English tip: We often get confused when to use "I" or "me". Is it "John and I" or "John and me"? Here’s a quick way to decipher the answer: leave out the second subject, try the sentence with just "I" or "me" and you can easily decide which is right. Examples: 1) Question: He told[…]
English tip: When do we use "who" or "whom"? A simple way is to ask yourself if the answer would be "he" or him." Who/Whom ate my breakfast? He ate my breakfast, therefore "who" is correct. For who/whom should I vote? I should vote for him, therefore "whom" is correct. Easy peasy? 🙂
English tip: He is the man that saved my daughter. OR He is the man who saved my daughter. Which is right? There are two camps of thoughts. One says we can only use "that" to refer to things and "who" is used for people. Another says we can use "that" to refer to both[…]
English tip: When do you use "was" or "were" after "if"? There’s two scenarios: 1) When you’re writing about a non-true situation, you use "were" after "if" or "wish." For instance: I wish I WERE the king of the world. If I WERE in charge, I would declare every Friday a public holiday. If I[…]
English tip: Lie/Lay/Laid? There are many scenarios to use this word. It
English tip: This is also a very common error. A teacher will have the impression that you are a weak student if you make this mistake. IT
English tip: This is a pet peeve of mine. A lot of people, including adults, can
English tip: I was going to meet my friend in Hong Kong next week. Over the e-mail, she said, "I am so anxious to meet you." I was really puzzled and wondered what I’ve done. After much explanation, we realized she meant to say she was "eager" or "excited" to see me. There are people[…]
Happy Saturday morning! Here’s a writing suggestion for the weekend. Tip to writing well: The placement of commas is very important, as it could change the meaning of the sentence totally. I am going to eat, Grandma. and I am going to eat Grandma. The two sentences convey two very different messages and could lead[…]
A parent recently enquired about my Primary 1-2 English classes. As some of you may know, I have outdoor lessons for the kids to get them interested in the language. When we are in the classroom, I will like to brag that the syllabus are just as exciting.  Here’s my reply to the mother. My class[…]