English Question

What's the difference between 'as' and 'like'?

noreply@blogger.com (Rory Murphy) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:18:00 +0000

As and like are used in a number of different ways and can be different parts of speech.

'as' and 'like' - prepositions

As refers to something or someone's appearance or function. Consider the following examples:

'Before I became a teacher I worked as a waiter.'
'I'm going to the fancy dress party as Superman.'
'Cows are used as a source of milk.'

'Like' has the meaning 'similar to' and is used when comparing things. Look at these examples:

'I’ve been working like a dog.'
'I've never seen a cow like that one before.'
'She looks a bit like her brother.'
'Just like you, I’m always a bit wary of large dogs.'

The expression 'I've been working like a dog' is idiomatic and means that you have been working very hard. Note that we can use adverbs of degree, such as just, very, quite, not much, not at all, a bit, etc, to modify like:

'He’s very serious – not at all like his father, perhaps more like his mother at times.

'as' and 'like' - conjunctions

As and like can also be used as conjunctions:

'As' means 'in the same way that'. Consider the following:

'I always drink tea without milk, just as they do on the continent.'
'Try to keep your balance on the tightrope, as I do, by spreading out your fingers like this.'
'The first ten days of July were very wet this year, as they were last year and the year before.'

In informal English, like is used in the same way. This is particularly common in American English. Consider the following:

'Nobody else would look after you like I do, baby!'
'She needs the money, like I do, so she works in a bar in the evenings.'
'I hope you’re not going to be sick again, like you were when we went to Brighton.

Fuente(s):

www.bbc.co.uk

At or about, or both?

noreply@blogger.com (Rory Murphy) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:38:00 +0000

Look at the following sentence.

I will meet you at about 10 o'clock.

Maybe you don't see anything wrong with the above sentence. After all, it is an example of a construction in common use and would often go unnoticed as incorrect .

The problem is that 'at' applies to a definite time and 'about' to an approximate time. So to use these two words together is to use two opposites. If you are a stickler for detail and you want to get it right, a better construction for the logically minded would be:

I will meet you at or about 10 o'clock.

at or about, use of English, correct, grammar

What's the difference between 'affect' and 'effect'?

noreply@blogger.com (Rory Murphy) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:29:00 +0000

These two words are often confused because they are closely related and have very similar spelling.

So to begin with we need to be clear that the word 'affect' is a verb and only ever a verb, whereas 'effect' can be a verb but is usually a noun. To help make the matter clearer, here are the definitions of the words.

Affect - Verb = To produce or influence a change in something. To act upon (action)
Effect - Noun = The change produced (result)

So when you affect something you produce an effect. Below are some examples of the words in use.

The beneficial effects of exercise are well known. (The beneficial results of exercise are well known)

What is the effect of eating too much? (What are the results of eating too much?)

I want to affect a change in my life. (I want to produce changes in my life.)

I want to affect the effect. (I want to influence the result.)

affect, effect, correct use, english, grammar, difference

What's the difference between 'Parallel to' and 'Parallel with'?

noreply@blogger.com (Rory Murphy) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:56:00 +0000

English speakers are often not aware that there is any difference and think of the expressions as two ways of saying the same thing. However, the preposition 'to' signifies approach and as soon as two lines approach each other they are no longer parallel. The correct way to this is to say that two lines are parallel with each other.

to and with, parallel, english answers, lines

A little video for those who have problems with pronunciation.

noreply@blogger.com (Rory Murphy) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:48:00 +0000

Learning English pronounciationTechnorati Tags: pronunciation, speaking, sounds, comedy, video

Should I sign my letters 'Yours faithfully' or 'Yours sincerely'?

noreply@blogger.com (Rory Murphy) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:01:00 +0000

These days, our correspondence is increasingly informal and dashed off in a hurry, with little or no attention payed to correct form. Also, with the increasing use of electronic communications, the need for formality is on the decline. However, if you are a stickler for doing things well, or if you need to write a letter that must be correct, here is what the Oxford English Dictionary has to say on the matter.

"If you are writing to someone whose name and title you do not know, use the greeting Dear Sir or Madam, and the ending Yours faithfully, signing yourself with your initials and surname.

If you are writing to a named person, address them as Dear Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms, and end Yours sincerely, followed by your first name and surname.

If you have met them or spoken to them by phone, or otherwise feel that you have some acquaintance with them, address them by their first name and sign yourself Yours sincerely, using your first name."

Personally I like the use of 'Regards' in place of 'Yours sincerely'. What about you? Post a comment to vote for your favorite.

How long would it take to read the Oxford English Dictionary?

noreply@blogger.com (Rory Murphy) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:42:00 +0000

According to the publishers themselves it would take about 60 years to read the 59 million words of the Oxford English Dictionary. However, despite its enormous size, the OED is not the world's largest dictionary. The Dutch dictionary Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal, is the largest taking twice as long to complete. The earliest large dictionary is the Grimm brothers' dictionary of the German language, begun in 1838 and completed in 1961.

How do I say ‘schwa’, the most common sound in English?

noreply@blogger.com (Rory Murphy) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:41:00 +0000

Of all the sounds that we make when we speak English, only one of them has a name. It is called schwa. It’s phonetic symbol can be seen in the video below. This short video from the BBC explains what the sound schwa is and why it is so important in English.

Technorati Tags: schwa,English,sounds,phonetics,learn,grammar

When should I use CAPITAL letters?

noreply@blogger.com (Rory Murphy) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:42:00 +0000

It can be a bit confusing sometimes, knowing when and when not to use capital letters (also known as upper-case letters).

These are the essential rules. If you stick to them you will never go far wrong.

The first letter of a sentence should always be a capital.

Don’t do that!
What do you want?

The first word in direct speech.

Kevin asked, “Where is my pen?”

The word ‘I’.

I don’t like cabbage.
James and I are good friends.

Peoples names, including their initials.

John, Tom Jones, Elton John, Snow White, J.K. Rowling.

Names of places.

London Zoo, New York, Birmingham.

Nationalities.

Japanese, French, Canadian, American, English.

Festivals and Holidays.

Halloween, Christmas Day, Mothers Day.

Days of the week and Months of the year.

Tuesday, Friday, May, December.

Titles of books, plays and films.

Star Wars, Great Expectations, Harry Potter, The Sword in the Stone.

Notice that in book, film and play titles we don’t use capitals for words such as ‘in, at, of, the’.

Technorati Tags: Capitals,grammar,english,when to use

What is the difference between 'these' and 'those'?

noreply@blogger.com (Rory Murphy) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:03:00 +0000

There often seems to be confusion between; 'these', 'those', 'that', 'this', 'here' and 'there'. Normally though, it's just a matter of how close the object, or objects, are to the speaker. 'This', 'these' and 'here', are all in close proximity to the person speaking. Whereas, 'that', 'those' and 'there' are more distant. Take a look at the example sentences below for clarification.

Is this book yours? - The book spoken about is close to the speaker.

Is that book yours? - The book is more distant.

Who do these pens (plural) belong to? - The pens are close to the speaker.

Who do those pens (plural) belong to? - The pens are more distant.

Come here please. - The speaker wants you to come close.

Stand there please. - The speaker is indicating a place distant from both speaker and the person spoken to.

Remember, if you need clarification on any point please contact me using comments and I will do my best to help.

How can I remember the eight parts of speech?

noreply@blogger.com (Rory Murphy) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:28:00 +0000

I recently found this old rhyme that tells you how to remember the names and purposes of the eight parts of speech. If you learn it, it will serve you well for the rest of your life.

Every name is called a noun

As field and fountain, street and town.

In place of noun the pronoun stands,

As he and she can clap their hands.

The adjective describes a thing,

As magic wand or bridal ring.

Most verbs mean action, something done,

To read and write, to jump and run.

How things are done the adverbs tell,

As quickly, slowly, badly, well.

The preposition shows relation,

As in the street or at the station.

Conjunctions join, in many ways,

Sentences, words, or phrase and phrase.

The interjection cries out, "Heed!

An exclamation point must

Follow me!"

What is the oldest word in English?

noreply@blogger.com (Rory Murphy) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:12:00 +0000

According to recent research by scientists, amongst the oldest words are: "I", "we", "two" and "three". These words are said to date back tens of thousands of years and of course have their origins outside of The British Isles.

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How many languages?

noreply@blogger.com (Rory Murphy) — Thu, 28 May 2009 07:03:00 +0000

Students of English very quickly learn that over the centuries the English Language has absorbed words from other languages such as French and German. For those of you who have wondered what the proportions are I present the figures below. In reading these figures you have to realise that this cannot be an exact calculation due to the fact that many words have come to English from Latin through other languages, such as French.

Latin, including modern scientific and technical
Latin: 28.24%
French, including Old French and early Anglo-French: 28.3%
Old and Middle English, Old Norse, and Dutch: 25%
Greek: 5.32%
No etymology given: 4.03%
Derived from proper names: 3.28%
All other languages contributed less than 1%

Technorati Tags: French,Latin,Percentage,Proportions,Language

What is the Oxford English Corpus?

noreply@blogger.com (Rory Murphy) — Mon, 11 May 2009 18:42:00 +0000

How do we know that what is contained in a dictionary is accurate and up to date? Well the OED spends over £35 million on it’s research programme each year. One of the methods that the Oxford English Dictionary uses is the ‘Corpus’. The Corpus is a collection of written or spoken works from a wide variety of sources. By analysing the content of these works they are able to keep up with the latest developments. As of the 2006 the corpus reached a milestone figure of over 2 billion words!

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What comes next in the sequence ‘once, twice, thrice’?

noreply@blogger.com (Rory Murphy) — Sat, 09 May 2009 14:48:00 +0000

he answer to this question is a resounding nothing! Apparently the English language has never felt the need to create a word that describes doing something more than three times.

All sensible suggestions will be published as a matter of interest.

Technorati Tags: English,question,once,twice,thrice,four times.

What is the origin of the '@' sign.

noreply@blogger.com (Rory Murphy) — Thu, 07 May 2009 06:39:00 +0000

Nowadays, this symbol is used mostly in email addresses tu it's origins are older than you might think. Centuries ago, when the common language of writing was Latin, scribes were always looking for quicker and easier ways to do their work. One of the often written words was the Latin word 'ad'. Eventually the scribes came up with the idea of combining the two letters into the symbol '@' for easier and speedier writing.

Many nations have claimed the '@' symbol as originating from the name for such things as a unit of measure or amphora (earliest recorded use 1536). However scholars agree that it seems likely that the symbol was seen by traders in old manuscripts and subsequently adopted by them for use when making lists or doing accounts.

So what is the correct name for this symbol. In English it is referred to as 'the at symbol' or simply 'at'. In other languages it is often referred to by the French name 'arrobe' or 'arroba'. Other nicknames also exist but none of them has been adopted in English.

Should I write 'email, e-mail, Email or E-mail'.

noreply@blogger.com (Rory Murphy) — Tue, 05 May 2009 06:28:00 +0000

More and more words are starting to appear with the prefix 'e', meaning electronic, and it can be difficult to know which to use. So which is correct? The problem we have in answering this question is that the usual sources, such as the Oxford Dictionary, don't set the policy for new words in the English Language. Instead they reflect current usage.

As we all know, at the moment, it is possible to see this word and others that follow the same pattern, such as 'e-commerce' and 'e-cash', written in various ways. However, at the moment, the Oxford Concise Dictionary sets the 'e' of email in lower case and without a hyphen. Other words such as e-commerce, also have the 'e' in lower case but have retained the hyphen for clarity. Don't forget though that any of these words appearing as the first word in a sentence will begin with a capital.

What is the difference between 'these' and 'those'?

noreply@blogger.com (Rory Murphy) — Mon, 04 May 2009 08:51:00 +0000

The words 'these' and 'those' are the plural forms of 'this' and 'that'. 'This' is an object very close to the person speaking or being experienced by the speaker. 'That'is an object that is more distant or can also be used when speaking about a specific thing already mentioned.

So 'these' are objects close to the speaker and 'those' are objects that are more distant. Simple really.

So if we take as an example the sentence:

Bob has many fine qualities and amongst these/those are....

The correct form would be:

Bob has many fine qualities and amongst these are...

The reason being that the qualities spoken about are something that the speaker has directly experienced.

Which is correct, 'learned' or 'learnt'?

noreply@blogger.com (Rory Murphy) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 08:55:00 +0000

As is often the case, this is one of the differences between American English and British English. They are, of course, both forms of the past tense and past participle of the verb 'learn', which is an irregular verb. Americans tend to say learned and the British learnt. Although both can be considered correct. Other verbs that have this characteristic are: burn, dream, kneel, lean, leap, spell, spill, spoil. All of these are also irregular verbs.

'My friend and I' or 'My friend and me'. Which is correct?

noreply@blogger.com (Rory Murphy) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 06:49:00 +0000

This is something that confuses many people, including English natives, but the solution is really very simple. If you are not sure, the trick is to take the other person out of the sentence and see if it still makes sense (changing to the singular when necessary). For example:

Joe invited Sally and me to the party. - Joe invited me to the party. (Correct)
Joe invited Sally and I to the party. - Joe invited I to the party. (Wrong)

My friend and me went to the party. - Me went to a party.
My friend and I went to the party. - I went to the party.

My friend and I are both Capricorn. - I am Capricorn.
My friend and me are both Capricorn. - Me am Capricorn.

Now that you know the rule, if you listen to native English speakers you will see that, often, they also get it wrong. Don't worry. Just follow the rule and you will always get it right.

Is a street the same as a road?

noreply@blogger.com (Rory Murphy) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 05:26:00 +0000

Although the terms can apply to the same thing, you could also say that all streets have a road but not all roads are a street. A road is usually what we think of as a surface that allows the passage of cars and vehicles. So a street may have a road running through it. A street, on the other hand, is usually thought of as more urban in context and is lined with houses. An exception to this could be such 'roads' as 'Watling Street' which is an old Roman road that runs much the length of England.

Does 'bi-monthly' mean twice a month or every two months.

noreply@blogger.com (Rory Murphy) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 10:14:00 +0000

The rather confusing answer to this is that it means both! Another similar word is bi-weekly. That also means twice a week and every two weeks. So how do we know the difference? Well that's the problem. We don't. If somebody uses these words you will have to ask for clarification. As for using them yourself... well really it's best not to unless you are willing to accept the possible consequences or to give a further explanation.

It is better so say 'twice a week/month' or 'every two weeks/months.

Is it true that English had more words than any other language?

noreply@blogger.com (Rory Murphy) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 04:28:00 +0000

This is another of those questions that really doesn't have a sensible answer. Over the years English has absorbed words from many language including French, German and Latin. For this reason it would appear that English has more words than most comparable modern languages (see question on 'How many words are there in the English Language?')

This does, of course, assume that you ignore 'agglutinative' languages such as Finnish, in which words can be stuck together in long strings of indefinite length, and which therefore have an almost infinite number of 'words'.

How many words are there in the English language?

noreply@blogger.com (Rory Murphy) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 11:20:00 +0000

As the Oxford English Dictionary says, there is no sensible, single answer to this question. The problem lies in deciding exactly what a word is! Let me give you an example. The word 'dog'. Should it count as one or two words? A dog is an animal, that's to say a noun. But it is also a verb meaning to follow persistently. And what about 'dog-tired'? Is that another word or just two words joined together? What about French words used in cooking or Latin words used in law. What about dialects, scientific terms, slang?

The Second Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary contains full entries for 171,476 words in current use, and 47,156 obsolete words. To this may be added around 9,500 derivative words included as subentries. Over half of these words are nouns, about a quarter adjectives, and about a seventh verbs; the rest is made up of interjections, conjunctions, prepositions, suffixes, etc. These figures take no account of entries with senses for different parts of speech (such as noun and adjective).

This suggests that there are at least a quarter of a million distinct English words, of which about 20 percent are no longer in current use.

If distinct senses were counted, the total would probably approach three quarters of a million.

Why do words such as 'hour' have a silent 'h'

noreply@blogger.com (Rory Murphy) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 08:14:00 +0000

Many words in English have a silent 'h' which may appear anywere in the word. Some examples are: Messiah, rhapsody, shepherd, exhaust. The pronunciation and spelling usually depend upon the origins of the word. More specifically, the word 'hour' is of French origin and the spelling and pronunciation have been adopted.

However, in other similar words we have come to pronounce the 'h' over the years. For example: horrible, hospital, host, hotel, and human. Although strangely the English have also added an 'h' were none previously existed in words such as 'hermit and hostage'. But then, nobody ever said that English was completely logical!