I Was Born

Don’t say: 
I born in Brazil.
My son borned in January.
Her baby borned last summer.
When your baby borned?.

Say this:
I was born in Brazil.
My son was born in January.
Her baby was born last summer.
When was your baby born?.

Remember:

  • When talking about the birth of a new baby, always use was born (for a birth in the past).
  • Future: Her baby will be born in February.
  • Question: Where was your baby born?
  • Infinitive:  I want my baby to be born in Boston.

 

 

Don’t Say (or Write) “Differents”

Don’t say: 
– There are many differents flavors.
– I went to the market and bought some differents things.
– I like to meet people from differents countries.

Say this:
– There are many different flavors.
– I went to the market and bought some different things.
– I like to meet people from different countries.

Remember:

  • Different is an adjective, which describes a noun.  “Three”, “blue”, “happy”, and “strong” are all adjectives.
  • Adjectives are always singular, even when the noun they modify is plural.
  • You would not say: “I saw two blues cars.”  or “There are many strongs women.”
  • Say: I saw two blue cars.  There are many strong women.
    I have a different idea.  I have two different ideas.
  • There is an English word that sounds very similar to differents – It’s “difference“,  which is a noun that describes what is different between one person/thing and another.

Questions with Do and Does (Present Tense)

Don’t say: 
Where you work?
What she likes to eat?
How much it costs?
Why they come late every day?
What this means?

Say this:
Where do you work?
What does she like to eat?
How much does it cost?
Why do they come late every day?
What does this mean?

Remember – for Present Tense Questions:

  • Include do or does as an auxiliary verb with most main verbs
    • Use do with I, you, we, they
    • Use does with he, she, it
  • The main exceptions include:
    • Verb to be (Is he happy? not: Does he happy? not: Does he is happy?)
    • Modals like can/could/should (Can you drive a truck?  not: Do you can drive a truck?)
  • When you use do/does as auxiliary verb in a question, the main verb is always in its base form
    • like“, not “likes”  (base verb is to like)
    • cost“, not “costs” (base verb is to cost)
  • Look here to review the correct order of words in a question

Remind vs. Remember

Don’t Say
Remember me to make a doctor’s appointment tomorrow.
– That song remembers me of our trip to Cape Cod.
– I reminded that I have to work on Tuesday.
– I reminded to pick up milk at the store.

Say This:
Remind me to make a doctor’s appointment tomorrow.
– That song reminds me of our trip to Cape Cod.
– I remembered that I have to work on Tuesday.
– I remembered to pick up milk at the store.

Remember (Don’t forget):

  • Remember  
    • is the opposite of “forget”
    • Remember is something you think about from your own memory – it’s internal
    • Remember + something
      • I remembered your birthday.
      • I remember the first day we met.
    • Remember + to (She remembered to call her mother.)
    • Remember + that (I remembered that there is no school today.)
    • YouGlish examples of remember (also remembers and remembered)
  • Remind
    • Remind is to help someone remember something – it’s external
    • Remind + someone + to
      • Carla, please remind me to do my homework
      • I have to remind my father to take his medicine.
    • Remind + someone + of
      • That smell reminds me of springtime.
      • That dog reminded me of the dog I had when I was a boy.
    • YouGlish examples of remind (also reminds and reminded)

Below is more explanation especially for Portuguese speakers (one here for Spanish speakers, and one more for everyone)

Word Order in Questions

Which is correct – “I can have an apple?” or “Can I have an apple?”
The order (sequence) of words in an English sentence is often different from the word order of the same sentence in other languages.  The word order in a question is even a little more difficult.

This picture may help you.  It’s called the “Question Hand”.  To make a Yes/No question, start at the pointer finger.  The “X word” can be an auxiliary (helping) verb or the only verb in the question.
Examples: Did (x word) he (subject) eat (main verb) dinner with you?  Is she coming home?  Can I have an apple?  Are you okay?

To make other informational (open-ended) questions, start with the thumb.
Examples: Where (question word) do (x word) you (subject) live (main verb)?
What time did you get home?

Try to put the words in these questions in the correct order:

 

 

And here is some more explanation, plus many more practice exercises.

“She’s” Means “She Is” or “She Has”

Don’t Say
She’s can work tomorrow.  (She is can work tomorrow.)
He’s can’t eat fish. (He is can’t eat fish.)
She’s can’t come on Tuesday.
He’s can swim fast.

Say This:
She can work tomorrow.
He can’t eat fish.
She can’t come on Tuesday.
He can swim fast.

Remember:

  • She’s is a contraction of she+is, and sometimes, of she+has
    • She’s hungry. (She is hungry.)
    • She’s got to go home. (She has got to go home.)
  • He’s is a contraction of he+is, and sometimes, of he+has
  • Don’t use she’s or he’s in any other situations.
    • NO
      • She’s like to dance. (She likes to dance.)
      • He’s go to school every Friday. (He goes to school every Friday.)
    • YES
      • He’s very happy today. (He is very happy today.)
      • She’s sleeping now. (She is sleeping now.)

Very vs. Too

 

  • VERY = A lot, or extremely
    • It’s very cold outside.
    • That job is very difficult.
    • That restaurant is very expensive.
  • TOO = a lot, or extremely – but also with some problem or difficulty.  More than what is wanted or needed
    • It’s too cold to go outside.  (Colder than you can handle)
    • That job is too difficult. (You can’t do it.)
    • That restaurant is too expensive. (You can’t afford it.)

Here is another video with more detail:  Continue reading

It’s Complicated— The final /s/ sound in English

Many English words end in the sound /s/. This final /s/ plays several important and quite different grammatical functions—and confuses new English learners. Sometimes the final /s/ indicates a plural noun (like girls or cats).  In other cases it signals a possessive noun or pronoun (as in Anna’s or hers). The final /s/ is also used for third person singular simple present tense verbs (she runs, he runs, it runs).

Plural nouns

The girls have cats.

Possessive nouns and pronouns

The girl’s name is Anna. This is Anna’s cat. Whose cat is this? It’s hers.

Continue reading