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      • I and Me
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What Are Contractions?

December 26, 2019

What are Contractions?

Contractions Definition

Contractions are a combination of two or more words where the words are shortened by omitting one or more letters. An apostrophe is used in place of the missing letter or letters.

e.g. I’m (I am) – You’re (You are) – It’ll (It will)

e.g. I’m going to the shop. vs I am going to the shop.

e.g. You’re talking rather quickly. vs You are talking rather quickly.

e.g. It’ll be fine. vs It will be fine.

English Contractions List

  • Aren’t = Are not
  • Can’t = Cannot
  • Couldn’t = Could not
  • Didn’t = Did not
  • Don’t = Do not
  • Doesn’t = Does not
  • Hadn’t = Had not
  • Haven’t = Have not
  • He’d = He had or He would
  • He’ll = He will
  • He’s = He is or He has
  • Here’s = Here is
  • I’d = I had or I would
  • I’ll = I will
  • I’m = I am
  • Isn’t = Is not
  • It’s = It is or It has
  • I’ve = I have
  • Mustn’t = Must not
  • She’d = She had or She would
  • She’s = She is or She has
  • She’ll = She will
  • Shouldn’t = Should not
  • They’d = They had or They would
  • They’ll = They will
  • That’s = That is
  • They’re = They are
  • They’ve = They have
  • Wasn’t = Was not
  • We’d = We had or We would
  • We’ll = We will
  • We’re = We are
  • Weren’t = Were not
  • What’s = What is
  • Who’ll = Who will
  • Who’s = Who is
  • Won’t = Will not (irregular)
  • Wouldn’t = Would not
  • You’d = You had or You would
  • You’ll = You will
  • You’re = You are
  • You’ve = You have

Filed Under: Glossary Tagged With: contractions, contractions list, what are contractions

Linking Verbs List

October 10, 2014

Linking Verbs ListIt is important to note that, in this linking verbs list, are verbs which can also be used as ‘action’ verbs. Remember that these are only linking verbs, when they link the subject to the subject complement.

Linking verbs differ from ‘helping verbs’ which help verbs to express tenses and always precede another verb e.g. was cooking, will be going, should have watched etc.

Linking Verbs List

Act
Am
Appear
Are
Be
Become
Been
Being
Come
Fall
Feel
Get
Grow
Is
Lie
Look
Prove
Remain
Seem
Smell
Sound
Stay
Taste
Turn
Was
Were

Read more about linking verbs.

Filed Under: English Grammar, Linking Verbs, Verbs Tagged With: common linking verbs, helping verbs, linking verbs, linking verbs list, list of linking verbs

Linking Verbs

October 8, 2014

Linking Verbs ExamplesLinking Verbs Definition

Unlike traditional verbs, which are ‘doing’ words and express a physical or mental action, or a state of being, linking verbs do not express action. They simply indicate that a subject exists and connect the subject with another word, that provides information about it (the subject complement). Effectively, linking verbs join the subject to the rest of the sentence.

For example:

Mary is tall.

Mary = subject
is = linking verb
tall = subject complement

 

Rules for Linking Verbs

There are some important rules to remember with linking verbs:

  • Linking verbs are usually followed by a subject complement.
  • When a sentence contains a linking verb, the subject complement may be either a noun or an adjective.
  • When the primary verb in a sentence is a linking verb, and the subject complement is a noun, the subject and the complement are equal i.e. interchangeable.

For example:

Mrs Maynard is the headteacher of the local school.

The headteacher of the local school is Mrs Maynard.

Mr Maynard = headteacher of local school

Luke is the highest goal scorer.

The highest goal scorer is Luke.

Luke = highest goal scorer

  • Linking verbs perform differently from action verbs. Action verbs can be modified by adverbs whereas linking verbs are not, and are typically  followed by adjectives.

For example:

The fish smells bad. (correct)

The fish smells badly. (incorrect)

Common Linking Verbs

The most common linking verb is the verb ‘to be‘  and its derivative forms. Sensory linking verbs,  that is verbs which relate to the five senses, are also common. Common linking verbs include:

Derivative forms of the verb ‘to be,’ ‘to seem,’ ‘to appear,’ and ‘to become:’ be, am, is, are, was, were, been, can, could, shall, should, may, might, must, have, has, had, had been, will be, seem, had seemed, become, became, appear, appeared, appears etc

Sensory linking verbs: taste, look, smell, sound and feel

Less common linking verbs: grow, turn, prove, remain, stay etc

The verbs ‘to be,’ ‘to seem,’ and ‘to become’ are always used to link the subject to the subject complement. The other verbs, may be used as ‘action’ verbs, as well as linking verbs.

For example:

He looks on in amazement. (action verb)

He looks dreadful. (linking verb)

Checking for Linking Verbs

A simple way to check for a linking verb is to replace it with a verb form of ‘to be’ or another linking verb such as ‘seemed’ or ‘became.’ If the sentence still makes sense, then it is a linking verb.

For example:

He looks on in amazement. (action verb)

He was on in amazement.

He seemed on in amazement.

He looks dreadful. (linking verb)

He was dreadful.

He seemed dreadful.

 

Linking Verb Examples

The following are examples of linking verbs:

                    • I am delighted with my lottery win.
                    • She was pleased with her exam results.
                    • You are being very foolish to believe her.
                    • Joe became embarrassed after falling down the steps.
                    • The defendant might have been less than truthful.
                    • The children were in a playful mood.
                    • Bill appears unconcerned about his interview.
                    • The fresh loaves smell delicious.
                    • Your vacation sounds fabulous.
                    • Sheila looks exhausted at the end of the day.
                    • Dan acted nervously while he waited for his results.
                    • The audience fell silent when the curtain rose.
                    • His face turned green as the roller coaster sped down the steep slope.
                    • The children grew restless while waiting for their turn.

See linking verbs list.

Filed Under: English Grammar, Linking Verbs, Verbs Tagged With: common linking verbs, linking verbs, linking verbs definition, linking verbs examples, linking verbs list

I or Me ?

October 4, 2014

Personal Pronouns I or Me?When to Use I or Me?

When to use ‘I’ or ‘me’ frequently causes difficulties in English language usage. Consequently, it is not uncommon to hear the two personal pronouns being used incorrectly.

We use personal pronouns to replace specific nouns such as names, places and things. In addition to I/me, we also use he/him to refer to men, she/her to refer to women and we/us or they/them for plural or gender neutral nouns. These pronouns are essentially used to improve the flow of sentences and also to avoid continued repetition.

Fortunately, the confusion between I/me  is one of the easiest English grammar usage mistakes to rectify.

Personal Pronouns

Pronouns are words that replace nouns. Personal pronouns such as  I/me, he/him, she/her and they/them may be used as the:

  • Subject of a verb, or
  • the object of a verb.

The remaining personal pronouns are it/it and you/you. Hence, little consideration needs to be given to their usage.

Subject Pronouns

Object Pronouns

I Me
You You
He Him
She Her
It It
We Us
You You
They Them

Subject Pronouns

The personal pronoun ‘I’ is a subject pronoun. It is the subject of a verb. Subject pronouns are positioned before the verb and are used in the same context as he, she, we and they. For example:

  • I like tea.
  • I am running.

Object Pronouns

The personal pronoun ‘me’ is an object pronoun. It is the object of a verb. Object pronouns are positioned after the verb and are used in the context as him, her, us and them. It is the object of a verb. For example:

  • The bus driver waited for me.
  • Does James know me?

How to Select ‘I’ or ‘Me’

Problems typically arise when the sentence is a more complex. For example:

Joan and I walked to school today. green-tick
Joan and me walked to school today.red-cross

The simplest way to make sure that you have chosen the correct pronoun, is to remove the noun Joan from the sentence. This leaves:
I walked to school today. green-tick
Me walked to school today. red-cross

Therefore, ‘Joan and I walked to school today’ correctly uses the personal pronoun ‘I.’ ‘Me walked to school today’ is grammatically incorrect and not something we would say in the course of ordinary conversation. Also, if we follow convention, subject pronouns are positioned before the verb. In this instance, the personal pronoun I/me is situated prior to the verb ‘walked.’ As, previously stated, the subject pronoun, in this example, is ‘I.’

Examples of the Correct Use of ‘I’

My daughter Suzy and I baked a chocolate cake.

My friends and I went shopping.

Next year, John and I will be fifty.

Liz and I like to drink coffee.

Examples of the Correct Use of ‘Me’

I heard the nurse calling me.

My friend Lucy invited me to her party.

Please call me urgently.

She was talking about Fred and me.

Filed Under: English Grammar, Grammar Usage, I and Me, Personal Pronouns Tagged With: i and me pronouns, i me pronouns, i or me, object pronouns, personal pronouns, subject pronouns

The English Alphabet

September 27, 2014

The English alphabet is Latin script and has 26 alphabet letters. The letters of the alphabet can be written in two different formats. These are referred to as uppercase and lowercase letters. There are 5 vowels: A (a), E(e), I (i), O(o) and U(u). The rest of the letters are consonants.

Uppercase Letters (Capital Letters)

A B C D E F G H I
J K L M N O P Q R
S T U V W X Y Z

 

Lower Case Letters (Small Letters)

a b c d e f g h i
j k l m n o p q r
s t u v w x y z

Uppercase letters are typically used as follows:

    • At the beginning of a sentence
    • For the personal pronoun ‘I’
    • Names and titles
    • Places, countries and nationalities
    • Days of the week
    • Months of the year

 

Filed Under: English Alphabet, English Grammar Tagged With: alphabet chart, alphabet pictures, english alphabet, letters of the alphabet

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  • Affect vs Effect
  • Wether vs Weather vs Whether

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