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Say vs. Tell

Say refers to any kind of speech. It is most often used without a personal object. She said that she would be late. (NOT She said me that …) If we want to put a personal object...

Same

We normally use the before same. We have lived in the same house for twenty years. He is the same age as his wife. Her hair is the same colour as her mother’s. Before a clause, the same … that or the same …who can be used....

Rather Than vs. Would Rather

Rather than is normally used in parallel structures: for example with two adjectives, adverbs, nouns, infinitives or -ing forms. When the main clause has a to-infinitive, rather than is normally followed by an infinitive without to. An -ing form is also possible. I would prefer...

Rather | English Usage

Rather is an adverb of degree. Its meaning is similar to fairly and quite. She is rather tall. The interview was rather tough. With adjectives and adverbs, rather suggests ‘more than is usual’ ‘more than was expected’ and similar ideas. I speak French rather...

Quite | English Usage

Quite suggests a higher degree than fairly. It can modify adjectives, adverbs, verbs and nouns. The film was quite good. (modifies the adjective good) I can speak French quite well. (modifies the adverb well) I quite dislike him. (modifies the verb dislike) That was quite a...

Question Words

The words who, whom, whose, which, what, when, where, why and how are used in questions. They show what kind of information is wanted. Why are you crying? (asking for a reason) What do you want? (asking for a non-personal object) Who is...

Question Tags | English Usage

Questions tags are the small questions that often come at the ends of sentences. You are not coming with us, are you? She can speak English, can’t she? Questions tags are used to check whether something is true, or...

Provide vs. Provide With

To provide is to give someone something that they need. They provide free food and accommodation for their employees. The school provides accommodation for students. He should be able to provide information about the new infrastructure projects in this locality. Provide someone with something The get-together provided...

Provided That vs. On Condition That

Provided that can be used as a conjunction. It is used to introduce a condition. It means something will happen only if another thing also happens. You can borrow my car, provided that you...

Primary Auxiliaries

The primary auxiliaries are of three kinds: be, do and have. Each of them has different forms. Be The auxiliary be has five forms: is, am, are, was and were. Be also has a present participle (being) and a past participle (been) form. I am writing a novel. He is working on a...