WHICH WORDS GO TOGETHER? | WHICH
ONE SHOULD YOU USE? We WAS or - We WERE going fishing. UNSURE? No problem. Just use the chart. |
WORDS THAT LOOK OR SOUND SIMILAR |
WHICH WORD SHOULD YOU USE? We're, Where, Were I don't know _____ those cookies went, Mom. Their, they're, there The kids have finished _______ice cream. A bit rusty on this stuff? Check the chart. |
OFTEN MISPRONOUNCED WORDS | Ever pronounce it REAL-A-TOR? - Oops! |
OFTEN MISUSED WORDS | Ever ask "CAN I help you?" - Oops! |
ShouldaWouldaMightaMustaCoulda done it right. | Ever say
"I SHOULD HAVE WENT"?
Oops! |
CONTRACTIONS: Loosen your tie, get comfortable | You could
say: HAVE YOU NOT seen this? You could also say: HAVEN'T you seen this?. |
WHICH
WORDS GO TOGETHER? Just use the CHART!.
HERE'S HOW YOU USE THE FOLLOWING CHART
JUMP RIGHT TO THE CHART
If you DON'T see an "X",
DON'T use those words together.
DO IT: "I" and "AM" line up with an X, so
you could say. "I AM learning",
or "I AM
smart"
DON'T DO IT: "I" and "IS" DON'T have an X,
so you WOULDN'T say "I IS learning",
or "I IS smart".
WHAT IF you see blue word(s)
above your choice?
Those are helpers. That means you NEED to
use one with that particular selection.
For example: To use "I" and "BE" in the same
sentence, you NEED a helper word.
DO IT: "I shall
be strong", "I
will be smart",
I can be
happy, etc.
DON'T DO IT: "I be happy".
Whoops. No good. We forgot to use a helper
word.
WHICH HELPER?
EASY. Just look for the "X".
Example: "I (has - have
- had) BEEN working".
The word "I" has an "X" in both
"HAVE" and
"HAD" rows, but NOT in the "HAD"
row.
DO IT: I have
been working. -
I had been
working.
DON'T DO IT: I has
been working.
Scroll down or click on the word:
AM - IS - ARE
WAS - WERE
BE - BEING -BEEN
HAS - HAVE - HAD
DO - DOES - DID
SHALL - WILL
SHOULD - WOULD
MAY - MIGHT - MUST
CAN - COULD
The ShouldaWouldaMightaMustaCoulda
Chart:
|
The GET IT RIGHT CHART
(don't forget to read the directions FIRST!)
I
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SHE
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AM |
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IS |
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ISN'T (is not) |
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ARE |
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AREN'T (are not) |
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WASN'T (was not) |
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WERE |
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WEREN'T (were not) |
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I
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HE
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SHE
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THEY
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shall
will should would may might must can could BE |
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am is are was
were BEING |
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has have had BEEN |
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HAS |
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HASN'T (has not) |
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HAVE See also:I-you-he-she-it-we-they: shouldawouldamightamustacoulda |
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HAVEN'T (have not) |
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HAD |
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HADN'T (had not) |
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DO |
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DON'T (do not) |
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DOES |
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DOESN'T (does not) |
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DID |
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DIDN'T (did not) |
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SHALL |
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SHAN'T (shall not) |
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WILL |
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WON'T (will not) |
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SHOULD |
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SHOULDN'T (should not) |
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WOULD |
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WOULDN'T (would not) |
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MAY |
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MAYN'T (may not) |
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MIGHT |
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MIGHTN'T (might not) |
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MUST |
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MUSTN'T (must not) |
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CAN |
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CAN'T (can not) |
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COULD |
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COULDN'T (could not) |
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HEY! THEY SOUND THE
SAME, WHICH DO I USE?
DIFFERENCES
IN WORDS THAT SOUND SIMILAR:
Word: | HOW it's different: | Examples: |
THEN | Time/status related. | If you're
ready for ice cream THEN let's go. Back THEN we had real ice cream.. |
THAN | Instead of. | I like your bike
better THAN mine. I'd rather have chocolate THAN vanilla. |
TO |
Transport or action related. | I'm going TO the store. Do you want TO go? Come TO the store with me. |
TOO | Also. | Me TOO. I want to go to the store with you TOO. |
TWO | The number 2. | Alright, the TWO of us will go to
the store. In TWO more days we'll order extra chocolate ice cream. |
YOUR | Belonging to | Is this YOUR ice cream cone? |
YOU'RE | Contraction of YOU ARE | YOU'RE going to eat all your ice cream aren't you? |
WERE | Past tense or possibility | WERE
you going to share that ice cream with me? You WERE, I just know it. |
WE'RE | Contraction of WE ARE | WE'RE going to eat too much ice cream if WE'RE not careful. |
THERE | A situation or a place | THERE
must be a non-fattening ice cream. Say, look over THERE. THERE are lots of people here. |
THERE'S | Contraction of THERE IS | THERE'S a ton of ice cream in their freezer. |
THEY'RE | Contraction of THEY ARE | THEY'RE going to get ice cream all over their shirts. |
THEIR | Belonging to others | Look at the people next to the fan, THEIR ice cream is melting. |
FURTHER | Advance/promote/additional | We'd like to FURTHER
the sale of ice cream in our city. He has FURTHER plans for his career as king of ice cream makers. |
FARTHER | Distance related. | How much FARTHER is it to the next ice
cream store?. |
HOMEY | Friendly, home-like atmosphere. | This ice cream store has a HOMEY feel to it, with those red-checked curtains in the window. |
HOMELY | Not very pretty. | That's a pretty HOMELY looking ice cream store, the paint is peeling off the walls. |
KNEW | Past-tense of KNOW . | I know you want ice cream today, and I KNEW you wanted cookies yesterday. |
NEW | Unused, fresh | That's a brand NEW carton of ice cream. Tomorrow is a NEW day. |
NO | Negative | Give up ice cream? NO way, Jose. NO, you may not stay up late. |
KNOW | Informed | I KNOW you got into the ice cream. You KNOW you can't fool me. |
ACCEPT | Receive | I'm pleased to ACCEPT this award. I'm not about to ACCEPT that assignment |
EXCEPT | Left out | Everybody went to the game EXCEPT Sam. I answered every question EXCEPT the last one. |
RIGHT | correct, completely, reverse placement | I got every answer RIGHT. The books tumbled RIGHT off the table. The chair tipped over and I'm going to RIGHT it. |
RIGHT | opposite of left | We're turning RIGHT at the next corner. |
WRITE | to put words onto paper (or virtual paper) | I'm going to get out a pencil and WRITE a story after I WRITE an e-mail to Grandma. |
WRIGHT | a craftsperson | I want to be a shipWRIGHT and help build sailboats. I want to be a wheelWRIGHT and make wagon wheels. |
RITE | a ceremony, an occasion | Marriage is a RITE of passage. Puberty is also a RITE of passage. A RITE is an occasion on the way to adulthood. It can also be a formal occasion. Ministers and Priests perform marriage RITES. |
PLAIN | Nothing special. Not particularly attractive. Simply, Exactly. |
That's a pretty PLAIN looking house. Their clothes are very PLAIN. Dogs that fly are PLAIN wierd. |
PLAIN | Flat surface. Flat Landscape or terrain. |
We studied the Great PLAINS, and learned it's a sloping plateau, 400 miles wide, in Western North America. The PLAINS Indians lived there. Settlers there were known as PLAINSMEN. |
PLANE | Smoothing tools used for carpentry, clay, etc. | He used a PLANE to smooth the wood edges. |
PLANE | Flat or uncurved surface | We are studying PLANE geometry |
PLANE | Airborne vehicles took their name from the flat wings | We're leaving on a jet AirPLANE. |
LOSE | To misplace, or not to win. Lose rhymes with snooze |
Here I go and LOSE Dad's car keys and then we LOSE the ball game. What a day! |
LOOSE | Not tight. Rhymes with goose | I lost so much weight my shorts are LOOSE I forgot to tie my shoes so they feel LOOSE |
BASES | Places or positions which serve a purpose | Baseball players must touch all the BASES. There are three themes in the book report, so I better remember to touch all BASES. |
BASIS | Logical foundation, proof | I said that some squirrels can fly, so Dad asked me what the BASIS for my statement was. |
BASE | Low, less than level, disreputable | That house has a BASEment. That guy lies. He is a really BASE character. |
BASE | Opposite of acidic | Anybody remember what color Litmus paper turns when you dip it in a BASE solution? |
BASS | Type of Musical Instrument | That BASS Cello looks like a great big violin. (rhymes with Base Chello) |
WRONG WAY | RIGHT WAY TO PRONOUNCE IT | |
NUCLEAR | NOOK-YOU-LER | NOOK-LEE-ER
( Former President Jimmy Carter often struggled with this one ) |
REALTOR® | REEL-AH-TOR | REEL-TOR
There is no "A" in the middle. ( You don't pronounce Doctor as DOCK-AH-TOR do you? ) |
ASK | AX | AS-K
( it's the exact same "K" sound you use in the word "COOK" ) |
OIL | EARL | OY-UL ( there is no "R" in the word OIL ) |
WRONG WORD | RIGHT WORD | UNDERSTANDING WHY: |
CAN Hello.. CAN I help you?
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WORK WORK WORK |
PERMISSION and ABILITY CAN refers to your ABILITY to DO something. CAN I help you? Well perhaps you CAN help, but that's not the question here. You're asking for PERMISSION. The word MAY requests permission. MAY I help you? -No thanks, I'm just looking. Say somebody has a flat tire, or is juggling a small child and a bag of groceries, THEN you could state "Wait, I CAN help you with that". That's because you are STATING your ABILITY to do so. You CAN help. |
MAKING
SENTENCES SOUND LESS FORMAL: CONTRACTIONS: Loosen your tie, get comfortable Speak informally (Using the SHORTENED combination of two words, joined together by an apostrophe)
There are more on the
GET IT RIGHT chart
|
GOT MORE STUFF WE SHOULD ADD THAT
COULD HELP OTHERS?
TELL US!
I
USED TO KNOW THAT..