₦airaland Forum

[quote author=clicky90][/quote]Well, you can use either of them when you have made a figurative statement and you want to tell the person you are addressing that what you said should not be taken or understood literally. For example, a mother can say of his son, "He's very close to me, he's my handbag, so to speak." Another example, "In preparation for the semi-final match, the training ground has become his home, as it were."

[quote author=H.C.F].....our educational system is in a shambles NOT our educational system is in shambles.
The word shambles is always used with article 'a' despite its 'plural' nature.
l[/quote]Hahaha! I like that

kefmawin: This is one of the most reasonable things I have seen in recent times in Naira Land.

This is a productive exercise and should be encouraged instead of some of the vain gangling, gossips, misinformation, unkind and unintelligent criticisms plus character assassination that have been the order of the day.

Keep it up...

Thank you for the compliment.

Where is el classico??

[quote author=claim-me]Grammarians in the house, pls teach me on the proper way of using "as it were".[/quote]"As it were" is the same thing as "so to speak". So, anywhere you can use "so to speak" you can use "as it were".

[quote author=ugbana-nte]The english language is noot devoid of logic sir, technically, d day is 24 hrs and that means it ends exactly whn the 3 or 2 legs(depending oon the clock) meet at 12 for d second time. So, d day doesn't end at 11:59 sir. Whn these legs meet as said earlier, d next movement of the 'second' leg begins a new day. So, logically, 12 midnit is correct as well as 12 noon is too.[/quote]The day ends when the clock strikes 11:59:59 (that's what I meant when I said 11:59) and begins at 12:00:00. I guess you have used a stopwatch before, at what point does it start, 00:00:00 or 59:59:59? I bet you should know better now. Midnight (12:00:00) marks the beginning of the day, not the end of it.

wabbyland: @jmoi, which of this expressions is correct? A. He's now a nurse
B.he's a nurse now

"He's now a nurse" means that he wasn't a nurse before, but he has become a nurse. While "he's a nurse now" means that he's a nurse at the moment, but that status could change in the near future.

clicky90: Could, would, should VS can, will, shall. When are we supposed to use them?

Could, would and should are in the past tense, while the other ones are in the present tense. Also, the first group can be used when you want to do something, but you are not sure if you will be able to do it.

RazziP: humm i think my eyes is widely opened, am i right?

No. "Wide open" or "wide-open" is correct.

kolado: Nice thread! I have questions o o o! Which is correct, OP? He scarcely never comes to see us now or He almost never comes to see us now... 2nd ques: i ran out of petrol within two miles .......... the next town. A. Of B.From C. To D.From.

1st: "Scarcely never" is wrong, because "scarcely" has a negative quality. "Almost never" is correct. 2nd question: "of" is correct, because of the "within" in the sentence. If you remove the "within" then "from" becomes correct.

Kaydem: how about ''i'm going to my workplace'' heard it couple of time from people.

"Workplace" is the correct thing to say. "Work place" is also correct, but "working place" is wrong.

Egelife: Great post OP, this is very educative esp that correction of "my names are" cos av argued this with group of friends and they seemed 2 av overpowered. I think am going send this link 2 them, ya that reminds me of a similar argument wch is this. In pronouncing d word OFTEN is the 'T' silent or not? I av always argured it remains silent, right or wrong?

The "t" should be silent.

[quote author=dannysteve99@ya]Bros are u a Lecturer? By the way thanks for teaching me some grammer today.plz correct my English cause I want to learn.
I also hv a quastion. MOST NOLLYWOOD FILM I ALWAYS HEAR SOMETHING LIKE THIS bending conner, which I feel is also thesame thing.[/quote]Bending corner is wrong as a noun but correct as a verb, that is, to bend a corner.

laplace19: ...Can someone clarify me in this

(1) Have you checked your result?
(2) Have you check your result?

Should "have you" go with a past or present verb? That's the question.

It should go with a past tense. Just like "Have you brushed your teeth?"

The arrival of Gareth Bale at Madrid for a world-record fee has made sure that no-one is talking about Neymar and that’s just how the Madrid
supremos want it to be. It’s been two seasons since his last appearance in the competition with Tottenham Hotspur in the 2010-11 edition of the competition.

Incidentally, he played against Madrid in that competition before they were bundled out. Madrid will be hoping to get past Drogba’s
Galatasaray with their richly
assembled squad as they travel to Turkey for their first UCL engagement of the season.

http://observerreports.com/2013/09/2013-14-uefa-champions-league-gets-underway-7-teams-to-follow-closely/

The fuss and media buzz surrounding Neymar’s arrival may have petered out a long time ago, but the magic he brings to the field of play is not yet in doubt.

Neymar will be taking his Champions League bow on
Wednesday when Barcelona take on Ajax at the Camp Nou. The Brazilian wonder kid will be filing out alongside the 4-time World Footballer of the Year, Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andreas Iniesta, but the
spotlight and all the media attention will be on him. Every move he makes will be scrutinized and every mistake he makes will be lashed on.
How well he is able to live up to the lofty expectations placed on him will be an indication of how prepared he
is to make the step-up from South American football to the global stage.

But, Neymar is not the only Barca man that will be making his debut on Wednesday. Barcelona is one of the several top teams that will be going into this season’s competition with a new man at the helm of affairs. “Tata” Martino was the man that replaced Tito Villanova in the summer and he will be coaching in the Champions League for the first time. Incredibly, midweek’s match will be the first meeting between these two European giants in their
storied history; they’ve never met before in a competitive fixture.

http://observerreports.com/2013/09/2013-14-uefa-champions-league-gets-underway-7-teams-to-follow-closely/

This will be the first time since 1985 that Manchester United will be in the competition without long-time gaffer, Sir Alex Ferguson, standing on the touchlines and giving orders to the lads. In his place is rookie David
Moyes, who will be making his UEFA Champion League debut in the Red Devils’ opening match with Bayer 04
Leverkusen on Tuesday.

This will be the club’s 18th consecutive appearance in the competition.

The Old Trafford club didn’t
strengthen much in the summer transfer window, with Marouane Fellaini being the only notable addition to the squad. But with their
pedigree in Europe’s premier
competition, no-one will be betting against them to make an impact in this season’s competition. They still have in their ranks the likes of
Dutchman, Robin van Persie, and want-away striker, Wayne Rooney (given a 30-goal target in all club competitions this season by Moyes), who should bang in the goals, though the extent to which these two players can actually play together is questionable.

http://observerreports.com/2013/09/2013-14-uefa-champions-league-gets-underway-7-teams-to-follow-closely/

The Blues will be making yet
another appearance in the UEFA Champions League group stages when they file out against FC Basel whom they beat en route their Europa League triumph last season, on Wednesday at Stamford Bridge.

This will be the 3rd time in 3 years that Chelsea will be entering the Champions League with a different manager in the dugout – and in each of the previous two seasons, the manager was sacked midway.

Interestingly, the new man in charge is not totally new to the club setup or the competition. Jose Mourinho
coached Chelsea in the Champions League from 2004 to 2007 before he was fired by the trigger-happy
Roman Abramovich in controversial circumstances.

But now he’s back to
where he made his name after tasting success in Italy and Spain with Inter Milan and Real Madrid respectively.

The London giants are one of the favourites to play in the home stadium of the side they conquered in the final of last season’s UEFA Europa League. Though their start to
the season is nothing to write home about, they are well backed by pundits and analysts to pick form and
set the competition on fire.

http://observerreports.com/2013/09/2013-14-uefa-champions-league-gets-underway-7-teams-to-follow-closely/

Arsenal will be buoyed by the
signing of ex-Madrid midfield
maestro, Mesut Ozil, as they go into this season’s competition. They shrugged off Turkish side, Fenerbahce, to make it to the group stages of the competition, crushing
them 5-0 over two legs.

The hottest German import in England has already begun to show glimpses of his brilliance and what he can do by putting up a superb eague debut against Sunderland on Saturday.

The playmaker has made it to 3 consecutive semi-finals with Real Madrid in the previous 3 seasons and will be looking forward to add to
that feat, this time around with the Gunners.

But the Gunners are yet to
book a semi-final berth in the
competition since their 2008
appearance in which they were bundled out of the competition by eventual winners, Manchester United.

If recent form is anything to go by – which is not usually the case when it comes to the Gunners – they’ll be expected come out relatively unscathed in Wednesday’s
encounter with Olympique Marseille in France.

http://observerreports.com/2013/09/2013-14-uefa-champions-league-gets-underway-7-teams-to-follow-closely/

JOYCEOUS: Meaning 'I am' is same as I'm?

Yep.

shegzi: Pls expanciate more on 'IN' and 'AT'

Use "in" when referring to a big/large place and "at" when talking about a smaller place.

[quote author=Donalð Genes]Kindly tell me which is correct here
Word is Uncountable Noun which is "ADVICE" "I am pretty sure most of us make this tad mistake even during personal colloquy or writing''


A. He gave me an advice.
B. He gave me some advice.
C. *He gave me a piece of advice

2
A. He gave me a lot of advices.
B. He gave me many advices.
C. He gave me a lot of advice


3(Noun: number/amount/quantity)

A.a big number of tourists/students/
customers etc.
B.a large number of tourists/students/
customers etc.
which is correct here?[/quote]1. All of them are correct, but C is more universally accepted.
2. C
3. B

kingk: @op ------professor of english, firstly I really appreciate you write up. I have this question for you, which of these
expression is correct ......."If you say so" or "If you said so"

Hahaha... I'm not a professor of English. The correct thing is, "If you say so." It's just like saying, "If you insist", instead of saying "if you insisted."

Agimor: Nice one op, when is it suitable or rather distinguish the following "has and as".

I don't understand the question you asked.

tunnex190: Nice one bro. How can we make use of 'but' and 'though' correctly? It seems both are commonly used in complex or compound-complex sentences.

"But" and "though" are used when you are contrasting what you said previously. The only difference is that "though" can be used to end a sentence, but "but" can't be used to end a sentence. "I'm tired, but I could still do it, though". You cannot say, "I'm tired, but I could still do it, but."

[quote author=$ugardaddy]Question:-

"Better of" or "Better off"

e.g. Will he be better of (off) with the bank job?[/quote]Better off means that it will be better for him to do that, while "better of" means a totally different thing altogether. It means to overcome, overpower or become too much for something. So the correct thing is "better off."

[quote author=don_salvy]Question please!

1.Should question mark (?) be used at the end of a sentence that starts 'hope' e.g. Hope u ain't going there(?).
2. What Α̲̅я̩̥̊ε̲̣̣̣̥ the differences amongst 'made of', 'made with' and 'made from'?[/quote]1. Yes, but it's contextual. When you are wishing somebody well like, "Hope you are fine", you don't add a question mark. But when it comes in form of a request or a direct question like the example you gave above, a question mark should end it.
2. "Made of" should be used when the thing comprises mainly of that material you are talking about, in such a way that if the process is reversed, you can get that material back. For example, a cup is made of plastic (when reversed you can get plastic back), a chair is made of wood (you can get the wood back is you take the chair apart), etc. "Made from" is used when there are several materials involved and you are referring to one of them, and when you reverse it you can't get that material back. For example, bread is made from flour, if you reverse bread you won't get flour back. "Made with" can be used interchangeably with "made from".

bayusman: how do we pronounce 3:26 in a formal occassion.

It's still the normal "three-twenty-six" or "twenty-six minutes past three". The only exceptions are things like 3:30, 3:15, 5:45 and 5:00 (you cannot pronounce 5:00 as five zero zero, rather you'll say 5 o'clock).

.

Willgates: so when can I use "am"

"Am" always comes before or after "I". Like "I am here," "Am I here?" It cannot be used independently.

Vonwolf: You can't eat your cake and have it vs you can't have your cake and eat it...

This is an interesting scenerio. The correct thing to say is "can't have your cake and eat it." What this simply means is that you can't claim to have your cake while you have eaten it.

Striker crisis averted for
Arsenal as Giroud reveals he should be fit for Marseille clash

Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud has played down fears about the injury he picked up against Sunderland.

The striker hobbled off late on in the game and Arsene Wenger confessed he was worried about losing the only out-and-out striker in his squad. But the Frenchman, who has scored in every league game so far this season, has revealed he should be fit for the Gunners' crucial Champions League opener against Marseille on
Wednesday.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2421500/Olivier-Giroud-shake-injury-Arsenal-v-Marseille.html