Big Things Starts from Smaller One

When I was in high school, I thought that prepositions are just single-worded part of speech that is why they are really dangerous specially in academic writing. But then I've crossed into some kind called "complex prepositions" that are not single-worded one. Complex prepositions are a word group that functions as a single preposition that may be two-word or three-word.. 

Some examples are:

  In addition to single-word preposition, there are others called complex preposition.

  She is a great composer  as well as  a great Musical Director.

  There are garbage  in front of  the door.

Any Negatives and Some Positives

Have you ever been confused between the determiners any and some? Well, here’s a little trick: if the statement is positive, we use some (“Could you get me some water?”). On the other hand, if the statement is negative, we use any (“Sorry, I do not have any.”). However, any can also be used in a positive statement if it comes after a word with a negative or limiting meaning (“That network rarely gives any bad news.”). Some and any are also used to state questions answerable by yes or no.

Any vs. Some


Do you have any paper?(Question)

• No, I don't have any.(Negative)
• Yes, I have some.(Positive)

Both Any and Some are used to indicate indefinite amount or number. Some is more preferable to be used in positive clauses, while "Any" is more preferable to be used in negative clauses. 

Which is Which

I have a hard time every time I deal with my "favorite" prepositions namely: in, on, and at. These prepositions can be used to indicate time or denote place.

When indicating time, we use "in" for months and years, "on" for days and dates, and "at" for specific time.

While we use "in" for an enclosed space, "on" for a surface, and "at" for a point when denoting place.

Reference:
http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/prepositions-at-in-on-place.htm
http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/prepositions-at-in-on-time.htm

Here's a link explaining more about these:
http://www.eslgold.com/grammar/in_on_at.html

It is eight days to go before Christmas!
I searched about the meaning of "Xmas" because of confusion that people eliminate "Christ" from Christmas. "The X in Xmas is actually the Greek letter Chi, which was a common abbreviation of Kristos, Christ's name". Please visit this site: http://phrogz.net/xmas


Reference:
Xmas vs. Christmas : Xmas isn't the work of the devil. (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2011 from the World Wide Web: http://phrogz.net/xmas

Adverbs from A to Z

Good day! I want to share this link with you, classmates! This site contains list of adverbs that can help us understand more about adverbs. The adverbs that are given here are listed from A to Z. I hope that you will visit this site because some keypoints are also available here about the proper usage of adverbs. Enjoy reading! :)

http://www.momswhothink.com/reading/list-of-adverbs.html

Problems with Prepositions

Sometimes, we use unnecessary prepositions in a sentence. There is also a rule on the site says that you may end a sentence with a preposition but don't use extra prepositions when the meaning unclear without them.

Example: She wouldn't let the cat inside of the house.

Omit the preposition "of".

The correct sentence should be "She wouldn't let the cat inside the house."

http://www.grammarbook.com/grammar/probPrep.asp

Prepositions

Hello. I want to share this link. It talks about prepositions. It has a list and a guideline on how we should use them properly. You can also download it since it is in the pdf format. Hope it can help you since we'll discuss about it. Happy Holidays!

http://www.uhv.edu/ac/efl/pdf/Prepositions.pdf

EXCEPTIONAL COMPARATIVES

We usually use the word than when comparing. But I found an exemption to this rule. The comparatives senior, junior, superior, inferior etc., are followed by to, and not than. Here as some examples:

Incorrect: This paper is inferior than that.
Correct: This paper is inferior to that.
Incorrect: He is junior than me.
Correct: He is junior to me.
Incorrect: He is superior than you in strength.
Correct: He is superior to you in strength.

I never thought that there are words in which the use of than in comparison would be inappropriate. Now I will not be too hastily in using than. :)

Reference:  http://www.englishpractice.com/grammar/common-errors-prepositions-2/ 

Merry Christmas everyone!

While I was browsing the net and looking for a topic for our blog, I came across a site that tackled on Phrasal Verbs. The site featured a search engine in which a user could look up the verb or preposition of a phrasal verb. Try to take the quiz.

http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/phrasal-verbs/

Anyway Vs. Anyways

One of the frequent errors in speaking English is saying "anyways" instead of "anyway". I noticed that even UP students make this common mistake. "Anyway" is the right word to use. This is similar with saying "anything" because "any" is always accompanied by a noun in its singular form. Therefore, you don't say "anythings", "anywheres", and "anyways".

Here is a link I would like to share with the class regarding my blog:
http://www.dailywritingtips.com/anyway-any-way-or-anyways/