Most annoying grammar mistakes in English

Most Annoying Grammar Mistakes in English
by Karen Bond
Which of the following grammar mistakes annoys you the most?

1. Third conditional

"If I would have known about the party, I would have gone to it."

This is INCORRECT, although commonly used, especially in American English.
The correct form is:
If + had + past participle, would + have + past participle
* "If I had known about the party, I would have gone."
This is CORRECT.
2. Don't vs Doesn’t
"
He don’t care about me anymore."
This is INCORRECT.
Doesn't, does not, or does are used with the third person singular - words like he, she, and it.
Don't, do not, or do are used for other subjects.
* "He doesn’t care about me anymore."
This is CORRECT.
3. Bring vs Take
"When we go to the party on Saturday, let’s bring a bottle of wine."
This is INCORRECT.
When you are viewing the movement of something from the point of arrival, use “bring”:
* "When you come to the party, please bring a bottle of wine."
This is CORRECT.
When you are viewing the movement of something from the point of departure, use “take”:
* "When we go to the party, let’s take a bottle of wine."
This is CORRECT.
4. Fewer vs Less
Sign at the checkout of a supermarket: “Ten items or less”.
This is INCORRECT.
You can count the items, so you need to use the number word “fewer”. These nouns are countable.
*
"Ten items or fewer."
This is CORRECT.
If you can’t count the substance, then you should use “less”. These nouns are uncountable.
* "You should eat less meat."
This is CORRECT.
5. However
"We were supposed to go to the dance last night, however, it was cancelled because of lack of interest."
This is INCORRECT.
A semicolon, rather than a comma, should be used to link these two complete sentences:
* "We were supposed to go to the dance last night; however, it was cancelled because of lack of interest."
This is CORRECT.
It should be noted that there ARE situations in which you can use a comma instead of a semi-colon:
* "The match at Wimbledon, however, continued despite the bad weather."
This is CORRECT.
There is only one complete sentence in this example. It is not a compound sentence.
6. Have vs Of
"I never would of thought that he’d behave like that."
This is INCORRECT.
It should be would have:
* "I never would have/would’ve thought that he’d behave like that."
This is CORRECT.
It’s the same for should and could:
"He should of come with me."
This is INCORRECT.
* "He should have/should’ve come with me."
This is CORRECT.
"She could of had anything she wanted."
This is INCORRECT.
* "She could have had anything she wanted."
This is CORRECT.
7. Double negative

"I'm not speaking to nobody in this class."
This is INCORRECT.
Since 'not' is a negative, you cannot use 'nobody' in this sentence:
* "I'm not speaking to anybody in this class."
This is CORRECT.
8. Present perfect
"He has took
the train."
This is INCORRECT.
The correct form for the present perfect is:
would + have + past participle
* "He has taken the train."
This is CORRECT.
9. Went vs Gone
"I should have went to school yesterday."
This is INCORRECT.
The correct form is:
should + have + past participle
*
"I should have gone to school yesterday."
This is CORRECT.
10. Its vs It's
"Its going to be sunny tomorrow."
This is INCORRECT.
It’s is the contraction of It is:
* "It’s going to be sunny tomorrow."
This is CORRECT.
"What’s that? I can’t remember it’s name."
This is INCORRECT.
Its is a possessive pronoun that modifies a noun:
* "What’s that? I can’t remember its name."
This is CORRECT.

** Agradecimentos: Jean Meinheardt.

Which Swedish switched witch watch which Swiss Swatch watch switch? - Tongue Twist!

1. Módulo básico Em português: Três bruxas observam três relógios Swatch. Qual bruxa observa qual relógio? Em inglês: Three witches watch three Swatch watches. Which witch watch which Swatch watch?
2. Módulo avançado Em português : Três bruxas "travestis" observam os botões de três relógios Swatch. Que bruxa travesti observa os botões de que relógio Swatch? Em inglês : Three switched witches watch three Swatch watch switches. Which switched witch watch which watch watch switch?
3. E agora, para especialistas... Em português: Três bruxas suecas transexuais observam os botões de três relógios "Swatch" suíços. Que bruxa sueca transexual observa que botão de que relógio Swatch suíço? Em inglês: Three Swedish switched witches watch three Swiss Swatch watch switches. Which Swedish switched witch watch which Swiss Swatch watch switch?

* agradecimentos ao aluno Mauro Campos Silva.

Some animations on Youtube

Hi there!
I´ve found some funny animations or some creative that you can easily watch on youtube from this links below. Most of them is not in English without speaking parts!
Hope you like it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGI_cVCmSaE (bath time)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsjGlKMcEQk (it´s about GREEN);

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdUUx5FdySs I´t´s about KIWI (the animal from NZ who doesn´t fly and just live during the night!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duPxBXN4qMg about birth (something interesting)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqwdUI6-6GU about fishing;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HQPAGagdxM a funny dancer mouse;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpX33C-XMXw don´t think bad... it´s just scratching!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLYSUTYPKXI Oh, be careful! (hahaha)


PAT & Stanley
all from the lovely hipoo and the dog! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MEvbzfYouE&NR=1 on the bath! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvLTTipoa5A&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MEvbzfYouE&NR=1 (in French... but it´s understandable);

This is for someone who likes clay histories or PINGU: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTWv63RyLP8

See ya!

Pobre de espírito: Poor of spirit

Pobre de Espírito = Poor of Spirit - Sem nenhum segredo a tradução è ao pé da letra mesmo, segundo o site: http://www.sgny.org/printer_friend/print_gloss.htm que apresenta traduções de dizeres bíblicos e religiosos em português, inglês e frances! Bem eclético, culturalmente rico e interessante.





Let - é um verbo irregular cuja conjugação (presente - passado simples - passado perfeito) é igual para todas: Let, let, let! Que legal! Então porque "Let" sendo verbo, vem com outros verbos??? Bom, a explicação que achei foi a seguinte: Let faz "prepositional verbs" que são locuções como as Phrasal verbs mas que por serem assim diferentinhas, elas não aceitam nada no meio delas com a Phrasal ver que aceita um pronome no meio dos dois termos que a compõem. Por exemplo: Let us know (phrasal verb) Let´s go (prepositional verb), mais informações veja o site: http://www.sk.com.br/sk-twow.html é excelente!!!


**** se alguém souber mais informações, ou descobrir algo errado neste blog, por favor me avise, deixe um comentário. Eu não me importo, gosto de ser corrigida.

vocabulary: "Big girls don´t cry" + Curiosity

lingers: persistir;

shelter: abrigo/ proteção;

straightening out: endireitar (pra fora);

forseek: encontrarei

binding: ligar/ encadernação, atadura (noun);

rootbeer:

concorrente: competitor/ concorrente/ rival;

internado: interned/ inner (interno);

UTI: Unity of Intesive Therapy = UIT (tradução literal, desconheço outra forma até o momento)

femur: femur;

dude: gajo (rapazoti) - slang

morrow: the next day, or tomorrow;

morons: imbecil/débil mental (slang);

morose: miserável/ mal humorado;

fielder: any member of the team which is fielding in a game such as cricket or baseball and tries to prevent the opposition from scoring;

Um bom game para as partes do corpo em ingles está no link: www.ego4u.com (ingles & alemão);

From the BBC site the explanation of: Gotta, gonna, dunno, wanna:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv165.shtml

wanna / gonna
Wanna and gonna are frequently used in speech in informal colloquial English, particularly American English, instead of want to and going to. You will also see them used in writing in quotes of direct speech to show the conversational pronunciation of want to and going to.
Gonna to express the going to form of the future is used with first second and third person singular and plural. Note that in the interrogative, are is omitted in second person singular and first and second person plural
What we gonna do now? (= What are we going to do now?)
Don't know about you two. I'm gonna put my feet up and take a break.
We're gonna carry on and try and get there before dark.
What's he gonna wear on his wedding day? ~ I dunno. But he's gonna look real smart.
Wanna can be used with all persons singular and plural, except third person singular. This is because wanna scans with I want to, you want to, we want to, they want to, but not with he/she wants to where the final s is too intrusive:
What you wanna do now? (Instead of: What do you want to do now?)
I wanna go home. My mum and dad are waiting for me and they wanna go out.
You'll never give up gambling. I'm sure of that. ~ You wanna bet?(which means: Do you want to place a bet on that?)
a wannabee
This term derives originally from the US, but is now used extensively in British English. A wannabee (literally a want-to-be) is someone who is trying to copy somebody else. Usually the person they are trying to copy is somebody famous.
Scores of Britney Spears wannabees raided the shops where she had bought her latest outfit.
Gotta is used in a similar way to gonna and wanna, in this case to show the conversational pronunciation of have got to, or as informal alternatives to have to or must. It is not so much used in the interrogative:
Don't go out there tonight. It's really dangerous.
~ A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do
I gotta / I've gotta phone home right now. My mum'll be worried.
You gotta / You've gotta get changed right away. The match starts in five minutes.
Dunno, meaning I don't know is characteristic of very informal speech in British English. Note that the word stress in this expression is on the second syllable, whereas with gonna, gotta and wanna it is on the first syllable.
Are you going to college when you leave school? ~ Dunno!
Will you quit your job if they re-locate to Manchester? ~ I dunno.
When to use these expressions
You don't ever need to use these forms actively yourself, as a language learner. They may sound too informal if you do, although if other native speakers of English around you are using them, there is probably no reason why you shouldn't use them too, as you 'grow into them.' It is, of course, important to recognise and understand them.
Gotta, wanna and gonna in the history of popular music
Gotta, wanna and gonna have been used regularly in the titles and lyrics or popular songs since the 1950s or even earlier.
If you would like more practice more please visit our http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/communicate/ in the You, Me and Us part of our website.

Trick or treat

Trick or treat - (expression) when children dress up in frightening or strange clothes on Halloween (= 31st October), especially in America and Canada, and visit people's homes to demand sweets or a small amount of money (www.freesearch.co.uk);

Playing with words: Shit x Sheet x Chat x Short x Shorts x shot x shoot x shut
Take a look at www.freesearch.co.uk there are such a really interesting thinngs to know about this words! But in portuguese:
Shit: cocô (e todos os mesmos usos que fazemos da palavra aqui no Brasil);
Sheet: folha geralmente de papel;
chat: bater-papo;
short: pequeno;
shorts: roupa (mesma coisa que no português - é uma palavra no plural SEMPRE!!!)
Shot: atirar (verbo - passado simples e participio passado;
shoot: mesmo verbo do acima, porém esta é a forma presente);

some words:

brisket: carne de peito;
den: espaço quieto/ esconderijo/ debaixo da escada;
basement: porão;
loft: sótão;

Monte Rushmore: The biggest sculpture in U.S.A. about George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodor Roosevelt e Abraham Lincoln. Take a look at this site: (in portuguese), and know a little about this interesting sculpture. Is it copy or creation?!

Medicine: remédio = medicina Eg.: Take the medicine (tome o remédio); a career in medicine (carreira em medicina);
I feel pretty sick today! : Me sinto muito doente hoje - me sinto adoentado;
Some good expressions to use you´ll find at: http://www.catho.com.br/jcs/inputer_view.phtml?id=7843 there are positive and negative expressions to use as always as you can!
Temptation: something that makes you want to do or have something that you know you should not - tentação (portuguese);
Sugar loaf: Pão de açúcar; sendo: loaf x bread, quando loaf: significa um pão que é dividido e assado em pedaços individuais e, ainda algo que pode ser dividido em pedaços! Enfim eu não concordo com essa idéia de deixar os outros colocar some nas nossas coisas aqui no brasil... mas como somos muito solícitos com os estrangeiros e, agradamos facilmente quem vem pra cá desde o tempo do descobrimento... então aparecem essas coisas! Agora vai você dar nome em monumento deles, vai?! (rs)
Have a nice week! See you on class!
Bye-bye! Lu.

Sobre os verbos irregulares - tabela completa

Gente,
Estou colocando um link para a tabelinha completa dos verbos irregulares que achei no site: http://www.sk.com.br/sk-irrve.html ,uma vez que algumas gramáticas não trazem. Em uma das aulas precisávamos saber sobre o verbo forgive... e, pra dizer a verdade, surgiu um ponto de interrogação bem grande quando olhamos na minha gramática para confirmar se este era um verbo irregular ou não! Consultem a tabela, decorem, tentem usar os verbos nas lições, criem frases, montem textos engraçados, ou qualquer outro que seja de sua preferência, tragam pra mim para correção e, aproveite bem toda essa informação!
Uma boa semana! Bom feriado para todos! Enjoy it!
Teacher Lu.

Reach - Glória Estefan - Music exercise

Hi students! I´m back after a long time without posting anything I left you something interesting! Take a look and enjoy!

This is an exercise (a music) to help you about the pronunciation, I hope you enjoy it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkSik5a1Wuc - Watch the clip and try to put in order by yourself, the music I mixed below:

* some words are together, separate them too!
* those sentences isn´t in the right order, and I didn´t cut them as it´s in the original music.
* you can try to translate it by yourself too, it´s such a beautiful lyric!

some dreams live on in time forever those dreams, you want with allyour heartand i'll do whatever it takesfollow through with the promise i madeput it all on thei'd reach somuch higherbe stronger linewhat i hoped for at last would be mineif i could reach, higherjust for one moment touch the skyfrom that one moment in timeseeing more the higher my lifei'm gonna be strongerknowing that i've tried myvery besti'd put my spirit to the testif i could reachsome days are meant to berememberedthose days we rise abovethe starsso i'll go the distancethis timeseeing more the higher i climbthat the more i believeall the more that thisdream will be mineif i could reach, higherjust for one moment touchthe skyfrom that one moment inmy lifei'm i madeput it all on thebe mineif i could reach, higherjust linewhat gonna be strongerknowing those dreams, you want with allyour heartand that i've tried myvery besti'd put my spirit to the the skyfrom testif i could reachif i could reach, higherjust for one moment touchthe skyfrom that one moment inmy lifei'm gonna be strongeri'm gonna be so much stronger reachsome days are meant to yes i ami put my spirit to the days we rise abovethe starsso i'll go the testif i could reach,if i could, if i couldif i could reachreach, i'd reach, i'd reachi'd reach, i'd reach somuch higherbe stronger


* This music was made by Gloria Estefan in 1996 for the Olympic games in Atlanta. Since that time it turns popular. About this amazing artist and her life and goals you can take a look at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloria_Estefan, or if you´d like to share any interesting informations about it, with other English students, you can send it to me by email and I´ll post it here! I´ll be glad about it!
** Even if someone has this music as MP3, please send it to me that I´ll prepare the class activity! I also need the music: "Friday I'm in love" - The Cure, to prepare some activities too!

Expressions and words:

Guardar rancor: RESENT
Sapateado: TAP
Ficar na net: stay on-line.
AWHILE: for a short time;
WOUND UP: Very anxious, nervous or angry; E.G.: She gets quite wound up before a match.
HUNGER: a strong wish or desire; E.G.: I´m hunger for an adventure;
ATOLL: atol (portuguese);
Sumary: indice (portuguese);
dodging: desviando (portuguese);
glances: to give a quick short look;
straining: peneirando (portuguese);
swear: jurar (portuguese);
Stuck: unable to move/ fixed;

* try to use those words to create a new text, and bring me to correct!

That´s all for today! Have a nice first week of september!