Grammar - ways to remember tricker stuff...

[User163639]

I loved the apostrophe thread.

Can we all pitch in some grammar rules that are often forgotten?!

I struggle with whose and who’s etc...educate me?

I don't think "different to" is correct in formal usage, it's always different from and similar to.

(Or occasionally you'd use "than". e.g. They're more similar than I thought.)

Different from- perfectly correct
Different to- becoming more accepted, not classed as substandard, just not found in such frequency in language corpora studies.
Different than- mainly US English, also not in any way substandard, though will probably make some hyperventilate in horror.

I'm always repeating this mantra

Although actually, where I'm using "than" it isn't really "different than" as a block. I'm actually saying "they more similar (to one another) than I thought".

Polka- that's comparative adjectives + than

[quote TheSeedsOfADream]@tantamountto
Both past simple and present perfect can be used with "today". It depends when it's being said:
I've been for a walk today- it's still early enough for me to go for another, "today" isn't yet finished.
I went for a walk today- it's probably evening and you're not going for another.[/quote]
True, but the present perfect is used much more widely in U.K. English than some other versions, including American English.

So, in the U.K. - “Have you washed your hands?”
In USA - “Did you wash your hands?”

In the U.K. “We have already eaten”
USA - “We already ate.”
Etc.

The origin of this difference in usage goes back to the time of British rule in Ireland, when laws were imposed requiring the English language to be spoken by the Irish. Irish language-speakers couldn’t accommodate the present perfect into their translations due to the differences in grammatical structures of the two languages, so the present simple was their past tense of choice. This habit then travelled to the USA with the vast Irish diaspora.

Now, due to consumption of US media in the U.K., this usage is coming back to influence the U.K.

@SausageRoll2020

Good grammer is the difference between knowing your shit and knowing you're shit.

Capital letters are the difference between helping your Uncle Jack off a horse, and helping your uncle jack off a horse.

For necessary I use a mnemonic.

Never eat cake, eat sausage sandwiches and remain young.

Past simple was their past tense of choice, I mean.

British English:

Diarrhoea is awful. Really really hard on every anus.

US English. Diarrhea is always really really hurting every asshole.

When trying to remember how to spell the end of practice, think of....

To devise or a device
To advise or some advice

But effect can be a verb: 'we need someone to effect this change'. Unusual, yes, but possible (and others might be able to think of a better example).

This solves everything. And it's fun.
www.khanacademy.org/ela/grammar

@Mamette, yes, I know. I just used the simple explanation I give to my students. I don't think they're quite ready for historical linguistics They hate the pp and think it was invented to "do their heads in" as it is!

@QuentinInQuarantino, great image, but atrocious spelling of aardvark.

For practice/practise I usually remember it as noun (N) comes before verb (V) in the alphabet, so does practiCe/practiSe

One I use a lot is stationery has an E for envelope, as opposed to stationary for standing still

Whom is when who is the indirect object. So preceded by a preposition usually.

Not just the indirect object, the direct object too. "Whom did you see yesterday?"

I can never get my head round when you should use "whom" (instead of "who"). (I've read an explanation and still don't get it.)

Haven't RTFT so this might have already been said but...

There is a LIE in beLIEve!

@lazylinguist That's what confuses me, why is not "Who did you see yesterday?" How do you tell?

Not sure if it’s already on here

Accommodation
Two children, two mummies, one daddy

Brought = to bring
Bought = to buy

I bought a cake and brought it round.

Some of these are great. The only one I struggle with is time. I’ve looked at every explanation. Where’s the apostrophe and why - In one year’s time we’ll be millionaires or In one years’ time we’ll be millionaires?

[quote missmouse101]@QuentinInQuarantino, great image, but atrocious spelling of aardvark. [/quote]
Oh god @missmouse101 I didn't even notice! Too busy focusing on affect and effect!

On my defense I didn't draw it myself. Not much of a defense on a pedant thread! And now I'm obsessing over defence or defense

[quote Will0wtree]@lazylinguist That's what confuses me, why is not "Who did you see yesterday?" How do you tell?[/quote]
They're both OK.
Whom is more formal but who is perfectly OK.
Whom will probably become obsolete over the next 20-30 years. It's already really only used in formal writing or Downton Abbey I can hear the Dowager saying it but that's about it.

Necessary possesses one c and 2 esses