How Are Very and Too Different?
A: It is very hot.
B: It is too hot.A is a simple statement- It’s HOT!
But B shows some difficulty, like maybe because it is so hot, I feel terrible. Or because it is so hot, no one is happy.
Here are some more…
C: Lisa is very tall.
D: Lisa is too tall.C is a simple statement. Wow! Lisa is a tall girl.
But D has a negative feeling. Perhaps because Lisa is tall, she hits her head on the ceiling. Or maybe she is so tall, she can’t get a date or has no friends.
So remember, using too shows that there is a problem with the situation.
grammar
🔤 Grammar Tip: Are You Thinking “Of” or “About” Something?
Think of /Think about
This tricky pair is more nuanced. One choice suggests a specific choice and the other suggests pon- dering over something for a while.
He was thinking of a number between one and ten. (specific choice)
He was thinking about going to law school. (pondering)
Here is my trick to remember which is which for this pair: Of is short, like making a quick decision. About is longer, like pondering options.
🔤 Grammar Tip: Are You Going “In” or “Into” the Coffee Shop?
In / Into
The key difference between ‘in’ and ‘into’ is that ‘in’ indicates a state of being, whereas ‘into’ indicates motion. For example, ‘into’ is often used to describe the movement of something from outdoors to indoors, such as in the sentence, “I walked into the house.” By contrast, ‘in’ is used when a thing or person is stationary. For example, “I found the book in the drawer.”
Examples
Jack drove his car into the garage.My friend lives in that house.The teacher came quickly into the room and began the lesson.The dishes are in that cupboard.
🔤 Grammar Tip: Did “Both” or “Neither” of You Dislike Dinner?
Incorrect: Both did not come.
Correct: Neither came.Incorrect: Both of them did not pass the test.
Correct: Neither of them passed the test.In negative clauses, we use ‘neither’ not both.
🔤 Grammar Tip: Can You End a Sentence With a Proposition? Oh Oh!
Were you taught that a preposition should never be placed at the end of a sentence? Ending a sentence with a preposition is a perfectly natural part of the structure of modern English. For example:
- in some passive expressions:
- The dress had not even been paid for.
- The match was rained off.
- in relative clauses and questions that include verbs with linked adverbs or prepositions:
- What did you put that there for?
🔤 Grammar Tip: Do You Have a Knew or New Coat?
New or knew:
The words knew and new are homophones which means they sound alike but mean different things.
New is an adjective that means unused.
Knew is the past tense form of the verb know, which means to understand or to be aware of.
If you are having trouble using these words correctly, remember that knew is a verb and has to do with knowledge. Since both of these words start with the same two letters, you can link them together in your mind.
🔤 Grammar Tip: Is Your Conscience or Conscious Bothering You?
“The noun conscience refers to a state of awareness or a sense that one’s actions or intentions are either morally right or wrong, along with a feeling of obligation to do the right thing. . . . Conscious, on the other hand, is an adjective that indicates that a person is awake and alert and able to understand what is happening around them, such as a patient who becomes fully conscious after being administered anesthesia.”
🔠 Grammar Tip: It’s Not Aerobics – It’s Run On Sentences
Run-on sentence
A run-on sentence is two complete sentences joined by a simple comma. This is different from a really long sentence. You need conjunctions to fix a run-on sentence. Here’s an example:
- Incorrect: Practice is over at 5pm, you need to pick John up in time.
- Correct: Practice is over at 5pm, so you need to pick John up in time.
You can also replace the comma with a semi-colon or a period to make two complete sentences correctly.
🔤 Grammar Tip: Will You Attain or Obtain Your Dream Job?
Attain and obtain have the same ending, and they both mean to get something. Attain is a verb that means to get an achievement. For example, “After a lot of hard work, she attained her dream of being able to speak 7 languages.”
Obtain is also a verb. It means to get possession of something. For example, “The men obtained the tools they needed to cut down the tree.”
🔤 Grammar Tip: Are You “All Ready” or “Already”?
Know the Difference Between All Ready and Already.
All ready means completely prepared.
Already means prior to a specified or implied time.
