24 Apr 2017

Uses of 'Though'

Uses of 'Though'

1.As a conjunction towards the beginning of the sentence:
E.g. “Though I do not usually drink coffee, I have had 2 cups today.”
Used like this, ‘though’ introduces a sentence where 2 contrasting (or ‘opposite’) statements are made. In this context, ‘though’ is essentially a shortened, informal version of ‘although’. Let’s take a look at another example:

‘Though’ at the start of the sentence
Though Malta is a very small island, its history is long and rich.
Malta, though small, has a long and rich history.
‘Though’ following an adjective
Small though the island is, Malta has a long and rich history.
2.At the end of the sentence
E.g. “I already ate. Thanks, though!”
In the example above ‘though’ takes on the same meaning as the words ‘anyway’, ‘regardless’ and ‘nonetheless’. We use ‘though’ or ‘anyway’ with the word ‘thank you’ to express appreciation, even if the action is not necessary anymore or cannot be completed. Let’s look at one more example:

Speaker 1: Would you like something to drink?
Speaker 2: I’ve just had some water. Thanks, though! / I’ve just had some water. Thanks anyway!
3.In place of ‘however’ or ‘but’
E.g. “I do not usually drink coffee, though I’ve had 2 cups today.”
Used after a comma, in the middle of a sentence, the word ‘though’ (or ‘although’) can be used to mean the same as “I do not usually drink coffee, but/however* I have had 2 cups today.” In this context, ‘though’, ‘although’, and ‘but’ show that something which you have said is ‘less true’ than usual. In some cases, ‘though’ is also put at the end of a sentence with the same result:

“I don’t usually drink coffee. I’ve had 2 cups today though.”
*However is a more formal way of saying ‘but’
4. With the word ‘as’
E.g. “He acted as though he were angry.”
The phrase “as though” in this situation is used in the same way as the word ‘like’: “He acted like he was angry.” Let’s take a look at another example:

It looked as though it was going to rain.
It looked like it was going to rain.
There is no real difference in meaning between the two example – you can use ‘as though’ or ‘like’ depending on what you prefer!⁠⁠⁠⁠
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19 Apr 2017

Similar Words but Different Meanings

Similar Words but Different Meanings


A lot of words are similar but with different meanings. It is almost impossible to avoid making mistakes in English, but if you can get your head around these explanations, you might be able to avoid making these mistakes.


 accept vs except

 Accept :

is a verb, which means to agree to take something .
For example: “I always accept good advice.

 Except :     
            
Is a preposition or conjunction, which means not including.
For example: “I teach every day except Sunday(s).

advice vs advise

 Advice:
 is a noun, which means an opinion that someone offers you about what you should do or how you should act in a particular situation. For example: “I need someone to give me some advice.”

 Advise :

is a verb, which means to give information and suggest types of action. For example: “I advise everybody to be nice to their teacher.”

 affect vs effect

Affect and effect are two words that are commonly confused.

 affect:

 is usually a verb (action)

 effect:

 is usually a noun (thing) Hint: If it’s something you’re going to do, use “affect.” If it’s something you’ve already done, use “effect.” To affect something or someone.

 alone / lonely

 Alone:

 can be used as an adjective or adverb. Either use means without other people or on your own. For example: “He likes living alone.” “I think we’re alone now.” = There are just the two of us here.

 Lonely:

 is an adjective which means you are unhappy because you are not with other people. For example: “The house feels lonely now that all the children have left home.”

 a lot / alot / allot

 A lot:

, meaning a large amount or number of people or things, can be used to modify a noun. For example: “I need a lot of time to develop this web site.” It can also be used as an adverb, meaning very much or very often. For example: “I look a lot like my sister.” It has become a common term in speech; and is increasingly used in writing.

 Alot:

does not exist! There is no such word in the English language. If you write it this way – imagine me shouting at you – “No Such Word!”

 Allot :

is a verb, which means to give (especially a share of something) for a particular purpose: For example: “We were allotted a desk each.”

 All ready vs Already

 All ready :

means “completely ready”. For example: “Are you all ready for the test?”

 Already :

is an adverb that means before the present time or earlier than the time expected. For example: “I asked him to come to the cinema but he’d already seen the film.” or “Are you buying Christmas cards already? It’s only September!”

 Altogether vs All together

 All together :

(adv) means “together in a single group.” For example: The waiter asked if we were all together.

 Altogether:

(adv) means “completely” or “in total “.
For example: She wrote less and less often, and eventually she stopped altogether.

 Any one vs Anyone

 Any one:

 means any single person or thing out of a group of people or things.

For example: I can recommend any one of the books on this site.

 Anyone:

 means any person. It’s always written as one word. For example: Did anyone see that man ?

8 Apr 2017

Silent letters from A to Z list and examples for each letter



Silent letters from A to Z list and examples for each letter

What is this English lesson about on silent letters?
This lesson shows a small list of the silent letters from A to Z and is designed to use as a guide to help you pronounce words.
What is the definition of a silent letter?
A silent letter is left unpronounced, such as the d in handkerchief, the n in autumn and the p in cupboard. When talking fast, silent words like t are very lightly pronounced in words like Christmas, mountain and little.
Are there a lot of silent words in the English language?
Sadly yes. It is rumoured that as much as 60% of words in the English language have a silent letter in them. This makes spelling a lot more difficult for learners and even some native speakers.
Silent letters from A to Z
A - artistically, logically, musically, romantically, stoically
B - comb, climb, debt, plumber, tomb, subtle, dumb, bomb, doubt, , numb, subpoena, thumb, womb.
C - acquire, acquit, blackguard, connecticut, czar, muscle, scissors, victual
CH - yacht
D - handkerchief, Wednesday Wednesday (commonly said Wens-day)
E - plaque. veqetable (veg'tab'I), bridge, clothes. When on the end of a word, it changes the pronunciation of the word, but the -e is silent.
F - halfpenny
G - align, alight, champagne, diaphragm, gnash, gnaw, high, light,reign, though
GH - right, drought, eight, weigh, etc.
H - choir,exchast, hour, honour, honest, herb, rhyme, rhythm, thyme, Thailand i-business,  parliament
J - business.
J - NONE
K - blackguard.
KN -words, the k is silent: know, knot, knee, knife, knight, knock.
L - calm, folk, salmon, talk, walk, could, should, would, folk, half, calf.
M - mnemonic.
N - autumn, chimney, column, damn, damn, government, solemn.
O- colonel, sophomore, opossum
P - corps, coup, cupboard, pneumonia, psalm, raspberry, receipt, coup
Q - (NONE)
R - butter, finger, surprise
S - aisle, island, debris, isle, patios, viscount.
T - beret, Chevrolet, depot, listen, whistle, wrestle, trestle, mortgage, apostle
(When talking fast, the t is very lightly pronounced in words like Christmas, mountain and little)

TH - asthma, isthmus, north, easter
W - who, whole, write, wrong,  two, sword, wrist, answer
X - faux
Y - (NONE)
Z - rendezvous
9 - sign, gnat, gnu, foreign
Silent letters can be heard depending on a persons accent⁠⁠⁠⁠
Rule 1: B is not pronounced after M at the end of a word.

Examples: limb, crumb, dumb, comb, bomb, thumb, climb, tomb

Rule 2: B is usually not pronounced before T at the end of a root word.**

Examples: debt, doubt, debtor, doubtful, subtle, subtleness

**A root word is the original word in its root form without any prefixes or suffixes attached e.g. doubt is the root word in doubtful, and the ‘ful’ is a suffix. Subtle is the root word, and ‘ness’ is a suffix. For more information on prefixes and suffixes, please click here.

silent letter C

Silent C

Rule 1: C is not pronounced in the combination SC.

Examples: Muscle, scissors, ascent, miscellaneous, fascinate, scenario

Exceptions: Sclera, asclepiad, sclerosis, muscovado, sceptic

Rule 2: C is usually redundant before the letters K or Q.

Examples: Acquaintance, acknowledge, acquiesce, acquit

silent letter D

Silent D

Rule 1: D is not pronounced in the following common words:

Handkerchief, Wednesday, sandwich, handsome

Rule 2: D is also not pronounced in the combination DG.

Examples: Pledge, dodge, grudge, hedge

silent letter E

Silent E

Rule: E is not pronounced at the end of words, but instead elongates the sound of the vowel before it.

Examples: Hope, drive, gave, write, site, grave, bite, hide

Exceptions: Giraffe, brunette, cassette, gazelle (You may be able to spot a pattern in these words; they have similar combinations in the last syllable. This shows that the exceptions are generally words with unusual stress on the final syllable – but not always! One example would be the word ‘minute’ as in the time-measuring unit.)

silent letter G

Silent G

Rule: G is not often not pronounced when it comes before N.

Examples: Champagne, foreign, sign, feign, foreign, design, align, cognac

Exceptions: Magnet, igneous, cognitive, signature

silent letter gh

Silent GH

Rule 1: GH is not pronounced when it comes after a vowel.

Examples: Thought, drought, through, thorough, borough, daughter, light, might, sigh, right, fight, weigh, weight

Exceptions: Doghouse, foghorn, bighead (As you can see, the exceptions are generally compound words i.e. words that have been formed by combining two complete words)

Rule 2: GH is sometimes pronounced like F.

Examples: rough, tough, laugh, enough, cough, clough, draught

Exceptions: Examples from rule 1!

silent letter H

Silent H

Rule 1: H is not pronounced when it comes after W (n.b. some speakers whisper the H before the W).

Examples: what, when, where, whether, why

Rule 2: H is not pronounced at the beginning of many words (remember to use the article “an” with unvoiced H).

Examples: hour, honest, honour, heir

Exceptions: hill, history, height, happy, hereditary (Plus most other words beginning with H that are NOT of French origin – and remember to use the article “a” with voiced H)

Rule 3: H is often not pronounced when it comes after C, G or R.

Examples: choir, chorus, ghastly, ghoul, aghast, echo, rhinocerous, rhythm

silent letter K

Silent K

Rule: K is not pronounced when it comes before N at the beginning of a word.

Examples: knife, knee, know, knock, knowledge, knead

silent letter L

Silent L

Rule: L is not pronounced after the vowels A, O and U.

Examples: calm, half, talk, walk, would, should, could, calf, salmon, yolk, chalk, folk, balm

Exceptions: Halo, bulk, sulk, hold, sold, fold, mould

silent letter N

Silent N

Rule: N is not pronounced when it comes after M at the end of a word.

Examples: Autumn, hymn, column, solemn

silent letter P

Silent P

Rule: P is not pronounced at the beginning of many words using the combinations PS, PT and PN.

Psychiatrist, pneumonia, pneumatic, psychotherapy, psychotic, psychologist, pseudonym, Pterodactyl

silent letter ph

Silent PH

Rule: PH is sometimes pronounced like F.

Examples: telephone, paragraph, alphabet, epiphany, sophomore

silent letter S

Silent S

Rule: S is not pronounced before L in the following words:

Island, isle, aisle, islet

silent letter T

Silent T

Rule: T is not pronounced in these common words:

Cas⁠⁠⁠⁠