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!