How to use 'most of' correctly

In today’s post, I will deal with ‘most of’ used in sentences. Let us look at the following sentences. Tell me which one is wrong.

1 Most of the boys are interested in football.

2 Most of the cake was eaten by my brother.

Actually both sentences are correct. Let me explain.

When ‘most of’ is followed by a countable noun, it takes a plural verb. For instance, you can write a sentence such as the one below.

Most of the apples sold here are fresh. [As apples are plural, the verb that follows it is plural, that is ‘are’]

On the other hand, if ‘most of’ is followed by an uncountable noun, then a singular verb is used. Look at the following example.

Most of the palm oil in Malaysia is exported to China. [ As palm oil which follows ‘most of’ is uncountable, it is considered singular and hence a singular verb ‘is’ is used]

These are other examples when ‘most of’ is used in tenses.

1 Most of the girls in the school play netball.

2 Most of the activities here require skills and patience.

3 Most of the work was done by my mother.

4 Most of the fun comes from knowing that one has achieved something.

5 Most of the rubbish is not disposed of properly.

I hope readers of this blog are able to use ‘most of’ in sentences properly after reading my post.

How to use 'lend itself to' in a sentence

The expression 'lend itself to' means 'is suitable for'. You can sentences such as the ones below.

1 This hall lends itself to holding a grand birthday party as it is very spacious.

2 This stadium lends itself to hosting a grand concert as it can accommodate 5000 music enthusiasts.

However, you cannot make a sentence as follows.

This shirt lends itself to being worn by kids only.

You can say 'This shirt is only suitable for children only.'

Subject verb agreement

Students should pay attention to subject verb agreement when they write their essays. In this post, I shall tell readers a little bit about this aspect of the English language.

In English, a singular subject should be followed by a singular verb, that is, a verb which has an 's' after it. Look at the following examples.
1 The boy likes to sing. ['boy' is singular and 'likes' is an singular verb.]
2. Hashim drives to work every day. [Hashim is singular and 'drives' is a singular verb.]
3. It is cute. [The pronoun 'It' is singular and the auxiliary verb 'is' is singular.]

When the subject is an abstract noun, it is considered singular and hence takes a singular verb. For instance, you can write sentences such as what are shown below.
1 Water is important to all living things. [Water is an abstract noun and it is singular]
2 Beauty is but skin deep. [Beauty is an abstract noun and is considered to be singular.]

Likewise, a plural subject will take a plural verb, a verb without the 's'. Let us look at some examples.
1 Boys are usualy naughty. ['Boys' is plural and hence takes a plural verb such as 'are']
2 They come here almost every evening. ['They' is plural and is followed by the plural verb 'come']

Some words may not have 's' but are plural in nature. These include cattle, the police, the poor, and the Chinese. Hence you can write sentences such as the ones below.
1 Cattle are reared by the villagers there.
2 The poor are give financial aid by the government.
3 The Chinese are celebrating Chinese New Year a week from now.

So much for subject verb agreement for today's post.

The difference between 'live' and 'stay'

Do you know the difference between 'live' and 'stay'? If not, then read on.

If you live in a place, you occupy a house, carry on your daily activities from year 1 you were there until now. In other words, 'to live in a place' is to settle down in a place for a long time.

As for 'stay' it means put up in a place for a short time. Hence, when you go to your relative's house outstation, you will be put up there for a few days. In this case, we can say that you will stay there for several days.

So much for the difference in meaning between 'live' and 'stay'.

Happy living in your present house permanently and happy staying in your relative's house for a few days.

So do I

To economise the use of words, there are certain ways you can use to achieve this aim. One of them is explained below.

You use 'So do I' in response to 'My brother likes to eat ice cream.' as uttered by my brother.

Look at some other examples below:
1 She did not come to school yesterday.
So did her sister.
[The longer sentence is Her sister did not come to school yesterday too.]

2 They play badminton in the evening daily.
So does she.
[The longer sentence is She plays badminton in the evening daily too.]

So much for economising the use of words.

The difference between it's and its

Many of my students often do the guessing game when it comes to these two words: it's and its.
They can't differentiate between them.

In this post, I shall try to explain their difference.

Actually, it's is the contraction of 'it is'. You can make sentences such as the ones below.
1. It's getting cold. Let use get inside the house.
2. It's going to rain soon.
3. It's not my fault.
4. It's the only way I know how to get there.
5. It's really easy, believe me.

It's can also be the contraction for 'it has'. For instance, you can say 'It's been a long time since I visited my granny.'

As for its, it means 'of or belonging to it.' Look at the following sentences to see what I mean.
1 Its tail is quite long. [It can mean the dog's tail is quite long]
2 Its surface is smooth. [It can mean the table's surface is smooth]
3 Ir comes with its own carrying case. [It can mean a laptop's carrying case.]

So much and the difference between it's and its.

How to use 'responsible for' and 'responsible to' correctly

Some people get confused when it comes to using 'responsible for' and 'responsible to'. Well, in this post, I am going to tell readers their correct usage.

The expression 'responsible for' is used in front of something. For example, you can say 'I am responsible for getting new members for my club.' Another example is 'A policeman is responsible for the safety of the masses.'

As for the expression 'responsible to', it is used in front of 'someone'. For instance, you can say ' I am directly responsible to my superior.' or 'A prefect is responsible to the disciplinary master.'

So much for the usage of 'responsible for' and 'responsible to'.

How to use 'some time', 'sometime' and 'sometimes'

In order to use 'some time', 'sometime' and 'sometimes' correctly, we must first of all know their meanings. 'Some time' means 'a period of time', 'sometime' carries the meaning of 'at an unstated time in future' and 'sometimes' is the equivalent of 'occasionally'.

Let us try to make sentences out of them to show how to use them correctly.

1 I will need some time to tidy up my messy room.'
2 Krishnan remembered seeing the man sometime last week.'
3 Sometimes we have to try our luck in doing something new.

Now try to make sentences yourself with these three words.

He aced the test

In English, you can economise the use of words. For example, instead of saying 'He got an 'A' in the test.', you can simply reword it as 'He aced the test.'

If you are ready to listen to someone, you need not say 'I am ready to listen to what you have to say.' Rather, just say "I am all ears."

If you laugh until you bend your body forward when you watch something really comic or funny done by someone, you need not say 'His comic act really made me laugh until I bent my body forward.' Just say 'His comic act had me in stitches.'

How to begin a sentence with "Being"

I have not been writing about tips on English and in this post I shall tell readers how to form a sentence that begins with "Being".

Let us look at the following sentences:
1 I was very curious.
2 I asked the boy how he could tell my name correctly.

You can use 'Being' as the start of a sentence to combine the above two sentences to produce the following sentence.
Being curious, I asked the boy how he could tell my name correctly.

Now how about joining the two sentences below to form a sentence beginning with "Being".
1 He was in a hurry.
2 He tripped over a stone.
If you imitate the earlier sentence formed, you will have come out with the following sentence.
Being in a hurry, he tripped over a stone.

You can form sentences that begins with "being" by writing two sentences, and the first sentence must contain "is", "am", "was" or "were". The following examples will make this clear to you.

Example 1: I am a girl. I like to look beautiful. [Being a girl, I like to look beautiful.]
Example 2: She is snobbish. She will not greet any poor man. [Being snobbish, she will not greet any poor man.]
Example 3: It was sick. It walked slowly. [Being sick, it walked slowly.]
Example 4: They were very strong. They could carry heavy loads. [Being very strong, they could carry heavy loads.]

So much for making sentences beginning with "Being".

It was raining when I reached home

In learning English, the correct usage of tenses is very important. With much reading and practice, tenses will come naturally as we write. In this post, I would like to discuss two pairs of verb forms that go together. These pairs are past tense and past perfect tense and past tense and past continuous tense.

Examples of the pair of past tense and past perfect are as follows:
1 He started to watch television when he had finished his homework.
2 John had taken his lunch before he went out.

These are the examples involving the pair of past tense and past continuous tense:
1 It was raining when I reached home.
2 He was playing computer games when I went to see him.

Reading, listening and writing helps to improve one's English

My students always ask me how to improve their English and my answers are invariably the same.

Reading, listening and writing in English are a must if one wants to improve in English.

For reading, the most easily accessible printed matter is the newspapers. Take about ten to 15 minutes a day reading English newspapers. Through reading one will pick up new words, get used to English structures and especially the correct usage of prepositions and phrasal verbs.

Listening helps to reinforce our pronunciation and train our mind to visualise things spoken in English.

Writing, is to me, very important because 'practice makes perfect'. If a student is very hardworking and writes an essay a day and ask his teacher to mark it, he is sure to improve in his essays tremendously. I have personally marked the 'karangan' (essay written in Malay) for a collegemate very often and she finally obtained a distinction in the MCE (now SPM) exam.

I very like you

Direct translation from Mandarin to English often results in sentences which are grammatically incorrect. One such example is 'I very much like you.' This sentence comes from Mandarin that reads 'Wo fei chang xi huan ni.'

The correct sentence should have been 'I like you very much.'

Hence you should know which of the following sentences is correct:
1 Do you very like me?
2 Do you like me very much?

How to use 'worry' and 'worried'

The verb 'worry' means 'feel anxious about something that may happen'.
You can make a sentence such as the one below.

You don't have to worry about the safety of your belongings because they will be well taken care of.

As for 'worried', it is the past tense of 'worry' or an adjective. How they are used can be seen through the following sentences:

1 He worried about the condition of his son who was still sick after being given medicine. ['worried' here is the past tense of 'worry'.

2 She is worried about the exam she is taking tomorrow. ['worried' here is an adjective]

How to use 'beside' and 'besides' correctly

My students often gets confused when it comes to using these two words. They are 'beside' and 'besides'.

The word 'beside' is a preposition and it means 'near'.
Let us look at two examples to see how it is used in sentences.
1 I sat beside John when I was watching the football match.
2 There is dustbin beside me.

As for 'besides', it is a preposition and adverb. When it is used as a preposition, it means 'in addition to' but when it acts as an adverb, it carries the meaning of 'in addition'.

You can make a sentence such as the one below to use it as a preposition.
Besides singing, the renowned singer composes her own songs.

To use 'besides' as an adverb, perhaps you can construct a sentence as follows.
Besides, I don't have the transport to go there at the moment.

The difference between 'damage' and 'damages'

Many pupils often write, 'Floods cause a lot of damages to crops.' They think that damages means ' a lot of destruction'. This is wrong usage. Actually, there is a difference between 'damage' and 'damages'. The former means 'destruction' while the latter carries the meaning of 'compensation'.

Let us look at the following sentences to see the difference in meanings.

1 Damage had been done when broke my prized vase. [destruction]
2 He paid damages to me for breaking my prized vase. [compensation]

Reading does help one to improve one's English

I read with interest a letter to the editor written by De Jing in the Sunday Star yesterday. He described how as a boy he was unable to understand English and was punished by the teacher to stand behind the class or outside the classroom. Then one day while he was standing outside the classroom as punishment, a girl handed him a book. He took it and started to read. I supposed the book had illustrations and texts and he got interested in the book and continued reading. He came across many words whose meaning he did not know of, but with the help of the illustrations, he could follow the story. Later, the same girl gave him other books. As he read on, more words registered in his mind. The best part was the sentence structures became so familiar with him that he could remember them and words made sense to him. His English began to improve.

The above live example shows that reading does help a student to improve in his English. I have always advocated reading as a way to master a language. My personal experience bears testimony to this fact. Besides Enid Blyton, I did read illustrated books such as School Boys series where a story was told in words and pictures. I do not know whether such types of reading materials are available for students who are weak in English.

Another aspect in mastering a language is the interest in the language. You must be interested in a particular language so that you don't feel bored studying it.

Please be a man

In this post, I intend to discuss the words that should be behind 'Please be'.

If you want to know what words should follow 'Please be', you must realise that it is the same as the ones that go after am, is, are, was, were, will be, and so on. In other words, what goes after a verb-to-be.

They are nouns, adjectives, ing-verbs, and past participles.
Here are some examples:
a) I am a man. [noun (a man) is behind 'am']

b) She was smart when she was small. [adjective (smart) is after 'was']

c) They were returning home when it rained. [returning (ing-verb) follows 'were']

d) It will be written on the board. [written (past participle) is behind 'will be']

Hence you can have nouns, adjectives, ing-verbs and past participles after 'Please be'.
Look at the examples given below:
a) Please be a man and fight him. [noun (a man) stays behind 'be']

b) Please be punctual when you come for the meeting. [adjective (smart) is after 'be'.]

c) Please be moving as we don't time to idle any minute.[ing verb (moving) is behind 'be']

d) Please be informed that the meeting will be postponed to a date to be fixed later.[informed (past participle)follows 'be']

Who is whom?

The confusion between who and whom often occurs in my students' written assignments. Hence I will deal with their difference in this post, hoping to be of help to other leaners of the English language.

The relative pronoun 'who' refers to the subject in front of it. These are some examples of how to use 'who' as a relative pronoun.
a) She is the girl who often helps me when I am in difficulty. ['who' here refers to 'the girl', the subject in front of it.]

b) Those who win who get their prizes in cash. ['who' in this sentence refers to 'those', the subject in front of it.]

c) The man who cheated my neighbour is still in town. ['who' in this case refers to 'The man', the subject in front of it.]

As for the relative pronoun 'whom', it is just the objective case of 'who'. In other words, it refers to the object instead of the subject. Let us look at a few examples to see how 'whom' is correctly used.
a) He was the man to whom I gave my application letter. ['whom' here refers to the object 'the man'. The sentence comes from two sentences, that is, 'He was the man.' and 'I gave my application to the man.']

b) She was the girl with whom I travelled from Perlis to Johor Bahru. ['whom' here refers to the object 'the girl'. Here again, the sentence comes from two sentences, that is, 'She wsa the girl.' and 'I travelled with the girl from Perlis to Johor Bahru.']

c) He was the officer from whom I obtained this information. ['whom' here refers to the object 'the officer'. The two sentences that are combined to form the above sentence are 'He was the officer.' and 'I obtained this information from the officer.]

So much for the different usage of 'who' and 'whom'

Improving one's English through reading

Through my own experience, reading English materials such as newspapers, magazines, books and posters helps one to master the English language.

When I was still in Form 1, I had the chance to read books written by Enid Blyton cheaply. I have mentioned in my earlier post that I paid onl 10 cents per book after having paid 40 cents for the first Enid Blyton book. The Indian man who operated a second-hand book store at Tek Soon Street in Penang charged me only ten cents when I returned one Enid Blyton in exchange for one which I had not read before. Initially I came across a lot of words which I did not know, but I took the trouble to find out their meanings. As I read more and more books, those words became my friends and I knew them well.

As for newspapers, I still remember how I read the old newspaper that was used to wrap things bought by my mum. I read them and looked up the dictionary for words whose meanings I did not know.

Reading helps one to master prepositions which form an important part of the English language. Constant reading will make you have remember how prepositions are used without you realising it.