Learn tips on how to teach grammar and usage from our editors and grammar experts. 

Grammar & Usage

<blockquote>
&ldquo;Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live&nbsp;forever.&rdquo;

&mdash;Mahatma Gandhi
</blockquote>

Students have trouble figuring out when to use the &uuml;ber-common words to, too, and two. Even native speakers confuse these tricky homophones! Every level of English learner could use a review of these terms. Listing them on the board and providing some examples will go a long way to clearing things&nbsp;up!

<h1>1. To</h1>

<h2>Meaning</h2>

To is a preposition that is used for many reasons in English. Some of the more common reasons include movement,&nbsp;direction, purpose, and as part of the infinitive verb&nbsp;structure.

<h2>Structure</h2>

You&rsquo;ll see to before a noun or before a base&nbsp;verb.

<h2>Examples</h2>

<ul>
	<li>He&rsquo;s going to the mall after class.&nbsp;(movement)</li>
	<li>A compass points&nbsp;to the north.&nbsp;(direction)</li>
	<li>They came to our aid.&nbsp;(purpose)</li>
	<li>I&rsquo;m taking this class to improve my English. (infinitive of&nbsp;purpose)</li>
	<li>Do you want me to call you later?&nbsp;(infinitive)</li>
</ul>

<h1>2. Too</h1>

<h2>Meaning</h2>

Too is an adverb that means also or&nbsp;very.

<h2>Structure</h2>

Too is usually found at the end of a sentence after a comma (also meaning) or before an adjective or adverb (very&nbsp;meaning).

<h2>Examples</h2>

<ul>
	<li>I want to go to Paris, too.&nbsp;(also)</li>
	<li>Me, too. (also)</li>
	<li>The teacher spoke too quickly, so the students were confused.&nbsp;(very)</li>
	<li>That desk is too large to move by myself.&nbsp;(very)</li>
</ul>

<div class="whiteBox">
<h5>*Note</h5>

The first and last examples are good for demonstrating to and too&nbsp;together!
</div>

<h1>3. Two</h1>

<h2>Meaning</h2>

Two (2) is a number that means one plus one. As for the part of speech, most dictionaries call it an adjective, while most grammar books differ in what to call it: adjective, article, determiner, or&nbsp;quantifier.

<h2>Structure</h2>

Two is found before a noun, or on its own in a subject or object position if the noun is&nbsp;understood.

<h2>Examples</h2>

<ul>
	<li>I bought two bags of chips at the&nbsp;supermarket.</li>
	<li>My roommate wanted to watch two movies last&nbsp;night.</li>
	<li>A: How many books did you buy? 
	B: I bought two. 
	(books is&nbsp;understood)</li>
	<li>A: How many copies do you need? 
	B: Two should do it. 
	(copies is&nbsp;understood)</li>
</ul>

Here&rsquo;s to success with these&nbsp;terms!

Tanya

Teaching Tips: To, Too & Two

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<blockquote>
As teachers, we need to help each other&nbsp;out.
</blockquote>

Last week&rsquo;s blog post was about teaching students when to use <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/tips-for-teaching-other-another-and-the-other">other, another, and the other</a>. But confusion over these terms might not stop there. How do we form the possessive&mdash;is it each other&rsquo;s or each others&rsquo;? And should a singular or plural noun follow the possessive form? Should we use each other or one another? Get prepared for all these potential student questions by brushing up on the rules&nbsp;below.

<h1>Each Other&rsquo;s or Each&nbsp;Others&rsquo;?</h1>

This can be confusing for students, because the rule for possessives is usually &rsquo;s for singular count and non-count nouns and s&rsquo; for plural count nouns (e.g., one teacher&rsquo;s desk, two teachers&rsquo; desks). However, you should point out to students that each other is treated as a singular pronoun and emphasizes two or more separate people. Each other&rsquo;s is always correct, and each others&rsquo; is never correct. Think of it this way: You would say&nbsp;We talked to each other for hours. You would never say We talked to each others for&nbsp;hours.

<ul>
	<li>The students marked each other&rsquo;s&nbsp;papers.</li>
	<li>They went to each other&rsquo;s houses last&nbsp;weekend.</li>
</ul>

<h1>Singular or Plural&nbsp;Noun?</h1>

Since each other implies that two or more people are involved, the noun that follows is usually a plural noun (if it&rsquo;s countable). Think of it this way: Let&rsquo;s review each other&rsquo;s essays means my essay and your essay; i.e., two&nbsp;essays.

<ul>
	<li>My roommate and I always borrow each other&rsquo;s jackets because we&rsquo;re the same&nbsp;size.</li>
	<li>We meet in each other&rsquo;s offices when we need to discuss important&nbsp;issues.</li>
</ul>

Note that not all grammarians or style guides agree on this point. As a general rule of thumb, a plural noun is considered more common, while a singular noun is considered more logical. This would be great to discuss with higher-level students, but I wouldn&rsquo;t recommend confusing lower-level students with it (stick with the rule above for lower&nbsp;levels).

<ul>
	<li>We borrowed each other&rsquo;s jackets. (correct&mdash;more common&mdash;the two jackets were&nbsp;switched)</li>
	<li>We borrowed each other&rsquo;s jacket. (correct&mdash;more logical&mdash;we each have one&nbsp;jacket)</li>
</ul>

<h1>Each Other or One Another?</h1>

The rule that grammar traditionalists follow is to use each other when there are only two people involved and one another for more than two. However, in my opinion, one another is quite formal, so each other can be used casually for more than two people. Also, I&rsquo;ve heard people use&nbsp;one another for two people in formal situations, not just for more than two people. That&rsquo;s why I teach my students to use&nbsp;each other no matter how many people are involved, but I do point out that they might see&nbsp;one another in formal writing or&nbsp;speaking.

<ul>
	<li>My best friend and I tell each other everything. (two people, casual, 100%&nbsp;correct)</li>
	<li>My best friend and I tell everything to one another. (two people, formal, generally&nbsp;accepted)</li>
	<li>As teachers, we need to help each other out. (many people, casual, generally&nbsp;accepted)</li>
	<li>As teachers, we need to help one another out. (many people, formal, 100%&nbsp;correct)</li>
</ul>

Source: The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed. section&nbsp;5.220.

Each Other's or Each Others'? Each Other or One Another?

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<h1>Yet another confusing grammar point&hellip;</h1>

Other, another, and the other are terms that students should be familiar with at a fairly low level. They appear in most beginner and intermediate‑level textbooks as well as on tests such as the TOEIC. Yet a lot of students seem to have trouble grasping when to use these adjectives. (I&rsquo;m using Merriam-Webster&rsquo;s categorization of &ldquo;adjectives&rdquo; for these terms, but personally, I usually refer to them as articles or determiners since I think that&rsquo;s closer to the role they fill&mdash;but that&rsquo;s a discussion for another blog post!) Once I started explaining these terms&nbsp;with the following chart, my students had an easier time keeping them straight. I hope your students will find this chart useful,&nbsp;too!

<table class="hasBorder">
<thead>
<tr>
<th></th>
<th>General (a, an, X)</th>
<th>Specific (the)</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Singular (one)</th>
<td><h5>Another</h5>e.g., I'm still hungry. I want another sandwich.
<td><h5>The Other</h5>e.g., No, not that pen. I want the other sandwich.
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Plural (more than one)</th>
<td><h5>Other</h5>e.g., Do you have any other books I can borrow?
<td><h5>The Other</h5>e.g., No, not those songs. Let's listen to the other songs / the others.
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

<h3>Notes for teachers on General vs. Specific:</h3>

<ul class="spaced-list">
	<li>Explain that GENERAL refers to an object that there are many of (one of many). Usually we can&rsquo;t see this&nbsp;object.</li>
	<li>Explain that we use &quot;a&quot; or &quot;an&quot;&nbsp;for a singular, general count noun, and that &quot;another&quot;&nbsp;is &quot;an&quot; + &quot;other.&quot;</li>
	<li>Explain that we don&#39;t use an article for plural, general count nouns, so &quot;other&quot;&nbsp;stands on its&nbsp;own.</li>
	<li>Explain that SPECIFIC&nbsp;refers to an object that there is only one of. Often we can see this object, and/or both speaker and listener know of this&nbsp;object.</li>
	<li>Explain that we use &quot;the&quot;&nbsp;with singular and plural specific nouns, so we use &quot;the&quot;&nbsp;+ &quot;other.&quot;</li>
</ul>

<h3>Notes for teachers on Other, Another, and The Other:</h3>

<ul class="spaced-list">
	<li>For ANOTHER and OTHER, point out that there are no other sandwiches or books around (we would normally say these sentences when we can&rsquo;t see a sandwich or other&nbsp;books).</li>
	<li>For ANOTHER, point out that the noun that follows is a singular count noun&nbsp;(doesn&rsquo;t end in ‑s).</li>
	<li>For OTHER, point out that the noun that follows is a plural count noun (ends in -s) OR&nbsp;a&nbsp;non‑count noun&nbsp;(doesn&#39;t end in&nbsp;‑s).</li>
	<li>For THE OTHER (singular), demonstrate with two pens (preferably different colours) on the table in front of you. Say &ldquo;No, not that pen&rdquo; (and point to the red pen). Say &ldquo;Pass me the other pen&rdquo; (and point to the blue pen). Point out that we can see the other&nbsp;pen.</li>
	<li>For THE OTHER (plural), draw two quick pretend playlists on the board. Say &ldquo;No, not those songs&rdquo; (and point to the first playlist). Say &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s listen to the other songs&rdquo; (and point to the second playlist). Point out that we can see the other songs, or both speaker and listener know which songs are being referred&nbsp;to.</li>
	<li>For THE OTHER (plural), point out that if the noun is already mentioned, we can drop the plural noun after &rdquo;other&rdquo; and make it &ldquo;others.&rdquo;&nbsp;Demonstrate again with the previous example, but say &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s listen to the others&rdquo; when pointing to the second&nbsp;playlist.</li>
	<li>Point out that THE OTHER is used for both&nbsp;count&nbsp;and&nbsp;non‑count&nbsp;nouns.</li>
</ul>

I hope your students now have no other questions about these&nbsp;terms! Here is a <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2941" target="_blank">ready-made resource</a>&nbsp;with a practice task.&nbsp;

Tanya

Teaching Tips: Other, Another & The Other

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<h3>I will resume writing my resume...</h3>

With all the different regions of the world that use English, and all the words borrowed from other languages, English spelling sure is problematic! There is often more than one acceptable spelling for a word. The team at ESL Library was recently confronted with some controversy over the spelling of &ldquo;resume.&rdquo;&nbsp;This word, which comes from&nbsp;the French noun &quot;r&eacute;sum&eacute;,&quot;&nbsp;appears many times in our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/85/lessons">English at Work</a>&nbsp;lessons, as well as in a few lessons within the&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/courses/78/lessons">Everyday Idioms (Part 2)</a> section and&nbsp;in the&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/courses/75/lessons/1653">Employment</a>&nbsp;lesson&nbsp;in our Living in English section . We had been spelling &ldquo;resume&rdquo; without any accents, but had to make a decision as to whether we wanted to continue to spell it that way. We&rsquo;ll share our thought process below, and we&rsquo;d love to know what other teachers think.

<h3>What do the dictionaries say?</h3>

<ul>
	<li dir="ltr">In the US: Merriam-Webster&rsquo;s Collegiate Dictionary lists this entry as r&eacute;sum&eacute; or resume, also resum&eacute;, which means that all forms are correct and acceptable. However, they consider &ldquo;r&eacute;sum&eacute;&rdquo; and &ldquo;resume&rdquo; to be equal variants, whereas &ldquo;resum&eacute;&rdquo; is a secondary variant and not as common as the first two options.</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li dir="ltr">In Canada: The Oxford Canadian Dictionary of Current English lists this entry as resum&eacute;, and doesn&rsquo;t list any variants. However, the Government of Canada&#39;s website uses both&nbsp;r&eacute;sum&eacute; and&nbsp;resume often. As a Canadian myself, I tend to use&nbsp;resume&nbsp;when typing online in order to avoid code problems.</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li dir="ltr">In the UK, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa: In these countries, &ldquo;Curriculum Vitae&rdquo; or &ldquo;CV&rdquo; is preferred. However, the Oxford Dictionary Online lists this entry as resume: a variant spelling of r&eacute;sum&eacute; (North American), which means that they consider &ldquo;r&eacute;sum&eacute;&rdquo; to be the more acceptable form.</li>
</ul>

<h3>What about confusion with the verb &ldquo;resume&rdquo;?</h3>

Our consensus was that context is sufficient to determine whether &ldquo;resume&rdquo; is referring to the noun (CV) or the verb (to begin again). The noun is used primarily in business English contexts when discussing job hunting, applying for jobs, interviewing, etc. Students need to learn how to use context to help figure out word meanings; it&rsquo;s an essential skill. Words such as wind (noun) / wind (verb) and present (noun) / present (verb) don&rsquo;t normally pose a problem because the context usually clarifies which meaning/part of speech is being used.

<h3>What is best for the students?</h3>

My personal opinion is that students will most often see and write (i.e., type) &ldquo;resume&rdquo; without accents because that is the most common way it is spelled on computers and mobile devices. Most people don&rsquo;t bother using their &ldquo;special characters&rdquo; feature to find accented letters, especially in English where accents are rare. Also, many students are native speakers of languages where accents have specific functions that are not always related to pronunciation (some accents are used to indicate syllable stress, for example), and some students may never have seen accents at all. Using &ldquo;r&eacute;sum&eacute;&rdquo; or &ldquo;resum&eacute;,&rdquo;&nbsp;with accents, might result in confusion, if only at first.

However, after seeing &ldquo;resume&rdquo; in the lesson, I would advise that teachers talk to students about the other two spellings. I believe it&rsquo;s always a good idea to present the other variations of a word to students in case they come across them at some point.

<h3>Conclusion:</h3>

We are sticking with &ldquo;resume&rdquo; for now, but plan to include a note in the answer key to remind teachers to introduce the other spelling variations if they wish (especially if they are in countries outside the US). What do you think?

Tanya

<h3>Related</h3>

Try ESL Library&#39;s <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons/2099">How to Write a Resume</a>&nbsp;lesson from our Writing in English section.

&nbsp;

Resume, Résumé, or Resumé?

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<h3>Students learn not only what the rules of parallel structure are, but also&nbsp;how to use paired joining terms.</h3>

Parallel structure is important in English, but it is all too often used incorrectly. From simple words to complex phrases, the basic rule of parallel structure is that all the elements must be equal (i.e., they must match) on either side of the comma or conjunction. Parallel structure is especially important when it comes to paired joining terms such as not only...but also, either...or, neither...nor, and both...and. Listed below are some of the rules, examples, and tricky cases that you can use when teaching your students about these terms.

<h3>General Rules of Parallel Structure</h3>

There must be a match in form and function when joining words, phrases, clauses, or sentences in English. The form must be the same; i.e., nouns must be joined to other nouns, verb + object phrases must be joined to other verb + object phrases, SVO clauses must be joined to other SVO clauses, etc.

Examples:

<ul>
	<li dir="ltr">She cleaned the kitchen, the bathroom, and dusted the living room. (wrong: N, N, V + N)</li>
	<li dir="ltr">She cleaned the kitchen, the bathroom, and the living room. (correct: N, N, N)</li>
	<li dir="ltr">I wrote the report, called the client, and the storeroom was organized. (wrong: V + N, V+ N, N + V)</li>
	<li dir="ltr">I wrote the report, called the client, and organized the storeroom. (correct: V + N, V + N, V + N)</li>
</ul>

The grammatical function must also be the same; i.e., adjectives must be joined to other adjectives, past verbs should be joined to other past verbs, gerunds must be joined to other gerunds, etc.

Examples:

<ul>
	<li dir="ltr">The house was old but a beauty. (wrong: Adj, N)</li>
	<li dir="ltr">The house was old but beautiful. (correct: Adj, Adj)</li>
</ul>

<h3>Specific Cases of Parallel Structure: Paired Joining Terms</h3>

The following expressions are mainly used for emphasis. They are especially common in writing. The most important thing to remember about these expressions is that the first joining term must be placed before the part of the sentence that has the same form and function as the second part of the sentence that you&rsquo;re trying to match. It&rsquo;s tricky! Native speakers and students alike make mistakes with this. Showing your students the examples below should make it clear.

<h3>1. Not only...but also</h3>

<ul>
	<li dir="ltr">We not only ate pizza, but also pasta. (wrong: V + N, N)</li>
	<li dir="ltr">We ate not only pizza, but also pasta. (correct: N, N)</li>
</ul>

Be careful! When joining two sentences (using not only at the beginning of the sentence), the subject and verb become inverted.

<ul>
	<li dir="ltr">Not only she will take a test, but she will also give a presentation. (wrong: no inversion)</li>
	<li dir="ltr">Not only will she take a test, but she will also give a presentation. (correct: inversion)</li>
</ul>

For practice with not only...but also, try the exercise in Ellii&rsquo;s <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/80/lessons/1396" title="esl-library-chris-hadfield">Chris Hadfield lesson</a>.

<h3>2. Either...or</h3>

<ul>
	<li dir="ltr">The students can either choose to study or to exercise. (wrong: V + Infinitive, Infinitive)</li>
	<li dir="ltr">The students can choose either to study or to exercise. (correct: Infinitive, Infinitive)</li>
</ul>

<h3>3. Neither...nor</h3>

<ul>
	<li dir="ltr">My roommate neither likes the red dress nor the green dress. (wrong: V + N, N)</li>
	<li dir="ltr">My roommate likes neither the red dress nor the green dress. (correct: N, N)</li>
</ul>

Point out to students that using not with either...or has the same meaning as neither...nor. Neither...nor is quite formal and not often used in speaking, so understanding how to change it to not with either...or is useful for students.

<ul>
	<li dir="ltr">They ate neither the apples nor the oranges. (correct, but formal, used in formal writing)</li>
	<li dir="ltr">They didn&rsquo;t eat either the apples or the oranges. (correct, more common in informal writing and speaking)</li>
</ul>

<h3>4. Both...and</h3>

<ul>
	<li dir="ltr">The child both wanted to ride the roller coaster and&nbsp;to eat ice cream. (wrong: V + Infinitive + N, Infinitive&nbsp;+ N)</li>
	<li dir="ltr">The child wanted both to ride the roller coaster and&nbsp;to eat ice cream. (correct: Infinitive + N, Infinitive + N)</li>
</ul>

I hope you found this post useful for&nbsp;both&nbsp;your students and&nbsp;yourself,

Tanya

Source: The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition, section 5.214.

Parallel Structure and Paired Joining Terms

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<blockquote>
If I were you&hellip;
</blockquote>

English doesn&rsquo;t just have verb tenses, it also has voices and moods. One of the moods that students struggle with most is the subjunctive. The subjunctive is used only in specific cases that students aren&rsquo;t often exposed to until they reach a high‑intermediate or advanced level. But presenting the subjunctive earlier on isn&rsquo;t a bad idea&mdash;when it&rsquo;s laid out in certain patterns (see below), it becomes easier to understand and remember. Also, this form is often included in certain tests such as the TOEIC, and students of all levels take these tests. Most students wish the subjunctive were easier to learn&mdash;make their wish a&nbsp;reality!

<h1>The Subjunctive</h1>

In English, the subjunctive is a grammatical mood that is used to express an unreal situation such as a wish, possibility, or action that may or may not happen. The most common occurrences of the subjunctive that students are likely to encounter include sentences reporting suggestions, the second conditional, and sentences with&nbsp;&ldquo;wish.&rdquo;

<h1>1. Reporting Suggestions</h1>

<h2>Use #1</h2>

The subjunctive form is used for reporting suggestions. Certain verbs (that I like to call verbs of suggestion to help students easily pick them out) in the independent (main) clause will result in the base form of the verb in the dependent &ldquo;that&rdquo; clause. Point out this pattern to&nbsp;students:

Verb of suggestion + that + base&nbsp;verb

Some of the more common verbs of suggestion that follow this pattern include: advise, ask, demand, insist, prefer, propose, recommend, request, require, suggest, and urge.

<ul>
	<li>His boss demanded that he work&nbsp;overtime.</li>
	<li>Her teacher suggested that she study for three hours last&nbsp;night.</li>
	<li>I prefer that he speak to me&nbsp;directly.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Use #2</h2>

The subjunctive form is also used for giving strong suggestions or commands. Certain adjectives (that I call adjectives of importance to help students remember) in the independent clause will result in the base form of the verb in the dependent &ldquo;that&rdquo; clause. Point out this pattern to&nbsp;students:

Adjective of importance + that + base&nbsp;verb

Some common adjectives that follow this pattern include: important, necessary, imperative, essential, vital, and&nbsp;urgent.

<ul>
	<li>It was important that he call me&nbsp;yesterday.</li>
	<li>It is essential that the operator of this machine remain calm during an&nbsp;emergency.</li>
	<li>I think it is necessary that your dog be kept on a leash while in this&nbsp;area.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Notes</h2>

<h3>Note #1</h3>

Make sure you don&rsquo;t give students example sentences where they won&rsquo;t notice the base verb. If you use the simple present tense and a subject other than the third-person singular, students may think it&rsquo;s a simple present verb in the dependent clause instead of a base verb. For instance, in the sentence They suggest that we look over the document, &ldquo;look&rdquo; could be mistaken for a simple present verb instead of a base&nbsp;verb.

<h3>Note #2</h3>

The subjunctive often occurs in clauses that begin with &ldquo;that.&rdquo; Point out to students that seeing &ldquo;that&rdquo; is a good indication that the subjunctive may be required (particularly on a test such as the TOEIC). However, &ldquo;that&rdquo; can be dropped in English, so it isn&rsquo;t always a surefire way to spot the subjunctive. (E.g., I suggested that he study for at least two hours. / I suggested he study for at least two hours.) It&rsquo;s more important to notice the verb or adjective in the main clause. Is the meaning of the verb &ldquo;suggestion&rdquo;? Is the meaning of the adjective &ldquo;importance&rdquo;? If so, the subjunctive should be&nbsp;used.

<h1>2. The Second Conditional</h1>

The second conditional, also known as the unreal conditional, follows this&nbsp;pattern:

If + past, would + base verb

It is used to show an unlikely or impossible outcome that probably wouldn&rsquo;t happen. The subjunctive mood becomes apparent when we use the be verb. This verb always takes the form of were, no matter what the subject is. It&rsquo;s a holdover from long ago when we used certain forms to express mood far more often than we do nowadays. It&rsquo;s important to point out this was/were case to your students because they won&rsquo;t be expecting it! Give them a few examples (make sure the subject would normally take &ldquo;was&rdquo;). You could also print out the lyrics to &ldquo;If I Were a Boy&rdquo; by Beyonce and play it in class as a fun way to see the subjunctive in&nbsp;use.

<ul>
	<li>If I were rich, I&rsquo;d travel around the&nbsp;world.</li>
	<li>If he weren&rsquo;t so lazy, he would get good&nbsp;grades.</li>
</ul>

For more tips on the conditional forms, check out my blog post: <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/an-easy-way-to-teach-conditionals">An Easy Way to Teach Conditionals</a>. For an example of this form in use, look at the quote in the Grammar Review section of our Mini‑Debates lesson <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/73/lessons/1312">The Right to&nbsp;Die</a>.

<h1>3. Wish</h1>

Another case where the subjunctive is used in English is with the verb wish. When wish is used in the independent clause, the be verb always takes the form were in the dependent clause when there is a present or future meaning. This confuses students for two reasons: 1) Why do we use a past verb when our meaning is present or future? 2) Why don&rsquo;t we use was for the first and third persons singular? Again, we use were to indicate a hypothetical or unreal situation. It&rsquo;s good to get them to memorize the pattern wish&nbsp;+&nbsp;were.

<ul>
	<li>I wish I were able to go to Vegas with you next month, but there&rsquo;s no way I can get the time off&nbsp;work.</li>
	<li>She wishes that she were&nbsp;taller.</li>
</ul>

<div class="whiteBox">
<h5>Note about wish and&nbsp;hope</h5>

Wish indicates an impossible or unlikely situation (much like the second conditional); use were, a past verb, a past perfect verb, or would&nbsp;+&nbsp;verb.

<ul>
	<li>I wish you would stop growing so&nbsp;fast.</li>
</ul>

Hope indicates a possible situation (much like the first conditional); use a&nbsp;present verb or&nbsp;will&nbsp;+&nbsp;verb.

<ul>
	<li>I hope you&nbsp;feel better&nbsp;soon.</li>
</ul>
</div>

If I were filthy rich, I&rsquo;d still blog about&nbsp;grammar!

Tanya

<h1>Sources</h1>

<ul>
	<li>Collins Cobuild English Grammar, section 7.40.</li>
	<li>My own brain after 10 years of teaching TOEIC. :)</li>
</ul>

Tips for Teaching the Subjunctive

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<blockquote>
Are you yourself confused by reflexive pronouns being used intensively, or is it only your students who are&nbsp;confused?
</blockquote>

As we were working on the <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/84/lessons/1541">Gerald R. Ford lesson</a> this week at ESL&nbsp;Library, the topic of intensive pronouns came up because of this&nbsp;sentence:

<blockquote>
&ldquo;President Nixon himself resigned a year later due to his involvement in an illegal cover‑up related to his re‑election&nbsp;campaign.&rdquo;
</blockquote>

This got us talking about reflexive pronouns that are specifically used for emphasis, which are known as intensive pronouns. But what are the differences in usage and sentence position between reflexive pronouns in general and intensive pronouns? Here is the breakdown for teaching these pronouns to your&nbsp;students:

<h1>Reflexive Pronouns</h1>

<h2>Usage</h2>

Reflexive pronouns reflect the subject of the verb. Use these pronouns when the subject and object of the verb are the same&nbsp;person.

<h2>Sentence Position</h2>

Reflexive pronouns are most often found in the object position. They can also appear in an indirect object position, meaning they can follow a&nbsp;preposition.

<h2>Examples</h2>

<ul>
	<li>We asked ourselves if the new system would actually&nbsp;work. (direct object)</li>
	<li>I really hurt myself this morning when I fell down the&nbsp;stairs.&nbsp;(direct object)</li>
	<li>She looked at herself in the mirror for&nbsp;hours.&nbsp;(indirect object)</li>
	<li>They think of themselves as upstanding members of the&nbsp;community. (indirect object)</li>
</ul>

<h1>Intensive Pronouns</h1>

<h2>Usage</h2>

Intensive pronouns are reflexive pronouns that are used to emphasize the subject or object&nbsp;noun.

<h2>Sentence Position</h2>

Intensive pronouns are usually appositive, meaning they follow the subject directly. They can also follow an&nbsp;object.

<h2>Examples</h2>

<ul>
	<li>President Nixon himself resigned a year later due to his involvement in an illegal cover-up related to his re‑election&nbsp;campaign.</li>
	<li>Even though everyone expected her to know it already, she herself was surprised by the&nbsp;news.</li>
	<li>I am not a very punctual person&nbsp;myself.</li>
	<li>You don&rsquo;t need help. You can do it&nbsp;yourself.</li>
</ul>

<h1>Summary</h1>

Reflexive pronouns are the object or indirect object of the main verb, and therefore will follow the verb. Intensive pronouns will never appear in an object position; they will follow a noun&nbsp;(appositive).

Compare the following sentences to make the distinction crystal&nbsp;clear:

<ul>
	<li>I cut myself. (Reflexive; myself is the object of the verb cut; I did this action to&nbsp;myself.)</li>
	<li>I cut her hair myself. (Intensive; my hair is the object of the verb cut; myself emphasizes the subject I because it&rsquo;s surprising/unexpected&nbsp;that I cut her hair since I&rsquo;m not a&nbsp;hairdresser.)</li>
</ul>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Note</h5>

A preposition isn&rsquo;t enough to determine whether a pronoun is reflexive or intensive. The important thing is to look for the object. Remember, if there is another object, the pronoun is probably&nbsp;intensive.

<ul>
	<li>Why were you staring at yourself in the mirror? (Reflexive; at yourself is the indirect object of the verb were&nbsp;staring.)</li>
	<li>You can do it by yourself (Intensive; it is the object of the verb&nbsp;do.)</li>
</ul>
</div>

I myself hope that you&rsquo;ve enjoyed this&nbsp;post!

Tanya

<h4>Sources</h4>

<ul>
	<li>Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition, section&nbsp;5.49.</li>
	<li>Collins Cobuild English Grammar, section&nbsp;1.121.</li>
</ul>

Reflexive Vs. Intensive Pronouns

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<h1>Everyday practice means practicing every day...</h1>

As a teacher, I saw students often confuse the terms&nbsp;everyday and every day, mostly because they were unaware of the grammar involved. And as an editor, I see this mistake in native speakers&rsquo; writing all too frequently. It&rsquo;s not only a matter of spelling; the spelling reflects the grammar rules that must be adhered to. But fear not! The grammar rules are easy to remember, and if you read through this post, you and your students will most likely never make this mistake again.

<blockquote>
<h2>Rule</h2>
If you&rsquo;re unsure which form to use, look for the noun. Is there a noun that follows? If so, use everyday. If not, use every day.</blockquote>

<h3>Everyday</h3>

Everyday, spelled as one word, is an adjective that must come before a noun (see the note below concerning this adjective following the be verb).

<ul>
	<li dir="ltr">Our band has an everyday practice session.</li>
	<li dir="ltr">The everyday uses of this new technology are numerous.</li>
	<li dir="ltr">These are just my everyday clothes. I&rsquo;ll dress up tonight.</li>
</ul>

<h3>Every day</h3>

Every day, spelled as two words, is a time expression that is best defined as an adverbial expression. It takes the same sentence position as many adverbs and adverb clauses do, namely at the beginning or end of the sentence or clause. It is technically an adjective and a noun (but note that some grammar books, unlike most dictionaries, classify every as an article or quantifier), though together these terms take on an adverb function.

<ul>
	<li dir="ltr">Our band practices every day. (Note: the American spelling of the verb is practices.)</li>
	<li dir="ltr">Every day before school, I review my notes from the previous lesson.</li>
	<li dir="ltr">He calls his girlfriend every day to show her that he cares.</li>
</ul>

<h3 dir="ltr">Note</h3>

In English, most adjectives can either come before a noun or follow the verb to be (e.g., She is intelligent. The painting was beautiful.) However, the adjective everyday will not occur in this position (e.g., The practice session is&nbsp;everyday at 6:00 pm. = incorrect). When we use the be verb in this case, the meaning is about the time or frequency, so we should write the time expression every day (e.g., The practice session is&nbsp;every day at 6:00 pm. = correct). It&rsquo;s a good idea to point this out to students so that they won&rsquo;t make the understandable mistake of using the adjective form after the be verb for this case.

You can see examples of these terms in use right in the titles of these ESL Library&#39;s sections: <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/77/lessons">Everyday Idioms</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/courses/76/lessons">Everyday Dialogues</a>.

I really should (and will!) write a blog post dedicated to the different time expressions in English: adverbs of frequency (e.g., always, sometimes), adverb clauses (e.g., when + SVO), and adjective + noun (e.g., every day, once a week). Coming soon!

Wishing you happiness every day,

Tanya

&nbsp; &nbsp;

Everyday Vs. Every Day

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<h3>Analyzing English words can be addictive!</h3>

I love getting into the nitty-gritty aspects of the English language. At ESL Library, we have a lesson coming out in May about Gaming Addiction, and we started wondering about the &ldquo;addict&rdquo; word family. Are both addictive and addicting adjectives? Which is the better choice?

I dug into my reference books to see what I could come up with, but came up a little flat. There was no mention of usage for these two words in Merriam-Webster&rsquo;s Dictionary of English Usage, The Chicago Manual of Style, The Copyeditor&rsquo;s Handbook, or Bryson&rsquo;s Dictionary for Writers and Editors. Also, both Merriam-Webster&rsquo;s Collegiate Dictionary and Oxford Canadian Dictionary of Current English only have an entry for addictive and don&rsquo;t mention addicting as a possible adjective form. Luckily, I did find a few entries online, namely from <a href="http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/addictive-versus-addicting.aspx" target="_blank">Grammar Girl</a>&nbsp;and <a href="http://grammarist.com/usage/addicting-addictive/" target="_blank">Grammarist</a>. So what did I conclude, and, more importantly, what should you teach your students?

<h3>Addictive</h3>

This is the &ldquo;correct&rdquo; form, and you can never go wrong using addictive in an adjective position. According to Merriam-Webster, addictive is defined as &ldquo;causing or characterized by addiction.&rdquo;&nbsp;Here are a few examples:

<ul>
	<li dir="ltr">Most addictive substances, such as drugs and alcohol, are not good for your health.</li>
	<li dir="ltr">The Walking Dead is really addictive; I&rsquo;ve been recommending it to all my friends.</li>
</ul>

<h3>Addicting</h3>

Who is guilty of using addicting as an adjective? I&rsquo;m pretty sure I&rsquo;ve used it and have heard it being used a time or two. Because of the lack of an entry for addicting, my reference books seem to suggest that&nbsp;addicting should not be used as an adjective. But the online sources mentioned above said that addicting is becoming more commonplace; however, they both warn that it&rsquo;s a contentious issue among grammarians and that you&rsquo;re better off sticking with addictive.

<h3>Conclusion for teachers:</h3>

My advice is to teach your students that addictive is the correct adjective form. For more advanced students, you could get a discussion going about how language changes over time, and give addicting as an example. It might be a fun project to get your students to go online or read through newspapers or magazines and see if they can find the words addictive and addicting in use.

Hope you enjoyed this post, my fellow grammar addicts!

Tanya

Addictive Vs. Addicting

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<h1>Don&rsquo;t be an April fool...figure out the rules before talking about this holiday in class!</h1>

April 1 is fast approaching, and that means it&rsquo;s time to watch out for pranksters in many countries. Though the origin of April Fools&rsquo; Day isn&rsquo;t entirely known, Ellii&rsquo;s <a day="" href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1878" lesson="" title="April Fools">April Fools&rsquo; Day&nbsp;</a>lesson covers many of the possibilities with a reading, vocab, and fun activities. But whether you do an entire lesson with your class, discuss it momentarily, or just need to answer students&rsquo; questions, it&rsquo;s a good idea to brush up on the correct capitalization and punctuation rules about this day of jokes and hoaxes.

<h2>1. April Fools&rsquo; Day</h2>

According to Merriam-Webster&rsquo;s Collegiate Dictionary (11th edition), the correct spelling of this holiday includes using the plural form &ldquo;Fools&rdquo; and capitalizing each word. This dictionary has the apostrophe after the &ldquo;s&rdquo; to show the possessive form of the plural noun. If you are teaching students in the US, this is the form you should use.

Interestingly, the Oxford Canadian Dictionary of Current English spells it &ldquo;April Fool&rsquo;s Day.&rdquo;&nbsp;This dictionary uses the singular form of the noun and thus puts the apostrophe before the &ldquo;s.&rdquo;&nbsp;So if you are teaching students in Canada, you should use &ldquo;April Fool&rsquo;s Day.&rdquo;&nbsp;I would assume that the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and other English-speaking countries also use &ldquo;April Fool&rsquo;s Day.&rdquo;&nbsp;If you can confirm this, please leave a comment below!

<h2>2. April Fool</h2>

What do you shout out after you&rsquo;ve pulled a prank on someone? The correct answer, according to Merriam-Webster&rsquo;s, is &ldquo;April fool!&rdquo; (The Oxford Canadian dictionary didn&rsquo;t have an entry for this case.) This was a surprise to me, because I grew up shouting &ldquo;April fool&rsquo;s!&rdquo; and always assumed it was just the shortened version of the holiday name. Now I know that the correct version is &ldquo;April fool,&rdquo;&nbsp;and that&rsquo;s what I suggest teaching your students. Note that &ldquo;fool&rdquo; is not capitalized&mdash;it is just a common noun in this case. If you are teaching students about this holiday in more detail, note that the alternative name for this holiday is &ldquo;All Fools&rsquo; Day.&rdquo;&nbsp;Also, people sometimes shout out &ldquo;April fish&rdquo; in certain countries (&ldquo;poisson d&rsquo;Avril&rdquo; in French). 
 
Don&rsquo;t be fooled by all these rules! 
&mdash;Tanya

April Fools' Day Capitalization and Punctuation Rules

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Updated January 2016

<blockquote>
If I remember all the conditional patterns, I will pass the&nbsp;test!
</blockquote>

Let&rsquo;s talk about conditionals. I find that the usual textbook method of presenting one conditional pattern in isolation means that students will only remember and be able to use that one type. When another pattern is introduced weeks or months later, they often won&rsquo;t remember the previous pattern well enough to keep them both straight, and confusion is the&nbsp;result.

I started laying out all four patterns at once in my TOEIC classes, where students needed to be able to distinguish between all types of conditional sentences in the grammar section of the test. After a lot of positive feedback from students, I started using this method in all my classes whenever one conditional pattern came up in the textbook (or just came up in&nbsp;conversation).

I really found that all my students, even the low‑intermediate ones, understood conditionals so much better when all four patterns were clearly laid out for them. The following chart is how I prefer to present conditionals in my classes. Write out this chart on the board, or download and print it out. You&rsquo;ll also find some useful tips below the&nbsp;chart.

<a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2164"><img alt="Conditionals Chart" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/212/content_Tanya_An-Easy-Way-to-Teach-Conditionals_Chart.png" /></a>

<a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2164" target="_blank">Conditionals Chart</a> &ndash; Grammar &amp; Usage&nbsp;Resources

<h1>Patterns</h1>

<h3>1. If + Present, Present</h3>

Example: If he takes vitamins every day, he doesn&rsquo;t get sick. / He doesn&rsquo;t get sick if he takes vitamins every&nbsp;day.

<ul>
	<li>This is called the zero&nbsp;conditional.</li>
	<li>Use this conditional to show an outcome that happens if a specific repeated condition is&nbsp;met.</li>
	<li>The verbs in the if clause and in the main clause will both be simple present verbs (remind students that third person singular verbs end in&nbsp;‑s).</li>
	<li>Make sure that students realize, for all the conditional patterns, that the if clause and the main clause order doesn&rsquo;t matter&mdash;the meaning is the same. I like to write out both versions of my example, as I&rsquo;ve done above, so that this point hits home. Also note that a comma is needed when the if clause comes before the main&nbsp;clause.</li>
</ul>

<h3>2. If + Present, Will + Verb</h3>

Example: If she studies for the test, she will get a good grade. / She will get a good grade if she studies for the test.

<ul>
	<li>This is called the first conditional or the real&nbsp;conditional.</li>
	<li>Use this conditional to show a likely or possible outcome that will probably happen if a specific condition is&nbsp;met.</li>
	<li>The verb in the&nbsp;if clause is a simple present verb, and the verb in the&nbsp;main clause is will + base form of the&nbsp;verb.</li>
	<li>Make sure to point out that the verb in the if clause will end in ‑s if the subject is third person&nbsp;singular.</li>
</ul>

<h3>3. If + Past, Would + Verb</h3>

Example (of an unlikely situation): If he won the lottery, he would quit his job. / He would quit his job if he won the&nbsp;lottery.

Example (of an impossible situation): If I had wings, I would fly to Antarctica. / I would fly to Antarctica if I had&nbsp;wings.

<ul>
	<li>This is called the second conditional or the unreal&nbsp;conditional.</li>
	<li>Use this conditional to show an unlikely or impossible outcome that probably wouldn&rsquo;t happen (unless a specific condition were&nbsp;met).</li>
	<li>The verb in the&nbsp;if clause&nbsp;is a&nbsp;simple past&nbsp;verb, and the verb in the&nbsp;main clause&nbsp;is&nbsp;would + base form of the&nbsp;verb.</li>
	<li>Make sure to point out that this is one case where it&rsquo;s correct to use a past tense verb for a future&nbsp;situation.</li>
	<li>Note: The verb to be is always were with this conditional, even in the first and third person singular. I usually give an example to ensure that students understand this strange exception: If I were rich, I would buy you a car. / I would buy you a car if I were&nbsp;rich.</li>
</ul>

<h3>4. If + Had + P.P., Would + Have +&nbsp;P.P.</h3>

Example: If I had remembered to call my friend last night, she wouldn&rsquo;t have sent me an angry text message. / My friend wouldn&rsquo;t have sent me an angry text message if I had remembered to call her last&nbsp;night.

<ul>
	<li>This is called the third&nbsp;conditional.</li>
	<li>Use this conditional to show a past regret or different outcome that would have happened if a specific condition had been&nbsp;met.</li>
	<li>The verb in the if clause is a past perfect verb (had + past participle form of the verb), and the verb in the&nbsp;main clause is a past modal pattern (would + have + past participle form of the&nbsp;verb).</li>
	<li>Make sure to tell students that this conditional isn&rsquo;t very common. We don&rsquo;t often speculate about what might have happened in the past, because we already know what actually&nbsp;happened.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Quick Review</h2>

As a review the next day, write this chart on the board to reiterate the four conditional&nbsp;patterns:

<ol>
	<li>Present (Repeated): If + Present,&nbsp;Present</li>
	<li>Future (Likely/Possible/Real): If + Present, Will +&nbsp;Verb</li>
	<li>Future (Unlikely/Impossible/Unreal): If + Past, Would +&nbsp;Verb</li>
	<li>Past (Regret/Different Outcome): If + Had + P.P., Would + Have +&nbsp;P.P.</li>
</ol>

For more practice, check out ESL&nbsp;Library&rsquo;s <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons">lesson plans and flashcards</a> on&nbsp;conditionals! We also have a <a href="https://youtu.be/s59ygVYxpag">First Conditional video on YouTube</a>&nbsp;and <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1602">on our site</a>, with videos for the second conditional and third conditional coming soon!&nbsp;

If you try this method in your class, I will be very&nbsp;happy!

Tanya

An Easy Way to Teach Conditionals

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<blockquote>
Teaching students to use big, long lists of&nbsp;adjectives&hellip;
</blockquote>

No native English speaker would say &ldquo;the red, big house&rdquo; because we all know that &ldquo;the big, red house&rdquo; sounds better. Students, on the other hand, need to be taught the correct order of multiple adjectives because they can&rsquo;t rely on what sounds right. Luckily, rules about adjective order do exist and can be followed easily to avoid awkward errors. And what about using commas with multiple adjectives? Read on for the solutions to all your adjective teaching&nbsp;woes!

<h1>I. Punctuation of Multiple Adjectives</h1>

If the adjectives are all being used to describe the noun (aka coordinate adjectives), commas should separate them. Using &ldquo;and&rdquo; is a good test to determine if the multiple adjectives you&rsquo;re using should follow this rule. (For an example of when a comma should not be used, see #8, Purpose,&nbsp;below.)

<h2>Examples of Punctuation with Multiple&nbsp;Adjectives</h2>

<ul>
	<li>She has long, dark hair. (She has long and dark hair; both long and dark are adjectives that describe the noun&nbsp;hair.)</li>
	<li>I live in the big, red house down the street. (I live in the big and red house; both big and red describe the noun&nbsp;house.)</li>
	<li>I admired the expensive, new, German cars at the car show. (I admired the expensive and new and German cars; expensive and new and German all describe the noun&nbsp;cars.)</li>
</ul>

<div class="whiteBox">
<h3>Note</h3>

Using &ldquo;and&rdquo; is necessary when there is no noun that follows the adjectives: The cars were expensive, new, and German. Her hair is long and&nbsp;dark.
</div>

<h2>II. Order of Multiple Adjectives</h2>

The natural order for multiple adjectives is based on what type of adjectives are used. Adjectives should appear in this&nbsp;order:

<table>
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>#</th>
			<th>Type of Adjective</th>
			<th>Examples</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>1</th>
			<th>Opinion</th>
			<td>
			(what you think about something)

			<ul>
				<li>beautiful</li>
				<li>expensive</li>
				<li>easy</li>
				<li>delicious</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>2</th>
			<th>Size</th>
			<td>
			<ul>
				<li>big</li>
				<li>small</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>3</th>
			<th>Age</th>
			<td>
			<ul>
				<li>young</li>
				<li>old</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>4</th>
			<th>Shape</th>
			<td>
			<ul>
				<li>round</li>
				<li>rectangular</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>5</th>
			<th>Color</th>
			<td>
			<ul>
				<li>red</li>
				<li>white</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>6</th>
			<th>Origin</th>
			<td>
			(where something came from)

			<ul>
				<li>European</li>
				<li>Japanese</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>7</th>
			<th>Material</th>
			<td>
			(what something is made from)

			<ul>
				<li>metal</li>
				<li>silk</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>8</th>
			<th>Purpose</th>
			<td>
			(what something is used for)

			<ul>
				<li>sleeping (as in sleeping bag)</li>
				<li>English (as in English teacher)</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h3>Note</h3>

Adjectives of purpose are also included in this list, but please be careful about punctuation with these adjectives. Purpose adjectives are a bit different in that they end up specifying what the noun is rather than just describing it. For example, sleeping bag is now a specific type of bag, whereas red bag could be any type of bag that is red. Be careful about punctuation with purpose adjectives: You will NOT need a comma between another type of adjective and a purpose adjective. For&nbsp;example:

<ul>
	<li>I have a red sleeping bag. (color, no comma, purpose)</li>
	<li>I have a comfortable, red sleeping bag. (opinion, comma, color, no comma, purpose)</li>
</ul>

<h2>Examples of Order with Multiple&nbsp;Adjectives</h2>

<ul>
	<li>My friend is a talented, young musician. (opinion,&nbsp;age)</li>
	<li>That car is a beautiful, older, Italian model. (opinion, age,&nbsp;origin)</li>
	<li>I bought a shiny, small, square, metal vase. (opinion, size, shape,&nbsp;material)</li>
	<li>We browsed through the many antique, colorful, silk dresses in the boutique. (age, color,&nbsp;material)</li>
</ul>

<h3>Note</h3>

If the multiple adjectives are of the same type, then you can use any order you want. For&nbsp;example:

<ul>
	<li>She has a funny, kind coworker. (opinion,&nbsp;opinion)</li>
	<li>She has a kind, funny coworker. (opinion,&nbsp;opinion)</li>
</ul>

I hope that these confusing, stress-inducing rules are now clear in your mind so that you can easily teach them to your students! If anything is still unclear, please let me know in the comment section below. For a ready-made lesson that includes practice with adjective order, try this <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/2093">Adjectives</a>&nbsp;lesson.

&mdash;Tanya

<h1>Sources</h1>

<ul>
	<li>Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition, sections 5.90 and&nbsp;6.33.</li>
	<li>University of Victoria English Language Centre, http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/410/grammar/adjord.htm.</li>
</ul>