A
The girlfriend of my brother.
Using ‘s – the Saxon Genitive
The Saxon Genitive substitutes the word ‘of’ to show possession. It’s used mainly to refer to things owned by people, but it can also be used with animals, organizations and even some time expressions. To create the saxon genitive we add ‘s to a name. For example:
This is John’s car. = This is the car of John.
(name + ‘s + noun)
Here are some other examples:
That’s Harry’s pen.
The manager’s office is at the end of the hall.
These are my sister’s clothes.
I need to find the dog’s lead.
What are the government’s plans?
When it is clear what object you are referring to, it is also possible to simply use the name + ‘s. For example:
Is that Maria’s bag? – No, it’s Chiara’s.
Whose pen is this? – It’s Paul’s.
Go to the doctor’s if you’re not feeling well. (the doctor’s clinic)
The Saxon Genitive with plurals
When we use the saxon genitive with a plural noun, such as ‘parents’, we just add an apostrophe ‘. For example:
My parents’ house. = the house of my parents.
Clearly the pronunciation does not change, only the written form. Here are some other examples:
Come over to my friends’ party.
Where are the applicants’ CVs?
Names ending in ‘s’
When a name ends in -s, like James, we can either use the normal ‘s structure (which is more common in modern English) or only add an apostrophe. If we add ‘s we need to add a syllable /iz/ to the pronunciation. For example:
That’s James’s drawing. OR That’s James’ drawing.
Camilla is Charles’s wife. OR Camilla is Charles’ wife.
Using the Saxon Genitive for Time Expressions
When we refer to a particular time (in the present, past or future), it’s possible to use the saxon genitive. For example:
Today’s news.
Last week’s meeting.
Four days’ holiday.
Next year’s budget.
When we refer to a regularly occurring time, we use an adjective, such as ‘daily’, ‘monthly’, ‘annual’, and not the saxon genitive:
What happened at yesterday’s meeting?
We need to get ready for this afternoon’s conference.
Next year’s budget is only a little higher than this year’s.
When not to use the Saxon Genitive
We don’t normally use the saxon genitive with objects. In this case we prefer ‘of’. For example:
The door of the house. (NOT ‘The house’s door’.)
The lid of the pen. (NOT ‘The pen’s lid’.)
The end of the road. (NOT ‘The road’s end’.)
Generally speaking, if you’re not sure whether or not to use the saxon genitive, it’s safer to use ‘of’.
I am agree.
Saying “I am agree with you” is a common error among native speakers of Romance languages. There is no single Spanish verb expressing the same as the English collocation “agree with”. It is important to understand that “agree” in English already means the same as “estar de acuerdo”, not just “acuerdo”.
The correct form is:
I agree with you. ✅
I am agree with you. ❌
I am of agreement with you. ❌
I am agreed with you. ❌
What means blanket?
What does this word mean?
What does "blanket" mean?
1. Question word: What
2. Auxiliary verb: does
3. Subject: this word
4. Main verb: mean?
I have three childrens.
Children is already a plural noun. *Childrens is ungrammatical.
I have 25 years.
In English, you are a certain number of years old. You don't "have" years.
Besides, the following isn't possible either.
There are two options.
It depends of the weather.
Spanish speakers tend to use the construction: "depend of" which comes mainly from the subconscious connection with the phrase "depende de" in Spanish. The correct version in English is "to depend on". For example: "It depends on how many clients we have."
I'm good in tennis.
When you want to express that you are well capable of doing something, the usual collocation is “to be good at something”, e.g.
He is good at playing the piano.✅
He is good in playing the piano. ❌
Some native speakers do use “to be good in” when they talk about classes at school, e.g. “he is good in science” in the meaning of “he performs well in his science class”. Others, however, consider such an expression unnatural, so you may want to avoid it altogether.
People is crazy.
Although the word people has two meanings (as we will see below), it is almost always used to mean “persons” (the plural of “person”) and is, therefore, a plural noun. Although the word “persons” exists, it sounds very formal and is used primarily in legal contexts.
There are young people at the party.✅
There is young people at the party. ❌
There are young persons at the party. (unnatural, except in formal contexts, such as a police report)
I work like a waitress.
The word "like" in this case is incorrect.
When you are talking about your profession or the profession of another person you need to use the word "as". So, for example: "He works as a teacher during the day and as a waiter during the night".
If I said I work "like a waiter" it could only mean that I work in a similar manner as a waiter.
I go to shopping on Saturday.
Shopping is a verb (action), in this case, in the gerund form.
I want to go shopping.
If it was a noun (person, place, or thing) then you would “go to” it.
I want to go to the supermarket.
I did a mistake.
The correct light verb (or delexical verb) for mistake is make.
Here are other examples for verbs that strongly collocate with certain nouns.
give a hug
make a mistake
take a nap
do a review
have a swim
I stopped to smoke two years ago.
Some verbs have a different meaning depending on whether they are followed by an -ing form or to + infinitive.
Stop + -ing means the action is not happening any more.
I've stopped buying the newspaper because now I read the news online.
Stop + to + infinitive means that someone or something stops an activity so that they can do something else.
He stopped the video to ask the students some questions.
I did my homeworks.
I did my homework.
"Homework" is an uncountable noun in English, meaning it does not have a plural form. We use it to refer to school assignments in general.
We are six.
The sentence "We are six" can be confusing or ambiguous in English because it isn't clear what "six" refers to. A clearer and more precise way to convey the intended meaning depends on the context:
Number of People: If you mean to say that there are six people in your group, you should say:
Age: If you mean that you or someone else is six years old, you should say:
💬 Somos seis en la familia.
Incorrect: We are six in the family.
Correct: There are six of us in the family.
I'm here for improve my English.
I'm here to improve my English
When expressing purpose, we use the infinitive form of the verb (to + verb). In this case, "to improve" is the correct form to indicate the purpose of being here.
"For" is used to talk about purpose when it is followed by a noun, if it is followed by a gerund, it is talking about the function of a thing.
I've never been in France.
Been To
We use been to to say that we went somewhere and came back and that we are not there anymore.
I have been to Paris before, and I can tell you that it’s an amazing city. (I am back now)
My brother has been to Venice. I am sure he can give us some advice about where to eat or where to stay.
Note: We don’t always use to, especially if the "location" is not a place, but a concept.
I have never been abroad. (not… been to… )
Gone To
We use gone to to say that we went somewhere and we are still there.
A: Where is your sister Sam?
B: She has gone to the market, she will be home soon.
I have been to London.
I have gone to London. ("I am in London."?)
Been In
We use been in to give information about how long we have been somewhere.
A: How long have you been in California?
B: I have been in San Francisco for six years and never thought of going back to my homeland.
I go to home at six.
In English, why do we say "go home" instead of "go to home"?
To understand why, is to know the difference between the two nouns — house and home.
A house is a place. A home is a concept.
A house is a physical building with an address one can go to. There is no misunderstanding where it is. Home is a state of mind — a feeling.
Home is different for everyone and varying in context. It can be our house, town, state, country, or planet. It can be where one was born, primarily raised, where one's family is, where one enjoys working, a central location... Home is different for everyone and can change on a whim, because everyone has a different concept of home. Often when one is told to "Go home," it doesn't even mean to go to one's house, it’s just a directive to leave or leave alone.
I lost the bus.
You could not lose the bus. You never had it.
But you could miss the bus.
We use ‘miss’ in this sense to talk about being late for something. When we fail to catch a plane or a train, we miss it.
- Come on Jay. Hurry up or we’ll miss our bus.
In some languages you could use the verb "lose" in this context, but that doesn’t work in English. You can’t lose a bus unless you’re a very careless bus driver. That’s because when we lose something we can’t find it.
- What are you looking for?
- Oh I lost the remote.
I have worked here since three years.
FOR + period ➡️ expresses duration (HOW LONG?)
SINCE + starting point ➡️ says when the action began (SINCE WHEN?)
1- I've known her for three days (for how long? for three days)
2- I've known her since last summer (since when? since last summer)
Compare:
- Now it's April, so I've been living here for three months
- Now it's April, so I've been living here since February
"I don't care" or "I don't mind"
"I don't mind" is used only when the person using this expression wants to express their moderate acceptance of the outcome of a situation.
"I don't care", however, can also be used to express indifference and to indicate that the outcome of a situation has no significance for you.
This may sometimes attribute a negative connotation to the message using this expression, whereas "I don't mind" does not bear a negative connotation. So "I don't mind" is replaceable by "I don't care", but not always the other way round.
Child: "Mum, can I go out and play potentially dangerous ball games like football or soccer with my friends?"
Mother: "I don't mind—the risk is worth the healthy consequences of sport, therefore I take notice and don't object"
OR
Mother: "I don't care—do what you will, your activities do not concern me, I lack authority to form an opinion, or I refuse to do so. Do whatever you want."