USING APOSTROPHES

USING APOSTROPHES

John's book	The book belongs to John.
the brothers' book	The book belongs to two or more brothers.
the man's car	The car belongs to one man.
the men's car	One car belongs to two or more men.
the witness's (or witness') book	The book belongs to one witness.
the witness's (or witness') books	One witness owns more than one book.
the witnesses' book	The book belongs to two or more witnesses.
the witnesses' books	Two or more witnesses each own more than one book.
the witnesses are looking at a book	Two or more witnesses are looking at books they each own.
the witnesses are looking at their books	Two or more witnesses are looking at one or more books they each own. or  Two or more witnesses are looking at two or more books they all own together.
someone's car	The car belongs to someone.
something's help	The help belongs to something.
something's open	Something is open.

Some examples of two words becoming one.

I + am = Iam = I'm	I'm fine.
it + is = itis = it's	It's fine.
he + is = heis = he's	He's fine.
she + is = sheis = she's	She's fine.
we + are = weare = we're	We're fine.
you + are = youare = you're	You're fine.
they + are = theyare = they're	They're fine.
that + is = thatis = that's	That's okay.
I + will = Iwill = I'll	I'll pay the money.
he + will = hewill = he'll	He'll pay the money.
she + will = shewill = she'll	She'll pay the money.
it + will = itwill = it'll	It'll pay the money.
we + will = wewill = we'll	We'll pay the money.
you + will = youwill = you'll	You'll pay the money.
they + will = theywill = they'll	They'll pay the money.
that + will = thatwill = that'll	That'll be fine.
this + will = thiswill = this'll	This'll be fine.
I + have = Ihave = I've	I've taken the money.
he + has = hehas = he's	He's taken the money.
she + has = shehas = she's	She's taken the money.
we + have = wehave = we've	We've taken the money.
you + have = youhave = you've	You've taken the money.
they + have = theyhave = they've	They've taken the money.
I + had = Ihad = I'd	I'd like to go.
he + had = hehad = he'd	He'd like to go.
she + had = shehad = she'd	She'd like to go.
we + had = wehad = we'd	We'd like to go.
you + had = youhad = you'd	You'd like to go.
they + had = theyhad = they'd	They'd like to go.
will + not = willnot = won't	It won't work.
do + not = donot = don't	They don't work.
does + not = doesnot = doesn't	It doesn't work.
did + not = didnot = didn't	She didn't go.
should + not = shouldnot = shouldn't	She shouldn't go.
could + not = couldnot = couldn't	They couldn't go.
would + not = wouldnot = wouldn't	We wouldn't go.
can + not = cannot	You cannot go.
cannot = can't	We can't go.
are + not = arenot = aren't	You aren't starting.
had + not = hadnot = hadn't	They hadn't started.
have + not = havenot = haven't	They haven't started.

Ain't is never correct.

am + not = ain't	I ain't listening.
is + not = ain't	He ain't listening.
are + not = ain't	They ain't listening.

USING THE CORRECT WORD

USING THE CORRECT WORD

He goes.	John   =   he	John goes.
We go.	John and I   =   we	John and I go.
They go.	John and Peter   =   they	John and Peter go.
It comes.	the bus   =   it	The bus comes.
They come.	the car and bus   =   they	The car and bus come together.

Everyone   =   1 person	she runs	Everyone runs fast.
Everything   =   1 thing	it works	Everything works okay.
Someone   =   1 person	he is	Someone is listening.
Something   =   1 thing	it is	Something is strange.
Both   =   2 persons or things	they were	Both children were good.
All   =   2 or more	they stand	All the people must stand.

PUTTING WORDS IN THEIR CORRECT PLACE

PUTTING WORDS IN THEIR CORRECT PLACE

(My name)     John     Jane     The thing     (Your name)     Jane and I     John and Mary go(es) home. I He She It You We They go(es) home.

They see (person speaking.) John. Jane. the car. (your name.) Jane and me. John and Mary. They see me. him. her. it. you. us. them.

He promised the house to me.		He promised it to me.
I brought the instructions to you.		I brought them to you.
His wife gave Mary the money.		His wife gave it to Mary.
They will give the car to you.		They will give it to you.
He gave Jane the books.		He gave them to Jane.

MAKING A STRONG EMPHASIS

MAKING A STRONG EMPHASIS

I did it myself.                            means,	I, and only I, did it.
He (or John) did it himself.         means,	He (or John), and only he (or John), did it.
She (or Jane) did it herself.        means,	She (or Jane), and only she (or Jane), did it.
You did it yourself.                    means,	You, and only you alone, did it.
You did it yourselves.               means,	You and at least one other person, and only you and that other person (or those other people), did it.
We did it ourselves.                  means,	I and at least one other person, and only I and that other person (or those other people), did it.
They did it themselves.             means,	Two or more people, and only those two or more people, did it.

"TO," "TWO," AND "TOO."

To  =  

I gave the book  John.  =  I gave the book to John.

Two   1 + 1 = 2

I gave John 2 books.  =  I gave John two books.

Too  =  excess

I gave John more books than he wants.  =  I gave John too many books.

Too  =  also

I also gave a book to Mary.  =  I gave a book to Mary, too.

WORDS THAT REPLACE A NAME

WORDS THAT REPLACE A NAME

Who is talking?  …to whom?  Whose is it?  I talk to them.  He talks to me.  It is my book.  It's mine.  He talks to them.  He talks to him.  It is his book.  It's his.  She talks to them.  He talks to her.  It is her book.  It's hers.  It talks to them.  He talks to it.  It is its book.    You talk to them.  He talks to you.  It is your book.  It's yours.  We talk to them.  He talks to us.  It is our book.  It's ours.  They talk to them.  He talks to them.  It is their book.  It's theirs.

Its means that it belongs to it.     It is becomes it's when shortened.

I will do it by myself.  means,	I will do it alone.
He will do it by himself.  means,	He will do it alone.
She will do it by herself.  means,	She will do it alone.
It will do it by itself.  means,	It will do it alone.
You will do it by yourself.  means,	You will do it alone.
You will do it by yourselves.  means,	You and at least one other person will do it together, but no one else will help you.
We will do it by ourselves.  means,	I and at least one other person will do it together, but no one else will help us.
They will do it by themselves.  means,	Two or more people will do it together, but no one else will help them.

"CAN" AND "MAY"

"CAN" AND "MAY"

"May" asks permission:
May I see your driver's license?   =   I am asking permission to see your driver's license.
May I see some personal identification?   =   I am asking permission to see your personal identification.

"Can" asks if someone is able:
Can you tell me where the store is?   =   I am asking if you are able to tell me where the store is.
Can you tell me where to find groceries?   =   I am asking if you are able to tell me where to find groceries.

Example:
Do you have a phone? May I call you? Can I reach you by phone?

VERB TABLE

VERB TABLE

The verb "To Be" (irregular)

To ... form:   to be

Command form:   Be

...ing form:   being

X been:   It is been is infrequently or never used.

Present:    I am   /   he (she, it) is   /   you are   /   we are   /   they are

Past:    I was   /   he (she, it) was   /   you were   /   we were   /   they were

Future:    I will (shall) be   /   he (she, it) will (shall) be   /   you will (shall) be   /   we will (shall) be   /   they will (shall) be

The verb "To look" (regular)

To ... form:   to look

Command form:   Look

...ing form:   looking

looked:   It is looked   /   It was looked   /   It will be looked   /

Present:    I look   /   he (she, it) looks   /   you look   /   we look   /   they look

Past:    I looked   /   he (she, it) looked   /   you looked   /   we looked   /   they looked

Future:    I will (shall) look   /   he (she, it) will (shall) look   /   you will (shall) look   /   we will (shall) look   /   they will (shall) look

The verb "To watch" (regular)

To watch ... form:   to watch

Command form:   Watch

...ing form:   watching

watched:   It is watched   /   It was watched   /   It will be watched   /

Present:    I watch   /   he (she, it) watches   /   you watch   /   we watch   /   they watch

Past:    I watched   /   he (she, it) watched   /   you watched   /   we watched   /   they watched

Future:    I will (shall) watch   /   he (she, it) will (shall) watch   /   you will (shall) watch   /   we will (shall) watch   /   they will (shall) watch