Connected Speech

This has been a difficulty among most non-English speaking countries - speaking word by word.


Even with the stress and vowel sounds correct in a sentence, we will sound wrong if we don't use connected speech.


Some. people. speak. like. this.


But we shouldn't. 


English words don't fit together very well. If you try to pronounce each word individually, it would sound awkward -- robotic. 
For example.
I. am. working. at. the. bank. at. this. moment. 


If we apply connected speech, it would sound like this:
Aym workingatha bankat this moment


The words 'working' and 'at' could be connected since 'at' starts with a vowel sound, while the words 'this' and 'moment' shouldn't be connected since the second word starts with a consonant.


More examples:
buy it.
We don't say - Bay. it.
Instead, we should say - Bayit


you and.
We don't say - yoo. uhnd.
Instead, we should say - you wnd


get up
We don't say - get. ap
Instead, we should say - ge tap


Here are some typical example of things we do to make some words easier to pronounce:
1. Delete 't' or 'd' at the end of a syllable when it meets another consonant sound.


Examples:
great time - grey taym
closed bag - clo sbag


2. Delete duplicate sounds that meet.


Examples:
Black clock - bla klok
big game - bi geym
pack case - pa keys
rode down - row dawn


3. Delete 'h' at the beginning of a syllable when the previous sound is a consonant sound. 


Examples:
Is he? - I zee?
put him - pu tim
deep hole - dee powl
push hard - pu shard

Read more >>

A Guide to Remembering Hard-To-Spell Words (Part 1)

TOP MISSPELLED WORDS

Accidentally

Remember: It's composed of two separate words - 'accident' and 'tally'.

Accommodation

Remember: There's a double c and a double m.

A lot

Remember: There's no word such as 'alot', so 'a lot' is composed of two words.

Acceptable

Remember: It's composed of two words - 'accept' and 'table'.

Accessory

Remember: This word has two c's and two s's.

Believe

Remember: The letter i is the middle letter of this word, not e.

Commitment

Remember: Only one t for 'commitment', but two t's for 'committed'.

Definitely 

Remember: NOT 'definately'. Think of the root word 'finite'.

Discipline

Remember: The first syllable spells like 'disc'.

Disappointed

Remember: Always spell the word 'appoint'.

Difference

Remember: Just add 'ence' to the word 'differ'.

Drunkenness

Remember: If you are experiencing this, you will probably forget the extra n!

Embarrassing 

Remember: Two r's and two s's

February

Remember: You just have to remember the silent r.

Grammar

Remember: Just remember that every letter should mirror each other (except the g of course).

Guarantee

Remember: Two a's and two e's.

Heroes

Remember: Just remember the –es at the end of hero.

Humorous

Remember: It's not 'humourus' or 'humorus'. Think of the root word humor then add -ous.

Leisure

Remember: This is an exception to the i before e rule.

Library

Remember: NOT libary or liberry; the middle r should be pronounced.

License

Remember: Keep the c and s separated and you’ll remember this tricky word.

Lightning

Remember: There is no e in the word; it’s spelled just as it’s pronounced.

Misspell

Remember: Just be sure to double the s's and the L's.

Noticeable

Remember: Think about the root word 'notice' then add 'able'. DO NOT remove the a on the suffix -able.

Occasional

Remember: There's no t in the word, no double s, and two c's.

Parallel

Remember: Double the L, NOT the r.

Pitiful

Remember: Change the y to an i, and keep the L single.

Seize

Remember: An exception to the i before e rule.

Vacuum

Remember: Two u's, NOT two c's.

Weird

Remember: An exception to the i before e rule.

source
http://www.suite101.com/content/top-misspelled-words-a90999

Read more >>

Proper Order of Modifiers

A MODIFIER comes after a noun. It could be an adjective, adverb or a clause or a phrase that acts as an adjective or an adverb. Modifiers add information to other elements and it follows a particular order and is divided by a comma.


You don't just say:
This is your long, second, work vacation. ---- the order of modifiers is WRONG


Below is the correct order of modifiers with their respective classifications: 

Order	Modifier	Examples
1	determiner	the, your
2	ordinals	first, second
3	cardinals	one, two
4	opinion	nice, easy, beautiful
5	size	small, large
6	measurement	short, long
7	condition	worn, tired
8	age	old, new
9	temperature	hot, cold
10	shape	round, square
11	color/pattern	green, striped
12	origin	Japanese, American
13	season/time	summer, noon
14	material	metal, wooden
15	power	electric, mechanical
16	location	bedroom, table
17	purpose	party, work

So, our sentence should be like this:
This is your second, long, work vacation.. --- the order of modifiers is CORRECT




MORE EXAMPLES:

WRONG	This is a hot, long summer.
CORRECT	This is a long, hot summer.

WRONG	He gave me an old, spring, over-sized, black jacket.
CORRECT	He gave me an over-sized, old, black, spring jacket.

WRONG	Who left a two-week-old, rotten, foul banana on my desk?
CORRECT	Who left a foul, rotten, two-week-old banana on my desk?

WRONG	This is my new, white, sleek iPad.
CORRECT	This is my sleek, new, white iPad.

source:
http://funeasyenglish.com/american-english-grammar-modifier.htm

Read more >>

"As... as" or "So... As"?

A word that connects other word is called a CONJUNCTION.


"As... as" and "so... as" are CORRELATIVE CONJUCTIONS, and should be used properly in speaking and in writing.




"As... as" should be used in a positive situation.
Example:
Her voice is as powerful as other opera singers.
(positive situation)


"So..... as", on the other hand, should be used in a negative situation.
Example:
That bird is not so good as this bird.
(negative situation)

Wrong	She is not as tall as her mother.
Right	She is not so tall as her mother.

Wrong	His Kare-kare is not as delicious as mine.
Right	His Kare-kare is not so delicious as mine.

While using correlative conjunctions "as... as" one must be careful not to omit the second 'as'.
Example:

Wrong	This table is as good if not better than the old one.
Right	This table is as good as, if not better, than the old one

While using 'as', one should be careful as to avoid substituting it for 'that' or 'whether'.
Example:

Wrong	I am not sure as he is the actor we need.
Right	I am not sure whether (or that) he is the actor we need.

Read more >>

Hyphen

This is used to join the parts of a compound word.


Examples:

Wrong	Twenty four of them will hold the glass.
Right	Twenty-four of them will hold the glass.
Wrong	Her cat like sound makes me feel uneasy.
Right	Her cat-like sound makes me feel uneasy.
Wrong	Seeing him face to face gives us unexplainable joy.
Right	Seeing him face-to-face gives us unexplainable joy.
Wrong	Half satisfied passion to hear her voice.
Right	Half-satisfied passion to hear her voice.
Wrong	Commander in chief.
Right	Commander-in-chier.
Wrong	Let us keep our schedule up to date.
Right	Let us keep our schedule up-to-date.

Hyphen is generally used with prefix 'self', 'post', 'ex', 'anti' and 'all'.

Wrong	self centered      self concious     self evident
Right	self-centered     self-concious     self-evident
Wrong	all clear
Right	all-clear
Wrong	anti aircraft
Right	anti-aircraft

Certain words like attorney general, tonight, tomorrow, weakened, ill temper which were once hyphenated no longer require a hyphen.

Some hyphenated words drop the hyphen when they become predicate modifiers; well-known, good-natured, ill-bred.

Wrong	The actor was not always well-known.
Right	The actor was not always well known.

Read more >>