I have been a little confused recently about the naming of verb tenses. When I was at school I learned that there was the future tense (I will walk), the present (I am walking or I walk), the imperfect (I walked), the perfect (I have walked) and the pluperfect (I had walked). Then I read a book on grammar and it told me that the tenses are: future (I will walk), present (I am walking), simple past (I walked), past imperfect (I have walked) and past perfect (I had walked).

Now this is most confusing. It may be that there is a difference in the naming of the tenses in the USA and the UK, where I live, or it may be that there has been some change that I have missed. The above, which I said I had learned at school, I learned in English, French and Latin classes so it wasn’t just that we had a poor teacher who got it wrong. I wanted to write a blog about using tenses, but this discrepancy makes it rather difficult as it feels wrong to use what I have read in this particular book.

So what about today’s blog? I was going to do one on the use of the past tense, but until I can clear up this little problem I have with nomenclature I’ll leave it to a further date.

Please would some of you help me with this little problem by responding in the comments section.

Lula Harp has awarded me the Sunshine Blogger Award. I am flattered and would like to thank her. I will be passing it on shortly.

Here are my answers to Lula’s questions.

What are 6 things you couldn’t live without?
A difficult one, Lula. My 2 children. My 3 Grandchildren. (does that count as 5? Ha ha) My husband. All those are obvious, of course. Friendship. Sunshine.

What time of day do you do your best writing/work?
Afternoon

Biscuit or scone?
Ooh, I like both, but on balance, scone.

Favorite season?
Summer.

What are your thoughts on social media?
It is both a great boon and a great disaster.

Favorite way to end the day?
Watching TV and falling asleep.

Best trip?
I’ve had some fantastic trips over the years and this one is really hard, but I think the best was probably a trip to Germany to follow in the footsteps of J.S.Bach. We visited his birthplace and many of the places he worked. We also went to a concert in the Tomankirke where he was cantor given by the boys’ choir there. Superb evening.

Would you eat at a restaurant that was really dirty if the food was amazing?
Probably not.

How important is it to you to learn something new?
This is very important as it keeps the mind alert and keeps you from being a dull, uninteresting person.

Have you ever flipped a coin to make an important decision?
No.

My mother started writing poetry when she got older. They were much in demand at whist drives and such other social events that she attended. This is one she wrote about growing older.

A Message of Hope.

Isn’t it great to be sixty?

Isn’t it great to be old?

I feel it’s a stage

Like coming of age

 And so much more life to unfold.

——————-

I’m so looking forward to travel;

Half fares and concessions and that

And hair-dos, cut price

So I’ll try to look nice.

There’s always Oxfam for a hat!

—————

But who needs a hat? Like the Royals

I’ll wear a silk scarf with aplomb.

You can still cut a dash

Without loads of cash,

And  think of the good times to come.

—————-

Oh isn’t it great to be sixty.

Don’t vegetate there in your room.

Look forward, not back.

You’ll soon get the knack

Dispersing, dispensing with gloom.

—————

Yes, I’m very glad to be sixty!

No need to pretend any more.

Do just as I please

And as free as the breeze

Life still has its pleasures in store.

As you can see from this poem, she was an optimist and great fun to be with. She died at the age of 80 in 1990 with her humour and good spirits intact.

I still miss her.

There are a number of words that are frequently confused by people. In this post I hope to clarify nine of these pairs.

 Bought and Brought.

Brought is the past tense of ‘to bring’ and means to fetch something.

e.g. The dog brought the ball back to me.

Bought is the past tense of  ‘to buy’ and means to purchase something.

e.g. When I went to town I bought a new blouse.

The mistake is always using brought for bought and never the other way round.

 Fewer and Less

This is a very common one. So many people will talk about ‘There were less people at the match than last week.’

It should be ‘There were fewer people at the match than last week.’

Less is used for things that you measure (like weight, temperature, volume,etc)

Fewer is used for things you count (like people, goals, items in a basket at the checkout, etc)

A simple rule of thumb can be: If it only comes in whole numbers, then it’s fewer, but if it can be in fractions, then it’s less.

 Literally and Virtually

Literally means that it actually happened.

e.g. It was literally snowing a blizzard.

In this case, there would be no visibility to speak of and snow falling as if it were in the Arctic or Antarctic with a strong wind blowing it almost horizontal.

Virtually means it is not actually that thing. It is used when a metaphor is used.

e.g. The footballer was virtually flying down the wing.

If the speaker or writer said ‘The footballer was literally flying down the wing’, that would mean that he had somehow sprouted wings!

 Infer and Imply

I recently heard a broadcaster on the radio use infer when she meant imply. These people ought to know better. Most, I assume, are journalists, or at least have a ‘good’ education with a degree. They should know the difference, and if they don’t, in my opinion, should not be in the job.

Imply is what someone says when they want to suggest something without actually saying it in so many words.

e.g.‘He implied that he was going to come with us.’

Infer means that someone has drawn a conclusion from a statement.

e.g. ‘From what he said, I inferred that he was going to come with us.’

  Lose and Loose.

This is one for the written word.

Lose is when you misplace something.

e.g. You are going to lose your purse if you don’t put it away.

Loose is when something comes undone.

e.g. My shoelace has come loose.

 Tragedy and Travesty.

A Tragedy is something very sad.

e.g. It is a tragedy that he died so young.

A Travesty is to make something ridiculous.

e.g. The dogs runnign onto the pitch made the football match a travesty.

 Effect and Affect

Effect is a noun. It is the result of something.

e,g, What is the effect of mixing red and yellow together?

Affect is a verb. It says what something does.

e.g. How did the accident affect you?

 Popular and Common

This is one I heard from young people when I was teaching.

Popular means well liked by a lot of people.

e.g. Dean was always full of fun and so was very popular with his team mates.

Common means that there are a lot of them.

e.g. Herring gulls are very common in Brighton.

In this last incident, many pupils would say that the herring gulls were very popular, but if you asked the car owners of Brighton, I think you would get a very different view.

 Defective and Deficient

Defective means that a thing is broken in some way.

e.g. I sent my new vacuum cleaner back because it was defective. It was failing to pick up the dirt.

Deficient means that there is something missing.

e.g. The new wardrobe I bought was deficient. There were not enough screws to put it together.

Things That Were Good About the 1950s.

I grew up in the 1950s and 60s. People born much later than that have no idea what it was really like in those days and so I have decided to do a blog about it. Some older readers will understand what I have to say.

Nowadays we have lots of technology to make our lives easier, but it seems to me that life is more complicated now than it was when I was growing up. I think that many of the problems today stem from people’s inability to cope with an ever-changing world.

Now it could be said that my Grandmother’s generation saw more changes. She was born in the 19th century. There were no mod cons around. Lighting was by gas and transport was by horse-drawn vehicles. She died in 1965 when cars were quite common, vacuum cleaners helped to clean the house and detergents had been invented. Previously she had had to grate soap to do her washing and even the washing up. From having to walk most places, she saw the first artificial satellite put up in 1962 and the first transatlantic TV pictures. No wonder she was fit and slim all her life.

I seem to have digressed from my original theme.
Here are some things from the 1950s that I think were better than now. (Not in any particular order.)

 There were no empty shops in the high street.
 Road surfaces were smooth, as were the footpaths. (I don’t know if it was true, but it was said that if you tripped on a paving stone and it was raised more than the width of an old penny, then you could sue the council. This gives an idea as to how much better the footpaths were.)
 I used to go outside to play.
 Sweets were rationed and so they were a treat. A Mars bar was cut up into slices and shared with all the family. Yes, this was a ‘good’ thing. Less tooth decay, learning to share and less obesity.
 Food was what was in season.
 When we went out to play, it was in the woods and fields. We climbed trees, dammed streams and made dens. No one bothered us.
 There was no climate of fear for children playing and running wild.
 Not many people had televisions and so we learned to play musical instruments.
 We played games together like Monopoly, Ludo, Snakes and Ladders, Dominoes etc.
 We learned to put other people before ourselves.
 The 1950s were a time of optimism. The 2nd World War had recently finished and people were looking forward to a new world.
 There was little or no swearing on the street.
 There were policemen on the beat and they were respected.
 Schools were from 9 (or 8.50) until 4 o’clock, not until 3 o’clock. Only infant schools finished at 3.
 Exams were meaningful. We had to write essays, not just fill in blanks. (Structured questions!) Yes, exams have got easier over the years. I found an old  ‘O’-level paper some years ago that I had kept. 16-year-olds nowadays would not be able to do it.
I am sure I could find many more things if I were to continue, but I think this is long enough for now.

Please comment whether you agree or disagree. I would enjoy a lively debate on this subject.

Now the answers to last week’s questions.

1. Bulldog for sale. Loves children. Will eat anything.
2. As I was passing, the dog growled at me in a very aggressive manner. OR The dog growled at me in a very aggressive manner as I was passing.
3. A man found Caroline’s bag full of groceries.
4. The wool was found in a complete tangle by the playful kitten.
5. Man on rail line saved from being killed by train.

OK. This last is still a bit ambiguous. I could have made up a better sentence.

1. There was a greater amount of rainfall than usual last month.
2. There were a greater number of people at the match than usual.
3. The girl put a large amount of sugar in the cake she was making.
4. If you look at the window, you can see the number of raindrops that have hit it.
5. We need to score a greater number of goals than that if we are to win the league.

I intend to have a much better schedule for my blogs. I will still try to post on a Tuesday as much as possible. And I may reblog some interesting ones on other days, but this is what my intentions are at the moment.
 The first Tuesday in the month will be a general blog of something that has caught my attention recently.
 The second Tuesday will be another episode of The Wolf Pack.
 The third Tuesday I’ll do a blog about words and grammar.
 The fourth Tuesday will be some more of my writing or some of someone else I enjoy.
 If there is a fifth, then I’ll take potluck and maybe do something general, or some more of my writing or something. Perhaps post a few pictures.

Keep on following the Dragon.

Meet and Greet. Sounds like fun.

How well do you use words? Read this blog and answer a few simple questions. (1)

There are quite a few common errors in the use of words in English. We have grammar rules for a reason. Without the use of correct grammar, misunderstandings can easily occur. I once heard something like this on the radio. (I cannot quote the exact situation as it was a long time ago, but this is more-or-less what was said.)
A man was sentenced to 3 years in jail for stealing money in court today.

Now I’m quite sure the man did not steal the money while in court, but that is what was said.

A correct sentence should have said,

‘A man was sentenced in court today to 3 years in jail for stealing money.’

This is just one example of many. Unfortunately, many of the culprits are journalists who should know better.

When I was at school we did lots of exercises of this kind, having to correct the sentence.

Another thing that does not make me laugh, but causes me to shout at the radio or TV and that is the misuse of Amount and Number.

Amount/number. I frequently hear people using the word ‘amount’ when they ought to be using the word ‘number’.
A simple rule is “If you count it, then you say ‘number’ but if you measure it you say ‘amount’.”

Thus it would be: ‘The number of people at the music festival exceeded all expectation,’ or ‘The team needed to score a greater number of goals in order to win the match.’

And: ‘The amount of rainfall this month was above average,’ or ‘The amount of time required for the task is greater than that allowed.’

Another way of thinking of it is that if you are talking about things that come in whole numbers (e.g. people, goals etc. You can’t have half a person or half a goal!) then you say ‘number’ but if you can have fractions, then it would be amount. (e.g. time, weight, length etc.)

Some people might like to think of it in terms of analogue and digital. ‘Number’ is used for digital numbers, and ‘amount’ for analogue.

I will leave you to consider this with these few simple exercises. I will post the correct answers in my next post, which will likely be next Tuesday or Wednesday.

Correct the following sentences:

1. Bulldog for sale. Will eat anything. Very fond of children.
2. The dog growled at me as I was passing in a very aggressive manner.
3. Caroline’s bag was found by a man full of groceries.
4. The wool was found by the playful kitten in a complete tangle.
5. Man saved from being killed by train on rail line.

This last one is on I’ve just seen on BT.

Put the correct word, Amount or Number into these sentences.

1. There was a greater ———- of rainfall than usual last month.
2. There was a greater ———- of people at the match than usual.
3. The girl put a large ———– of sugar in the cake she was making.
4. If you look at the window you can see the ———- of raindrops that have hit it.
5. We need to score a greater ———– of goals  than that if we are to win the league.