Why you shouldn’t say ‘My names are…’

EnglishNaija

People who say ‘My names are…’ think they know simple grammar than most of us because when two to three names are mentioned, they assume that’s a plural noun phrase. For the ones who would listen, let’s tell them this: a full name is a singular nominal concept because it refers to one individual and represents a single human. Whether you have one or ten first names before your surname, they refer to YOU and they all combine to form your identity. Examples: My name is Tailor Swift. My name is…

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Asking questions: difference between ‘which’ and ‘what’

EnglishNaija

Both which and what are used to ask questions and might be used interchangeably. However, there’s a slight distinctive difference. which When we have limited choices (e.g. two or three things to choose from), we usually prefer which. Examples: Which of the shoes should I wear? The blue or pink one? He asked which of my daughters was getting married. Which of the World Cup matches were you referring to?  What We prefer the use of what when we have an unlimited number of possible answers. Examples: What is your name? What…

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How to use ‘such as’ correctly

EnglishNaija

We use ‘such as’ to give an example or examples that corroborate what we’re saying or writing. It’s a formal expression used in giving accurate information when explaining a point. When we use this phrase to give a singular example in writing, we don’t need a comma before it; when we use it for multiple examples, a comma is needed. Examples: Educational institutions such as Temple Schools provide comprehensive education. Monica couldn’t afford the basic necessities such as shelter. It’s better to use natural remedies, such as exercise, organic food and water to…

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Quotation marks: uses, rules, British/American styles

EnglishNaija

Quotation marks (inverted commas) are one of the unique punctuation marks in English. They’re generally used to show what someone has said but they have other uses. Moreover, they’re sometimes used with slight difference in British and American English. Uses of quotation mark To enclose a direct speech. Example: ‘How favourable was yesterday’s weather?’ she queried. Note that the word following the closing quotation mark starts with a small letter (except it’s a proper noun or ‘I’).   To draw attention to emphasized or unusual words, such as informal words,…

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Adverbs: types, functions, exceptions

EnglishNaija

An adverb tells us more about a verb, an adjective, another adverb or even a noun phrase. General definition sometimes ignore the noun phrase part but you should know it exists. You can form adverbs from some adjectives with the addition of -ly. However, some adverbs are the same as adjectives. Examples: fast, straight, hard (hardly is also an adverb), likely, etc. Like adjectives, adverbs could use ‘more’ as comparative and ‘most’ as superlative. Examples: more slowly, most likely. Adverbs usually express manner, time, place, frequency, etc: they tell us…

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