#englishlanguage — Public Fediverse posts

"I before E, except after C" is an ancient proverb known to many in society. It was never scientific, with a deficiency of evidence, and not efficient at explaining English spelling. I can't in good conscience recommend it any more than other fallacies.

#SelfDemonstrating #EnglishLanguage #spelling #IBeforeE

"My Baby You" is a song written and performed by #MarcAnthony, and was released as the fourth single of his first #Englishlanguage album #MarcAnthony.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnh0yU5ef4U

A bus station is a designated area where buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. It often features waiting areas, ticket counters, and schedules. For example, I arrived at the bus station just in time to catch my ride to London. 🇬🇧 #WordOfTheDay #Vocabulary #LearnEnglish #EnglishLanguage #LanguageLearning #BusStation #Travel #Education

"My Baby You" is a song written and performed by #MarcAnthony, and was released as the fourth single of his first #Englishlanguage album Marc Anthony.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RizBylS2I2k

Grammar dilemmas: ‘in the beginning’ or ‘at the beginning’?

A mistake I often hear in conversation classes has to do with the choice of preposition before the nouns ‘beginning’ and ‘end’. Did something happen ‘in the beginning’ or ‘at the beginning’? And what happened ‘in the end’? Or is it ‘at the end’?

Likely due to influence of Serbian / Croatian – most of my students’ mother tongue – I also often hear ‘on the beginning’ and ‘on the end’ (na početku, na kraju). 

So, which one is it?

To eliminate one for starters, ‘on’ the beginning / end is NOT an option, as it’s grammatically incorrect. It’s also a good lesson: never translate prepositions literally!

The good news is that you can use both ‘in’ and ‘at’ with these nouns; the bad news is that they don’t mean exactly the same thing. Let’s check out the difference.

IN THE BEGINNING

This has a more general meaning, implying the beginning of a longer process, historical event or development. One usually has in mind a whole period of time, not any single moment. A great example of this is the opening verse of the Bible, which starts like this:

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Gen. 1:1)

Later verses describe these events in greater detail; all of which were “in the beginning.”

You can also use it to introduce contrast:

In the beginning, I didn’t like my neighbourhood, but now I’m very happy there. 

In this sense, it means the same as AT FIRST. 

AT THE BEGINNING

This refers to a specific time or place; a single point that was the start of something:

I introduced myself at the beginning of the meeting.

There was a horrifying scene at the beginning of the film.

IN THE END

Similar to ‘in the beginning’, IN here refers to the end of a longer process, development, situation etc. The phrase means the same as EVENTUALLY, FINALLY:

I was trying to learn Japanese; in the end, I gave up.

The war was very long and difficult, but we won in the end.

AT THE END

Same as with ‘at the beginning’, this too refers to a specific location or a point in time:

You’ll find my house at the end of the road.

The film was so sad, everyone cried at the end.

I hope this was not too difficult. You can practise this a bit by doing my short grammar quiz on this topic!

I’m a freelance language tutor (English, Latin, Classical Greek), researcher, and a literary scholar currently based in Belgrade, Serbia.  

If you wish to receive new content from my blog – as soon as it’s published – please enter your email address in the box below. You can also subscribe to my free monthly Newsletter and get a regular recap with additional content.

To support my work, you can send me a donation via PayPal. It would be greatly appreciated!

Grammar dilemmas: ‘in the beginning’ or ‘at the beginning’?

A mistake I often hear in conversation classes has to do with the choice of preposition before the nouns ‘beginning’ and ‘end’. Did something happen ‘in the beginning’ or ‘at the beginning’? And what happened ‘in the end’? Or is it ‘at the end’?

Likely due to influence of Serbian / Croatian – most of my students’ mother tongue – I also often hear ‘on the beginning’ and ‘on the end’ (na početku, na kraju). 

So, which one is it?

To eliminate one for starters, ‘on’ the beginning / end is NOT an option, as it’s grammatically incorrect. It’s also a good lesson: never translate prepositions literally!

The good news is that you can use both ‘in’ and ‘at’ with these nouns; the bad news is that they don’t mean exactly the same thing. Let’s check out the difference.

IN THE BEGINNING

This has a more general meaning, implying the beginning of a longer process, historical event or development. One usually has in mind a whole period of time, not any single moment. A great example of this is the opening verse of the Bible, which starts like this:

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Gen. 1:1)

Later verses describe these events in greater detail; all of which were “in the beginning.”

You can also use it to introduce contrast:

In the beginning, I didn’t like my neighbourhood, but now I’m very happy there. 

In this sense, it means the same as AT FIRST. 

AT THE BEGINNING

This refers to a specific time or place; a single point that was the start of something:

I introduced myself at the beginning of the meeting.

There was a horrifying scene at the beginning of the film.

IN THE END

Similar to ‘in the beginning’, IN here refers to the end of a longer process, development, situation etc. The phrase means the same as EVENTUALLY, FINALLY:

I was trying to learn Japanese; in the end, I gave up.

The war was very long and difficult, but we won in the end.

AT THE END

Same as with ‘at the beginning’, this too refers to a specific location or a point in time:

You’ll find my house at the end of the road.

The film was so sad, everyone cried at the end.

I hope this was not too difficult. You can practise this a bit by doing my short grammar quiz on this topic!

I’m a freelance language tutor (English, Latin, Classical Greek), researcher, and a literary scholar currently based in Belgrade, Serbia.  

If you wish to receive new content from my blog – as soon as it’s published – please enter your email address in the box below. You can also subscribe to my free monthly Newsletter and get a regular recap with additional content.

To support my work, you can send me a donation via PayPal. It would be greatly appreciated!

Grammar dilemmas: ‘in the beginning’ or ‘at the beginning’?

A mistake I often hear in conversation classes has to do with the choice of preposition before the nouns ‘beginning’ and ‘end’. Did something happen ‘in the beginning’ or ‘at the beginning’? And what happened ‘in the end’? Or is it ‘at the end’?

Likely due to influence of Serbian / Croatian – most of my students’ mother tongue – I also often hear ‘on the beginning’ and ‘on the end’ (na početku, na kraju). 

So, which one is it?

To eliminate one for starters, ‘on’ the beginning / end is NOT an option, as it’s grammatically incorrect. It’s also a good lesson: never translate prepositions literally!

The good news is that you can use both ‘in’ and ‘at’ with these nouns; the bad news is that they don’t mean exactly the same thing. Let’s check out the difference.

IN THE BEGINNING

This has a more general meaning, implying the beginning of a longer process, historical event or development. One usually has in mind a whole period of time, not any single moment. A great example of this is the opening verse of the Bible, which starts like this:

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Gen. 1:1)

Later verses describe these events in greater detail; all of which were “in the beginning.”

You can also use it to introduce contrast:

In the beginning, I didn’t like my neighbourhood, but now I’m very happy there. 

In this sense, it means the same as AT FIRST. 

AT THE BEGINNING

This refers to a specific time or place; a single point that was the start of something:

I introduced myself at the beginning of the meeting.

There was a horrifying scene at the beginning of the film.

IN THE END

Similar to ‘in the beginning’, IN here refers to the end of a longer process, development, situation etc. The phrase means the same as EVENTUALLY, FINALLY:

I was trying to learn Japanese; in the end, I gave up.

The war was very long and difficult, but we won in the end.

AT THE END

Same as with ‘at the beginning’, this too refers to a specific location or a point in time:

You’ll find my house at the end of the road.

The film was so sad, everyone cried at the end.

I hope this was not too difficult. You can practise this a bit by doing my short grammar quiz on this topic!

NOTES

I’m a freelance language tutor (English, Latin, Classical Greek), researcher, and a literary scholar currently based in Belgrade, Serbia.  

If you wish to receive new content from my blog – as soon as it’s published – please enter your email address in the subscribe box below.

To support my work, you can send me a donation via PayPal. It would be greatly appreciated!

Grammar dilemmas: ‘in the beginning’ or ‘at the beginning’?

A mistake I often hear in conversation classes has to do with the choice of preposition before the nouns ‘beginning’ and ‘end’. Did something happen ‘in the beginning’ or ‘at the beginning’? And what happened ‘in the end’? Or is it ‘at the end’?

Likely due to influence of Serbian / Croatian – most of my students’ mother tongue – I also often hear ‘on the beginning’ and ‘on the end’ (na početku, na kraju). 

So, which one is it?

To eliminate one for starters, ‘on’ the beginning / end is NOT an option, as it’s grammatically incorrect. It’s also a good lesson: never translate prepositions literally!

The good news is that you can use both ‘in’ and ‘at’ with these nouns; the bad news is that they don’t mean exactly the same thing. Let’s check out the difference.

IN THE BEGINNING

This has a more general meaning, implying the beginning of a longer process, historical event or development. One usually has in mind a whole period of time, not any single moment. A great example of this is the opening verse of the Bible, which starts like this:

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Gen. 1:1)

Later verses describe these events in greater detail; all of which were “in the beginning.”

You can also use it to introduce contrast:

In the beginning, I didn’t like my neighbourhood, but now I’m very happy there. 

In this sense, it means the same as AT FIRST. 

AT THE BEGINNING

This refers to a specific time or place; a single point that was the start of something:

I introduced myself at the beginning of the meeting.

There was a horrifying scene at the beginning of the film.

IN THE END

Similar to ‘in the beginning’, IN here refers to the end of a longer process, development, situation etc. The phrase means the same as EVENTUALLY, FINALLY:

I was trying to learn Japanese; in the end, I gave up.

The war was very long and difficult, but we won in the end.

AT THE END

Same as with ‘at the beginning’, this too refers to a specific location or a point in time:

You’ll find my house at the end of the road.

The film was so sad, everyone cried at the end.

I hope this was not too difficult. You can practise this a bit by doing my short grammar quiz on this topic!

I’m a freelance language tutor (English, Latin, Classical Greek), researcher, and a literary scholar currently based in Belgrade, Serbia.  

If you wish to receive new content from my blog – as soon as it’s published – please enter your email address in the box below. You can also subscribe to my free monthly Newsletter and get a regular recap with additional content.

To support my work, you can send me a donation via PayPal. It would be greatly appreciated!

Grammar dilemmas: ‘in the beginning’ or ‘at the beginning’?

A mistake I often hear in conversation classes has to do with the choice of preposition before the nouns ‘beginning’ and ‘end’. Did something happen ‘in the beginning’ or ‘at the beginning’? And what happened ‘in the end’? Or is it ‘at the end’?

Likely due to influence of Serbian / Croatian – most of my students’ mother tongue – I also often hear ‘on the beginning’ and ‘on the end’ (na početku, na kraju). 

So, which one is it?

To eliminate one for starters, ‘on’ the beginning / end is NOT an option, as it’s grammatically incorrect. It’s also a good lesson: never translate prepositions literally!

The good news is that you can use both ‘in’ and ‘at’ with these nouns; the bad news is that they don’t mean exactly the same thing. Let’s check out the difference.

IN THE BEGINNING

This has a more general meaning, implying the beginning of a longer process, historical event or development. One usually has in mind a whole period of time, not any single moment. A great example of this is the opening verse of the Bible, which starts like this:

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Gen. 1:1)

Later verses describe these events in greater detail; all of which were “in the beginning.”

You can also use it to introduce contrast:

In the beginning, I didn’t like my neighbourhood, but now I’m very happy there. 

In this sense, it means the same as AT FIRST. 

AT THE BEGINNING

This refers to a specific time or place; a single point that was the start of something:

I introduced myself at the beginning of the meeting.

There was a horrifying scene at the beginning of the film.

IN THE END

Similar to ‘in the beginning’, IN here refers to the end of a longer process, development, situation etc. The phrase means the same as EVENTUALLY, FINALLY:

I was trying to learn Japanese; in the end, I gave up.

The war was very long and difficult, but we won in the end.

AT THE END

Same as with ‘at the beginning’, this too refers to a specific location or a point in time:

You’ll find my house at the end of the road.

The film was so sad, everyone cried at the end.

I hope this was not too difficult. You can practise this a bit by doing my short grammar quiz on this topic!

I’m a freelance language tutor (English, Latin, Classical Greek), researcher, and a literary scholar currently based in Belgrade, Serbia.  

If you wish to receive new content from my blog – as soon as it’s published – please enter your email address in the box below. You can also subscribe to my free monthly Newsletter and get a regular recap with additional content.

To support my work, you can send me a donation via PayPal. It would be greatly appreciated!

#UnitedStates presidency has removed #Spanish-language version of its website, as it did in 2017 under first Trump term. Though #English is primary language of US govt, the country has no official national language, and Spanish is second-most-spoken. https://apnews.com/article/trump-white-house-spanish-language-website-62224890c5b05c8ce0878358ba4a5266

#officiallanguage #languagepolitics #geography @geography #EnglishLanguage #SpanishLanguage #hispanoablante #LatinAmerica

"Why is The Great Vowel Shift also called the Great Vowel Movement?"

"Oh, that's because English took a huge dump on its own pronunciation."

#GreatVowelShift #GreatVowelMovement #EnglishLanguage #dump #pronounciation #BowelMovement

Yesterday Goldsmiths
Today Kent
Tomorrow - watch your backs

#MassacreOfTheHumanities #UniversityFunding #PhilistinePolitics #KentUniversity
#Music #Anthropolgy #HealthAndSocialCare #journalism #artHistory #ComparativeLiterature #EnglishLanguage #Linguistics #ModernLanguages #Philosophy #religion #ethics

Yesterday Goldsmiths
Today Kent
Tomorrow - watch your backs

#MassacreOfTheHumanities #UniversityFunding #PhilistinePolitics #KentUniversity
#Music #Anthropolgy #HealthAndSocialCare #journalism #artHistory #ComparativeLiterature #EnglishLanguage #Linguistics #ModernLanguages #Philosophy #religion #ethics

Yesterday Goldsmiths
Today Kent
Tomorrow - watch your backs

#MassacreOfTheHumanities #UniversityFunding #PhilistinePolitics #KentUniversity
#Music #Anthropolgy #HealthAndSocialCare #journalism #artHistory #ComparativeLiterature #EnglishLanguage #Linguistics #ModernLanguages #Philosophy #religion #ethics

Yesterday Goldsmiths
Today Kent
Tomorrow - watch your backs

#MassacreOfTheHumanities #UniversityFunding #PhilistinePolitics #KentUniversity
#Music #Anthropolgy #HealthAndSocialCare #journalism #artHistory #ComparativeLiterature #EnglishLanguage #Linguistics #ModernLanguages #Philosophy #religion #ethics

"Time for a wee, wee child."

"Time for a weewee, child."

:catthinking:

#EnglishLanguage #English #wee #weewee

Confusing verbs: lay & lie

In response to a recent question from several of my students, here’s a grammar post about two confusing verbs: lie and lay. (Actually, it’s three verbs, but we’ll come to that later.)

TO LAY

‘To lay’ means to put something down. It is followed by a direct object, i.e. it’s a transitive verb—after it we have to use a noun or a pronoun.

Take this blanket and lay it on the ground.

Its Simple Past and Past Participle form is LAID:

He laid the books on the table.

We have laid the foundation for our future cooperation.

The Present Participle, which we use to form all continuous tenses is LAYING:

We are laying down new rules.

This verb is often used with different prepositions, forming phrasal verbs with various meanings. Here are a few examples:

• to lay down: to define and implement a rule; to put something down
• to lay off: to make someone redundant
• to lay over: to stop somewhere for a short time during a journey
• to lay up: be / stay inactive due to illness or injury

TO LIE

‘To lie’ means to be in a horizontal position. It is not followed by a direct object, i.e. it’s an intransitive verb.

I feel very sleepy. I’m going to lie down. 

BE CAREFUL: the Simple Past form is LAY – same as the infinitive / present tense of ‘to lay’:

He lay in bed all day because he was unwell.

The Past Participle form is LAIN:

She had lain on the sofa for some time before she got up.

The Present Participle is LYING:

How long have you been lying in the sun? Your skin is so red!

This verb is also used to make a number of phrasal verbs, some of which are very frequent, such as:

• to lie around: to leave something out of place; spend time relaxing, not doing anything
• to lie ahead: to happen in the future
• to lie in: to stay in bed later than usual

TO LIE = to deceive

Finally, there’s the verb ‘to lie’, meaning to say something untrue in order to deceive. This verb is regular (just be careful with spelling): its Past Simple and Past Participle is LIED, and the Present Participle is LYING.

Stop lying to me!

I have never lied to anyone.

To recap, here’s the overview of the main forms of these three verbs:

You can now practise these verbs a bit using the online grammar exercise I’ve prepared on this topic.

Why the #Dutch always say what they mean - #BBCREEL

In my experience, this is absolutely spot-on, especially when dealing with people from the North of #Holland such as the #Frisians. They really tend to be quite #Honest and #Direct.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrEZwe1nbBU&ab_channel=BBCReel

#Language #Culture #DutchCulture #Directness #DutchLanguage #BritishCulture #EnglishCulture #English #EnglishLanguage #Directness #PlainSpeech #Rudeness #Politeness #Translation #Friesland #Friesian #Fries #NoordHolland