Types of Prepositions Prepositions indicate direction, time, location, and spatial relationships, as well as other abstract types of relationships. Direction: Look to the left and you’ll see our destination.- Посмотрите налево и вы увидите нашу цель. Time: We’ve been working since this morning.- Мы работаем с сегодняшнего утра. Location: We saw a movie at the…
What Is a Preposition? “Vampires! Zombies! Werewolves!” “Where?!” “Behind you!”Thank goodness for prepositions. Imagine not knowing where the danger lay….Prepositions tell us where or when something is in relation to something else. When monsters are approaching, it’s good to have these special words to tell us where those monsters are. Are they behind us or…
Apostrophe Rules. Tip#4: Apostrophes and Plurals Using an unnecessary apostrophe to form the plural of a noun is a very common mistake. Sometimes, it’s called the grocer’s apostrophe because of how frequently it is spotted in grocery store advertisements (3 orange’s for a dollar!). Don’t do it! With very few exceptions, apostrophes do not make…
Apostrophe Rules. Tip#3: Apostrophes and Possessive Nouns The rules about forming possessives probably cause the most apostrophe confusion. They vary a little bit, depending on what type of noun you are making into a possessive. Here are the rules of thumb:For most singular nouns, add apostrophe+s:Example: The dog’s leash; The writer’s desk; The planet’s atmosphere.…
Apostrophe Rules. Tip#2: Apostrophes and Possessive Pronouns Personal pronouns, unlike regular nouns, do not use apostrophes to form possessives. Most writers don’t have trouble with the possessive pronouns my, mine, his, her, and our. It’s your, yours, hers, its, ours, their, and theirs, that tend to cause the confusion. The relative possessive pronoun whose is…
Apostrophe Rules. Tip#1: Contractions and Omissions A contraction is a shortened form of a word (or group of words) that omits certain letters or sounds. In a contraction, an apostrophe represents missing letters. The most common contractions are made up of verbs, auxiliaries, or modals attached to other words: He would=He’d. I have=I’ve. They are=They’re.…
What’s an Idiom? Broadly speaking, an idiom is a widely used phrase that, when taken as a whole, has a particular meaning that you would not be able to deduce from the meanings of the individual words. The ubiquitous greeting “How are you doing today?” is an example of an idiom. Normally, how means “in…
Use the Semicolon to Join Two Ideas A list of grammar rules has to include the scariest of punctuation marks. It might look funny, but don’t be afraid of the semicolon; it’s the easiest thing in the world to use! Say you want to join two ideas but can’t figure out or can’t be bothered…
Compound Words. Tip #3: Hyphenated Compound Words There are a great many grammar rules regarding hyphens in compound words. One important rule of thumb to remember is that in most cases, a compound adjective is hyphenated if placed before the noun it modifies, but not if placed after the noun. Example: a long-term solution- долгосрочное…
Compound Words. Tip #2: Closed Compound Words Closed compound words look like one word. At one point, these words weren’t used together, but they’re now accepted as a “real word” in the English language. Closed compound words are usually made up of only two words. Here are some closed compound examples. Example: notebook- тетрадьExample: waistcoat-…