MISTAKES

WHO AND WHOM
'Who' is a subjective pronoun, along with 'he', 'she', 'it', 'we', and 'they'. It is used when the pronoun acts as the subject of the clause. 'Whom' is a objective pronoun, along with 'him', 'her', 'it', 'us', and 'them'. It is used when the pronun acts as the object of the clause. Using 'who' or 'whom' depends on whether you are referring to the subject or object of a sentences. When in doubt, substitute 'who' with the subjective pronouns 'he', 'she', e.g. Who loves you? He loves me. Similarly, you can also substitute 'whom' with the objective pronounss 'him', 'her', e.g.. I consulted an attorney whom i met in New York. I consulted him.

WHICH AND THAT
'That' is a restrictive pronoun. It is vital to the noun to which it is referring. E.g., i don't trust fruits and vegetables that aren't organic. Here, i am referring to all non-organic fruits and vegetables. In other words i only trust fruits and vegetables that are organic. 'Which' intruduce a relative clause. It allows qualifiers that may not be essential. E.g., i recommend you eat only organic fruits and vegetables, which are available in area grocery stores. In this case you don't need to go to a specific grocery stores to obtain organic fruits and vegetables. 'Which' qualifies, 'that' restrict. 'Which' is more ambiguous however, and by virtue of its meaning is flexible enough to be used in many restrictive clause. E.g., the house, which is burning, is mine. E.g., the house that is urning is mine.

LAY AND LIE
'Lay is a tansitive verb. It requires a direct subject and one or more objects. Its present tense is 'lay', e.g., i lay the pencil on the table; and its past tense is 'laid', e.g., yesterday i laid the pencil on the table. 'Lie' is a intransitive verb. It needs no object. Its present tense is 'lie', e.g., the Andes mountains lie between Chile and Argentina; and its past tense is ;lay', e.g., the man lay waiting for an ambulance. The most common mistakes occurs when the writer uses the past tense of the transitive 'lay', e.g., i laid on the bed; when he/she actually means the intransitive past tense of 'lie', e.g., i lay on the bed.

CONTINUAL AND CONTINUOUS
They are similar but there is a diference. 'Continual' means something that always occuring, with obvious lapses in time. 'Continuous' means something continues without any stops or gaps in between. E.g., the continual music next door made it the worst night of studing ever. E.g., her continuous talking prevented him from concentrating.

ENVY AND JEALOUSY
The word 'envy' implies a longing for someone else's good fortunes. 'Jealousy' is far more nefarious. It is a fear of rivalry, often present in sexual situations. 'Envy' is when you covet your friend's good looks. 'Jealousy' is what happens when your significant other swoons over your good-looking friend.

MAY AND MIGHT
'May' implies a possibility. 'Might' implies far more uncertainity. 'You may get drunk if you have two shots in tem minutes' implies a real possibility of drunkness. 'You might get a ticket if you operate a tug boat while drunk' implies a possiblity that is far more remote. Someone who says 'I may have more wine' could mean he/she doesn't want more wine right now, or that he/she 'might' not want any at all. Given the speaker's indecision on the matter. 'Might' would be correct.

BRING OR TAKE
In order to employ proper usage of 'bring' or 'take', the writer must know whether the object is being moved toward or away from the subject. If it is toward, use 'bring', if it is away, use 'take'. Your spouse may tell you to 'take your clothes to the cleaners'. The owner of the dry cleaners would say 'bring your clothes to the cleaners'.

Usage Of Phrasal Verbs

• We looked at a few houses before we bought this one. 
• We asked the teacher to look through our essays for mistakes. 
• Could you look her telefone number up in the dictionary?
• We are looking forward to your visit in September.
• Look out! There is a car coming!
• I'd like to look into the possibility of buying a new house.
• She is looking after the children this weekend.
• She is looking for a new place to live.
• I need to look over your report, I'll get back to you tomorrow.
• He looks to his best friend for advice on business deals.
• Angie doesn't like to look back on her past. She keeps her on the future. 
• Feel like to look around the store. Let me know if you need any help.
• Things seem to be looking up at the long last. 
• Would you like to take a look at this model?
• The police looked into the crime.
• They used some strong vodka to bring him round.
• I'd like to bring the meeting forward a few hours if that is alright with you,
• I was brought up in the countryside by my aunt.
• I need to bring these books back to the library this afternoon.
• The accident was brought about by his carelees driving.
• I was really happywhen i finally brought that new contract off.
• Smithers brought her latest book out last year.
• The new computer expert was brought in to solve the problem.
• I don't mean to bring you down, but your favorite baseball team lost the game.
• Could i bring up the new subject?
• He brought the rowboat to and let her sister get off?
• I'm afraid he brought his troubles upon himself.
• The policeman brouhgt the criminal down, but unfortunately hurt himself in the act of doing so.
• Did you bring up the subject with your boss?
• The revolution was brought about by the regime's lack of trust.
• Jack took away the plates and brought us the second course. ( removed)
• Let me take you around the office. ( show)
• He took his christmas present back to macys.
• I can't believe how easy it is to take him in.
• He's really starting to take to Sheilla. ( like)
• I think i'll take up golf this year. ( begin a new activity)
• I'd love to take in a good movie tonight.
• The mob wants to take Tony out. ( kill) 
• She takes after her father. ( inherit character) 
• They took apart the Dolphins last week.
• Has he taken off work recently? ( have a holiday)
• He'll never take what he said back. (admit being wrong)
• I had to take Tim aside. ( speak to privately)
• He took over the company with 400.000 shares. ( win control of)
• He took Sharon out last week. ( date)
• Be careful about what you say. He may take you apart. ( criticize strongly)

Ask For Repetition

Today I'd like to talk about ways you can 1) ask someone to repeat something in a different way, and 2) checking that you have understood someone.

So, if I said to you, 'I'd like you to take this important document and transfer it to this file and then delete it from this hard drive,' you probably would feel confused, right?
What are some ways of saying, "Huh?"

Good answers! You've got the idea. One way is to say: 'I'm sorry. I didn't catch that.'

Here are some phrases. I'd like you to decide if they are 'asking for repetition' or 'checking that you've understood'. Put 'R' if it's asking for repetition, and put 'C' if it's checking for understanding.
1. I’m sorry. I didn’t catch that. ____
2. Can you go over that again? ____
3. So what you mean is ... ____
4. Would you mind saying that again? ____
5. In other words, you think … ____
6. What you’re getting at is … ____
7. Sorry, I didn’t follow that. ____
8. So your point is … ____


Excellent! Here are the answers. How did you do?
1. I’m sorry. I didn’t catch that. = R [means: ‘Please repeat’]
2. Can you go over that again? = R [means: ‘Please repeat’]
3. So what you mean is ... = C [means: ‘Am I right?’]
4. Would you mind saying that again? = R [means: ‘Please repeat’]
5. In other words, you think … = C [means: ‘Am I right?’]
6. What you’re getting at is … = C [means: ‘Am I right?’]
7. Sorry, I didn’t follow that. = R [means: ‘Please repeat’]
8. So your point is … = C [means: ‘Am I right?’]


Here are some other great expressions that you came up with:
* Just so we’re on the same page …
* Let me summarize …
* Let me check to make sure ….
* Let me double check …
* Can you help me understand better ….

Human Rights

http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/

Rosh Hashanah Cards – A Sweet Year

May you be inscribed for a sweet year.

There is a long standing tradition, that prior to and during the Jewish new year period, Jews send one another Rosh Hashana cards.

The general theme of the card is to wish our friends, family and neighbors a healthy and happy new year.


Though it’s not certain exactly when or where this custom started, it’s origin is most likely related to the significance of the day.
Rosh Hashana celebrates the renewal of creation. It is a time for reflection and personal accounting.
It is a time when our fate for the coming year will be decided by the heavenly court above.
Confident in our belief that the coming year will be a good one, we wish all those we meet and know a year filled with blessing.

Throughout the years different themes have been featured on Jewish New Year cards. The greeting offered and
picture depicted may vary depending on when and where the Rosh Hashanna card was published.

Most popular amongst all Rosh Hashanah messages is the blessing for a sweet year.
Typically portrayed is a picture of an apple and honey, which is traditionally eaten at this holiday season.
It is our way of asking the Creator of the Universe that the coming year be a sweet one.

Rain, season :)

I made a chart of words for rain, or weather that involves rain. This space is small, so write this out as 1 line on your paper:
[-----drizzle, sprinkle (=a little=)shower-----rainstorm (=some rain=) rainfall------tropical rain storm, downpour (=a lot=) sleet, cyclone, deluge, storm-----]




We now know 3 ways to use "season" :
1) To describe the times of the year: There are 2 seasons in Indonesia.
2) To describe the duration of an activity: Cricket season is long in India.
3) As a verb, to describe how to improve your food: Many of you season your rice and meat with spices and herbs such as garlic, cumin, tumeric, salt and pepper.

Punctuation

Let's start with basics, then I'll add more.

1. Put punctuation at the end of each sentence.
period
He had breakfast late.

question
Did he like the breakfast?

exclamation (Don't use too much.)
It's hot in here!


Let's talk about commas now.

1. Use a comma in a date.
Examples:
September 7, 2011
December 12, 2011

2. Use a comma in a personal title
Examples:
Jon Hernandez, M.D. (medical doctor)
Linda Chen, Ph.D. (doctor of philosophy)
‎
3. Use a comma to separate a city and state/country
Examples:
Phoenix, Arizona
Albany, New York
Paris, France


4. Use a comma to join two independent clauses.

Now, what's an independent clause?
An independent clause has a subject and a verb, and can be a sentence by itself.

Let's look at two independent clauses.

English can be difficult, but it can help you get a better job.

Sentence: English can be difficult.
Sentence: It can help you get a better job.

Both sentences are good by themselves.
They're also good together. When we put them together, we separate them with a comma.

English can be difficult, but it can help you get a better job.


‎5. Use a comma after an introductory phrase, prepositional phrase, or dependent clause.

Now, if an independent clause can be by itself, what's a dependent clause?


Yo Crizz and Shosho got it. A dependent clause can't be by itself. It's not a complete thought.

Example:
Because it was so hot, we decided not to play tennis.

Which is the dependent clause and which is the independent clause?


"Because it was so hot" -- dependent clause. It's not a complete thought. It can't be a sentence by itself.

"We decided not to play tennis." -- independent clause. It's a complete thought. It can be a sentence by itself.

The punctuation rule says to put a comma between the dependent and independent clause.

Because it was so hot, we decided not to play tennis.


5. Use a comma after an introductory phrase, prepositional phrase, or dependent clause.
Examples:
After lunch, we'll go to the meeting.
Basically, we need to lower costs.
For example, we should bring our lunches to work.
To succeed, it's important to work hard.
Because he likes pizza, he picked up a pizza on the way home.


6. Use a comma to separate words in a series.
Examples:
We like fresh tomatoes, cabbage, and carrots.
He went to the movies, the park, and the library.

Now, here's a good question. Do we need the commas after "cabbage" and "park"?


Both are correct. We often use style manuals that tell us how to punctuate. Some want the comma, and some don't.


‎7. Use a comma between adjectives that are equal.
Example:
We'd like a cheap, strong suitcase.
He's an intelligent, happy child.


8. Use a comma with "however, therefore, nonetheless, also, otherwise, finally, instead, thus, of course, above all, for example, in other words, as a result, on the other hand, in conclusion, in addition."

Examples:
Jon likes to work hard, HOWEVER, he also likes to relax.
ABOVE ALL, the company wants to save money.
IN OTHER WORDS, you're leaving the company.


Last rule --

9. Quotes -- Put commas and periods inside the quotations. Use quotes for direct speech; not indirect speech.

So, what's direct speech? What's indirect speech?


Direct speech (These are the exact words Jon said as he was saying them.) Jon said, "We can't leave until we finish."

Indirect speech (This is a summary of the words John said -- someone's interpretation of his words.)
Jon said that we couldn't leave until we finished.


We use quotes with direct speech -- the exact words someone says as they're saying them. We don't use quotes with indirect speech.

Periods and commas go inside of the quotes.

Example:
Tanya said, "Don't leave until I get there."


We have a choice here.

1. Carlos Hernandez, PhD
2. Carlos Hernandez, Ph.D.

Both are correct. I usually see the first one.


Basically (introductory phrase), we like healthy foods like spinach, tomatoes, and broccoli (words in a series).

We don't need a comma after "tomatoes." Both ways are correct.