Are these sentences correct?
1. ONLY I hit him in the eye yesterday.
2. I ONLY hit him in the eye yesterday.
3. I hit ONLY him in the eye yesterday.
4. I hit him ONLY in the eye yesterday.
5. I hit him in ONLY the eye yesterday.
6. I hit him in the ONLY eye yesterday.
7. I hit him in the eye ONLY yesterday.
8. I hit him in the eye yesterday ONLY.
The answer:
All of those sentences are correct. Each one of them carries a different meaning as per below;
1. ONLY I hit him in the eye yesterday. (No one else did.)
2. I ONLY hit him in the eye yesterday. (Did not slap him.)
3. I hit ONLY him in the eye yesterday. (I did not hit others.)
4. I hit him ONLY in the eye yesterday. (I did not hit outside the eye.)
5. I hit him in ONLY the eye yesterday. (Not other organs.)
6. I hit him in the ONLY eye yesterday. (He doesn’t have another eye.)
7. I hit him in the eye ONLY yesterday. (Not today.)
8. I hit him in the eye yesterday ONLY. (Did not wait for today.)
There are a lot of common errors in English that can be encountered among my students, friends, colleagues and other Malaysians. I usually don't have the heart to tell them upfront as it might hurt their feelings. Besides, I don't want them to think that I think I'm too good, because I am not that good. In fact, I still have a lot to learn. Hopefully, this blog will help us to correct our errors so that we could practise good and standard English together.
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
Using "12 A.M." and "12 P.M." is actually WRONG! (Common Error in English)
The time should be stated as 12 noon and 12 midnight. The letters “a.m.” stand for ante meridiem, a Latin phrase which means “before noon” and the letters “p.m” stand for post meridiem, which means “after noon”.
To say 12.00a.m or 12.00p.m at noon would therefore be wrong, since noon cannot be before or after itself. As for midnight, is it before or after noon? It would be safer and clearer to call it 12:00 midnight.
To say 12.00a.m or 12.00p.m at noon would therefore be wrong, since noon cannot be before or after itself. As for midnight, is it before or after noon? It would be safer and clearer to call it 12:00 midnight.
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