Languagelab.com Blog

Last month I wrote about the spelling of words with long and short vowels.

I think that the best way to improve your spelling is to read, observe the spelling of new or difficult words, copy them down and learn them.  Keep doing a ’spell-check,’ which my recommendation for the week should help you with.
Check out this site - Fun brain

Rules can be very difficult to follow unless you have got the concept itself in your head.  So today, I’m going to keep it short and sweet.

I want you to think about how reading and observing the spelling of a word can help you with grammar.

I’m going to give you 8 words.  Look at the letters at the END of each word to tell me whether it is a noun, a verb, an adjective or an adverb.

The first one has been done for you:
1.    advertise – VERB
2.    musical
3.    dangerous
4.    nursery
5.    already
6.    recommendation
7.    recommend
8.    audible

Do look them up in a dictionary to find out what they are and/or what they mean.  The answers are below.

Now, when you see words ending in ‘ise,’ ‘al,’ ‘ous, ‘ery,’ ‘y,’ ‘ion,’ ‘end’ or ‘ible’ you’ll know what they are.

Answers:
1.verb 2.adjective 3.adjective 4.noun 5.adverb 6.noun 7.verb 8.adjective

In my last blog I mentioned commas and apostrophes.  Of course, we’ve all used commas and apostrophes.  Try the game on this site to see how comfortable you are with them.

How did it go?
Today, we could have a wee bit of a closer examination of apostrophes, which you will have found at the end of the game.  There are 13 apostrophe rules but since 7 is a luckier number than 13, I’ve only written the 7 most important ones.

Rule 1.
Use the apostrophe with contractions. The apostrophe is always placed at the spot where the letter(s) has been removed.
Examples:     don’t, isn’t
You’re right.

Rule 2.
Use the apostrophe to show possession. Place the apostrophe before the s to show singular possession.
Examples:     one boy’s hat
one woman’s hat

Rule 3.
Use the apostrophe where the noun that should follow is implied, in other words we know what the noun should be.
Example:     This was his father’s, not his, jacket.

Rule 4.
To show plural possession, make the noun plural first. Then immediately use the apostrophe.
Examples:
two boys’ hats
two women’s hats

Rule 5.
Do not use an apostrophe for the plural of a name.
Examples: We visited the Sanchezes in Los Angeles.
The Changs have two cats and a dog.

Rule 6.
With a singular compound noun, show possession with ’s at the end of the word.
Example:     my mother-in-law’s hat

Rule 7.
If the compound noun is plural, form the plural first and then
use the apostrophe.
Example:     my two brothers-in-law’s hats

Don’t worry about the other 6 rules.  Pay particular attention to these 7 tips and you’ll be apostrophe-perfect.

Good luck,

Grammar Girl

Hints: May, May be or Maybe?

Is it the month after April or is it a grammar word?  Do they mean the same thing?  Do they have words that mean the same thing (synonyms).  Can we use them when speaking and/or writing?

When you are not sure whether to use it as one word (may), two words (may be), or two words combined into one word (maybe), you might need to brush up on the grammar of modal verbs.

Visit this site to revise them.

Maybe, two words combined into one (called compound words), is an adverb meaning “perhaps” or “possibly.”

May be is a verb phrase meaning “might be” or “could be.”

Examples:

Maybe I will go out tonight. – INFORMAL – I DON’T REALLY KNOW.  WE’LL SEE.

I may be going out tonight.  – A LITTLE MORE FORMAL. I HAVE A PLAN BUT IT’S NOT BEEN CONFIRMED YET.

OR

I may go out tonight – QUITE A BIT MORE FORMAL. – IS THERE A PLAN FOR TONIGHT?  I’LL DECIDE TONIGHT.

So, let’s go over that one more time.

“Maybe” is an adverb meaning “perhaps,” so if you are uncertain whether to use this word or the phrase “may be,” try substituting “perhaps”: “Maybe she forgot I said I’d meet her at six o’clock” becomes “Perhaps she forgot. . . .” When the substitution makes sense, go with one word: “maybe.”

When you are wondering whether you may be waiting in the wrong cafe, you’re dealing with a verb and its auxiliary: “may be.” Two words.

See you soon,

Grammmar Girl

English Language Spelling Rule 1 and 2 – Pronunciation and Spelling

If you speak and write in Arabic, Farsi or any other language that doesn’t use English letters, please don’t worry if you find spelling in English difficult.  I would too!  Even if your first language is Spanish, you might also stumble over your letters.  English is a puzzle.  We speak one way.  We write in another way.  The sounds don’t match the spellings.  What are you supposed to do?  Grammar Girl is going to whip up some simple spelling rules for you.

Rule 1
Short Vowel Spelling

What is a short vowel?  It’s a simple, short sound.  For examples of words with short vowels my favourite website is Learn Any Time.

This fantastic website will also give you some more rules and tips.

And here is the spelling rule for these particular vowels:

To spell a short vowel sound, only one letter is needed:

at           red            it            hot           up

Rule 2
Long Vowel Spelling

Try listening and repeating the long vowel sounds at ESL-Galaxy.

To spell a long sound add a second vowel. The second may be next to the first, (boat, maid, cue, etc.) or it may be separated from the first one by a consonant  (made, ride, tide, etc.). If the second vowel is separated from the first by two spaces, it does not affect the first one.  So, doubling a consonant can be called “protecting” a short vowel because it prevents an incoming vowel from getting close enough to the first one to change its sound from short to long:

maid,  made,  but  madder;            dine,  diner,  but dinner.

Try out the two rules.  I’ll give you two more spelling rules next month.

See you soon,

Grammar Girl

1. Grammar Girl was a journalist for several years before studying for her teaching qualification. When she got her first job in a small newspaper called ‘The News International,’ they put her on the entertainment beat. This meant she had to go to the theatre and film premiers and then run back to the office and write the article up so that it was ready to go to press the same day or in a few hours’ time. She wouldn’t get home until the article had gone into print, which meant living the life of a vampire: asleep during the day and working from dusk till dawn.

2. Grammar Girl once worked at Macdonald’s. She was studying for her teaching qualification in Frances King School in London in 2000 and was running short of money. For the whole length of the course,Girl had a long commute from Croydon to London which, in itself, cost a tidy sum of money. So she spent a month on the breakfast shift at Macdonalds, and didn’t enjoy a single minute of it.

3. She didn’t study up on grammar until she studied teaching. This is because we rarely think about grammar in our own language. We are born with it. We don’t know the names of structures or why they occur. Our mind and our environment does it for us. It is only until we start learning another language that we realise what it all means. So Grammar Girl picked up a students’ course book called ‘Headway’ and read the grammar rules at the back. We all have to start somewhere.

4. Grammar Girl is a bit of a nerd! Some people like reading books, other people like going to the cinema or even the gym. But she loves teaching grammar and thinking about grammar. She finds the idea of choice very important and rules less important. She believes that the learner of English should first decide or know what they want to say. Then they have the ability to decide how they should say it and through what structure.

5. When she was a child, she wanted to become a soldier. There was a garrison just down the road from her house and she walked past it every day. She was fascinated with the uniforms and the discipline. She also wanted to be like Indiana Jones so, I’m assuming, she saw herself as a fun-loving archaeologist in a uniform.

6. She salsas. No, not the spicy condiment from Mexico that you eat, but the music. She remembers listening to a Cuban band called Buena Vista Social Club, as a young girl. She learned how to salsa properly when she lived in Bangkok about 5 years ago. Here, in London, she tries to salsa almost every Friday. Most of the people she meets in London speak Spanish so she’s trying to learn Spanish. She understands how difficult it is to learn another language but, also, how easy it is when you really want to learn.

7. She’s passed her open water diving course and yet isn’t a strong swimmer. I think she cheated somewhere along the line.