Learning to speak English entails making sure that you use the correct verb form. Verb errors are very obvious to native speakers and are an important aspect to master as you work towards fluency. A common confusion arises when considering whether to say, “There is people” or “There are people.” “People” is the plural noun …
Language Arts
Two words in the English language that confuse native speakers and English language learners alike are “lay” and “lie.” Both words involve someone or something in a horizontal position, but which one should you use? Is it “laying in bed” or “lying in bed?” Lying in bed is correct. Both “laying” and “lying” are the …
The English language has many words that are easy for us to mix up, and “lay” and “lie” are two of them. The issue becomes worse when we consider the related phrasal verbs containing “ahead,” so which is correct: “lie ahead” or “lay ahead”? Both lie ahead and lay ahead are correct as “lie ahead” …
Someone has likely asked you to hold on to something — a drink for a minute or a prized possession for longer safekeeping. But when writing, figuring when there should be a space between “on” and “to” can no doubt be confusing. The difference between “onto” and “on to” is that “onto” is a preposition …
Imagine that you look up at the sky, the pink and golds of the sunset fading away while deep blues emerge from the edges of the horizon. The day ends, and a hush seems to fall over the world — is it “nighttime”, or should it be “night time”? “Nighttime” and “night-time,” the latter a …
English is a complex language. You’ll become aware of this more and more as you encounter nearly identical terms with slightly different meanings. Case in point: “walkthrough,” “walk-through,” and the ever-mysterious “walk through.” Most American dictionaries only list “walk-through,” while the British Cambridge Dictionary recognizes “walkthrough” as an alternative spelling when functioning as a noun …