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
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.
Thursday, 15 August 2013
"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)
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.
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. :(
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. :(
Saturday, 30 March 2013
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)
Wednesday, 27 March 2013
'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
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
Saturday, 1 December 2012
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.
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