A Good Writer

A good writer should always consider the content and structure of his paragraph. If there are good ideas but they are not expressed well because of poor sentence structure, the readers will not understand the paragraph. However, if all sentences are grammatically correct yet it lacks the ideas and information that your target readers need to know, they will also lose their interest in reading the paragraph.

Hitting Two Birds With One Stone

Late this afternoon, one of my UP friends sent me a message. She was asking  me to go to her group mate's house and help them regarding the grammatical errors they committed in their case study paper. I was really hesitant to go because it was hot, but sooner took the opportunity for it could help me improve my grammar and at the same time a review for English 1.

Effective Paragraphs

In this course, we are required to write an effective paragraph. For a paragraph to be effective, we must know the characteristics of a well-organized paragraph. Our professor in English taught us things we should remember in writing an effective paragraph. Unity, coherence, order and emphasis are needed to formulate a well-organized paragraph. I hope we can write a good paragraph in this course.

"testify"

According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, to testify is to make a solemn declaration under oath for establishing a fact. I looked for some humorous facts in English through the website www.antimoon.com. According to the mentioned website, the word "testify” came from men in the Roman court swearing to a statement made by swearing on their testicles.

Heterograph

I was thinking of a nice topic to post in the blog until the term heterograph came across my mind. Heterographs are words that have the same pronunciation, but have different spellings and meanings. People always misuse these words. In effect, the thought and meaning of a sentence is being misunderstood.

Example: to/too/two

Drinking has never been this cool

Did you know that Edgar Allan Poe drinks alcohol before he writes his work. Some people say that it weird for one to drink alcohol before writing a poem but for me it is cool. Not so many people can do that thing and that makes Edgar Allan Poe a special one. :)

word XXX

I always learn a lot of new words every time I read novels. I really don't look up every word that is new to me-- even without a dictionary, you will understand some of them. I try to guess the meaning of the words, but when I am not really sure, that's the time I'll look for its meaning in the dictionary.

JEWELRIES??

When I'm in high school, I saw the word jewelries in one of the articles in our English book. I remembered what our English professor had discussed in the class. Jewelry does not have plural form. Instead, it is always used in singular form only. I doubt because there are still many writings that use the incorrect plural form of jewelry.

Single Quotation Marks

Today, I was reminded by Renz, my brother, on how to use single quotation marks. Single quotation marks are used to set off a quotation within a quotation.

Examples:

"When I had difficulty coping with my studies, Jane said,'Hang in there, friend.'"

The irate mother said, "You must get all of this 'junk' out of the living room at once."

-Erica Jiel Yuzon

A blog to see

I was looking for commonly misused words in the internet when I saw this blog site, http://dontenglishme.blogspot.com. Obviously, the name of the blog is intentionally wrong so it can easily catch its readers’ attention. The blog shares some grammar lessons and writing tips. Through browsing the site, I was able to learn and realize many things regarding English grammar.

Figure of Speech.

Making a paragraph colorful and interesting is difficult. A simple solution to this problem is the use of figures of speech. Figures of speech are words or phrases that don't actually mean what they say. Be sure that the readers can comprehend what you are trying to say. Otherwise, it'll be pointless.

-Letter in a Lighter (Gerard Clata)

negritude

While I was scanning a book, a word caught my attention. That word is negritude. Because of curiosity, I looked its meaning in the dictionary. Negritude means a movement among African writers to express the African's pride for their color and beauty of their race.

COMPUTER SHOP

"We PRINTS..."
I saw this sign in a computer shop while I was waiting for my friend. It really caught my attention because it was posted at the front door of the shop. The worse part is, until now  the sign is still there. It seems that no one else notice the wrong.

topic

In our English 1 subject, we already started thinking for the best topic on our final paper. Lots of ideas entered my mind, but only three topics should I considered. On those three, I should choose the best topic for me, which I am expert to and interested to. This final paper depends if I may continue to Communication 1, so I should put all my efforts in this to be a great piece.


carmina manalo

I'm good. :)

Just recently, I overheard a friend of mine talking over the phone. The conversation was the sort that we hear each day. "How are you today, ------ ?",said the voice over the phone."I'm good", said my friend.


At that instant, I remembered what I had just learned in my English class. It is wrong to say "I'm good"; we must say "I'm doing fine" or "I'm well" when asked about our condition. For the former is only applicable to inanimate objects and the latter to humans. to say "I'm good" means to be good at something, not to state your well-being.

Of course, I stayed mum at that instant so as not to offend my friend. :)

Convince

Imagine that people nod their heads in approval to all the things they experience, will it be a drab? An argument is presenting reasons against something but having the purpose to convince. Therefore, to disagree is not to quarrel but to make clear of the other side of the issue by citing and proving evidences.

Write your heart out

We students have hard times doing our writings, because almost all are afraid to appear faulty. We shouldn’t be very anxious of being perfect and end up sacrificing what we wanted to say. Things we want to say can be smoothly delivered if we’ll write freely. It’s easier to write our hearts out then, later, we may correct what we did.

Pointers in Writing an Essay

Essay is a piece of writing which is often written from the author's point of view. For the introduction, you should write the thesis statement and give a background information. You should develop each supporting paragraph and make sure to follow the correct format.
You should write clear sentences and focus on the main idea of your essay.

SNAFU or ERROR?

A while ago, we studied about the differences of many words that make people very confused. Examples of which are the words snafu and error. As we all know, error is defined as mistake while snafu is related to a mistake regarding one's social life. Snafu is not merely used for an academic or formal writing.

I learned a new word from today's English 1 class. The word is "booboo". It means embarassing. Just by listening and being attentive in class can help you get some extra knowledge. These words can widen your vocabulary and maybe it can help you in future time. :)

Maybe I'll use May Be

Maybe and may be functions differently. Maybe is an adverb while the two-word may be is an auxiliary verb + linking verb.

Example:

Maybe we can visit the king.

We may be able to visit the King.

Please avoid! :)

Academic essays are formal mode of expression. You must use English which is more formal than the language that you often use in everyday conversation, e-mails or in SMS. You should never use contractions or slang phrases in an academic essay. Please note that it is inappropriate to use numerals in these essays.

Try writing stories and reading some, they help.

During our last test in English 1, I encountered a sentence with a speaker and the sentence he or she said. I realized I had no shot in punctuating it, but I remembered how Stephenie Mayer wrote the same type of sentences in her books. I checked them countless times so I don't make errors in my stories. I got it right but still failed the exam.



-Letter in a Lighter (Gerard Clata)

FULL- FLEDGED

For the past days, I've been thinking on what to blog. There are lots of ideas running on my head, but apparently almost everything was already written and posted before. Fortunately we had our make up class in English I and I would say that I've learned a lot today. I will share something for some who wasn't able to attend the class. The term full-fledged, which means having attained complete status, is often mistaken as full- pledged. I admit that I myself thought that it was full- pledged instead of full- fledged. Good thing we have English I, I'm really learning a lot. :)

New word in my vocabulary

A friend in Facebook posted the word malaise in her wall post. She mentioned that it is often sensed as “just not right”. I looked up its meaning, and I found out that malaise is an indefinite feeling of debility or lack of health often accompanying the onset of an illness. A medical term is now added to my vocabulary.

English language

Language is used as means of communication. It is the dialect that people apply in order to understand each other. We use different languages depending upon our location. Usually, people use the English language because it is known as the international language. It became the third most natively spoken language and a lot of countries, including the Philippines, consider it as their second language.

aha

The word continual is different with continuous. Continual means an event happens again and again. It happens, then stops. Continuous means an event happens without stopping.

It is helpful to remember this analogy
continual : broken line (_ _ __ _ __ _ _ ____ )
continuous : straight line ( _______________ )

Regarding grammar

"Regard" is a common word used in both non-academic or academic works. However, the word's several phrasal forms cause grammatical errors, even to the most grammar-conscious beings.

It is not right to say "with regards to". Most people say and write of this phrase. One must say this instead: "with regard to".The phrase 'as regards' is also acceptable.

Also, one must not say "in regard to". Instead, one should say 'in regards to'.But "in regards to"is nonstandard. You can also convey the same idea with "in respect to" or "with respect to," or—simplest of all—just plain “regarding.”

Dora Knows Better

My younger sister loves watching "Dora the Explorer." Sometimes, I watch the cartoon series with her and I can't help but notice how Dora uses the correct prepositions in describing the way she would go. Then I remembered my high school English teacher telling us, "If you want a child to learn good English, make him or her watch Dora."

Magnificat

Yesterday, I saw the word magnificat. This word made me really disturbed. At first, I thought that magnificat is mispelled, and it should be magnificant. I looked up for its meaning and realized that it is not mispelled. As a matter of fact, Magnificat is a Latin word that means my soul magnifies.

Anne Curtis' Lipstick

While my board mates and I were viewing the Kapamilya Stars' pictures on Star Magic Ball,we'd read a comment on Anne's photos that has an error. It says, "I am not against her but di ko gusto the way she put lipstick on,, it is so look sticky and ooohhh i dont know how to expresss."

It should be, "I am not against her but di ko gusto the way she PUTS HER lipstick on.It LOOKS SO sticky and ooohhh i dont know how to EXPRESS."

draft

While I was reading the book Reading Into Writing 1 by Conception Dadufalza, a paragraph caught my attention. It goes like this. Drafting and revising are closely related. The draft surges from thought into words; the revision draws back into thought. When writers draft, they write more than they pause. When thay revise, they pause more than they write.

May this help us in our next lesson.

Folk

As I read “Chapter IV: Misused Words and Expressions” of The Elements of Style, I encountered the word folk, which I always hear on the radio. According to the book, folk is a collective noun that is equivalent to people. Folks, in the sense of “parents”, “family”,”those present”, is colloquial and too folksy for formal writing.

TRIVIA

"Dreamt" is the only English word that ends with "mt". Reading trivial posts about English can give you more knowledge about English. You can discover many things that you don’t know. Try browsing the internet and look for some trivias. I assure you that it’s fun.

Pronunciation of Words

While I was listening to the homily of the priest yesterday, I realized that pronunciation of words is important. The meaning of the word depends upon how we deliver it. For example, the word as and us; sin and seen; to and two, have different meanings but they are pronounced similarly. Usually, people who pronounce words in the proper manner are being misjudged as trying hard or meticulous.

SOUND TRIP

I was listening to Taylor Swift's song, "Forever and Always", when this line from the song caught my attention.
"You still HASN'T called."
That sentence is grammatically wrong. Instead of HASN'T, HAVEN'T should be used.Writers should check the grammar of their song, and not only focus on how to make it sound good.

Friendly fire is not friendly.

Last Thursday, while browsing through Inquirer.net, I stumbled upon a compelling title: “Friendly fire may have killed some hostages.” I admit that I first thought of the genial type of friendly, but, it obviously made no sense. After doing a little research, I learned that it may also refer to accidental fratricide.

Bravo! I got to broaden my vocabulary. ((:/

Jean Espejo

10 - 165757

Early Modern English

I remember when i was in high school. We were to recite a litany to the Holy Face of Jesus and one of the phrases said, "by the love where with thou didst..." Notice the words thou didst. These (words) belong to the stage in the English language known as the Early Modern English. If we compare it to the Modern English, we will see changes in grammar, in the meanings of some words, and in spelling. Today, some writers still prefer Early Modern English for "artistic" purposes.

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SONG-A-LONGS

In listening to a song, one must observe the English usage of the piece to know if it’s grammatical. For example, I never felt nothing in the world like this before--a line from the song "Wait for you" by Elliot Yamin--uses double negative. See? Listen carefully to other songs and think if you'll still listen to errorific songs.

exam :(

I got the result on my English exam last Thursday, and still I did not pass it. I think English is my worst subject. Because since I’m in grade school it was my lowest grade among my other subject. Next time, I'll promise to pay attention in my English class and listen attentively to Ma'am Alfelor. I don’t want to repeat English 1.



carmina manalo

The difference between “I love you” and “I’m in love with you.”

“I love you” and “I’m in love with you” are two sentences that have different meanings. A person can say, “I love you” , to whomever he or she loves, but he or she cannot just say, “I’m in love with you” , to another person if the person whom he or she loves doesn’t love him or her, too.

Y'all

How y'all doing? "Y'all" stands for "you all" and is properly a plural form. This is commonly believed to have originated in the Southern United States. Some people treat it as a singular form and use "all y'all" as its plural form. This plural second-person pronoun would not be appropriate for formal settings.

ENGLISH is a MUST

Nowadays, we often hear people say that English is a MUST in one’s life, and yes, I agree with that saying. Living a life without English is like going into a war without your weapons. We can use English in communicating, writing, even in finding a good job and many other ways. Thus, I can say that English is a MUST in one’s life. J

Describing for Effective Communication

In describing, one reports through words. People describe to make others experiences what they had experienced. Describing which is enlivened by the senses helps in giving a complete picture, in an imaginative way. Having a complete picture results from skills in describing and these should be used for they are paramount to communicate effectively.

SIGN LANGUAGE

My former classmate once asked this question, "Can we consider sign language as a language?" Many people would say no, but the truth is it is considered as one. Just like any language, sign language is a means of conveying or communicating ideas; although, it is expressed by visible hand gestures. It is a language developed for the mute and deaf people.

Misspelled Words

The advent of text messaging is one of the reasons why people misspell words nowadays. The commonly misspelled words are "a lot", "all right" and "separate". A lot is mistakenly written as "alot"; all right is mistakenly written as "alright"; separate is mistakenly written as "seperate". People should be wary of their correct spelling.

-erica jiel yuzon

The Essence of Writing

Writing really helps us enhance our skills. It is a way of determining our capacity in the usage of the English language. It is also a way of expressing our emotions, moods, and thoughts. I remember what Truman Capote has said, "The greatest pleasure of writing is not what it is about, but the inner music the words make.

??

Disinterested or Uninterested?
They are not the same. Disinterested means impartial or neutral; uninterested means bored or lacking interest.
Example: A good teacher should be disinterested but certainly not uninterested.

Farther or Further?
Farther refers to physical distances.
Example: Indiana is farther than I thought.
Further refers to quantity, time, or degree.
Example: They progressed further on their research.

Use of i.e. and e.g.

The Latin abbreviations "i.e." and "e.g." are frequently used in writing. "I.e." means that is, which in Latin is 'id est.' It specifies something or makes clear of something. "E.g." means for example, which in Latin expression is 'exempli gratia.' It is used similar to the expression "including" when intending not to include everything that is being tackled.

Salvage means rescue?

Did you know that salvage means “rescue”? Yes, it is. According to Wikipedia, salvage means rescue ,but it is referred as the slang word for summary execution in Philippine English. Salvage is also related to the Spanish-derived Tagalog slang “sinalbahe” that literally means “turned bad”. Isn’t it amazing? You can click this hyperlink http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_English to know more about Philippine English.

i don't want to wait ( Paula Cole)

One of my favorite songs is "I Don't Want To Wait" by Paula Cole. After listening to the song several times, i found that it contains lyrics with wrong grammar. It is found on the first stanza.

"so open up your morning light, and say a little prayer for I"
I should be me.

Any One Vs. Anyone

Any one is not the same with anyone. Any one means any single person or thing out of a group of people or things,while anyone means any person.

Example:

1) I can recommend any one of the books on this site.

2) Did anyone see that UFO?