When do I use HAVE and HAS?

"Have" and "has" are both present tense conjugations of the verb "to have," and we use "have" or "has" depending on the subject.  

If the subject is 3rd person, singular, then you use "has."  All other subjects take on "have".  See below:

Singular                                 

1st Person         I have            

2nd Person        You have            

3rd Person       He/She/It HAS        

Plural
1st Person          We have
2nd Person         You have
3rd Person         They have

Ex.

She has a doctor's appointment tomorrow.

They have a long day ahead of them.

My dog has a good temperament.

We both have an iPhone.

My sister has a hybrid car.

Remember that the verb "to have" serves two purposes in the English language:

1. Verb: Of course, as you know, the verb "to have" is used to express possession, as in the examples above and as in "I have a dog, a house and a beautiful family."
2. Auxiliary Verb: "Have" is also used as an auxiliary (or helping) verb when using the present perfect.  (Click here to learn more about the present perfect.)  See below for the grammar construction of the present perfect:

Present Perfect Grammar:

When using the present perfect, we conjugate the verb "to have" in the same way as the present tense as seen above; that is, the 3rd person singular changes to "has."

I/You/We/They + HAVE + past participle

He/She/It            + HAS    + past participle

Ex. 

I have traveled to Paris three times.

He has never seen a James Bond movie!

They have taken the test.

She has tried to help.

We have just finished writing the report.

My dog has already gone for a walk four times today.

They have taken the test.

She has tried to help.

Infinitive (to+verb), Gerund (verb+ING) or BOTH? (for Beginners)

Whenever we use two verbs together in English, the second verb must change to either an infinitive or gerund, or sometimes it can be either one.  For example:

I enjoy have a coffee after dinner.
I enjoy to have a coffee after dinner.
I enjoy having a coffee after dinner.

I need buy a dress.
I need buying a dress.
I need to buy a dress.

I like go to the beach.
I like to go to the beach.
OR
I like going to the beach.

These examples represent the three groups of verbs below:

1. gerund ONLY (verb+ing)
2. infinitive ONLY (to+verb)
3. gerund OR infinitive 

Here is a short list of the most commonly used verbs that correspond to one of these three groups.

1. The following verbs MUST be followed by a gerund (verb + ing)

• can't stand (really don't like!)
• enjoy
• finish
• give up
• go + activity (swimming, surfing, shopping, dancing, sightseeing...)
• recommend

      2.  The following verbs MUST be followed by an infinitive (to + verb)

• forget
• learn
• mean
• need
• try
• want

      3.  The following verbs can be followed by a gerund (verb + ing) OR an infinitive (to + verb)

• begin
• can't stand
• hate
• like
• love
• prefer

20 (more) Opposites for Beginners

Here is the second group of must know opposites for beginners of English.  You can find the first group by clicking here.

20 (more) Opposites List:

1. Best - Last
2. Boring - Exciting
3. Day - Night
4. East - West
5. Heavy - Light
6. Long - Short
7. More - Less
8. New - Old
9. Nice - Mean
10. North - South
11. Open - Closed
12. Right - Wrong
13. Rude - Polite
14. Safe - Dangerous
15. Smart - Stupid
16. Soft - Hard
17. Sunny - Cloudy
18. Thick - Thin
19. Up - Down
20. Warm - Cool

20 Opposites for Beginners

Here is a group of basic opposites every beginner of English should know.  Take a look below:

20 Opposites List:

1. Beautiful - Ugly
2. Big - Small
3. Black - White
4. Clean - Dirty
5. Close - Far
6. Early - Late
7. Easy - Difficult
8. Empty - Full
9. Expensive - Cheap
10. Fast - Slow
11. First - Last
12. Happy - Sad
13. High - Low
14. Hot - Cold
15. Left - Right
16. Quiet - Loud
17. Rich - Poor
18. Tall - Short
19. Wet - Dry
20. Young - Old

10 MORE Examples of how STRESS can change the meaning or part of speech of a word

Here are 10 more examples words that change meaning or part of speech depending on word stress.  This is an extension of a previous blog post that can be found here.

As already stated in the previous post, t is crucial to know where to place the appropriate stress or intonation of many words in English, as the meaning of a word or its part of speech can change.

Pay close attention to which syllables (the first or second) carry the stress and what part of speech each word is (verb or noun).  Do you notice any pattern in these two syllable words?  Well, as you can see in these examples, if the stress is on the first syllable, it is a noun, and if the stress is on the second syllable, it is a verb. 

Remember that when speaking English, stress is a crucial element in pronunciation, so always pay close attention to which syllable carries the stress.

1. Addict

• aDDICT (v.):  Many people become addicted to alcohol or drugs after suffering a tragedy.
• Addict (n.):  As there is heroin readily available in Afghanistan, you will find many addicts.

2. Compact

• comPACT (v.):  My neighbor owns a device that compacts trash to create more space for garbage. 
• COMpact (n.):  The Smart car is the most famous of all compact car designs.

3. Default

• deFAULT (v.):  It is absolutely imperative that you don't default on your loan--you must make the payment.
• DEfault (n.):  The default in payments to the insurance company increased his monthly premiums.

4.  Extract

• exTRACT (v.): During the Gold Rush, pioneers extracted gold from mines in California.
• EXtract (n.): Flower extracts are used in the production of perfume.

5. Insult

• inSULT (v.): Please don't insult me in front of the guests!
• INsult (n.): In China burping is not considered an insult, on the contrary it is a compliment to the cook!

6. Mismatch

• misMATCH (v.): Unfortunately, they mismatched the names and corresponding contacts, causing great confusion.
• MISmatch (n.): The blind date ended up being a disastrous mismatch!

7. Overlap

• overLAP (v.): John overlapped his clients appointments and ended up with two people in his office at the same time.
• OVERlap (n.): The overlap of the fabrics in the dress created a nice texture.

8. Rewrite

• reWRITE (v.): The author had to rewrite the entire manuscript as it was lost in the plane crash.
• REwrite (n.): The editor was not satisfied with the rewrite of the second edition.

9. Torment

• torMENT (v.): Nightmares of the tornado tormented him day and night.
• TORment (n.): She could no longer bear the torment of breaking up and getting back together one more time.

10. Transplant

• transPLANT (v.): The gardener transplanted the tree from the backyard to the front yard where there was more sun.
• TRANSplant (n.): She was the first human being ever to receive a successful face transplant.

 

5 Common Mistakes for Portuguese Speakers

Naturally, when we try to speak in a foreign language we translate directly and literally from our own, but sometimes translating does not work, as in the following examples.

1. congress/conference

• I'm going to an international congress conference about physical therapy this weekend.

Note: Congress is the governing body in the United States consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

2. all the people/everybody

• I think all the people go everybody goes on vacation in August in Europe.

Note: We use "all the people" when it is more specific or qualified, such as "all the people who registered for the test" or "all the people who I invited to the party"...

3. toes/fingers

• My feet were so cold after snowboarding all day that I could hardly move my fingers toes.

Note: The word "toes" does not exist in Portuguese; fingers is used instead.

4.  to have/be ______ years old

• When I had was 10 years old, I visited Finland with my family.

5. to like something

• I like very much going to the beach very much.
• She likes more shopping downtown more than going to the mall.

Note: These are syntax (word order) errors.

Quick Lesson: Possessive: 'S vs. S'

Possessive: 'S

In English, we normally say "John's house" instead of "the house of John."  The syntax (word order) of the possessive case in English is different from most languages, such as the Romance languages (Spanish, French, Portuguese, etc.), so it's helpful to practice this until you become more familiar with the word order.

Ex.

the house of my cousin= my cousin's house
the school of your daughter= your daughter's school
the book of Teresa= Teresa's book
the friend of Adam= Adam's friend
the computer of the library= the library's computer
the beaches of San Diego= San Diego's beaches
the narrow streets of Lisbon= Lisbon's narrow streets

Now, take a look at the following words that end in the letter 's'. 

the surfboard of Charles= Charles' (or Charles's) surfboard
the park of St. James= St. James' (or St. James's) park
the birthday of Agnes= Agnes' (or Agnes's) birthday

It's more common to use the s' instead of s's, but both are correct.

The same rule applies to plural nouns ending in s:

the bikes of the students= the students' (or students's) bikes
the costumes of the actors= the actors' (or actors's) costumes

Exercise 1.  Change the following phrases using 's:

1. the dress of my sister=
2. the car of her cousin=
3. the laptop of Rita=
4. the boots of Sofia=
5. the son of Raquel=
6. the mother of John=
7. the birthday party of Paul=
8. the crayons of Jennifer=
9. the job of my brother=
10. the question of the student=

Exercise 2.  Change the following phrases using s':

1. the phone number of James=
2. the help of Charles=
3. the boutiques of Paris= 
4. the grades of the students=
5. the uniforms of the employees=

What is a homophone?

Homophones are words that have the same exact sound when spoken but are spelled differently in writing.  Here are a sample of homophones according to level to help you improve your writing:

 

Elementary

I=eye
hear=here
our=hour
sale=sail
their=they're
your=you're
you=´u´ (the letter)

 

Beginning

blue=blew
cent=sent
flour=flower
flu=flew
heel=he'll
new=knew
whose=who's

Intermediate

altar=alter
cellar=seller
cite=sight
genes=jeans
miner=minor
muscles=mussels
some=sum

 

Advanced

accept=except
aisle=I'll
bear=bare
principal=principle
site=sight
vain=vein
weather=whether

When do I use DO/DOES/DID?

The structure of questions in English varies depending on the verb.  Verbs are divided into two categories:

1. to be
2. ALL other verbs (DO/DOES/DID)

If the verb is (to be), then the grammar will be different. If the verb is any other verb except (to be), then we use DO/DOES/DID as the helping or auxiliary verb.  We also use DO/DOES/DID for negative statements, but for this post, let's take a look at questions.  At the end of this post, you can find information about questions using the verb TO BE.

Questions: ALL Other Verbs (Using DO/DOES/DID)

To form questions in English using any other verb except (to be), we must use the helping or auxilary verbs: DO/DOES/DID.  Remember that DO/DOES we use in the present tense with the following subjects:

• PRESENT TENSE (AUXILIARY VERB): DO/DOES

Do (I, you, we, they) understand English?
Does (he, she, it, your mother, the man) speak well?

• PAST TENSE (AUXILIARY VERB): DID

And we use DID in the past tense with all subjects:
Did (I, you, he, she, it, we, they) pass the exam?

• When forming questions with DO/DOES/DID, we use the following format:

Question Word + DO/DOES/DID + Subject + Verb
What                 + do                      +you        +like to do on the weekends?

We use DO/DOES/DID with the present and past simple tenses as seen below.

Examples:

• He likes to play baseball.= Does he like to play baseball?
• They went shopping yesterday.= Did they go shopping yesterday?
• They do their homework after dinner.= Do they do their homework after dinner?
• She travels to Asia every summer.= Where does she travel every summer?
• We go jogging at 7:00 am every morning.= When do you go jogging?
• I went to class four times per week.= How often did you go to class?

Questions: TO BE

To form questions using the verb to be, all we do is switch the position of the subject and verb.  Remember, we use the verb to be in the present, past, continuous, future (going to) and passive constructions, as seen below.

 

Examples:

• He is Italian= Is he Italian? (present)
• They are going to participate in the contest=  Are they going to participate in the contest? (future)
• She is leaving soon!= Is she leaving soon? (continous/future)
• The door is closed.= Is the door closed? (present passive)
• The children were swimming all day long.= Were the children swimming all day long? (past continuous)
• He is being interrogated by the FBI.= Is he being interrogated by the FBI? (present continuous)

I hope this helps.  If you have any suggestions for future blog posts, just write under the Q&A page on my blog ;)

TO BE careful (with) VS. TO TAKE care (of)

The following is a common mistake students make:

You have to take care to be careful when you are at the beach all day long...don't forget to wear your sunscreen!

Tourists must take care be careful crossing the border.

TO BE CAREFUL (WITH)

We use this phrasal verb to warn others of danger, to be more cautious, or to avoid an accident.  We use the preposition "with" before the noun (an object or a person):

Ex.

1.  You have to be careful with the computer when you pack it in your luggage.
2.  My son is always careful with his toys and has never broken anything!
3.  He is also very careful with his younger brother who is only six months old.
4.  Parents always tell their children to be careful when they cross the street.

TO TAKE CARE (OF)

We use this phrasal verb to assume responsibility for others and their well-being or to be in charge of a certain task.  

1.  First thing Monday morning, we need to take care of some important business.

2.  Why don't you take better care of your brand new car?

3.  Many people procrastinate and take care of things tomorrow rather than today.

4.  Every other weekend, I take care of my nephew and niece.
5.  "It was great to see you!  Take care!"

What's the difference between THAT and WHICH?

The usage of that and which causes confusion, not only for students learning English as a second or foreign language, but also for native speakers of English.  Therefore, this topic can be a bit complicated for any speaker of English...The following will help clarify the major difference between the two: 

 

THAT

• That is used to describe essential information, necessary to express the meaning of the sentence.  The grammatical term for this is restrictive.  (Note: That always refers to the word preceeding it.)

Examples:

1. The house that was built by my grandfather built now belongs to another family in Nebraska. 
2. The woman that spoke at the conference yesterday gave me some useful information for our next project.

WHICH

• Which, on the other hand, is used for nonessential or extra information, not necessary to complete a sentence.  Commas are used with which but not with that.  This is referred to as non-restrictive.  (Note: Which can refer to the word preceeding it OR to another word in the sentence.)

Examples:

    1.

• The house that was built by my grandfather now belongs to another family in Nebraska, which is now worth three times as much.  (which refers to house) 
• The house that was built by my grandfather now belongs to another family in Nebraska, which is a state in the Midwest.  (which refers to Nebraska) 
• The house that was built by my grandfather now belongs to another family in Nebraska, which is a real shame.  (which refers to the belonging to another family.)

    2.

•  The woman that spoke at the conference yesterday gave me some useful information for our next project, which will start in one month. (which refers to project)
• The woman that spoke at the conference yesterday gave me some useful infomation for our next project, which I really appreciated. (which refers to the woman giving me info)
• The woman that spoke at the conference yesterday gave me some useful information for our next project, which I will pass along to our colleagues. (which refers to information)

5 Phrasal Verbs: BREAK (down/in/into...)

Phrasal verbs (verbs + preposition/s) are commonly used in colloquial English and are usually difficult for students because their roots are not Latin-based.  Sometimes the meaning is literal, and other times it is figurative as seen here:

        Ex. to get down

• During earthquake drills, everybody must get down beneath their desks and cover their heads.  (literal meaning)
• In the 1970s everybody would get down to some James Brown at disco clubs!  (figurative meaning, to dance)

Here are 5 phrasal verbs with BREAK:

1.  to break into: to forcibly enter a building

• Ex.  Somebody broke into the FBI and stole the names of American spies.

2.  to break out of: to escape from somewhere (usually prison)

• Ex. News quickly spread that the former Taliban leader had broken out of Guantanamo Bay detention camp.

3.  to break down: a) car stops running (Note: Computers, cell phones or other small devices, objects DO NOT break down...they just break.  b) to have an emotional crisis

• Ex. a)  My car broke down in the middle of rush hour traffic, so everybody started honking at me!
• Ex. b)  After failing the entrance exam for the fifth time, she broke down and started crying.

4.  to break (something) down: to clarify a complicated issue, to divide

• Ex.  The best teachers are able to break down a complicated concept and explain it in simplified pieces.

5.  to break (something) in: to begin to wear clothing or shoes to fit better or make more comfortable

• Ex.  The dancer likes to break in her new ballet shoes for two weeks before beginning to dance in them.  

 

5 Main Ideas of English's Most Difficult Tense: Present Perfect

Of all the tenses in English, the present perfect tense presents the most challenges for students.

The present perfect is used differently in every language and does not follow the same logic or pattern.  For example, in French, it is used to describe actions that are finished, while in Portuguese, it is usually used to describe actions that continue into the future.

English is different from both of these languages, and the following list will give you a broad sense of how the present perfect is used in English.

Here are the 5 major ideas behind the present perfect in English:

1.  recent event

• The Pope has resigned.
• There has been a tsunami in Japan.
• The city of Lisbon has established a new traffic pattern in Marquês de Pombal.

2.   continues into the future

• They have lived in San Diego for 19 years.  ( They continue to live in San Diego.)
• I have known Julia since I was a little girl.  (I will always know Julia.)
• She has been suffering from the flu for more than a week!  (Poor thing is still sick.)

Note:  This is the present perfect progressive (has/have + been + gerund (ing)

3.  NOT finished...still on the to-do list...

• We still haven't seen the new Tarantino movie. 
• They haven't registered their new car with the DMV yet .
• I still haven't spoken to my boss about the report.

4.  unspecified past (relevant to the present moment)

• I think I have been here before.
• You have met each other before, haven't you?
• I have worked with the office from New York, so I am familiar with the procedures.
• Have you ever been to California?
• Have you ever tried octopus salad?

Note: These statements/questions are relevant to the present moment.

5.  describing frequency 

• She and her husband have traveled to Africa five times.
• I've only visited Asia once.
• The children loved the movie so much that they have already watched it twice.

Note: With these sentences, use once, twice, three times, four times, etc., as underlined here.

I wish I WAS...or WERE? Using the Subjunctive in English

In short, the answer is I wish I WERE, but most people say was these days, which is grammatically incorrect, and serves as yet another example of English losing its grammatical nuances that make it an expressive, complex and interesting language.  Another example of the weakening and watering down of the English language is evident in the quickly disappearing use of whom in speech. 

Grammatically speaking, were is correct because it defines the subjunctive mood, a tense once used in Old English that is still actually used today although unknown and not even taught to most English speakers. The concept of the subjunctive has remained the same (expressing a wish, suggestion, requirement or demand), but the grammar does not require an entirely different conjugation, as it did in Old English. Most likely English speakers have more experience with this grammatical tense through learning Spanish, Portuguese, French or other Romance, Slavic, Germanic or Celtic languages.

The Subjunctive in English:

Note that the subjunctive mood in the verb to be only changes in the first person and third person singular as seen in bold below:

Wishes:

I wish I were...
You wish you were...
She wishes she were...
We wish we were...
They wish they were...

If I were a painter...
If you were a painter...
If she were a painter...
If we were painters...
If they were painters...

Using the were instead of was sends the message that it whatever we are expressing is not a reality, that it is contrary to fact.

Overview: Conditionals 1, 2, 3

In English, there are many ways to express situations according to a certain condition in the present and the past, as well as a varying degree of possibility.  Basically, we have the following framework to express different situations:

Conditional 1:

a) possible event that depends on a condition

b) refers to the future

c) grammar tenses=present, future

If I get into a car accident, my auto insurance will cover the hospital bills.
 (present)                                                                   (future)

He will call you if his plane lands early.
      (future)                         (present)

If the citizens elect a new president, then I will find a new job.
                    (present)                                    (future)

I will inform you if I get the job.
     (future)             (present)

Conditional 2:
a) possible OR impossible situation
b) the possible situations refer to the future, the impossible is hypothetical (use your imagination!)
c) grammar tenses=past, "would" (a modal verb)

d) *Even though we use the past tense, it DOES NOT refer to the actual past

If I won a million dollars, I would donate to SOS charities. (possible in the future)
     (past)                                 (modal verb)

If I were you, I would see a doctor as soon as possible. (impossible, hypothetical)
      (past)          (modal verb)

I would renovate the house if I had more money. (possible in the future)
   (modal verb)                          (past)

I would be King John III if I could be anybody for one day.  (impossible, hypothetical)
 (modal verb)                         (past)

Conditional 3:

a) impossible situations

b) impossible situations that refer to a finished, unreachable past

c) grammar: past perfect (had+past participle), modal perfect verb (would have+past participle)

If my mother had spoken German with me as a little girl, I would have been a fluent German speaker!        (past perfect)                                                      (modal perfect verb)

She would not have failed the exam if she had studied more. 
        (modal perfect verb)                            (past perfect)

If I had gone to the doctor a month ago, I would have recovered by now.
 (past perfect)                                                 ( modal perfect verb)

They would not have broken up if he had treated her better.
            (modal verb)                              (past perfect)

Pronunciation Challenges by Language: A Sampling from Portuguese to Japanese

This is just a brief shortlist and introduction to the most common pronunciation challenges associated with the following languages including a few helpful hints:

Brazilian Portuguese: t vs. ch (Ex. to--chew)

• In Brazilian Portuguese the 't' is sometimes pronounced as an American 'ch' sound. In English, the 't' sound is pronounced with the tongue closer to the teeth on the roof of the mouth, whereas the 'ch' sound is made further back on the ridge of the mouth.

Italian: h vs. a (Ex. hungry--angry)

• Italians must remember that the American 'h' sound is what linguists call an aspirated sound, which means that the speaker must exhale when pronouncing words that begin with 'h' instead of swallowing it.

Japanese: r vs. l (Ex. rock--lock)

• Japanese has one sound for both of these distinct sounds found in English, so students have an especially difficult time with this because no matter what they say it is incorrect, as they are using a sound in Japanese that exists "between" the 'r' and 'l'.  I always tell my students that the tongue is flat with the 'l' and curved back a bit with the 'r'.

Korean: p vs. f (Ex. coffee--copy)

• Remember that making the 'f' sound involves the top teeth and bottom lip, while the 'p' sound involves both lips.

Portuguese: sh vs. ch (Ex. share--chair)

• Portuguese speakers usually pronounce the 'ch' sound in English as 'sh'. 'Ch' is quick as in a sneeze... Achoo!...and 'sh' is soft and long as in Shhhh, the baby is sleeping.

Spanish: inserting an 'e' in front of words beginning with 's' (Ex. eSpain, esleep, esafe and esound)

• Spanish-speaking students need practice beginning the 's' sound without the help of words before or after that normally help the flow and connection of sounnds.

Turkish: v vs. w (Ex. wine--vine)

• The 'v' sound includes the use of the teeth and the bottom lip, while the 'w' sound is formed with both lips as if giving a kiss.