Beside vs. Besides—How to Use Each Beside and besides are quite commonly confused with one another despite their different definitions. Even though they are spelled almost the same, they are not used in the same way.The Basic Difference Between “Beside” and “Besides” Beside, without the s, tells us the location of something. Besides, on the…
Singular Nouns Treated as Plural Some singular nouns can be used with either a singular or plural verb. The commonest of these are the collective nouns which stand for a group or collection of people or things. These include words such as audience, committee, crew, family, government, group, team, and many others. So, both these…
How to Use “Would have” Would have + past participle1: Part of the third conditional. Example: If I had had enough money, I would have bought a car (but I didn’t have enough money, so I didn’t buy a car).- Если бы у меня было достаточно денег, я бы купил машину (но у меня не…
How to Use Should Have We use should have + past participle to talk about things we regret. Example: I got really wet walking home last night, I should have taken an umbrella.The speaker did not take an umbrella when she went out last night so she got wet. She regrets that she did…
Whoever vs. Whomever Rule 2. When the entire whoever/whomever clause is the subject of the verb that follows the clause, look inside the clause to determine whether to use whoever or whomever. Example: Whoever is elected will serve a four-year term.- Тот, кого выберут, будет занимать должность четыре года. Whoever is the subject of is…
Whoever vs. Whomever To determine whether to use whoever or whomever, the he/him rule in the Who/Whom section applies: he = whoever him = whomever Rule 1. The presence of whoever or whomever indicates a dependent clause. Use whoever or whomever to agree with the verb in that dependent clause, regardless of the rest of the…
Used to do and Be used to What is the rule for distinguishing between ‘used to do’ and ‘be used to’?Answer: ‘Used to do’ means something that you did in the past, possibly on a regular basis, and no longer do.Example: I used to knit when my children were little.- Я вязала, когда мои дети…
Unnecessary Prepositions One of the most common preposition mistakes is adding an unnecessary at to the end of a question. Incorrect: Where is your brother at? Although this is common in some English dialects, it’s considered an error in writing. You can fix the problem by simply deleting the at. Correct: Where is your brother? On the bright side,…
Ending a Sentence With a Preposition The old claim that it’s wrong to end a sentence with a preposition has been utterly debunked. It’s not true and it never was true. Writers who always insist that a preposition can’t end a sentence often end up with stilted and unnatural sentences:Example: Where did you come from?…
Preposition Examples Unfortunately, there’s no reliable formula for determining which preposition to use with a particular combination of words. The best way to learn which prepositions go with which words is to read as much high-quality writing as you can and pay attention to which combinations sound right. Here are a few examples of the…