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.

I started thinking about National Anthems when I read the prompt.

Here in the UK we have a dreadful one. God Save the Queen.

Firstly it isn’t really a National Anthem. It is a request to God to protect our sovereign. To me, a National Anthem ought to bring some idea of national pride. This doesn’t.

Secondly the tune. It’s terrible. It is a dirge, especially when played slowly, as it often is. It doesn’t inspire at all, which is what a national Anthem should do. Compared with the Marseillaise, the Italian anthem (which does go on a bit) or The Star-Spangled Banner it’s terrible.

The United Kingdom is made up of four countries, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, all ruled by the government in London, and with the Queen as Head of State, so it’s fine for all of them to have this request for the sovereign’s protection as an over-arching anthem. However, all the countries except England have a separate anthem for use when the country is acting separately. England only has God Save the Queen, which covers all the nations. That doesn’t seem right to me.

There have been several suggestions for an English National Anthem. The first, and seemingly most popular is Jerusalem. Now it does mention England, but it isn’t really about patriotism. It’s asking if Jesus walked on ‘England’s green and pleasant land’. What is more, the title is ‘Jerusalem’ for goodness sake. I admit it’s a good tune though, which I think is largely why it is favoured by many people.

Another one that has a good tune, and this time is patriotic, is Land of Hope and Glory. It’s a great patriotic song and has a tune that stirs the blood. The problem with that is the line which says ‘Wider still and wider shall thy bounds be set’. is this appropriate in this day and age?

The final one that is sometimes suggested is Rule Brittania. This is sung with gusto at the Last Night of the Proms every year. The problem I have with this one is that it refers to Brittania, which is not England.

My favourite for a National Anthem is I Vow to Thee My Country. The music is from the Planets Suite by Holtz and the words are patriotic. I think that not many people know of this is because it is used and a hymn in church and few people go to church these days (at least in the UK).

I am attaching the words here. As it would be likely that only the first verse is used ( as is the case with God Save the Queen) it would be suitable. I looked it up on Wikipedia and found a second verse that I never knew existed. We only sang the first and last when I sang it. That verse is maybe a little much for nowadays, but, hey, what about the Marseillaise?

I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,

Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love;

The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,

That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best;

The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,

The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.

I heard my country calling, away across the sea,

Across the waves and waters, she calls and calls to me.

Her sword is girded at her side, her helmet on her head,

And around her feet are lying the dying and the dead;

I hear the noise of battle, the thunder of her guns;

I haste to thee, my mother, a son among thy sons.

And there’s another country, I’ve heard of long ago,

Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;

We may not count her armies, we may not see her King;

Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;

And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,

And her ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace.

Please make any comments about this post. I would be interested to hear what people think, especially Brits.

Glow. A beautiful artwork from Beth Stranahan.

The boy looked up.

Above him a dragon flew on wings that reflected the blue sky.

It was so beautiful that he wanted to watch it all day.

The dragon landed. It looked towards the boy.

‘Come inside the walls’, called his mother. The boy sadly entered the castle.

A 50 word short story inspired by the 50 word story of https://musingsofanotherworld.wordpress.com/

I’ve done my homework and I would recommend these blogs to you.

https://athensletters.com/

https://musingsofanotherworld.wordpress.com/

https://oliveole.wordpress.com/

https://21timetraveller.com/