Tag Archives: confusing words

A word on Grammar: have and have got

A word on Grammar, , ,

Now , this is one of the most common mistakes in English. I have heard lots of students saying: I haven’t a dog, which I’m afraid is wrong. If you want to say that you have or don’t have something you can say “I haven’t got a dog” or” I don’t have a dog” and if the sentence is positive you should say “I have got a dog” or “I have a dog“. Same if you want to ask, both” Do you have a dog?” and “Have you got a dog?”are correct.

While it is true that there is a BBC radio show called “I’m sorry I haven’t a clue” the truth is that native speakers also make mistakes and this is only correct as long as it is considered an idiomatic expression.

While both forms are used to express possession ( I have/have got a car), relationships (I have/have got a brother), illnesses (I have/have got a headache), and characteristics (I have/have got long fair hair), there are some things to take into consideration when using them

♥The form “have got” is more British English and “Have” is more American

♥ The interrogative and negative forms for “I Have got two sisters” are “Have you got..?” and “I haven’t got…”

♥The interrogative and negative forms for “I have three sisters” are ” Do you have three sisters ” and ” I don’t have three sisters”

♥ The past of “have got” is “had” and the future is “will have”: “I have got a dog now but three years ago I had a cat and next year I’ll have a parrot”.

♥”Have ” is never contracted in the positive, while “have got” can be contracted.  I have a dog … I’ve got a dog

♥ Got-forms of “have” are not used in short answers or tags. “Have you got a dog? No, I haven’t/ You’ve got a brother, haven’t you?.

♥When we are talking about repeated states, got- forms are less often used. Compare
I have got a headache/ I sometimes have a headache

♥If “have ” expresses an action, then we need to use the form “have”:

I have a shower or I have dinner

♥We can use have (got) +infinitive to talk about obligation or certainty. The meaning is similar to Must
Sorry, I can’t leave. I’ve got to finish writing this essay first.
I don’t believe you. You’ve got to be kidding

Exercises here,and here

Word of the Day: to Cheat and to Cheat On

Word of the Day,

Done! I have finished marking exams, and now what is left is something I really hate, red tape. Writing, sometimes, useless reports nobody will ever see but which are, nevertheless, part of the time-consuming  red tape  a teacher has to necessarily fill in at the end of the course.

So finals are over and I’m glad to say I haven’t caught any students red-handed. Come to think of it, if any of my students is reading it, he might  be laughing his head off thinking how naive we, teachers, sometimes are. Anyway, I’m happy in my blissful  ignorance!

♥ To Cheat on Someone: to be sexually unfaithful.

They got divorced because he was cheating on her

♥ To cheat in an exam/ to cheat on an exam

None of my students have cheated on their final tests. 😉

A Word on Grammar: Think Of,About, On or In?

A word on Grammar, Music, , , ,

If you must ask, yes, it’s still raining in Asturias; raining and freezing cold but…I have to say that this is unusual weather for this time of the year. So, if you are considering holidaying in this part of the world, don’t cross it off just yet; the weather must definitely improve this week ( it can’t get any worse).

The idea for this post came while dozing off on the sofa watching the new (probably not so new now for some of you) James Bong film SkyFall. I suddenly came wide awake when, in the film, M’s computer is hacked and a THINK ON YOUR SINS is displayed on her computer. This single preposition got me thinking … how, in the name of God, are my students supposed to learn English prepositions? Thus, I decided to write this post, about the tricky English prepositions.

♥Think Of/ About. Most of the times you can use both when talking about people. So: I’m thinking of you and I am thinking about you mean pretty much the same.

But

-Think about. You use think about with the meaning “consider”:

I need to think about this problem

–Think of. You use think of  with two meanings.

  1. when you are “asking somebody’s opinion”.

What do you think of my sister’s boyfriend?

2. Or with the meaning “to imagine”

It is hot! I am thinking of lying on the beach, eating a big ice-cream.

I also very often use the expression, Come to think of it…

 

On the other hand, both Think On and Think In are less used.

♥Think On is a bit archaic, and it is much closer to the meaning of think about 

Think on your sins

♥Think in is very easy to differentiate as it is only used with the verb to speak

Do you think in Spanish when you speak in English?

I hope it is helpful! Now if you want to relax after this boring explanation, enjoy the soundtrack of this film, performed by the great Adele.

Word of the Day: Weigh, Weighed and Weight

Word of the Day, , ,

“I promise you that I keep trying to lose weight… but it keeps finding me !”  Unknown

Who gives a damn about “weight” when spring has come and it has been raining nonstop for two long weeks. I, for a start, have to keep reminding myself, that bad weather will eventually end and that, eventually, I’ll have a chance to wear my new bikini. And, every single Monday, I get on  my bathroom scale and I can almost hear the joking scale saying: “Is someone on here with you?” or “Hey, get Pavarotti off me” and every single Monday I promise myself I am going to start a diet and lose some weight so that the next time I climb onto the scale, it’ll hear something like  “Right on, girl! You’re loosin’ it baby.”

Now, what’s the difference between “weigh” “weighed” and ·weight”.

♥ To weigh /weι/ is a verb  and it means to physically assess the  weight of something or someone— is it 2 pounds? 50 kilos? 15 grams?

“You can weigh the tomatoes you’re buying”

♥Weighed /weιd/ is the regular past of the verb “weigh”

“ The butcher weighed the chicken”

♥ Weight /weιt/ is a noun and it means the mass or heaviness of a person or thing.The weight of a Yorkshire Terrier  on your lap might not bother you, but the weight of  a 60 kgs German Sheperd?
              “He has had a problem keeping his weight in check “
Weigh yourself to know your weight! 🙂

15 Grammar Goofs that make you look silly

A word on Grammar, , ,

I’m up to my eyes with exams so I don’t have much time to publish. I was saving this post for a rainy day -so to speak- and the rainy day has finally come.
It is literally embedded from the webiste www.copyblogger.com and if you’re wondering what a “goof” is you are about to know. A “goof” is a silly or stupid mistake. Without further ado here are the 15 grammar mistakes that make you silly:

15 Grammar Goofs That Make You Look Silly
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