Here’s an incorrect sentence we say or hear often in India: “Be rest assured that the work will be done”. What are the correct versions, then? “Be assured that the work will be done”: someone here is asking you to feel assured or in other words, is assuring you that Read more…
“I don’t think so it is a good idea”. Do you think the above sentence is correct? If not, what is the correct form? Correct: I don’t think it is a good idea. They say it is a good idea. I don’t think so. In “I don’t think so”, ‘so’ Read more…
This one eluded me for a while: 1. He alludes to hypocrisy in his poem. 2. The criminal managed to elude capture so long. What’s the difference between allude and elude? In my own words (trying to be as exact as possible): Allude (pronounced as ‘uh-lude’) means make a casual Read more…
This is about a common pronunciation error:“What’s for dessert today?”. Dessert in this sentence refers to cake, ice cream etc. which is usually something sweet served as the last course of a meal. This is different from ‘Desert’ as in ‘Sahara desert’. Desert should be pronounced as ‘dez-ert’ whereas Dessert Read more…
Incorrect:“I have many works to do today”.Correct:“I have much work to do today”. Normally, work is not countable into individual items. For such things that are not normally countable (water, understanding, information, wood etc.), we use singular and not plural for the noun form. If you want to say you Read more…
Here’s a quirk found in southern India – ‘that and all’:Ex:1. That and all, I don’t know.2. That and all, you have to ask your other teacher.3. That and all, I don’t like. Better forms:1. I don’t know all that.2. You have to ask your other teacher, such things.3. I Read more…
When do we use “less” and when do we use “lesser”? This is a good question. I had to think twice about it. When you are comparing something, use ‘less’. Ex: It costs less than that. You can also use it for comparison implicitly. Ex: I eat less sugar. ‘Lesser’ Read more…
Let us analyse the following sentence: “I am not knowing the answer to this question”. The correct usage is:“I do not know the answer to this question”. We, Indians, are known for over-using the -ing form where not necessary. Sometimes, the -ing form is completely wrong (as in the above Read more…
Let us analyze these two sentences: “I am a student.” “I am the student.” Are you ‘a’ student or ‘the’ student? Both the above are correct sentences but what is the difference? Other similar examples: 1. I am an Indian. 2. I am the Indian who represented the delegation. BTW, Read more…
Let us look at these three sentences: 1. “Can he speak to her?” 2. “May he speak to her?” 3. “Will he speak to her?” All of the above are correct but convey different shades of meaning. ‘Can’ refers to ability. ‘May’ expresses permission, possibility or contingency. ‘Will’ refers to Read more…