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Archive for the ‘confused words in english’ Category

CAN

1. Talks about ability

She can dance.
I can swim.
I cannot paint well.
I can speak English well.

2. Giving command or orders,
to ask somebody to do something
Can you please send this mail to this address?
Can you lock the door.
Can you turn it off, please?

3. To ask permission

Can I smoke in this room?
Can I use the bathroom?
Can I have this seat?
Can we use this room for a while?

COULD

1. Past Ability

I could play the piano well when I was 12.
She couldn’t swim at first.
He couldn’t lift a heavy weight.
He couldn’t understand English before.

2.  Giving requests or orders

  • Could is more polite and formal than can.
  • Using can or could in giving orders is OK.
  • It’s in question form.

Could you please drop this mail before you go home?
Could you turn off the light?
Could you hang this outside, please?

3. Asking a Favor

  • especially for difficult tasks
  • we use could since it is polite.

Could you tell me where Madison Avenue is?
Could you take me to this address?
Could you help me with the house chores?
Could you babysit for me while I work?

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Learn first about count nouns and non-count nouns.

A few = for count nouns
A little = for count nouns

Commonly Confused “a little or a few” expressions:

A few for:

  • fresh air       Let’s take a few fresh air outside.
  • mistakes      We made a few mistakes.

A little for:

  • language      I speak a little French.
  • rain                There was a little rain yesterday so we got home early.
  • time               I got a little time left.
  • money          I’ve got a little money left.

“A few, a little” is not the same as “few, little”.

  • A few means small number like 3,4,5…
  • Few means almost none.

Example:

  • Kim is shy that is why she only has a few friends. (3 or 4 friends)
  • Brian is unkind and easily angered that is why he has few friends. (almost none)

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Learn first about count and non-count nouns.

  • How many = for count nouns.
  • How much = for non- count nouns.

How many apples do you have?
wrong: How much apples do you have?

  • Many asks for numbers.
  • Much asks for size, weight, volume, etc.

More Examples:

How many gifts did you receive this Christmas?
How many girls are there in the classroom?
How much water should I drink everyday?
How much sugar should I add?
How much flour is needed for the cake?

“How many” for non-count nouns

  • We can also say how many for water, milk, butter etc.
  • Just add glasses of, cups of, teaspoon, scoops etc.

How many glasses of water should I drink everyday?
How many scoops of ice-cream should I add to the smoothie?
How many cups of flour?

“How much glasses of water” is wrong.

Pattern:

  • How many + Count N
  • How much + Non C.
  • How many + glasses of + Non C.

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You is a pronoun.

Your is a possessive adjective.

You’re is a contraction, which means “You are.”

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Before we discuss about when to use who, whom and whose we have to study first about subjects, objects and possessive.

keyboard, computer, technology, question mark

Who, Whom or Whose

  • Who= replacing subjects
  • Whom=replacing objects
  • Whose= replacing possessive

  • She invited me to her party.
  • Who invited me to their party? (She, subject)
  • Whom did she invite to her party? (Me, object)
  • Whose party did she invite me? (Her party, possessive) or Whose party is it?

Pattern:

  • Who + Verb
  • Whom + …Subject (noun/pronoun)
  • Whose + Noun that belongs to somebody

Example:

She called me through our fax.

Brian blamed me for the accident.

Who + Verb

Who called me through our fax?

Who blamed me for the accident?

Whom + …Subject

Whom did she call through fax?

Whom did Brian blamed for the accident?

*If there’s no subject (you, I, Brian..etc) after whom, it must be who.

*Whom is replaces only human objects. If the object is a thing like apple, ball, book then use “what.”

Whose + Noun that belongs to somebody

I ate Daddy’s apple. Whose apple did you eat?

He stepped on aunt Mary’s plant. Whose plant did he step on?

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Both are adjectives, so which one would you use?

“Interested” describes the feeling of the person.

It describes the feelings of subjects like He, she, we, I, they, or Mrs. Smith.

Example:

She was interested in the lesson.

I’m interested with reading books.

Interested applicants may submit applications online.
“Interesting” describes how you feel about the person or thing.


Example:
It was an interesting lesson.

This is an interesting book.

She is an interesting person.

The same rule applies with other “adjectives of feelings.”

Example:

Shocking, shocked

Embarrassing, embarrassed

Disappointing, disappointed

Pleasing, pleased

Amazing, amazed

Boring, bored

Pattern:

Subject + Interested
She was pleased, I was embarrassed, My mother felt disappointed..

Interesting + Noun
shocking news, amazing video, boring lesson

Take the quiz:

http://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/345.html

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