Lexical Appropriateness

Postado por O Peixe Babel

Do and Make


1. We use DO when the exact activity is not stated, especially with words like thing, something, nothing, anything.

What are you doing over the weekend?
I feel like doing nothing for a change.

2. We use DO to talk about works and jobs.

What do you do for a living?
She did her homework before dinner.

3. We use MAKE to talk about building, constructing, creating. We use it as a synonym for create, develop, produce, generate, form.

He once made a small fishing boat with his brother.
Let’s make the dinner first and then we can make a cake.

4. DO and MAKE have hardly any meaning on their own, but which are part of many fixed expressions and common collocations:

DO – exercises / your best / the ironing / the gardening / the right thing / a favor / the laundry / good / a translation / your hair / your make-up / an assignment / the shopping

MAKE – a list /  an effort / a mess / a claim / a mistake / a phone call / a wish / a breakthrough / a promise / a decision / a proposal / one’s mind / an excuse

Adapted from Gems of Wisdom

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Grammar Awareness

Postado por O Peixe Babel


Verb Agreement After Certain Words


Certain words in English are always grammatically singular, even though they might have plural meanings.

Everybody is going to the theater.

Even though we understand from this example that a lot of people are going to the theater, everybody is singular and requires a singular verb.

These words or expressions are grammatically singular, so they take singular verbs:

anybody    everybody   nobody      somebody   each (+ noun)
anyone     everyone     no one      someone    every (+ noun)
anything   everything  nothing     something

Adapted from Longman Complete Course for the TOEFL® TEST

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Grammar Awareness

Postado por O Peixe Babel


CAN or COULD or BE ABLE TO


Can is used to say that somebody knows how to do something: Can you play the piano? / I can cook very well. / I can’t do it.

Can or be able to are used to say that something is possible or that somebody has the opportuniy to do something: Can you / are you able to come on Saturday?

You use be able to to form the future and the present perfect tenses: You’ll be able to get a taxi outside the station. / I haven’t been able to get much work done today.

Could is used to talk about what someone was generally able to do in the past: Our daughter could walk when she was nine months old.

You use was/were able to (but not could) when you are saying that something was possible on a particular occasion in the past: I was able to find some useful books in the library. In negative sentences, could not can also be used: We weren’t able to / couldn’t get there in time.

Could have is used when you are saying that it was possible for somebody to do something in the past but they did not try: I could have won the game but decided to let her win.

Adapted from Oxford Advanced Learner`s Dictionary

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Writing Tips

Postado por O Peixe Babel



Commas that separate Non-restrictive Clauses

Subordinate clauses can be restrictive (they are vital to the meaning of the main clause) or non-restrictive (they add some new information). Restrictive clauses do not require commas; non-restrictive clauses do.

Restrictive
People who like sports are our best customers.
Do not go until you have read all the directions.
It was a report which he desperately needed.

Non-Restrictive
Boston, which is the site of the famous Tea Party, is a very old city.
He gave the money to Leonard Sedder, who is my father-in-law.
You are all invited to come, although the weather might be fairly cool.

Adapted from Stevens Institute of Technology

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