't work last weekend.

Interrogative:

Present: Do you study English every day?
Past: Did you study English yesterday?

Are you ready to do some practice? Try it HERE and HERE.

See you soon!
J.

COLLECTIVE NOUNS: SINGULAR OR PLURAL?

What is the correct form: The family is traveling on holiday or The family are traveling on holiday?

The answer is both. Family is a collective noun.

But what is a collective noun?

They name groups [things] composed of members [usually people]. For example:



Each noun from the list above is a single thing. That thing, however, is made up of more than one person. You cannot have a committee, team, or family of one; you need at least two people who compose the unit.

Collective nouns accept verbs in the singular form:


All members of the team arrive at the same place, at the same time.


The teammates are dressing into their individual outfits and leaving in different directions for their individual homes.

Easy huh?

Have fun HERE and practice HERE.

See you!
J.

IF WHAT?

One of my favorite aspects of the English language is the conditionals, and I'm happy to share my view on them with you today!

First, there is something people call Zero Conditional.

If you pull the doorknob, the door opens.

                                                 present                                    present

It refers to an automatic reaction. You do one and the other happens for sure.
_______________________________________________________________________

Then, there is something we call First Conditional.

If you study, you will pass your tests.

                                                    present           future

Here we have an action in the present with a future consequence. It is, let's say, 50% certain to happen. Maybe a little more... Here you are dreaming of a different future.
_______________________________________________________________________

After that, we have something called Second Conditional.

If I won the lottery, I would buy a car.

                                                  past                  imaginary present

I don’t have a car now, because I didn’t win it, but I wish I had one now. Something did not happen in my past so my present is not that good!
_______________________________________________________________________

Finally, there is something which we call Third Conditional.

If I had learned Chinese, I would have moved to China.

                                 past of the past                 imaginary past

We have already learned that the Past Perfect is the past of the past HERE.

And that the Present Perfect is the same as the past HERE.

So, we have the following situation: I didn't go to China (past) because I hadn't learned Chinese (past of the past). One action in a distant past led to a consequence in a nearer past.
_______________________________________________________________________

So, we can observe that the consequence always happens after the condition:

If you study, you will pass your test. [present with a future consequence]

If I won the lottery, I would buy a car. [past with a present consequence]

If I had learned Chinese, I would have moved to China [long past with a near past consequence]

Think you're ready to try it? Take a look at THIS.


Let me know if this works for you!

Cheers,
J.

OTHER, OTHERS or ANOTHER?

As a teacher, I correct lots of writing activities a week, and one of the most consistent mistakes is the misuse another and other.

ANOTHER

So, when do you we use another?

Another is the combination of an + other, which means: one other.

As he waited for her, he had another cup of coffee.

An means one. One refers to singular. Therefore, another is used before singular nouns.

OTHER

Other is used before plural nouns.

There are other people waiting on the line. (more people)

OTHERS

What about others then?

Well, others is used when you don't mention what you are talking about. It is used to avoid repetition.

A lot of people came today but others will come tomorrow. (=other people)
Some papers are on the table, the others aren't here. (=other papers)
These dogs are poodle, the others are Yorkshire. (=other dogs)

Ok, now it's your time to practice it HERE and HERE.

See you soon!
J.

PAST PERFECT? WHAT'S THAT?

Time to face another verb tense. This time, we are analyzing the Past Perfect.

Basically, the Past Perfect is the past of the past.

How so?

Check out this example:

She left school. [2pm]
I arrived at school. [3pm]

So, when I arrived at school, she had already left.

Therefore, we did not meet.

Once stories are usually written in the past, the Past Perfect is used to refer to the past of the book (so, the past of the past). You can observe this in the fragment below:

ROWLING, J. K.. Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban, 1st edition – Bloomsbury: 1997 - http://freeharryporterebook.blogspot.com/

All these events happened before the time of the narrative. They are Harry Potter's past, before the book started.

So, time to practice it! Try it HERE and HERE.

Cheers,
J.

A LITTLE OR LITTLE? A FEW OR FEW?

 Another question that we usually hear in class is:

What's the difference between a little and little?

We already know that little and few refer to small quantities (in case you don't remember any this, check our previous post HERE).

And we also know that little is the opposite of much.
And few is the opposite of many.

But what happens in the following sentences?

I have little money with me.

I have a little money with me.

Well, when I say: I have little money with me, I mean that I don't have enough money. But when I say I have a little money with me, it's not much, but it's enough.

The same thing happens with few. I have few friends means that I'm not that popular.
But I have a few friends means that I have some people that I can count on!

Now THAT's what I call simple!

Wanna practice this? Try it HERE.

Cheers,
J.

MANY OR MUCH?

Grammar is not only verb tenses. Therefore, it is about time we talked about other issues... What about Quantifiers then?


Many and few are technically opposites:

Many expresses big quantity.      Few expresses small quantity.

The same happens with much and little:

Much expresses big quantity.      Little expresses small quantity.

Ok, but what about many and much? They can be quite confusing, I admit.


Let's take a look at these examples:

Many people are coming to Jean's birthday party.

They are not going to drink much alcohol though.


Let's zoom in a little:

many people

much alcohol


We usually use many before plural nouns: many friends, many people, many books, many problems, etc.

And much before singular nouns: much paper, much water, much juice, much gas, etc.


FUN FACT:

Many and much usually appear in negative sentences.


But what happens with the affirmative ones?


That's where a lot of and lots of step in!

Wanna practice? HERE and HERE.

Easy, isn’t it?
J.

PRESENT PERFECT OR SIMPLE PAST?

So, time to talk about one of my favorite topics! The so-called Present Perfect!


Observe these two examples:

I have lived in Europe.

I lived in Europe in 2008.

As you know, I've been living in Brazil for 8 years now, which means that I obviously do not live in Europe. What can be inferred by both sentences then? That they are about my past.


So, what's the difference? Why do we have two sentences to talk about the same thing?

I have lived in Europe. [the focus is on the activity]

I lived in Europe in 2008. [the focus is on the time]

Therefore, the Present Perfect is the past with no time.


That the PP is very flexible. And you can move it to closer past (like, five minutes ago):

I've just arrived.

Stress that something is still being expected:

She hasn't arrived yet.

Or that something has certainly happened:

I've already told you a million times, but you won't listen.


Do you find it easier now? Why don't you try it HERE and HERE then?

See you!
J.

IN, AT, ON?

Students live in a constant battle against prepositions. What about we make sure they win?

I usually go with a tip that I learned some years ago. Three words that can make all the difference:

LOCATION
CONTACT
INSIDE

AT for LOCATION:

We use at when we are talking about locations. Most times places with a name.

I'm at the mall. [Diamond Mall, BH Shopping Center, etc]

I'm at school. [Black Star School, Rose School, etc]

I'm at the club. [CEU Club, Summer Club, etc]


ON for CONTACT:

We use on when we are talking about contact.

I'm sitting on a chair. [physical contact: my butt and the chair]

I'm standing on a bridge. [physical contact: my feet and the bridge]

The picture is hanging on the wall. [physical contact: the picture and the wall]


IN for INSIDE:

We use in when we are talking about being inside a place with limits.

I live in Brazil. [Brazil has limits. I'm inside these limits]

I am playing the guitar in my bedroom. [I am inside a room with four walls - limits]

I've got this song playing in my head. [Inside my head, which has limits]


Ok, this simplifies in, on and at when are talking about places. But what about the other situations?


Let's think about TIME.

- My birthday is in June.

June is a month with 30 days. Therefore, it has a beginning and an end, which means limits.

- My English classes are on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Monday is a day, written on a calendar. Contact.

- I'll meet you at seven.

Ok, that's a tricky one! But if the hand of the clock is pointing at 7, this is its location!

Feel like practicing it? Why don't you do it HERE and HERE?

Let me know if this helps!

J.

WILL OR GOING TO?

One of the most common question that teachers will hear is:

What is the difference between 'will' and 'going to'?

And if you open a grammar book trying to find an answer, you are going to come across so many different definitions that your brain is probably going to burn.

So, let's try and simplify it:

To get started, did you know that English and German are siblings?

Yeah, they are. They used to be very similar, long time ago. But English was butchered by French and Latin and got to the point we know now.

However, some curiosities can be observed. For example, in German, people say Ich WILL, which means I want.

Therefore, we have our first basic idea: Will means Want.

Oh, so you don't believe me?

Check out this use of the word will meaning will:

Last Will = The last thing somebody wants before dying.

How does that help us?

We are able to realize a basic difference between will and going to:

Will is the future you want. It is happening inside your head.
Going to is the future you are going to get. It is already happening on the outside

Check out some examples:

I will be married by the time I'm thirty.
[This is what I hope, what I want.]

It's going to rain tonight.
[The sky is probably dark by now. You can't change it anymore.]

At the restaurant:
- How can I help you, sir?
- I'll have the steak.
[This is what I want to have. That doesn't mean they are going to have it at the restaurant.]

Why don't you try an exercise HERE?

Have you got any other tips you'd like to share with us? Leave a comment or email me at jeanish101@gmail.com. I'll be glad to read your ideas!

See you!
J.

WELCOME

The aim of this blog is to share simplified explanations of grammar aspects with students and teachers.

Here you will find:

- simplified explanations,
- examples to help you visualize them,
- fun curiosities of English and about language learning.

Feel free to email me at jeanish101@gmail.com and ask questions. I will read your messages and write future posts based on questions submitted by readers.

See you!

J.