60. Historic present
When writing about a past event, we can use the present tense to make it appear as if the event is actually happening.
Even if a person is dead, he or she can still be spoken of in the present tense.
This is known as using the historic present.
The following sentences are written using the historic present.
• Winston Churchill is one of England’s greatest statesmen.
• Captain Cook is responsible for white settlement in Australia.
59. Gerund
• Incorrect: I am thinking to write a novel.
• Correct: I am thinking of writing a novel.
• Incorrect: We were prevented from enter the room.
• Correct: We were prevented from entering the room. A preposition is followed by a gerund (-ing forms) and not an infinitive.
• Incorrect: They insisted on me resigning the post.
• Correct: They insisted on my resigning the post.
• Incorrect: They objected to John playing for the other team.
• Correct: They objected to John's playing for the other team. A noun or a pronoun used before a gerund should be in the possessive case. Note that the possessive case should not be used with a gerund when the gerund is in the passive or when the noun or pronoun denotes a lifeless thing.
• Incorrect: There is no danger of the roof's crashing.
• Correct: There is no danger of the roof crashing.
58. Far and a long way
We use far in questions and negative clauses. • Did you walk far?
• The railway station is not far from here. We use a long way in affirmative clauses.
• We walked a long way. (NOT We walked far.)
• The post office is a long way from here. Far is common in affirmative clauses with adverbs like too, so, enough and as. • You have walked a bit too far.
57. Expressions without prepositions
The verbs discuss, enter, marry, lack, resemble and approach are normally followed by objects without prepositions.
• Incorrect: She married with an old man.
• Correct: She married an old man.
• Incorrect: We must discuss about the plans.
• Correct: We must discuss the plans.
• Incorrect: The baby resembles to its dad.
• Correct: The baby resembles its dad.
56. Expect and hope
• Incorrect: She is hoping a raise.
• Correct: She is expecting a raise. When we expect something we think that it will in fact happen. When we hope for something to happen, we would like it to happen, but we don't know whether it will.
• She is expecting a baby. (= She is pregnant now.)
• She is hoping that it will be a girl. (She doesn’t know whether it will be a boy or a girl, but she will be happier if it is a girl.) We can expect good or bad things to happen, but we only hope for good things.
55. Except and except for
• Incorrect: Except you, I like everyone.
• Correct: Except for you, I like everyone.
• Incorrect: Except this mistake, you did very well.
• Correct: Except for this mistake, you did very well. Except can be used without for after words like all, every, no, everything, anybody, nowhere, whole etc. In other cases we usually use except for.
• He cleaned all the rooms except the bedroom. OR He cleaned all the rooms except for the bedroom. (Except can be used without for after all.)
• Nobody was invited except Peter and Alice. OR Nobody was invited except for Peter and Alice.
• I like everyone except / except for you.
• They were all tired except / except for John. • That was a good essay, except for a few spelling mistakes. (NOT That was a good essay, except a few spelling mistakes.) Before prepositions and conjunctions we use except.
54. Especially and specially
Both specially and especially can often be used with the same meaning.
• It was not specially / especially cold. Especially can mean 'above all'.
• Sometimes I feel rather lonely, especially in the evenings. Specially is used to mean 'for a particular purpose'.
• I made this cake specially for you.
53. Enough
• Incorrect: He was enough foolish to trust her.
• Correct: He was foolish enough to trust her.
• Incorrect: If I were enough rich, I would buy a new car.
• Correct: If I were rich enough, I would buy a new car.
The adverb enough comes after the adjective which it qualifies.
52. End and finish
When followed by a direct object, finish means complete.
• I have finished my job. (= I have completed my job.)
• You never let me finish a sentence. (= You never let me complete a sentence.) Finish can be followed by an -ing form.
• Have you finished writing that novel? When followed by a direct object, end means stop.
• They have decided to end their affair. (NOT They have decided to finish their affair.)
End cannot be followed by an -ing form. When they are not followed by objects, end and finish have similar meanings.
• When does the concert finish/end?
51. Elder and eldest
• Incorrect: He is elder than me.
• Correct: He is older than me.
• Incorrect: He is the eldest man in the village.
• Correct: He is the oldest man in the village. Elder and eldest can be used to talk about the order of birth of the members of a family. Note that they are only used before nouns.
After a verb we use older or oldest. • My elder/older brother is a writer. • His eldest/oldest son is in the Army. • He is older than me. (NOT He is elder than me.
Elder and eldest can’t be used in the predicative (after a verb) position.)
46. Double negatives
Never use a negative verb and a negative qualifier (e.g. nothing, hardly, scarcely, nobody etc.) together.
• Incorrect: I haven't nothing to prove.
• Correct: I have nothing to prove.
• Incorrect: Alice can't hardly wait until her birthday.
• Correct: Alice can hardly wait until her birthday.
• Incorrect: There wasn't nobody at the door.
• Correct: There was nobody at the door.
47. During and for
During is used to say when something happens.
For is used to say how long it lasts.
• Incorrect: I was in France for the summer.
• Correct: I was in France during the summer.
• Incorrect: I was in France during two months.
• Correct: I was in France for two months.
48. Each and every
Use each and every together only if you want to convey very strong emphasis.
• Incorrect: Each and every person wore a hat.
• Correct: Each person wore a hat.
• Correct: Everybody wore a hat.
49. Each other and one another
In modern English each other and one another are used in the same way. One another is preferred when we are making general statements.
• They have stopped talking to each other/one another. Both expressions can be used in the possessive form.
• They would sit for hours listening to each other's / one another's tales.
50. East, eastern, north, northern etc.
The words east, west etc., are used for clearly defined places. The words eastern, western etc., are used when we are talking about vague areas.
Compare:
• The northern part of the country is hilly.
• The north side of the house has four windows.
Capital letters Capital letters are used at the beginning of East, Eastern, North, Northern etc., when they come in official place names.
• South Africa • the Middle East
• North Korea
In other cases these words begin with small letters.
• The sun rises in the east.
• He came from the west.
45. Do and make
Do is sometimes confused with make.
Make is used to talk about building or creating.
• Let's make a cake.
• I once made a toy train.
Do is sometimes used instead of make. This is common when we want to sound casual about a creative activity.
• 'What shall we eat?' 'Well, let me do an omelette.' (More casual than ‘Let me make an omelette.’) Common fixed expressions with do and make Both do and make are used in some common fixed expressions.
Do good, harm, business, one's best, a favor, sport, exercise, one's hair, one's teeth, one's duty, 50mph etc.
Make a journey, an offer, arrangements, a suggestion, a decision, an attempt, an effort, an excuse, an exception, a mistake, a noise, a phone call, money, a profit, a fortune, love, peace, war, a bed, a fire, progress etc.
