Even though and although, like despite, in spite of, and albeit, convey contrasting ideas or situations. To use even though and although correctly, we need to add a clause immediately following. A clause always has a subject and a verb. like this: 1. Even though he was tired, he did the dishes. 2. Although… Read more »
A good idiom is worth teaching again, so here are a few more examples of an idiom we’ve taught here before. We first taught this two years ago, on Nov. 9, 2009. 1. I’ve got to hand it to Sue; she knows how to find good deals when she’s out shopping.2. Jim finished the project… Read more »
Here are some examples of how to use DESPITE and IN SPITE OF. . 1. They continued to work despite their exhaustion. 2. He supported the President’s policy in spite of strong opposition. 3. Despite being told not to take a taxi, he did. 4. In spite of the constant rattling of the trains outside… Read more »
1. Careful not to anger the boss; he’s been known to fire people at the drop of a hat.2. In the summer, they’ve thrown a party or two at the drop of a hat.3. Our neighbors love to get in their car and drive for hours at the drop of a hat. Sometimes they call… Read more »
To commemorate National Punctuation Day, here are a few basic rules to live by when you write.1. Don’t use a comma between two independent clauses. You can either end the first sentence with a period or a semicolon if the two sentences have a clear connection.a. They love the beach. Surfing is their main hobby…. Read more »
1. The performers were all amateurs, but they blew us away with their amazing performance.2. We were blown away by the quality of the exhibit.3. The manager was blown away by the applicant’s wide range of experience.4. The food critic must have been blown away; he gave the restaurant a rousing review. 5. The passengers… Read more »
In this fifth and final post of this GrammarReminder series on reported speech, we’ll look at a conversation between two people and see how both of them report what the other said. For a quick review on how to shift tenses, check out part 1 of this series. . the conversation: Tom: Hi Sue. How’s your new job going? Sue: It’s going really well. There’s a lot to… Read more »
There are a couple of things to remember about using albeit (a conjunction): first, its meaning is similar to even though, although, despite, in spite of, and but, which means it conveys contrasting ideas; second, it’s followed by an adjective, an adverb, or a prepositional phrase; third, it’s usually followed by a negative idea. like this:… Read more »
I’m really digging this cooler weather, but it can take a toll on you if you’re not careful. Yesterday, I went out for a stroll with some students without a jacket. The sun was out, but it felt a little chilly. When we got back, I started to get the sniffles; my nose started to run,… Read more »
In this fourth installment of our GrammarReminder series on reported speech, let’s look at how to report questions. There are two main things to remember: first, follow the rules of reported speech outlined in our Sept. 8 post; second, follow the rules of embedding questions–use the question words in information questions, use if or whether… Read more »
