Thursday, March 12, 2020

Some Perennial Grammar Questions

Some Perennial Grammar Questions Some Perennial Grammar Questions Some Perennial Grammar Questions By Maeve Maddox The DWT team appreciate the great feedback to Daniels question What topics do you want to see covered in the blog? and are busily responding. Questions of grammar and usage are never out of date. Doubtless well be writing new posts on topics that have been dealt with in the past. Preposition usage, for example, could fill a book. Here are some of the recent suggestions, together with links to archived posts that may have already addressed them. Verbs used intransitively and transitively†¦ English grammar 101 introduction to the English verb †¦if you could address who/whom it would be great Beware of whom the difference between principle and principal Principle or principal the difference between assume and presume. Is there a difference between assume and presume? I’d like to know when (or if) it became acceptable to refer to an individual in the military as a troop, i.e. â€Å"Three troops were injured today.† Soldiers or Troops? Plural possessives? The possessive apostrophe When to form a plural with an apostrophe give a list of ALL the parts of speech†¦ English grammar 101 parts of speech use of the subjunctive subjunctive if I was The subjunctive mood I wish I were Do you have an archive so I could catch up on topics already covered? Archives Please do a blog on the difference between lie (recline) and lay and their conjugations. Lay/lie moribund but not dead yet Mixing up lay and lie the difference and usage of ‘passed’ and ‘past’ Passed vs past Confusing passed with past Taking another pass-at â€Å"passed† I recall an experience from my days of classroom teaching. Id just given a lesson on the use of the apostrophe to form the possessive. The students had been attentive and I was certain that my explanations and illustrations had been especially inspired. Still glowing as I passed a senior teacher, I shared my feeling that Id settled the apostrophe problem for that group of students once and for all. I can still see the kind, but pitying expression that flitted across her face. Common errors are common for a reason. At some level, the error makes sense to us. Once an error is habitual, effort and repetition are required to rid ourselves of the habit. And the first explanation is not necessarily the one that will prove effective in clarifying the matter. Keep those suggestions coming. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:70 Idioms with HeartComma Before ButHow often is "bimonthly"?