Blog Detail
Jose Carillo on the English Language
http://josecarillo.blogspot.com/
Wide-ranging discussions of English usage and the role of English as a global language
- Added on: May 18th, 2009
- Country: Philippines
- Language: English
- Author: Jose A. Carillo
- Listed in: Writing eLearning
- Tags: english grammar english usage english writing
Recent Posts
The long fight against the misuse of the subjunctive
In my experience as an editor, the misuse of the subjunctive—perhaps on a par with subject-verb disagreements—is one of the most common English grammar mistakes. Indeed, the sheer frequency of subjunctive misuse gives me the impression that the s...
Reductions to give more punch and zing to prose
One who achieves enough mastery of English grammar soon discovers that in certain cases, the language allows its sentences to be streamlined for conciseness and easier articulation. A particular clause can sometimes be reduced to a phrase, which, of ...
Verbs for actions that we don’t do ourselves
Either by choice or circumstance, there are some things that people won’t do themselves but would rather ask, allow, or force other people to do for them. One reason is that perhaps the task is beneath their dignity to do; another is that directly ...
Watch out for the language register of your English!
Except perhaps for readers of my column in The Manila Times way back when it started in 2002, not many people know that I had made it my self-imposed task to make Filipinos aware that if their English was bad, it was largely because of our society’...
Good English is more than just perfect grammar and syntax
Mastery of the grammar and syntax of a language, even if complemented by a wide vocabulary, doesn’t automatically mean mastery of the language itself. For instance, two very intelligent Asian nationals of my acquaintance—they aren’t Filipinos, ...
Figuring out the number of ways to skin a cat
Should the verb be in the singular or in the plural form? Answering this question is usually a very simple matter when we know for sure if the subject of the sentence is singular (“The cat is in the bag”) or plural (“The politicians are now co...
