"the bell has went"

This used to drive me mad at school (and it wasn't just the pupils who got it wrong!): the inability in the West of Scotland to get the right past participle. The past participle is the part of the verb used after have, has or had. Perhaps, though, it is a feature of Scots and should be celebrated. Again it is about the difference between spoken and written English and knowing the difference.

Here are some common English strong verbs in the simple past and the perfect tense

it went: it has gone

it came: it has come

it began: it has begun

it fell: it has fallen

it got: it has gotten

it ran: it has run
it sang: it has sung
it swam: it has swum
it ate: it has eaten
it drank: it has drunk
it wrote: it has written
it drew: it has drawn
it broke: it has broken
it took: it has taken
it stole: it has stolen

I love Bud Neill's poem, "Winter"  - meant to be read aloud.

Winter's came, the snow has fell


Wee Josie's nose is froze as well


Wee Josie's frozen nose is skintit


Winter's diabolic, intit?

More less troublesome examples of use of the past participle 

The manuscript written in the 13th century was discovered in a library.


The property taken by burglars included …

It's not just the Scots who have trouble with past participles though. Here's one trawled from the internet

a beautiful song by the rankin family sang in gaelic titel in english is the mist covered mountains 
(not to mention the non-sentences, spelling, lack of punctuation or capital letters!)

Test yourself

The following are wrong. Replace with the correct past participle.

1. It has came to my attention.
2. The bell has went.
3. Snow has fell.
4. Winter's began.
5. He has drank a lot of coffee. 
6. They have sang together for years.
7. He has broke a tooth.

 Answers: paste the upside down answers into FLIP

 to save turning the computer upside down!

˙ɥʇooʇ ɐ uǝʞoɹq sɐɥ ǝɥ 7

˙sɹɐǝʎ ɹoɟ ɹǝɥʇǝƃoʇ ƃuns ǝʌɐɥ ʎǝɥʇ 6

 ˙ǝǝɟɟoɔ ɟo ʇol ɐ ʞunɹp sɐɥ ǝɥ 5

˙unƃǝq s,ɹǝʇuıʍ 4

˙uǝllɐɟ sɐɥ ʍous 3

˙ǝuoƃ sɐɥ llǝq ǝɥʇ 2

˙uoıʇuǝʇʇɐ ʎɯ oʇ ǝɯoɔ sɐɥ ʇı 1

full

full is an adjective

my room is full of junk

my cup is full

the spoon is full of sugar

when you tag full on to the end of a noun to make an amount,  there is only 1 L

a spoonful of sugar

a cupful of flour

a handful of people

compare

a cupful of flour  - this is an amount and the stress is on cup

a cup full of coffee - more a statement of fact -evenly stressed

similarly, one L for adjectives such as

fruitful

successful

wonderful

helpful

truthful

Simple rule:

only double LL on full

and single L when tagged on the end of another word

too much to bear

to is a preposition with lots of uses such as

with a verb: to go

with a place: to Glasgow

with a person: they gave it to me

but too is  used for an excess of something

too much, too silly, too sweet, too many

or in the sense of "as well"

Obama says he, too, was a poverty fighter.

And her mother came too.

Test yourself:

1. He was … embarrassed … complain.
2. The porridge was … hot.
3. She went … the shops.
4. … close for comfort. 
5. … many sweet things are bad for you.
6. He left all his money … his dog.
7. I love you …

Answers: paste upside down answers into FLIP



˙ooʇ noʎ ǝʌol ı ˙7  
˙ƃop sıɥ oʇ ʎǝuoɯ sıɥ llɐ ʇɟǝl ǝɥ ˙6  
˙noʎ ɹoɟ pɐq ǝɹɐ sƃuıɥʇ ʇǝǝʍs ʎuɐɯ ooʇ ˙5  
 ˙ʇɹoɟɯoɔ ɹoɟ ǝsolɔ ooʇ ˙4  
˙sdoɥs ǝɥʇ oʇ ʇuǝʍ ǝɥs ˙3  
˙ʇoɥ ooʇ sɐʍ ǝƃpıɹɹod ǝɥʇ ˙2  
˙uıɐldɯoɔ oʇ pǝssɐɹɹɐqɯǝ ooʇ sɐʍ ǝɥ ˙1  

truly, madly, deeply

Adverbs go with verbs* and adjectives go with nouns (or pronouns).

a true friend   - adjective describing the friend

I love you truly - adverb saying how I love

You can often add -ly to an adjective to make it an adverb

mad madly

deep deeply

true truly  

Note the final -e drops off. 

Yours truly,

Same with due duly. 

Duly noted!

Or double a final l

brutal brutally

Or add -ally for ease of pronunciation

tragic tragically

Not all adverbs end in -ly

good (adjective) well (adverb)

Frequently you hear an adjective used where it should be an adverb.

They are now able to clear the runway twice as quick. (Heard on BBC news)

It should of course be "quickly" since it is the verb clear that is done quickly.

Scottish football managers are frequently heard saying, "the boys done good!"  Aaaagh!

Consider the following

He was born premature.

He was born prematurely.

Which is correct?

The first uses the adjective premature going with the pronoun "he". It is much better to say "he was premature"

The second example is correct.

* Adverbs can also go with adjectives and adverbs

she is very pretty
that worked quite well

More on adverbs another time. 

whom

who or whom?

They mean the same but they are not interchangeable.

However, in informal language "whom" is seldom used except after a preposition. 

Who is the subject form so must have a verb next.

Who won the game?

The man who fell to earth.

Did you see the children who were dressed up?

Whom is the object form and should be used 

after a subject and verb

She married whom?  

after a preposition
such as: after, at, before, between, by, for, from, in, into, of, over, under, with, without

for whom the bell tolls.

with whom he discussed the merger

the man after whom he is named

most of whom are weak from hunger

Test yourself:

1. a man for … playing football is everything
2. the chef with … he trained
3. Tom … grew up in Kent 
4. … is playing …?
5. from … she learnt songs

 Answers: paste the upside down answers into FLIP

 to save turning the computer upside down!

sƃuos ʇuɹɐǝl ǝɥs ɯoɥʍ ɯoɹɟ 5
¿ɯoɥʍ ƃuıʎɐld sı oɥʍ 4
 ʇuǝʞ uı dn ʍǝɹƃ oɥʍ ɯoʇ 3
pǝuıɐɹʇ ǝɥ ɯoɥʍ ɥʇıʍ ɟǝɥɔ ǝɥʇ 2
ƃuıɥʇʎɹǝʌǝ sı llɐqʇooɟ ƃuıʎɐld ɯoɥʍ ɹoɟ uɐɯ ɐ 1

stand by your principles

principal and principle sound exactly the same. 

principal can be a noun or an adjective and refers most usually to the head of an organisation or a firm.

An elementary school principal has banned …

University principals 

As an adjective principal means the most important.

the principal psychologist

principle is only ever a noun and refers to a rule

the principles of design
against my principles
back to first principles

How can you remember which is which? How about a wee mnemonic (aid to memory)?

Think of your headteacher - the principal is not your pal!

Test yourself:

1. The princip… cause of obesity is 
2. I'm sticking to my principl…s
3. He doesn't have any principl…s
4. At a meeting of college principl…s  
5. The acting princip… officer is  

Answers: paste upside down answers into FLIP

 sı ɹǝɔıɟɟo lɐdıɔuıɹd ƃuıʇɔɐ ǝɥʇ ˙5  
  slɐdıɔuıɹd ǝƃǝlloɔ ɟo ƃuıʇǝǝɯ ɐ ʇɐ ˙4  
sǝldıɔuıɹd ʎuɐ ǝʌɐɥ ʇ,usǝop ǝɥ ˙3  
sǝldıɔuıɹd ʎɯ oʇ ƃuıʞɔıʇs ɯ,ı ˙2  
 sı ʎʇısǝqo ɟo ǝsnɐɔ lɐdıɔuıɹd ǝɥʇ ˙1  

 

who's whose?

Really, this is quite simple.

Who's stands for "who is" (or who has)  so try replacing with who is..

Who's going to the pub? = Who is going to the pub?

Who's not finished? = Who is (or has) not finished

the person who's lost a wallet = who has lost

Whose is a possessive adjective so must be followed by a noun.

the person whose wallet was lost

the girl whose boyfriend cheated on her

Test yourself

1. Guess …… coming to dinner?
2. …… phone is this?
3. Don't forget …… paying.
4. Ask him …… work this is.
5. …… daddy is he?
6. …… the daddy?
7. …… better at cards?

Answers: paste the upside down answers into FLIP

 to save turning computer upside down!

¿spɹɐɔ ʇɐ ɹǝʇʇǝq s,oɥʍ ˙7

¿ʎppɐp ǝɥʇ s,oɥʍ ˙6

¿ǝɥ sı ʎppɐp ǝsoɥʍ ˙5

˙sı sıɥʇ ʞɹoʍ ǝsoɥʍ ɯıɥ ʞsɐ ˙4

˙ƃuıʎɐd s,oɥʍ ʇǝƃɹoɟ ʇ,uop ˙3

¿sıɥʇ sı ǝuoɥd ǝsoɥʍ ˙2

¿ɹǝuuıp oʇ ƃuıɯoɔ s,oɥʍ ssǝnƃ ˙1

you're right

Your or you're

It really isn't difficult to get this right.
We've already discussed apostrophes and possession.


Your is for possession

You're stands for you are

So try saying "you are" and if it makes sense use you're, if not use your.

… going to be late  Is it you are going to be late? Yes! So you're going to be late

you and … friends Is it you and you are friends? No,  so it is you and your friends


Test yourself:

1. Have you remembered … jacket?
2. Have you remembered … going to be working late?
3. … not going to believe this!
4. … dog has run away.
5. What's … number?

Answers: paste the upside down answers into FLIP

 to save turning your laptop upside down!

¿ɹǝqɯnu ɹnoʎ s,ʇɐɥʍ ˙5  
˙ʎɐʍɐ unɹ sɐɥ ƃop ɹnoʎ ˙4  
¡sıɥʇ ǝʌǝılǝq oʇ ƃuıoƃ ʇou ǝɹ,noʎ ˙3  
¿ǝʇɐl ƃuıʞɹoʍ ǝq oʇ ƃuıoƃ ǝɹ,noʎ pǝɹǝqɯǝɯǝɹ noʎ ǝʌɐɥ ˙2  
¿ʇǝʞɔɐɾ ɹnoʎ pǝɹǝqɯǝɯǝɹ noʎ ǝʌɐɥ ˙1  

More practise?

Click here for larger version

There's a moose loose aboot this hoose.

There's a moose loose aboot this hoose!

This is a phrase to illustrate Scottish pronunciation  (a moose = a mouse)

loose and lose
I'm not sure why these two should get mixed up since they are pronounced differently, in Scotland at any rate!

To lose is the verb. (pronounced looze)

I don't want to lose my place in the queue.

Loose is an adjective, pronounced loose and it rhymes with moose.

He's got a loose tooth.

He's got a screw loose.

Test yourself:

1. Where did you … your glasses?
2. I always …  my way here. 
3. He was at a … end.
4. There's a killer on the ….
5. All hell broke …
6. He stands to … his house.

ANSWERS: paste upside down answers into FLIP

˙ǝsnoɥ sıɥ ǝsol oʇ spuɐʇs ǝɥ 6

˙ǝsool ǝʞoɹq llǝɥ llɐ 5

˙ǝsool ǝɥʇ uo ɹǝllıʞ ɐ s,ǝɹǝɥʇ 4

˙puǝ ǝsool ɐ ʇɐ sɐʍ ǝɥ 3

 ˙ǝɹǝɥ ʎɐʍ ʎɯ ǝsol sʎɐʍlɐ ı 2

¿sǝssɐlƃ ɹnoʎ ǝsol noʎ pıp ǝɹǝɥʍ 1

He shouldn't of said it!

Must of, should of, would of

This misuse of "of" is one of my pet hates.  It is simply wrong, a corruption of have. 

I must have done this or  I must've done this.

He should have or he should've.

She would have or she would've.

They wouldn't have.

Another incorrect usage is bored "of". I suspect that it is again a corruption of bored "with" which is the correct usage.

Test yourself:

1. Should … gone to Specsavers. (advert)
2. It must … been me.
3. It would … been easier.
4. That might … been more sensible.
5. Let's see what  you would … won.

Answers: paste upside down answers into FLIP

ǝʌ,plnoʍ ɹo ˙ǝʌɐɥ plnoʍ noʎ ʇɐɥʍ ǝǝs s,ʇǝl ˙5     
ǝʌ,ʇɥƃıɯ ɹo ˙ǝlqısuǝs ǝɹoɯ ǝʌɐɥ ʇɥƃıɯ ʇɐɥʇ ˙4     
ǝʌ,plnoʍ  ɹo ˙ɹǝısɐǝ uǝǝq ǝʌɐɥ plnoʍ ʇı ˙3     
ǝʌ,ʇsnɯ ɹo ˙ǝɯ uǝǝq ǝʌɐɥ ʇsnɯ ʇı ˙2     
ǝʌ,plnoɥs ɹo ˙sɹǝʌɐsɔǝds oʇ ǝuoƃ ǝʌɐɥ plnoɥs ˙1       

emigrate/immigrate

Emigrate, emigrants and emigration are not the same as immigrate, immigrants and immigration

It's a question of perspective.

My ancestor emigrated from Scotland (where I am) to Canada.

My cousin in Canada, referring to the same person, says he immigrated to Canada.

So emigrate is to leave a country and immigrate is to come in to a country!

Simple!

for better or worse

My mother had a little ditty she would recite. She had a lot of these in her repertoire, no doubt remembered from some music hall act.

Gooder grammar teached here. Betterer up the stairs. 

Today's theme is the comparative; that is, more with an adjective.

Add -er to the adjective 

poor poorer

old older

young younger

fair fairer

clever cleverer

sometimes just an -r 

nice nicer

double the final consonant

big bigger

sad sadder

words ending in -y changer to -ier (except shy, shyer)

silly sillier

happy happier

Irregular forms

good better

bad worse

little smaller

For  longer words use more instead

more beautiful, more intelligent, more handsome

Some words can be compared both ways

likelier or more likely

commoner or more common

Mistakes occur when both more and -er are used

eg more happier, more likelier xxxxx

You hear these mistakes often. Be careful not to write them!

Test yourself:


what is the comparative of

1. tiny
2. mysterious
3. wet
4. rosy
5. unhappy

Answers: paste upside down answers into FLIP

ɹǝıddɐɥun ɹo ʎddɐɥun ǝɹoɯ ˙5  
ɹǝısoɹ ˙4  
ɹǝʇʇǝʍ ˙3  
snoıɹǝʇsʎɯ ǝɹoɯ ˙2  
ɹǝıuıʇ ˙1  

… and I

People think the use of I instead of me is more polite or posh, so must be correct.
My husband and I like swimming.

My friends and I are going shopping.

So far, so good. The italicised words above are the subjects of the sentences and "I" is a subject pronoun.

We could stay together, you and I. (the Drifters) 

Here "you and I" = we, the subject of the sentence.

My family gave my husband and me a bottle of champagne.

You can't say: My family gave I a bottle of champagne, so you can't say they gave my husband and I a bottle, either. This is an example where the nouns/ pronouns are the (indirect) object of the verb "gave".

Similarly after prepositions such as after, with, to, by,
eg with you and me, for the boys and me. Try saying "with I" or "for I" - clearly wrong.

Rule of thumb: if it sounds wrong when you take the bit before the I/me " … and " out, it is probably wrong

Test yourself:

You and … can't go.

Is that cake for Mary and …?

Can you give Tom and … a lift?

Mary will be on after you and ….

When will you and … be famous?

My friends and … will be along later.

Answers: paste the upside down answers into FLIP

 to save turning your computer upside down!

˙ɹǝʇɐl ƃuolɐ ǝq llıʍ ı puɐ spuǝıɹɟ ʎɯ 6

¿snoɯɐɟ ǝq ı puɐ noʎ llıʍ uǝɥʍ 5

˙ǝɯ puɐ noʎ ɹǝʇɟɐ uo ǝq llıʍ ʎɹɐɯ 4

¿ʇɟıl ɐ ǝɯ puɐ ɯoʇ ǝʌıƃ noʎ uɐɔ 3

¿ǝɯ puɐ ʎɹɐɯ ɹoɟ ǝʞɐɔ ʇɐɥʇ sı 2

˙oƃ ʇ,uɐɔ ı puɐ noʎ 1

Apostrophes summarised

For missing letters like 

it's  (it is), we're (we are), you're (you are), let's  (let us)

For possession, with nouns

Tom's friend, the boy's mother (mother of the boy), the boys' mother (mother of the boys), babies' clothing (clothing for babies), women's rugby (rugby for women)

I hesitate even to mention the following misuses, but here goes.

The apostrophe is NOT for making a noun plural, as is often seen on shop signs.

xxxxx orange's - 4 for £1 xxxxx wrong!

xxxxx CD's xxxxx wrong!

The apostrophe is NOT for possession with adjectives

xxxxx you're brother xxxxx wrong!

The apostrophe is NOT for verbs

xxxxx he play's the guitar xxxxx wrong!

Test yourself:

Put in apostrophes if and where necessary.

1. Todays bargains on Roberts stall - potatoes, carrots, sprouts.
2. Lets watch "Von Ryans Express.
3. We viewed the engineers proposals for transport links.
4. The Suns ultraviolet emissions vary over its regular 11-year cycle.
5. Scotlands role in the economy and how it affects the Scots.

Answers: paste the upside down answers into FLIP

 to save standing on your head!

˙sʇoɔs ǝɥʇ sʇɔǝɟɟɐ ʇı ʍoɥ puɐ ʎɯouoɔǝ ǝɥʇ uı ǝloɹ s,puɐlʇoɔs ˙5  
˙ǝlɔʎɔ ɹɐǝʎ-11 ɹɐlnƃǝɹ sʇı ɹǝʌo ʎɹɐʌ suoıssıɯǝ ʇǝloıʌɐɹʇln s,uns ǝɥʇ ˙4  
(ɹǝǝuıƃuǝ ǝuo uɐɥʇ ǝɹoɯ ɟı ,sɹǝǝuıƃuǝ ǝq oslɐ plnoɔ) ˙sʞuıl ʇɹodsuɐɹʇ ɹoɟ slɐsodoɹd s,ɹǝǝuıƃuǝ ǝɥʇ pǝʍǝıʌ ǝʍ ˙3  
˙ssǝɹdxǝ s,uɐʎɹ uoʌ" ɥɔʇɐʍ s,ʇǝl ˙2  
˙sʇnoɹds 'sʇoɹɹɐɔ 'sǝoʇɐʇod - llɐʇs s,ʇɹǝqoɹ uo suıɐƃɹɐq s,ʎɐpoʇ ˙1  

there, but for the grace of God …

They're, there and their all sound the same; hence the problems.

they're

We saw that an apostrophe can stand for a missing letter and that's what we have here.

they're = they are

So if they are can be substituted in your sentence it's they're

they're late = they are late

there 

refers to a place. Think of here and there

It also is used for 

There is / There are / Isn't there? / Aren't there? /There was / There will be, etc

If you can substitute here in your sentence without it sounding too much different, then use there.

There is a fly in my soup. (Here is a fly in my soup.)

their

is the possessive form of they, meaning belonging to them, of them

Their house was burgled.

Test yourself:

1. … going to the cinema.
2. It was … I met my wife.
3. … are many things to remember, aren't …?
4. They lost … luggage …
5. If … all coming we need more chairs.

Answers: paste the upside down answers into FLIP

 to save turning the computer upside down!

˙sɹıɐɥɔ ǝɹoɯ pǝǝu ǝʍ ƃuıɯoɔ llɐ ǝɹ,ʎǝɥʇ ɟı ˙5  
˙ǝɹǝɥʇ ǝƃɐƃƃnl ɹıǝɥʇ ʇsol ʎǝɥʇ ˙4  
¿ǝɹǝɥʇ ʇ,uǝɹɐ 'ɹǝqɯǝɯǝɹ oʇ sƃuıɥʇ ʎuɐɯ ǝɹɐ ǝɹǝɥʇ ˙3  
˙ǝɟıʍ ʎɯ ʇǝɯ ı ǝɹǝɥʇ sɐʍ ʇı ˙2  
˙ɐɯǝuıɔ ǝɥʇ oʇ ƃuıoƃ ǝɹ,ʎǝɥʇ ˙1   

Click on "proceed" to play

Click here for larger version

Yours and mine

What's yours is mine and what's mine's my own. (a favourite saying of my mother)

We saw in an earlier post how the apostrophe is used for possession. Note that the apostrophe for possession is only used for nouns.

These are the possessive adjectives  - no apostrophes!

my

our

your

his 

her

its

their

my book
your bike
his house
their car

And these are the possessive pronouns   - still no apostrophes!!

mine
ours

yours

his

hers

its

theirs

your friend and mine
my town and yours
hers is the white one

It's stands for "it is", see this earlier post

Similarly mine's in the adage at the beginning of this post stands for "mine is".

Apostrophes part 3

Native speakers will have no problem with these plurals.

SINGULAR	PLURAL
man	men
woman	women
child	children

And when it comes to the possessive apostrophe, it is simply - 's 

children's menu  - the menu for children

(as opposed to kids' menu)

men's feelings    - the feelings of men

women's football - football for women

You see, of course, Woman's Own and similar magazine titles. I suppose they are appealing to the woman, making it more personal and intimate.

Test yourself: Plural nouns

Which is correct?

1. childrens' hospital / children's hospital
2. kids' playroom / kid's playroom
3. women's soccer/ woman's soccer
4. mens' health / men's health
5. ladies' detective agency / ladie's detective agency

Answers: paste the upside down answers into FLIP

 to save turning computer upside down!

 ʎɔuǝƃɐ ǝʌıʇɔǝʇǝp ,sǝıpɐl ˙5  
ɥʇlɐǝɥ s,uǝɯ ˙4  
ɹǝɔɔos s,uǝɯoʍ ˙3  
 ɯooɹʎɐld ,spıʞ ˙2  
lɐʇıdsoɥ s,uǝɹplıɥɔ ˙1  

it's made easy

it's or its?

it's stands for "it is"

it's a miserable day  = it is a …

it's hard to understand  = it is hard …

so if you can substitute  "it is" and it makes sense, use it's

whereas its denotes possession and must be followed by a noun (or a noun with an adjective)

Glasgow and its beautiful parks

filet mignon and its accompaniments

the new model is cheaper than its predecessor

the mountain will retain its secret

Test yourself:

1. the baby and … mother
2. what … like to be an orphan
3. the book in … entirety
4. … special nature
5. this is how … going to be

Answers: paste the upside down answers into FLIP

 to save turning computer upside down!

ǝq oʇ ƃuıoƃ s,ʇı ʍoɥ sı sıɥʇ ˙5  
ǝɹnʇɐu lɐıɔǝds sʇı ˙4  
ʎʇǝɹıʇuǝ sʇı uı ʞooq ǝɥʇ ˙3  
uɐɥdɹo uɐ ǝq oʇ ǝʞıl s,ʇı ʇɐɥʍ ˙2  
ɹǝɥʇoɯ sʇı puɐ ʎqɐq ǝɥʇ ˙1    

Apostrophes part 2

We saw in an earlier post how the apostrophe is used to replace a missing letter or letters.

Today we look at how the apostrophe is used to denote possession.

Jim's car = the car belonging to Jim
my aunt's house = the house of my aunt
Monday's jobs = the jobs of Monday

When the a name ends in -s  it's either s's or s' - whichever you think sounds better.

Bridget Jones's Diary = the diary of Bridget Jones

Robert Burns's Poetry - You often see Burns' poetry which is acceptable. But not Burn's poetry which is just plain wrong since the apostrophe cannot interrupt a word. Burns is the word.

Plural nouns - note the position of the apostrophe, after the s   -  s'

my aunts' house = the house of my aunts ie more than one aunt lives there cf my aunt's house

my parents' car = the car of my parents

This is frequently done incorrectly!
eg customer's car park implies they only have 1 customer!
If in doubt, turn it around 
Is it the car park of the customer or of the customers?


Test yourself:
Use a phrase with an apostrophe for


the bed of the dog
the icy blast of winter
the house of my friends
the friends of Mr Williams
the toilet of the ladies
the outfitter of the gents
letters of the readers




ANSWERS:
sɹǝʇʇǝl ,sɹǝpɐǝɹ ˙7  
ɹǝʇʇıɟʇno ,sʇuǝƃ ˙6  
ʇǝlıoʇ ,sǝıpɐl ǝɥʇ ˙5  
spuǝıɹɟ s,sɯɐıllıʍ ɹɯ ˙4  
ǝsnoɥ ,spuǝıɹɟ ʎɯ ˙3  
ʇsɐlq ʎɔı s,ɹǝʇuıʍ  ˙2  
pǝq s,ƃop ǝɥʇ ˙1  

practice makes perfect

The words practice and practise cause confusion since they are pronounced the same.

I always remember which is which by thinking of advice/advise which are pronounced differently.

Advice is the noun and advise is the verb. Similarly practice is the noun and practise the verb.

So I need a lot of practice. (noun) cf I need a lot of advice.

I practise every day. (verb) cf I advise every day.

I hunted BBC news stories for some examples.

… pledged to share best practice ideas 

In practice, this means that emerging nations like China …

 The BBC got it wrong here.

In a speech at the Conservative Party conference, he said it was not enough to just have the right qualifications to practice.(sic) (to practise = verb)

 But they got it right here!

The GP was given a suspended sentence in Germany for death by negligence but has still been able to practise there.

Test yourself:

1. It's important we pr…
2. Hippocrates pioneered the pr… of clinical observation.
3. This is bad pr…
4. Pr… what you preach!
5. I'll manage it with some pr…!

Answers: paste the upside down answers into FLIP
 to save turning computer upside down!

¡ǝɔıʇɔɐɹd ǝɯos ɥʇıʍ ʇı ǝƃɐuɐɯ ll,ı  5
¡ɥɔɐǝɹd noʎ ʇɐɥʍ ǝsıʇɔɐɹd  4
ǝɔıʇɔɐɹd pɐq sı sıɥʇ  3
˙uoıʇɐʌɹǝsqo lɐɔıuılɔ ɟo (unou) ǝɔıʇɔɐɹd ǝɥʇ pǝɹǝǝuoıd sǝʇɐɹɔoddıɥ  2
(qɹǝʌ) ˙ǝsıʇɔɐɹd ǝʍ ʇuɐʇɹodɯı s,ʇı 1

This post presupposes that you can distinguish nouns and verbs in a sentence.

If anyone wants help with picking out nouns and verbs, leave a comment or email me.

Plurals, part 2

Other forms
final -y after a consonant (eg d t l n s) changes to -ies

lady	ladies
baby	babies
university	universities
mystery	mysteries
city	cities
anniversary	anniversaries

If the final y is after a vowel (a e i o u ) you just add -s as usual

boy	boys
day	days
monkey	monkeys
key	keys

This doesn't apply to names:
the Murphys
2 Bloody Marys


If the word ends in -o, usually you add -es (Lots of exceptions though:memos, ratios)

potato	potatoes
hero	heroes

Test yourself (includes some from the previous post)

1. Monday
2. donkey
3. match
4. colony
5. tomato
6. holiday
7. hero
8. daisy

ANSWERS:




sǝısıɐp ˙8
sǝoɹǝɥ ˙7
sʎɐpıloɥ ˙6
sǝoʇɐɯoʇ ˙5
sǝıuoloɔ ˙4
sǝɥɔʇɐɯ ˙3
sʎǝʞuop ˙2
sʎɐpuoɯ ˙1

Plurals (part 1)

Making a noun plural is easy peasy. Why do so many people get it wrong?


You just add a plural -S


book books
cake cakes
elephant elephants
thought thoughts
word words




Add -ES to words already ending in -s, -x -ch (where the ending -es is pronounced)




dress dresses
box boxes
alias aliases
church churches


compare lochs though




Test yourself:


Give the plural of

1. carpet
2. drama
3. ditch
4. business
5. storm
6. fox
7. address
8. witch

Answers: paste the upside down answers into FLIP

 to save turning computer upside down!

sǝɥɔʇıʍ ˙8

sǝssǝɹppɐ ˙7

sǝxoɟ ˙6

sɯɹoʇs ˙5

sǝssǝuısnq ˙4

sǝɥɔʇıp ˙3

sɐɯɐɹp ˙2

sʇǝdɹɐɔ ˙1