In the days of yore…

Eugene C. Che  There are many ways of expressing the past in the English Language. You may be familiar with expressions like “In the past…,” “in yesteryears…,” “some time ago…,” “once upon a time…,” and many others. But how about we learn one new way of expressing the past? In today’s blog post, we are...

Gate Vs. Gait

Eugene C. Che A little confused? Never mind. Today's blog post will clarify the difference between these two words that sound the same, for those who are still confused. But first, it is important to know that English words that sound the same are called Homophones (homo=same; phone=sound). Gate as you obviously would know refers...

Jealousy Vs Envy…

Eugene C. Che Ever thought about the difference that there is between the words envy and jealousy? Many people often use them interchangeably. However, the difference that exists between these two are like day and night. Let's have a look. Jealousy: If you're jealous, you have a feeling that someone's going to take away something...

Adjourn or Adjoin…

Eugene C. Che You must have heard one of these words in relation to a meeting, but sometimes find difficulties using the right one. So, let me put it to you: Do you "adjourn" or "adjoin" a meeting? These two words can really confuse English Language learners and users. That said, let us look at...

Four words/expressions that have wrongly creeped from French into English…

Eugene C. Che How would you say the following french words in english: 1. Concours 2. Chantier 3. Quartier 4. Visite technique? Well, if you're a Cameroonian, typically born or living in the anglophone regions of the country, you might have found the exercise challenging. The four (04) words/expressions above are just some, in myriads...

Some Tricky Spellings…

Eugene C. Che Everyone at some point picks up a dictionary to look up a spelling they're not sure about, or confirm one. Well, no matter how good you may be at a language, its spellings can still play incredibly fast tricks on you. However, this in itself is not a cause for concern, because...

Victuals…

Eugene C. Che On Grammar Class today, we'll learn a perhaps new, but really simple word--victuals. Newly learned words can add to our vocabulary, and make speaking the English Language more interesting. Victuals (pronounced the same as "vittles") is a noun that simple means "food" or "supplies of food." You can buy victuals from a...

Soldier, Army and Armies…

Eugene C. Che First things first--it's Christmas 🌲, and Grammar Class will like to start off by wishing everyone a very merry Christmas. 🎄 🌲 🎄 🌲 🎄 🌲 🎄 🌲 🎄 🌲 🎄 🌲 Today, we are going to look at three-- usually troublesome--words for English Language learners. 🎄 🌲 🎄 🌲 🎄 🌲...

Tautology with prepositions

Eugene C. Che Ever heard of tautology? For most English learners, I guess yes. But for those who haven't, tautology is the unnecessary repetition of a word or idea in a sentence. Some forms of tautology are pretty obvious. For instance, in the phrase: "A beginner who has just started", you can see that "a...

“Stay clear” or “Steer clear… “

Eugene C. Che Quick question: Do you stay clear of someone or you Steer clear of them? Here is an expression which is very often used, but sadly in the wrong way. Do not worry if you're still confused which one to use. In today's blog post, we shall see which expression is the correct...

Having or Haven…

Hello and welcome to a brand new post on https://grammarclassblog.wordpress.com. In today's blog post, we shall distinguish two words--having and haven--which are very much often confused by English Language users. Consider the two sentences below: 1. Having finished his homework, he went to bed. 2. Haven finished his homework, he went to bed. Which of...