JULY

July 3rd, 2015

I WISH, IF I ONLY

Expressing a wish or a regret

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Use of I wish / if only:

There are three distinct types of  I wish / if only  sentences:

1. Wish, wanting change for the present or future with the simple past.
2. Regret with the past perfect.
3. Complaints with would + verb.

Expressing a wish:

Form:

If only / I wish + simple past

Example:

If only I knew how to use a computer. (I don’t know how to use a computer and I would like to learn how to use it)

Use:

• To express a wish in the present or in the future.
• The simple past here is an unreal past.
• When you use the verb to be the form is “were”.
  Example:
  I wish I were a millionaire!

Expressing regret:

Form:

If only / I wish + past perfect

Example:

If only I had woken up early. (I didn't wake up early and I missed my bus.)

Use:

• To express a regret.
• The action is past.

Complaining:

Form:

I wish / if only + would + verb

Example:

I wish you wouldn't arrive so late all the time (I'm annoyed because you always come late and I want you to arrive on time)

Use:

• To complain about a behavior that you disapprove.
• Expressing impatience, annoyance or dissatisfaction with a present action.

July 6th, 2015

TIPS FOR I WISH, IF I ONLY

I wish  / If only
(Ojalá)

* Las dos formas significan lo mismo, aunque "if only" es más enfático. * "I wish" puede ir seguido de "that", "if only" NUNCA

• Para Expresar el deseo de que algo sea distinto a como es:

I wish  [that] / if only  + sujeto  + past

I wish [that] / If only you were here!
(¡Ojalá estuvieras / estuvieses aquí!)

I wish [that] / If only he worked with us!
(¡Ojalá trabajara / trabajase con nosotros.)

I wish [that] / If only my brother didn't find it!
(¡Ojalá mi hermano no lo encontrara / encontrase!)

En esta construcción, el verbo be debe ser were en todas las personas, aunque cada vez más esta forma es remplazada por was en el lenguaje coloquial (aunque esto es más raro en la 1ª persona del singular): I wish [that] / If only I were / (was) there! (¡Ojalá estuviera / estuviese allí !) I wish [that] / If only his sister were / was nicer! (¡Ojalá su hermana fuera / fuese más amable!) I wish [that] / If only it were / was easier! (¡Ojalá fuera / fuese más fácil!)

• Para expresar el deseo de que algo ocurra en el futuro:

I wish [that]  / if only  +  sujeto  + would /could / might

I wish [that] / If only you might come to the party!
( ¡Ojalá pudieras / pudieses venir a la fiesta!)

I wish [that] / If only she could phone soon!
(¡Ojalá ella pudiera / pudiese llamar pronto!)

I wish [that] / If only Jim wouldn't be waiting for us!
(¡Ojalá Jim no estuviera/ estuviese esperándonos!)

Esta forma también sirve para expresar el deseo de que alguien cambie un comportamiento en el presente o en el futuro:

I wish [that] / If only you could stop smoking!
(¡Ojalá pudieras / pudieses dejar de fumar!)

I wish [that] / If only Tom wouldn't go out every night!
(¡Ojalá Tom no saliera / saliese todas las noches !)

Asimismo sirve para expresar una queja o una crítica en el presente:

I wish [that] / If only the children would stop shouting!
(¡Ojalá los niños dejaran / dejasen de gritar!)

I wish [that] / If only Jim would study harder!
(¡Ojalá Jim estudiara / estudiase más !)

July 10th, 2015
PREFIXES

What Are Prefixes?

A prefix is added to the front of a word to change its meaning

Both prefixes and suffixes (added to the back) are affixes. The big question with prefixes is whether to use a hyphen with a prefix. Here is a lesson about hyphens in prefixes.

Examples of Prefixes

Here are some examples of prefixes:

• microscope
(The prefix is micro-.)
• tripod
(The prefix is tri-.)
• devalue
(The prefix is de-.)

Most Common Prefixes. The four most common prefixes account for over 95% of prefixed words. They aredis-, in-, re-, and un-.

 

 

July 13th, 2015

COMMON PREFIXES  

Prefixes

A prefix is placed at the beginning of a word to modify or change its meaning. This is a list of the most common prefixes in English, together with their basic meaning and some examples. You can find more detail or precision for each prefix in any good dictionary.

A prefix goes at the beginning of a word. A suffix goes at the end of a word.

The origins of words are extremely complicated. You should use this list as a guide only, to help you understand possible meanings. But be very careful, because often what appears to be a prefix is not a prefix at all. Note also that this list does not include elements like "auto-" or " bio-", because these are "combining forms", not prefixes.

prefix		meaning	examples
a-	also an-	not, without	atheist, anaemic
a-		to, towards	aside, aback
		in the process of, in a particular state	a-hunting, aglow
a-		of	anew
		completely	abashed
ab-	also abs-	away, from	abdicate, abstract
ad-	also a-, ac-, af-, ag- al-, an-, ap-, at- as-, at-	movement to, change into, addition or increase	advance, adulterate, adjunct, ascend, affiliate, affirm, aggravate, alleviate, annotate, apprehend, arrive, assemble, attend
ante-		before, preceding	antecedent, ante-room
anti-	also ant-	opposing, against, the opposite	anti-aircraft, antibiotic, anticlimax, Antarctic
be-		all over, all around	bespatter, beset
		completely	bewitch, bemuse
		having, covered with	bejewelled
		affect with (added to nouns)	befog
		cause to be (added to adjectives)	becalm
com-	also co-, col-, con-, cor-	with, jointly, completely	combat, codriver, collude, confide, corrode
contra-		against, opposite	contraceptive
counter-		opposition, opposite direction	counter-attack, counteract
de-		down, away	descend, despair, depend, deduct
		completely	denude, denigrate
		removal, reversal	de-ice, decamp
dia-	also di-	through, across	diagonal
dis-	also di-	negation, removal, expulsion	disadvantage, dismount, disbud, disbar
en-	also em-	put into or on	engulf, enmesh
		bring into the condition of	enlighten, embitter
		intensification	entangle, enrage
ex-	also e-, ef-	out	exit, exclude, expand
		upward	exalt, extol
		completely	excruciate, exasperate
		previous	ex-wife
extra-		outside, beyond	extracurricular
hemi-		half	hemisphere
hyper-		beyond, more than, more than normal	hypersonic, hyperactive
hypo-		under	hypodermic, hypothermia
in-	also il-, im-	not, without	infertile, inappropriate, impossible
	also il-, im-, ir-	in, into, towards, inside	influence, influx, imbibe
infra-		below	infrared, infrastructure
inter-		between, among	interact, interchange
intra-		inside, within	intramural, intravenous
non-		absence, negation	non-smoker, non-alcoholic
ob-	also oc-, of-, op-	blocking, against, concealing	obstruct, occult, offend, oppose
out-		surpassing, exceeding	outperform
		external, away from	outbuilding, outboard
over-		excessively, completely	overconfident, overburdened, overjoyed
		upper, outer, over, above	overcoat, overcast
peri-		round, about	perimeter
post-		after in time or order	postpone
pre-		before in time, place, order or importance	pre-adolescent, prelude, precondition
pro-		favouring, in support of	pro-African
		acting for	proconsul
		motion forwards or away	propulsion
		before in time, place or order	prologue
re-		again	repaint, reappraise, reawake
semi-		half, partly	semicircle, semi-conscious
sub-	also suc-, suf-, sug-, sup-, sur-, sus-	at a lower position	submarine, subsoil
		lower in rank	sub-lieutenant
		nearly, approximately	sub-tropical
syn-	also sym-	in union, acting together	synchronize, symmetry
trans-		across, beyond	transnational, transatlantic
		into a different state	translate
ultra-		beyond	ultraviolet, ultrasonic
		extreme	ultramicroscopic
un-		not	unacceptable, unreal, unhappy, unmanned
		reversal or cancellation of action or state	unplug, unmask
under-		beneath, below	underarm, undercarriage
		lower in rank	undersecretary
		not enough	underdeveloped

 
 

July 17th, 2015
SOMETHING ELSE ABOUT PREFIXES 

What Is a Prefix?

A prefix is a word part placed in front of a base word. A prefix usually changes the meaning of the base word. Here's an example:
The prefix un added to the word happy makes a new word with a new meaning. The prefix un means not, so it changes the meaning of the word happy to not happy.

The Two Most Common Prefixes

The most common prefixes are un and re.





These two prefixes are the most useful for beginning spellers to learn because they appear frequently and their meanings are easy to understand.

Un means not (unhappy = not happy) or the reverse of or opposite of (as in untie).

Re means again (redo = do again) or back (as in repay).    

Handy Tips for Adding Prefixes

• The spelling of the base word never changes. Simply add the prefix to the beginning of the base word, as in the word unhappy.

• The spelling of the prefix never changes. A prefix will be spelled the same no matter what base word it is attached to. For example, if you learn to spell the prefix poly, as in polygon, you can depend on poly to be spelled the same in the words polygraph, polyester, and polygram.

• Be aware that double letters can occur. If you add the prefix un to natural, both the prefix and the base word retain their original spelling. The result is unnatural. Take a look at these other words where double letters occur:

il + logical = illogical
im + mature = immature
il + legal = illegal
un + necessary = unnecessary

Other examples: unnoticeable, illiteracy, immaterial, immeasurable, immigrant, immobile, immoral, dissatisfy, disservice, dissimilar, dissolve, irreconcilable, irredeemable, irreducible, irregular, irrelevant, irreparable, irrestistible, irresponsible, misspoke, misspell, misstep

• Watch out for prefix look-alikes. Some words contain the same string of letters as a prefix, but upon closer examination you’ll find that they are not prefixes. The re in real is not a prefix. Other examples include uncle, pretty, press, interest, reach, irony, dish, and antique.

Six Rules for Using Hyphens with Prefixes

A prefix is usually added directly to the base word, but sometimes a hyphen is needed. Following are six common rules for adding a hyphen between the prefix and the base word:

1. Hyphenate when the prefix comes before a proper noun or a numeral.
   
   Examples: un-American, pre-1980
   
2. Hyphenate when adding the prefix ex meaning former.
   
   Example: ex-president
   (Do not use a hyphen if ex means out of or away from, as in expel.)
   
3. Hyphenate after the prefix self.
   
   Examples: self-respect, self-assured, self-control
   
4. Hyphenate to separate two a’s, two i’s, or other letter combinations that might cause misreading or mispronunciation.
   
   Examples: ultra-ambitious, anti-intellectual, co-worker
   
5. A hyphen may be used to separate two e’s or two o’s to improve readability or prevent mispronunciation.
   
   Examples:
   co-opt and co-owner vs. coordinate
   de-emphasize vs. reenter
   
   (Note that many words with double e’s used to be hyphenated as a general rule, as in re-elect, re-establish, and pre-existing. However, current style manuals and dictionaries now tend toward “closing” the word except in cases where readability is affected. Both versions are currently accepted and listed in most dictionaries.)
   
6. A hyphen is sometimes used after the prefix re to prevent misreading or confusion with another word.
   
   Examples:
   re-cover vs. recover, as in Re-cover the boat when you recover from the flu.
   re-lay vs. relay, as in Please relay the message that they will re-lay the tiles.

Activities for Learning Prefixes

1. Practice adding prefixes to base words to form new words. Start with a common prefix such as re and have students add the prefix to simple base words. Words for this activity can be written on index cards or slips of paper. Be sure to discuss the meanings of the new words. Once students are comfortable with the activity, they can practice combining other prefixes and words.
   
   re  +     do     =    redo
   re +    build   =    rebuild
   re +     open  =    reopen
   re +    think   =    rethink
   re +    fill        =    refill
   re +    pay     =    repay
   re +    make  =    remake
   re +    move  =    remove
   re +    place   =    replace
   re +    turn     =    return
   
2. Create a Prefix List. Start with a few examples and have students add to the list as they discover words with prefixes. Discuss the meanings of the words on the list as they are added.
   
3. Look up prefixes in the dictionary and examine the entries near the word. When students look up the word hydro, for example, they’ll find hydroelectric, hydropower, and hydrophobia. Discuss how the prefix affects the meaning of the base word.