The phrase ‘I could care less’ appeared in the U.S. about a decade later.” Harvard professor Stephen Pinker has suggested that people started saying “I could care less” sarcastically, meaning that they actually couldn’t care less, and that this version of the expression—without the intentional sarcasm—stuck. Get it now on Libro.fm using the button below. (Whom did you see at the park? 10 Major SAT Grammar Rules for the Writing Section 1. For more comprehensive rules please look under the appropriate topic (part of speech etc) on our grammar page. "Foot" becomes "feet." English Grammar Rules and How Funny They Can Be. To see if you’re doing it right, check out this list of words you never knew needed to be capitalized. You care so little that you could not care any less. Some words begin with silent letters, like "knight," others have them in the middle, like "Wednesday," and some have them towards the end, like "reign.". In the case of “it’s,” the apostrophe means the word is a contraction of “it is.” It serves the same function as the apostrophe in “won’t” or “shouldn’t.” Find out some grammar myths your English teacher lied to you about. Oftentimes, English breaks its own "rules" anyway. Consider: “At the store, I bought apples, pears, bananas, and blueberries.” Does that comma after “bananas” need to be there or not? The English language is full of homographs. The sentence makes grammatical sense because ‘Buffalo’ can have three meanings, which can perform a … Finally, weird English words often have lots of syllables (the different sounds within a word) and unique letter combinations, making them excellent for pronunciation practice. 1. There’s nothing “funner” than this debate on grammar! Dictionary ... Every human language starts an active sentence with the subject, or the "doer." Consider “deer,” “sheep,” and even “aircraft.” In the case of “aircraft,” it may be because the word “craft,” as in a vessel, originated as an “elliptical expression.” This means that it used to be a longer phrase and the scythes of time removed some words. Account active The English language comes with lots of rules, many of which are just plain stupid. “E.g.” is short for the Latin expression exempli gratia, which means “for example.” So “e.g.” is the expression you should use before providing an example or examples: “I like all of the common Thanksgiving foods, e.g., stuffing, turkey, and cranberry sauce.” Many people use “i.e.” in this context, though, while “i.e.” means something completely different. since, “No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention”. You don’t, because you’re using “eastern” as an adjective. She graduated from Marist College with a Bachelor of Arts in English and has been writing for Reader's Digest since 2017. "Hanged" vs. "Hung" Perhaps not as controversial as some of the other grammar rules presented here, people still mix up — and sometimes argue — over what situations require "hung" and which ones require "hanged." Fewer and Less. And tricks like "I before E except after C" don't always apply. Weird Al Yankovic is known for his parodies of popular songs—he imitates popular music with his own funny lyrics. Here are some of the most obscure grammar rules for your edification. 2. For example, "worn" can mean that something is worn out and weathered, and "warn," pronounced the same way, is to caution someone. It used to mean “child” or “young person” regardless of the gender. And yet, the debate rages on. If there ever was a succinct introduction to the English language, it was this. ), BOONCHUAY PROMJIAM/Shutterstock, Bill Florence/Shutterstock, Visit Insider's homepage for more stories, Here's how many people in each state speak a language other than English at home, 20 words you won't believe were actually added to the dictionary, 21 synonyms that will make you sound smarter, 20 amazing words that don't exist in English — but really should. What is the purpose of the K in “know”? A new children's book called "P is for Pterodactyl" pokes fun at English words with silent letters and bizarre spellings. Below, French teacher Carol Beth L. shares 10 French grammar mistakes you’re probably making…. “I.e.” stands for id est, or “that is.” Use “i.e.” when you’re trying to explain or clarify something you just said: “I’ll get back to you soon, i.e., before the end of the week.”. They say "I before E except after c," but why is that not always the case? English grammar is too. Some letters are silent altogether. English grammar is weird. ... and the songs from the show are still great for learning and remembering English grammar rules. Definition: thrown into a state of confusion or bewilderment especially by being deliberately fooled or misled. See more ideas about words, grammar jokes, grammar. In the 18th Century, in England, Bishop Robert Lowth, who was a poetry professor at Oxford, made up many of the normative grammar rules for standard written … Hear the fantastic sounds they make, and you’ll certainly agree that these weird words will add some more life to your sentences and make people stop and listen! But, simply because of the different usages of the verb “feel,” the only time “I feel badly” would be completely correct is if you were using “feel” to mean physically discern something by touch. To addRESS someone is to talk to them. Let's not look at grammar as a cold, harsh mistress. Written English has some weird grammar rules that are not based on spoken English. "Child" becomes "children." Well, wonder no more. The answer, confusingly, could be either one. However, in the case of “the East Coast,” you should capitalize the E because the word “east” is part of the noun phrase. “Lay” needs an object, while “lie” doesn’t take an object. The strange, sometimes inconsistent rules of English grammar have produced sentences that have boggled the mind for generations. But, in the fruit example, it doesn’t change the meaning, so some grammarians argue that the “and” serves the same function as the Oxford comma, and the comma isn’t needed. "Tooth" becomes "teeth." In addition to “Mrs.” and its weird “R,” check out some more explanations behind confusing abbreviations we use all the time. … Whilst the thinking behind this is that such words express a partial idea, or incomplete thought, in actuality this rule only came about as a stylistic preference. She can also be a fun, kooky aunt. (This hilarious poem explores even more examples, in rhyme, no less!) Seriously, English—why don’t “though” and “through” rhyme?! Substitute the “who/whom” pronoun with “he/him” or “she/her,” rearranging the sentence if necessary. 1. Even within the single language of English, we’re not guaranteed standardized spelling. There’s nothing “funner” than this debate on grammar! We are no longer supporting IE (Internet Explorer), grammar myths your English teacher lied to you about, hilarious irregular plurals you won’t believe are real, why Brits and Americans spell words like “color” differently, grammar rules it’s probably safe to ignore. Phew! Here are some more grammar rules it’s probably safe to ignore. Here’s an easy way to know: Take out the other person, and see if “me” or “I” makes sense. Here’s another rule, though, where context clues will almost definitely ensure that people know what you mean, regardless of whether you’re using the phrase correctly. Bob’s car. But if you don’t take that into account every time you say “the”—which is, after all, the most common word in English—we certainly won’t fault you for it! And tricks like "I before E except after C" don't always apply. In English, the verb (what's being done) follows the subject. Conjunctions are words such as ‘and, ‘but’ and ‘as’, and for decades this grammar rule has been widely taught in schools up and down the UK – yet it’s completely and utterly incorrect. Because the word “preposition” derives from a Latin word meaning “to place before,” some insist that prepositions should always go before their prepositional objects. In many cases, the silent letters are present because the pronunciation of the words changed as the language evolved, while the spelling stayed the same. "Person" becomes "people." Here’s a funny list of grammar rules to ponder on; Rule #1: Use of a comma to connect ideas. Both “neither” and “either” are always singular if the two things you’re talking about are singular: “Neither the dog [just one dog] nor the cat [just one cat] is responsible for the mess.” The same goes for “Neither of the pets is responsible”—even though “pets” is plural, “neither” still means “neither one.” The only time it works to pluralize the verb is if one or both of the subjects is plural: “Neither Lady Gaga nor the Backstreet Boys are performing tonight” is correct, since the closest subject to the verb, “the Backstreet Boys,” is plural. Less hotly debated than “good” vs. “well,” but equally confusing, is its moral counterpart: bad. Merriam Webster debunked this myth with satirical jingle of its own: "I before e, except after cOr when sounded as 'a' as in 'neighbor' and 'weigh'Unless the 'c' is part of a 'sh' sound as in 'glacier'Or it appears in comparatives and superlatives like 'fancier'And also except when the vowels are sounded as 'e' as in 'seize' Or 'i' as in 'height' Or also in '-ing' inflections ending in '-e' as in 'cueing'Or in compound words as in 'albeit' Or occasionally in technical words with strong etymological links to their parent languages as in 'cuneiform'Or in other numerous and random exceptions such as 'science', 'forfeit', and 'weird.'". The English language can be seriously perplexing. Though “Mike and I went to the store” is right, in some sentences, it is correct to use “me”—it depends on whether the first-person pronoun is a subject or an object. Subscriber The myth circulates so widely, English speakers argue the rule's veracity constantly despite the clear-cut answer. There's tear (to rip) and tear (as in crying), bass (a type of fish) and bass (a low sound), bat (a piece of sports equipment) and bat (an animal), bow (a type of knot) and bow (to incline) to name a few. ways you’re still using apostrophes wrong, list of words you never knew needed to be capitalized, explanations behind confusing abbreviations we use all the time, common spelling and grammar rules no one can agree on, 12 more grammatical errors even smart people make, little grammar rules you can follow to sound smarter, Do Not Sell My Personal Information – CA Residents. Homophones are words that have different meanings but sound the same. Honestly, with this rule, even strict grammar nerds tend to throw up their hands and say, “Use your judgment.” Usually, if the subject of the sentence is an uncountable noun, a singular verb makes sense: “None of the beer is left.” But if the subject represents a concrete number of people or things, you can usually get away with using a plural verb—and it tends to just sound better, too, as in “None of my cousins are coming to dinner.” If your brain can handle it after all this info, read on for more little grammar rules you can follow to sound smarter. When you say “neither,” you’re referring to more than one person or thing, so “neither” should take a plural verb form, right? If you clip something, are you cutting it or attaching it together? Weird Grammar Rules in English. But, if you’re not hung up on being correct, it’s not worth it to stress about it—people will almost definitely know what you mean! This is one of those rules that we never ever break, but also never ever think about. "Weather" is another one, which can either mean wear away or to withstand. “Please lay that expensive book down on the table carefully” is the correct use of “lay.” But the real confusion comes from the fact that the past tense of “lie” is… “lay”! However, while that’s true in Latin grammar, dictionary.com claims that “English grammar is different from Latin grammar, and the rule does not fit English.” The sentence, “This is one rule about which grammar sticklers love to argue,” just doesn’t flow the way “…love to argue about” does. Well…no. Six letters, apparently infinite combinations. The big quandary with this one is that “good” is primarily an adjective (though it could be a noun), and “well” is an adverb. For the most part, the alterations of the words involved removing “superfluous” letters like the U in “colour” and the final “-me” in “programme.” Learn more about why Brits and Americans spell words like “color” differently. Here are the 12 SAT grammar rules that you need to learn and understand before test day. This extra S business gets even more confusing when the word ending with S is also plural. These 20 rules even boggle the minds of grammarians. Find out which ones you're using wrong, how to … Boiled down, this rule is simple. Why does “island” have an S? And where did wordsmiths get “lbs” from “pounds”? 10 Girl used to mean small boy or girl. "-Redditor ffxivfunk. Here are 11 anomalies of the English language that make it difficult to learn. “Who” refers to the subject of a sentence or clause, while “whom” refers to the object. Sometimes it is necessary to preserve the meaning of the sentence, as in, “I love my friends, chocolate and rock music.” Chances are, chocolate and rock music are not the friends you were referring to, so a comma after “chocolate” is a grammatical must. Here are the 11 most important rules of grammar to help you select words and punctuation. Tricks like "I before E except after C" don't always work. But in most cases, there is a linguistic explanation, usually having to do with an earlier spelling or meaning of the word. Some of the dumbest ones are taught in schools and people are forced to … It is one of those usages that can make people squirm to read or hear, simply because it sounds weird. The Grammar Rules You Must Know for SAT Writing. The fact that there are British and American spellings of different words is a bane of linguists and study-abroaders in English-speaking countries. Grammarly recommends a tip that should help you figure it out, if you’re truly determined to. Here are 11 anomalies of the English language that make it difficult to learn. Adjective order . Why is the O pronounced differently in “comb” and “bomb”? Technically, saying “I need to lay down” is incorrect, because you have to lay something down. “Which” and “that” are both relative pronouns, meaning that they begin an independent clause and connect it to a dependent clause. “I couldn’t care less” means exactly that. If something is transparent, is it invisible or obvious? Reader’s Digest. But there’s a whole sublevel of English grammar, just below the surface, that we rarely talk about but weirdly, innately know. For instance, you’re technically supposed to be pronouncing “the” like “thee” when the next word starts with a vowel sound. Especially when connecting two or more ideas into one sentence, the use of comma can be helpful in not altering the meaning of the sentence. Widely used pronunciations can be completely wrong. (Who wants to go to the park? “He wasn’t feeling well, so he lay down” is correct. If “neither” is singular, “none” should be too, right? I have taught 140 college classes in the areas of Linguistics, English, and vocabulary, so I know a bit about this subject. Essentially, they serve the same grammatical purpose, so people use them interchangeably. Adding confusion to the matter of letters with multiple pronunciations is the fact that sometimes, letters are there, but you don’t pronounce them at all! The English language is rife with abbreviations that just don’t seem to make sense. You would ask, “Who went shopping with you?” since “Who” is the subject. According to the rules, “which” should only be used with a comma, while “that” should be reserved for comma-free clauses that are essential to the meaning of the sentence. Rules make things easy to remember, but many rules have exceptions. “Me went to the store” is incorrect, but “My mom met me at the store” is perfectly fine. “The rabbit crawled into its burrow” is the correct use. The English language is a mystery to all of us, whether you've been speaking it since day one, or you've just started to learn it. English grammar is confusing and complex for one simple reason that its terminology and rules are based on Latin wherein a language that has little in common. Not so confusing! The Oxford comma is just one of many common spelling and grammar rules no one can agree on. In virtually every other situation, an apostrophe indicates possession. “She went shopping with you” (“who”), but “You went shopping with her” (“whom”). Grammarians are divided, but the Oxford Living Dictionaries suggest this rule: Add an apostrophe and an S, as in the latter example, when you would actually pronounce the additional S while saying the sentence out loud. Words that look the same can be pronounced differently, and words that sounds the same can be spelled differently. You saw him/her/them. Meghan Jones is a Staff Writer for RD.com who has been writing since before she could write. But when you actually get down to using the two words in a sentence, that’s when things get dicey. Making mistakes is inevitable when you’re learning a new language.After all, you’re learning complex grammar rules, difficult pronunciation, and long lists of vocabulary words. zled \ bam-ˈbü-zəld \ . You know to always capitalize proper nouns like names, but the lines get a little blurry with things like titles and locations. A teeny comma has caused more than its share of debates in the grammar world. Is “I went to Lucas’ for dinner” or “I went to Lucas’s for dinner” correct? Use the wrong form of “its,” “there,” or “your,” and you’re (a contraction of “you are”) sure to have the grammar police wag their (the possessive form of “they”) fingers at you. The Odd Grammar Rule Most English Speakers Know But Are Rarely Taught. It's seen as one of the hardest grammar rules when learning English as a second language. For example, an ADDress is the place where someone lives. Speaking of abbreviations, what the heck are these two short for, and why are they so similar? This is one rule you probably heard starting back in elementary school. But we do have to admit, when it comes to “it’s” vs. “its,” the confusion is easy to understand. Some style guides insist upon it; some don’t. For example, "mischievous" is often pronounced "miss-chee-vee-us," but the correct way is "miss-chiv-us. Words that sound and are spelled the same can have two different or even opposite meanings. Thankfully it’s actually a very simple one to remember. Lisa’s house. Consider: “I liked the cookies that Isabel made better than the store-bought ones,” vs. “We ate the cookies, which Isabel made, in less than five minutes.” But, in truth, this is some deep-cut grammar pedantic-ness, and people don’t really tend to strictly adhere to it. There are some differences between British and American English rules—which are you following? This is an excellent example of one of the grammar rules in essay writing which is commonly broken. A leading-edge research firm focused on digital transformation. You’ve probably heard of the crown gem of English grammar: Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo. What it is, exactly, is the comma that goes before the last item in a sequence. This means that all pilots have to identify themselves and speak in English while flying, regardless of their origin. #1: Select the Correct Word Based on the Context of the Given Sentence. See Also: 4 More Unofficial Rules Native English Speakers Don't Realize They Know. The Oxford English Dictionary suggests that the old expression may have been something like “vessels of small craft.” “Deer,” though confusing, is pretty tame compared to these hilarious irregular plurals you won’t believe are real. Unlike the old SAT, the new version won’t test your knowledge of those extremely rare, weird English words that you’ve never heard of in your life. From its bizarre spelling rules to its free-for-all grammar, it's a daily struggle just trying to form sentences that make sense. Word choice questions are common on the SAT. In that case, add an “-es” to the end and throw the apostrophe at the very end: “The Joneses’ car was blocking my driveway.” Here are more ways you’re still using apostrophes wrong. We recommend our users to update the browser. The word “girl” was not initially used to refer to a specific gender. One artist even created 300 homophone illustrations to help people visualize this phenomenon. When it comes to commonly confused words, there may not be a more understandably mixed-up pair than “lay” and “lie.” The words aren’t interchangeable, though many people use them that way. According to Grammar Girl, “The phrase ‘I couldn’t care less’ originated in Britain and made its way to the United States in the 1950s. If you uttered, “Me and Mike went to the store,” you probably heard someone admonish, “Mike and I!” The problem with that, though, is that many people end up over-correcting. The English alphabet only has 26 letters, but each of those letters may have up to seven different pronunciations. We know many grammar and punctuation rules, but others are unfamiliar or unknown to us. ), If you can replace the word with "him," "her," or "them," use "whom." Why is an easy thing considered "a piece of cake?" In 1789, Noah Webster of Webster’s Dictionary fame spearheaded the push toward “American” variations on some words. The list goes on. A sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a period/full stop, a question mark or an exclamation mark. But when it comes to “it,” the possessive form is the form without the apostrophe. In grade school you got your wrist slapped if you didn't adhere to the strict lessons of the English language. So it’s grammatically correct to say “My mom met me and my dad at the store,” not “my dad and I.”. The rules are pretty nuanced when it comes to different types of words. If your hand is numb because you slept on your arm weird, you might feel badly. When you’re talking about the eastern United States, do you need to capitalize the E in “eastern”? We are no longer supporting IE (Internet Explorer) as we strive to provide site experiences for browsers that support new web standards and security practices. ‘Less’ is reserved for hypothetical quantities, whilst ‘few’ and ‘fewer’ are reserved for items you can actually quantify. Yup, it’s enough to smoke your head for sure! ", Here's a trick: if you can replace the word with "he," "she," or "they," use "who." Other times, the disparity is because the words came from other languages, such as “tsunami” from Japanese and “rendezvous” from French. Pay Attention to the Context. These days even the biggest grammar nerds risk a slip up in their outbox. This is one rule that grammar sticklers love to argue about. Oftentimes, English breaks its own "rules" anyway. He/she/they want to go to the park. And don’t get us started on the words that you’re supposed to pronounce differently in different cases. Go to Basic English, Lesson 7, to learn how to pronounce all the letters of the English alphabet. What is confusing about this one is the fact that people seem to think that “could care less” means the same thing, when it’s really the exact opposite. In English, adjectives can be repeated to express intensification (e.g., a big, big problem ). But…should they? With this guide, you will learn the most common SAT grammar rules and sweep through the test. From “goose/geese” to “mouse/mice” to “foot/feet,” English is full of plural forms that leave even native speakers scratching their heads. Or, rather, “standardised,” as people on the other side of the pond usually spell it! Words that look the same can be pronounced differently, and words that sounds the same can be spelled differently. Or “plow” and “slow”? A "contronym" is a word that has two contradictory meanings, and the English language is full of them. Here are 20 simple rules and tips to help you avoid mistakes in English grammar. Why does the abbreviation for “number” have an “O,” for instance? As a beginner, you must know basic English grammar rules, as they show you how to arrange vocabulary and make meaningful expressions. Why does "it's raining cats and dogs" mean that it's raining hard? Mar 16, 2019 - Feel free to pin as many as you want!. Reply. “Word Crimes” sings about many of the most common English grammar mistakes. seize, either, weird, height, foreign, leisure, conscience, counterfeit, forfeit, neither, science, species, sufficient Spelling Rule 2: Adding Suffixes to Words that End in Y When you add a suffix that starts with E (such as -ed, -er, or -est) to a word that ends in Y, … 9 English is the language of the air. Denise Lasky says: October 7, 2015 at 3:19 am Dear Beth, And why is there a G in “phlegm”? Here are some tricks you can do to make crazy sounding sentences that are still grammatical. When people say, “I’m doing good,” they’re using “good” as an adverb to modify the verb “doing.” Technically, “I’m doing well” is the correct phrase, and “I’m doing good” actually means that you’re doing good deeds like a superhero. For the different spellings, we can thank those pesky American revolutionaries. According to linguist Jakub Marian, if the stress is on the second syllable, it usually becomes a verb. If there is an object (the receiver of the action), it comes after the verb. "Welcome to English, where most of the rules are broken somewhere at sometime. In spring 2017, her creative nonfiction piece "Anticipation" was published in Angles literary magazine. Below is a series of 40 basic English grammar lessons covering most of the English grammar tenses and most-used structures.All the lessons are designed with clear definitions, explanations and forms, followed by lots of examples. Even if you grew up speaking English, chances are you haven't mastered all of its spelling, grammar, and pronunciation rules. Here are 12 more grammatical errors even smart people make. The English language is full of phrases that confuse non-native speakers. BY Michele Debczak. One of the most perplexing rules--at least to non-native English speakers--is the complex rule that governs the precise order in which adjectives must be used. You may have heard the little ditty of "I before E except after C, or when sounded as 'a' as in 'neighbor' and 'weigh,'" but it has too many exceptions to be considered a good rule of thumb. For instance, in the case of “Mrs.” and its seemingly random “R,” that abbreviation used to be short for the word “mistress,” as in the feminine equivalent of “master,” not “missus.” Over time, the connotations of “mistress” changed, but the spelling of “Mrs.” didn’t. 100's of My … Originally Answered: What are some of the weirdest rules of English grammar ? September 8, 2016. iStock. Say them out loud. But you could also ask, “With whom did you go shopping?” since “You” is the subject. Mastering all of the French grammar rules can be tricky for beginner students. The past tense of “lay,” meanwhile, is “laid.” It’s enough to make your head hurt so much that you might need to lie down, as are these other things you’ve probably been saying wrong. In spite of the fact that there are many English words that do not follow general pronunciation rules, at least 80 percent of English words DO follow normal rules. Whether you “feel bad” about something as in feeling sorry or remorseful, or “feel bad” as in feeling sick or unpleasant, it should be “bad,” not “badly.” The confusing part about this, though, is that “badly” is also an adverb. (See what we did there?) Reference Menu. Some letters are silent altogether. And for some words, the plural form of the word is exactly the same as the singular form. 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Re probably making… ” sings about many of the English language that make it to.