DRIED LEAVES or DRY LEAVES?

Many workbooks use "dried leaves" to mean "daun kering" (directly translated from BM).

However, if we really refer to any dictionaries, we could hardly find that term/phrase. All the dictionaries I've got use only "DEAD LEAVES" and "FALLEN LEAVES".

Examples;
1. Ali was sweeping up the dead leaves in the back garden.
2. The pupils swept the fallen leaves up into a pile.

P/S: DRIED FRUIT ✔️
DRIED HERBS ✔️
DRIED FLOWERS ✔️
DRIED LEAVES❓
Maybe the leaves are purposely dried to make bookmarks...🤔

How to use the word 'REQUEST' in sentences?

3 ways to use the word 'REQUEST';

AS A VERB (=meminta);
1. REQUEST (SOMETHING) FROM (SOMEONE)
2. REQUEST THAT (SOMEONE) (BASE/ORI. VERBS)
~ I would like to request a present from her.
~ I would like to request that she buy me a present.
(NOT,...that she BUYS me...)

AS A NOUN (=permintaan);
3. MAKE A REQUEST FOR (SOMETHING)
~ I would like to make a request for a present.

How to say 'ANGKAT JEMURAN (in Malay)', the opposite of 'hang out the laundry/washing'?

Let's learn vocabulary on laundry! NOUNS 1. [All uncountable] laundry/ washing (AmE: wash)
= dirty clothes that are waiting to be washed/being washed/have just been washed 2. washing line = clothesline (in Malay we call it 'ampaian') ~ on the washing line VERBS 1. Do the laundry/washing ('basuh baju') = wash, dry & fold the clothes ~ I have some washing to do today. ~ I need to do the washing/laundry. 2. Hang/peg the laundry/washing OUT ('sidai baju') = hang the clothes on a washing line outside to dry ~ My mother hung the laundry out to dry. ~ She was hanging out the laundry in the sun. (preposition: in the sun) ~ I must hang/peg the washing out on the line. 3. Dry the laundry/washing/clothes ('keringkan baju') ~ She dried the clothes outside in the sun. ~ She used the dryer to dry the laundry. ~ I'm hanging up my shirt in the room to dry. (*We can use 'hang up' instead of 'hang out' if we dry the laundry indoors/inside.)
Other VERBS: ~ to air-dry (to dry by exposing to unheated air, usually indoors) ~ to line-dry/line dry (drying on a clothesline) ~ to sun-dry (drying in the sun - usually for food. For laundry, we usually use 'dry in the sun', 'dry outside' or 'line dry' instead.) ~ to tumble-dry (using a dryer) 🤔 So, how to say 'angkat jemuran (in Malay)', which is the opposite of 'hang out the laundry/washing'?
Technically, it's 'UNHANG THE CLOTHES',
but we seldom use it because UNHANG MEANS TO TAKE DOWN FROM A HANGING POSITION.
(e.g. ~ unhang the mirror/photo from the wall). We usually say.... GET/BRING THE LAUNDRY/WASHING IN
or TAKE DOWN THE WASHING ~ It's going to rain! You must get the washing in. ~ Please help me take down the washing. ~ She brought the laundry in because it was raining.

'SERIES' is SINGULAR or PLURAL? COUNTABLE or UNCOUNTABLE?

'SERIES' is a COUNTABLE NOUN.

SINGULAR and PLURAL are THE SAME!

Singular  --->   Plural

Series     --->   Series

* it is similar to 'species', 'crossroads' and 'headquarters'

(words ending in -s that do not change in the plural)

HOME or AT HOME?

What is wrong with "your HOME"?


A) ---- HOME = ke rumah (adverb referring to DIRECTION) --
1) They went/returned/arrived to the home. - WRONG
2) They went/returned/arrived to home. - WRONG
3) They went/returned/arrived home. - CORRECT! 

B ---- at HOME = di rumah (referring to PLACE) -----------------
1) They stayed/spent time at the home. - WRONG
2) They stayed/spent time at home. - CORRECT!
3) They stayed/spent time home. - AMERICAN ENGLISH.

*TIPS! Just remember that "home is always 

without 'to' and 'the' ".

HOLIDAYS or HOLIDAY?

"HOLIDAYS" or "HOLIDAY"?

Well, in British English,  'HOLIDAYS' (plural) is often used;
1) for the 'LONG HOLIDAY' of the year.
 e.g:
summer holidays
end of year holidays
.
2) with 'THE/MY/YOUR' to mean 'percutian/vacation'
e.g: 
Where are you going for YOUR holidays this year?
It's for THE holidays.

afternoon VS evening

Afternoon = the part of the day from 12.01 until 6 p.m.
Evening = The period of time at the end of the day, usually from about 6 p.m. to bedtime

Examples:

1) We have classes until 5 o'clock in the afternoon. (not in the evening)
2) It was 7 o'clock in the evening. (not at night)

*Night = the time between one day and the next when it is dark, when people usually sleep.

Common Mispronunciation (Category: Subtle)

Here are a few common mispronunciation that I categorize as 'subtle':

1) Infamous /ˈɪnfəməs/ (in-fe-mes) not "in-famous"
2) Assembly /əˈsɛmbli/ (uh-sem-blee) not "a-semblee' or "ei-semblee"
3) Envelope /ˈɛnvələʊp/ (en-vuh-lohp) not "en-vuh-lep" or "ahn-vuh-lohp"
4) Environment /ɪnˈvʌɪrənm(ə)nt/ (in-vai-reN-menT/ - don't miss the N and the T

5) head /hed/ (*as in the name Ted) not "hade" (as in 'hate')
6) Calendar /ˈkalɪndə/ (ka-lin-de) not "ka-lend-er"
7) Alarm /ə'la:m/ (uh-laam) not "a-lam"
8) Aquarium /ə'kweəriəm/ (uh-kwei-riem) not "a-kwa-rium"
9) Directory /də'rektəri/ (duh-rek-tuh-ri) not "dai-rek-to-ri"
10) Stomach /ˈstʌmək/ (Sta-muhk) not "Sta-mAk"
Stomach ache (sta-muh-keik)

*The description is mostly based on "Malaysians' style/way of reading"; it might be a little bit different (could be considered wrong) for people from other countries.
However, "uh" is pronounced as "eh"  (e pepet as in 'emak') in Malay.
**The IPA shown (the phonetics symbols used to show the pronunciation) are according to British English pronunciation.

Confusing FUTURE TENSE: 'be going to' VS 'will'

Try this question;
>> I don't want to do my homework now. I (will/ am going to) do it later.


*The answer is 'will'

Now, try another question;


>> My mother (will / is going to) come on Friday.




*The answer is 'is going to'

WHY????
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 'BE GOING TO' AND 'WILL'?????

Well, 
'be going to' is used for something that has been planned before
while
'will' is used for decisions made now or at the moment of speaking.

SIMPLE, RIGHT???
Now, try this;

>> Ali is wounded. He_(isn't going to / won't )__ play at Wimbledon.



The answer is 'isn't going to'....
because Ali knew that he was wounded so he had made the decision (before) not to play at Wimbledon!.haha.. ;P

Using the article 'THE' for proper nouns

We DO NOT always use 'the' with singular proper nouns. That's what we learn at school.
However, there are SOME EXCEPTIONS. 

(*There's no special rule for this. You have to remember.)

Well, don't get confused! Here are some tips ;)

We use 'the' for these kinds of place names:

1) SEAS e.g. the Atlantic, the South china Sea (Laut Cina Selatan)

2) MOUNTAIN GROUPS e.g the Himalayas, the Titiwangsa Mountains
*but for single mountains,  we don't usually use the article 'the' e.g Mount Everest, Mount Kinabalu

3) ISLAND GROUPS e.g the West Indies, the Philippines

4) RIVERS e.g the Rhine, the Kinabatangan River, the Gombak River

5) DESERTS e.g the Sahara, the Arabian Desert

6) Most HOTELS e.g the Grand Hotel, the Hilton

7) Most CINEMAS and THEATRES e.g the Odeon, the Istana Budaya

8) Most MUSEUMS and GALLERIES e.g the National Musuem

9) Most ZOOS e.g the National Zoo of Malaysia, the Zoo Melaka

10) Names of COUNTRIES that include common nouns like 'republic', 'state' or 'union' 

e.g the People's Republic of China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Republic of Korea (but South Korea), the Russion Federation (but Russia), etc.

"I'm always meeting..." VS "I always meet..."

Try this;

I _____________________ my students at shopping malls during the holidays.
A) am always meeting
B) always meet

The answer is A.

Why?????

Because I mean that I'm always bumping into (meeting accidentally) my students whenever I visit shopping malls.

HOWEVER, if I say "I always meet my students at shopping malls during the holidays", that means I always make arrangements or plans to meet them.

________________________________________________

We use "always VERB+ing" (not "always VERB")  for certain situations;

1) to mean 'very often', perhaps more often than we expected.
2) something that is unexpected or unplanned or not regular.
E.g. :
I'm always losing my keys. (very often)
My pupils are always giving me presents. (very often+unexpected)

We don't use "always VERB+ing"  for something that's regular or planned.
E.g:
I always meet my students at school. (regular/planned arrangement)
We always spend our holidays together. (regular + planned)

"MUSTN'T" or "CAN'T"? (in expressing improbability)

He's a nice boy. It can't be him stealing the pencil! - CORRECT

He's a nice boy. It musn't be him stealing the pencil! - WRONG


*Must is NOT often used to express certainty in NEGATIVE clauses.
It is used to express the conclusion that something is certain or highly probable.

E.g.,
He's a bad boy. It must be him stealing the pencil! - CORRECT!

"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)

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.

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. :(

BRING versus TAKE

Parent: Please bring the books to school tomorrow. (WRONG)
Parent: Please take the books to school tomorrow. (CORRECT)
(*SITUATION: You're not at school and the parent is not going to school with you tomorrow.)

Teacher: Please take the books to school tomorrow. (WRONG)
Teacher: Please bring the books to school tomorrow. (CORRECT)
(*SITUATION: Both the teacher and the student are at school. The books are with the student but are not with the teacher.)


TIPS!
-BRING means 'come with somebody/something'  (NOT 'go')
-TAKE means 'go with somebody/something' (NOT 'come')

Other examples:
- When you come to my house this Sunday, bring (NOT take) your sister with you so I can meet her. 
(*come to my house)
- Whenever I go sightseeing, I take (NOT bring) my camera with me. 
(*go to any places for sightseeing)
- Would you like to take (NOT bring) me home?
(*go back home)
- Can I come to your party and bring (NOT 'take') a friend with  me? 
(*come to my party here)

'ANY' for singular or plural?

Do you have any questions? 
OR 
Do you have any question?

The correct one is;
Do you have any questions?

Any is usually used with uncountable nouns and plural countable nouns (NOT with singular countable nouns). 

Here are some other sentence examples:

> Do you have a pen? (singular countable)
> Do you have any pens? (plural countable)
> Do you have any money? (uncountable)

OMG! What????? You don't know what countable, uncountable, singular and plural are??
You'd better check it out yourselves! hahahaha

MIND OUR SPELLING! One word or two words?

Here are some confusing words in terms of spelling.
These also happen to be some of the common errors in pupils' English.

ALL RIGHT or ALRIGHT? - Both correct 

ALL TOGETHER or ALTOGETHER - It depends...
A) There are five of us altogether. (in total)
B) The classroom has been cleaned altogether. (completely)
C) Can you put us all together in a group. (used when people/things are brought together)


EVERY DAY or EVERYDAY? - It depends...
A) I go to school every day. (each day)
B) Forgetting my bag is an everyday event for me. (daily - an adjective used to describe the noun 'event')

EVERY WHERE or EVERYWHERE? - Everywhere (One word. 'Every where' is wrong)

ANY ONE or ANYONE? - It depends...
A) You can choose from any one of these books. (means 'one of the books', usually used with the word 'of')
B) I will reward anyone who answers the question correctly. (any person)

ANY BODY or ANYBODY? - anybody (one word, means 'anyone')
*same goes to ANYTHING, ANYWHERE, ANYWAY - all one word.

EXCEPT!...
ANY MORE, ANY TIME (two words, one word is considered wrong in British English)

STORY BOOK or STORYBOOK? - Storybook (one word)


*newly added
MAY BE or MAYBE - It depends...
A) I may be short, but I'm taller than you. (means 'it's likely to happen', used after pronouns like I,she,he,they,etc.)
B) Maybe I'm taller than you. (means 'perhaps', used as an adverb)
C) This may be a coincidence, but maybe we should find out more before we decide what to do. 

"PACK YOUR BAGS" versus "PACK YOUR BELONGINGS"

One of the meanings for 'pack up' is to put things in a suitcase, bag or other container so that you may take them with you when you're leaving.
Therefore, when I'm going for a holiday, I'd prefer to say;
"PACK UP MY BELONGINGS" 
instead of
"PACK MY BELONGINGS"
or 
"PACK MY BAGS".

This is because 'pack your/my/his/her/etc. bags' could mean to leave a place or a job and not return (permanently).

*So, are you packing up or packing your bags? ;)