Join Us!

Hi everyone! My internet connection was down so I wasn't able to post sooner. At least, we got it back online without having to call our provider. Anyway, here's today's post:

Last Sunday, I attended an enjoyable children's party at McDonald's. As many of these parties go, there were several games for the kids and adults to play hosted by McDo staff. I kept hearing the host saying "join with us."

I've been thinking about this error and I think it has nothing to do with being incorrect but more to do with clutter, in other words, there's a word which is not necessary. That word is with. I've posted about with before and I've pointed out that it's a preposition used to talk about "being in the company of someone else." We often say, after all, something like "I watched a movie with friends."

When the McDo host said "join with us," she literally meant to ask the party guests to be accompany her in the games so with is not really incorrect. However, we never say "join with us" or "join with me" or join with anything or anyone. The reason lies in the word join which already means "to bring (or put) together." In this light, there is no need to put with as it's meaning is similar to the meaning of the word join.

So, join me in enjoying the English language!

Grew Up In

Lately, I'm noticing confusion between "grew up in" and "came from." Sometimes, I hear students say "I grew from the province" or "I came up in province." I think this is what happens when people are not too sure about the expression they're trying to use and they wind up kind of putting everything they know together in one wrong statement. Here are the correct ways to say it:

"I grew up in the province."
"I came from the province."

The first statement is used when a person is talking about where he/she grew up. In other words, where he/she spent his/her childhood, adolescent life, and probably early adulthood. The second statement is used to say that the person is in the city after having left the province. This can be used to say that he/she has lived in the province for most of his/her life (as in, grew up in) or it can be used to say that he/she has just come from the province (perhaps on a business trip).

Our internet connection was down for a couple of days. This always seems to happen after a storm.

Downloaded from the Internet

My goodness, time does fly! I can't believe almost a week has passed since my last post. I always have this feeling that I post on Wednesdays and Sundays (or something like that) but I wind up thinking it's just Wednesday when in reality, it's Sunday (or something like that). It's either I'm getting older and my memory is not what it used to be or it's because I'm doing so much that I forget which day is which. It's probably a combination of both. Lately, I've been feeling that one day is quickly running into the next that I miss the summers of my childhood when I felt like the days were much too long. Oh well!

It's a wild, wet day here in Manila! The storm hit us bad and we're marooned with nothing but the Internet to keep us company. Here's a post for a rainy day:

Students often say "I downloaded it in the Internet." I think people use the preposition in because they consider the Internet a place to hang out, read stuff, and download stuff. In a way, this is true as the Internet is already considered some kind of place where people go--a virtual place so to speak. However, when it comes to downloading and prepositions, the correct one to use is from: "I downloaded this from the Internet." In this case, we're downloading things from a source. The preposition from, after all, is used to indicate where something originated. So, next time you're downloading, think of the source where all this downloadable fun stuff is from.

Enjoy the rainy weekend. Don't get wet now!

Wherein

I really hate the way Filipinos use the word "wherein." I've heard it misused so many times that I generally think Pinoys resort to using it when they don't know what other word to use. Often, this word is used as a cohesive device when it's not supposed to be used in that manner.

Here are some examples I collected today:

"I studied nursing wherein I like to take care of the sick."
"I spend time with my family wherein we like to watch movies."
"Children need to learn good values wherein they need to behave well."
"I'm working wherein I need to earn money."

Honestly, what is going on here? It seems that "wherein" shows up no matter what the sentence is all about!

To address this problem, let's look at definitions: "wherein" means "in what way" or "in what respect." So, a correct way of using the word would be "Wherein was I wrong?" Another is the old-fashioned "wherein lies the truth?" The second definition is about location: "The province wherein they live." In no way does the word mean "and," "because," "therefore" or any other cohesive device that people substitute it for.

Here are the corrections for the sentences above:

"I studied nursing because I like to take care of the sick."
"My family and I spend time together by watching movies."
"Children need to learn good values so they behave well."
"I'm working because I need the money."

Please, minimize the use of "wherein!" In the first place, it's a rather old-fashioned word. Just say "Where was I wrong?" or "The province where they live."

"No" to wherein!

Tense

I heard someone say "She is tensed" and I immediately realized where the mistake came from. We never describe a person as "tensed;" a person is always just "tense." Why is this?

I think the confusion stems from the word "tense" as a verb and "tense" as an adjective. When we describe a person's state of nervousness (which is usually the way we use the word), we use it as an adjective: "She is tense." As an adjective, we do not add "ed."

Now, when "tense" is used as a verb, we mean "to make something stiff" or "to add tension." Think of all the workout videos and their teachers who shout: "Are you ready to do the workout? Feel the stretch! Tense those arm muscles!" In this example, we are being told to add tension to our muscles. Hence, "tense" is used as an action word. If the word is being used as a verb, then you can add "ed" to indicate the past: "He tensed his muscles too much during that weight-training session."

It's Friday already so don't you get too tense now!

In, On, and Months

My old friend who calls herself "ahoy" left a question for me about the use of "in" and "on" where months are concerned. I think this will be my third post on these two little words. I'm not surprised about this as these prepositions are really very tricky. So, here goes.

If we talk about what we did (or we're going to do) during the month as a whole, we use in: "In May, we're going to the beach." Or "I went to the beach in May." I'm not sure about the logic of this but I think it has something to do with the lack of specifics. Remember, we use in when we're talking about being surrounded by something. If you don't have any specific dates or times, then it's like saying you're surrounded by (or immersed in) a general time frame.

However, on is used when we're talking about specific dates and times: "On May 14, I was in Boracay." Where specifics are concerned, you have some kind of control, just like controlling the surface of a table, for instance: "I put my papers on the table." If you're talking about a specific date or time, you have some measure of control over that date or time. Remember, on is used for two-dimensional spaces, so specifics are important.

Speaking of "in" and "on," I heard this the other day: "I'm on a car." This is strange because we're in a car but on (or in) a bus and on a plane. This just goes to show how tricky prepositions are. It's best to remember that prepositions don't always have rules that make sense. What learners (and confident users) of English have to know is what these little words mean. The rules themselves can be rather arbitrary, in other words, they don't always follow logic. Often, we use prepositions in certain ways because they've been used in those ways for generations.

Isn't English such a difficult language?

I Will Think Of That

I came across this a couple of days ago: "I will think for that". I'm sure many of you will spot the mistake right away.

A word about the preposition for. I think I wrote about this a couple of posts ago. For has many meanings but it is commonly used to refer to talking about direction of all forms. For example, we use it to say "I'm taking the cake for her," "would you like to go for a hotdog?" In the case of the error above, we don't think for something (thinking is something we do, not a direction); therefore, for is the incorrect preposition to use.

To correct the error, there are two ways. The first is to use the preposition of: I will think of that. As a preposition, of also has many meanings but in this case, it means "to focus on something." When we think of something, we are focusing on it; hence, of is the preposition of choice.

The second way of correcting this is to use the preposition on: I will think on that. I've mentioned before that on describes location but it is also used to talk about the focus of a non-physical action like thought or thinking. When we say "I will think on that," we are talking about the focus of our thinking.

I notice that many Filipinos mistake for and of. That is something to think on.

Agree With That

Lately, I've been hearing a lot of people say "I agree to that." I'm worried that this mistake will be considered correct just because so many people have been using it! I'm hoping to prevent this by writing about it.

Remember the rule: we go to something but we agree with something. If someone's opinions echo your own, then we say "I agree with you." I think the confusion stems from the situation where two people agree to do something. An example would be: "Two teachers have agreed to share materials." In this instance, both teachers have agreed and are thus moving to applying what they agreed on. This is not the same as one person having the same opinions or ideas as another.

So, it's "I agree with that." I hope you all agree. Have a nice weekend!

Write Them Down In Five Sentences

I was walking around school the other day and I heard someone say, "Write down your answers at for least five sentences." This is yet another manifestation of the confusion between for and to (I think I've blogged about something similar before. I must check my archives! I'm forgetting what I've blogged about!). Thing is, prepositions are really quite tricky. Most of the time, the rules that govern them are just born out of usage and not much logic. The best way to deal with prepositions is to memorize how they are used which is very unpleasant, if you ask me.

For is a difficult preposition because it has so many uses. We use it to indicate ownership ("I bought that for you"), direction ("I'm heading for school in a bit"), some kind of goal ("I've been waiting for this chance"), some kind of character ("For someone who works so hard, she doesn't look stressed"). It's really quite confusing! One thing that for does not do, however, is it does not indicate boundaries. That is what in does.

In several previous posts, I've mentioned that in is used to talk about something being surrounded by something. In other words, whatever is in something is surrounded; it's bounded by something ("in school," "in the office," "in my bag"). Similarly, on non-physical levels, there are boundaries as well: someone is "in pain" (the person feels surrounded by pain), "in doubt," "in anger." In the sentence mentioned above, in is the correct preposition to use because whatever needs to be written, is bounded by five sentences. The sentences then serve as the boundary for the idea that needs to be expressed. Hence, "Write your answers in at least five sentences."

By the way, this blog is almost a year old and I'd like to start another one. It will also be an English or language related blog, I'm just not sure what I want it to contain as of yet. Any suggestions?

We Will Go

Here's something I heard the other day: "we will going to." What made this error even more painful to me was that it was made by an English teacher. I don't blame the teacher in any way. Likely, no one has ever taught her the right expression. Also, the standard of education here in the Philippines is so low, especially in provincial public schools (where this teacher is from) that all I can do is applaud her efforts at self-improvement instead of making fun of her mistake.

Her error, "we will going to" is a common one. Correcting it is simple: "we will go." It's just a question of removing "going to." If you insist on keeping the progressive form of the verb, then make it "we will be going to." However, to simplify, when you want to use the future tense (will + verb), remember that the verb remains in its base form. Here are some examples: "we will use the phone," "we will buy the food," "we will drive the car."

I'm so sorry my posting has been erratic. Since taking on a class of foreign students, I've been even more swamped with work. Have a nice day!

Addicting and Addictive

Hi there! It's been a very long and stressful week. I have some new classes which have turned out to be more challenging than I expected. Still, I'm rising to the challenge!

My reader from Canada asked me to discuss the difference between the words "addicting" and "addictive". Both are used interchangeably now. Still, there is a key difference between them.

"Addicting" and "addictive" both mean "causing addiction." The key difference lies in what part of speech the words belong in. "Addicting" is a transitive verb while "addictive" is an adjective. What's the difference?

Like any verb, a transitive verb is an action word. It's a word that talks about doing or causing something. Unlike other verbs, though, a transitive verb requires an object. In other words, something receives the action. To use "addicting," we would have to say something like: "That brand of pet food is addicting to my cats." In the sentence, my cats receive the action. It's a bit had to explain transitive verbs. It's best to think of them by asking "who did what to whom?" In this case, the pet food caused an addiction in my cats.

The adjective "addictive" simply describes a substance that causes addiction. Hence, we say, "alcohol is addictive," "chocolate is addictive," "video games are addictive." When Pinoys (and people in general) use the word "addicting," they really mean "addictive."

One last word, if you search the Net, you will find a lot of links to "addicting" products. In a way, the mistake of using "addicting" as an adjective is a result of changes in English and the way people tend to accept a mistake and take it as a fact. Where these two words are concerned, use "addictive" if you're writing or using it in a more formal situation. "Addicting," as a colloquial way of using English, I think, is all right when speaking to friends and acquaintances. Still, it helps to know the correct way of using it.

My Canadian friend, thanks for the question. It was quite a challenge answering it. To my other friend Manny, thanks for your kind message. Really, sometimes I wonder whether people learn anything from me. Oh well, no point in getting paranoid!

Keep the questions coming! I love them!

Why Are You

I was in class the other day and I heard one of the students say, "Why you are nervous?" Now, this is a common error. The placing of the verb "are" can be confusing.

We do know that in general, verbs are placed close to the subjects of sentences. Hence, we say "She is going to school" and "We are eating out tonight." However, where questions are concerned, the position of the verb can change. In the error that the student committed, the correct form is "Why are you nervous?"

The reason for the shift is simple. The subject, actually, is the answer to "why." In other words, the subject is not "you" but "why." Consider:

Student A: Why are you nervous?
Student B: I'm nervous because I'm presenting my report today.

In this dialogue, the subject of the sentence is the anticipated answer to the "why" question ("because I'm presenting"). I think the rule is the same for other "w" questions. Let's continue the dialogue:


Student C: Where is your presentation going to be?
Student B: In classroom C.
Student A: What are needed for the presentation?
Student B: I'll need a laptop, LCD screen, and maybe a laser pointer.

This rule also applies to "how" questions, which is why we say "How are you?" and not "How you are."

I hope you are all doing well!

For A Total Purchase Of

Hi everyone! No, I haven't been in Boracay this whole time. I got back to Manila Friday night and immediately started work Saturday. I've been working ever since and I've been so exhausted! Today is my first kind of free day. Do you know the feeling when you sometimes need a vacation from your vacation?

When I got back, I saw a flyer from my credit card company advertising freebies if you made a "cumulative spend of" a certain amount. Here are some samples: "For a cumulative spend of P5,000 FREE P500 Nike Gift Cheque" and "For a cumulative spend of P2,000, get P300 REBATE on regular-priced items." Now, where, may I ask, is this "cumulative spend" coming from?

I was really irritated while reading the flyer. In the first place, "spend" is not a noun. It's a verb! We don't say "spend" when we talk about the total amount we spent shopping. We use "spend" when we talk about the act of using up something: "I spend P500 on my monthly cellphone bill" or "I spend some time with my mom everyday." We don't do "a cumulative spend" on anything!

I think the ad company that designed the flyer was trying to be creative and tried to use words that would make their flyer distinct from the rest. Still, that is no excuse to mangle the English language! I do work hard to teach correct English; it irks me to know that people are just taking liberties to change it without any good reason.

So, why don't we just stick to the more traditional expressions of "For a total purchase of P5,000, get a P500 gift cheque" or "For a cumulative expense of P2,000, get a discount card!"
After all, "purchase" and "expense" are nouns that mean the totality of what we spent on.

One final word, I'm not against ad companies or writers inventing words or using words in new ways. This is just part of the creative process and the growth of English. Still, I think there's a reasonable need to change the language within the parameters of what the language is now. In other words, don't break cardinal rules such as the differences between nouns and verbs.

That's all for today! Don't spend too much!

It's On Behalf Of!

Much as I don't like to repeat myself, I had to post on this topic again. The improper use of "in behalf of" is starting to irritate me.

Yesterday, Casey and I were in Megamall for some errands and we stopped by Toy Kingdom, my husband being a toy collector after all. Toy Kingdom had a voice over the PA announcing birthday celebrants who were shopping in the store. The announcer kept saying, "In behalf of Toy Kingdom, we would like to greet...." After the announcement, all the employees would clap and this rather annoying birthday jingle would play. My irritation at the music aside, I kept wincing every time I would hear "in behalf of Toy Kingdom." How many Toy Kingdom shoppers had their birthday yesterday anyway?

One of my earliest posts was on this topic. When we are representing someone else, we say "on behalf of". "In behalf of" is used when we're doing something for the benefit of someone else. Hence, it's "On behalf of Toy Kingdom" (the person over the PA is representing everyone in Toy Kingdom) and "We collected goods in behalf of the flood victims" (the speaker collected charity for the benefit of the flood victims).

Now, I do know that English is a living and evolving language. In fact, "on behalf of" and "in behalf of" are often interchanged now. Still, I think it's important to know how to use English correctly just the same.


Thanks for reading!

Mail and E-mail

Hello everyone! As you can all see, I took a long break for the Easter holidays. I had a fantastic time! I hope I'm now over a horrid sinusitis problem and ready to work and blog.

On this Easter Monday, I'd like to discuss something mundane but very important: the mail. We've all mailed something at one time or another and I'm sure there is not a person who does get excited upon receiving something from the mail. Today, though, things have changed as the internet is now often used to send messages whereas the post was the method of choice in the past.

I wanted to blog about mail because I've heard people say "I will mail a letter to post" and "I will mail to the internet." In both instances, of course, the person is talking about how the letter will be sent, although the expressions used are wrong.

When we're talking about sending something through the mail, we can say any of the following: "I will send this via post," "I will mail this letter, "I will send this letter through the mail." We do not say "I will mail a letter to post." The letter is not going to the post. Rather, we are sending it using the postal service; hence, we say, "I will send this letter through post" or "I will send this via post." Or, we can simply say, "I will mail this letter." In this case, "mail" is used as a verb to describe the action of using the postal service.

Now, when speaking of sending letters through the Internet, we are definitely not mailing anything (to mail something, as I've said, means to use the post office). We cannot mail things through the Internet. Rather, we just send things through the Net. The correct expression, then, is "I will send this letter through the Internet." Or, to simplify things further, we can just say, "I will e-mail my friend (or relative/boss/etc.)." E-mail, after all, is what we call letters send through the Internet.

Happy Easter, one and all!

Vegetable Omelette

I was in Bacolod over the weekend and since I was so busy, I didn't have time to eat out. I had to content myself with awful hotel food! While going over the hotel menu looking for something decent to eat, I saw an entry for "vegetables omelette."

People might wonder, "what's wrong with vegetables omelette?" After all, an omelette of this sort has more than one vegetable in it, doesn't this mean that the plural form has to be used? Unfortunately, no. We say vegetable omelette because the word vegetable is used as an adjective. It describes what kind of omelette it is, rather than say how many vegetables are in the dish. This is also the reason why we say vegetable soup and fruit and vegetable dealer.

Eat your vegetables, everyone!

Fifty of Them

While waiting for the MRT at the Shaw station today, I noticed a tarpaulin poster about the ill effects of smoking and what they do to the smoker's body. One of the captions on the poster read something like "A cigarette has many chemicals. Fifty of it causes illnesses." I don't remember the exact words but I do remember the error: it instead of them and causes instead of cause.

The problem here in one of pronoun referencing. The subject of the sentence is "50 chemicals," which is a plural subject. A plural subject needs a plural pronoun; after all, the pronoun refers to the subject. If the subject is plural, the pronoun should be plural.

The second mistake is the use of the singular verb (causes) when the plural verb should have been used. This mistake stems from the wrong use of it. If the pronoun had been plural, then the correct verb would have probably followed.

Here's the corrected caption: "A cigarette has many chemicals. Fifty of them cause illnesses."

Graduated From College

Ah, college! What a wonderful time! Sitting in the cafeteria with friends, joining all sorts of school activities, making friends, cutting class, and for some of us, even learning something important. Who would not enjoy such a time? I'm sure many talk about their college days and graduation as well. However, when we talk about graduation, we do not say, "I graduated in college." Rather, we say, "I graduated from college."

It surprised me to realize that this problem with in and from is actually quite a common one. I think the problem lies in a confusion between coming from something and currently attending that something. If the person is going through college education at the moment of speaking, then, he/she says, "I am in college." At this point, the speaker is attending college. If the person wants to talk about graduation, he/she must say, "I graduated from college" because he/she has finished college. When you finish college, you leave that school and that stage of your life; therefore, from is the preposition to use.

Remember, we use in when we're surrounded by something and from when we've left that something.

If I Have The Chance

One of my students said, "Ma'am, if I have a chance to go abroad, I want to go to the States to earn money for my family." I appreciate the sentiment but I've got to correct the grammar.

If you want to talk about one chance to do anything, say, "if I have the chance." In a previous post, I explained the difference between the and a. We use a when we're talking about one thing among many. For example, "Let's go to a restaurant in Greenhills tonight." In this case, the speaker is talking about any one restaurant in Greenhills, a place with many restaurants. The, on the other hand, is used when we're talking about one particular thing "Let's go to the restaurant beside the bookstore in Greenhills." Here, the speaker is talking about one restaurant beside the bookstore. If you noticed, the first example talks about a non-specific restaurant. In the second, the restaurant is specified.

Where chances are concerned, we say "the chance" because we're talking about one particular chance to do something--"if I have the chance to go abroad." Granted, people might have more than one chance to do something--"this is a chance to find love"-- but if you're talking about the one chance, use the.

I hope this wasn't confusing?

Advise You On

While on the plane to Cebu, the pilot announced "Our expected flight time is 1 hour 30 minutes but hopefully, we will arrive sooner. I will advise you with our arrival time."

The pilot made a small but noticeable error. In this case, with is not the preposition to use. Rather, on is what should be used: "I will advise you on our arrival time." With is not the correct preposition because it refers to being in the company of someone (I am with my friends) or being in possession of something (I had my bag with me). The pilot who was speaking did not possess the arrival time; hence, on is the preposition to use.

I hope you all enjoyed the holiday yesterday.