Hello guys, this is the
episode 3 of Tammy's Online English Tutorials. If you missed the episodes 1 and
2, you can read them here and here respectively. Let's cruise!
1. You apportion BLAME,
not 'blames.'
'Blame' is an uncountable
noun; thus, it does not accept a plural marker.
2. "It's a
shame" doesn't mean "you should feel embarrassed or ashamed over
something." It simply means "It's unfortunate."
3. The man is cunning,
not CUNNY; he takes things (too) seriously, not (too) SERIOUS. Learn to use
these words correctly!
4. A student who is about
to graduate or receive a degree is called a GRADUAND, not a
"GRADUANT."
5. Which have you been
saying?
OIL MAY (MARKET)❎
or
OIL MILL (MARKET)✅
6. SAY: "On
a platter" or "On a silver platter."
DON'T SAY: On a platter of
gold.
Example: Tammy got his
admission on a (silver) platter.
7. Did you know that the
letter 'f' in 'OF' is pronounced /v/, not /f/? Yes! This simply means that 'OF'
is pronounced /ov/, not the way it is spelt.
8. How have you been
writing this?
In other to ❎
In order to ✅
Example: "I teach
people in order to learn."
9. Please, note that
"fiancé" and "fiancée" are pronounced the same way:
/fi-on-say/ or /fi-an-say/.
10. How have you been
writing this?
Inspite of ❎
In spite of✅
11. Do you use
"wicked" as a verb? For example, "You like to wicked someone. If
you wicked me, I will wicked you." Please, STOP IT.
12. Your smartphone has a
TOUCHSCREEN, not a "SCREEN TOUCH." Stop saying "SCREEN
TOUCH."
13. Father, may
affliction never rise up the second time in the mouths of those who still make
use of this expression: "She/He is jealousing me."
14. "Delve" is
the appropriate term, not "dive." You don't DIVE into an issue or a
topic (of discussion); you DELVE into it.
15. If you still make
ends meet in spite of the hardship,
SAY: I am surviving.
DON'T SAY: I am managing.
16. Never spell
"Good luck" as "Goodluck" except you are referring to the
former President of Nigeria.
17. Did you know that the
correct idiom is, "Better the devil you know than the devil you don't
know"? There is no "angel" in this idiom.
18. IDIOM
(Never) bite more than
you can chew. ❎
(Never) bite off more
than you can chew. ✅
19. And you don't WET
your appetite; you WHET it.
Both words have the same
sound but different meanings and spellings. Take note of this when you write.
20. To ask someone who is
upset to calm down,
SAY: Pull yourself
together.
DON'T SAY: Put yourself
together.
21. This is Nigeria where
someone can rain insults on you for saying they are LOCAL.
Please, note that
"LOCAL" is not an insulting word.
22. As a student,
DON'T SAY: I'm running an MA
or a PhD programme.
SAY: I (am) enrolled in
an MA or a PhD programme.
23. Don't say "The
shirt/trousers is BOGUS" except it is fake.
"BOGUS" does
not mean "oversize"; it means fake or counterfeit.
24. As a student, you
don't OFFER a course; you TAKE a course. It is your institution that OFFERS a
course.
25. Before you ask
someone to shut up, try to know the difference between QUIET and QUITE! It is
'Keep QUIET,' not 'Keep QUITE.'