What is the difference between 'decry' and 'descry' ?

They derive from the same source, but their uses now are quite separate.The common source is the old French 'DESCRIER' meaning  ' to cry down'.

DECRY

To decry, taken from modern French, means to belittle or disparage openly, to censure or denounce.

• He decries the lack of rehabilitation measures for the earthquake victims.

DESCRY

To descry comes from a Middle English form of the Old French, and has moved from the original sense.It means 'to discern something difficult to perceive, to catch sight of' or 'to discover by careful observation and investigation' :

• They descried a ship through the mists.

Adjective or adverb?

Nice or nicely; quiet or quietly; slow or slowly.

§  Adjective or adverb?

Andrew: I liked the dish Martha prepared last night.

Dennis: Yes, it was a nice dish. She prepared it nicely.

An adjective (nice) describes a noun (dish).

An adverb (nicely) describes a verb (cook).

Adjective: The boy had a quiet voice.

Adverb: The boy spoke quietly.

Adjective: Samantha wears expensive attires.

Adverb: Samantha dresses expensively.

§  The -ly ending:

We form many adverbs from an adjective+ ly. For example politely, safely,quietly.

Look out for these spelling rules:

§  We do not leave out e, e.g nice.....nicely.

Exceptions to the rule are true....truly

whole...wholly.

y....ily after a consonant, e.g. easy....easily, lucky....luckily, angry...angrily, happy....happily, heavy....heavily,etc.

le....ly, e.g. possible.....possibly, comfortable....comfortably, probable....probably, reasonable....reasonably, sensible....sensibly,terrible....terribly, etc.

 ic.....icially, e.g. scientific....scientifically, dramatic....dramatically, automatic....automatically, etc. (Exception:publicly)

§  Looked angry and looked carefully:

Linking verb+ Adjective

• Amanda was hungry.
• The students seemed tired.
• My tea has got cold.

Action verb+ Adverb

• Tim ate hungrily.
• The workers worked passionately.
• The man stared coldly at us.

Some verbs like look, taste and appear can be either linking verbs or action verbs.

Linking verb+Adjective.

• Carlos looked angry.
• The medicine tasted bitter.
• The man appeared to be drunk.

Action verb+ Adverb.

• He looked carefully at the picture.
• Emma tasted her drink nervously.
• A soldier appeared suddenly in front of us.

When to use- But, although and inspite?

This year's figures show that Forexum has become a profitable company in spite of its recent issues. Although the CEO Borris has not been in charge for long, things went on to become stable. Even though there have been speculations that the company's future is doomed, the company triumphed against all odds. Nothing is certain about the future, but Forexum enjoys a strong position in the global market.

But and although

We can join two sentences with but.

• It was raining cats and dogs, but we found shelter.
• Farhan has a bike, but he doesn't often ride it.

We can also use although.

• Although it was raining cats and dogs, we found shelter.
• Although Farhan has a bike, he doesn't often ride it.
• The clause with although can come at the end.
• We found shelter, although it was raining cats and dogs.

Though and even though

Though is informal. It has the same meaning as although.

• Though/Although I loved the dress, I  refrained from buying it.

We can use though at the end of the sentence.

• I loved the dress, I refrained from buying it though.

Even though is more emphatic than although.

• Terry looked quite fresh, even though he'd been working all night.
• Even though you don't like Mathematics, you should practice the sums.

In spite of and despite

We use in spite of before a noun or before the -ing form of a verb.

• Simmi wanted to climb the mountain in spite of the treacherous terrain.
• Faria went on working in spite of feeling unwell.

We use despite in exactly the same way as in spite of and with the same meaning.

• She wanted to go trekking despite the perils.
• She went on working despite feeling unwell.

In spite of and although

Inspite of

•  You haven't recuperated in spite of taking pills.

Although

• You haven't recuperated, although you have taken pills.

Inspite of

• Angela wants to be a pilot in spite of her fear/in spite of feeling afraid.

NOT---in spite of she feels afraid.

Although

• Angela wants to be a pilot, although she feels afraid.

We can use in spite of the fact(that) in the same meaning as although.

• I'm no better in spite of the fact that I have taken the pills.

Learning English

Living abroad is not an easy thing! The main reason why it is hard is because, as you would guess, of the language barrier. Then the answer is simple. Learn the language as fast as possible! The question that follows is “HOW?” Let’s talk about learning English, the main theme of this blog!!

Here are the things you can start with and keep improving...

Listen as much as you can

I personally think this is the first step that is required to be able to speak a new language. Let’s take an example of a baby. How does he/she get to understand his/her mother tongue? Listen, right? As parents keep saying the language, their children become to understand words and expressions and eventually say them. 

Speak as much as you can

One question I would like to ask is “What is the major community are you in?” There are people who are trying to get along with the people who are from the same country. There are people who are trying to mingle with American people. “Who would have more chances to speak English?” Of course, the people who are trying to mingle into communities of American people would have a lot more chances to speak English. 

Write as much as you can

Even with lots of listening and speaking, there is still a part that is not easy to be good at. It is writing. Writing is such a hard part and I think it is the last piece to conquer. 

Of course, these three aspects are all interconnected. If you write more and more, you get to use many of different sentences and expressions, then it helps your speaking. 

And, if you speak more, then you get to listen what you are saying, and this also helps your listening. The most important thing is that you really need to speak out loud and enunciate what you are saying. Sometimes, speaking English while you are watching you in the mirror really helps.  And, as you listen to what American people are saying in conversations, you get to learn new expressions you can use in your writings.

So the question is, “How much time do you invest to improve your English?” “One hour per day?
Two hours per day?” I have heard a lot of non-native English speakers complain about their poor English and, at the same time, do not change their life to get them to have more chances to listen, speak and write English. Well….. what can I say?

YOU GOTTA PRACTICE!

Happy learning!!

IF, WHEN,UNLESS and IN CASE

Present Simple for the future:

Look at the following sentences-: 

•  You'll be tired tomorrow if you work so hard today.
•  Tell me when you reach home.
•   I won't do anything unless you agree.
•  Write the address down in case you forget it.  

We use the present simple for the future after linking words such as if, when, unless and in case.

IF or WHEN

IF

We use if for something that we think might happen.

• If you hear any news, can you inform me immediately?  ( you might hear the news)
• I will probably visit your place if everything goes well.  ( everything might go well)

 We use if ( not when) for something imaginary or impossible.

•  If I were you, I wouldn't have hurt her. 

 WHEN 

We use when for something that we know will happen. 

• When you hear some news, can you inform me immediately? ( you will hear some news.)
• I will prepare dinner when I reach home.( I will reach home) 

 We can use if or when in contexts where they mean 'every time'. 

• If you swim, you lose weight.
• When you swim, you lose weight.

 IF and UNLESS 

If not means same as unless.

Look at the following examples: 

• If I don't wear my spectacles, I'm unable to see.
• Unless I wear my spectacles, I'm unable to see.
•  The doctor will be here if she isn't called to an emergency.
•  The doctor will be here unless she is called for an emergency.

IN CASE

• We use In Case to talk about something that should be done to avoid problem at a later stage.
• Take a blanket with you in case you feel cold.
• I booked my reservation in case I don't get tickets later on.
• I'll bring in the washing inside in case it rains.

Correct use of ADJECTIVES - part-2

Difference between 'fewer' and 'less'

'Fewer'-the comparative of few, is used before countable nouns, and less-the comparative of little, before uncountable words.

Examples :

§  There are fewer actors working in the theatre than there used to be.

§  She earns lesser than a peon does.

Take a note of the following:

Positive.           Comparative.       Superlative

Few.                 Fewer.                     Fewest

Little.               Less/Lesser.            Least

'Fewer' and 'Less' are followed by than as they are the comparative forms.

'Many' like 'few' is used before a countable   noun.

Example:

§  Many/few students flunked the geography examination.

'Much' like 'less' is used before a non-countable or a material noun.

Example:

§  Much/less water.  

MODIFIERS- 'Too', ‘Very’, 'Enough'.

Very means to a high degree, but does not suggest impossibility.

§  Sushma is very intelligent.

 Too suggests impossibility or undesirable degree.

§  Maria is too weak to attend your party.

It is advisable not to use 'too' with a positive adjective. Instead of using 'too' it is better to use 'very'.

Enough suggests possibility or sufficient degree.

Example:

§  He is smart enough to win the competition.

Please take a note of the following:

§  Always make sure to put enough after the adjective.

§  Always add to+v(infinitive) after enough.

§  Enough can come before or after a noun to express sufficiency.

Examples:

NOUN

Dennis had enough money to buy a villa.

NOUN

Dennis had money enough to buy a villa.

MODIFIERS-Negation

Here are some words that have negative meanings even though you can't make out that they deliver a negative message.

Examples:

only, scarcely,rarely, hardly,seldom and without.

§ Gary had scarcely enough money to buy movie tickets.

§ They went to the picnic without food.

Please make a note of the following:

§'Scarcely' and 'Hardly' are followed by WHEN.

§  Hardly had I seen the space shuttle when it disappeared.

§  Hardly did I see the space shuttle when it disappeared.

§  'No sooner' is followed by than.(which means as soon as)

§  As soon as I reached the theatre the movie started.

§  No sooner had I reached the theatre than the movie started.

§  No sooner+ had+subject+past participle......than.

§  No sooner+ did+ subject+ present tense verb....than.

§  No sooner did I reach the theatre than the movie started.

§  Hardly/ Scarcely+ had + subject+ past participle....when.....

§  Hardly had  I seen the space shuttle when it disappeared.

§  Hardly/Scarcely+did+ subject+ present tense verb.....when.

§  Hardly did I see the space shuttle when it disappeared.

H.A.P.P.Y-L.E.A.R.N.I.N.G....

Correct use of ADJECTIVES. (part-1)

Today I would like you to look at some important rules in the use of ADJECTIVES:

Rule-1

Most adjectives form their comparitives by the addition of -r or-er, and their superlatives by the addition of-st.or -est to the positive.

Positive       Comparitive     Superlative

Brave               Braver.                Bravest

Near                 Nearer.                Nearest

Rule-2

Some adjectives which have more than two syllables in the spelling, form their comparitive by using the adverb "more"  with the positive, and the superlative by using the "most" with the positive.

Positive.      Comparative.       Superlative

Intelligent.   more intelligent.    most intelligent

beautiful.      more beautiful.     most beautiful

Rule-3

When two qualities in the same person or thing is compared, the comparitive degree is formed by using "more", instead of -r or-er with the positive.

Examples:

Farzan is more wiser than intelligent.

In this sentence, we can make out that Farzan is both wise and intelligent.But his wisdom is far greater than his intelligence.

Rule-4

When two objects are compared with each other, the latter term of comparison must exclude the former by using 'any other'.

Examples:

Gold is precious than any metal......incorrect.

Gold is precious than any other

metal.....correct.

Rule-5

There are some words which can only be used in the positive and cannot be used in the comparitive, or in the superlative.

Examples:

minor, major, ulterior, exterior, inferior.

This is more inferior than that....incorrect.

This is inferior to that.....correct.

Rule-6

The following words are used as comparative adjectives and are followed by "to" and not "than":

Examples:

prior, junior, senior, superior, inferior, anterior,prefer posterior, etc.

Rule-7

The adjective "preferable" is used as a comparitive. It is followed by "to". It is not used with "more".

Example:

This movie is preferable than that one.....incorrect.

This movie is preferable to that one....correct.

Rule-8

The comparative adjectives ending in "or" are followed by the preposition "to".

junior, senior, posterior, anterior, inferior, superior, prior.

Example:

Gary is superior than Charllote......incorrect.

Gary is superior to Charllote.....correct.

Rule-9

Two adjectives which refer to the same noun or pronoun joined by a conjunction must be in the same degree of comparison.

Example:

Arnold is the wisest and bravest of all national cadets.

Rule-10

Sometimes we use the words much, far, less, etc. before the comparitives to denote emphasis or excess.

Example:

Dennis is by far the ablest economist in the country.

Rule-11

Look at these adjectives which confuse:

§   Further and Farther.

Further means in addition, additionally; more.

Examples:

For further information please contact our branch head.

I have nothing further to say in this matter.

Farther:

Farther denotes more distant in space.

Examples:

Peter lives in the farther end of the street.

§  Many, a great many, a good many

All these take a plural noun and a plural verb after them.

Examples:

My daughter has a good many friends.

A great many people died in the tsunami.

Rule-12

Use of many+a+noun(singular)+ a verb(singular) structure:

Examples:

Many a delegate is attending  today's conference.

(meaning: many delegates are attending the seminar)

Rule-13

MODIFIERS: Few, Little.

Few is used with plural nouns. Little is used with singular uncountable nouns.

If an article doesn't precede- few and little- they usually have rather negative meanings. They denote scarcity, paucity,  'not as much/many as one would like', or 'not as much/many as one would prefer'.

With articles 'few' and 'little' I.e a few, and a little are positive in meaning. They mean 'some'. They often convey the message that 'something is better than nothing'.

Examples:

There are a few apples in the basket,you can eat them.

I've got a little money, It'll be enough to buy movie tickets.