Search This Blog
Showing posts with label WRITING. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WRITING. Show all posts

GRAMMAR PILLS: OTHER OR ANOTHER? – OTHERS, THE OTHER AND THE OTHERS

💡 Quick answer:
  • ANOTHER (otro/otra) + singular countable noun ⇒ There is another book in my bag. (Hay otro libro en mi bolso.)
  • OTHER (otros/otras) + plural countable noun ⇒ There are other books in my bag. (Hay otros libros en mi bolso.)
  • OTHER (otro/otra) + uncountable noun ⇒ The embassy website has general information about visas. Other travel information can be obtained by calling the freephone number. (From Cambridge English Grammar Today)
🔺WARNING: ANOTHER + NUMBER / 'a couple of' / 'few' etc. + PLURAL NOUN.
➧'ANOTHER' se utiliza con nombres contables en plural cuando incluimos un NÚMERO o frases como 'a couple of', 'few', etc.
  • Another 2,000 nurses are needed in NHS hospitals. (Macmillan Dictionary)
  • For another £30 (= for £30 more) you can buy the model with a touchscreen. (Cambridge Dictionary)
  • My passport is valid for another two years. (Cambridge Dictionary)
  • We’ll have to wait another three weeks for the results. (Longman Dictionary)
  • We'll have to wait for another two weeks / another couple of weeks.
  • I've decided to stay in the UK another few weeks after I finish my course.
    💡 EXTENDED ANSWER:
    We can use OTHER and ANOTHER as ADJECTIVES and PRONOUNS.
    ➧Al igual que en español, podemos usar ‘otro/otra’ y ‘otros/otras’ como adjetivos y como pronombres.

    As an ADJECTIVE, they describe a noun.
    Como ADJETIVO, describen un nombre (sustantivo).
    As a PRONOUN, they replace a noun.
    Como PRONOMBRE, reemplazan un nombre (sustantivo).

    COUNTABLE SINGULAR NOUN
    As an ADJECTIVE
    As a PRONOUN
    I need another book.
    (Necesito otro libro.)
    I don’t need this book; I need another.
    (No necesito este libro; necesito otro.)
    I don’t need this book; I need the other book.
    (No necesito este libro; necesito el otro libro.)
    I don’t need this book; I need the other.
    (No necesito este libro; necesito el otro.)

    COUNTABLE PLURAL NOUN
    As an ADJECTIVE
    As a PRONOUN
    I need other books.
    (Necesito otros libros.)
    I don’t need these books; I need others.
    (No necesito estos libros; necesito otros.)
    I don’t need these books; I need the other books.
    (No necesito estos libros; necesito los otros libros.)
    I don’t need these books; I need the others.
    (No necesito estos libros; necesito los otros.)

    🔺 WARNING: ‘OTHERS’ is always a PLURAL PRONOUN, meaning ‘other people or other things’
    ➧‘OTHERS’ en plural con -s es siempre PRONOMBRE ⇒ Some people think that Tom is a great teacher, but others think just the opposite.

    🎬 From Learn English with Adam [EngVid]

    🔗 Read more:
    🔗 Free online exercises:
    🔗 SEE ALSO:
    at
    Labels: , , , ,

    The language of mental or physical disability (from OXFORD Living Dictionaries)

    Read full article: Avoid using dated or offensive words with these guidelines for use of specific terminology.
    The language that is now considered suitable to refer to people with physical and mental disabilities is very different from that used a few decades ago. The changes are due partly to campaigns by organizations that promote the interests of particular groups of disabled people and partly to the public's increased sensitivity to the issues. People are now keen to avoid using terms that might reinforce any negative stereotypes of people with disabilities, in the same way that they try to avoid the racist or sexist terms that were once commonly used.

    The word disabled itself came to be used as the standard term for referring to people with physical and mental disabilities from the 1960s onwards. It's still the most generally accepted term in both British and American English and has replaced terms that are now seen as offensive, such as crippled, handicapped, or mentally defective.

    If you want to use appropriate language you not only need to avoid words which have been superseded, such as mongolism or backward. You should also try to do the following:
    • avoid using the + an adjective to refer to an entire group of people, such as ‘the blind’, ‘the deaf’, or ‘the disabled’. This type of collective term is seen as dehumanizing: in essence, it reduces the people with a disability to the disability itself. It also ignores the individuality of those people by lumping them together in an undifferentiated group. The preferred forms are now ‘a person with …’ or ‘people with ……’ wherever possible, i.e. ‘people with sight problems’, ‘people with disabilities’, etc. If that isn't suitable, use ‘blind people’, ‘disabled people’, and so on.
    • avoid using terms such as victim, suffer from, be afflicted with, or wheelchair-bound which suggest that the person concerned is the helpless object of the disability. Instead of suffer from, you can just say have:
    Their youngest child has cystic fibrosis.

    Another alternative is ‘be diagnosed with’:

    In 1984, he was diagnosed with autism.

    Rather than describing someone as wheelchair-bound, you can just say that they ‘use a wheelchair’.
    • avoid using words which once related to disabilities, but which are now generally used as insults, such as mongol, cretin, spastic, schizo, dumb, etc.
    GO TO FULL ARTICLE for Specific terms relating to disability
    See also: OXFORD DICTIONARIES BLOG
    at
    Labels: , ,

    GRAMMAR PILLS: GOOD OR WELL?

    What's the difference between GOOD and WELL?

    💡 Quick answer ⇒ GOOD = ADJECTIVE / WELL = ADVERB

    GOOD is an ADJECTIVE ⇒ (bueno/a) i.e. it describes a noun or pronoun.
    Ejemplo: That is (a good book) / That book is good.
                                           noun           noun

    WELL is an ADVERB ⇒ (bien) i.e. it describes a verb.
    Ejemplo: Mary speaks English well. / I did well in the exam.
                             verb                          verb

     🔺 WARNING: WELL may also be an ADJECTIVE, BUT only when it means

    1) In good health; free or recovered from illness.
    → ‘I don't feel very well’
    → ‘it would be some time before Sarah was completely well’
    → ‘It has also correctly labelled as disease free most, but not all, of the well people.’

    1.1) In a satisfactory state or position.
    → ‘I do hope all is well with you and your family’

    2) Sensible; advisable.
    → ‘it would be well to know just what this suggestion entails’
    → ‘Only--if we decide to buy, it would be well to be moved in and settled before winter.’ (From Oxford Dictionaries)

     ❓ So, which one is correct? ⇒ I'm good or I'm well?

    💡 You may also want to watch this video!
    🔗 Read more and practice:
    at
    Labels: , , , ,

    GRAMMAR PILLS: ORDER OF ADJECTIVES

    First things first… 

    What’s an adjective?

    An adjective is a word or a structure that describes, qualifies or modifies a noun (= NOMBRE / SUSTANTIVO) or pronoun. 

    ¿Por qué es necesario estudiar el orden de los adjetivos en inglés? 

    Porque los adjetivos se colocan normalmente en un orden en particular según el tipo de adjetivo que sea (por ejemplo: opinión: interesting/beautiful, forma: square/round, material: wooden/gold, etc.). 

    Básicamente, los adjetivos se colocan en 2 posiciones: 

    1) ATTRIBUTIVE ⇒ BEFORE THE NOUN (as an attribute):
    → [That blue car] is mine.
        adjective + noun

    2) PREDICATIVE ⇒ AFTER THE VERB (in the predicate):
    → My car [is blue].
               verb + adjective

    💡Tip: La mayoría de los adjetivos pueden usarse en ambas posiciones, pero algunos pueden usarse solo en 1 de las 2 (attributive or predicative):

     ✅ It was our main problem. [‘main’ ⇒ attributive = before the noun]
    ✅ The children were alone at home. [‘alone’ ⇒ predicative = after the verb]

     These sentences, on the other hand, are not correct:

     ❌ Our problem was main. [‘main’ cannot be used in the predicative position]
    ❌ Some alone children [‘alone’ cannot be used in the attributive position]

     🔗 Click here for more examples

    Además, hay una 3ra posición: 

    3) POSTPOSITIVE ⇒ AFTER THE NOUN:
    → All candidates present on the test day...
                  noun + adjective

     🔗 Click here for more examples + an exercise

    ORDER OF ATTRIBUTIVE ADJECTIVES

    Cuando colocamos más de un adjetivo en attributive position, debemos seguir un orden: 1ro van los adjetivos que expresan opinión (lo que pensamos de algo, nuestra percepción subjetiva, como beautiful, interesting or cute) y luego, los que expresan un hecho (fact), es decir que son objetivos, como el tamaño, la forma o el color.

    Según Cambridge English Grammar Today, el orden más común en el que colocamos attributive adjectives es el siguiente (esto podría modificarse en frases enfáticas):

    💡 ALSO READ 1: Adjective Order (Englishclub) ⇒ Check out the Table! ⇒ Then, take the quiz ⇒ Adjective Order Quiz


    🎬 VIDEOS:
    ORDER OF ADJECTIVES (It only takes 2:17 minutes!)

    Never Break This Grammar Rule - Adjective Order (3:34 minutes)

    💡 Further Practice:

    Georgina Jacobs
    at
    Labels: , , , , ,

    GRAMMAR PILLS: MID-POSITION ADVERBS

    ¿Qué es un mid-position adverb?

    Es un adverbio que se coloca en medio en una clause.

    💡 ¿Qué es un adverbio?
    Es una palabra o frase que describe un verbo (nos dice cómo, dónde, cuándo, por qué, etc. se realiza la acción del verbo). Los adverbios también describen adjetivos y otros adverbios, pero en este post nos concentraremos en los que describen verbos.

    Los adverbios se pueden colocar en 3 posiciones:

    FRONT POSITION ⇒ Unfortunately, I can't help you.
    MID-POSITION ⇒ I always get up at 7 a.m.
    END POSITION ⇒ Have you read that report yet?

    💡 TIP: Según el tipo de adverbio, puede colocarse en una u otra posición. Algunos pueden colocarse en distintas posiciones para dar énfasis, hacer contraste o evitar ambigüedad.

    ¿Qué adverbios se colocan en mid-position?

    Los adverbs of frequency (always, sometimes, usually, often, seldom, rarely, hardly ever, never, etc.) y otros como really, quite, probably, possibly, certainly, also, only, just, already, etc.

    ¿Cómo se colocan los mid-position adverbs en la clause?

    Entre el sujeto y el verbo, y es muy sencillo ⇒ hay solo 3 posibilidades: 

    1) BEFORE THE MAIN VERB (ANTES del VERBO principal):
    → SUBJECT + ADVERB + MAIN VERB
    → I always get up at 7 a.m.

    2) AFTER THE VERB “TO BE” (DESPUÉS de “TO BE”):
    → SUBJECT + TO BE + ADVERB
    → Peter is always late.

    🔺 EMPHASIS ⇒ Cuando el adverbio es enfático, se puede colocar ANTES de “to be”: Why should Peter be early today? He never is early for anything. (La entonación también cambia para marcar el énfasis.)

    3) VERB PHRASE: if the verb contains auxiliaries and/or modals, the adverb comes AFTER THE FIRST auxiliary or modal (si el verbo tiene auxiliares o modales, el adverbio se coloca DESPUÉS de la primera palabra):
    → SUBJECT + 1st aux./modal + ADVERB + MAIN VERB
    → You should never have told anyone my secret.

    ❓ En las preguntas, el adverbio se coloca DESPUÉS del sujeto:
    Do you usually work at weekends?
    Have you already finished your exam? (surprised)

    🔺 IMPORTANTE: En inglés, NO poner el adverbio entre verbo y objeto:

    En español podemos decir:
    Me gusta mucho el chocolate.





    Mary habla muy bien inglés.
    En inglés:
    ❌ I like a lot chocolate.
          [verb + adverb + object]

    ✅ I like chocolate a lot.
          [verb + object] + adverb

    ❌ Mary speaks very well English.                 [verb + adverb + object]

    ✅ Mary speaks English very well.                 [verb + object] + adverb

    From BBC 6 Minute Grammar - Adverb Position 1

    From BBC 6 Minute Grammar - Adverb Position 2

     🔗 Recommended links:
    💡 PRACTICE:

    Georgina Jacobs
    at
    Labels: , , , ,

    ODD SIGNS FROM ENGLAND - Ambiguity problems

    Source: Anvari.org

    1. IN A LAUNDROMAT: Automatic washing machines. Please remove all your clothes when the light goes out.

    2. IN A LONDON DEPARTMENT STORE: Bargain Basement Upstairs.

    3. IN AN OFFICE: Would the person who took the step ladder yesterday please bring it back or further steps will be taken.

    4. IN ANOTHER OFFICE: After the tea break staff should empty the teapot and stand upside down on the draining board.

    5. ON A CHURCH DOOR: This is the gate of Heaven. Enter ye all by this door. (This door is kept locked because of the draft. Please use side entrance)

    6. OUTSIDE A SECOND-HAND SHOP: We exchange anything - bicycles, washing machines, etc. Why not bring your wife along and get a wonderful bargain?

    7. QUICKSAND WARNING: Quicksand. Any person passing this point will be drowned. By order of the District Council.

    8. NOTICE IN A DRY CLEANER’S WINDOW: Anyone leaving their garments here for more than 30 days will be disposed of.

    9. IN A HEALTH FOOD SHOP WINDOW: Closed due to illness.

    10. SPOTTED IN A SAFARI PARK: Elephants Please Stay in Your Car.

    11. SEEN DURING A CONFERENCE: For anyone who has children and doesn't know it, there is a day care on the first floor.

    12. NOTICE IN A FIELD: The farmer allows walkers to cross the field for free, but the bull charges.

    13. MESSAGE ON A LEAFLET: If you cannot read, this leaflet will tell you how to get lessons.

    14. ON A REPAIR SHOP DOOR: We can repair anything (Please knock hard on the door - the bell doesn't work)

    15. SPOTTED IN A TOILET IN A LONDON OFFICE BLOCK: Toilet out of order. Please use floor below.
    at
    Labels: ,
    Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

    BLOG

    Popular Posts


    WEEKLY PICKS