The words “whereas,” “in contrast,” “however,” “notwithstanding,” “nevertheless,” “while,” “In spite,” “despite,” and “on the other hand” are used to introduce and highlight contrasting or opposing ideas in a sentence. Here’s how to use them: Whereas: “Whereas” is used to introduce a contrasting or opposing idea, often to show a difference between two things or …
In this post, we are discussing some commonly confused words: lie and lay, lately and recently, since and for, past and last, back and before, affect and effect 1. Lie and Lay: First of all, let us look at the verb forms for each of these words: Lie lay lain Lay laid laid Now, ‘lie’ …
When indicating possibility in present or future, we can use ‘could’, ‘might’ or ‘may’ with first form of verb. For example: Neil may come home late tonight. Neil might come home late tonight. Neil could come home late tonight. All these three sentences indicate possibility of Neil coming home late. Further examples with base form …
Modals of Possibility and Certainty: Could, Might, May, Must Read More »
Let’s observe some more common errors. Incorrect: “I went to abroad.” Correct: “I went abroad.” Another common mistake is saying, “I did not go anywhere in the last week.” The correct way to say this sentence is, “I did not go anywhere the last week.” Explanation: We don’t use preposition ‘in’ with words like last, …
The three modals of preference, ‘would rather’, ‘like…better than’, and ‘prefer to,’ are used to indicate preference. Examples: I would rather read an e-book. I like reading e-book better than printed books. I prefer reading e-books to printed books I would rather read e-books than printed books. Note: When we use ‘would rather’, we use …
An adjective clause, just like an adjective, modifies a noun or a pronoun. It is called a clause because it has a subject and a verb. The adjective clauses can be reduced to phrases in our day to day conversation. The reduced clauses are less wordy and are used to shorten the sentences. Note that …