Lecture Notes: English Language Usage

Adverbs: Continuously vs. Continually

• Continuously: Indicates something that does not stop or end.
  • Example: "He spoke continuously for 15 minutes."
• Continually: Refers to a repeated action over time, where something starts and stops.
  • Example: "I continually tell my dog I love her."

Adjectives and Adverbs of Feeling

• -ed endings describe feelings (e.g., bored, tired, relaxed).
• -ing endings describe the reason for the feeling.
  • Example: "The lesson was boring" (reason), "I was feeling bored" (feeling).
• More examples:
  • Interesting → Interested
  • Surprising → Surprised
  • Exciting → Excited

Understanding "Available"

• Available: An adjective used to describe something that can be accessed or used.
  • With things: E.g., "The best fruit is available in summer."
  • With people: E.g., "When are you available?"
  • Example of unavailability: "I'm afraid there's no one available to help."

Time Expressions: Last vs. For the Last vs. In the Last

• Last: Refers to the previous time period.
  • Examples: "Last week," "last month."
• For the Last: Used to describe a continuous period of time up to now.
  • Example: "I've had the flu for the last week."
• In the Last: Refers to events or actions that occurred within a defined time period.
  • Example: "I've come to work only once in the last week."

Good vs. Well

• Good: An adjective describing nouns.
  • Example: "I make very good pizza."
• Well: An adverb describing verbs.
  • Example: "I make pizza very well."
• Well as an adjective: Refers to health.
  • Example: "I wasn't feeling very well yesterday."

Could vs. Was Able To (Past Abilities)

• Could: General ability in the past.
  • Example: "I could run really fast when I was younger."
• Was able to: Specific achievements.
  • Example: "I was able to win a medal."
• Negative sentences: Both can be used.
  • Example: "I couldn't do much at school."

Understanding "Issue"

• An issue: Can mean an important topic or a problem.
  • E.g., "The environment is an important issue."
• As a verb: "To issue" means something is ready or available.
  • E.g., "My new driving license has finally been issued."
• Refers to editions of publications: "This is today's issue."

Making Comparatives with "As" and "As"

• As...as: Indicates equality.
  • Example: "James is as tall as me."
• Negation: "Not as...as" indicates inequality.
  • Example: "The film is not as good as the book."

Also, As Well, and Too

• Also: Used in the middle of a sentence or to start a sentence for emphasis.
  • Example: "He also plays football really well."
• As well and Too: Used at the end of a sentence.
  • Example: "He plays football really well too."
  • Note: "As well" is more common in British English.

Using "For" and "Since"

• For: Describes how long an activity lasts.
  • Example: "I go running every day for 10 minutes."
• Since: Describes when an activity began.
  • Example: "I have been recording this video since 10 o'clock."
• Important distinction: For = duration, Since = start time.