3 Interjection Tips

Here are some tips with regard to interjections

1) Interjections are words that:

• express a feeling. Examples: wow, ouch, darn
• say yes or no. Examples: yes, no, yep, nope
• call attention: hey, yo
• indicate a pause: well, hmmm, ah

2) If the interjection expresses a really strong feeling, it ends with an exclamation point.
Example: Ouch! That hurts!

3) If however the feeling is not that strong, it is set apart from the rest of the sentence by a comma.
Example: Ouch, that hurts.

Attribution to Rebecca Elliot and her book Painless Grammar (c) 2006, 1997

Sentence tips for the IELTS are next.

4 Preposition Tips

Some tips with regard to prepositions.

1) A preposition is a word that shows how a noun or a pronoun relates to another part of a sentence.

2) Prepositions make a big difference to the meaning expressed in a sentence.
Examples:
Dino is walking toward the house.
Dino is walking away from the house.
Dino is walking inside the house.

3) If your sentence still sounds weird despite your attempts to avoid ending your sentence with a preposition, then you may end your sentence with one.
Examples:
A parish priest is someone to whom many people upwardly look. (SOUNDS WEIRD)
A parish priest is someone most people look up to. (SOUNDS BETTER)

4) Finally, in order to avoid having a wordy sentence, never use lots of prepositional phrases.

Attribution to Rebecca Elliot and her book Painless Grammar (c) 2006, 1997

Interjection pointers are next.

Conjunction - What's Your Function?

Here are some tips about Conjunctions.

1) A conjunction is a word that joins words or groups of words.

2) Some examples of conjunctions: and, but, yet, for, so, or, because.

3) As a general rule, avoid starting a sentence with a conjunction.
Exception: You may start a sentence with a conjunction to create effective emphasis and provided that you don't do it often.

Example: Alma guessed that Jon was the person who knocked at the door. And she was right!

4) Also, as a general rule, avoid using a comma every time you see a conjunction.
Exception: You could use a comma before a conjunction that introduces an independent clause.

Example: Paolo went to park, and Lougene went to the mall.

5) Finally, don't overuse the conjunctions "and" and "so" in a sentence or paragraph.

Attribution to Rebecca Elliot and her book Painless Grammar (c) 2006, 1997

Preposition tips are next.

8 Adverb and Adjective Pointers

1. Many adverbs are formed by adding "-ly" to the adjective.
Examples: slowly, mildly, quietly

2. Some words can either be adjectives or adverbs depending on the manner they are used.
Example: "high"

• The cat climbed up a high tree. ("high" used as an adjective)
• The bird flew high in the sky. ("high" used as an adverb)

3. Some adverbs have two (2) forms: one which has "-ly" added to it, and the other without the "-ly". The two 2 forms have different meanings.
Example: "late"

• He arrived late.
• Lately, he couldn't seem to be on time for anything.

4. Some adverbs don't even have a "-ly" form.
Examples: long, fast, early

5. Some adjectives have "-ly" added to it.
Examples: hourly, lovely, early

6. Adverbs are used with action verbs; adjectives are used with linking verbs.
Examples:

• He speaks clearly. ("speaks" is an action verb)
• Angel and Bea are hungry ("are" is a linking verb)

7. With regard to adjectives that compare:

a. Just add "-er" and "est" for some short adjectives
Example: big, bigger, biggest

b. Use "more" and "most" or "less" and "least" when it comes to some longer adjectives and adverbs.
Example:

• beautiful, more beautiful, most beautiful
• skillful, less skillful, least skillful

c. Note the irregular adverb and adjectives.
Examples:

• badly, worse, worst
• bad, worse, worst

d. Some adjectives are already superlative.
Examples: first, only, perfect

8. Where you place the adverb affects the meaning of the sentence.
Examples:

• We only rode the cab.
• We rode only the cab.

Attribution to Rebecca Elliot and her book Painless Grammar (c) 2006, 1997

Conjunction tips are next.

6 Verb Pointers

Here are some things to keep in mind when it comes to verbs.

Well, for a review, a verb is a word that shows action or a state of being.

• action: sing, dance, hop
• state of being: feel, seem, appear

Now that we're reminded of what a verb is, here are the tips:

1) Be consistent with tenses.

Examples:

• Paolo stood up and drops his sandwich. (WRONG: stood - past tense; drops - present tense)
• Paolo stood up and dropped his sandwich. (CORRECT: stood - past tense; dropped - past tense)

2) With regard to infinitives (a verb with the word "to" ahead of it), remember not to put lots of words between the "to" and the verb, otherwise you risk confusing your reader.

Examples:

• Genevieve wants to quickly and rapidly, without loss of precious and valuable time, finish the race. (CONFUSING)
• Genevieve wants to quickly and rapidly finish the race without loss of precious and valuable time. (BETTER)

3) Use the active voice most of the time. You could use the passive voice when:

- the doer of the action is not important or is not known

• Example: Classes are cancelled today! (Students don't usually bother to know who made the announcement.)

- you want to be polite

• Example: Your request was not granted. (Instead of saying, "We did not grant your request.")

- emphasis should be given on the thing being talked about

• Example: A check will be given to the winner of the Megalotto. (Instead of saying, "The winner will receive the check.")

- writing in an impersonal, scientific manner

• Example: The test samples were organized into three groups. (Instead of saying, "My classmate and I organized the test samples into three groups.)

4) Gerunds (verbs ending in "ing") are usually used with possessive nouns or pronouns.

• Example: Bea likes my eating spicy food. ("Bea likes me eating spicy food." is not correct).

5) Use the subjunctive mood in "what if" or "if only" sentences, or for suggestions, commands, urgency, and recommendations.

Examples:

• If Angel were to win the Lotto, what do you think she would buy?
• I humbly suggest that we take the second option immediately.

6) Be careful of irregular verbs. While some follow a pattern, others do not.

Examples of those that follow a pattern:

• blow - blew - blown
• grow - grew - grown

Examples of those that don't follow a pattern:

• drink - drank - drunk
• sink - sank - sunk
• BUT for "think"... it's not "think" - "thank" - "thunk"; it's rather think - thought - thought

There are many other similarly situated irregular verbs, That's why we have to be careful of these things in the IELTS.

Attribution to Rebecca Elliot and her book Painless Grammar (c) 2006, 1997

Adverb and Adjective Pointers are next.

7 Tips for Multiple Choice Questions in the IELTS Listening Module

Let me share with you some tips for handling multiple choice questions of the IELTS Listening Module. Here they are:

1. Read the questions and predict the types of information you need before starting the module.

2. Be alert for:

• synonyms for words and phrases in the options
• the same idea expressed during different parts of speech
• specific information, e.g., dates or numbers

3. Keep track of the time. You have a few seconds to read each section before you listen. You will however have ten (10) minutes at the end to put your answers on the answer sheet.

4. Each listening text will only be heard once; it is important that you look for key words and phrases before you actually start the exam.

5. The questions are in the same order as you hear the answers.

6. Don't spend too much time trying to think of an answer.

7. If you need to make a guess, base it on key words and phrases you have heard.

Hope the tips help.

Cheers. :)

Other IELTS listening tips:

• 7 Tips for Multiple Choice Questions in the IELTS Listening Module
• 7 Tips for Short-answer Questions in the IELTS Listening Module
• 5 Tips for Matching Type Questions in the IELTS Listening Module
• 5 Tips for Notes/Table Completion Questions in the IELTS Listening Module
• 6 Tips for Sentence/Summary Completion Questions in the IELTS Listening Module
• 4 Tips for Diagram/Flow Chart Questions in the IELTS Listening Module
• 3 Tips for Classification Questions in the IELTS Listening Module
• 2 Tips for Multiple Choice (Multiple Answer) Questions in the IELTS Listening Module

You... Yes, You. (Pronouns, Part 5 of 5)

There's one pronoun that one should look after especially for the writing module in the IELTS. It's the pronoun "You". Unlike in informal writing, where the pronoun "you" could refer to someone, anyone, or everyone, the writer, when using the pronoun "you" in formal writing, should really mean "you, the reader." Take note of this difference.

Example:

INFORMAL:
If you take the coastal road route, you'll arrive here soon.

FORMAL:
Motorists who take the coastal road route will arrive here soon.

There you have it. Some verb pointers are next.

Attribution to Rebecca Elliot and her book Painless Grammar (c) 2006, 1997

Other Pronoun tips:
Pronoun Basics (Pronouns, Part 1 of 5)
Weird Antecedents (Pronouns, Part 2 of 5)
The Confusing "Him" or "He" (Pronouns, Part 3 of 5)
Subjective or Objective Pronouns (Pronouns, Part 4 of 5)
You... Yes, You. (Pronouns, Part 5 of 5)

Subjective or Objective Pronouns (Pronouns, Part 4 of 5)

Here's another confusing aspect when it comes to pronouns - determining whether or not an objective pronoun or a subjective pronoun should be used in certain sentences.

Incidentally, whenever this lesson pops up, I'm reminded of the character Grimlock, one of the Dinobots in the Transformers series.



Anyway, let's get back on track. Here are some sentences:

• Marwil baked cookies for Alma and I.
• Her and I went to Tagaytay.
• He is faster than me.
• Us first year students are studying physics.
• In our barangay, the the most active residents are Veronica and me.
• The runner-up of the spelling bee contest is him.

As you may have noticed, each of the red-colored pronouns is not correct.

There are 2 tips to remember so you'd know whether to use a subjective pronoun or an objective pronoun:

First, either add more words to the sentence, or delete some words, until you can choose the better sounding pronoun.

Examples of situations where you add words:

• Marwil baked cookies for Alma and (for) I. [Hmmm, this sounds wrong.]
• Marwil baked cookies for Alma and (for) me. [Sounds better, what do you think?]

• Thus, the correct sentence should be: "Marwil baked cookies for Alma and me."

• Her (went) and I went to Tagaytay. [Sounds wrong.]
• She (went) and I went to Tagaytay. [Sounds better.]

• Thus the correct sentence should be: "She and I went to Tagaytay."

• He is faster than me (am fast). [Sounds wrong.]
• He is faster than (I am fast). [Sounds better.]

• Thus the correct sentence should be: "He is faster than I."

An example of a situation where you delete words.

• Us (first year students) are studying physics. [Sounds wrong.]
• We (first year students) are studying physics. [Sounds better.]

• Thus, the correct sentence should be "We first year students are studying physics."

Or second, you could turn the sentence around and figure out what sounds right.

• Me am the most active resident in our barangay. [Sounds wrong.]
• I am the most active resident in our barangay. [Sounds better]

• Thus, the correct sentence should be "In our barangay, the most active residents are Veronica and I."

• Him is the runner-up. [Sounds wrong.]
• He is the runner-up. [Sounds better.]

• Thus, the correct sentence should be "The runner-up of the spelling bee contest is he."

Attribution to Rebecca Elliot and her book Painless Grammar (c) 2006, 1997

Other Pronoun tips:
Pronoun Basics (Pronouns, Part 1 of 5)
Weird Antecedents (Pronouns, Part 2 of 5)
The Confusing "Him" or "He" (Pronouns, Part 3 of 5)
Subjective or Objective Pronouns (Pronouns, Part 4 of 5)
You... Yes, You. (Pronouns, Part 5 of 5)

The Confusing "Him" or "He" (Pronouns, Part 3 of 5)

Consider the following sentences:

• I miss you more than him.
• I miss you more than he.

What do you notice?

"I miss you more than him." is another way of saying "I miss you more than I miss him."

"I miss you more than he." is another way of saying "I miss you more than he misses you."

In other words, the two sentences are correct. Take note however, that they have two totally different meanings.

More related stuff in the next lesson.

Attribution to Rebecca Elliot and her book Painless Grammar (c) 2006, 1997

Other Pronoun tips:
Pronoun Basics (Pronouns, Part 1 of 5)
Weird Antecedents (Pronouns, Part 2 of 5)
The Confusing "Him" or "He" (Pronouns, Part 3 of 5)
Subjective or Objective Pronouns (Pronouns, Part 4 of 5)
You... Yes, You. (Pronouns, Part 5 of 5)

Weird Antecedents (Pronouns, Part 2 of 5)

After the basics, we now proceed to our next lesson - antecedents.

(1) A pronoun takes the place of a noun. The antecedent is the noun that the pronoun takes the place of or stands for.

Example 1:

I am Alma.
I is a pronoun. Who or what does it stand for? It stands for Alma. The antecedent of I is Alma.

Example 2:

Paolo gave his sister her toys.
His is a pronoun. Who does it stand for? It stands for Paolo, so the antecedent of his is Paolo. The word her is also a pronoun and it stands for sister. The antecedent of her is sister.


(2) The pronoun almost always refers to the noun closest to it. If you put pronouns in peculiar places, it’s hard to tell what the antecedent is. Sometimes sentences can get pretty weird.

Example 1:

WEIRD:
It was too dark and my dog was still outdoors. I grabbed my lamp to begin the search and listened for its bark.
(The antecedent of its appears to be flashlight.)

BETTER:
It was too dark and my dog was still outdoors. I grabbed my lamp to begin the search and listened for Bruiser’s bark.

Example 2:

WEIRD:
While driving it at 160 kph around EDSA, Jun swerved to avoid hitting an old man and landed his car on the sidewalk.
(The pronoun it appears early in this sentence, but we don’t find out what it is until the end of the sentence – and by that time we have an old man and a sidewalk to deal with as well.)

BETTER:
While driving his car at 160 kph around EDSA, Jun swerved to avoid hitting an old man and landed on the sidewalk.

Example 3:

WEIRD:
I’ve been to the Philippines, and I like them because they are very kind to tourists.
(The antecedent has been left out of this sentence. Who are they?)

BETTER:
I’ve been to the Philippines, and I like the Filipinos because they are very kind to tourists.

Attribution to Rebecca Elliot and her book Painless Grammar (c) 2006, 1997

Other Pronoun tips:
Pronoun Basics (Pronouns, Part 1 of 5)
Weird Antecedents (Pronouns, Part 2 of 5)
The Confusing "Him" or "He" (Pronouns, Part 3 of 5)
Subjective or Objective Pronouns (Pronouns, Part 4 of 5)
You... Yes, You. (Pronouns, Part 5 of 5)

Pronoun Basics (Pronouns, Part 1 of 5)

A Pronoun is a word that stands in for a noun.

8 WAYS WE USE PRONOUNS :

• to name specific people or things : You look like him.
• to point to non-specific people or things : Everyone enjoyed the party, but nobody remembered to thank the hostess.
• to point to something : This is the hat that I want.
• to refer back to the subject : Noel hurt himself. 
• to show mutual action : Paolo and Andrew were wrestling and hurt each other.
• to add emphasis :  I myself love pronouns.
• to ask a question : Who is there?
• to show ownership : That's not yours, it's mine!

3 GROUPS OF PRONOUNS :

• Subjective case - the doer (subject) of the action : I kick the ball.
• Objective case - the receiver (object) of the action : Kick the ball to me.
• Possessive case - shows ownership : My kick to the goal won the game!

Attribution to Rebecca Elliot and her book Painless Grammar (c) 2006, 1997

Other Pronoun tips:
Pronoun Basics (Pronouns, Part 1 of 5)
Weird Antecedents (Pronouns, Part 2 of 5)
The Confusing "Him" or "He" (Pronouns, Part 3 of 5)
Subjective or Objective Pronouns (Pronouns, Part 4 of 5)
You... Yes, You. (Pronouns, Part 5 of 5)

14 Tips on Making Plural Nouns (Nouns, Part 3 of 3)

We have discussed tips about capitalizing nouns and about possessive nouns. Now we discuss some tips on how to make plural nouns.

1. Usually add s:

• pad - pads
• wave - waves

2. If the word ends in O, usually ad es:

• mango - mangoes
• tomato - tomatoes

3. If the word ends in S, X, Z, CH, or SH, add es:

• mass - masses
• tax - taxes
• clash - clashes
• buzz - buzzes
• touch - touches

4. If the word ends in Y and there's a vowel (a,e,i,o,u) before the Y, add s:

• key - keys
• way - ways

5. If the word ends in Y and there's a consonant before the Y, change the y to i and add es:

• butterfly - butterflies
• injury - injuries

6. If a proper noun (someone's name) ends in Y, just add s:

• the McKinley family - the McKinleys
• the Henley family - the Henleys

7. If a compound noun (a noun containing more than one word) has a main noun in it, add the s to the main noun:

• one mother-in-law, two mothers-in-law
• one certificate of employment, two certificates of employment

8. If a compound noun has no main noun in it, add the s at the end:

• one follow-up, two follow-ups
• one trade-in, two trade-ins

Looks easy so far, right?
Not so fast...

9. There are some nouns that stay the same whether you refer to the singular or plural form:

• moose - moose
• deer - deer
• species - species
• sheep - sheep
• series - series
• swine - swine

12. Other nouns are based on rules from foreign languages :

• basis - bases
• crisis - crises
• criterion - criteria
• nucleus - nuclei
• stimulus - stimuli
• datum - data

13. There are other nouns which do not follow the above rules :

• mouse - mice
• banjo - banjos
• passerby - passersby
• ox - oxen
• knife - knives
• foot - feet
• child - children

14. Just to be sure, consult your dictionary to determine the correct plural form for each word.

Attribution to Rebecca Elliot and her book Painless Grammar (c) 2006, 1997

Other noun tips:
16 Tips on How to Capitalize Nouns (Nouns, Part 1 of 3)
9 Tips about Possessive Nouns (Nouns, Part 2 of 3)
14 Tips on Making Plural Nouns (Nouns, Part 3 of 3)

How to Use an Apostrophe

Hello everyone. I just thought of sharing this comic with you. This complements our earlier discussion about the 9 Tips about Possessive Nouns.



Do remember that your IELTS examiners check for punctuation errors in your written work, so learn more about this punctuation mark in The Oatmeal - How to Use an Apostrophe.

Cheers!

Other comics relating to grammar and punctuation from The Oatmeal:
What it means when you say "literally"
When to use "i.e." in a sentence
How to Use an Apostrophe
Ten Words You Need to Stop Misspelling

Ten Words You Need to Stop Misspelling

• Lose - Loose
• Weird
• Their - They're - There
• Your - You're
• It's - Its
• Definitely
• Effect - Affect
• Weather - Whether
• A lot
• Then - Than

These are commonly misspelled words according to The Oatmeal. To know why, read his funny comic The Oatmeal - Ten Words You Need to Stop Misspelling.

Cheers!

Other comics relating to grammar and punctuation from The Oatmeal:
What it means when you say "literally"
When to use "i.e." in a sentence
How to Use an Apostrophe
Ten Words You Need to Stop Misspelling

9 Tips about Possessive Nouns (Nouns, Part 2 of 3)

Previously, we talked about the tips on how to capitalize nouns. Now, we discuss some tips about possessive nouns.

1. When we want to show that someone owns something, we use possessive nouns.

• The fingers of Joy = Joy's fingers
• The hands of Emily = Emily's hands

2. To make a noun possessive, usually add an apostrophe and an s

• Alma -- Alma's dog
• dog -- the dog's tail
• James -- James's mustache

3. Most of the exceptions to this rule are old-fashioned or historical names:

• Jesus' parables
• Moses' tablets
• Achilles' heel

4. If two people own the same thing, use an apostrophe and s for only the second person.

• Jon and Alma's marriage (they share one marriage)
• Bea and Gabby's mother (they share one mother)

5. If the two people don't own the same thing, use an apostrophe and s for both people.

• Bea's and Gabby's toys. (they don't share the same toys)
• Jon's and Paolo's toes. (they don't share the same toes)

6. If the plural ends in s (for example, girls) just add an apostrophe. If the plural does not end in s (for example, men) add an apostrophe and an s.

• the boy's sweater -- the boys' sweaters
• my sister's van -- my sisters' van
• my boss's key -- my bosses' keys
• the man's coat -- the men's coats
• the child's book -- the children's books

7. Inanimate objects usually don't own things, but some possessives are fine.

• one week's vacation; two weeks' vacation
• one table's leg; two tables' legs
• one peso's worth; two pesos' worth

8. What about the example the table's leg? It's fine, but in formal writing such as in Task 2 of the IELTS writing module, it should be the table leg or the leg of the table. The same is true with this example.

• ALL RIGHT: my car's tire
• BETTER: my car tire (I own the tire - the car doesn't own it.)
• ALSO GOOD: the tire on my car

9. Proper nouns (people names) that end in s can be confusing.

• Mr. and Mrs. Santos have a new house.
• The Santoses have a new house.
• Mr Santos's house is new.
• The Santoses' house is new.

Attribution to Rebecca Elliot for her book Painless Grammar (c) 2006, 1997

Other noun tips:
16 Tips on How to Capitalize Nouns (Nouns, Part 1 of 3)
9 Tips about Possessive Nouns (Nouns, Part 2 of 3)
14 Tips on Making Plural Nouns (Nouns, Part 3 of 3)

15 Tips on How to Capitalize Nouns (Nouns, Part 1 of 3)

When do you capitalize nouns?

1. Names of specific people

• CAPS: Alma, Nerissa, Beatrice Gabrielle, Paulo, the Santos family, the Reyeses
• NO CAPS: family, boy, girl, sister, cousin

What about mom and dad? Capitalize them when you're calling your parent's name, but not when you refer to "my mom" or "my dad."

• CAPS: Hi, Dad! Welcome home, Mom.
• NO CAPS: My father and my mother are busy. Could your mom or your dad drive us to the theatre?

2. Days of the week, months, and holidays, but not seasons

• CAPS: Sunday, October, New Year's Day, Easter
• NO CAPS: autumn, fall, spring, winter, summer

3. Ranks, and titles, but only when used with a particular persons' name

• CAPS: This is Doctor Yu, this is Aunt Cyng, and that man is General Lacson.
• NO CAPS: That man is my doctor, that woman is my aunt, and that man is a general in the army.

4. Geographic areas: cities, states, countries, counties, rivers, oceans, streets, parks, etc.

• CAPS: California, Pasig River, Pacific Ocean, Guevarra Street, Luneta Park, Laguna Lake, Rocky Mountains
• NO CAPS: The ocean is deep. The mountains are high.

5. Regions of the United States, but not simple directions

• CAPS: I was born in the Northwest, but I grew up in the South.
• NO CAPS: I live on the east side of town.

6. Historical periods

• CAPS: the Renaissance, World War II, the Middle Ages, the Battle of Pugad Lawin
• NO CAPS: It was a long war. We live in an age of computers.

7. Religions, nationalities, races of people, languages, countries and adjectives related to those countries

• CAPS: Christians, Jews, Asians, Africans, Japanese, Arabic, Denmark, Philippines, Chinese spring rolls, German measles

8. The various names for God and the names of sacred books

• CAPS: God, Jehovah, Allah, the Bible, the Koran
• NO CAPS: There were many gods and goddesses in ancient myths.

9. Specific school courses, but not general subjects

• CAPS: I'm taking Nursing 101 and History of the Philippines.
• NO CAPS: I'm taking science and english.

10. Names of specific schools, businesses, buildings, organizations, etc.

• CAPS: Acer Computer, St. Mary's College, the University of the Philippines
• NO CAPS: I want a new computer. That is a pre-school building. I plan to enroll in a university.

11. Brand names

• CAPS: Honda, Nintendo, Colgate, Calvin Klein

12. Names of planets, except sun and moon and sometimes not earth

• CAPS: Mercury, Uranus, Neptune, Earth (capitalize when you're referring to it as one of the planets)
• NO CAPS: The moon is full tonight. More than six billion people live on the earth.

13. Letters that stand alone

• CAPS: U-turn, T-bone, X-ray, an A+ in science class

14. Names of specific teams and clubs and their members

• CAPS: the Harlem Globe Trotters, the Liberal Party
• NO CAPS: I play on a basketball team.

15. Titles of movies, books, chapters, and articles

• CAPS: Superman Returns, Fundamentals of Nursing
• NO CAPS: Articles (a, an, the), conjunctions (and, but, etc.) and short prepositions (in, of, with, etc.) are not always capitalized unless [1] they start a sentence : The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog, or [2] they are part of the verb : "Siren Wakes Up Neighborhood"

Attribution to Rebecca Elliot for her book Painless Grammar (c) 2006, 1997

Other noun tips:
16 Tips on How to Capitalize Nouns (Nouns, Part 1 of 3)
9 Tips about Possessive Nouns (Nouns, Part 2 of 3)
14 Tips on Making Plural Nouns (Nouns, Part 3 of 3)