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

Grammar & Usage

<blockquote>
<p>Have you ever <strong>tried to study</strong> (but couldn&rsquo;t) or <strong>tried studying</strong> (started, then stopped) these tricky&nbsp;verbs?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>In last week&rsquo;s blog post, we saw a method for <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/gerunds-and-infinitives-helpful-teaching-tips">teaching gerunds and infinitives</a> to students in a clear, organized way. We learned that, following a main verb, there is a lot of memorization and practice required on the students&rsquo; part in order to keep which verbs take gerunds and which take infinitives&nbsp;straight.</p>

<p>As if that wasn&rsquo;t difficult enough, there are certain verbs in English that change their meaning depending on if they&#39;re followed by a&nbsp;gerund or an infinitive! These verbs are best left for high‑intermediate or advanced learners to muddle through, but when they&rsquo;re ready, here is a handy list of some of the most common verbs of this&nbsp;type.</p>

<h1>1. Try</h1>

<h2>Try + Gerund</h2>

<p><strong>Try + Gerund</strong> means that you started doing something, then stopped for some reason (usually because it was too&nbsp;difficult).</p>

<ul>
	<li>She <em>tried learning</em> French, but she gave up after a few months. (She found French too&nbsp;difficult.)</li>
</ul>

<h2>Try + Infinitive</h2>

<p><strong>Try + Infinitive</strong> means that you attempted something but couldn&rsquo;t do it for some&nbsp;reason.</p>

<ul>
	<li>She <em>tried to get</em> into the club, but she got ID&rsquo;d. (She attempted to enter the club even though she was underage, but she didn&rsquo;t get&nbsp;in.)</li>
</ul>

<div class="whiteBox">
<h5>Be careful!</h5>

<p>Sometimes you can hear &ldquo;try&rdquo; with both a gerund and an infinitive where the meaning is essentially the same. The reason this is possible is because the focus is slightly different. For&nbsp;example:</p>

<ul>
	<li>I <em>tried calling</em> you last night. (I attempted to call you once [or many times], but I eventually gave&nbsp;up.)</li>
	<li>I<em> tried to call</em> you last night. (You never picked up the phone, so I couldn&rsquo;t talk to&nbsp;you.)</li>
</ul>
</div>

<h1>2. Stop</h1>

<h2>Stop + Gerund</h2>

<p><strong>Stop + Gerund</strong> means you quit doing&nbsp;something.</p>

<ul>
	<li>He <em>stopped smoking</em> last week. (He quit&nbsp;smoking.)</li>
</ul>

<h2>Stop + Infinitive</h2>

<p><strong>Stop + Infinitive</strong> means you were doing something and then took a break, or you stopped on your way&nbsp;somewhere.</p>

<ul>
	<li>Even though he was behind in his work, he <em>stopped to smoke</em> a cigarette. (He stopped working to have a smoke&nbsp;break.)</li>
	<li>I <em>stopped to buy</em> milk on my way home. (I went to the store before going&nbsp;home.)</li>
</ul>

<h1>3. Forget</h1>

<h2>Forget + Gerund</h2>

<p><strong>Forget + Gerund</strong> means that you have already done something, but can&rsquo;t remember doing&nbsp;it.</p>

<ul>
	<li>She didn&rsquo;t recognize him at all. She <em>forgot meeting</em> him last summer. (She forgot that she had met him&nbsp;before.)</li>
</ul>

<h2>Forget + Infinitive</h2>

<p><strong>Forget + Infinitive</strong> means that you had the intention of doing something, but didn&rsquo;t remember to do&nbsp;it.</p>

<ul>
	<li>She <em>forgot to meet</em> her client for lunch, so she got an angry phone call from him later. (She had plans to meet her client, but she didn&rsquo;t remember to do&nbsp;it.)</li>
</ul>

<h1>4. Remember</h1>

<h2>Remember + Gerund</h2>

<p><strong>Remember + Gerund</strong> means that you did something in the past, and you can remember doing it. (This is usually used when you&rsquo;re surprised that you that recall that far back. It&rsquo;s also used when you&rsquo;re reminiscing with&nbsp;friends.)</p>

<ul>
	<li>I <em>remember falling</em> down the stairs when I was four years&nbsp;old.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Remember + Infinitive</h2>

<p><strong>Remember + Infinitive</strong> means that you had the intention of doing something, and you remembered to do&nbsp;it.</p>

<ul>
	<li>My husband was happy that I <em>remembered to pay</em> the bills on time last&nbsp;month.</li>
</ul>

<h1>5. Regret</h1>

<h2>Regret + Gerund</h2>

<p><strong>Regret + Gerund</strong> means that you did something that you wish you&nbsp;hadn&rsquo;t.</p>

<ul>
	<li>I <em>regretted telling</em> him my secret because he told everyone at my school. (I wish I hadn&rsquo;t told him my&nbsp;secret.)</li>
</ul>

<h2>Regret + Infinitive</h2>

<p><strong>Regret + Infinitive</strong> means that you&rsquo;re sorry (usually used in formal cases&nbsp;only).</p>

<ul>
	<li>We<em> regret to tell</em> you that your application was not accepted. (We&rsquo;re sorry to have to tell you&nbsp;this.)</li>
</ul>

<p>Don&rsquo;t <em>stop to worry</em> about these difficult verbs, just <em>stop&nbsp;worrying</em>! :)</p>

<p>Tanya</p>


5 Verbs with Meaning Changes: Gerunds & Infinitives (Advanced)

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<blockquote>
<p>I like teaching and I like to&nbsp;teach&hellip;</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Gerunds (the <em>‑ing form</em> of a verb) and infinitives <em>(to + the base form</em> of a verb) are strange little creatures. They combine the action meaning of the verb with the grammatical function of a noun. They are useful because they allow us to use verbs as subjects and objects. But in the object position, the choice of gerund or infinitive can seem quite arbitrary. Also, because they have so many positions in a sentence, they can be confusing for students to learn. Fear not! There are some sentence patterns that ensure the correct choice of a gerund or an&nbsp;infinitive.</p>

<h1>Gerunds</h1>

<h2>1. as the subject of a sentence</h2>

<h4>S = Ger</h4>

<p>This position commonly calls for a gerund. While an infinitive is also possible, it is very formal and not&nbsp;common.</p>

<ul>
	<li><em><strong>Shopping</strong></em> is my favourite&nbsp;hobby.</li>
	<li><em><strong>Working out</strong></em> has really improved my&nbsp;health.</li>
</ul>

<h2>2. following a preposition</h2>

<h4>Prep + Ger</h4>

<p>Here is another common gerund position. This rule applies to all prepositions, including ones that are part of phrasal&nbsp;verbs.</p>

<ul>
	<li>She thought <strong>about</strong> <em>calling</em> him, but decided she&nbsp;wouldn&rsquo;t.</li>
	<li>They are planning <strong>on</strong> <em>going</em> to the party&nbsp;tonight.</li>
</ul>

<h2>3. as the object of a verb</h2>

<h4>V + Ger</h4>

<p>This is the one position where both gerunds and infinitives are commonly used. The choice of which to use all depends on the verb. Some common ones are: <em>advise</em>, <em>avoid</em>, <em>enjoy</em>, <em>finish</em>, <em>practise</em>, <em>quit</em>, and&nbsp;<em>suggest</em>.</p>

<ul>
	<li>He <strong>enjoyed</strong> <em>learning</em> about&nbsp;gerunds.</li>
	<li>My teacher <strong>suggested</strong> <em>studying</em> for the upcoming quiz.</li>
</ul>

<div class="whiteBox">
<h5>Note</h5>

<p>Don&rsquo;t forget that some verbs take either a gerund or an infinitive with no change in meaning. While students don&rsquo;t have to worry about these verbs, they should still be pointed out. Some common verbs are: <em>like</em>, <em>love</em>, and&nbsp;<em>hate</em>.</p>
</div>

<ul>
	<li>I <strong>love</strong> <em>eating&nbsp;</em>pasta.</li>
	<li>I <strong>love</strong> <em>to eat&nbsp;</em>pasta.</li>
</ul>

<h1>Infinitives</h1>

<h2>1. following an adjective</h2>

<h4>Adj + Inf</h4>

<p>Though it is possible in some cases to use a gerund after an adjective, it is more common to use an infinitive, making it the better choice for&nbsp;students.</p>

<ul>
	<li>It is <strong>nice</strong> <em>to meet</em>&nbsp;you.</li>
	<li>She mentioned that it was <strong>dangerous</strong> <em>to stand</em> near that&nbsp;machine.</li>
</ul>

<h2>2. following a noun or pronoun</h2>

<h4>N + Inf</h4>

<p>If the verb has an object that is a noun or a pronoun, it is almost always followed by an infinitive. This makes it easy for students to choose the correct&nbsp;form.</p>

<ul>
	<li>You asked <strong>me</strong><em> to call</em> you.</li>
	<li>The doctor advised <strong>Mark</strong> <em>to eat</em> more vegetables. (Note that the verb &ldquo;advise&rdquo; normally takes a gerund, as in &ldquo;The doctor <strong>advised</strong> <em>eating</em> more vegetables.&rdquo; But because there is a noun object in this sentence, we must use the infinitive. The noun rule supersedes the verb rule, which is great news for&nbsp;students.)</li>
</ul>

<h2>3. as the object of a verb</h2>

<h4>V + Inf</h4>

<p>This is the one position where both gerunds and infinitives are commonly used. It all depends on the verb. Some common ones are: <em>ask</em>, <em>choose</em>, <em>decide</em>, <em>get</em>, <em>need</em>, <em>plan</em>, <em>promise</em>, and&nbsp;<em>want</em>.</p>

<ul>
	<li>They <strong>want</strong> <em>to get</em> their tests back as soon as&nbsp;possible.</li>
	<li>The students <strong>are planning</strong><em> to have</em> a party this&nbsp;Friday.</li>
</ul>

<div class="whiteBox">
<h5>Note</h5>

<p>ESL Library&rsquo;s new and improved gerund and infinitive lessons are coming soon. In those lessons, we put verbs into categories to help students figure out whether to use a gerund or an infinitive. Also, googling &ldquo;gerunds and infinitives verb list&rdquo; brings up several lists that students can use for&nbsp;reference.</p>
</div>

<h1>One final teaching point</h1>

<p>Because both gerunds and infinitives retain their verb meanings (even though they function as nouns), they too can have objects. That means it&rsquo;s not uncommon to see a sentence with two or more objects when gerunds or infinitives are in play. For&nbsp;example:</p>

<ul>
	<li>I enjoy <strong>studying</strong> <em>English</em>. (&ldquo;studying&rdquo; is the direct object of &ldquo;enjoy,&rdquo; and &ldquo;English&rdquo; is the direct object of&nbsp;&ldquo;studying&rdquo;)</li>
	<li>My boss asked <em>me</em> <strong>to help</strong> <em>her</em>. (&ldquo;me&rdquo; is the indirect object of &ldquo;asked,&rdquo; &ldquo;to help&rdquo; is the direct object of &ldquo;asked,&rdquo; and &ldquo;her&rdquo; is the direct object of &ldquo;to&nbsp;help&rdquo;)</li>
</ul>

<p>I hope you liked learning/to learn about this grammar&nbsp;point!</p>

<p>Tanya</p>


Gerunds & Infinitives: Helpful Teaching Tips

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<h1>The semicolon is not often used; most people aren&#39;t even sure how to use it.</h1>

<p>What is this silly little punctuation mark good for anyway? Is it just some antiquated notion? Should we even bother teaching it to our students? My view is that if it&rsquo;s in the English language, it should be brought to students&rsquo; attention because they&rsquo;re bound to come across it at some point. But it&rsquo;s also our job as teachers to point out which conventions are no longer commonly used, which is indeed the case with the semicolon. </p>

<h3>1. What is the semicolon used for?</h3>

<p>The semicolon is used to join two sentences together, so it is useful for connecting ideas and making sentences more complex. It can take the place of a period or a conjunction such as &ldquo;and.&rdquo; The semicolon should connect two sentences with similar or related ideas. Let&rsquo;s look at some examples:</p>

<ul>
	<li>He was tired. He was up all night studying.</li>
	<li>He was tired; he was up all night studying.</li>
	<li>BUT NOT: He was tired; it was raining. (unrelated ideas)</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>She was a great student, and she got a prestigious scholarship.</li>
	<li>She was a great student; she got a prestigious scholarship.</li>
</ul>

<p>Don&rsquo;t forget to point out the punctuation of transition words to your higher-level students. With transition words, a period or a semicolon must be used. Here are some examples:</p>

<ul>
	<li dir="ltr">I forgot to study for the test. In addition, I forgot to bring a pencil.</li>
	<li dir="ltr">I forgot to study for the test; in addition, I forgot to bring a pencil.</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li dir="ltr">The professor didn&rsquo;t make us write the test. However, he gave us a lot of homework.</li>
	<li dir="ltr">The professor didn&rsquo;t make us write the test; however, he gave us a lot of homework.</li>
</ul>

<h3>2. Should we teach and/or use the semicolon?</h3>

<p>In formal writing (academic, scientific, etc.), the semicolon may be used. If you have formal essay writing in class, you could get your students to try using the semicolon. If your students are in university or taking a university prep class, it&rsquo;s a good idea to teach and use it, especially if they&rsquo;re using transition words in their writing. But make sure you also tell students when NOT to use it: in emails, text messages, instant messaging, etc. I think it would even look out of place in business letters or job applications. So bring it up, yes, but remind students that the semicolon is very formal, and a little out of fashion. One of these days, I&rsquo;ll write a blog post about my favourite punctuation mark, the interrobang. Now THAT&rsquo;S useful?!<br />
<br />
&mdash;Tanya</p>

How Useful Is the Semicolon?

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<h1>How romantic&hellip;</h1>

<p>Champagne, roses, and&hellip;a discussion of capitalization and punctuation rules? Maybe it&rsquo;s not the most romantic of topics, but you&rsquo;ll soon be discussing this holiday in class, and you&rsquo;ll want to have the rules&nbsp;straight!</p>

<h2>1. Capitalization</h2>

<p>When we write the holiday, we have to use capital&nbsp;letters.</p>

<ul>
	<li>My favorite holiday is Valentine&rsquo;s&nbsp;Day.</li>
</ul>

<p>This could be shortened in casual speech, when it&rsquo;s clear we&rsquo;re referring to the&nbsp;day.</p>

<ul>
	<li>What are you doing for Valentine&rsquo;s&nbsp;(Day)?</li>
</ul>

<p>When we&rsquo;re referring to a gift, greeting, or person, we don&rsquo;t use capital&nbsp;letters.</p>

<ul>
	<li>I bought her a valentine present; I hope she&rsquo;ll like&nbsp;it.</li>
	<li>I got a valentine card from him&nbsp;today.</li>
	<li>Be my valentine.</li>
</ul>

<div class="whiteBox">
<h5>Note</h5>

<p>It is common to hear &ldquo;valentine&rsquo;s&rdquo; used in place of &ldquo;valentine&rdquo; (e.g., <em>I got a valentine&rsquo;s card from him today</em>). I think this is because people are using the holiday name, either on purpose or by accident. If you&rsquo;re using the holiday name, write it as &ldquo;Valentine&rsquo;s,&rdquo; with or without the word &ldquo;Day&rdquo; (e.g., <em>I got a Valentine&rsquo;s [Day] card from him today</em>). Personally, I would stick to &ldquo;valentine card.&rdquo;</p>
</div>

<h2>2. Punctuation</h2>

<p>When we write the holiday, we must use &ldquo;apostrophe&nbsp;s.&rdquo;</p>

<ul>
	<li>Happy Valentine&rsquo;s&nbsp;Day!</li>
</ul>

<p>Is there a case where there is an &ldquo;s&rdquo; with no apostrophe? Yes, but only if we&rsquo;re referring to a plural noun, usually &nbsp;&ldquo;cards.&rdquo;</p>

<ul>
	<li>How many valentines did you get? (refers to valentine&nbsp;cards)</li>
	<li><strong>Never</strong> use &ldquo;Happy Valentines Day&rdquo; or &ldquo;valentines&nbsp;cards.&rdquo;</li>
</ul>

<p>Now you&rsquo;re ready for all the fun Valentine&rsquo;s Day activities that you can do with your students! <a href="https://www.ellii.com/" target="_blank">E</a><a href="http://ellii.com" target="_blank">llii</a> has got some amazing resources, including this&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/107/resources/2145" target="_blank">Valentine&rsquo;s Day poster of love idioms</a>. You should also check out our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/" target="_blank">Valentine&rsquo;s Day lessons</a>&nbsp;and guest blogger Shelly Terrell&rsquo;s <a href="http://ellii.com/blog/14-activities-resources-for-celebrating-valentines-day/" target="_blank">14+ Activities &amp; Resources for Celebrating Valentine&rsquo;s&nbsp;Day</a>.<br />
<br />
And here is a sneak peek of a&nbsp;video lesson that is fun for Valentine&#39;s Day.</p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/McJHPK8srvo" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br />
An ad-free version of this video is available for <a href="https://ellii.com/pricing" target="_blank">Ellii subscribers</a> in our <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/3486-what-s-she-like-a-valentine-s-story" target="_blank">digital lesson</a>&nbsp;and in our <a href="https://ellii.com/video/what-s-she-like" target="_blank">Media Gallery</a>.</p>

<p>Happy Valentine&rsquo;s Day to&nbsp;all,<br />
Tanya</p>

<p>Sources: Merriam‑Webster&rsquo;s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th&nbsp;ed., and Oxford Canadian dictionary of Current&nbsp;English.</p>


Valentine's Day Capitalization & Punctuation Rules

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Stay up-to-date with ELT trends and ideas with articles from experts and teachers in the field.

Articles

<h1>It&rsquo;s confusing for students and teachers alike when textbooks use different grammar terms!</h1>

<p>It&rsquo;s not only a difference between countries. Sometimes, in the same country, grammarians choose different terms to represent the same grammatical function. It could be a matter of preference, or maybe it&rsquo;s what they learned when they were studying grammar. As a teacher, it can be quite frustrating to see a grammatical term referred to in two different ways (e.g., &ldquo;progressive&rdquo; in one textbook and &ldquo;continuous&rdquo; in another). Our poor students, who already have so much to take in, now have to remember more than one term for the same function!</p>

<p>Let&rsquo;s look at the list below to get some of the more common mix-ups straightened out.</p>

<h2>Progressive Vs. Continuous</h2>

<p>These words are used for many tenses to refer to a continuing action (the -ing form), such as the present progressive or the present continuous, the past progressive or the past continuous, etc. <em>Progressive&nbsp;</em>seems to be the preferred choice in the US and <em>continuous</em> seems to be preferred in the UK. In Canada, I have seen many textbooks that use <em>progressive</em> and many that use <em>continuous</em>. I learned it as <em>progressive</em>, but I have had many Canadian co-workers also call it <em>continuous</em>. Telling students right off the bat that there are two terms for this grammatical function may help them avoid confusion down the road.</p>

<h2>Word Forms Vs. Parts of Speech</h2>

<p>This was the one that inspired this blog post. A teacher wrote us to say that she wasn&rsquo;t sure what we meant by <em>word form</em>. Both terms refer to the grammatical function of a word in a sentence, such as <em>noun</em>, <em>verb</em>, <em>adjective</em>, <em>adverb</em>, etc.</p>

<h2>Subject-Predicate Vs. S-V-O</h2>

<p>Both cases refer to the subject and the <em>verb</em>, <em>verb</em> + <em>object</em>, or <em>verb</em> + other type of <em>clause</em> or <em>phrase</em>. Both are ways to describe the basic sentence patterns of English. I always teach using S-V-O. Which do you prefer?</p>

<h2>Restrictive/Non-Restrictive Vs. Identifying/Non-Identifying Adjective Clauses</h2>

<p><em>Restrictive</em>, or <em>identifying</em>, adjective clauses don&rsquo;t use commas because the adjective clause is necessary to identify the noun. (Example: <em>The man who sat next to me on the bus was friendly.</em> There is no way to identify this man from any other man unless we include the info that he sat next to me. Now it is one specific man that I&rsquo;m referring to.) <em>Non-restrictive</em>, or <em>non-identifying</em>, adjective clauses need commas because the adjective clause is simply extra information that is not required in order to identify the noun. (Example: <em>Mr. Green, who was wearing a funny hat today, seemed tired when he was teaching us about grammar.</em> The teacher, Mr. Green, is already one specific man, and there&rsquo;s no need to identify him further. The fact that he was wearing a funny hat is just extra information.) Both terms make sense: <em>restrictive</em> means that the clause cannot be omitted from the sentence without affecting the meaning, and <em>identifying</em> means that the clause is necessary in order to identify the noun.</p>

<h2>Reported Vs. Indirect Speech</h2>

<p>Both terms refer to saying what someone else said. (Example: <em>He told me he was coming to the party tonight.</em>) The term <em>indirect</em> is used in contrast to direct speech. (Example: <em>He told me, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m coming to the party tonight.&rdquo;</em>) But it&rsquo;s easy to guess where the term <em>reported</em> came from, because that is the purpose it serves, to report someone else&rsquo;s speech.</p>

<h2>Non-Count Vs. Uncountable Nouns</h2>

<p>Referring to nouns that are too small or too shapeless to count, such as sand or milk, these terms both use a negative prefix with the word count. You won&rsquo;t find <em>non-count</em> in the dictionary (whereas <em>uncountable</em> is listed), but in grammar terms, <em>non-count</em> seems to be used much more often.</p>

<p>If you have any other commonly confused grammatical terms to add to the list, please let us know in the comments section below. Here&rsquo;s to progress(ive)!</p>

<p>&mdash;Tanya</p>


Progressive Vs. Continuous and Other Synonymous Grammatical Terms

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<blockquote>
<p>Sort out these pain-in-the-butt adjective rules once and for&nbsp;all!</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Hyphens. Such a tiny punctuation mark, yet hyphens can confound ESL students and L1 speakers alike. Don&rsquo;t let these little dashes scare you&mdash;the rules for their use within multiple‑word adjectives are actually quite simple. It&rsquo;s just a matter of placement within a sentence. Follow the rules below to achieve hyphenated-adjective&nbsp;perfection!</p>

<h1>Rule #1</h1>

<h4>Use Hyphens Before Nouns</h4>

<p>If the multiple‑word adjective comes before a noun, use hyphens.&nbsp;Examples:</p>

<ul>
	<li>She gave me an <strong>up-to-date</strong>&nbsp;report.</li>
	<li>We used <strong>computer-generated</strong> images in our&nbsp;presentation.</li>
	<li>After the reading exercise, answer these <strong>follow-up</strong> questions.</li>
</ul>

<p>This rule is especially common with TIME, MONEY, and DISTANCE. Note that adjectives never take an &ldquo;<em>s</em>.&rdquo;&nbsp;Examples:</p>

<ul>
	<li>We have a <strong>five‑minute</strong> break in our morning class. (NOT five‑minute<strong>s</strong>&nbsp;break)</li>
	<li>The clerk handed me a <strong>100‑dollar</strong>&nbsp;bill.</li>
	<li>I went for a <strong>20‑kilometer</strong> run this&nbsp;morning.</li>
</ul>

<p>What about using adverbs and adjectives together? Be careful here. Most adverb/adjective combinations will NOT be hyphenated. One common exception is with the adverb <em>well</em>.&nbsp;Examples:</p>

<ul>
	<li>Lady Gaga is a <strong>very famous</strong> singer. (NOT very‑famous singer)</li>
	<li>It&rsquo;s an&nbsp;<strong>environmentally friendly</strong>&nbsp;product. (NOT environmentally‑friendly)</li>
	<li>J.R.R. Tolkien is a <strong>well‑known</strong> author. (This is the&nbsp;exception.)</li>
</ul>

<h1>Rule #2</h1>

<h4>Don&rsquo;t Use Hyphens After Verbs</h4>

<p>When the multiple‑word adjective (or phrase involving a quantifier or adjective + noun) comes after the main verb (or <em>is</em> the main verb), do NOT use hyphens. Let&rsquo;s take a look at the previous&nbsp;examples:</p>

<ul>
	<li>Her report was <strong>up to&nbsp;date</strong>.</li>
	<li>The images in our presentation were <strong>computer&nbsp;generated</strong>.</li>
	<li>We <strong>followed up</strong> the reading exercise with comprehension&nbsp;questions.</li>
	<li>Our morning class break is <strong>five minutes</strong>. (Note: Now that we don&rsquo;t need a hyphen, we must follow the normal rules for forming the plural, so we need to use an&nbsp;&ldquo;<em>s</em>.&rdquo;)</li>
	<li>The clerk handed me <strong>100&nbsp;dollars</strong>.</li>
	<li>I ran for <strong>20 kilometers</strong> this&nbsp;morning.</li>
	<li>J.R.R. Tolkien is <strong>well&nbsp;known</strong>.</li>
</ul>

<h1>Conclusion</h1>

<p><strong>Use hyphens if the multiple‑word adjective comes before a noun, otherwise don&rsquo;t use hyphens.</strong> Are there exceptions? Unfortunately, there are always exceptions. For example, the adjective <em>good-looking&nbsp;</em>is always hyphenated, no matter the position in the sentence. (A <em>good-looking</em> guy waved at me this morning. / He is <em>good-looking</em>.) However, I&rsquo;d say that this rule works more than 90% of the&nbsp;time.</p>

<p>I hope this blog post helped clarify this well‑known problem!</p>

<p>Tanya</p>


When to Use Hyphens: Rules for Multiple-Word Adjectives

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<h3>This is interesting&nbsp;news!</h3>

<p>Almost all English grammar rules have exceptions that can cause our students endless confusion. That&rsquo;s why, whenever an exception pops up during class, I like to point it out to refresh my students&rsquo; memories. A common source of confusion is subject&ndash;verb agreement, particularly when it pertains to non‑count nouns that end in ‑s. Some of these nouns are common in speaking and writing, and you can bet they often appear on tests such as the TOEIC. Here are some of the worst&nbsp;offenders:</p>

<h1>1. News</h1>

<p>I often remind my students that <em>news</em> is non‑count&mdash;we can&rsquo;t say &ldquo;one new, two news.&rdquo; Think of <em>news</em> as information or a collection of stories. <em>News</em> always takes a <strong>singular</strong> verb, like any non‑count noun&nbsp;would.</p>

<ul>
	<li>The news <strong>was</strong> really interesting last&nbsp;night.</li>
	<li>No news <strong>is</strong> good&nbsp;news.</li>
</ul>

<h1>2. Customs</h1>

<p>The non‑count noun <em>customs</em> is defined as &quot;the agency that collects duties or tolls on imports or exports.&quot; (Going through customs at the airport is a common example.) <em>Customs</em> always takes a <strong>singular</strong> verb in this case. Note that this word is not to be confused with the count noun <em>custom</em>, which is defined as &quot;a tradition or common practice.&quot; (Taking off your shoes when you enter someone&rsquo;s house is a good example of a Canadian custom.) In this case, <em>custom</em> takes a <strong>singular</strong> verb, while <em>customs</em> takes a <strong>plural</strong>&nbsp;verb.</p>

<table>
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Meaning</th>
			<th>Example</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>#1 (Non‑Count Noun)</th>
			<td>Customs <strong>is</strong> intimidating. I always get nervous when I have to talk to the customs agent at the&nbsp;airport.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>#2 (Count Noun)</th>
			<td>Japanese customs <strong>fascinate</strong> me. For example, the Japanese tea ceremony custom <strong>is</strong> intricate and&nbsp;beautiful.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h1>3. School Subjects</h1>

<p>School subjects are also non-count nouns since they represent a collective field of study. They take a singular verb. Some subjects don&rsquo;t end in ‑s (and therefore aren&rsquo;t confusing), such as <em>psychology</em>, <em>chemistry</em>, or <em>English</em>. But some end in ‑s even though they take a <strong>singular</strong> verb, such as <em>physics</em>, <em>mathematics</em>,&nbsp;etc.</p>

<ul>
	<li>Physics <strong>is</strong> difficult for me. I&rsquo;m failing that&nbsp;class.</li>
	<li>Statistics <strong>was</strong> a fun course. I enjoyed learning how to analyze survey&nbsp;results.</li>
</ul>

<p>Can you think of any more examples of nouns like these? If so, please share them with us in the comments section&nbsp;below.</p>


Subject–Verb Agreement: Non-Count Nouns That End in -s

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<blockquote>
<p>Intonation as well as structure plays an important role in Tag&nbsp;Questions.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Do your students realize there&rsquo;s more to Tag Questions than just knowing how to form them correctly? There is a slight difference in meaning when we use rising vs. falling intonation. A lot of textbooks don&rsquo;t cover this point, but I think it&rsquo;s important to teach our students how native speakers actually speak English, especially in informal situations that often call for Tag Questions. After discussing the purpose and intonation, there is also a mini-lesson that you can use to teach your students the structure of Tag&nbsp;Questions.</p>

<h1>Purpose</h1>

<p>Tag Questions are used when we are pretty certain that someone will agree with us. We use these questions for <strong>confirmation</strong> or&nbsp;<strong>emphasis</strong>.</p>

<p>For&nbsp;example:</p>

<ul>
	<li>That was a great movie, <strong>wasn&rsquo;t it?</strong> (I really liked the movie. I can&rsquo;t read my friend&rsquo;s mind, but I&rsquo;m pretty sure my friend will agree with&nbsp;me.)</li>
	<li>The test will be difficult, <strong>won&rsquo;t it?</strong> (My friend and I are in a tough class, and all the tests so far have been difficult. I&rsquo;m quite sure my friend will agree with&nbsp;me.)</li>
</ul>

<h1>Intonation</h1>

<h2>1. Rising Intonation</h2>

<p><strong>voice goes up at the end of the&nbsp;question</strong></p>

<p>This is the more familiar of the two Tag Question intonation styles, at least in Western Canada. We use it to indicate that we&rsquo;re <strong>pretty sure</strong> that someone will agree with us. I like to tell my students that I&rsquo;m about <strong>90% sure</strong> in this&nbsp;case.</p>

<p>For&nbsp;example:</p>

<ul>
	<li>That was a great movie, <strong>wasn&rsquo;t it?</strong> (= voice goes up) In this example, I really liked the movie, and I&rsquo;m 90% sure my friend will agree with me. Maybe my friend usually prefers action movies, but even though this was a romantic comedy, it was a great story so my friend probably liked&nbsp;it.</li>
</ul>

<h2>2. Falling Intonation</h2>

<p><strong>voice goes down at the end of the&nbsp;question</strong></p>

<p>We use it to indicate that we&rsquo;re <strong>very sure</strong> that someone will agree with us. I like to tell my students that I&rsquo;m about <strong>95% sure</strong> in this&nbsp;case.</p>

<p>For&nbsp;example:</p>

<ul>
	<li>That was a great movie, <strong>wasn&rsquo;t it?</strong> (= voice goes down) In this example, the movie was an action movie, which is my friend&rsquo;s favorite type of movie. I loved the movie because it had a great plotline and lots of action, and I&rsquo;m very sure my friend liked&nbsp;it.</li>
</ul>

<p>Make sure you have your students repeat the questions after you to practise their intonation. When you practise Tag Questions in class (such as from the Structure lesson below), have them try both types of&nbsp;intonation.</p>

<h1>Structure</h1>

<p>Here&rsquo;s how I usually present the formation of Tag Questions to my&nbsp;students:</p>

<h2>1. Positive Vs. Negative Verbs</h2>

<p>Tell your students that the Tag is always the <strong>opposite</strong> of the Main Verb. If the Main Verb is positive, the Tag will be negative. If the Main Verb is negative, the Tag will be&nbsp;positive.</p>

<ul>
	<li>He is funny, isn&rsquo;t he?</li>
	<li>She didn&rsquo;t finish her homework, did&nbsp;she?</li>
</ul>

<h2>2. Verbs without Auxiliaries</h2>

<p>Simple present verbs and simple past verbs form their Tags with <em>do</em> or <em>did</em> (in the same way that they use <em>do</em>, <em>don&rsquo;t</em>, <em>did</em>, or <em>didn&rsquo;t</em> for questions or negative&nbsp;sentences).</p>

<ul>
	<li>They speak English fluently, don&rsquo;t&nbsp;they?</li>
	<li>They don&rsquo;t speak French fluently, do&nbsp;they?</li>
	<li>We ran for hours in gym class, didn&rsquo;t&nbsp;we?</li>
	<li>We didn&rsquo;t run for very long in gym class, did&nbsp;we?</li>
</ul>

<p>*An exception is the verb <em>To Be</em>. This verb takes the opposite positive or negative form of the Main Verb, and the form depends on the&nbsp;subject.</p>

<ul>
	<li>She is tired, isn&rsquo;t she?</li>
	<li>You&rsquo;re not finished, are you?</li>
	<li>He was on time, wasn&rsquo;t he?</li>
	<li>They weren&rsquo;t happy about the rain, were they?</li>
</ul>

<h2>3. Verbs with Auxiliaries</h2>

<p>It&rsquo;s easy to form Tag Questions when the Main Verb has an Auxiliary Verb (or &ldquo;helping verb&rdquo;). Just use the opposite positive or negative form of the Auxiliary&nbsp;Verb.</p>

<ul>
	<li>We won&rsquo;t have time to finish, will&nbsp;we?</li>
	<li>He will call me tonight, won&rsquo;t&nbsp;he?</li>
	<li>You haven&rsquo;t seen this movie, have&nbsp;you?</li>
	<li>She has been studying English for five years, hasn&rsquo;t&nbsp;she?</li>
</ul>

<h2>4. Verbs with Modals</h2>

<p>It&rsquo;s also easy to form Tag Questions when the Main Verb has a Modal in front of it. Just use the opposite positive or negative form of the&nbsp;Modal.</p>

<ul>
	<li>You can swim, can&rsquo;t&nbsp;you?</li>
	<li>She couldn&rsquo;t go to the party, could&nbsp;she?</li>
	<li>He should study, shouldn&rsquo;t&nbsp;he?</li>
	<li>They shouldn&rsquo;t drive after drinking, should&nbsp;they?</li>
</ul>

<p>Be careful! <em>Might</em> and <em>may</em> are not used in Tag Questions, and <em>must</em> is also awkward. Tell your students to avoid using these Modals in Tag&nbsp;Questions.</p>

<p>For Modal expressions like <em>have to</em> or <em>be able to</em>, the normal rules of simple present verbs and the <em>Be</em> verb&nbsp;apply.</p>

<ul>
	<li>You have to study tonight, don&rsquo;t&nbsp;you?</li>
	<li>You don&rsquo;t have to study tonight, do&nbsp;you?</li>
	<li>She is able to sing, isn&rsquo;t&nbsp;she?</li>
	<li>She isn&rsquo;t able to sing, is&nbsp;she?</li>
</ul>

<h2>5. Other Types of Tags</h2>

<p>Remind your students that it&rsquo;s also common to use words or phrases in place of Tag Questions, but the meaning is the same (used for <strong>confirmation </strong>or <strong>emphasis</strong>). Some common expressions are <em>right</em>, <em>don&rsquo;t you think</em>, and the famous Canadian <em>eh</em>. Note that intonation is usually always <strong>rising</strong> in these&nbsp;cases.</p>

<ul>
	<li>That was a great movie,&nbsp;right?</li>
	<li>That was a great movie, don&rsquo;t you&nbsp;think?</li>
	<li>That was a great movie,&nbsp;eh?</li>
</ul>

<p>For more practice on Tag Questions, try <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/79/lessons/1805">Episode 2 from our Detective Series 1 section</a>.</p>

<p>What about in your city or country? Are there slight differences in meaning related to differences in intonation, like in Western Canada? I&rsquo;d love to hear what happens in other parts of the world. Feel free to leave a comment below and share with&nbsp;us!</p>

<p>The Tag Questions lesson is finished! That wasn&rsquo;t so hard, was&nbsp;it?</p>

<p>Tanya</p>


Tag Questions Are Fun to Teach, Aren't They?

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<blockquote>
<p>You may want to lie down to read&nbsp;this&hellip;</p>
</blockquote>

<p>All languages have their confusing words&hellip;words that sound the same, look the same, or have the same meaning. Especially confusing are words that have similar forms (for example, in different verb tenses) but are not used in exactly the same way (the present and past tense of &ldquo;read,&rdquo; with two different pronunciations, comes to mind). In my opinion, the irregular verbs &ldquo;<strong>lay</strong>&rdquo; and &ldquo;<strong>lie</strong>&rdquo; rank at the top of the list in terms of confusing forms and&nbsp;usage.</p>

<p>These words are a particular pet peeve of mine&hellip;because I can <em>never</em> keep them straight! I have probably looked these two words up more often while teaching and editing than any other words in the English language. I hope that by writing out the rules here that we will sort them out, together, once and for&nbsp;all!</p>

<h1>Usage</h1>

<p><strong>The quick trick is to notice if there is a <em>direct object</em> in the sentence.</strong> If there is, then use the appropriate form of <strong>lay</strong>: <em>to place in a horizontal&nbsp;position</em>.</p>

<ul>
	<li>She <strong>laid</strong> <em>her baby</em> in the crib at night.</li>
</ul>

<p>If there isn&rsquo;t a direct object then use the appropriate form of <strong>lie:</strong> <em>to recline or assume a horizontal&nbsp;position</em>.</p>

<ul>
	<li>I&rsquo;m <strong>lying</strong> down because I have a&nbsp;headache.</li>
</ul>

<h1>Common Error</h1>

<p>If you find that you can&rsquo;t keep these words straight when conjugating them, you&rsquo;re not alone! The thing that is most confusing about these two verbs is that the present tense of <strong>lay</strong> is the past tense of&nbsp;<strong>lie</strong>!</p>

<p>We can hardly blame Lance Armstrong for mixing these two up in his recent tweet: &ldquo;<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/11/sport/lance-armstrong-twitter-tour-cycling/index.html?hpt=hp_t1" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Back in Austin and just layin&rsquo; around&hellip;</a>&rdquo; which caused a stir among language lovers. He wrote &ldquo;<strong>laying</strong>&rdquo; when he should have written &ldquo;<strong>lying</strong>&rdquo; (<strong>no direct object)</strong>. This caused some controversy, not only because of the grammar, but also because he tweeted a photo of himself surrounded by his Tour de France jerseys even though his victories have been annulled. (Just imagine the responses if he had used the correct word (&ldquo;lying&rdquo;) in that tweet. Check out ESL&nbsp;Library&rsquo;s NEW Discussion Starters lesson on&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/courses/72/lessons/1261">Steroids</a>.)</p>

<p>Now let&rsquo;s look at these verbs in more detail by examining their different meanings and&nbsp;forms.</p>

<h1>Meanings</h1>

<p>I won&rsquo;t bore you with the more than fourteen meanings of &ldquo;<strong>lay</strong>&rdquo; and the more than eight meanings of &ldquo;<strong>lie</strong>&rdquo; (according to <em>Merriam‑Webster&rsquo;s Collegiate Dictionary</em>). Let&rsquo;s just stick to the meanings which are similar, and thus the source of all the&nbsp;confusion.</p>

<h2>Lay</h2>

<p>a) to put or set&nbsp;down</p>

<ul>
	<li>He <strong>laid</strong><em> his books </em>on his desk after&nbsp;school.</li>
</ul>

<p>b) to place for rest or&nbsp;sleep</p>

<ul>
	<li>She <strong>laid</strong><em> her baby</em> in the&nbsp;crib.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Lie</h2>

<p>a) to be or to stay at rest in a horizontal&nbsp;position</p>

<ul>
	<li>I <strong>was lying</strong> in bed for hours last night before I finally fell&nbsp;asleep.</li>
</ul>

<p>b) to assume a horizontal position, often used with&nbsp;<em>down</em></p>

<ul>
	<li>He <strong>will</strong> <strong>lie</strong> down for a quick&nbsp;nap.</li>
</ul>

<p>Bill Bryson, in <em>Bryson&rsquo;s Dictionary for Writers and Editors</em>, notes that it&rsquo;s a common mistake for people to say, &ldquo;Go upstairs and <strong>lay</strong> down.&rdquo; It should be &ldquo;<strong>lie</strong> down&rdquo; because there is <strong>no direct object</strong>. <em>The</em> <em>Chicago Manual of Style</em> mentions that the children&rsquo;s prayer &ldquo;Now I <strong>lay</strong> <em>me</em> down to sleep&rdquo; is a good mnemonic device because it shows the use of a <strong>direct object</strong> after&nbsp;&ldquo;<strong>lay</strong>.&rdquo;</p>

<h1>Verb Forms</h1>

<h4>LAY &ndash; LAID &ndash; LAID vs. LIE &ndash; LAY &ndash; LAIN</h4>

<p>We can see that the form &ldquo;<strong>lay</strong>&rdquo; is used both as the <strong>present of <em>lay</em></strong> and the <strong>past of <em>lie</em></strong>. Memorization and repetition will definitely help you keep them straight. Also, the <em>Copyeditor&rsquo;s Handbook</em> has a great sentence for keeping the past tense forms in mind, which you might want to pass along to your students: &ldquo;He <strong>laid</strong> the book on the table before he <strong>lay</strong>&nbsp;down.&rdquo;</p>

<p>Now, let&rsquo;s examine these verb forms in more&nbsp;detail:</p>

<h2>LAY &ndash; LAID &ndash; LAID</h2>

<p>a) Present: <strong>Lay</strong></p>

<ul>
	<li>He <strong>lays</strong> <em>his keys </em>in the container by the door when he gets home every&nbsp;day.</li>
</ul>

<p>b) Present Participle: <strong>Laying</strong></p>

<ul>
	<li>She can&rsquo;t come to the phone right now because she <strong>is laying</strong> <em>her baby</em> in the&nbsp;crib.</li>
</ul>

<p>c) Past: <strong>Laid</strong></p>

<ul>
	<li>I <strong>laid</strong> <em>my passport</em> on the counter at the&nbsp;airport.</li>
</ul>

<p>d) Past Participle: <strong>Laid</strong></p>

<ul>
	<li>The vet <strong>has laid</strong> <em>the dog</em> on the examination&nbsp;table.</li>
</ul>

<h2>LIE &ndash; LAY &ndash; LAIN</h2>

<p>a) Present: <strong>Lie</strong></p>

<ul>
	<li>He <strong>lies</strong> down for an hour every day after&nbsp;work.</li>
</ul>

<p>b) Present Participle: <strong>Lying</strong></p>

<ul>
	<li>She <strong>is lying</strong> back in her favorite&nbsp;chair.</li>
</ul>

<p>c) Past: <strong>Lay</strong></p>

<ul>
	<li>After watching two movies, the kids finally <strong>lay</strong> down to go to sleep last&nbsp;night.</li>
</ul>

<p>d) Past Participle: <strong>Lain</strong></p>

<ul>
	<li>You <strong>have lain</strong> in bed for hours! Get&nbsp;up!</li>
</ul>

<div class="whiteBox">
<h5>Note</h5>

<p><strong>Lie &ndash; To Make An Untrue Statement</strong></p>

<p>Another common use of the verb &ldquo;<strong>lie</strong>&rdquo; is as an intransitive verb with the meaning &ldquo;to make an untrue statement.&rdquo; This &ldquo;<strong>lie</strong>&rdquo; also does <strong>not take a direct object,</strong> and the verb forms are <strong>lie &ndash; lied &ndash; lied</strong> because it is a regular verb. (E.g., She <strong>lied</strong> about staying home last night. Her friend told me she was at a party.) Because of the different forms and meaning, I hope this won&rsquo;t confuse your students too much. It&rsquo;s up to you whether you want to mention it within a &ldquo;<strong>lay/lie</strong>&rdquo; lesson, or save it for another day. Interestingly, Lance Armstrong&rsquo;s grammatically incorrect tweet may be a useful way to remember all of these&nbsp;rules!</p>
</div>

<p>Do you need to <strong>lie</strong> down after all that&nbsp;info?&nbsp;;)</p>

<p>Tanya</p>

<h1>Sources</h1>

<ul>
	<li>Bryson, Bill. <em>Bryson&rsquo;s Dictionary for Writers and Editors</em>, 2008, p.&nbsp;200&ndash;201.</li>
	<li><em>The Chicago Manual of Style</em>, 16th edition, 2010, p.&nbsp;287. Einsohn,&nbsp;Amy.</li>
	<li><em>The Copyeditor&rsquo;s Handbook</em>, 2011, p.&nbsp;347.</li>
	<li><em>Merriam-Webster&rsquo;s Collegiate Dictionary</em>, 11th edition,&nbsp;2008.</li>
</ul>


Lay Vs. Lie: Let's Lay This Matter to Rest!

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<h1>So many ways to say the same thing&hellip;so confusing for students!</h1>

<p>English, like all other languages, has many different ways to express one thing. For example, we can say &ldquo;too,&rdquo; &ldquo;as well,&rdquo; and &ldquo;also,&rdquo; and the meaning is virtually indistinguishable.</p>

<p>The same is true for these commonly confused words: <em><strong>despite, in spite of, despite the fact that, in spite of the fact that, although, though,</strong></em> and <em><strong>even though</strong></em>. These expressions are all used for the same case: to describe a situation where something is <strong>unexpected</strong>.</p>

<p>So how do we explain the different sentence structures and punctuation for these expressions? Over the years, I&rsquo;ve developed an easy, clear way to present and teach these expressions to my students. I hope it works for you,&nbsp;too!</p>

<h1>1. Unexpected situations</h1>

<p>First, explain to your students that we use all of these terms to describe a situation that is <strong>unexpected</strong>. For example, if it is raining, we expect that most people would use an umbrella. If someone chooses <strong>not</strong> to use an umbrella, this would be an <strong>unexpected</strong> case. Write this sentence on the&nbsp;board:</p>

<ul>
	<li>It is raining. I didn&rsquo;t use my&nbsp;umbrella.</li>
</ul>

<h1>2. Despite / In spite of +&nbsp;N</h1>

<p>Next, explain to your students that <em>despite</em> and <em>in spite of </em>must be followed by a <strong>noun</strong> or <strong>gerund</strong>. You can also point out that <em>despite</em> and<em> in spite of</em> have the same meaning, but <em>despite</em> is more commonly used than <em>in spite of</em>. The latter is a little more&nbsp;formal.</p>

<h2>a) Despite / In spite of + N, +&nbsp;SVO.</h2>

<p>Write sentence pattern (a) and the following examples on the board, pointing out that we use a <strong>comma</strong> when we start the sentence with <em>despite</em> or <em>in spite of</em> (the adverb&nbsp;phrase).</p>

<ul class="spaced-list">
	<li>Despite the rain, I didn&rsquo;t use my&nbsp;umbrella.</li>
	<li>In spite of the rain, I didn&rsquo;t use my&nbsp;umbrella.</li>
</ul>

<h2>b) SVO + despite / in spite of +&nbsp;N.</h2>

<p>Write sentence pattern (b) and the following examples on the board. Make sure to tell your students that we can also start the sentence with the main clause, with no changes in meaning. In this case, we <strong>don&rsquo;t</strong> need a&nbsp;comma.</p>

<ul class="spaced-list">
	<li>I didn&rsquo;t use my umbrella despite the&nbsp;rain.</li>
	<li>I didn&rsquo;t use my umbrella in spite of the&nbsp;rain.</li>
</ul>

<p>For examples using gerunds, write the&nbsp;following:</p>

<ul class="spaced-list">
	<li>Despite studying all night, she didn&rsquo;t pass her&nbsp;exam.</li>
	<li>She didn&rsquo;t pass her exam despite studying all&nbsp;night.</li>
	<li>In spite of studying all night, she didn&rsquo;t pass her&nbsp;exam.</li>
	<li>She didn&rsquo;t pass her exam in spite of studying all&nbsp;night.</li>
</ul>

<h1>3. Despite the fact that / In spite of the fact that +&nbsp;SVO</h1>

<p>Explain to your students that we have a way, in English, to use <em>despite</em> and <em>in spite of</em> with a <strong>Subject-Verb-Object</strong> clause. We can add the phrase <em>the fact that</em>. Make sure you point out to your students that this way is not commonly used as it is very formal. They should be aware of it, but they probably won&rsquo;t use it much. (Note that when I say &quot;SVO,&quot;&nbsp;I&#39;m simply referring to a main clause...some verbs do not take a direct object, as with &quot;it was raining.&quot;)&nbsp;You can write sentence patterns (c) and (d), and the examples, on the&nbsp;board:</p>

<h2>c) Despite the fact that / In spite of the fact that + SVO, +&nbsp;SVO.</h2>

<p>Ensure your students notice the use of a <strong>comma</strong> when we start the sentence with the adverb&nbsp;clause.</p>

<ul class="spaced-list">
	<li>Despite the fact that it was raining, I didn&rsquo;t use my&nbsp;umbrella.</li>
	<li>In spite of the fact that it was raining, I didn&rsquo;t use my&nbsp;umbrella.</li>
</ul>

<h2>d) SVO + despite the fact that / in spite of the fact that +&nbsp;SVO.</h2>

<p>Point out that there is <strong>no</strong> comma used when we start the sentence with the main&nbsp;clause.</p>

<ul class="spaced-list">
	<li>I didn&rsquo;t use my umbrella despite the fact that it was&nbsp;raining.</li>
	<li>I didn&rsquo;t use my umbrella in spite of the fact that it was&nbsp;raining.</li>
</ul>

<h1>4. Although / Though / Even though +&nbsp;SVO</h1>

<p>Tell your students that all three of these expressions are common, and they essentially have the same meaning. One could argue that there is slightly more emphasis on the unexpected with <em>even though</em>, but I don&rsquo;t see it as an important distinction, and students already have enough to remember as it is. The choice of which expression to use is theirs, but I often tell students that I tend to use <em>although</em> more than the other two, and I&rsquo;ve noticed that it appears on the TOEIC test more often as well. Here are some examples to write on the board, along with patterns (e)&nbsp;and&nbsp;(f):</p>

<h2>e) Although / Though / Even though + SVO, + SVO.</h2>

<p>Reiterate that we need a <strong>comma</strong> when we start the sentence with an adverb&nbsp;clause.</p>

<ul class="spaced-list">
	<li>Although it was raining, I didn&rsquo;t use my&nbsp;umbrella.</li>
	<li>Though it was raining, I didn&rsquo;t use my&nbsp;umbrella.</li>
	<li>Even though it was raining, I didn&rsquo;t use my&nbsp;umbrella.</li>
</ul>

<h2>f) SVO + although / though / even though +&nbsp;SVO.</h2>

<p>Again, make sure your students notice the <strong>lack</strong> of comma when starting the sentence with the mainvclause.</p>

<ul class="spaced-list">
	<li>I didn&rsquo;t use my umbrella although it was&nbsp;raining.</li>
	<li>I didn&rsquo;t use my umbrella though it was&nbsp;raining.</li>
	<li>I didn&rsquo;t use my umbrella even though it was&nbsp;raining.</li>
</ul>

<p>Although these structures can be tricky, I hope your students will master them in no time once they see all of these&nbsp;examples! Tanya</p>

<h1>PS.</h1>

<p>Your students can practice using &quot;despite&quot;&nbsp;in our&nbsp;NEW <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/72/lessons/1263" target="_blank">Climate Change lesson plan</a>. A full lesson plan&nbsp;on <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1608" target="_blank">Complete Sentences</a> and <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1619" target="_blank">Adverb Clauses of Contrast</a> is available in our Grammar Practice&nbsp;section.</p>


How to Explain Despite Vs. Although

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<h1>Is it &ldquo;the president&rdquo; or &ldquo;the&nbsp;President&rdquo;?</h1>

<p>With the US elections coming up, the word &ldquo;president&rdquo; is on everyone&rsquo;s minds, and it is a topic that will be covered in many classrooms. But is it <em>president</em> or <em>President</em>? What about when we say <em>a president</em>, <em>the president</em>, or <em>President Obama</em>? Textbooks don&rsquo;t seem to cover these differences. Luckily, the style guides do! There are a few easy rules that apply to many such civil&nbsp;titles.</p>

<h1>Rule #1</h1>

<p>Use a capital when the title directly precedes the&nbsp;name.</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>President Barack Obama</strong></li>
	<li><strong>Vice President Joe&nbsp;Biden</strong></li>
</ul>

<p>Note: The title &ldquo;vice president&rdquo; doesn&rsquo;t include a hyphen, according to <em>Merriam-Webster&rsquo;s Collegiate Dictionary</em> and <em>The Chicago Manual of&nbsp;Style</em>.</p>

<h1>Rule #2</h1>

<p>Don&rsquo;t use a capital when the title doesn&rsquo;t include a person&rsquo;s&nbsp;name.</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>The president</strong> of the United&nbsp;States</li>
	<li><strong>The vice president</strong> of the&nbsp;US</li>
</ul>

<p>Note: Exceptions occur when a political office chooses to capitalize a title in all positions, most likely for emphasis in promotional&nbsp;products.</p>

<h1>Confusion?</h1>

<p>Now, here&rsquo;s where I get confused. It&rsquo;s clear to me that <em><strong>a president</strong></em> shouldn&rsquo;t be capitalized, because &ldquo;a&rdquo; doesn&rsquo;t refer to one specific person, but when I write <em><strong>the president</strong></em>, I instinctively want to capitalize it. After all, with &ldquo;the,&rdquo; we&rsquo;re clearly referring to just one person! So, if you&rsquo;re like me, you&rsquo;ll have to resist the urge to capitalize after &ldquo;the,&rdquo;&nbsp;too.</p>

<h2>Some more examples</h2>

<ul>
	<li>Abraham Lincoln was <strong>a</strong> great&nbsp;<strong>president</strong>.</li>
	<li>Lincoln was <strong>the</strong> <strong>president</strong> from 1861 to&nbsp;1865.</li>
	<li><strong>President</strong> <strong>Lincoln</strong> is remembered for his work to end&nbsp;slavery.</li>
</ul>

<h1>Other Titles</h1>

<p>Don&rsquo;t forget that these rules apply to most other civil titles, too, no matter what political system your country&nbsp;has.</p>

<h2>Examples</h2>

<ul>
	<li>The prime minister of&nbsp;Canada</li>
	<li>Prime Minister Stephen&nbsp;Harper</li>
	<li>The mayor of&nbsp;Vancouver</li>
	<li>Mayor Gregor Robertson</li>
</ul>

<p>For more examples of <em>president/President</em>,&nbsp;check out ESL&nbsp;Library&rsquo;s <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/80/lessons/1969">beginner</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/80/lessons/1967">low-intermediate</a>, and <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/80/lessons/1547">high-intermediate &ndash; advanced</a> lessons on Barack Obama. These lessons are also a great way to teach some of the vocabulary your students will need to be able to discuss the elections in class. ESL&nbsp;Library also has a section on <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/84/lessons">American Presidents</a> for you to try, including a NEW lesson plan on <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/84/lessons/1546">George&nbsp;W.&nbsp;Bush</a>.</p>

<p><em>Source: The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition, section&nbsp;8.21.</em></p>


When Do We Capitalize "President"?

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<h3>English can be scary!</h3>

<p>Hyphens, apostrophes, differences between noun and verb forms&mdash;English vocabulary can be confusing for both L1 speakers and English learners!</p>

<p>At this time of the year, Halloween vocab will probably be a part of your classes, so I&rsquo;ve made a list of some confusing Halloween words to go over with your students. If you need ideas on how to present or review new vocab, check out my <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/4-ways-to-teach-new-vocabulary">4 Ways to Teach New Vocab</a> and&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/4-activities-for-reviewing-vocabulary">4 Vocab Review Activities</a> blog posts.</p>

<p>The idea for this blog post came when I was editing our <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/holidays-events/halloween">Halloween lessons</a><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/holidays-events/halloween"> </a>last week. &ldquo;Jack O&rsquo; Lantern&rdquo; was spelled using capital letters in the lessons, and I figured I&rsquo;d better check to make sure that was standard. Much to my surprise, not only did &ldquo;jack-o&rsquo;-lantern&rdquo; not use capital letters, but it also uses hyphens, according to both <em>Merriam-Webster</em>&nbsp;and the <em>Oxford Canadian</em> dictionaries.</p>

<p>Tricky, right? Now, you might be thinking, &ldquo;Who cares about hyphens?&rdquo; It&rsquo;s true that mistakes like these aren&rsquo;t the end of the world, since the meaning would still be clear in most cases, but why not teach your students the correct forms from the get-go? After all, it could be a little embarrassing if your students checked their dictionaries and pointed out your misspellings&mdash;best to be prepared!</p>

<p>Here are some of the trickier words I&rsquo;ve come across, spelled and punctuated according to <em>Merriam-Webster&nbsp;Collegiate Dictionary</em> (11th edition) and the<em> Oxford Canadian Dictionary of Current English</em>:</p>

<h3>jack-o&rsquo;-lantern</h3>

<p>This word shouldn&rsquo;t use caps and should use hyphens. If you think that using an apostrophe followed by a hyphen looks very strange, you&rsquo;re not alone! It does looks strange&mdash;spooky, even!</p>

<h3>trick or treat (noun) / trick-or-treat (verb)</h3>

<p>According to <em>Merriam-Webster</em>, the noun form doesn&rsquo;t use hyphens, as in the following example:</p>

<ul>
	<li>&ldquo;Trick or treat!&rdquo; yelled the children at the door.</li>
</ul>

<p>The verb form uses hyphens, as in the following example:</p>

<ul>
	<li>The children trick-or-treated for three hours last night.</li>
</ul>

<h3>haunt</h3>

<p>No spelling change for this word, but you might want to point out that the noun and the verb have different meanings. The noun means a place where one likes to hang out/spend time, as the following example demonstrates:</p>

<ul>
	<li>The cafe on 2nd Street is one of my favourite haunts.</li>
</ul>

<p>The verb refers to a ghost or spirit that stays in a certain place, as in the following example:</p>

<ul>
	<li>The ghost of the murdered man haunts that old mansion up the street.</li>
</ul>

<p>The adjective form is &ldquo;haunted,&rdquo; and it has the same meaning as the verb.</p>

<ul>
	<li>That haunted house scares me. Sometimes lights come on even though no one lives there.</li>
</ul>

<h3>candies/candy &amp;&nbsp;zombies/zombie</h3>

<p>The plural form of &ldquo;candies&rdquo; is spelled with a &ldquo;y&rdquo; in the singular form. This is very common in English, so your students might not understand why we can&rsquo;t say &ldquo;one zomby.&rdquo; Point out that the singular &ldquo;-ie&rdquo; ending in &quot;zombie&quot; is an exception.</p>

<h3>witch / which</h3>

<p>Students are used to seeing the word &ldquo;which&rdquo; in sentences such as &ldquo;Which one would you like?&rdquo; and &ldquo;That building, which is really old, is a landmark.&rdquo; Point out that the Halloween term for a sorceress is spelled &ldquo;witch.&rdquo; You can demonstrate the difference in the following example:</p>

<ul>
	<li>I&rsquo;m going as a witch for Halloween this year. Which costume did you choose?</li>
</ul>

<h3>costume / custom</h3>

<p>I&rsquo;ve seen many students get these two words confused. Explain that the spelling, meaning, and pronunciation are all different for these two words. &ldquo;Costume&rdquo; is an outfit that people wear on Halloween to disguise themselves, as in the following example:</p>

<ul>
	<li>If I can&#39;t find&nbsp;a&nbsp;costume before the Halloween party on Saturday, I&#39;ll cut two eye holes&nbsp;in a white sheet and go as a ghost.</li>
</ul>

<p>&ldquo;Custom&rdquo; is a tradition or habitual action that people do, as in the following example:</p>

<ul>
	<li>Removing your shoes before entering someone&rsquo;s house is a well-known Japanese custom.</li>
</ul>

<p>For more practice with Halloween words, and to access some ready-made Halloween lessons, check out <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/holidays-events/halloween">ESL Library&rsquo;s Halloween Collection</a>.</p>