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Understanding Suffixes : English Grammar

Suffixes are a letter or group of letters added at the end of a word which makes a new word.

Learning how suffixes are used in English, can help you to improve your understanding and comprehension of the English language.  There are two types of suffixes used in English.

Inflectional Suffixes 

Endings are added to a word for grammatical purposes, but they never change the word class.

ENGLISH INFLECTIONAL SUFFIXES

Derivational Suffixes 

Endings change the meaning and create a ‘new word’ and the word class changes.  Nouns can turn into verbs, verbs into adjectives and adjectives into nouns… it gets kind of crazy!  In the chart below you will find some basic examples, but there are many more out there.

Derivational suffixes English Grammar

 

This is a good video explaining the different types and showing examples.  Youtube is an excellent way to sharpen your grammar skills while practicing your listening.

[embedvideo type=”youtube” id=”pYdIjc85tRc”]

 

Something to try… when you are reading something in English (on paper) go through the text and look for all of the suffixes and circle/highlight them.  You will be amazed at how many you will find.  Use one color for the inflectional ones that you find and another color for the derivational suffixes.

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Student Testimonial : Linda

One year ago, I was thinking how I could improve my English language, I was looking for an effective way to improve my speaking skills, I started asking friends & searching the Internet for something that could make me interested to try it.

Then I found one website for Skype English Lessons. It seemed like a great idea for me, I was looking for the teachers list and then I chose Linda.

In the first session, I introduced myself to Linda and I told her about my level of skills & what I was looking for, because she is a professional in her specialty, she knew exactly what she needed to do and from where to start.

Linda has about 35 years’ experience in teaching English, and I really felt that long experience during my sessions, she was sending me articles to read & to discuss in the next class. It gave me the ability to improve my reading and vocabulary skills plus my speaking skills.

Linda is a very supportive person & she knows exactly how to make you reach your goal. While I was speaking to her, she was always writing notes about my grammar mistakes & then explaining those mistakes to me & if needed she was able to send supportive documents to help me better understand the grammar rules. Not only for grammar, also when I was asking her about some new vocabulary or adjective meanings, she would search was the internet for something to help me better understand them.

I would say that Linda is a person who enjoys what she does, and that greatly helps to improve your language skills faster.

Thanks Linda.

Dia

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THEN or THAN?

Many people confuse the words then and than. They’re separated by just one little letter, and lots of people even pronounce them nearly the same way.  Then or Than!?!?!

Then (rhymes with Jen) is a word that’s used to mark time, or show a sequence of events. For example:

First, preheat the oven to 325. Then, grease a baking sheet.

Back then, I didn’t know what I was doing.

If you want to go to the ball,” Cinderella’s stepmother sneered, “then you’ll need to find something suitable to wear.”

Than (rhymes with Jan) is used to make comparisons and only to make comparisons. Anytime you use than, you should be able to substitute the words “compared with” or “in comparison to.” If it doesn’t work, you probably meant to say “then.”

I’m shorter than everyone in my family.

Organic produce is more expensive than regular produce.

Cinderella wanted to go to the ball more than anything!

It is much more common to substitute then for than than vice versa. Be sure to check yourself carefully!

http://www.dailywritingtips.com

QUIZ TIME!

Choose whether then or than is correct > http://esl.about.com/library/quiz/bl_than.htm

Then or Than? > http://www.grammarbook.com/grammar_quiz/than_vs_then_1.asp

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When to double a consonant before adding -ed or -ing to a verb

When add -ing to a verb to form its present participle, and -ed to regular verbs to form the past simple. When doing this, we sometimes double the last letter of the verb, as in these examples:

  • stop ⇒ stopped, stopping
    stoped
    stoping
  • refer ⇒ referred, referring
    refered
    refering

Sometimes, however, we don’t double the last letter, as with the verb visit:

  • visit ⇒ visited, visiting
    visitted
    visitting

To understand this spelling rule, it’s first necessary to know the meaning of vowel andconsonant:

vowels = a  e  i  o  u
consonants are all other letters (b  c  d  f  g, etc).

Here’s the rule:

When to double a consonant before adding –ed and –ing to a verb
We double the final letter when a one-syllable verb ends in consonant + vowel + consonant.* stop, rob, sit stopping, stopped, robbing, robbed, sitting
We double the final letter when a word has more than one syllable, and when the final syllable is stressed in speech. beGIN, preFER beginning, preferring, preferred
If the final syllable is not stressed, we donot double the final letter. LISten, HAPpen listening, listened, happening, happened

In British English, travel and cancel are exceptions to this rule:

travel, travelling, travelled; cancel, cancelling, cancelled.

* We do not double the final letter when a word ends in two consonants (-rt, -rn, etc.):
start – starting, started; burn – burn, burned.

* We do not double the final letter when two vowels come directly before it:
remain – remaining, remained.

* We do not double w or y at the end of words:
play – playing, played; snow – snowing, snowed.

 

This and other helpful Spelling Tips can be found here > http://speakspeak.com/resources/english-grammar-rules/english-spelling-rules

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Farther vs. Further

Do you use farther and further interchangeably? You’re not alone. These two terms have very similar meanings and English speakers have been using them interchangeably for centuries. However, there are subtle differences between the terms, and the prevailing distinction that informs good usage is fairly straightforward. Let’s take a look.

The widely accepted rule is to use farther to discuss physical distances, as in He went farther down the road.

Further should be used for figurative distance or to discuss degree or extent, as in I wanted to discuss it further, but we didn’t have time. Additionally, you canfurther, or advance, a project, but you cannot farthera project because farther does not have a verb sense. Further also has an adverbial sense of “moreover; additionally,” so you can say Further, you hurt my feelings, but not Farther, you hurt my feelings.

While the above is a general guide to good usage, the physical vs. figurative distance distinction is not always adhered to in popular usage, a fact that you will find reflected in our definitions for these two terms. However, knowing the difference between good usage and popular usage will set you apart in formal settings and in the company of style-guide devotees.

We hope this explanation has furthered your understanding of these two terms!

article found on http://blog.dictionary.com/ 

 

 

Good / Well part 2

I love this site.  http://blog.dictionary.com/

It has nice, short explanations for ESL students to read & understand.

We already have a post about Good vs. Well, but it is so commonly confused (even for native speakers) so I want to share this information from Dictionary.com

You may have been scolded you for saying, I’m good, instead of the more formal I’m well. But is the response I’m good actually incorrect? Not technically. Let’s explore the rules and conventions governing these two terms.

Well is often used as an adverb. Adverbs can modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Good is most widely used as an adjective, meaning that it can modify nouns. The expression “I am good” causes some to bristle because they hear an adjective where they think an adverb should be. But adjectives (like good) are used in combination with linking verbs like smell, taste, and look. A linking verb connects or establishes an identity between the subject and predicate, as opposed to an action verb which expresses something that the subject can do. Linking verbs take adjectives, whereas action verbs take adverbs. Think about the sentence: Everything tastes good. It would sound strange to sayEverything tastes well, and the adjectival good is correct in these cases. Typically when well is used as an adjective after look or feel, it often refers to health: You’re looking well; we missed you while you were in the hospital. In general, use well to describe an activity or health, and good to describe a thing.

To go back to common complaint above: in that instance, either good or well work because they both function as adjectives, and that phrase is widely used in informal, colloquial speech. However, in formal speech or edited writing, be sure to use well when an adverb is called for as in He did well on the quiz.

Well gets even more confusing when we consider adjectival phrases like well-known, well-worn, and well-mannered. How do you know when to hyphenate these phrases?  Find out in our primer on hyphens.

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Daily Writing Tips

I LOVE THIS SITE!  Daily Writing Tips

I’d say this site features some advanced vocabulary, but that doesn’t mean that a beginner should stay away.  There are many useful points and posts that show mistakes that most native speakers commonly make.

The site has the posts helpfully categorized for easy access.  Some helpful categories for students are Grammar, Vocabulary, and for those interested, Business Writing.

Categories

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Difference between SAY, TELL, and SPEAK

If you frequently confuse the words SAY, TELL, and SPEAK, you’re not alone – these are some of the most commonly confused English words! In this lesson, I’ll teach you the rules for the difference between say, tell, and speak.

Tell / Told

Tell means “to give information to a person” – so tell (present) and told (past) are always followed by a person.

Examples:

  • Tell me about the movie. Did you like it?
  • Peter, I told you not to eat any cookies before dinner!
  • Did you tell Sam about what happened at school today?
  • The police told us that the situation was under control.
  • Derek and Melissa told everybody that they were engaged to be married.
  • You should tell her what you think about her idea.
  • Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone your secret.

Say / Said

With say (present) or said (past), we can use these structures:

  1.  say (something)
  2. say that (something) 
  3. say (something) to (a person)
  4. “(something)” a person said

Examples: 

  1. Francis says she doesn’t like chocolate.
  2. I said that the new website design was great.
  3. What did the teacher say to you when you failed the test?
  4. “Nice to meet you,” Harry said.

Structures #1 and #2 are the most common in spoken English.

Don’t make this common mistake!
  • He said me that he had to leave.
  • He told me that he had to leave.

Speak / Spoke

Use speak (present) and spoke (past) with languages, and with talking in general (no specific details). We can use speak with (someone) and speak to (someone)

Examples:

  • I speak English.
  • Does Donna speak Italian?
  • Emma is going to speak in front of 500 people at the conference.
  • We spoke to the boss this morning. (general conversation, no specific details)
  • I need to speak with you about the new project. (general topic, no details)

In the case of speak with (someone) and speak to (someone), you can also say talk to or talk with.

However, you can’t use “talk” with languages:

  • I don’t talk Chinese.
  • I don’t speak Chinese.

Find this info and more great articles at Espresso English

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Grammar Girl’s Top 10 Language Myths

Grammar Girl’s Top 10 Language Myths:

10. A run-on sentence is a really long sentence. Wrong! They can actually be quite short. In a run-on sentence, independent clauses are squished together without the help of punctuation or a conjunction. If you write “I am short he is tall,” as one sentence without a semicolon, colon, or dash between the two independent clauses, it’s a run-on sentence even though it only has six words. (See episode 49 for more details.)

9. You shouldn’t start a sentence with the word “however.” Wrong! It’s fine to start a sentence with “however” so long as you use a comma after it when it means “nevertheless.” (See episode 58 for more details.)

8. “Irregardless” is not a word. Wrong! “Irregardless” is a bad word and a word you shouldn’t use, but it is a word. “Floogetyflop” isn’t a word—I just made it up and you have no idea what it means.  “Irregardless,” on the other hand, is in almost every dictionary labeled as nonstandard. You shouldn’t use it if you want to be taken seriously, but it has gained wide enough use to qualify as a word. (See episode 94 for more details.)

7. There is only one way to write the possessive form of a word that ends in “s.” Wrong! It’s a style choice. For example, in the phrase “Kansas’s statute,” you can put just an apostrophe at the end of “Kansas” or you can put an apostrophe “s” at the end of “Kansas.” Both ways are acceptable. (See episode 35 for more details.)

6. Passive voice is always wrong. Wrong! Passive voice is when you don’t name the person who’s responsible for the action. An example is the sentence “Mistakes were made,” because it doesn’t say who made the mistakes. If you don’t know who is responsible for an action, passive voice can be the best choice. (See episode 46 for more details.)

5. “I.e.” and “e.g.” mean the same thing. Wrong! “E.g.” means “for example,” and “i.e.” means roughly “in other words.” You use “e.g.” to provide a list of incomplete examples, and you use “i.e.” to provide a complete clarifying list or statement. (See episode 53 for more details.)

4. You use “a” before words that start with consonants and “an” before words that start with vowels. Wrong! You use “a” before words that start with consonant sounds and “an” before words that start with vowel sounds. So, you’d write that someone has an MBA instead of a MBA, because even though “MBA” starts with “m,” which is a consonant, it starts with the sound of the vowel “e”–MBA. (See episode 47 for more details.)

3. It’s incorrect to answer the question “How are you?” with the statement “I’m good.” Wrong! “Am” is a linking verb and linking verbs should be modified by adjectives such as “good.” Because “well” can also act as an adjective, it’s also fine to answer “I’m well,” but some grammarians believe “I’m well” should be used to talk about your health and not your general disposition. (See episode 51 for more details.)

2. You shouldn’t split infinitives. Wrong! Nearly all grammarians want to boldly tell you it’s OK to split infinitives. An infinitive is a two-word form of a verb. An example is “to tell.” In a split infinitive, another word separates the two parts of the verb. “To boldly tell” is a split infinitive because “boldly” separates “to” from “tell.” (See episode 9 for more details.)

1. You shouldn’t end a sentence with a preposition. Wrong! You shouldn’t end a sentence with a preposition when the sentence would mean the same thing if you left off the preposition. That means “Where are you at?” is wrong because “Where are you?” means the same thing. But there are many sentences where the final preposition is part of a phrasal verb or is necessary to keep from making stuffy, stilted sentences: “I’m going to throw up,” “Let’s kiss and make up,” and “What are you waiting for” are just a few examples.  (See episode 69 for more details.)

You can find more information about each of these myths in the Grammar Girl archives.

 

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Non-continuous Verbs

Non-continuous verbs are verbs that we do not normally use with continuous tenses. These “stative” verbs are about state, not action, and they cannot express the continuous or progressive aspect. Here are some of the most common non-continuous verbs:

  • feeling: hate, like, love, prefer, want, wish
  • senses: appear, feel, hear, see, seem, smell, sound, taste
  • communication: agree, deny, disagree, mean, promise, satisfy, surprise
  • thinking: believe, imagine, know, mean, realize, recognize, remember, understand
  • other states: be, belong, concern, depend, involve, matter, need, owe, own, possess

Look at these example sentences, right and wrong:

I want a coffee. not I am wanting a coffee.
I don’t believe you are right. not I am not believing you are right.
Does this pen belong to you? not Is this pen belonging to you?
It seemed wrong. not It was seeming wrong.
I don’t hear anything. not I am not hearing anything.

Notice that we often use can + see/hear:

  • I can see someone in the distance. not I am seeing someone in the distance.
  • I can’t hear you very well. not I am not hearing you very well.

This and more wonderful grammar tips can be found on English Club

 

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