Stay up-to-date with ELT trends and ideas with articles from experts and teachers in the field.

Articles

<p>People often describe language as being alive, and I couldn&rsquo;t agree more with this description. Language adapts and evolves at an impressive rate. As language teachers, we strive to stay on top of these changes so that we&rsquo;re teaching our students best practices in English. Last week I had the chance to attend a webinar on current language trends, and I thought I&rsquo;d share some of the fascinating highlights with&nbsp;you.</p>

<p>The webinar, called &ldquo;What&rsquo;s New in Style,&rdquo; was hosted by the brilliant <a href="http://markalleneditorial.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mark Allen</a> and put on by <a href="https://aceseditors.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Aces</a>, the American Society for Editing. Allen covered recent updates and trends in three major North American style guides, including <em>The Chicago Manual of Style</em> (used primarily for publishing), <em>The Associated Press Stylebook</em> (used for journalism and corporate communication), and <em>The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association</em> (used for education and psychology). ESL Library&rsquo;s editors and writers follow <em>The Chicago Manual of Style </em>for the most part (though we do have an in-house style guide as well), so this session was of great interest to&nbsp;us.</p>

<h1>Singular &ldquo;They&rdquo;</h1>

<p>Did you know that singular &ldquo;they&rdquo; was not only voted the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/10/us/merriam-webster-they-word-year.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">word of the year</a> by <em>Merriam‑Webster</em>, but also the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/04/singular-they-voted-word-of-the-decade-by-us-linguists" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">word of the decade</a> by linguists? Allen began the webinar by discussing how all three style guides treat singular&nbsp;&ldquo;they.&rdquo;</p>

<p>The most notable update was that <em>The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association</em>, the last of the three guides withholding acceptance, now accepts singular &ldquo;they&rdquo; if rewriting the sentence makes it awkward or unclear. While <em>The Chicago Manual of Style</em> (CMOS), <em>The Associated Press Stylebook</em> (AP), and <em>The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association</em> (APA) all state that rewording to avoid singular &ldquo;they&rdquo; is best (e.g., using a plural noun or restructuring so a pronoun isn&rsquo;t necessary), they do accept it as a gender‑neutral pronoun. The three guides also recommend using &ldquo;they&rdquo; if you don&rsquo;t know which gender someone prefers (and definitely using &ldquo;they&rdquo; if someone has stated that &ldquo;they&rdquo; is their preferred&nbsp;pronoun).</p>

<p>At ESL&nbsp;Library, singular &ldquo;they&rdquo; is an important issue. Our editor Ann recently blogged about <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/the-two-uses-of-the-singular-they" target="_blank">The Two Uses of the Singular &ldquo;They&rdquo;</a>, and I also blogged about singular &ldquo;they&rdquo; <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/the-great-debate-over-the-third-person-singular-pronoun-he-she-or-they" target="_blank">way back in 2012</a>. How do we reflect current usage while not confusing our students with conflicting grammar rules? As English teachers, we have a duty to teach our students about best usage, especially when it involves inclusivity. But teaching students grammar that seems illogical isn&rsquo;t something all teachers want to get into, especially with lower‑level students. For this reason, the writers and editors at ESL&nbsp;Library avoid singular &ldquo;they&rdquo; so that teachers can choose to teach it only if they think their students can handle&nbsp;it.</p>

<p>In my personal opinion, I think it&rsquo;s important to teach all uses of a word to higher‑level students&mdash;I&rsquo;ve always found singular &ldquo;they&rdquo; to be a great discussion point! For lower levels, though, I tended to avoid teaching it unless it came up in class. Do you teach singular &ldquo;they&rdquo; in class? We&rsquo;d love to hear your opinion in the comments section&nbsp;below!</p>

<p>Besides singular &ldquo;they,&rdquo; what else is new in the English language, according to the major North American style&nbsp;guides?</p>

<h1>What&rsquo;s New in&nbsp;CMOS?</h1>

<ul>
	<li>Use <em>email</em>, not&nbsp;<em>e‑mail</em>.</li>
	<li>Use <em>internet</em>, not&nbsp;<em>Internet</em>.</li>
	<li>Don&rsquo;t use a colon if a sentence is grammatically correct without&nbsp;it.</li>
	<li>Don&rsquo;t use a comma before <em>too</em> or&nbsp;<em>either</em>.</li>
	<li>Using adverbs (including <em>hopefully</em>) to modify a sentence is&nbsp;fine.</li>
	<li><em>Decision‑making</em> is always&nbsp;hyphenated.</li>
	<li>Use italics for emphasis, not boldface or&nbsp;underscore.</li>
	<li>Video game titles are italicized (like movie&nbsp;titles).</li>
	<li>Capitalize <em>Generation</em> in <em>Generation&nbsp;X</em>.</li>
	<li>Capitalize the first word in a numbered&nbsp;list.</li>
	<li>Don&rsquo;t capitalize the first word in a bulleted list unless it&rsquo;s a complete&nbsp;sentence.</li>
</ul>

<h1>What&rsquo;s New in&nbsp;AP?</h1>

<ul>
	<li>Use %, not <em>percent</em> or&nbsp;<em>percentage</em>.</li>
	<li>Use a singular verb with <em>data</em>, not a plural&nbsp;one.</li>
	<li>It is now acceptable to use constructions with split&nbsp;infinitives.</li>
	<li>Use a slash, not a hyphen, in constructions such as <em>and/or</em> and <em class="inlineBlock">either/or</em>.</li>
	<li>Don&rsquo;t use hyphens if the meaning is clear without them.</li>
	<li>Don&rsquo;t hyphenate ethnicities. Use <em>African American</em>, not <em>African‑American</em>.*</li>
</ul>

<p>*Wondering why using a hyphen for an ethnicity is frowned upon? Allen shared this&nbsp;convincing argument during his&nbsp;presentation:</p>

<blockquote>
<p>&ldquo;&hellip;those hyphens serve to divide even as they are meant to connect. Their use in racial and ethnic identifiers can connote an otherness, a sense that people of color are somehow not full citizens or fully American: part American, sure, but also something not&nbsp;American.&rdquo;</p>

<p class="attribution">&mdash;Henry Fuhrman, Conscious Style Guide, January&nbsp;23,&nbsp;2018</p>
</blockquote>

<h1>What&rsquo;s New in&nbsp;APA?</h1>

<ul>
	<li>Singular &ldquo;they&rdquo; is now&nbsp;acceptable.</li>
	<li>Always use one space after a&nbsp;period.</li>
	<li>Use quotation marks, not italics, around examples (for accessibility&mdash;some people have difficulty reading&nbsp;italics).</li>
	<li>Bulleted lists without punctuation are now&nbsp;acceptable.</li>
</ul>

<p>Allen concluded his presentation with some handy links, including ones to <a href="https://aceseditors.org/news/2020/singular-they-continues-to-be-the-focus-of-language-change" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">his own blog post on singular &ldquo;they&rdquo;</a> and <a href="https://ophi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/CMS_list.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CMOS&rsquo;s hyphenation&nbsp;table</a>.</p>


What's New in the English Language?

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Learn tips on how to teach grammar and usage from our editors and grammar experts. 

Grammar & Usage

<p>Forming questions in English can be tricky for language learners. They need to be aware of subject-verb inversion and the difference between <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2462" target="_blank">Yes/No and Wh- Questions</a>. They must also become familiar with the different auxiliaries used for different tenses. Even in the simple present tense, there are differences in question formation patterns and auxiliary use between the Be verb and other&nbsp;verbs.</p>

<p>Is there an easy way to show these auxiliary differences clearly? I&rsquo;ve found that showing charts with the various subjects in the different tenses, often side by side, is a great way for students to remember which auxiliaries to use in question&nbsp;formation.</p>

<h1>Presentation</h1>

<p>When is the best time to present each chart below? It depends when you&rsquo;ve introduced the various tenses in class. Here is a suggested&nbsp;guideline:</p>

<ul>
	<li>For beginner‑level learners, start with charts&nbsp;A and C (simple&nbsp;present).</li>
	<li>For low‑intermediate students, present charts&nbsp;A through D (simple present/simple&nbsp;past).</li>
	<li>Once your intermediate‑level learners have studied the present perfect, review&nbsp;charts A through D with them and present charts E&nbsp;and&nbsp;F.</li>
	<li>For higher‑level students, present chart G and any others if you feel they&rsquo;ll benefit from a quick&nbsp;review.</li>
</ul>

<h1>Lower Levels: Be&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;Do</h1>

<h2>A. Questions with Be: Simple&nbsp;Present</h2>

<table>
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Subject</th>
			<th>Example</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>I</td>
			<td><strong>Am</strong> I late?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>You</td>
			<td><strong>Are</strong> you from&nbsp;Brazil?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>He</td>
			<td><strong>Is</strong> he a good&nbsp;student?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>She</td>
			<td><strong>Is</strong> she tired&nbsp;today?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>We</td>
			<td><strong>Are</strong> we on&nbsp;time?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>They</td>
			<td><strong>Are</strong> they&nbsp;hungry?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Singular Noun</td>
			<td><strong>Is</strong> that your&nbsp;dog?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Plural Noun</td>
			<td><strong>Are</strong> the children&nbsp;tired?</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h2>B. Questions with Be: Simple&nbsp;Past</h2>

<table>
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Subject</th>
			<th>Example</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>I</td>
			<td><strong>Was</strong> I late?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>You</td>
			<td><strong>Were</strong> you in Brazil last&nbsp;month?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>He</td>
			<td><strong>Was</strong> he a good&nbsp;student?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>She</td>
			<td><strong>Was</strong> she tired&nbsp;yesterday?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>We</td>
			<td><strong>Were</strong> we on&nbsp;time?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>They</td>
			<td><strong>Were</strong> they&nbsp;hungry?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Singular Noun</td>
			<td><strong>Was</strong> that your&nbsp;dog?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Plural Noun</td>
			<td><strong>Were</strong> the children&nbsp;tired?</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h2>C. Questions with Do: Simple&nbsp;Present</h2>

<table>
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Subject</th>
			<th>Example</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>I</td>
			<td><strong>Do</strong> I <strong>have</strong> something stuck in my&nbsp;teeth?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>You</td>
			<td><strong>Do</strong> you <strong>need</strong> any&nbsp;help?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>He</td>
			<td><strong>Does</strong> he <strong>like</strong>&nbsp;vegetables?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>She</td>
			<td><strong>Does</strong> she <strong>have</strong> a&nbsp;dog?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>We</td>
			<td><strong>Do</strong> we <strong>know</strong> the room&nbsp;number?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>They</td>
			<td><strong>Do</strong> they <strong>play</strong>&nbsp;basketball?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Singular Noun</td>
			<td><strong>Does</strong> your daughter <strong>watch</strong>&nbsp;cartoons?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Plural Noun</td>
			<td><strong>Do</strong> your friends <strong>go out</strong> on&nbsp;weeknights?</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h2>D. Questions with Do: Simple&nbsp;Past</h2>

<table>
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Subject</th>
			<th>Example</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>I</td>
			<td><strong>Did</strong> I <strong>have</strong> something stuck in my teeth last&nbsp;night?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>You</td>
			<td><strong>Did</strong> you <strong>need</strong> any&nbsp;help?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>He</td>
			<td><strong>Did</strong> he <strong>like</strong> vegetables when he was&nbsp;young?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>She</td>
			<td><strong>Did</strong> she <strong>have</strong> a dog last&nbsp;year?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>We</td>
			<td><strong>Did</strong> we <strong>know</strong> the room&nbsp;number?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>They</td>
			<td><strong>Did</strong> they <strong>play</strong> basketball in high&nbsp;school?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Singular Noun</td>
			<td><strong>Did</strong> your daughter <strong>watch</strong> cartoons last&nbsp;weekend?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Plural Noun</td>
			<td><strong>Did</strong> your friends <strong>go out</strong> last&nbsp;night?</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h1>Higher Levels: Be, Have &amp;&nbsp;Modals</h1>

<h2>E. Questions with Have: Present&nbsp;Perfect</h2>

<table>
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Subject</th>
			<th>Example</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>I</td>
			<td><strong>Have</strong> I <strong>forgotten</strong>&nbsp;something?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>You</td>
			<td><strong>Have</strong> you <strong>traveled</strong> to&nbsp;Europe?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>He</td>
			<td><strong>Has</strong> he <strong>eaten</strong>&nbsp;dinner?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>She</td>
			<td><strong>Has</strong> she <strong>done</strong> her&nbsp;homework?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>We</td>
			<td><strong>Have</strong> we <strong>come</strong> here&nbsp;before?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>They</td>
			<td><strong>Have</strong> they <strong>lived</strong> here&nbsp;long?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Singular Noun</td>
			<td><strong>Has</strong> your friend <strong>studied</strong> English for a long&nbsp;time?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Plural Noun</td>
			<td><strong>Have</strong> your coworkers <strong>gone</strong> to the meeting&nbsp;yet?</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h2>F. Questions with Have: Present Perfect Progressive</h2>

<table>
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Subject</th>
			<th>Example</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>I</td>
			<td><strong>Have</strong> I <strong>been forgetting</strong> things&nbsp;again?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>You</td>
			<td><strong>Have</strong> you <strong>been traveling</strong> in&nbsp;Europe?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>He</td>
			<td><strong>Has</strong> he <strong>been eating</strong> dinner for the past&nbsp;hour?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>She</td>
			<td><strong>Has</strong> she <strong>been doing</strong> her homework since 5:00&nbsp;pm?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>We</td>
			<td><strong>Have</strong> we <strong>been coming</strong> here for two years or&nbsp;three?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>They</td>
			<td><strong>Have</strong> they <strong>been living</strong> here&nbsp;long?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Singular Noun</td>
			<td><strong>Has</strong> your friend <strong>been studying</strong> English for a long&nbsp;time?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Plural Noun</td>
			<td><strong>Have</strong> your coworkers <strong>been going</strong> to the monthly&nbsp;meetings?</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h2>G. Questions with Other Tenses &amp;&nbsp;Modals</h2>

<table>
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Tense</th>
			<th>Example</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Present Progressive</td>
			<td><strong>Am</strong> I <strong>going</strong> with&nbsp;you?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Simple Future with &quot;will&quot;</td>
			<td><strong>Will</strong> you <strong>finish</strong> your homework on&nbsp;time?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Simple Future with &quot;be going to&quot;</td>
			<td><strong>Is</strong> he <strong>going to take</strong> next Friday&nbsp;off?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Past Perfect Progressive</td>
			<td><strong>Had</strong> she <strong>been studying</strong> English for a while before she got the&nbsp;job?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Modal of Advice</td>
			<td><strong>Should</strong> we <strong>clean</strong> the apartment before we&nbsp;go?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Modal of Ability</td>
			<td><strong>Can</strong> they <strong>speak</strong>&nbsp;Japanese?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Modal of Possibility</td>
			<td><strong>Could</strong> that <strong>be</strong> her new&nbsp;boyfriend?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Present Passive</td>
			<td><strong>Are</strong> my friends <strong>invited</strong> to your&nbsp;party?</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h1>Practice</h1>

<p>Before presenting the charts in class, you may want to try eliciting the patterns for <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2462" target="_blank">question formation</a> for each subject in the tense(s) you&rsquo;re covering (note: Aux = auxiliary verb or&nbsp;modal):</p>

<ul>
	<li>Be (simple present and simple past): <strong>Be + S +&nbsp;O</strong></li>
	<li>Do (simple present and simple past): <strong>Do + S + V +&nbsp;O</strong></li>
	<li>Have (present perfect): <strong>Have + S + V +&nbsp;O</strong></li>
	<li>Have (present perfect progressive): <strong>Have + S + V + V +&nbsp;O</strong></li>
	<li>Other tenses and modals: <strong>Aux + S + V (+ V) +&nbsp;O</strong></li>
</ul>

<p>For further practice, try some of the following&nbsp;activities:</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>Interviews:</strong> Have students interview each other. Assign a particular tense or let them ask anything they want. Have lower levels use a mix of questions with <em>be</em>, <em>do</em>, and <em>can</em>. Have higher levels use a mix of questions with <em>be</em>, <em>do</em>, <em>have</em>, and various&nbsp;modals.</li>
	<li><strong>Role‑Play:</strong> Have students do a role‑play using one type of question (e.g., two friends discussing likes and dislikes for practice with <em>do</em> questions, or two coworkers talking about places they&rsquo;ve been for practice with <em>have</em>&nbsp;questions).</li>
	<li><strong>Examples:</strong> Have students come up with their own examples for the tenses in chart G.</li>
	<li><strong>Find Someone Who:</strong> Have students come up with 10 items to include in a Find Someone Who chart. Then have them walk around the class asking their classmates their questions. Make sure you tell them what types of questions (which auxiliaries and which tenses) you want them to include. Use this blank <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/105/resources/2194" target="_blank">FSW template</a> or make your&nbsp;own.</li>
</ul>

<h1>Related</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/2678" target="_blank">Yes/No Questions</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1627" target="_blank">Wh- Questions</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1591" target="_blank">Simple Present &ndash; Be</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/2403" target="_blank">Simple Present</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1594" target="_blank">Simple Past</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/3128" target="_blank">Questions with Be, Do &amp; Have</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2462" target="_blank">Question Formation</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/question-formation-in-english" target="_blank">Question Formation</a></li>
</ul>


Be, Have & Do in Questions

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<blockquote>
<p>There will never be no love at&nbsp;all.</p>

<p class="attribution">&mdash;Bob Marley</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Double negative sentences are tricky and confusing. Not only do English language learners struggle with their meanings, but L1 speakers do too! Should we even teach this structure to our students? Let&rsquo;s take a closer look at this particular sentence&nbsp;structure.</p>

<h1>To Teach or Not to&nbsp;Teach?</h1>

<p>What exactly is a double negative? A double negative occurs when two negative forms are used in the same sentence. Examples of negative forms include adverbs (<em>not</em>, <em>never</em>, <em>hardly</em>, <em>barely</em>), adjectives (<em>no</em>), prefixes <span class="inlineBlock">(<em>un-</em></span>, <em class="inlineBlock">in-</em>, <em class="inlineBlock">dis-</em>), and suffixes (<em>-</em><em>less</em>), to name a&nbsp;few.</p>

<p>Though double negatives once were common in Old and Middle English, they are not very common at all anymore. In fact, grammarians have frowned upon their usage <a href="https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/double_negative">since the 17th century</a>, which is why we need to be careful when teaching them to our&nbsp;students.</p>

<p>Double negatives can create confusion and ambiguity, so the best advice is to avoid using them. However, our students may come across them from time to time, so I believe we need to teach them to higher‑level students at some&nbsp;point.</p>

<h1>How Can We Use Double&nbsp;Negatives?</h1>

<p>We&rsquo;ve all heard that two negatives make a positive. This is indeed the main interpretation of a double negative sentence, but&nbsp;it isn&rsquo;t the only reason to double negatives. English, in all its glorious complexity and nuances, has other reasons and interpretations of this&nbsp;structure.</p>

<p>If we are going to teach our students about double negatives (and I think we should when they&rsquo;re at a high‑intermediate level and above or if it comes up in class), we should cover three possible scenarios of&nbsp;usage.</p>

<h2>Use #1</h2>

<h4>A double negative can have a positive&nbsp;meaning.</h4>

<ul>
	<li>I don&#39;t know nothing about it!&nbsp;= I know a lot about&nbsp;it.</li>
	<li>You&nbsp;should never not go. = You should always go.</li>
	<li>It&rsquo;s not unusual. = It&rsquo;s usual/common.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Use #2</h2>

<h4>A double negative can show a slight difference in&nbsp;meaning.*</h4>

<ul>
	<li>I don&#39;t know <em>nothing</em> about it. = I know a little about&nbsp;it.</li>
	<li>You can&rsquo;t <em>not</em> go. = You have to&nbsp;go.</li>
	<li>It&rsquo;s not <em>un</em>usual. = It&rsquo;s not common, but it happens&nbsp;sometimes.</li>
</ul>

<p><i>*Note: Italics indicate where a speaker would normally place the emphasis.</i></p>

<h2>Use #3</h2>

<h4>A double negative can emphasize a negative meaning (especially in certain&nbsp;dialects).**</h4>

<ul>
	<li>I don&rsquo;t know nothing about it. = I don&rsquo;t know anything about&nbsp;it.</li>
	<li>You can&rsquo;t never go. = You can never&nbsp;go.</li>
	<li>She ain&rsquo;t got no money. = She doesn&rsquo;t have any&nbsp;money.</li>
</ul>

<p><i>**Note: Sentences for this case are often considered to be grammatically incorrect.</i></p>

<h1>Which Meaning Is&nbsp;Intended?</h1>

<p>How can we tell which meaning is intended by the speaker/writer? It usually depends on the context of the conversation, which isn&rsquo;t always apparent (and which is why double negatives are best&nbsp;avoided).</p>

<p>Sometimes intonation also helps us decipher the correct interpretation (e.g., emphasizing <em>not</em> in &ldquo;you can&rsquo;t <em>not</em> go&rdquo; helps us determine that the meaning is &ldquo;you have to&nbsp;go&rdquo;). If you&rsquo;re an Ellii subscriber, you can play the audio for our Grammar &amp; Usage Resource on Double Negatives to hear the intonation difference intonation for each&nbsp;use.</p>

<p>Some dialects are often apparent throughout the speech or text and are not only noticeable when a double negative is used. Though dialects make a language rich and varied, we might do well to remind our students that some usage is not considered &ldquo;correct&rdquo; by all speakers&mdash;while students might hear double negatives on TV, they should probably avoid using them during a job interview or in an academic essay, for&nbsp;example.</p>

<h1>Further Practice</h1>

<p>We recently had a request from an <a href="https://ellii.com" target="_blank">Ellii</a>&nbsp;subscriber for teaching tips and practice on double negatives in English after they came up in her classroom. We developed a <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources">Grammar &amp; Usage Resource</a> on <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/3081">Double Negatives</a> that includes a reference chart and a practice exercise. If you&rsquo;re not a subscriber, you can try some of the following&nbsp;activities:</p>

<h2>Activity #1</h2>

<p>For practice with use&nbsp;#1 above (two negatives equals a positive), put your students into pairs and have them write some double negative sentences (or write a list yourself to hand out to the class). Students can then pass their sentences to another pair. They should try to write the positive meaning. For&nbsp;example:</p>

<ul>
	<li>This place is not unfamiliar to me. &rarr; <em>This place is familiar to&nbsp;me</em>.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Activity #2</h2>

<p>For higher‑level students, put them into pairs or groups and have them find instances of double negatives online, on TV, in the newspaper, etc. Have them decide what the&nbsp;use is (#1, 2, or 3 above) and get them to express what the meaning&nbsp;is.</p>

<h2>Activity #3</h2>

<p>Discuss the use (#1, 2, or 3 above) and meaning of famous song titles that use double negatives. Why would the artists choose a double negative? Examples of such song titles&nbsp;include:</p>

<ul>
	<li>&ldquo;(I Can&rsquo;t Get No) Satisfaction&rdquo; by the Rolling&nbsp;Stones</li>
	<li>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s Not Unusual&rdquo; by Tom Jones</li>
	<li>&ldquo;Ain&rsquo;t No Mountain High Enough&rdquo; by Marvin Gaye &amp; Tammi&nbsp;Terrell</li>
	<li>&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t Ask Me No Questions&rdquo; by Lynyrd&nbsp;Skynyrd</li>
	<li>&ldquo;We Don&rsquo;t Need No Education&rdquo; by Pink&nbsp;Floyd</li>
	<li>&ldquo;Ain&rsquo;t No Sunshine When She&rsquo;s Gone&rdquo; by Bill&nbsp;Withers</li>
	<li>&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t Come Around Here No More&rdquo; by Tom Petty and the&nbsp;Heartbreakers</li>
</ul>

<h1>Related</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/3081">Double Negatives</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/negative-forms">Negative Forms</a></li>
</ul>


Double Negatives

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<h1>Overview</h1>

<p>How do you teach the negative form to your students? The negative form of English verbs is usually presented tense by tense in most textbooks. At some point, however, it might be useful for your students to see&nbsp;the negative form for different tenses at the same time so they can truly grasp the similarities and differences in patterns and sentence&nbsp;positions.</p>

<p>Before you present the three common negative verb patterns in class, try eliciting them from your students by&nbsp;asking&nbsp;the following question:</p>

<p><em>How would you make these&nbsp;sentences negative?</em></p>

<ul>
	<li>I am happy today.</li>
	<li>She was on time.</li>
	<li>You like coffee.</li>
	<li>He wanted some breakfast.</li>
	<li>They have been to&nbsp;Europe.</li>
	<li>We will be going overseas this&nbsp;year.</li>
</ul>

<h1>Patterns</h1>

<p>Go over the negative sentence patterns for the Be verb (pattern A below) and other verbs (pattern B) in the simple present and simple past. If your students are ready for more complex verb tenses (simple future, present perfect, etc.), introduce the pattern for verbs with two or more parts (pattern C).</p>

<p>Can your students think of more examples for each pattern?</p>

<h2>1. be + not</h2>

<ul>
	<li>I <strong>am not</strong> happy&nbsp;today.</li>
	<li>She <strong>was not</strong> on time.</li>
</ul>

<h2>2. do + not + verb</h2>

<ul>
	<li>You <strong>do not like</strong> coffee.</li>
	<li>He <strong>did not want</strong> any&nbsp;breakfast.</li>
</ul>

<h2>3. aux* + not + verb (+ verb)</h2>

<ul>
	<li>They&nbsp;<strong>have not been</strong> to&nbsp;Europe.</li>
	<li>We <strong>will not be going</strong> overseas this&nbsp;year.</li>
</ul>

<p>*aux = an auxiliary verb (e.g., <em>be</em>, <em>have</em>) or modal (e.g., <em>will</em>, <em>should</em>)</p>

<h1>Positions</h1>

<p>Did your students notice the placement of <em>not</em> in each of the patterns above? Ask if anyone can explain the position of the adverb in each case. If no one can explain it easily, or to reiterate, tell them the&nbsp;following:</p>

<ul>
	<li>For the simple present and past tenses, <em>not</em> follows the Be&nbsp;verb.</li>
	<li>For other verbs, start with the auxiliary <em>do</em> (present) or <em>did</em> (past), followed by <em>not</em> and the base verb.</li>
	<li>For tenses or modals with two or more parts to the verb phrase, the adverb <em>not</em> almost always goes in the second position following the auxiliary (<em>be</em>, <em>have</em>, or a modal) and preceding the rest of the verb form (present participle, past participle, or base&nbsp;form).</li>
</ul>

<h1>Examples</h1>

<p>After teaching the basic patterns&nbsp;and positions for negative sentences in English, go into more detail with the following examples. The&nbsp;examples in the charts below include different subjects (pronouns and nouns) and various tenses and&nbsp;modals.</p>

<h2>A. Negatives with Be:&nbsp;Simple Present &amp;&nbsp;Simple&nbsp;Past</h2>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/3043"><img alt="Negative Forms chart 1" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/16/content_113_Negative-Forms_Chart-1.jpg" /></a></p>

<p class="caption"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/3043">Negative Forms</a> &ndash; Grammar &amp; Usage&nbsp;Resources</p>

<h3>Contracted Forms</h3>

<p>We often contract <em>not</em> in informal spoken and written English, so it&rsquo;s very important to teach negative verb contractions. Try having your students guess at the contracted forms for each sentence in the chart.</p>

<p>Do your students realize that there are two ways (for most subjects) to form contractions in negative simple present sentences with the Be verb? Both forms are very common and equally acceptable. Negative simple past contractions only have two forms (<em>wasn&rsquo;t</em> and <em>weren&rsquo;t</em>), depending on the&nbsp;subject.</p>

<h4>Simple Present Contractions with&nbsp;Be</h4>

<ol>
	<li>I<strong>&rsquo;m not</strong> tired&nbsp;today.</li>
	<li>You<strong>&rsquo;re not</strong> in this class. / You <strong>aren&rsquo;t</strong> in this&nbsp;class.</li>
	<li>He<strong>&rsquo;s not</strong> at school. / He <strong>isn&rsquo;t</strong> at&nbsp;school.</li>
	<li>She<strong>&rsquo;s not</strong> lazy. / She <strong>isn&rsquo;t</strong>&nbsp;lazy.</li>
	<li>It<strong>&rsquo;s not</strong> a nice day. / It <strong>isn&rsquo;t</strong> a nice&nbsp;day.</li>
	<li>We<strong>&rsquo;re not</strong> his students. / We <strong>aren&rsquo;t</strong> his&nbsp;students.</li>
	<li>They<strong>&rsquo;re not</strong> cold. / They <strong>aren&rsquo;t</strong>&nbsp;cold.</li>
	<li>Her brother<strong>&rsquo;s not</strong> hungry. / Her brother <strong>isn&rsquo;t</strong>&nbsp;hungry.</li>
	<li>My sisters <strong>aren&rsquo;t</strong>&nbsp;here.</li>
</ol>

<h4>Simple Past Contractions with Be</h4>

<ol>
	<li>I <strong>wasn&rsquo;t</strong> tired&nbsp;yesterday.</li>
	<li>You <strong>weren&rsquo;t</strong> in this&nbsp;class.</li>
	<li>He <strong>wasn&rsquo;t</strong> at&nbsp;school.</li>
	<li>She <strong>wasn&rsquo;t</strong>&nbsp;lazy.</li>
	<li>It <strong>wasn&rsquo;t</strong> a nice&nbsp;day.</li>
	<li>We <strong>weren&rsquo;t</strong> his&nbsp;students.</li>
	<li>They <strong>weren&rsquo;t</strong>&nbsp;cold.</li>
	<li>Her brother <strong>wasn&rsquo;t</strong>&nbsp;hungry.</li>
	<li>My sisters <strong>weren&rsquo;t</strong>&nbsp;there.</li>
</ol>

<h2>B. Negatives with Other Verbs: Simple Present &amp; Simple&nbsp;Past</h2>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/3043"><img alt="Negative Forms chart 2" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/20/content_113_Negative-Forms_Chart-2.jpg" /></a></p>

<p class="caption"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/3043">Negative Forms</a> &ndash; Grammar &amp; Usage&nbsp;Resources</p>

<h3>Contracted Forms</h3>

<p>Contractions with verbs other than the Be verb are pretty simple. Tell your students that negative simple present sentences take <em>don&rsquo;t</em> or <em>doesn&rsquo;t</em>, depending on the subject. Negative simple past contractions all take <em>didn&rsquo;t</em>, which makes things easier on our learners!</p>

<p>Can your students tell you the contracted forms for all the sentences in the chart&nbsp;above?</p>

<h4>Simple Present Contractions with&nbsp;Do</h4>

<ol>
	<li>I <strong>don&rsquo;t have</strong> a&nbsp;dog.</li>
	<li>You <strong>don&rsquo;t like</strong>&nbsp;vegetables.</li>
	<li>He <strong>doesn&rsquo;t own</strong> a&nbsp;car.</li>
	<li>She <strong>doesn&rsquo;t enjoy</strong>&nbsp;shopping.</li>
	<li>It <strong>doesn&rsquo;t&nbsp;matter</strong>.</li>
	<li>We <strong>don&rsquo;t want</strong> to move to another&nbsp;country.</li>
	<li>They <strong>don&rsquo;t need</strong> any&nbsp;help.</li>
	<li>Our teacher <strong>doesn&rsquo;t give</strong> us any&nbsp;homework.</li>
	<li>My friends <strong>don&rsquo;t go out</strong> on school&nbsp;nights.</li>
</ol>

<h4>Simple Past Contractions with&nbsp;Did</h4>

<ol>
	<li>I <strong>didn&rsquo;t have</strong> a dog when I was a&nbsp;child.</li>
	<li>You <strong>didn&rsquo;t like</strong> vegetables when you were&nbsp;young.</li>
	<li>He <strong>didn&rsquo;t own</strong> a car last&nbsp;month.</li>
	<li>She <strong>didn&rsquo;t enjoy</strong> shopping last year, but she does&nbsp;now.</li>
	<li>It <strong>didn&rsquo;t&nbsp;matter</strong>.</li>
	<li>We <strong>didn&rsquo;t want</strong> to move to another&nbsp;country.</li>
	<li>They <strong>didn&rsquo;t need</strong> any&nbsp;help.</li>
	<li>Our teacher <strong>didn&rsquo;t give</strong> us any homework&nbsp;yesterday.</li>
	<li>My friends <strong>didn&rsquo;t go out</strong> last&nbsp;night.</li>
</ol>

<h2>C. Negatives with Other Tenses &amp;&nbsp;Modals</h2>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/3043"><img alt="Negative Forms chart 3" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/18/content_113_Negative-Forms_Chart-3.jpg" /></a></p>

<p class="caption"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/3043">Negative Forms</a> &ndash; Grammar &amp; Usage&nbsp;Resources</p>

<h3>Contracted Forms</h3>

<p>What about contractions for tenses other than the simple present and simple past? The contraction takes place between the auxiliary verb or modal (e.g., <em>be</em>, <em>have</em>, <em>will</em>, <em>should</em>, <em>must</em>, <em>would</em>, <em>can</em>, <em>could</em>) and the adverb&nbsp;<em>not</em>.</p>

<p>Ask your students to tell you the contracted forms of the examples in the previous chart. Examples&nbsp;7 and 8 provide good teaching points&mdash;in North American English, <em>mustn&rsquo;t</em> is possible but not very common and <em>mightn&rsquo;t</em> is&nbsp;impossible.</p>

<h4>Contractions with Other Tenses &amp;&nbsp;Modals</h4>

<ol>
	<li>I<strong>&rsquo;m not going</strong> to the&nbsp;party.</li>
	<li>You <strong>won&rsquo;t pass</strong> this test unless you&nbsp;study.</li>
	<li>He <strong>hasn&rsquo;t given</strong> me an answer&nbsp;yet.</li>
	<li>She <strong>shouldn&rsquo;t apply</strong> for a job until she&nbsp;graduates.</li>
	<li>It <strong>wasn&rsquo;t working like</strong> it was supposed&nbsp;to.</li>
	<li>We <strong>haven&rsquo;t been living</strong> in this city for very&nbsp;long.</li>
	<li>They <strong>mustn&rsquo;t arrive</strong>&nbsp;late.</li>
	<li>(No contracted form. It is incorrect to say&nbsp;<em>mightn&rsquo;t </em>in American and Canadian English.)</li>
	<li>Those cookies <strong>weren&rsquo;t eaten</strong> by our&nbsp;children.</li>
</ol>

<h2>D. Never</h2>

<p>There are other ways to express negativity in English besides using the adverb <em>not</em>. <em>Never</em> is an adverb of frequency that means &ldquo;not ever.&rdquo; The patterns and positions for <em>never</em> are similar to <em>not</em> with one important difference: The auxiliary verb <em>do</em> is not needed with <em>never</em>.</p>

<p>Try to elicit this difference before or after presenting the following examples to your&nbsp;students.</p>

<ol>
	<li>I <strong>am never</strong>&nbsp;late.</li>
	<li>You <strong>never call</strong>&nbsp;me.</li>
	<li>He <strong>never completed</strong> the&nbsp;assignment.</li>
	<li>She <strong>will never eat</strong>&nbsp;meat.</li>
	<li>It <strong>would never snow</strong> in summer in my&nbsp;hometown.</li>
	<li>We <strong>have never been</strong> to&nbsp;Australia.</li>
	<li>They&nbsp;<strong>must never enter</strong> this room without&nbsp;permission.</li>
</ol>

<h2>E. Negative Questions</h2>

<p>What about using &ldquo;not&rdquo; in questions? Negative questions are possible, but they aren&rsquo;t commonly used. Tell your students that they might hear or use negative questions&nbsp;to show surprise or to get confirmation.</p>

<ul>
	<li>Are you <strong>not</strong> feeling well today?<br />
	(e.g., ask this if your friend is quieter than usual)</li>
	<li>Do you <strong>not</strong> like pizza?<br />
	(e.g., ask this if your friend isn&rsquo;t eating pizza when everyone else is)</li>
	<li>Have you <strong>not</strong> seen this movie?<br />
	(e.g., ask this if your friend isn&rsquo;t joining in a discussion about a popular film)</li>
</ul>

<p>Your students will undoubtedly ask you about the correct way to answer negative questions. This can be a bit tricky! When using &ldquo;not&rdquo; in a question, a &ldquo;no&rdquo; answer shows agreement with the question and a &ldquo;yes&rdquo; answer shows disagreement. Give your students the following examples.</p>

<h4>Example 1</h4>

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>Question:</th>
			<td>Are you <strong>not</strong> feeling well today?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Answer&nbsp;(agree):</th>
			<td><strong>No</strong>, I&rsquo;m <strong>not</strong>. I woke up with a headache.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Answer&nbsp;(disagree):</th>
			<td>I&rsquo;m feeling fine. Why do you ask?</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h4>Example 2</h4>

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>Question:</th>
			<td>Do you <strong>not</strong> like pizza?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Answer&nbsp;(agree):</th>
			<td><strong>No</strong>, I <strong>don&rsquo;t</strong>, actually.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Answer&nbsp;(disagree):</th>
			<td>I love pizza! I&rsquo;m just too full to eat any.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h4>Example 3</h4>

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>Question:</th>
			<td>Have you <strong>not</strong> seen this film?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Answer&nbsp;(agree):</th>
			<td><strong>No</strong>, I <strong>haven&rsquo;t</strong> seen it yet.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Answer&nbsp;(disagree):</th>
			<td>Yeah, I&rsquo;ve seen it. I just didn&rsquo;t think it was very good.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<p>For examples of negative forms in tag questions, see <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/2376">this lesson</a>.</p>

<h1>Related</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/3043">Negative Forms</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1591">Simple Present &ndash; Be</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/2403">Simple Present</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1594">Simple Past</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1963">Verb Tense Review 1</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1997">Verb Tense Review 2</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/2241">Adverbs of Frequency</a></li>
</ul>


Negative Forms

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<h1>Inclusive&nbsp;Language</h1>

<p>Inclusive language (i.e., language that includes everyone regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, etc.) is an important subject in the publishing world today. It is also something that everyday speakers are taking into consideration. Many people are careful to make sure terms that exclude or demean certain groups of people (e.g., using <em>mankind</em> instead of <em>humankind</em>) are becoming less common&nbsp;in&nbsp;everyday language. How does inclusive language play out in the classroom for English language learners and&nbsp;teachers?</p>

<h1>To Teach or Not to&nbsp;Teach?</h1>

<p>As language teachers, should we teach students both&nbsp;inclusive and controversial terms and expressions since they&#39;re likely to come across instances of both? Should we teach them when to avoid using certain words or phrases that are now considered&nbsp;hurtful?</p>

<p>In my opinion, the answer to both of these questions is yes. I believe we should teach our students as many words and phrases they will commonly hear and see as often as possible, even if they&rsquo;re controversial. But, since English is not their first language, we also have a responsibility to warn them when a term or saying may be considered offensive and hurtful by&nbsp;some.</p>

<p>&ldquo;Long time no see&rdquo; (also sometimes written with a comma after &ldquo;time&rdquo;) is a fairly common expression used when greeting someone we haven&rsquo;t seen for a while. This past week, a long‑term subscriber wrote in to say she is no longer comfortable teaching this phrase after learning the origin of it. She mentioned that this phrase appears in our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/92/lessons/1749">Making Small Talk</a> lesson in our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/92/lessons">Functional English</a> section, and she was wondering if we were aware of its potential to offend people of Asian descent. We began our research&nbsp;immediately.</p>

<h1>Origins &amp; Usage</h1>

<p>While most of the sources we looked at agree that the expression &ldquo;long time no see&rdquo; comes from pidgin American English, many aren&#39;t sure whether it originated from a Native&nbsp;American&nbsp;or a Chinese expression originally. For example, articles on the <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/03/09/288300303/who-first-said-long-time-no-see-and-in-which-language">NPR</a> site and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_time_no_see">Wikipedia</a> discuss the two conflicting origins. <a href="https://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2015/06/18/9-words-with-offensive-origins/">Oxford Dictionary</a>, on the other hand, says this expression originated as &ldquo;a humorous interpretation of a Native American&nbsp;greeting.&rdquo;</p>

<p>The two main dictionaries I consult on a daily basis list &ldquo;long time no see&rdquo; as entries without any usage notes (though <em>Oxford Dictionary</em> discusses it in a blog post&mdash;see&nbsp;below).</p>

<p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/long%20time%20no%20see"><em>Merriam-Webster&#39;s Dictionary</em></a> lists &ldquo;long time no see&rdquo; as an&nbsp;idiom:</p>

<div class="whiteBox">
<p>IDIOM</p>

<p>informal</p>

<p>&mdash;used as a greeting for someone one has not seen for a long&nbsp;time</p>
</div>

<p><a href="https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/long_time_no_see"><em>Oxford Dictionary</em></a> lists it as a&nbsp;phrase:</p>

<div class="whiteBox">
<p>PHRASE</p>

<p>informal</p>

<p>It is a long time since we last met (used as a&nbsp;greeting).</p>
</div>

<h1>Decisions &amp; Conclusion</h1>

<p>So is it offensive? If you do a search for this phrase, you will find many conflicting opinions. For example, Katrina Leibee, in her post in <a href="https://collegian.com/2018/11/leibee-csu-has-gone-too-far-with-inclusive-language/"><em>The Rocky Mountain Collegian</em></a>, says this: &ldquo;There must be a great deal of projection going on if you find &lsquo;long time no see&rsquo; racist to Asians. It&rsquo;s literally a direct translation of Mandarin syntax (好久不见) and has become a common turn of phrase.&rdquo; However, Oxford Dictionary lists &ldquo;long time no see&rdquo; in their post called <a href="https://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2015/06/18/9-words-with-offensive-origins/">9 Words with Offensive&nbsp;Origins</a>.</p>

<p>While the Ellii team strives to use inclusive language as often as possible (and we take customer feedback very seriously), after much discussion and research into this phrase we&rsquo;ve decided not to remove it from the lesson. We feel it is such a common a phrase in many parts of the world that English language learners will undoubtedly come across it in conversation, on TV, in movies, etc., and they will wonder about the ungrammatical syntax of this phrase. By all means, we encourage teachers who feel it is an offensive phrase to teach their students that though they may hear it, they shouldn&rsquo;t use it&nbsp;themselves.</p>

<p>I myself would likely use it as a teaching point. It would be great way to open a discussion on inclusive language with my students and point out words or phrases that are considered highly offensive with ones that are still being debated. I would also ask if any of my students think the phrase &ldquo;long time no see&rdquo; is offensive and for what reasons. If any of my students felt it was hurtful or degrading, I would then tell my students that we shouldn&rsquo;t use it in&nbsp;class.</p>

<p>I tend to agree with Stavros Macrakis when he summed up usage of &ldquo;long time no see&rdquo; on <a href="https://www.quora.com/Is-it-racist-to-say-long-time-no-see">Quora&rsquo;s</a> site: &ldquo;As for the use of the phrase today, I suspect most people are unaware of its origins, and using it completely innocently. Then again, a lot of people are sensitive, and a lot of rumors go around&hellip;If enough people start believing that &lsquo;long time no see&rsquo; is offensive, it will be best to avoid&nbsp;it.&rdquo;</p>

<p>It&rsquo;s really up to the individual teacher how they wish to proceed in terms of teaching and using inclusive&nbsp;language in their classrooms. I believe that it&rsquo;s important to tell students when a term is considered derogatory (like we do in our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1906">National Indigenous Peoples Day</a> lesson). I think it&rsquo;s also worthwhile to point out cases where a term or phrase may become offensive to all one day. To me, &ldquo;long time no see&rdquo; is such a case. I would make my students aware that some people might find it offensive, but that it is still common to hear and use in English conversation at this point in&nbsp;time.</p>

<p>What would you do in your&nbsp;classroom?</p>


Is "Long Time No See" Offensive?

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<p><strong>Adjectives</strong> are words that are used to describe <strong>nouns</strong>. They are also known as <em>modifiers</em>. These common words follow two basic patterns in English. Students often ask which pattern is better or more common to use, and the answer is that they&rsquo;re equally&nbsp;common!</p>

<h1>Purpose</h1>

<p>Adjectives are used to describe <em>nouns</em> (people, places, or&nbsp;things).</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>green</strong> coat</li>
	<li><strong>beautiful</strong> sunset</li>
	<li><strong>cute</strong> puppies</li>
	<li><strong>interesting</strong> lesson</li>
</ul>

<p>Adjectives are also used to describe how someone is&nbsp;<em>feeling</em>.</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>happy</strong></li>
	<li><strong>sad</strong></li>
	<li><strong>hot</strong></li>
	<li><strong>cold</strong></li>
</ul>

<h1>Patterns</h1>

<p>There are two basic adjective patterns in&nbsp;English.</p>

<div class="white-box">
<h2>Pattern 1: Adjective + Noun</h2>

<p>An adjective often comes right before a noun. It stays right before the noun even when there are other parts of speech that are part of the pattern, such as an article, an adverb, or a preposition. This pattern is common for adjectives that describe people, places, or&nbsp;things.</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>soft</strong> pillow <span class="inlineBlock">(Adj + N)</span></li>
	<li>a <strong>soft</strong> pillow <span class="inlineBlock">(Art + Adj + N)</span></li>
	<li>a really <strong>soft</strong> pillow <span class="inlineBlock">(Art + Adv + Adj + N)</span></li>
	<li>on a really <strong>soft</strong> pillow <span class="inlineBlock">(Prep + Art + Adv + Adj + N)</span></li>
</ul>
</div>

<div class="white-box">
<h2>Pattern 2: Be + Adjective</h2>

<p>An adjective can also follow the Be verb. This pattern is common for adjectives that describe feelings as well as people, places, or&nbsp;things.</p>

<ul>
	<li>She is <strong>happy</strong>.</li>
	<li>I am <strong>tired</strong>.</li>
	<li>Your brother is <strong>nice</strong>.</li>
	<li>This pillow is <strong>soft</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</div>

<h1>Notes</h1>

<div class="white-box">
<h2>Note #1</h2>

<p>To form an adjective, a suffix is often added to the end of a noun. Some common adjective suffixes in English include <em class="inlineBlock">-able</em>, <em class="inlineBlock">-al</em>, <em class="inlineBlock">-ant</em>, <em class="inlineBlock">-ed</em>, <em class="inlineBlock">-ent</em>, <em class="inlineBlock">-ful</em>, <em class="inlineBlock">-ible</em>, <em class="inlineBlock">-ic</em>, <em class="inlineBlock">-ing</em>, <em class="inlineBlock">-ive</em>, <em class="inlineBlock">-less</em>, <em class="inlineBlock">-ous</em>, and&nbsp;<em class="inlineBlock">-y</em>. For more examples, see <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/english-word-endings-suffixes-that-show-the-part-of-speech/">English Word Endings: Suffixes That Show the Part of Speech</a>.</p>

<ul>
	<li>logic<strong>al</strong></li>
	<li>import<strong>ant</strong></li>
	<li>care<strong>ful</strong></li>
	<li>danger<strong>ous</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>

<div class="white-box">
<h2>Note #2</h2>

<p>Some adjectives don&rsquo;t come from a noun. These adjectives don&rsquo;t have&nbsp;suffixes.</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>big</strong></li>
	<li><strong>small</strong></li>
	<li><strong>good</strong></li>
	<li><strong>bad</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>

<h1>Summary</h1>

<p>It&rsquo;s a good idea to give students similar examples of the two patterns so they can see that there is no difference in meaning. Both patterns are common for describing nouns. It&rsquo;s their choice which pattern they want to&nbsp;use!</p>

<ul>
	<li>This is <strong>delicious</strong>&nbsp;pizza.</li>
	<li>This pizza is&nbsp;<strong>delicious</strong>.</li>
</ul>

<p>  You may also want to remind students that for feelings, Be + Adjective is the more common&nbsp;pattern.</p>

<ul>
	<li>He is <strong>happy</strong>.</li>
	<li>I am <strong>sick</strong>.</li>
</ul>

<h1>Related</h1>

<p>For more materials on adjectives as well as more advanced adjective tips, see the related resources&nbsp;below!</p>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/2093" target="_blank">Adjectives</a> &ndash; Grammar Practice Worksheets</li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/116/lessons/2496" target="_blank">Adjectives</a> &ndash; Fun Grammar Lessons</li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons/2414" target="_blank">Feelings</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/grammar-usage/resources/2812-adjectives" target="_blank">Adjectives</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/grammar-usage/resources/2316-suffixes" target="_blank">Suffixes</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/adjective-order-and-punctuation" target="_blank">Adjective Order and Punctuation</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/when-to-use-hyphens-rules-for-multiple-word-adjectives" target="_blank">When to Use Hyphens: Rules for Multiple-Word Adjectives</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-to-teach-ed-ing-adjectives-9-simple-steps" target="_blank">How to Teach -ED/-ING Adjectives: 9 Simple Steps</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/look-appear-feel-adjective-or-adverb" target="_blank">Look, Appear, Feel + Adjective or&nbsp;Adverb?</a></li>
</ul>


Adjectives

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<p>Collocations are words that <em>naturally go together</em> in a language. While native English speakers instinctively know that &ldquo;fast food&rdquo;&nbsp;sounds right but &ldquo;quick food&rdquo;&nbsp;does not, English learners may not be able to recognize why some words work well together while others with a similar meaning do&nbsp;not.</p>

<p>Learning common collocations is similar to learning phrasal verbs. The more exposure, the better! So how do we teach collocations? We don&rsquo;t want students to simply have to memorize huge lists of them. It may help to break down collocations into manageable, related sets of 10, as we did below. Also, be sure to provide plenty of <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/2800" target="_blank">practice and&nbsp;review</a>.</p>

<p>Let&rsquo;s start by looking at&nbsp;lists and examples of <strong>verb collocations</strong> for these common verbs: <em>have</em>, <em>get</em>, <em>take</em>, <em>come</em>, and&nbsp;<em>go</em>.</p>

<h1>Collocations with Have</h1>

<ul>
	<li>have breakfast/lunch/dinner/a&nbsp;snack</li>
	<li>have a cup of coffee/tea</li>
	<li>have an idea</li>
	<li>have a party</li>
	<li>have a good time</li>
	<li>have a baby</li>
	<li>have a headache</li>
	<li>have a fight/argument</li>
	<li>have a problem</li>
	<li>have an accident</li>
</ul>

<h1>Collocations with Get</h1>

<ul>
	<li>get a job</li>
	<li>get married</li>
	<li>get divorced</li>
	<li>get together</li>
	<li>get drunk</li>
	<li>get home</li>
	<li>get in trouble</li>
	<li>get dressed</li>
	<li>get lost</li>
	<li>get ready</li>
</ul>

<h1>Collocations with Take</h1>

<ul>
	<li>take a seat</li>
	<li>take a while</li>
	<li>take a photo</li>
	<li>take a rain check</li>
	<li>take a taxi</li>
	<li>take a shower/bath</li>
	<li>take a chance</li>
	<li>take a break</li>
	<li>take a look</li>
	<li>take care</li>
</ul>

<h1>Collocations with Come</h1>

<ul>
	<li>come close</li>
	<li>come first</li>
	<li>come on time</li>
	<li>come prepared</li>
	<li>come to a conclusion</li>
	<li>come to a decision</li>
	<li>come to an agreement</li>
	<li>come to an end</li>
	<li>come up with something</li>
	<li>come back</li>
</ul>

<h1>Collocations with Go</h1>

<ul>
	<li>go home</li>
	<li>go downtown</li>
	<li>go to bed</li>
	<li>go to school</li>
	<li>go to work</li>
	<li>go to a meeting</li>
	<li>go on a trip</li>
	<li>go for a run</li>
	<li>go for a coffee</li>
	<li>go back</li>
</ul>

<h1>Examples</h1>

<p>Here are a few examples from the list above. For more examples, meanings, and practice with all of the previous collocations, see our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons" target="_blank">Grammar Practice Worksheets</a>&nbsp;lesson on <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/2800" target="_blank">Verb&nbsp;Collocations</a>.</p>

<ul>
	<li>It&rsquo;s been a long day. I can&rsquo;t wait to <strong>go home</strong>, <strong>take a shower</strong>, and <strong>go to&nbsp;bed</strong>.</li>
	<li>We&rsquo;ve just <strong>come to a decision</strong> about our next trip. Both of us are <strong>having a good time</strong> here in Mexico, so we&rsquo;ll <strong>come back</strong> to this resort again next&nbsp;year.</li>
	<li>I <strong>have a problem</strong> with my computer. Can you <strong>take a look</strong> at it&nbsp;today?</li>
	<li>They <strong>had another big fight</strong>. I&rsquo;m worried they&rsquo;ll <strong>get divorced</strong>. I&rsquo;d hate to see their marriage <strong>come to an&nbsp;end</strong>.</li>
	<li>I <strong>had a cup of coffee</strong> with an old friend yesterday. Since I last saw her, she <strong>got married</strong>, <strong>got a new job</strong>, and <strong>had a baby</strong>, so we had a lot to catch up&nbsp;on!</li>
</ul>

<h1>Notes</h1>

<div class="white-box">
<h2>Note #1</h2>

<p>The following sets are common collocations that are often&nbsp;interchangeable:</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>have a shower/bath</strong> and <strong>take a shower/bath</strong></li>
	<li><strong>have a look</strong> and <strong>take a&nbsp;look</strong></li>
	<li><strong>have a break</strong> and <strong>take a&nbsp;break</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>

<div class="white-box">
<h2>Note #2</h2>

<p>There is a difference in usage between <em>come back</em> and <em>go back</em>. We use <em>come back</em> when we&rsquo;re <strong>at the place</strong> we&rsquo;re talking about. We use <em>go back</em> when we&rsquo;re <strong>not at the place</strong> we&rsquo;re talking&nbsp;about.</p>

<ul>
	<li>I can&rsquo;t believe it&rsquo;s your last day here in Toronto! I hope you can <strong>come back</strong>&nbsp;soon.</li>
	<li>We loved our trip to Hawaii last month. We plan to <strong>go back</strong> next&nbsp;spring.</li>
</ul>
</div>

<h1>Related</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/2800" target="_blank">Verb Collocations</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/grammar-usage/resources/2310-make-vs-do" target="_blank">Make Vs. Do</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/make-vs-do/" target="_blank">Make Vs. Do</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/2742" target="_blank">Phrasal Verbs</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/grammar-usage/resources/2740-phrasal-verb-list" target="_blank">Phrasal Verb List</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-do-you-teach-phrasal-verbs/" target="_blank">How Do You Teach Phrasal Verbs?</a></li>
</ul>


Verb Collocations

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<p>In many countries, the legalization of marijuana has been a hot topic for quite some time. The legalization comes into effect today in Canada (Oct 17, 2018). You can read all about it in our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/73/lessons" target="_blank">Mini‑Debates</a> lesson on <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/73/lessons/1313" target="_blank">Legalizing Marijuana</a>. This lesson presents the issues from both sides, and it should make for some interesting discussions and debates among your&nbsp;students.</p>

<p>Two terms that keep coming up with this subject are <strong>medical</strong> and <strong>medicinal</strong>. It is common to hear both <em>medical marijuana</em> and <em>medicinal marijuana</em>. Are these two terms interchangeable? Is there a difference in meaning? Since your students are bound to ask about these terms if you&rsquo;re discussing or debating this issue in class, we decided to focus on this timely topic&nbsp;today.</p>

<h1>Medical</h1>

<p>The term <em>medical</em> is used when something has to do with medicine or the field of medicine. <em>Medical</em> can often be heard when discussing locations, drugs, or practices involving hospitals, doctors, and&nbsp;pharmacies.</p>

<p>Merriam-Webster&#39;s Dictionary defines <em>medical</em>&nbsp;as:</p>

<div class="whiteBox">
<p>1 : of, relating to, or concerned with physicians or the practice of medicine (e.g., a medical&nbsp;journal)</p>

<p>2 : requiring or devoted to medical treatment (e.g., a medical&nbsp;problem)</p>
</div>

<p>When discussing cannabis, <em>medical marijuana</em> is commonly heard because many countries permit its use for medical purposes (e.g., as a pain reliever). In Canada, the regulation on access to cannabis for medical purposes was established by Health Canada in July 2001. As of October&nbsp;17,&nbsp;2018, the Cannabis Act makes marijuana legal for recreational as well as medical&nbsp;use.</p>

<h1>Medicinal</h1>

<p>The term <em>medicinal</em> is mainly used to describe the beneficial effects or a drug or herb. For example, the peppermint plant has well‑known medicinal properties that may help relieve nausea and muscle&nbsp;spasms.</p>

<p>Merriam-Webster&#39;s Dictionary defines <em>medicinal</em> as:</p>

<div class="whiteBox">
<p>1 : tending or used to cure disease or relieve pain (e.g., the plant&#39;s medicinal&nbsp;properties)</p>
</div>

<p>The term <em>medicinal</em> is heard when discussing cannabis mainly when people are describing how it beneficially affects people&rsquo;s health. For example, the medicinal properties of the THC compound in marijuana include relieving nausea, decreasing pain, and increasing the appetite. (For some people, though, the medicinal properties of marijuana do not outweigh the health risks, and thus the debate continues in many&nbsp;countries.)</p>

<h1>Conclusion</h1>

<p>The best term to use when discussing marijuana use is <em>medical</em>, not <em>medicinal</em>. However, there is some overlap. For example, there might be a discussion of the <em>medicinal</em> properties of the marijuana plant (i.e., the health benefits of cannabis). When referring to how it&rsquo;s used by people, though, it&rsquo;s best to stick to the term <em>medical marijuana</em> (i.e., medical vs. recreational&nbsp;use).</p>

<h1>Related</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/73/lessons/1313" target="_blank">Legalizing Marijuana</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/73/lessons/1311" target="_blank">Mini-Debates Teachers&#39; Notes</a></li>
</ul>


Medical Vs. Medicinal

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<p>There are many words in English with multiple uses, but one of the more common ones is the word &ldquo;actually.&ldquo; This adverb can occupy several sentence positions and can be used to emphasize a fact, express surprise, correct someone politely, or change topics in a&nbsp;conversation.</p>

<h1>Pronunciation</h1>

<ol>
	<li>
	<p>When speaking slowly, we pronounce <em>actually</em> with four&nbsp;syllables:</p>

	<p><span class="ipa inlineBlock">/ˈ&aelig;k tʃu ə ˌli/</span> <span class="inlineBlock">(<strong>ack</strong> choo uh lee)</span>.</p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p>When speaking quickly and naturally, however, we only use three syllables and drop the <span style="display:inline-block;">/u/</span>&nbsp;sound:</p>

	<p><span class="ipa inlineBlock">/ˈ&aelig;k tʃə ˌli/</span> <span class="inlineBlock">(<strong>ack</strong> chuh lee)</span>.</p>
	</li>
</ol>

<h1>Usage</h1>

<h2>1. To emphasize a fact or something that&nbsp;happened</h2>

<ul>
	<li>The interest on a credit card is <strong>actually</strong> higher than on a line of&nbsp;credit.</li>
	<li>Stop listening to gossip. I&rsquo;ll tell you what he <strong>actually</strong>&nbsp;said.</li>
	<li>I was so tired that I <strong>actually</strong> fell asleep in&nbsp;class.</li>
	<li>Did you <strong>actually</strong> see the&nbsp;accident?</li>
</ul>

<h2>2. To show surprise at something&nbsp;unexpected</h2>

<ul>
	<li>She <strong>actually</strong> apologized. She&rsquo;s never apologized to me&nbsp;before!</li>
	<li>I was putting off booking our trip, but the flights were way cheaper than I expected,&nbsp;<strong>actually</strong>!</li>
	<li>I was going to cancel our hike, but he told me that he <strong>actually</strong> doesn&rsquo;t mind the&nbsp;rain.</li>
	<li>They <strong>actually</strong> sold their house? It&rsquo;s been on the market for&nbsp;ages!</li>
</ul>

<h2>3. To correct someone&nbsp;politely</h2>

<ul>
	<li>A: The meeting starts at 2:00. B: <strong>Actually</strong>, I think the meeting starts at 3:00, not 2:00.</li>
	<li>A: You can get tickets online. B: The tickets are sold out,&nbsp;<strong>actually</strong>.</li>
	<li>A: How long have you been married? B: <strong>Actually</strong>, I&rsquo;m divorced&nbsp;now.</li>
	<li>A: Turn left at the light. B: I&rsquo;m pretty sure we need to turn right,&nbsp;<strong>actually</strong>.</li>
</ul>

<h2>4. To introduce a new topic or add&nbsp;information</h2>

<ul>
	<li>I <strong>actually</strong> need to ask you something before you&nbsp;go.</li>
	<li><strong>Actually</strong>, before class is dismissed, I want to go over the new&nbsp;schedule.</li>
	<li>There&rsquo;s a lot of research to support this,&nbsp;<strong>actually</strong>.</li>
	<li><strong>Actually</strong>, I&rsquo;ve been meaning to talk to you about&nbsp;that.</li>
</ul>

<div class="white-box">
<h2>Note</h2>

<p>While <em>actually</em> can mean &ldquo;currently&rdquo;&nbsp;in some languages, this usage is not common in North American&nbsp;English.</p>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="correct">They currently live in&nbsp;Florida.</li>
	<li class="incorrect">They actually live in&nbsp;Florida.</li>
</ul>
</div>

<h1>Actually Vs. Actual</h1>

<p><em>Actually</em> is an <strong>adverb</strong> and <em>actual</em> is an <strong>adjective</strong>. While their meanings are similar (<em>actual</em> means <em>real</em> or <em>factual</em> and it can be used for emphasis), they take different positions in a&nbsp;sentence.</p>

<p>The adjective <em>actual</em> is usually found before a&nbsp;noun.</p>

<ul>
	<li>The movie was inspired by <strong>actual</strong>&nbsp;events.</li>
	<li>This is the <strong>actual</strong> spot where he&nbsp;proposed.</li>
</ul>

<p>The adverb <em>actually</em> is usually at the beginning or end of a sentence or before a&nbsp;verb.</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>Actually</strong>, I can&rsquo;t make it tonight after&nbsp;all.</li>
	<li>I can&rsquo;t make it tonight,&nbsp;<strong>actually</strong>.</li>
	<li>I can&rsquo;t believe she <strong>actually</strong> said&nbsp;that.</li>
</ul>

<h1>Related</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/7-adverb-patterns" target="_blank">7 Adverb Patterns</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1626" target="_blank">Adverbs of Manner</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/2241" target="_blank">Adverbs of Frequency</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1616" target="_blank">Adverb Clauses of Time</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1619" target="_blank">Adverb Clauses of Contrast</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/grammar-usage/resources/2158-adverbs-with-two-forms" target="_blank">Adverbs with Two Forms</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/however-7-sentence-positions-2-uses/" target="_blank">However: 7 Sentence Positions &amp; 2 Uses</a></li>
</ul>


How to Use "Actually" in English

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<p>I don&rsquo;t know about you, but when I hear the word &ldquo;condiment&rdquo; I immediately envision an outdoor scene with burgers on the grill and ketchup, mustard, and mayo on the table. When our illustrator recently asked me where to put our new salt and pepper flashcards, I confess I was stumped for a minute! We have a <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/13/flashcard_categories/127">Condiments</a> flashcard category, but are salt and pepper truly&nbsp;condiments?</p>

<p>The only condiments we had in that flashcard section thus far were the ones we came up with for our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons/2457">Word Bank &ndash; Condiments</a> vocabulary lesson, which included a mouth‑watering array of global&nbsp;condiments:</p>

<ul>
	<li>ketchup</li>
	<li>mustard</li>
	<li>mayonnaise</li>
	<li>vinegar</li>
	<li>oil salad dressing</li>
	<li>soy sauce</li>
	<li>fish sauce</li>
	<li>hot sauce</li>
	<li>barbecue sauce</li>
	<li>plum sauce</li>
	<li>salsa</li>
</ul>

<p>So are salt, pepper, and other spices truly condiments? What about other flavor‑enhancers for food, such as pickles and olives? These delicious questions prompted today&#39;s blog post. Let&rsquo;s take a closer look at the origin and dictionary definitions of the word&nbsp;&ldquo;condiment.&rdquo;</p>

<h1>Etymology</h1>

<p>The word <em>condiment</em> comes from the Latin <em>condimentum</em>, meaning &ldquo;spice,&rdquo; from <em>condire</em>, meaning &ldquo;to season&rdquo; or &ldquo;to&nbsp;pickle.&rdquo;</p>

<h1>Meaning</h1>

<p>What do the dictionaries have to say? The definition for the noun &ldquo;condiment&rdquo; is pretty similar across the&nbsp;board.</p>

<div class="whiteBox">
<h5><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/condiment">Merriam-Webster</a></h5>

<p>something used to enhance the flavor of&nbsp;food</p>

<p style="margin-top:0;">especially : a pungent seasoning</p>
</div>

<div class="whiteBox">
<h5><a href="https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/condiment">Oxford</a></h5>

<p>a substance such as salt, mustard, or pickle that is used to add flavour to&nbsp;food</p>
</div>

<div class="whiteBox">
<h5><a href="https://www.dictionary.com/browse/condiment">Dictionary.com</a></h5>

<p>something used to give a special flavor to food, as mustard, ketchup, salt, or&nbsp;spices</p>
</div>

<h1>Conclusion</h1>

<p>According to the definitions above, it&rsquo;s pretty clear that most things that can add flavor to food can be classified in the <em>condiments</em> category. This would include sauces (such as ketchup and salad dressing), spices (such as salt, pepper, dill, cumin, etc.), pickles (such as olives and capers), and other seasonings (such as lemon rind or toasted sesame seeds). Anyone else&nbsp;hungry?</p>

<h1>Related Resources</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons/2457">Condiments</a>&nbsp;(lesson)</li>
	<li class="flashcards"><a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/13/flashcard_categories/127">Condiments</a>&nbsp;(flashcards)</li>
</ul>


Condiments

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<p><em>So</em>, <em>such</em>, and <em>too</em> are words with similar meanings and usage that our students often struggle with. We&rsquo;ve previously blogged about <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/so-vs-too/"> So Vs. Too</a>, so let&rsquo;s examine <em>so</em> and <em>such</em> in more&nbsp;detail now.</p>

<p>Do your students get <em>so</em> and <em>such</em> confused? Mine sure did. They&rsquo;d use <em>so</em> incorrectly with a noun (e.g., <em>That was so good movie</em>) or <em>such</em> without an article (e.g., <em>That was such good movie</em>). We hope the patterns and examples below will help your students remember how to use <em>so</em> and <em>such</em>&nbsp;correctly!</p>

<h1>So Vs. Such</h1>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2772" target="_blank"><img alt="Screenshot of our So Vs. Such resource" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/231/content_Tanya_So-Vs-Such_Chart.png" /></a></p>

<p class="caption"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2772">So Vs. Such</a> &ndash; Grammar &amp; Usage&nbsp;Resources</p>

<h1>Notes</h1>

<h2>Note #1</h2>

<p>Teach students to look for the <strong>noun</strong>, not the article, when deciding whether to use <em>so</em> or <em>such</em>. For singular count nouns, the pattern will be <strong>such + article + adjective + noun</strong>, but for non-count nouns and plural count nouns, the pattern will be <strong>such + adjective +&nbsp;noun</strong>.</p>

<ul>
	<li>That was such a boring book. (<em>singular count&nbsp;noun</em>)</li>
	<li>That was such heavy rain. (<em>non‑count&nbsp;noun</em>)</li>
	<li>They were such good singers. (<em>plural count&nbsp;noun</em>)</li>
</ul>

<h2>Note #2</h2>

<p>Remind students that the pattern &ldquo;so + adjective + noun&rdquo; is&nbsp;impossible.</p>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="incorrect">That was so good&nbsp;movie.</li>
	<li class="correct">That was such a good&nbsp;movie.</li>
	<li class="correct">That movie was so&nbsp;good.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Note #3</h2>

<p>Note that <em>so</em> and <em>such</em> have many other meanings and functions in English. Check a dictionary for a list of all possible meanings and&nbsp;uses.</p>

<h1>Practice</h1>

<p>See our Grammar &amp; Usage Resource on <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/grammar-usage/resources/2772-so-vs-such">So Vs. Such</a> for a larger version of this chart and a handy practice exercise. You can also teach <em>so</em> and <em>such</em> in context in our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/90/lessons/1645">So &amp; Such Stories</a>&nbsp;lesson.</p>


So Vs. Such

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<p>We blogged about <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/so-such-too" target="_blank">so, such, and too</a> way back in 2014, but these commonly confused words have resurfaced in two of our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/110/lessons" target="_blank">Super Simple Questions</a> lessons (<a href="https://ellii.com/courses/110/lessons/2768" target="_blank">What Size Is It?</a> and <a href="https://www.ellii.com/courses/110/lessons/2778" target="_blank">Do You Like It?</a>). These lessons contain examples of the adverbs <em>so</em> and <em>too</em> in context, so we thought it was a good time to review and compare these terms in more&nbsp;detail.</p>

<p>My students often got <em>so</em> and <em>too</em> confused. They&rsquo;d use <em>too</em> incorrectly in a positive sentence (e.g., <em>That movie was too good</em>) or they&rsquo;d use it when <em>so</em> would be more natural (e.g., <em>The water was too cold, but I went swimming anyway</em>). We hope that teaching these adverbs using the chart below will help your students keep <em>so</em> and <em>too</em> straight once and for&nbsp;all.</p>

<h1>So Vs. Too</h1>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2773" target="_blank"><img alt="Screenshot of our So Vs. Too resource" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/232/content_Tanya_So-Vs-Too_Chart.png" /></a></p>

<p class="caption"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2773" target="_blank">So Vs. Too</a> &ndash; Grammar &amp; Usage&nbsp;Resources</p>

<h1>Notes</h1>

<h2>Note #1</h2>

<p>As mentioned above, students often use <em>too</em> incorrectly for positive situations. I&rsquo;ve found it helpful to explain what the meaning with <em>too</em> would actually suggest. It&rsquo;s usually illogical. For&nbsp;example:</p>

<ul>
	<li><em>The movie was too good</em> means that you were enjoying the movie so much that you couldn&rsquo;t stand it and had to leave before it was over. This doesn&rsquo;t really make&nbsp;sense!</li>
	<li><em>The cake was too delicious</em> means that you took a bite of cake and decided you couldn&rsquo;t eat it because it tasted too good. Strange,&nbsp;right?</li>
</ul>

<p>If you have higher-level learners, you could point out that we can use <em>too</em> in positive sentences for emphasis, if we stress <em>too</em> and the &ldquo;excessive&rdquo; meaning is clear. Tell students to think of the meaning as &ldquo;so much that I&nbsp;could barely stand&nbsp;it.&rdquo;</p>

<ul>
	<li>You are too&nbsp;funny!</li>
	<li>He is way too&nbsp;kind!</li>
</ul>

<h2>Note #2</h2>

<p><em>Too + adjective</em> is often followed by an infinitive verb (to + base&nbsp;verb).</p>

<ul>
	<li>The test was <strong>too difficult to&nbsp;finish</strong>.</li>
	<li>The pizza was <strong>too hot to&nbsp;eat</strong>.</li>
	<li>The assignment took <strong>too long to complete</strong> on&nbsp;time.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Note #3</h2>

<p>Note that <em>so</em> and <em>too</em> have many other purposes and functions in English. Check a dictionary for a list of all possible meanings and&nbsp;uses.</p>

<h1>Practice</h1>

<p>See our Grammar &amp; Usage Resource on <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/grammar-usage/resources/2773-so-vs-too" target="_blank">So Vs. Too</a> for a larger version of this chart and a handy practice exercise! You can also teach <em>too</em> in context in our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/110/lessons/2768" target="_blank">What Size Is It?</a> and <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/110/lessons/2778" target="_blank">Do You Like&nbsp;It?</a>&nbsp;lessons.</p>


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Tanya Trusler