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Saturday, January 28, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
SPELLING RULES
Spelling Rule
Examples
Exceptions
To form the plural
of most nouns,
simply add -s
cat > cat s
dog > dogs
Surviving Old English plural
forms:
deer > deer ; sheep > sheep ;
ox > oxen; man > men;
woman > women; child >
children ; brother (in a
religious sense)
> brethren; foot > feet;
tooth > teeth.
Some compound nouns:
passer-by > passer s-by;
mother-in- law > mother s-in-
law.
Plural forms of not fully
naturalized foreign words:
chateau > chateau x ;
crisis > cris es ; formula >
formula e ; index > ind ices;
stimulus > stimuli
Plural forms of metric
abbreviations:
100 km (kilometres)
60 g (grams)
2.5 l (litres)
Note that with non-metric
measurements plural s is
optional: 60 lb or 60 lbs
To form the plural of nouns
ending in
s, sh, ss, z, x or ch,
add -es to facilitate
pronunciation
gas > gases
dish > dish es
boss > boss es
box > boxes
watch > watch es
To form the plural of nouns
ending in y preceded by a
consonant,
change the y to an i
and then add -es
lady > lad ies
baby > babies
strawberry > strawberr i es
laboratory > laboratori es
lay-by > lay-by s (BrE);
stand-by > stand-by s
Family names:
Mr. & Mrs. Brady > The
Bradys
To form the plural of
a number of long
established English nouns
ending in f or fe
(but not ff or ffe!)
change the f to a v
and then add -es
half > halv es
leaf > leav es
life > liv es
knife > kniv es
Most other nouns ending in f
or fe simply add -s as usual,
but there are some cases in
which the -ves plural
formation is optional:
belief > beliefs; chief >
chiefs ;
handkerchief >
handkerchiefs
(but note handkerchie ves is
an option in British English);
safe > safes
Caution is advised and, if in
doubt, consult a dictionary.
To form the plural of
imported nouns
ending in o and long
established in English, add -
es
cargo > cargo es
domino > domino es
echo > echo es
embargo > embargoes
hero > hero es
potato > potato es
tomato > tomatoes
tornado > tornadoes
torpedo > torpedoes
veto > vetoes
For less naturalized nouns
ending
in o , add -s only:
kilo > kilos ; piano > pianos ;
kimono > kimonos; radio >
radios
In a few cases the -es plural
formation is optional. When
in any doubt, consult your
dictionary!
archipelago > archipelago s/
archipelago es
fiasco > fiasco s /fiasco es
halo > halos /halo es
mango > mango s/mango es
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Saturday, January 7, 2012
The time clauses
The time clauses in the
English language are
introduced by conjunctions
such as after, as soon as,
before, till, until, when,
whenever, while or time
expressions such as the
minute, the moment etc.
We do not use the future
tense (will) in a time clause to
describe future activities (in
this respect, it it similar to if
clauses ).
Compare:
I'll come back home and I'll
do it. x I'll do it when I come
back home. ( when I come is
the time clause)
You will push this button and
the door will open. x As soon
as you push this button the
door will open.
Don't stand up. First I'll tell
you. x Don't stand up till
(until) I tell you.
You'll need my car. Take it. x
Whenever you need my car
you can take it.
You'll tidy up the house and
I'll do the shopping. x You'll
tidy up the house while I do
the shopping.
You will drop the bomb and it
will explode. x The moment
you drop the bomb it will
explode.
Similarly, other future forms
also change to the present
simple tense.
He is going to leave. The room
will be empty. x As soon as he
leaves the room will be
empty.
We are moving next week.
Then we'll call you. x When we
move next week we'll call you.
If we describe an action that
is happening at the same time
as another future action (the
two activities are
simultaneous), we use the
present continuous tense in
time clauses.
We are going to cut the grass.
You'll pick the apples. x While
we are cutting the grass you'll
pick the apples.
The future perfect simple and
continuous become the
present perfect simple and
continuous.
I'll have finished my grammar
exercises in ten minutes. Then
I'll go out. x After I have
finished my grammar
exercises I'll go out.
They will have repaired our car
by the weekend. And we will
go for a trip. x As soon as
they have repaired our car we
will go for a trip.
Be careful!
If when introduces a noun
clause which is the object of a
verb, it is followed by a future
tense.
I don't know when she will
arrive. I can't remember when
the race will start. You must
decide when you will meet
them.
In all these sentences the
question is: What? not When?
(I don't know what, I can't
remember what, You must
decide what.)
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Friday, January 6, 2012
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