Do we apostrophe 's' or don't we?

That diminutive symbol which marks a noun to signal possession or ownership was the subject of an amusing discussion in my workplace not long ago. Yes, I mean the apostrophe. We place the apostrophe right after the proper or common noun to indicate that someone or something belongs to the person or thing in question. Here are some examples: the woman's dog; the boy's bike; the city's residents; the cat's tail; the car's doors; Dora's car; Nora's husband; James' skis; Jesus' teachings; the women's dogs; the children's school; the boys' teacher; the girls' bags.

The example, the car's keys may run into trouble with strict grammar rules which restrict ownership to only living things. In this case, a car cannot own keys. To circumvent this problem, some writers would phrase it as the car doors, where the words car and doors are taken together as a noun. Likewise, it may be awkward to say the table's legs. Instead, we would say the table legs are broken, for example. So far, so good, but what about lamp's bulb. I have no trouble with that although strict grammarians may insist on saying the bulb of the lamp.

The use of the apostrophe with proper nouns such as Nora's husband presents no difficulty. However, traditionalists may argue that James' skis would be out of sync with the traditional rule that requires the letter 's' after the apostrophe for names that end with 's' as in James's skis. The same rule says that it's not necessary to have the letter 's' for Biblical or classical names as in Jesus' teachings and Hippocrates' Oath. The trend now ignores this traditional rule and it's common to see writers writing Jess' speech alongside Jesus' teachings. I think Jesus wouldn't object to that.

What's your condition?

I often tell my students that English is a language where it's quite common to see writers making mistakes. A case in point is the opening sentence of a recent article in a local English daily: "If you live in Petaling Jaya, you would probably have heard of it. Three armed men rushed into a famous chilli crab restaurant shortly after closing time-and they were not looking for food".

The sentence in italics is a conditional sentence, but it's faulty. If the writer had intended to write in the "third conditional" the sentence should have been written thus: If you had lived in Petaling Jaya, you would probably have heard of it. However, we use the third conditional to express regrets for something that happened or didn't happen. Here's an example: If I hadn't missed the bus, I would have arrived at the office on time. It's quite obvious that the third conditional is not appropriate in this context.

The writer should have expressed his idea in the "first conditional": If you live in Petaling Jaya, you will/would probably know this. This sentence is possible as it expresses the idea that if the condition is fulfilled, the result is likely to happen. The use of would makes the writer's assertion more tentative.

Can you spot the grammar mistake in this Old Town White Coffee ad which appeared in The Star of Monday 12 November 2012? Read more at: http://bizproposalsmalaysia.blogspot.com/

Can you spot the mistakes in this notice on the wall of a Shiok Kopitiam toilet?

The management at Shiok Kopitiam must have had a stinky hard time dealing with male customers who patronise their cafe with a misguided aim. This frank and in-your-face notice says as much : target your discharge inside the toilet bowl, and not on or outside the bowl. Yes, "it will be more grateful". The pronoun "it" appears to be ambiguous: Does it refer to the toilet bowl or the management? We know the toilet bowl is an inanimate object and therefore the expression of gratitude should come from the management. Maybe someone at Shiok Kopitiam has a literary bent and has decided to endow the toilet bowl with human qualities? In other words, the toilet bowl is being personified. However, I think the personification is accidental and the notice should have read: IF YOU CAN TARGET INSIDE THE TOILET BOWL, WE WOULD BE MOST GRATEFUL". The use of "can" here seems to imply that there's a possibility some customers really have a problem with their aim and need to consult a urologist. Furthermore, why "would" and not "should"? The latter carries the weight of obligation that is absent in "would". Hokey, dokey. I'd better get myself out of this stinky business. I would suggest that the notice be worded thus:  IF YOU TARGET INSIDE THE TOILET BOWL, WE SHOULD BE MOST GRATEFUL" This way, there's no ambiguity and no male customers will suffer the ignominy of having their noble aim questioned.

NOTE: Look out for an exercise on pronoun practice.

 McDonald's I'm lovin' it

Next time when you're spending a blissfully intimate moment with your beloved, you might want to coo into her soft tofu ears: "I'm loving you." I'm not sure how she would react, but what I do know is that McDonald's tagline- I'm lovin' it- sure has a way of getting our attention.

"Love" is a stative verb which cannot be expressed in the present continuous tense. Just as we do not say "He's believing what you've just told him," it's also wrong to say "I'm loving you" or "I'm loving it". If you want to express your love, you should instead say "I love you, darling" from the depths of your heart. And your beloved should be left in no doubt that you mean what you say. Now, try saying "I'm lovin' you, darling." Does it sound the same? I doubt it. I think it lacks the simple directness of the declarative expression of love in "I love you."

But then McDonald's "I'm lovin' it" tagline is different. It may be wrong in grammar, but it's deliberate. Now, let's change McDonald's tagline to the grammatically correct stative verb form:  "I love it." Say it a few times and you'll know what I mean: It's bland, and it induces a dryness in your mouth. On the other hand, the present continuous form of "I'm lovin' it" possesses the quality of freshness and motion that gives the expression life and makes it more dynamic. That's why the present continuous tense (-ing) form is referred to as dynamic and not static.

Call it creative licence!

Stative verbs usually refer to a state or condition which is quite static or unchanging. They do not refer to an action and so are not used in the present continuous tense form. Thus, we should say "I hate this TV show"  instead of  "I'm hating this TV show." Now, say which verbs are used correctly in the following sentences:

a. The girls are seeming tired.
b. He is believing what you told her.
c. I'm seeing him this afternoon.
d. I'm having a brand new car.
e. I'm liking swimming very much.
f. Jeff is loving his new job as a junior reporter.
g. They're preferring a new coach for their football club.
h. We're having a party next weekend.
i. She's remembering what happened at the club meeting yesterday.
j.  I'm wanting to apply for the new job vacancy Penang.
k. I'm seeing what it means.
l.  Kate's thinking that coffee is good for her health.
m. This vegetable soup is tasting delicious.
n. He's needing another loan to pay off his gambling debts.
o. We're remembering the people we met on our trek across the jungle.
p. They're thinking about their next holiday in February.
q. She's seeing three clowns coming down the road.
r. I'm knowing how to solve this difficult math problem.
s. The children are hearing what we're discussing.
t. He's liking the bowl of fish noodle.
u. Don't you agree that they are being silly?
v. The crate is containing 12 bottles.
w. Kamil is knowing the answer to every question.
x. I'm smelling the soup to see if it's good.
y. She's smelling the new lotion that she has just bought.
z. I've been meaning to ask you out, but I just can't find the time.

This article is available at: http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2012/7/10/lifefocus/11572022&sec=lifefocus

Exercise Your Grammar Muscles 3

A common mistake among students is in the use of though/although. Identify the mistake in each of the following sentences.

1. Although I left home late, but I was in time for school.
2. Although there was only one apple, but I shared it with my brother.
3. Though he is a multimillionaire, but he is not generous with his money.
4. Though the movie isn’t good overall, but it has a lovely ending.
5. Although the room was dark, he managed to find the pendrive.

In all five sentences, "but" has to be taken out. We do not use "although" with "but".

Exercise Your Grammar Muscles 2

Whether you're taking your PMR English or SPM English 1119, you can exercise your grammar muscles doing this and other grammar exercises that'll be coming your way. In this exercise, let's take a look at the use of verb + adjective pattern. Here's an example: He appeared worried when the supervisor asked him for the missing file. Alright, it's your turn. Complete the following sentences with a suitable adjective (one word). I hope you know what an adjective is. In the example above, worried is an adjective as it describes the person. Go to www.pmrenglish.com and www.spmenglish1119.com for additional resources.

1. She looked .......... (not happy)when I told her about her friend who was arrested by the police.
2. Do you feel ............(sure of your ability) about tomorrow's mathematics test?
3. You may become ...........(not well) if you eat the uncooked food.
4. Dahlia seems quite ..........(not happy or satisfied) with the outcome of the interview.
5. My brother's face turned .......... (lacking in colour) when he saw the bully.
6. At the end of the jungle trekking, we felt so .......... (in need of rest or sleep).
7. She seemed ...........(facial expression in the face of something unexpected) when I told her about
    her best friend's wedding.
8. The children remained ..........(not speaking) when their mother asked them about the broken vase.
9. The situation became increasingly ..........(muscles stiffen because you are frightened) when
     the police surrounded the protesters.
10. The little boy felt ..........(not hot or warm) as he was standing in the rain without an umbrella.

Exercise Your Grammar Muscles 1 : There Is and There Are

When there is not emphasized, we frequently use a or an after the verb :
There's a boy waiting to see you in the office.
There's an English man in the gym.
However, when there is emphasized and refers to a particular place, we can use the/a/an according to the situation:
There is the boy I've been talking about.
There is a paper clip. Didn't I tell you that you could find one in that bookcase?

Put in is or are.

1. There ..... still a few old bicycles in the garage.
2. There ..... a lot of of work to be done.
3. There ..... a lot of things which need to be done before we can take a holiday.
4. There ..... not enough pencils to give to all the examination candidates.
5. There ..... a lot of money in the car boot.
6. There ..... something wrong with our project.
7. ..... there enough math teachers in our school?
8. There ..... only a few hockey sticks in the storeroom.
9. ..... there any computers in our school?
10. .....there any more apples in the fridge?
11. There ..... a lot of spelling mistakes in your essay.
12. There ..... quite a lot of sugar in this coffee!
13. There ..... usually quite a lot of students at the end-of-year dinner and dance party.
14. There ..... a number of cracks in the wall.
15. There ..... quite a bit of dust on my laptop screen.
16. There ..... quite a number of shops still open after midnight.
17. There ..... a number of people who saw what happened.
18. There ..... a lot of men in the boat.
19.  ..... there a lot of money left in the bank?
20. ..... there a lot of coins in your piggy bank?

Go to www.pmrenglish.com and www.spmenglish1119.com for additional resources.

SPM English 1119- Directed Writing (Paper 1)

In Paper 1 of the SPM English 1119 exam., there are two compulsory essay questions Directed Writing (Section A) and Continuous Writing (Section B).

As the name suggests, in Directed Writing, you have been directed to write with suggested short notes.What is required of you is to expand the given notes into an essay which can be in any of the following forms: a) a narrative story b) a descritption of an event c) a speech or talk d) a message e) a description of a place f) a description of a person g) a description of a process h) a dialogue or conversation i) a letter j) an opinion piece.

Are there differences in the way we write the different essays?

Firstly, the form of the essay will differ. Say, you're writing a dialogue which means you will have two speakers engaging in a conversation. If you are asked to write a conversation, then you should have at least three speakers. Your essay, therefore, is not written in the usual essay form: a continuous prose passage, one paragraph after another, from beginning to end. A dialogue would look like this:

Peter: How are you, Pan?
Pan :  Great! And you?
Peter: So, what have you been doing these days?

Secondly, the style may vary with the different essay forms. When writing a dialogue, you write in the conventions of a conversation. For instance, you may use contractions (I'll, You won't) and there are certain social courtesies involved. By courtesies, I mean the form of expressions used in greetings, interrupting politely, and closing a conversation.

Thirdly, you'll have to pay attention to your grammar and how you link the given notes into a cohesive dialogue or conversation. As an example, what tense should you use? That depends on the subject matter.If you are talking about a football match in the papers, you would most likely say: "Inter Milan played much better throughout the game. They deserved to win. Anyway, I think they are a much better team compared to Manchester United." You will notice that two tense forms are used : simple past (relating a past event) and simple present (stating your opinion, what you think at the time of speaking).

As a way of helping you write better dialogues or conversations, I would suggest as a first step to listen. Yes, listen to others talking. You can do plenty of listening by watching the movies or shows on TV.spmenglish1119.com

SPM English 1119 Exam

spmenglish1119.comThe SPM English 1119 exam comprises two papers : Paper 1, which essentially tests students on essay writing, and Paper 2, which tests students on grammar, vocabulary, information transfer, reading comprehension, summary writing, and literature.

Generally, most students find questions that require writing skills the most challenging or difficult. I remember tutoring a group of science undergraduates of a public university and almost all the students I encountered had horrendous writing skills. The science essays and reports were almost incomprehensible because the content was often overwhelmed by the grammar mistakes and faulty syntax. So, it's no surprise that SPM students taking their English exam find essay writing the most challenging. In the SPM English exam essay writing skills are tested in Paper 1's Directed (Section A) and Continuous Writing (Section B) questions as well as Paper 2's Summary Writing (Section C) and Literature (Section D) questions. As you can see, there's quite a lot of stress on essay writing skills.

In subsequent posts, I'll be dealing with essay writing in the SPM (and PMR) English exam as well as the other sections. In the meantime, I'm  giving away one (1) "SPOT" Essay Question (2010) for the SPM English 1119 Examination which comes with guidelines, notes, an essay outline, and a sample answer to the first 100 readers who FOLLOW my BLOG and leave a comment.

Acknowledgement: I wish to thank Berlin for the breezy artwork. Her blog is at http://berlin-fashionunplugged.blogspot.com