Thursday 15 August 2013

"It's I" OR "It's me"?

1) "It's I" (=I am the one)
2) "It's me" (=Me am the one)

Which one sounds correct to you?


Of course when talking informally we can just use any one we like. Nobody cares anyway, right? Even some native speakers use the wrong one too!


BUT, here I'm discussing the standard one which we use in formal writing, formal speech, at schools, during interviews or even in our daily conversation if we want to speak better English.

So, the 'better answer' is "It's I". ;)

MORE EXAMPLES:
1)
Hello. You want to speak to Hafidz? This is him. 

Hello. You want to speak to Hafidz? This is he. - CORRECT
2)
We're going to dinner alone - just you and me.

We're going to dinner alone - just you and I. - CORRECT

3)
It was him who ate all the biscuits.
It was he who ate all the biscuits. - CORRECT

4)
Mom gave both of us, Ziana and I, money for the film.
Mom gave both of us, Ziana and me, money for the film. - CORRECT
('me' is used here because it's an object in the sentence, not a subject )

5) 

The teacher told I to keep quiet.
The teacher told me to keep quiet. - CORRECT *as an object

6)

She is a friend of Hazzi and me.
She is a friend of Hazzi and I.
She is a friend of Hazzi and mine. - CORRECT *to show possession


"You're welcome" OR "You're welcomed"?

Both are correct but they are different!

WELCOMED (VERB) is used when;
1) you're received or greeted with pleasure or in a friendly way when you arrive at a destination.

WELCOME (ADJECTIVE) is used when;
1) giving the permission to do, have or accept something.
2) you're pleased when someone comes to stay at your house, etc.
3) As a reply for 'thank you'.



Sentence examples;
1) You're welcome to stay as long as you wish. (I give you the permission to stay)
2) Welcome to my house! (another expression for no (1))
3) I could see that you're welcomed by the receptionist just now. (you're greeted with pleasure by the receptionist).
4) The visitors were welcomed by the hosts. (the hosts greeted the visitors with pleasure)
5) You can bring as many friends to the party as you like. Everyone is welcome. (Everyone's invited to the party)

Wednesday 14 August 2013

Should we begin 'dad' and 'mom' with capital letters?

We only capitalize (begin with capital letters) when we're calling our parents' names for example;

Hi, Mom!
Welcome home, Dad.


BUT,
WE DON'T CAPITALIZE THEM when we say;
- My dad's busy working.
- Is your mom here?
- His mom is pretty.
- Our dad isn't working today.


*more info:
- Religions, nationalities and races of people should always be capitalized.
(Malay, Chinese, Muslims, etc.)
- General subjects at school shouldn't be capitalized.
(mathematics, history, geography, etc.)
BUT we capitalize 'English' in English language.



Sunday 11 August 2013

A FEW versus FEW

If I say "I have a few excellent pupils", that means I'm happy and grateful to have them.
On the other hand, if I say "I have few excellent pupils", it means I wish I had more of them!

A FEW indicates a positive count something like "it's better than none", but
FEW indicates a negative count something like "there should be more".

*

Same goes to "a little" and "little".
A LITTLE indicates "more or better than none" or "a small amount"
LITTLE indicates "not enough to be important" or "not very much"/"almost none".

e.g
1) I have a little money for savings. :)
2) I have little money to spend today. :(