Saturday, December 28, 2013

at , in or on for times

‘At’ is used for precise times.

We’re meeting at 10 o’clock.
It’s pleasant fishing at dawn.

‘In’
is used for months, years and longer periods of time.

My birthday is in May.
I love to take time off in summer.

‘In’ is also used with ‘the past’ and ‘the future’.

In the past, many more people died of diseases.
I hope that in the future poverty will be eliminated. 

‘On’
is used for days and dates.

I’ll see you on Monday.
The game is on the 6th of March at 2 o’clock.
I like to go out on New Year’s Eve.

Notice that you say ‘in the morning’, but ‘on Saturday morning’

And when you use ‘last’, ‘next’, ‘every’ or ‘this’, you don’t use at, in or on.
I’ll call this evening.
We could meet next Tuesday.
I go away every Easter.
I went to Sydney last September. 

Dead or died?

'Dead' is an adjective.

The echidna looks like it is dead.

‘Died’
is the past tense and past participle of the verb ‘die’

She died in her sleep at the age of 106. 

also, as well, too

‘Also’, ‘as well’ and ‘too’ mean the same thing, but are used in different positions in a sentence. ‘As well’ and ‘too’ are used at the end of a sentence.

The extreme heat bothers pets too.
The extreme heat bothers pets as well.

But ‘also’ is used in the middle of a sentence. 

The extreme heat also bothers pets.

Bust or burst?

For things that come apart with sudden violence you say ‘burst’.

The water balloon has burst.

In everyday speech, you can also say ‘bust’, but it’s considered slang.

Don’t bust the balloon.

‘Bust’ means to break and again is used informally.

I busted my arm playing football.

Usually you would say ‘I broke my arm playing football’.

To ‘go bust’ is to go bankrupt or lose all your money.

To ‘be busted’ is to be caught doing something illegal.

And if you say you are ‘busting’, you mean that you urgently need to go to the toilet.

You say ‘burst’ and not ‘bust’ in the expressions ‘burst into tears’ and ‘burst out laughing’. 

Principal & Principle

The word spelled principal is a noun meaning a person of high rank, usually in charge of a school.
He is the best principal the school has had.

Or an adjective meaning most important.
Our principal aim is good service.

The word spelled principle is a noun meaning a rule of conduct or a fundamental truth
He has no principles.

No or Not?

‘No’ is used to respond to questions.

Do you speak French? No. 

‘No’ is used before a noun without an article.

Learning English is no joke. 

If there is an article, you use
‘not’.

Learning English is not a joke. 

‘No’ is used before an adjective in front of a noun without an article.

There are no red cars here.

‘Not’ is used before the words enough, many, any and much.

There’s not enough time.

‘Not’ is used to make verbs negative.

I’m not listening.