Grammar

Friday, 31 January 2014

Synonyms of BEAUTIFUL




admirable, adorable, alluring, angelic, appealing, beauteous, bewitching, captivating, charming, classy, comely, cute, dazzling, delicate, delightful, divine, elegant, enthralling, enticing, excellent, exquisite, fair, fascinating, fetching, fine, foxy, good-looking, gorgeous, graceful, grand, handsome, ideal, inviting, lovely, magnetic, magnificent, marvelous, mesmeric, nice, pleasing, pretty, pulchritudinous, radiant, ravishing, refined, resplendent, shapely, slightly, splendid statuesque, stunning, sublime, superb, symmetrical, taking, tantalizing, teasing, tempting, well-formed, winning, wonderful.

Saturday, 18 January 2014

Farther and Further



The word “farther” implies a measurable distance. “Further” should be reserved for abstract lengths you can't always measure.
      e.g., 
                                 I threw the ball ten feet farther than Bill.  
                                 The financial crisis caused further implications

Fewer and Less



“Less” is reserved for hypothetical quantities. “Few” and “fewer” are for things you can quantify.
   e.g., 
           The firm has fewer than ten employees. 
           The firm is less successful now that we have only ten employees

Whether and If



Many writers seem to assume that “whether” is interchangeable with “if." It isn’t. 
  “Whether” expresses a condition where there are two or more alternatives. 
   “If” expresses a condition where there are no alternatives.
       e.g.,
           I don’t know whether I’ll get drunk tonight.  
           I can get drunk tonight if I have money for booze.

May and Might



“May” implies a possibility. “Might” implies far more uncertainty. 
 “You may get drunk if you have two shots in ten minutes” implies a real possibility of drunkenness.
 “You might get a ticket if you operate a tug boat while drunk” implies a possibility that is far more remote.     Someone who says “I may have more wine” could mean he/she doesn't want more wine right now, or that he/she “might” not want any at all. Given the speaker’s indecision on the matter, “might” would be correct.