Grammar Guru: Allergic against/ on/ to pollen
I’m allergic _____ pollen. (against, on or to?) Sniff! Sneeze! Cough! When you have a cold, how can you tell whether it’s a virus or an allergy?
Grammar Guru: Oops!
What do you say instead of “oops!” ? * There appears to have been some sort of mistake. * There appears to have been made some sort of mistake. * There appears some sort of mistake has been made. This is the silliest song Ella and Louis ever sang together, but it’s great singing on […]
Grammar Guru: Fish – it or them?
“I’m thinking about what to make for our dinner party. How about having fish?” “Nice! We could serve ______ as the main course.” It or them? And why?
Grammar Guru: Stop …!
One of my dear students is having trouble with the difference between stop to do something and stop doing something. I used to use that Talking Heads film title to pound it into people (oh, you pound people too?? Nasty laughs.) But Lady Gaga is more up to date, and her “Telephone” is hot. No, […]
Grammar Guru: Ugh, renovation!
I hate renovating, and try to avoid it every year. So both of these options are nothing I’d look forward to. But they might be necessary. Which one uses correct grammar? If we were to renovate our flat, I’d have to take a week off. If we would renovate our flat, I’d have to take […]
Grammar Guru: Watching an old film on TV
You watch an old film on TV for the first time. Afterwards, what do you say? “This is the first time I see this film.” You use the present tense because it’s true now. “This is the first time I saw this film.” You use the past tense because the film is over. “This is […]
Grammar Guru: will/going to
Further in my collection of posts you won’t find in a coursebook, and nastiness we could do without (if it weren’t funny): I’ve just finished writing a quiz on using future tenses, and have saved the most sexually incorrect joke I could find for you. “You’re ugly.” “And you’re drunk.” “Yes, but in the morning […]
