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

Grammar & Usage

<p><strong>F</strong><b>ew, fewer, fewest</b> and <b>little, less, least</b>&nbsp;are small words that often cause big confusion for students. The key difference is what kind of noun they describe: count or&nbsp;non-count. Once students understand that distinction, the&nbsp;forms become much easier to use correctly.</p>

<h1><b>Count Nouns: Few &ndash; Fewer &ndash; Fewest</b></h1>

<p>Use the adjectives&nbsp;<strong>few</strong>, <strong>fewer</strong>, and <strong>fewest</strong>&nbsp;with nouns you can count one by one (e.g., &quot;people,&quot;&nbsp;&quot;books,&quot; &quot;jobs,&quot; &quot;emails&quot;).</p>

<h2>Few</h2>

<p><strong>Few</strong> means <em>not many</em> and has a negative tone.</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>Few</strong> students arrived on time today.</li>
	<li>There are <strong>few</strong> parking spaces near the building.</li>
	<li><strong>Few</strong> answers were correct on the quiz.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Fewer</h2>

<p><strong>Fewer</strong> is the comparative form. It compares two amounts.</p>

<ul>
	<li>There are <strong>fewer</strong> cars on the road today than yesterday.</li>
	<li><strong>Fewer</strong> people joined the meeting than we expected.</li>
	<li>This year, we have<strong> fewer </strong>applicants than last year.</li>
</ul>

<h2><b>Fewest</b></h2>

<p><strong>Fewest</strong> is the superlative form. It means the smallest amount.</p>

<ul>
	<li>Sara made the <strong>fewest</strong> mistakes on the test.</li>
	<li>This class has the <strong>fewest </strong>students in the program.</li>
	<li>That team scored the <strong>fewest</strong> points.</li>
</ul>

<h1><b>Non-Count&nbsp;Nouns: Little, Less, Least</b></h1>

<p>Use the adjectives&nbsp;<strong>little</strong>, <strong>less</strong>, and <strong>least </strong>with nouns that you cannot count individually, such as &quot;attention,&quot; &quot;time,&quot; &quot;water,&quot; and &quot;information.&quot;</p>

<h2>Little</h2>

<p><strong>L</strong><b>ittle</b> means <em>not much</em> and often sounds negative.</p>

<ul>
	<li>She showed <strong>little </strong>interest in the project.</li>
	<li>There was <strong>little</strong> hope of finishing on time.</li>
	<li>We have <strong>little </strong>information about the car accident.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Less</h2>

<p><b>Less</b>&nbsp;compares two amounts.</p>

<ul>
	<li>This task takes&nbsp;<strong>less</strong> effort than the last one.</li>
	<li>I spend <strong>less</strong> money on coffee than I used to.</li>
	<li>He feels <strong>less</strong> stress at his new job.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Least</h2>

<p><b>Least</b> means the smallest amount.</p>

<ul>
	<li>He drank the <strong>least</strong> milk of all the children.</li>
	<li>She has the <strong>least</strong> experience on the team.</li>
	<li>This option requires the <strong>least </strong>preparation.</li>
</ul>

<h1><b>A Note about A Few &amp;&nbsp;A Little</b></h1>

<p>While<strong> few</strong> and <strong>little</strong> can sound negative, <strong>a few</strong> and <strong>a little</strong> are usually postive. They suggest <em>enough</em>.</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>A few</strong> chairs are still available.</li>
	<li>I have <strong>a few </strong>questions for you.</li>
	<li>There is <strong>a little</strong> milk left&mdash;enough for coffee in the morning.</li>
	<li>He speaks <strong>a little</strong> English.</li>
</ul>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<h1>Related</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/aw-vs-awe/" target="_blank">Aw Vs. Awe</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/lay-vs-lie-lets-lay-this-matter-to-rest/" target="_blank">Lay Vs.&nbsp;Lie</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/everyday-vs-every-day/" target="_blank">Everyday Vs. Every&nbsp;Day</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/teaching-tips-on-theyre-their-and-there/" target="_blank">Teaching Tips on They&#39;re, Their &amp; There</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/teaching-tips-on-youre-and-your/" target="_blank">Teaching Tips on You&#39;re &amp;&nbsp;Your</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/teaching-tips-on-to-too-and-two/" target="_blank">Teaching Tips on To, Too &amp; Two</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/teaching-tips-on-its-and-its/" target="_blank">Teaching Tips on It&#39;s &amp;&nbsp;Its</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/ah-vs-aah/" target="_blank">Ah Vs. Aah</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/count-non-count-nouns/" target="_blank">Count &amp; Non-Count Nouns</a></li>
</ul>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


Few, Fewer, Fewest & Little, Less, Least

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<p data-pm-slice="1 1 []">The habitual past is a grammar structure that allows us to talk about actions that happened regularly or repeatedly in the past but no longer occur. We can also use it to&nbsp;describe states of being that were once a reality but aren&#39;t true anymore.</p>

<p data-pm-slice="1 1 []">The habitual past is perfect for reminiscing about our childhood or describing how life used to be. It is quite easy to form, and English speakers often use it to talk about past routines and habits.</p>

<h2>How to form the habitual past</h2>

<p>In the habitual past, either &quot;used to&quot; or &quot;would&quot; is&nbsp;followed by the base form of the main verb.</p>

<p>1. used to + base verb</p>

<ul>
	<li>Elizabeth <strong>used to be</strong> very thin, but she has recently gained a lot of weight.</li>
</ul>

<p>2. would + base verb</p>

<ul>
	<li>Before my husband and I&nbsp;had children, we <strong>would sleep in</strong> on the weekends.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Used to</h2>

<p>&quot;Used to&quot; is a versatile phrase for the habitual past. It works with both actions and states.</p>

<ul data-spread="false">
	<li>Action: She <strong>used to</strong> ride her bike to school every day.</li>
	<li>State: We <strong>used to</strong> live in a small village.</li>
</ul>

<div class="white-box">
<h2>Note</h2>

<p>The negative form of &quot;used to&quot; is &quot;did not&nbsp;use to&quot; or &quot;never used to.&quot; The question form is &quot;Did (you) use to...?&quot;</p>

<p>Examples:</p>

<ul data-spread="false">
	<li>Negative: I <strong>didn&rsquo;t use to</strong> like vegetables when I was a kid. / I <strong>never used to</strong> bring my own bag to the grocery store.</li>
	<li>Question: <strong>Did you use to</strong> have a pet?</li>
</ul>
</div>

<h2>Would</h2>

<p>&quot;Would&quot; is&nbsp;often paired with specific time markers and is used to describe repeated actions in the past. However, unlike &quot;used to,&quot; it is never used&nbsp;with states of being.&nbsp;</p>

<ul data-spread="false">
	<li>On Sundays, my grandfather <strong>would</strong> tell us stories by the fire.</li>
	<li>Every winter, we <strong>would</strong> build a snowman in the backyard.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Common mistakes to avoid</h2>

<p>1. <strong>Mixing &quot;used to&quot; and present habits:</strong>&nbsp; &quot;Used to&quot; is only used for the past. To describe present habits,&nbsp;words like &quot;usually&quot; or &quot;tend to&quot; are more appropriate.</p>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="incorrect">I used to go jogging every morning.&nbsp;(if it&rsquo;s still happening now)</li>
	<li class="correct">I <strong>usually</strong> go jogging every morning.</li>
</ul>

<p>2. <strong>Overusing &quot;would&quot;:</strong>&nbsp;As mentioned earlier, &quot;would&quot; cannot describe states.</p>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="incorrect">She would own a bakery in her hometown.</li>
	<li class="correct">She <strong>used to</strong> own a bakery in her hometown.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Why is the habitual past important?</h2>

<p>Understanding and using the habitual past allows speakers to:</p>

<p>1. <strong>Tell engaging stories:</strong>&nbsp;It helps listeners imagine repeated events or routines.</p>

<ul data-spread="true">
	<li>When we were teenagers, we <strong>used to</strong> stay up all night talking about our dreams.</li>
	<li>Every evening, we <strong>would</strong> sit on the porch and watch the sunset.</li>
</ul>

<p>2. <strong>Show contrast:</strong> It emphasizes how life has changed over time.</p>

<ul>
	<li>I <strong>used to</strong> have so much free time before I started this job.</li>
	<li>This neighborhood <strong>used to</strong> be dangerous at night, but the city installed street lights last year and crime has decreased significantly.</li>
</ul>

<h3>&nbsp;</h3>

<h1>Related</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/1620-past-modals" target="_self">Past Modals</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/1565-what-did-you-use-to-do" target="_self">What Did You Use to Do?</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2830-used-to-get-used-to-be-used-to" target="_self">Used To, Get Used To &amp; Be Used To</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/used-to-get-used-to-and-be-used-to" target="_parent">Used To, Get Used To &amp; Be Used To</a></li>
</ul>


The Habitual Past: Used To & Would

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<p>Learning English can be challenging, especially when it comes to collocations&mdash;<em>words that naturally go together</em>. One type of collocation that English learners often struggle with is <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/5236-verb-preposition-collocations" target="_self"><strong>verb&ndash;preposition collocations</strong></a>. Unfortunately,&nbsp;there are no clear-cut rules that govern which prepositions go with specific verbs, yet speakers whose first language is English rarely get the combinations&nbsp;wrong. Mastering these collocations will not only improve learners&#39; fluency, but also make&nbsp;everyday conversations much easier to understand and participate in.</p>

<h2>Common verb&ndash;preposition collocations</h2>

<p>Here are some of the most commonly used verb&ndash;preposition collocations in English:</p>

<table>
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Verb</th>
			<th>Preposition</th>
			<th>Example Sentence</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>agree</td>
			<td>with</td>
			<td>I <strong>agree with</strong> your opinion.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>apologize</td>
			<td>for</td>
			<td>She<strong> apologized for</strong> being late.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>apply</td>
			<td>for</td>
			<td>He <strong>applied for&nbsp;</strong>a new job.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>depend</td>
			<td>on</td>
			<td>You can <strong>depend on </strong>her to help out.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>focus</td>
			<td>on</td>
			<td>I need to <strong>focus on</strong> my studies.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>wait</td>
			<td>for</td>
			<td>They are <strong>waiting for</strong> the train to arrive.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>complain</td>
			<td>about</td>
			<td>He <strong>complained about</strong> the long wait.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>participate</td>
			<td>in</td>
			<td>She <strong>participated in</strong> the school event.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>succeed</td>
			<td>in</td>
			<td>He <strong>succeeded in</strong> passing his exam.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h2>Why verb&ndash;preposition collocations are important</h2>

<p>Verb&ndash;preposition collocations are essential to learn for several reasons:</p>

<ol>
	<li>
	<p><strong>They reduce hesitation.</strong>&nbsp;Knowing common collocations makes speaking and writing easier as learners&nbsp;won&rsquo;t need to pause to consider the right preposition.</p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p><strong>They improve&nbsp;listening comprehension</strong>. Since collocations are common, recognizing them will help students&nbsp;understand English speakers&nbsp;more easily.</p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p><strong>They allow for clear communication.</strong>&nbsp;Collocations give context and precision to language. For example, verbs like&nbsp;&quot;agree&quot; and &quot;ask&quot; can have different meanings when paired with different&nbsp;prepositions. Knowing which preposition to use in a given situation enables speakers to convey their intended meaning accurately.&nbsp;</p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p><strong>They help learners avoid mistakes.</strong> English learners often make mistakes by omitting prepositions or using incorrect ones, which can change or distort the meaning of their sentences. Learning collocations will help reduce the number of errors learners make.</p>
	</li>
</ol>

<h2>Tips for students</h2>

<p>Mastering collocations is not about memorizing endless lists. Instead, there are practical strategies that can help make these phrases feel more natural and easier to acquire.</p>

<ol>
	<li><strong>Study common verb&ndash;preposition collocations&nbsp;in context.</strong> One of the best ways to learn collocations&nbsp;is to see them in real-life contexts. Reading books, watching TV&nbsp; shows, or even listening to podcasts can expose you to these collocations in action.</li>
	<li><strong>Create examples.</strong> Using collocations in sentences helps solidify their meaning. Create sentences like &quot;I agree with your opinion&quot; or &quot;I&#39;m waiting for your reply&quot; as you study.</li>
	<li><strong>Practice speaking and writing with verb&ndash;preposition collocations.</strong> To retain what you&#39;ve learned, try incorporating collocations into your everyday speech and writing. Use them in spoken conversations, journal entries, emails, and texts.</li>
	<li><strong>Learn verb&ndash;preposition collocations as fixed phrases.</strong> Collocations are fixed expressions, so it&rsquo;s helpful to learn the two elements&nbsp;together as a unit. Instead of memorizing &quot;depend&quot; on its own, focus on &quot;depend on&quot; as a single concept that means &quot;to rely on.&quot;</li>
</ol>

<h2>Verb&ndash;preposition collocations&nbsp;vs. phrasal verbs</h2>

<p>Verb&ndash;preposition collocations&nbsp;and <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2742-phrasal-verbs" target="_self">phrasal verbs</a> might seem similar, but they are different. Collocations keep a connection to the verb&rsquo;s original meaning, while phrasal verbs can have meanings that are quite different from the individual words.</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>Verb&ndash;preposition collocation example:</strong> &quot;listen to&quot; &ndash; &quot;She <strong>listens to</strong> the news every morning.&quot;</li>
	<li><strong>Phrasal verb example:</strong> &quot;count on&quot; &ndash; &quot;I can always&nbsp;<strong>count on</strong>&nbsp;my parents for emotional support.&quot;</li>
</ul>

<h2>Summary</h2>

<p>Verb&ndash;preposition collocations&nbsp;are a&nbsp;vital aspect of producing clear, accurate English. By learning common collocations, understanding their meanings, and practicing them in sentences, students will be well on their way to achieving fluency and communicating effectively.</p>


Verb–Preposition Collocations

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<h3><em>Editor&#39;s Note:</em></h3>

<p>This blog post was originally written a decade ago, but there is still a heated debate between those who prefer adding <strong>only an apostrophe</strong>&nbsp;to a singular noun that ends in -s (e.g., <strong>Dickens&#39;</strong> book) and those who prefer &quot;<strong>apostrophe s</strong>&quot; (e.g., <strong>Dickens&#39;s</strong> book). Recently <em>The Associated Press</em>&nbsp;(AP) published an <a href="https://apnews.com/article/harris-walz-apostrophe-possessive-grammar-967c0bbefc09be6c804588daabed7ec9"><strong>article</strong></a> on this ongoing argument about how to style the possessive form of Vice President <strong><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/3413-kamala-harris">Kamala Harris</a></strong>. While everyone agrees that the possessive form of her running mate, Governor <strong><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/5125-kamala-harris-selects-tim-walz-as-running-mate">Tim Walz</a></strong>, is&nbsp;<strong>Walz&#39;s</strong>, the argument for <strong>Harris&#39;</strong> vs. <strong>Harris&#39;s</strong> persists.</p>

<p>Which side do you agree with: AP (<strong>Harris&#39;</strong>) or others such as the <em>The Chicago Manual of Style</em>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/10/us/harris-walz-apostrophe-possessive.html"><em>The New York Times</em></a>, and Ellii (<strong>Harris&#39;s</strong>)? You can watch the <strong><a href="https://ellii.com/video/an-apostrophe-battle-is-brewing">video</a></strong> below and/or read the following original post to see why Ellii chooses the latter. In fact, we update any AP articles in our <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/that-s-news-to-me"><strong>That&#39;s News to Me</strong></a> section into our own house style so that we don&#39;t confuse students any further. If only all style guides could agree!</p>

<div class="videoWrapper"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/998764071" width="640"></iframe></div>

<h2>Original Post</h2>

<p>(from April 17, 2014)</p>

<p>&ldquo;Apostrophe s&rdquo; (<strong>&rsquo;s</strong>) is used for several reasons in English, such as for the contracted form of <em>is</em> and <em>has</em>, and also for indicating <strong>possession</strong> (belonging to someone). In general, we add&nbsp;<em>&rsquo;s</em> to a singular noun and add <em>&rsquo;</em> to a plural noun ending in <em>‑s</em>.&nbsp;For example, we would say <em>the student&rsquo;s book</em> (for one student) and <em>the students&rsquo; classroom</em> (for many students).&nbsp;</p>

<p>But what happens when the singular noun ends in <em>‑s</em>? The rules for this have gone back and forth, which makes it difficult for both ELLs (English language learners) and&nbsp;speakers whose first language is English. As an editor, I have to keep up with the current guidelines as set out by popular style guides such as <em>The Chicago Manual of Style</em>. I thought I&rsquo;d share the most recent &ldquo;rules&rdquo; with you so you can pass them along to your students! If you disagree with any of these guidelines, please share your opinion in the comment section below&mdash;it&rsquo;s always interesting to learn what different teachers think around the&nbsp;world!</p>

<h2>General Rules</h2>

<h3>1. Add &rsquo;s (apostrophe + s) to a singular&nbsp;noun</h3>

<ul>
	<li>the student<strong>&rsquo;s</strong>&nbsp;book</li>
</ul>

<h3>2. Add &rsquo; (apostrophe only) to a plural noun ending in -s</h3>

<ul>
	<li>the students<strong>&rsquo;</strong>&nbsp;classroom</li>
</ul>

<div class="whiteBox">
<h5>Note</h5>

<p>If the plural noun doesn&rsquo;t end in ‑s, then simply add &rsquo;s to the&nbsp;word.</p>

<ul>
	<li>the children&rsquo;s&nbsp;classroom</li>
</ul>
</div>

<h2>Rule for Singular Words Ending in&nbsp;‑s</h2>

<h3>Add &rsquo;s (apostrophe + s) to a singular&nbsp;noun that ends in -s</h3>

<ul>
	<li>the class<strong>&rsquo;s</strong> door</li>
	<li>Kansas<strong>&rsquo;s</strong> laws</li>
	<li>Dickens<strong>&rsquo;s</strong> stories</li>
</ul>

<p>According to <em>The Chicago Manual of Style</em>, 17th edition, the general rule for forming possessives also applies to words ending in -s&nbsp;(sections 7.15&ndash;7.19). This rule applies to both common nouns and proper nouns (including names ending in -s, -x, and -z), as well as letters and numbers. Here are a few more examples from <em>The Chicago Manual of&nbsp;Style</em>:</p>

<ul>
	<li>a bass&rsquo;s stripes</li>
	<li>Marx&rsquo;s theories</li>
	<li>Borges&rsquo;s library</li>
	<li>Berlioz&rsquo;s works</li>
	<li>FDR&rsquo;s legacy</li>
	<li>1999&rsquo;s heaviest snowstorm</li>
	<li>the Lincolns&rsquo; marriage (plural of the last name &ldquo;Lincoln&rdquo;)</li>
	<li>the Williamses&rsquo; new house (plural of the&nbsp;last name &ldquo;Williams&rdquo;)</li>
</ul>

<p><em>The Chicago Manual of Style</em> also explains that nowadays, unlike in previous years, words ending in unpronounced <em class="inlineBlock">-s</em> and proper classical names of two or more syllables that end in an &quot;eeze&quot;&nbsp;sound also follow the same rules, as noted in the following&nbsp;examples:</p>

<ul>
	<li>Descartes&rsquo;s three dreams</li>
	<li>the Ganges&rsquo;s source</li>
</ul>

<p>Basically, this is great news for us all because the same rules apply to almost every situation and are therefore easier to remember. English learners are always relieved when there aren&rsquo;t a lot of exceptions to a&nbsp;rule!</p>


Forming the Possessive of Words Ending in -s

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<p>My intermediate ESL&nbsp;students enjoy beginning each class with a <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/structuring-your-class-with-dictation">dictation</a> as a way to review previously learned vocabulary items. Recently, the dictation included the expression &ldquo;be supposed to.&rdquo; A couple of students raised their hands and asked me to spell and explain it. I was rather surprised that they were unfamiliar with such a common phrase.</p>

<p>I talked to the instructors in my program who teach the lower levels and found that they did not cover &ldquo;be supposed to&rdquo; in their classes. I also had a hard time finding it in grammar textbooks. Since this expression is used so frequently in conversational English, I felt that it was time for a post explaining&nbsp;its usage and providing practical tips on how to use it correctly.</p>

<h2>Understanding the basics</h2>

<p>&quot;Be supposed to&quot; is an idiomatic expression used for&nbsp;obligation, expectation, or intention. Found mainly in the simple present and simple past tenses,&nbsp;it is&nbsp;typically used to express what is considered normal, customary, or required in a given situation. While its primary function is to indicate duty or responsibility, &quot;be supposed to&quot; can also convey assumptions or beliefs about what is likely or intended to happen.</p>

<h2>Structure</h2>

<p>The structure of this phrase is straightforward:</p>

<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>subject + Be verb + <em>supposed to</em> + base form of the main verb</strong></p>

<h2>Usage in the simple present</h2>

<p>1. Expressing obligation</p>

<ul>
	<li>Example: I <strong>am supposed to submit</strong>&nbsp;my report&nbsp;tomorrow morning.</li>
	<li>Explanation: In this context, &quot;am supposed to&quot; indicates a sense of obligation or responsibility. The speaker is following their boss&#39;s request.</li>
	<li>Note: &quot;Must&quot; could also be used in this example, but it would suggest more serious consequences if the speaker fails to meet the dealine. In other words, if &quot;must&quot; is used, the speaker could be fired if they don&#39;t submit their report on time. With &quot;am supposed to,&quot; the speaker may face lesser consequences such as being reprimanded.</li>
</ul>

<p>2. Indicating expectation</p>

<ul>
	<li>Example: It&nbsp;<strong>is supposed to rain</strong>&nbsp;tomorrow.</li>
	<li>Explanation: Here, &quot;is supposed to&quot; conveys an expected occurrence. Perhaps the speaker has read a weather report or watched the news to get this information and believes that it is true or probable.</li>
</ul>

<p>3. Describing intention</p>

<ul>
	<li>Example: My aunt and uncle&nbsp;<strong>are supposed to visit</strong>&nbsp;us this summer.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Explanation: In this case, &quot;are supposed to&quot; suggests an intended action. The speaker&#39;s&nbsp;aunt and uncle&nbsp;have plans to visit.</li>
</ul>

<p>4. Repeating hearsay</p>

<ul>
	<li>Example: The Yellow Umbrella Cafe <strong>is supposed to have</strong> the best pizza in town.</li>
	<li>Explantion: The speaker has heard other people talk about&nbsp;the Yellow Umbrella Cafe, or they may have read about it online, in a newspaper, or in a magazine.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<h2>Usage in the simple past</h2>

<p>When discussing the past, the phrase &quot;was/were supposed to&quot; is used to express unfulfilled expectations or unmet obligations.</p>

<ul>
	<li>Example: She <strong>was supposed to call&nbsp;</strong>me when she reached her destination, but she forgot.</li>
	<li>Explanation: In this instance, &quot;was supposed to&quot; indicates an obligation that was not met in the past. The result could lead to disappointment, anger, or surprise.</li>
</ul>

<p></p>

<h2>Common pitfalls to avoid</h2>

<ol>
	<li>Don&#39;t confuse &quot;be supposed to&quot; with the verb &quot;suppose&quot; or the adverb &quot;supposedly.&quot;&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Pay attention to the correct conjugation of the verb &quot;to be&quot; based on the subject of the sentence.</li>
</ol>

<blockquote>
<p>Do your learners incorporate &quot;be supposed to&quot; in their speech and writing? How do you present&nbsp;&quot;be supposed to&quot; in your classes? We&#39;d love to hear your thoughts and ideas.</p>
</blockquote>

<p></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p></p>

<p></p>

From Obligation to Expectation: Exploring “Be Supposed To”

https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/2516/Ann_From-Obligation-to-Expectation-Exploring-Be-Supposed-To_Banner.png

<p>ELF Pron, or Pronunciation of English as a Lingua Franca, is a global perspective on teaching pronunciation. It steps away from prestige &quot;native&quot; speaker language models and offers a more international approach. I personally like to think of it as the inclusive way to teach pronunciation&nbsp;where all accents are valued and intelligibility is the key.&nbsp;</p>

<p>All over the world, English is used as a lingua franca. It is the most common language for communication in business, travel, and educational settings. Interestingly, it is estimated that 80% of interactions in English take place between speakers whose first language is not English.&nbsp;</p>

<p>This challenges the need to sound like a so-called &quot;native&quot; speaker. Instead, the ability to modify speech in order to be understood is more important. It also empowers all language learners around the world to embrace their own accents and unique style of English usage.&nbsp;</p>

<p>As language teachers, we need to equip our learners with the pronunciation skills to be understood in a variety of settings. In this post, I&rsquo;ll explore exactly how ELF Pron does that.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>&quot;Native&quot;&nbsp;and &quot;non-native&quot;&nbsp;speakers</h2>

<p>I&rsquo;ve used the terms &quot;native&quot; and &quot;non-native&quot;&nbsp;speakers in quotation marks above and throughout this post. The reason for this is<b> </b>to show an awareness that the terms can be divisive and have been used to incorrectly label&nbsp;and discriminate against &quot;non-native&quot;&nbsp;language users.&nbsp;</p>

<p>There is an inaccurate perception that so-called &quot;native&quot;&nbsp;speakers are better at communicating in English. In reality, interactions between English users whose first language isn&rsquo;t English can be more successful.&nbsp;</p>

<p>This is because &quot;native&quot;&nbsp;speakers tend to use complex language structures such as idioms and slang. They are also more likely to use fast, connected speech and speak less clearly.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In many ways, taking an ELF approach to teaching pronunciation is one way to fight against native speakerism and ensure English belongs to everyone!</p>

<h2>The lingua franca core</h2>

<p>It is not possible to write a blog post about ELF Pron without mentioning the Lingua Franca Core (LFC). As the name suggests, it is at the center of global communication skills.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Let&rsquo;s go back to the early 21st century, when Jennifer Jenkins published a book with her research into intelligible communication. Her research found that certain aspects of pronunciation and language usage were more important for being understood than others.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Since then, the LFC has developed with more research. Here is a sketchnote summarizing pronunciation features we can focus on to support our learners to communicate intelligibly. It was created by Gemma Archer, an ELF Pron expert:</p>

<p><img alt="a sketchnote summarising pronunciation features we can focus on to support our learners to communicate intelligibly. It was created by Gemma Archer, an ELFPron expert" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3558/content_LF-Pron.png" /></p>

<h2>Most important features of the LFC</h2>

<p>You&rsquo;ll notice that consonants, consonant clusters, vowel length, and nuclear stress are described as &quot;most important.&quot; Here&rsquo;s why:&nbsp;</p>

<p><b>Most consonants</b></p>

<p>Consonants are the backbone of many words. If we remove the vowels but&nbsp;say the consonants, we may still be able to guess the word:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>frnd (friend)</li>
	<li>lngg (language)</li>
</ul>

<p>However, if we were to keep the vowels&nbsp;but remove the consonants, we&rsquo;d have no clues:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>ie (friend)</li>
	<li>auae (language)</li>
</ul>

<p>As a Scottish English speaker, I am guilty of omitting consonants while around my other Scots speaking peers. One common example is that many Scottish speakers don&rsquo;t pronounce their t&#39;s!&nbsp;</p>

<p>So, there&rsquo;s no &quot;t&quot;&nbsp;in &quot;Sco&rsquo;land&quot; (Scotland), &quot;Sco&rsquo;ish&quot;&nbsp;(Scottish), or &quot;bu&rsquo;er&quot; (butter). This makes it particularly hard for people unfamiliar with this particular variant of English to understand.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Of course, in class&nbsp;and around international language users, I have learned to modify my own accent to be intelligible. By ensuring that I pronounce all the consonants, I can be understood more easily. Other speakers of Scottish English are not so aware and, therefore, can be harder for language learners to understand.&nbsp;</p>

<p>By teaching students (and everyone, in fact) to pay particular attention to their consonants, we can make them more intelligible.&nbsp;</p>

<p><b>Consonant clusters</b></p>

<p>Consonant clusters are groups of consonants close to each other. For example:&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;st&quot;&nbsp;in &quot;cluster,&quot; &quot;gr&quot;&nbsp;in &quot;groups,&quot; and the often dreaded &quot;sps&quot;&nbsp;in &quot;crisps.&quot;&nbsp;</p>

<p>It&rsquo;s particularly important that these are pronounced clearly, especially at the beginning of words. Students must learn to produce each consonant within the cluster.&nbsp;</p>

<p>If they have difficulty with this, it&rsquo;s usually okay to add a schwa. For example, in &quot;crisps&quot; (meaning <em>potato</em>&nbsp;<em>chips</em> in American English), many users add a schwa between the &quot;p&quot; and &quot;s&quot;&nbsp;(i.e., /krɪspəs/) and we can still understand them.&nbsp;</p>

<p><b>Vowel length&nbsp;</b></p>

<p>The length of the vowel is more important than the quality of the vowel in an ELF Pron context. So when a learner finds a particular vowel sound difficult, it&rsquo;s okay for them to replace it with a similar vowel from their first language.</p>

<p>The important thing is that they get the vowel length correct. For example, if a student says &quot;ship&quot;&nbsp;in place of &quot;sheep,&quot;&nbsp;for example, they&rsquo;ll likely be misunderstood. However, if they say &quot;shep&quot;&nbsp;for &quot;ship&quot;&nbsp;in the right context, they&rsquo;ll likely be understood.&nbsp;</p>

<p><b>Nuclear stress</b></p>

<p>Another important aspect of pronunciation, as identified in the LFC, is <strong>nuclear stress</strong>. This is when a speaker places certain importance on different words.&nbsp;</p>

<p>For example:</p>

<ul>
	<li>The CAT ate my homework. (The focus is on &quot;cat.&quot;)</li>
	<li>The cat ATE my homework. (The focus is on &quot;ate.&quot;)</li>
	<li>The cat ate MY homework. (The focus is on &quot;my.&quot;)</li>
	<li>The cat ate my HOMEWORK. (The focus is on &quot;homework.&quot;)</li>
</ul>

<h2>Important features of the LFC&nbsp;</h2>

<p>In the middle of the LFC,&nbsp;with <i>some</i> importance for intelligibility, are <strong>word stress </strong>and <strong>dental fricatives</strong>. Here&rsquo;s a summary:</p>

<p><strong>Word stress</strong></p>

<p>Whenever I think of word stress, my mind always goes to the difference between <b>de</b>sert and des<b>sert</b>. In a hot, dry place, the stress is on the first syllable. For a delicious after-dinner treat, the stress is on the second syllable.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In the LFC, word stress is less important than other features, but still important. If a language learner orders a &quot;desert&quot;&nbsp;in a restaurant, it&rsquo;s unlikely that the waiter or waitress will bring them a bag of sand. Thankfully, when it comes to intelligibility, we have contextual clues to rely on!</p>

<p><b>Dental fricatives </b>/&eth;/ &amp; /&theta;/&nbsp;</p>

<p>I still have nightmares about trying to grasp the difference between <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2747-th-voiced" target="_blank">voiced /&eth;/</a> and <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2731-th-voiceless" target="_blank">voiceless /&theta;/</a>&nbsp;as a newbie teacher. For words such as mo<b>th</b>er, wea<b>th</b>er, <b>th</b>at, <b>th</b>is, and <b>th</b>ere your throat will make a vibration on the &quot;th&quot; sound.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Meanwhile, voiceless &quot;th&quot;&nbsp;words do not make your throat vibrate. Some examples are <b>th</b>roat, <b>th</b>ink, mou<b>th</b>, and tru<b>th</b>. Put your hand on your throat and try saying them. Hopefully, you&rsquo;ll notice the difference more easily than I did 20&nbsp;years ago!&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>For those of you (and your students) who don&rsquo;t instantly feel a difference in the sound, the good news is that mixing voiced and unvoiced &quot;th&quot;&nbsp;doesn&rsquo;t impact intelligibility too much. Moreover, the sounds can even be switched for consonants <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2813-f" target="_blank">/f/ </a>and <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2814-v" target="_blank">/v/</a>. For example, many users say &quot;<b>f</b>ʌrd&quot;&nbsp;instead of &quot;third&quot;&nbsp;or &quot;/mʌ<b>v</b>ə/&quot; for &quot;mother.&quot;&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Less important features of the LFC&nbsp;</h2>

<p>In Gemma&rsquo;s sketchnote of the LFC, schwa, reduced vowels, weak forms, and connected speech production are the least important in terms of intelligibility. Here&rsquo;s a quick explanation:</p>

<p><b>Schwa, reduced vowels, and weak forms</b></p>

<p>The <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/3755-" target="_blank">schwa</a> is an <strong>unstressed vowel</strong> sound. It is also the most common vowel sound in English. Some examples are the &quot;i&quot; in &quot;family&quot; or &quot;o&quot;&nbsp;in &quot;carrot.&quot; It makes communication less intelligible exactly because it is unstressed.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Likewise with reduced vowels and weak forms. If English users reduce the strength of a sound in English, their pronunciation becomes less enunciated and therefore less clear.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>(Producing) connected speech&nbsp;</strong></p>

<p>Connected speech is when language users speak so quickly that their words run together. For example:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>Howzitgoin&rsquo; for How is it going?&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<p>Or&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>Whatime isit? for&nbsp; What time is it?&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<p>This can lead to misunderstandings. So in order to communicate clearly, it&rsquo;s important to leave space between our words.</p>

<p>I&rsquo;ve put &quot;producing&quot; in parentheses here&nbsp;as we can provide activities for our learners that support them to speak clearly. However, in the real world, every language learner will be challenged by fast speech. Consequently, it&#39;s important that we give them opportunities to hear and understand connected speech but not necessarily to produce it.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>How to teach ELF Pron</h2>

<p>In many ways, teaching ELF Pron is a state of mind. It&rsquo;s switching the pronunciation focus from sounding like a &quot;native&quot;&nbsp;as a goal&nbsp;to being understood in a global context. It&rsquo;s also about giving students the confidence to feel proud of their own language identity and accents.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>Along with focusing on the key features of the LFC, we can also help students to explore their own accents and help them to become aware of which aspects of their accents they love or may need to adapt.&nbsp;</p>

<p>You may also want to discuss where they intend to use their English skills&nbsp;and familiarize them with accents that they might need to understand.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Of course, students will always encounter individuals who they find difficult to understand&nbsp;or who find them difficult to understand. It can be helpful to provide training in repeating, rephrasing, or finding ways to communicate.&nbsp;</p>

<p>If you&rsquo;d like to learn more about ELF Pron, I&rsquo;d highly recommend following experts like Gemma Archer and Robin Walker on social media and reading more on the LFC. Keep an eye out for Gemma and Robin&rsquo;s book,&nbsp;<strong><em>Teaching English Pronunciation for a Global World</em>,</strong> too. It looks like a game changer.&nbsp;</p>

<blockquote>
<p>How do you teach pronunciation for the global classroom? What features of pronunciation do you prioritize? We&rsquo;d love to know your thoughts and tips.</p>
</blockquote>

<h2>Related</h2>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/tesol-2023-takeaways-on-teaching-pronunciation" target="_blank">TESOL 2023 Takeaways on Teaching Pronunciation</a>&nbsp;</li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/5-awesome-apps-to-help-your-students-improve-their-english-pronunciation" target="_blank">5 Awesome Apps to Help Your Students Improve Their English Pronunciation</a>&nbsp;</li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/pronunciation" target="_blank">Pronunciation Lessons&nbsp;</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/media/videos/pronunciation" target="_blank">Pronunciation Videos</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/phonics-stories" target="_blank">Phonics Stories</a></li>
</ul>


ELF Pron: What Is It & How Can We Teach It? 

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<p>Indefinite pronouns are words that refer to nonspecific people, places, things, amounts, or ideas. They help us express generalities rather than specifics. Unlike personal pronouns, which refer to a known noun, indefinite pronouns are intentionally vague.&nbsp;</p>

<h1>Ambiguity &amp; context</h1>

<p>The very nature of indefinite pronouns brings ambiguity to language. Without a clear antecedent, the referent becomes open to interpretation. For example, consider the following sentence: &quot;Someone left their umbrella behind.&quot; Here, we don&#39;t know who that &quot;someone&quot; is, making it impossible to determine the gender or identity of the umbrella&#39;s owner. The absence of a specific antecedent makes indefinite pronouns both versatile and challenging.</p>

<h1>Common indefinite pronouns</h1>

<p>Let&#39;s explore some frequently used indefinite pronouns:</p>

<p><img alt="Common indefinite pronouns" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3269/content_Common-indefinite-pronouns.png" /></p>

<h1>Tips &amp; tricks</h1>

<h2>1.&nbsp;Function &amp; form</h2>

<p>Indefinite pronouns can be used in both the&nbsp;subject position&nbsp;and the object position within a sentence. Unlike personal pronouns (I/me, she/her, they/ them, etc.) whose form changes depending on their function, indefinite pronouns stay the same regardless of their role in the sentence.</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>Someone</strong> left the door open. (subject)</li>
	<li>I met <strong>someone</strong> from Nigeria yesterday. (object)</li>
	<li><strong>Anyone</strong> who buys a lottery ticket has a chance of winning. (subject)</li>
	<li>Maria doesn&#39;t know <strong>anyone</strong> at her new school. (object)</li>
</ul>

<h2>2. Subject-verb agreement</h2>

<p>a. Indefinite pronouns that end in <em>-one</em>, <em>-body</em>, and <em>-thing</em> are usually treated as singular. <em>Each</em>&nbsp;also takes a singular verb.</p>

<ul>
	<li>I rang the doorbell, but <strong>nobody</strong> <em>was</em> home.</li>
	<li><strong>Everybody</strong> <em>knows</em> that I hate eggs.</li>
	<li><strong>Someone</strong> <em>is</em>&nbsp;<em>knocking </em>at the front door.</li>
	<li><strong>Everything</strong> <em>is</em>&nbsp;already in the car, and we are ready to leave.</li>
</ul>

<p>b. <em>Both, few, many, others, </em>and <em>several </em>always<em>&nbsp;</em>take a plural verb.</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>Many</strong> of the students <em>drive</em> to school, but <strong>others</strong> <em>walk </em>or <em>take</em> the bus.</li>
	<li><strong>Both</strong> of my sisters <em>like</em> to write poetry.</li>
	<li><strong>Many</strong> <em>are</em> called, but <strong>few</strong> <em>are</em> chosen.</li>
	<li><strong>Several</strong> of my friends <em>live</em> in my neighborhood.</li>
</ul>

<p>c. Depending on the context, some indefinite pronouns can be either singular or plural.&nbsp;These include <em>all, any, none,</em> and <em>some</em>. If one of the indefinite pronouns in this group is referencing an uncountable noun, a singular verb is used. On the other hand, if the pronoun&nbsp;is referencing a countable quantity, the verb is&nbsp;plural.</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>All</strong> <strong>of the fruit</strong><em> is</em> rotten.</li>
	<li><strong>All</strong> <strong>of the children</strong> <em>are</em> sick.</li>
	<li><strong>None of the story</strong> <em>was</em> true.</li>
	<li><strong>None</strong> <strong>of my answers </strong><em>were </em>correct.</li>
</ul>

<p>Note:&nbsp;When <em>all</em> is followed by a relative clause, it takes a singular verb.</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>All that matters</strong> <em>is</em> your happiness.</li>
	<li><strong>All that happened that night</strong> <em>has been forgotten</em>.</li>
</ul>

<h2>3. &quot;Else&quot;</h2>

<p>Unlike most other pronouns, indefinite pronouns can be modified by an adjective. The adjective most commonly used to modify these pronouns is<em> else. Else&nbsp;</em>is placed after&nbsp;the indefinite pronoun, and we use it&nbsp;to refer to people, places, or things in addition to the ones we&#39;ve already mentioned.&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>After I ordered a salad and a cup of coffee, the server wanted to know if I wanted&nbsp;<strong>anything</strong> <em>else</em>.</li>
	<li>If Amir can&#39;t give me a ride to work, I&#39;ll ask <strong>someone</strong> <em>else</em>.</li>
	<li>We invited my family and close friends&nbsp;to our wedding, but <strong>no one</strong> <em>else</em>.</li>
</ul>

<h2>4. Referring back to &quot;somebody&quot; &amp; &quot;someone&quot;</h2>

<p>In most cases, we don&#39;t know if&nbsp;<em>someone</em> or <em>somebody </em>is<em>&nbsp;</em>a male or female. To acknowledge this ambiguity, we often use the&nbsp;plural pronoun <em>they</em> to refer back to (singular)&nbsp;<em>someone</em>/<em>somebody </em>in everyday spoken English.</p>

<ul>
	<li>As I was walking across the parking lot, I noticed that <strong>somebody</strong> left <em>their </em>headlights on.</li>
	<li>When you first meet <strong>someone</strong>, it is considered rude to ask <em>them</em> how old <em>they</em> are or how much money <em>they&nbsp;</em>make.</li>
</ul>

<h1>Summary</h1>

<p>Indefinite pronouns add depth and versatility to our language. They&nbsp;allow us to generalize our statements so that we can include a wider range of individuals or situations. By employing these pronouns, we can express ideas, experiences, or beliefs that apply universally. For instance, saying &quot;Everyone appreciates kindness&quot; or &quot;Nobody likes to be left out&quot; helps us address shared experiences without singling out particular individuals. As a result, we can avoid&nbsp;making assumptions and judgments about specific people or groups.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<div class="whiteBox">
<h2><span class="label hangingLabel">Related Lesson</span></h2>

<h2 class="circleThumb"><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/1625-pronouns-2"><img alt="Pencil and paper" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3261/content_88_Nouns-and-Pronouns.png" /></a></h2>

<h2><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/1625-pronouns-2">Grammar Practice Worksheet: Pronouns 2</a></h2>
</div>


Indefinite Pronouns

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<p>Asking and answering questions is such&nbsp;an important part of having a conversation, and it&#39;s&nbsp;something language students&nbsp;learn early on in their studies.</p>

<p>One of our subscribers informed us that her students were struggling to answer Wh- questions in English. What&rsquo;s the meaning of the different Wh- words? How are they all used?</p>

<p>In this blog post, we explain <a href="#wh">what Wh- questions are</a> with examples and give you <a href="#tips">practical tips</a> to help your students form these types of questions with confidence. Make sure to <a href="#activity">try our fun activity</a> at the end!</p>

<div class="videoWrapper"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/x_4AjSwTXdc" title="Wh- Questions in English" width="560"></iframe></div>

<h2><a id="wh"></a>What are Wh- questions and examples?</h2>

<p><strong>Wh- questions</strong> are questions that use specific words starting with the letters &ldquo;wh,&rdquo; like &ldquo;who,&rdquo; &ldquo;when,&rdquo; and &ldquo;what.&rdquo; &ldquo;How&rdquo; is also often included in this list. These words are often used when we want to request information from someone.</p>

<p>The most common Wh- question words in English are: &ldquo;who,&rdquo; &ldquo;what,&rdquo; &ldquo;where,&rdquo; &ldquo;when,&rdquo; &ldquo;why,&rdquo; &ldquo;which,&rdquo; &ldquo;whose,&rdquo; and &ldquo;how.&rdquo;</p>

<p>Let&rsquo;s take a closer look at each Wh- word with examples for context!</p>

<h3>Who</h3>

<p>Use &ldquo;who&rdquo; to ask about a<strong> person</strong>.</p>

<p>Examples:</p>

<table class="has-borders">
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Question</th>
			<th>Answer</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Who is that?</td>
			<td>It&rsquo;s our new teacher.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Who did you invite to your party?</td>
			<td>I invited Maria, Lee, and Abdul.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h3>What</h3>

<p>Use &ldquo;what&rdquo; to ask about a<strong> thing</strong>.</p>

<p>Examples:</p>

<table class="has-borders">
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Question</th>
			<th>Answer</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>What is your favorite movie?</td>
			<td>I love <em>The Shawshank Redemption</em>.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>What did you do last night?</td>
			<td>I did my homework.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<p>&ldquo;What&rdquo; is often used with another word such as&nbsp;<strong>time</strong>&nbsp;(to ask about clock time).</p>

<p>Examples:</p>

<table class="has-borders">
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Question</th>
			<th>Answer</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>What time is it?</td>
			<td>It&rsquo;s 4:30.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>What time does the show start?</td>
			<td>It starts at 8:00 pm.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<p>&ldquo;What&rdquo; is also used before another noun to talk about a <strong>choice</strong>. It&rsquo;s usually interchangeable with &ldquo;which.&rdquo;</p>

<p>Examples:</p>

<table class="has-borders">
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Question</th>
			<th>Answer</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>What movie do you want to watch?</td>
			<td>Let&rsquo;s watch the new <em>Star Wars</em>.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Which movie do you want to watch?</td>
			<td>Let&rsquo;s watch the new <em>Star Wars</em>.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>What kind of ice cream do you want?</td>
			<td>I would like chocolate, please.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Which kind of ice cream do you want?</td>
			<td>I would like chocolate, please.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h3>Where</h3>

<p>Use &ldquo;where&rdquo; to ask about a <strong>place</strong>.</p>

<p>Examples:</p>

<table class="has-borders">
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Question</th>
			<th>Answer</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Where do you live?</td>
			<td>I live in California.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Where is your school?</td>
			<td>It&rsquo;s on Somerset Street.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h3>When</h3>

<p>Use &ldquo;when&rdquo; to ask about <strong>time</strong>. When asking about clock time, it&#39;s usually interchangeable with &quot;what time.&quot;</p>

<p>Examples:</p>

<table class="has-borders">
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Question</th>
			<th>Answer</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>When do you start your new job?</td>
			<td>I start next month.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>When does the class start?</td>
			<td>It starts at 9:00 am.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>What time does the class start?</td>
			<td>It starts at 9:00 am.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h3>Why</h3>

<p>Use &ldquo;why&rdquo; to ask about a <strong>reason</strong>.</p>

<p>Examples:</p>

<table class="has-borders">
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Question</th>
			<th>Answer</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Why do you like reading so much?</td>
			<td>I like it because I can learn new things.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Why did you call me?</td>
			<td>I called you to invite you to my party.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h3>Which</h3>

<p>Use &ldquo;which&rdquo; to ask about a <strong>choice</strong>.</p>

<p>Examples:</p>

<table class="has-borders">
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Question</th>
			<th>Answer</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Which do you prefer, chicken or steak?</td>
			<td>I prefer chicken.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Which dress did you decide to wear?</td>
			<td>I decided to wear the black one.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h3>Whose</h3>

<p>Use &ldquo;whose&rdquo; to ask about <strong>possession</strong>.</p>

<p>Examples:</p>

<table class="has-borders">
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Question</th>
			<th>Answer</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Whose book is this?</td>
			<td>It&rsquo;s mine.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Whose car did you borrow?</td>
			<td>I borrowed my friend&rsquo;s car.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h3>How</h3>

<p>Use &ldquo;how&rdquo; to ask about a<strong> method/way</strong>.</p>

<p>Examples:</p>

<table class="has-borders">
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Question</th>
			<th>Answer</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>How do you turn on this computer?</td>
			<td>You have to hold down the power button.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>How did your presentation go?</td>
			<td>It went well.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<p>Questions with &ldquo;how&rdquo; also often involve the way someone is <strong>feeling</strong>.</p>

<p>Examples:</p>

<table class="has-borders">
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Question</th>
			<th>Answer</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>How are you?</td>
			<td>I&rsquo;m fine.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>How do you feel?</td>
			<td>I&rsquo;m nervous.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>How are you feeling?</td>
			<td>Not great. I caught a cold.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<p>&ldquo;How&rdquo; is often used with another word such as &ldquo;often&rdquo; (to ask about frequency), &ldquo;much&rdquo; (to ask about cost), or &ldquo;many&rdquo; (to ask about an amount).</p>

<p>Examples:</p>

<table class="has-borders">
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Question</th>
			<th>Answer</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>How <strong>often</strong> do you brush your&nbsp;teeth?</td>
			<td>I brush my teeth twice a&nbsp;day.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>How <strong>much</strong> does this jacket&nbsp;cost?</td>
			<td>It costs $75.00.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>How <strong>many</strong> dogs do you&nbsp;have?</td>
			<td>We have two.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<p><a href="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/blog_printable/Wh-Question-Words-in-English.pdf" target="_blank">Print this cheat sheet</a> to help your English language learners remember the meaning of each Wh- question word.</p>

<p><a href="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/blog_printable/Wh-Question-Words-in-English.pdf" target="_blank"><img alt="Wh- Question Words in English printable cheat sheet." src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2990/content_Wh-Question-Words-in-English.jpg" /></a></p>

<h2>How to form Wh- questions using patterns</h2>

<p>There are two basic patterns you can use to form Wh- questions in English.</p>

<h3>1. With no auxiliary</h3>

<blockquote>
<p>Wh- word + be + subject</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Examples:</p>

<ul>
	<li>Who is that?</li>
	<li>How are you?</li>
</ul>

<h3>2. With auxiliary</h3>

<blockquote>
<p>Wh- word + auxiliary + subject + verb</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Examples:</p>

<ul>
	<li>What do you want?</li>
	<li>Why did you quit?</li>
</ul>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>What&rsquo;s an auxiliary verb?</h5>

<p>In questions, an auxiliary verb uses words like &ldquo;do,&rdquo; &ldquo;does,&rdquo; or &ldquo;did.&rdquo; It can also be a modal like &ldquo;can&rdquo; or &ldquo;should.&rdquo; For different tenses, it can be &ldquo;will&rdquo; (future), &ldquo;have&rdquo; (present perfect), etc.</p>
</div>

<p>For basic question patterns and the difference between Yes/No and Wh- questions, see our blog post on <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/question-formation-in-english" target="_blank">Question Formation in English</a>.</p>

<h2><a id="activity"></a>Fun class activity with Wh- questions</h2>

<p>Ready to get your students practicing questions with Wh- words? For an easy warm-up or filler activity, try doing this student-designed Q&amp;A activity. Here&rsquo;s how it works:&nbsp;</p>

<ol>
	<li>Cut up enough blank cards to have five (or 10) per student.</li>
	<li>Get students to write conversation-style Wh- questions of their choosing on their cards. If needed, put some examples on the board (e.g., What&rsquo;s your favorite dish? When did you start studying English?).</li>
	<li>When they&rsquo;ve finished writing their questions, collect the cards and shuffle them together.</li>
	<li>Put students into small groups and divide the cards up evenly.</li>
	<li>Have students take turns choosing a question and asking it to one or more of their group members. (You can choose an overall time limit, such as 20 minutes, or let them talk until their cards run out.)</li>
</ol>

<h2>Related materials</h2>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/question-formation-in-english" target="_blank">Question Formation in English</a> &ndash; Blog Post</li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1627" target="_blank">Wh- Questions</a> &ndash; Grammar Practice Worksheets</li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/grammar-usage/resources/2462-question-formation" target="blank">Question Formation</a> &ndash; Grammar &amp; Usage Resource</li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/89/lessons" target="_blank">Questions Using Various Tenses</a> &ndash; Basic Grammar Sentences</li>
</ul>

<p class="lesson"><em>Editor&rsquo;s note: This post was originally published in January 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.</em></p>


What Are Wh- Questions in English?

https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/1593/Tanya_Wh-Questions_Banner.png

<p>When I was editing Ellii&rsquo;s <a href="http://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons" target="_blank">New Year&rsquo;s lesson plans</a>, I started to question the use of <strong>New Year&rsquo;s</strong>, <strong>New Year</strong>, and <strong>new year</strong>.</p>

<p>When do we use the possessive form of &quot;New Year&#39;s&quot;?</p>

<p>Also, there are instances where the words &ldquo;new&rdquo; and &ldquo;year&rdquo; shouldn&rsquo;t be capitalized. Confusing, right?</p>

<p>With the holiday around the corner, your students might be asking you about this very soon. I did a bit of research to find out what the style guides and dictionaries suggest, and I thought I&rsquo;d share the results with you.</p>

<p>Here are some teaching tips for when to write New Year&rsquo;s, New Year, and new year so you and your students can ring in the new year right!</p>

<p><img alt="Happy New Year" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2905/content_Happy-New-Year_Ellii.jpg" /></p>

<h2>&quot;New Year&quot; vs. &quot;new year&quot;: Let&#39;s talk about capitalization</h2>

<p>It can be tricky for English learners to understand the difference between &ldquo;New Year&rdquo; and &ldquo;new year.&rdquo; Why is New Year capitalized in certain instances and not others?</p>

<p>This breakdown should make teaching the difference to your students much easier.</p>

<h3>When to capitalize &quot;New Year&quot;</h3>

<p>Capitalize <strong>New Year</strong>&nbsp;when you&rsquo;re referring to the January 1 holiday.</p>

<p>For example:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>Happy New Year!</li>
	<li>My sister sent me a card wishing me a happy New Year all the way from Mexico.</li>
</ul>

<h3>When to lowercase &quot;new year&quot;</h3>

<p>Lowercase <strong>new year</strong>&nbsp;when you&rsquo;re referring to the year as a whole.</p>

<p>For example:</p>

<ul>
	<li>It&rsquo;s the first day of the new year, so let&rsquo;s&nbsp;celebrate!</li>
	<li>The new year is a great time to start new projects.</li>
	<li>He&rsquo;s decided to quit smoking since it&rsquo;s a new&nbsp;year.</li>
</ul>

<div class="whiteBox">
<p class="circleThumb"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2907/content_lightbulb.png" /></p>

<h2>Remember this trick!</h2>

<p>If you use an article (&ldquo;a&rdquo; or &ldquo;the&rdquo;), you should lowercase &ldquo;new year.&rdquo;</p>
</div>

<h2>When to use &quot;New Year&#39;s&quot;</h2>

<p>Use the possessive form <strong>New Year&rsquo;s</strong>&nbsp;when you&rsquo;re referring to December 31 or January 1, or when you&rsquo;re describing celebrations, resolutions, or activities made on New Year&rsquo;s Eve or New Year&rsquo;s Day.</p>

<p>For example:</p>

<ul>
	<li>New Year&#39;s Day</li>
	<li>New Year&#39;s Eve</li>
	<li>We&#39;re celebrating New Year&#39;s at grandma&#39;s this year.</li>
	<li>I spent the night thinking about my New Year&#39;s resolutions.</li>
	<li>Try these Christmas and New Year&#39;s classroom activities.</li>
	<li>It was a fantastic New Year&#39;s celebration.</li>
</ul>

<p>According to <em>The Chicago Manual of Style</em>, when the words &ldquo;eve&rdquo; and &ldquo;day&rdquo; are present, we clearly need the possessive form &ldquo;New Year&rsquo;s.&rdquo; Think of it like a shortcut&mdash;instead of saying &ldquo;New Year&rsquo;s Eve,&rdquo; we can simply say &ldquo;New Year&rsquo;s.&rdquo;</p>

<p>But what about when &ldquo;eve&rdquo; and &ldquo;day&rdquo; aren&rsquo;t present? People sometimes forget to include the &rsquo;s when it should probably be included.</p>

<p>For example, when I wrote a blog post called &quot;<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/7-christmas-and-new-years-classroom-activities" target="_blank">7 Christmas and New Year&rsquo;s Classroom Activities</a>,&quot; I chose to write &ldquo;New Year&rsquo;s.&rdquo; Why? Because I was&nbsp;thinking of the holiday &ldquo;New Year&rsquo;s Day,&rdquo; and I was&nbsp;simply dropping the word &ldquo;day&rdquo; like you would when you say &ldquo;Christmas&rdquo; (instead of &ldquo;Christmas Day&rdquo;).&nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/blog_printable/New-Years-Vs-New-Year-Vs-new-year_Ellii.pdf" target="_blank"><img alt="Learn the difference between New Year's, New Year, and new year." src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2908/content_New-Years-Vs-New-Year-Vs-new-year.jpg" /></a></p>

<p class="caption"><a href="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/blog_printable/New-Years-Vs-New-Year-Vs-new-year_Ellii.pdf" target="_blank">Print this cheat sheet</a> for your English language learners.</p>

<h3>What the research says</h3>

<p>What do the dictionaries have to say about &ldquo;New Year&rsquo;s&rdquo; vs. &ldquo;New Year&rdquo;?&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>Merriam-Webster&rsquo;s Collegiate Dictionary</em> has an entry for &ldquo;New Year,&rdquo; but states that usually &ldquo;New Year&rsquo;s&rdquo; is used.&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>Oxford Canadian Dictionary of Current English</em> does not have an entry for &ldquo;New Year&rdquo; but does have an entry for &ldquo;New Year&rsquo;s,&rdquo; so clearly they advise using &ldquo;New Year&rsquo;s.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Final thoughts on &quot;New Year&#39;s,&quot; &quot;New Year,&quot; and &quot;new year&quot;</h2>

<p>I would use &ldquo;new year&rdquo; when following an article (&ldquo;a&rdquo; or &ldquo;the&rdquo;), and I would use &ldquo;New Year&rsquo;s&rdquo; in all other cases, aside from the expression &ldquo;Happy New Year.&rdquo;</p>

<p>(Note: &ldquo;Happy New Year&rsquo;s&rdquo; is also possible, but not as common in North America.)&nbsp;</p>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>What do you think?</h5>

<p>What do you normally say: &ldquo;Happy New Year&rdquo; or &ldquo;Happy New Year&rsquo;s&rdquo;? Leave your comments in the section below. Happy New Year, everyone!</p>
</div>

<h2>Sources</h2>

<ul>
	<li><em>The Chicago Manual of Style</em>, 17th edition, section 8.89.</li>
	<li><em>Merriam-Webster&rsquo;s Collegiate Dictionary</em>, 11th edition, entries such as &ldquo;New Year.&rdquo;</li>
	<li><em>Oxford Canadian Dictionary of Current English</em>, 1st edition.</li>
</ul>

<p><em>Editor&#39;s note:&nbsp;This post was originally published in December 2012 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.</em></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


New Year's Vs. New Year: Learn the Difference

https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/1399/Tanya_New-Years-New-Year_V2_Banner.png

<p>&#39;Tis the season when people greet each other and wish each other well more often than usual.</p>

<p>Most English-speaking countries use certain <strong>vocabulary</strong>, <strong>expressions</strong>, and <strong>greetings</strong> for wishing each other a happy holiday. Your students will appreciate learning these English holiday expressions, idioms,&nbsp;and other common phrases. What&rsquo;s more, you can make this into a productive lesson by teaching them when to capitalize holiday-specific terms.</p>

<p>If you have a multicultural class, have students compare English holiday idioms and festive expressions with what they say in their own languages.</p>

<p>Ready to start teaching your students some fun holiday-related vocabulary and expressions in English? Let&rsquo;s dive in&hellip;</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="#vocabulary">Holiday vocabulary</a></li>
	<li><a href="#idioms">Holiday idioms and expressions</a></li>
	<li><a href="#greetings">Holiday greetings</a></li>
	<li><a href="#slang">Holiday slang</a></li>
</ul>

<p><img alt="English holiday vocabulary: Christmas, Hannukah, New Year's Eve." src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2921/content_Holiday-Expressions_Ellii.jpg" /></p>

<h2><a id="vocabulary"></a>Holiday vocabulary: Learn the basics</h2>

<p dir="ltr">Before we <a href="#idioms">jump into holiday-related expressions</a>, it&#39;s important to first introduce&nbsp;your language learners to some <strong>holiday vocabulary</strong>.</p>

<p dir="ltr">Review the spelling and capitalization of these common holidays with your students:</p>

<ul>
	<li dir="ltr">Christmas Eve</li>
	<li dir="ltr">Christmas Day</li>
	<li dir="ltr">Christmastime</li>
	<li dir="ltr">Christmas morning</li>
	<li dir="ltr">Christmas dinner</li>
	<li dir="ltr">Boxing Day</li>
	<li dir="ltr">Kwanzaa</li>
	<li dir="ltr">Chanuka/Hanukkah</li>
	<li dir="ltr">New Year&#39;s Eve</li>
	<li dir="ltr">New Year&#39;s Day</li>
</ul>

<p><img alt="English holiday idioms and expressions: feel stuffed, get into the holiday spirit, snowed in." src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2922/content_Holiday-Idioms_Ellii.jpg" /></p>

<h2><a id="idioms"></a>Holiday idioms and expressions for better conversation</h2>

<p dir="ltr">Students love learning idioms and expressions for many reasons&mdash;they&rsquo;re commonly used in conversations, movies, etc., and they&rsquo;re fun to learn, especially when <a href="https://ellii.com/lesson/2185-holiday-idioms-expressions" target="_blank">accompanied by funny, literal illustrations</a>! Recognizing and using idioms also helps learners improve their overall fluency.</p>

<p dir="ltr">We&rsquo;ve compiled a list of eight familiar <strong>holiday idioms and expressions</strong> for you to teach this season.</p>

<p dir="ltr">After reviewing, you could follow up by asking if they know any others, having them draw their own literal illustrations, or having them include as many as they can in dialogues they write and perform in pairs.</p>

<h3 dir="ltr">1. The more the merrier</h3>

<p><strong>Meaning:</strong> the more people there are, the more enjoyable the event will be</p>

<p><strong>Example: </strong>A: &ldquo;Do you mind if I bring my friends along?&rdquo; B: &ldquo;Not at all! The more the merrier!&rdquo;&nbsp;</p>

<h3>2. Be / feel stuffed</h3>

<p><strong>Meaning:</strong> to be full after eating a heavy meal</p>

<p><strong>Example:</strong> No more turkey for me, thanks. I&rsquo;m stuffed!</p>

<h3>3. Deck the halls</h3>

<p><strong>Meaning:</strong> to decorate the inside of your home for the holidays</p>

<p><strong>Example: </strong>This weekend I will deck the halls with lights, shiny tinsel, and mistletoe.</p>

<h3>4. Snowed in</h3>

<p><strong>Meaning:</strong> unable to leave because there&rsquo;s too much snow&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Example:</strong> My house is out in the country, so sometimes I&#39;m snowed in for a week or so.</p>

<h3>5. Get into the holiday spirit</h3>

<p><strong>Meaning: </strong>to feel joyful during the holiday season</p>

<p><strong>Example:</strong> Sherry baked gingerbread cookies and put on some Christmas music to help her get into the holiday spirit.</p>

<h3>6. Scrooge / Grinch</h3>

<p><strong>Meaning: </strong>a grumpy and unkind person who doesn&rsquo;t like celebrating the holidays</p>

<p><strong>Example:</strong> He wouldn&rsquo;t even let me put on some holiday music. What a Scrooge!</p>

<h3>7. Be there with bells on</h3>

<p><strong>Meaning:</strong> to be eager and more than happy to do something or go somewhere</p>

<p><strong>Example:</strong> I asked him if he was coming to the party. He told me he&rsquo;ll be there with bells on!</p>

<h3>8. Ring in the new year</h3>

<p><strong>Meaning: </strong>to celebrate the end of the previous year and the beginning of the new one</p>

<p><strong>Example:</strong> Carlos plans to ring in the new year with his three best friends.</p>

<p><img alt="4 holiday greeting cards in English." src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2919/content_Holiday-Cards_Ellii.jpg" /></p>

<h2><a id="greetings"></a>Holiday greetings for cards, emails, or texts</h2>

<p><strong>Holiday greetings</strong> are spoken to friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, and even strangers on the street or in stores. These expressions are also written in cards, emails, text messages, etc.&nbsp;</p>

<p>When written, many people follow the holiday greeting with an exclamation mark (e.g., Happy Holidays!). Note: &ldquo;Happy Holidays&rdquo; and &ldquo;Season&rsquo;s Greetings&rdquo; are usually capitalized, but &ldquo;Happy holidays&rdquo; and &ldquo;Season&rsquo;s greetings&rdquo; are also possible.</p>

<p>Your students will likely appreciate knowing how to wish each other well in English during the holiday season.</p>

<p>Spread the joy with these popular English holiday greetings:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>Happy Holidays </strong>(more neutral as it includes all winter holidays)</li>
	<li><strong>Season&rsquo;s Greetings </strong>(more neutral and formal)</li>
	<li><strong>Merry Christmas</strong> (common in American and Canadian English)</li>
	<li><strong>Happy Christmas </strong>(common in British English)</li>
	<li><strong>Happy Chanukah/Hanukkah</strong> (Jewish festival also known as &ldquo;The Festival of Lights&rdquo;)</li>
	<li><strong>Happy Kwanzaa</strong> (celebration that honors African heritage in African American culture)</li>
	<li><strong>Happy New Year</strong> (<a _blank="" href="https://ellii.com/blog/when-to-write-new-years-new-year-and-new-year">&ldquo;Happy New Year&rsquo;s&rdquo; is a common mistake people make</a>)</li>
</ul>

<p>Are your students planning on sending greetings cards or emails to their family or colleagues this holiday season? <strong>Try this festive activity</strong>: Have your students <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-to-write-holiday-greeting-cards-in-english" target="_blank">write a holiday greeting card in English</a> using their favorite holiday greeting.</p>

<div class="whiteBox">
<p class="circleThumb"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2907/content_lightbulb.png" /></p>

<h2>Keep in mind!</h2>

<p>People might be celebrating a variety of holidays during this season. If you&rsquo;re not certain if a colleague or acquaintance celebrates Christmas, choose a neutral greeting such as &ldquo;Happy Holidays&rdquo; or &ldquo;Season&rsquo;s Greetings.&rdquo;</p>
</div>

<p><img alt="" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2923/content_Shorten-Holiday-Expressions_Ellii.jpg" /></p>

<h2><a id="slang"></a>Holiday slang words every student should know</h2>

<p>It&rsquo;s important for English learners to become familiar with <strong>holiday slang</strong> (slang is short for &ldquo;short language&rdquo;). These common, every day expressions and phrases are often used in informal settings.</p>

<p>Teaching them some fun holiday slang will help students improve their fluency as well as their conversational skills.</p>

<p>Here are two holiday words that are often used as slang:</p>

<h3>Prezzies</h3>

<p>This shortened form of &ldquo;presents&rdquo; is heard more and more these days. Both &ldquo;prezzies&rdquo; and &ldquo;pressies&rdquo; are pronounced <strong>preh zees</strong> (/ˈprɛ ziz/). The difference in spelling depends on where you live.</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>prezzies</strong> (preferred spelling in North American English)</li>
	<li><strong>pressies</strong> (preferred spelling in British English, but prezzies is also common)</li>
</ul>

<h3>Xmas</h3>

<p>&ldquo;Xmas&rdquo; is the shortened form of &ldquo;Christmas&#39;&#39; and is pronounced <strong>eks&nbsp;muhs </strong>(/&#39;ɛks məs/). Xmas is most commonly used in informal settings, especially when writing to close friends and family. It&rsquo;s not so common in everyday verbal conversations.</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>Xmas</strong> (singular noun)</li>
	<li><strong>Xmases</strong> (plural noun)</li>
</ul>

<div class="whiteBox">
<p class="circleThumb"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2907/content_lightbulb.png" /></p>

<h2>Keep in mind!</h2>

<p>Some people might be offended by the abbreviation of &ldquo;Christ&rdquo; to &ldquo;X&rdquo;&nbsp;because it puts the focus on commercialization instead of on Christ, the religious figure at the center of this Christian holiday. When in doubt, don&rsquo;t abbreviate.</p>
</div>

<h2>Related materials</h2>

<p>We&#39;ve got you covered for holiday lessons and fun!</p>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="collection"><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/holidays-events/december-holidays" target="_blank">December Holidays collection</a></li>
	<li class="flashcards"><a href="https://ellii.com/media/flashcards/holidays-events/christmas" target="_blank">Christmas flashcards</a></li>
	<li class="flashcards"><a href="https://ellii.com/media/flashcards/holidays-events/new-year-s" target="_blank">New Year&#39;s flashcards</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/lesson/2221-how-to-make-a-paper-snowflake" target="_blank">How to Make a Paper Snowflake</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/gingerbread-door-classroom" target="_blank">Make a Sweet Gingerbread Door for Your Classroom</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-to-write-holiday-greeting-cards-in-english" target="_blank">How to Write Holiday Greeting Cards in English</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/difference-between-sleigh-and-sled" target="_blank">Sleigh Vs. Sled: What&#39;s the Difference?</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/merry-christmas-or-happy-holidays" target="_blank">&quot;Merry Christmas&quot; or &quot;Happy Holidays&quot;? Let&#39;s Debate!</a></li>
</ul>

<p class="blog-post"><em>Editor&#39;s note: This post was originally published in December 2013 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.</em></p>


English Holiday Idioms, Expressions & Other Common Phrases

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<p>Have your students ever mixed up &ldquo;<strong>sleigh</strong>&rdquo; and &ldquo;<strong>sled</strong>&rdquo;? Whether they&rsquo;ve just started learning English or have been speaking it for years, &ldquo;sleigh&rdquo; and &ldquo;sled&rdquo; are two winter-related words that many people still get confused.</p>

<p>That&rsquo;s because both sleds and sleighs are winter vehicles that work in a similar way. So how can you tell them apart?</p>

<p>In this blog post, I&rsquo;ve outlined the differences between sleigh and sled with some examples so that your students always know exactly when to use each term!</p>

<p><img alt="Two men sitting in a horse-drawn sleigh on snowy night." src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2895/content_Sleigh_Ellii.jpg" /></p>

<h2>What does &quot;sleigh&quot; mean?</h2>

<p>A <strong>sleigh</strong> is a big, box-like, open-air vehicle on two ski-like runners that can transport people over snow and ice.</p>

<p>The main difference between a &quot;sleigh&quot; and a &quot;sled&quot; is that a sleigh is almost always pulled by a horse or a team of horses (or reindeer, if you&#39;re Santa Claus).</p>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>&quot;Sleigh&quot; can serve different functions in a sentence:</h5>

<ul>
	<li><strong>Noun:</strong> sleigh, sleighs</li>
	<li><strong>Verb: </strong>sleigh, sleighed, sleighing (Note: The verb&nbsp;<em>sleigh</em> is not common and best avoided.)</li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples of &quot;sleigh&quot; used in a sentence</h3>

<ul>
	<li>The Smith family rode around the lake in a horse-drawn <strong>sleigh</strong>.</li>
	<li>This hotel package includes dinner and a <strong>sleigh</strong> ride along the snowy trails around the village.</li>
	<li>Every year, Santa Claus travels across the globe in a <strong>sleigh</strong> drawn by reindeer.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<p><img alt="Two children sitting on a wooden sled going down a snowy hill." src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2896/content_Sled_Ellii.jpg" /></p>

<h2>What does &quot;sled&quot; mean?</h2>

<p>A <strong>sled</strong> is a small, open-air vehicle that is flat-bottomed or on two ski-like runners. One or two people can ride a sled down a snowy hill. Sleds can also be pulled by a person or a team of dogs.</p>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>&quot;Sled&quot; can serve different functions in a sentence:</h5>

<ul>
	<li><strong>Noun:</strong> sled, sleds, sledder</li>
	<li><strong>Verb:</strong> sled, sledded, sledding</li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples of &quot;sled&quot; used in a sentence</h3>

<ul>
	<li>My dad surprised me with a bright red <strong>sled</strong> for my birthday this year.</li>
	<li>Catherine went dog-<strong>sledding</strong> in Alaska last winter.</li>
	<li>Mount Orford created a fun path for <strong>sledders</strong> to speed down.</li>
	<li>Two kids <strong>sledded</strong> down a nearby hill, and their cries of delight echoed in the cold January air.</li>
</ul>

<p>&ldquo;Sled&rdquo; also sometimes gets confused with another related term: <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toboggan?show=0&amp;t=1417644631" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">toboggan</a>. A <strong>toboggan</strong> is a type of sled with a flat bottom and a curved front edge. One or two people can ride a toboggan down a snowy hill.</p>

<p>It&rsquo;s best to only use the word &ldquo;toboggan&rdquo; when talking about a specific type of sled.</p>

<div class="white-box">
<h5><strong>Share your thoughts</strong></h5>

<p>In North America, the words &ldquo;sleigh,&rdquo; &ldquo;sled,&rdquo; and &ldquo;toboggan&rdquo; are all quite common. What&#39;s the most common term where you live? Share it in the comments section below.&nbsp;Happy Holidays!</p>
</div>

<h2>Related</h2>

<p>Get into the holiday spirit and find lots of related vocabulary in our winter holiday lessons!</p>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1946" target="_blank">Christmas - Beg</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1854" target="_blank">Christmas - Low Int &ndash; Int</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1853" target="_blank">Christmas - High Int &ndash; Adv</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/2096" target="_blank">New Year&#39;s - Beg</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1873" target="_blank">New Year&#39;s - Low Int &ndash; Int</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1857" target="_blank">Chanukah</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1856" target="_blank">Kwanzaa</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1913" target="_blank">Festivus</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1904" target="_blank">Boxing Day</a></li>
</ul>

<p><em>Editor&#39;s note: This post was originally published in December 2014&nbsp;and has been updated for comprehensiveness.</em></p>


Sleigh Vs. Sled: What's the Difference?

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<p><em>In</em>, <em>out</em>, <em>up</em>, <em>down</em>, <em>on</em>, <em>off</em>. Everyone knows words like these can be prepositions. But did you know these words can sometimes function as adverbs instead? How can you tell the difference? And what about phrasal verbs like &ldquo;turn off&rdquo; or expressions like &ldquo;push down&rdquo;?&nbsp;</p>

<p>This last question came up at Ellii when a customer mentioned that in the phrase &ldquo;push the switch down,&rdquo; &ldquo;down&rdquo; is an adverb, not a preposition.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Let&rsquo;s review the basic rules, discuss the trickier cases, and decide if it&rsquo;s worth teaching the difference between prepositions and adverbs to our students.</p>

<h2>What is a preposition?</h2>

<p><strong>A preposition takes an object</strong>. If there&rsquo;s a noun following the term, it usually indicates the term is a preposition, not an adverb.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Of course, not all prepositions are so straightforward, which is why it&rsquo;s also important to <a href="#tricky">learn about the trickier cases</a> before teaching them to your students (should you so choose).</p>

<h3>Examples of prepositions</h3>

<ul>
	<li>He ran <strong>down</strong> the&nbsp;stairs.</li>
	<li>Maria looked <strong>out</strong> the&nbsp;window.</li>
	<li>They talked <strong>in</strong> circles and couldn&rsquo;t reach a&nbsp;decision.</li>
</ul>

<p>Try our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1617" target="_blank">Prepositions lesson</a>&nbsp;for practice.</p>

<h2>What is an adverb?</h2>

<p><strong>An adverb doesn&rsquo;t take an object</strong>. Adverbs such as these usually appear at the end of the clause or sentence.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Keep in mind that not all adverbs are created equal and that there are a few <a href="#tricky">exceptions to be aware of</a>.</p>

<h3>Examples of adverbs</h3>

<ul>
	<li>She sat <strong>down</strong>.</li>
	<li>We&rsquo;re going <strong>out</strong> at 7:00 pm tonight.</li>
	<li>When you arrive at the hotel, make sure you <strong>check&nbsp;in</strong>.</li>
</ul>

<p>For general adverb practice, try our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1626" target="_blank">Adverbs of Manner&nbsp;lesson</a>.</p>

<p><img alt="Example of a preposition and adverb: A girl climbing up the wall and another girl sitting down." src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2798/content_Preposition-vs-Adverb.png" /></p>

<h2><a id="tricky"></a>Tricky cases: Is it a preposition or an adverb?</h2>

<p>When it comes to teaching about prepositions and adverbs, it&#39;s also important to be aware of the trickier cases.</p>

<p>What happens when a word appears to have an object, and therefore looks like a preposition, but is actually functioning as an adverb?&nbsp;</p>

<p>Tricky cases like this include <strong>phrasal verbs</strong>.</p>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-do-you-teach-phrasal-verbs" target="_blank">Phrasal verbs</a> are two or more words (usually a verb and a preposition) that work together to create a new word with a completely different meaning from the original words.</p>

<div class="white-box">
<p><strong>call </strong>(verb) = to dial someone&rsquo;s phone number</p>

<p><strong>off </strong>(preposition) = from a place or position</p>

<p><strong>call off </strong>(phrasal verb) = to cancel</p>
</div>

<p>When it comes to phrasal verbs, the adverb is defining or describing the <strong>verb</strong>, not the object.</p>

<h3>Examples of phrasal verbs</h3>

<ul>
	<li>He <strong>looked up</strong> her number. (<em>up</em>&nbsp;=&nbsp;adverb)</li>
	<li>The class president <strong>called off</strong> the meeting. (<em>off</em>&nbsp;=&nbsp;adverb)</li>
	<li>You should <strong>check</strong> the schedule <strong>out</strong>. (<em>out</em>&nbsp;=&nbsp;adverb)</li>
</ul>

<h3>How to determine if the term before an object is an adverb</h3>

<p>According to the <a href="https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/16/ch05/ch05_sec180.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><em>Chicago Manual of Style</em></a>, a good test for determining whether the term before an object is an adverb is to detach the term + object and see if it makes sense.&nbsp;</p>

<p>They give this example: &ldquo;I looked up his biography.&rdquo; Detaching &ldquo;up his biography&rdquo; doesn&rsquo;t make sense, and therefore &ldquo;up&rdquo; is an <strong>adverb</strong> in this case.</p>

<h3>How to decipher other tricky verb expressions</h3>

<p>What about other <strong>verb expressions</strong> (also called <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/verb-collocations" target="_blank">collocations</a>) like &ldquo;push down&rdquo; (that our customer asked about earlier)?&nbsp;</p>

<p>You can say &ldquo;push down the switch&rdquo; or &ldquo;push the switch down.&rdquo; Is &ldquo;down&rdquo; defining the verb &ldquo;push,&rdquo; or is it part of the prepositional phrase &ldquo;down the switch&rdquo;?&nbsp;</p>

<p>Does <em>Chicago&rsquo;s</em> test help us here?&nbsp;</p>

<p>Is &ldquo;down the stairs&rdquo; in the sentence &ldquo;He ran down the stairs,&rdquo; which is clearly a preposition, similar to &ldquo;down the switch&rdquo; in the sentence &ldquo;He pushed down the switch,&rdquo; and therefore also a preposition?</p>

<p>We can turn to <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/down" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><em>Merriam-Webster&rsquo;s Dictionary</em></a> for help with these expressions.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Under the <strong>adverb</strong> entry for &ldquo;down,&rdquo; they give the following examples:</p>

<ul>
	<li>They set the cake <strong>down</strong> on the&nbsp;table.</li>
	<li>Lay <strong>down</strong> your book for a&nbsp;minute.</li>
</ul>

<p>Clearly, <em>Merriam-Webster</em> classifies the terms in these types of verb expressions as <strong>adverbs</strong>, not prepositions.&nbsp;</p>

<p>I must admit, I&rsquo;m still a bit puzzled by cases like this.&nbsp;Can we say&nbsp;the rule is that if you&rsquo;re able to move the object, it&rsquo;s always an adverb (as in <em>turn on the light </em>/ <em>turn the light on</em>)? Do you agree that the previous&nbsp;two bullet examples are adverbs, not prepositions?&nbsp;</p>

<p>I&rsquo;ll accept it, but I&rsquo;m not 100% convinced. I don&rsquo;t see a whole lot of difference between &ldquo;go down the stairs&rdquo; (preposition) and &ldquo;lay down your book&rdquo; (adverb).</p>

<h3>Should we teach this to our&nbsp;students?</h3>

<p>In my experience, most textbooks don&rsquo;t get into the difference in parts of speech for words like &quot;down,&quot; &quot;on,&quot; &quot;off,&quot;&nbsp;etc. The many textbooks that I&rsquo;ve seen during my teaching career simply call these terms <strong>prepositions</strong>.&nbsp;</p>

<p>I believe that, in general, students are capable of learning and understanding the sentence positions and meanings while grouping these words under the &ldquo;preposition&rdquo; umbrella.&nbsp;</p>

<p>This could be a discussion you could have with higher-level students, but for lower-level students, it would only create unnecessary chaos and confusion.</p>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>What do you think?</h5>

<p>Should we be teaching the difference between prepositions and adverbs to our English language learners? Why or why not? I&rsquo;d love to hear your thoughts on this!</p>
</div>

<h2>Sources</h2>

<ul>
	<li><em>The Chicago Manual of Style</em>, 16th edition, section&nbsp;5.180.</li>
	<li><em>Collins Cobuild English Grammar</em>, section&nbsp;6.82&ndash;6.87.</li>
	<li><em>Merriam‑Webster&rsquo;s Collegiate Dictionary</em>, 11th edition, entries such as&nbsp;&ldquo;down.&rdquo;</li>
</ul>

<p><em>Editor&#39;s note:&nbsp;This post was originally published in May 2013 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.</em></p>
