When to Use GERUNDS

It is correct to use “Looking forward to meeting you soon” because the -ing verb (“meeting”) there is a gerund and functions as a noun. “Looking forward to meeting you ...” can be replaced with “Looking forward to our meeting ...” where the word “meeting” is a noun.

Another example of this usage can be seen in this sentence: “I’m not used to sleeping late” which can be replaced with “I’m not used to late nights.” In this sort of structure, “to” is a preposition and not an infinitive marker, as in “I would like to meet you soon” OR “I do not like to sleep late.”

An “-ing” is placed after the verb to make the present participle of the verb, which is used in the continuous/progressive forms of the verb, e.g. “I am eating”, “I was eating”, “I shall be eating”, etc. The present participle can also function as an adjective, as in “Managing Director”, “running commentary”, “a boring film”, “an exciting match”, etc. The only instances when we can use the “to ...ing” structure is when the “-ing” form is a gerund.

WHO and WHOM

“Whom” is the object form of “who”. We can see this in relative clauses, for example:

1. “The person who owns this book would like it back.” In this sentence, “who” is the subject of the relative clause “who owns this book”.

2. “The boy whom they beat up has made a police report.” In this sentence, “whom” is the object of the defining relative clause “whom they beat up”. The subject of that clause is “they”. However, in this sort of sentence, it is possible to use “who” or “that” instead of “whom”, or leave out “whom” altogether:

“The boy (who/that) they beat up has made a police report.”

3. “Her aunt, whom she loves very much, is in hospital.” In this sentence, “whom” is the object in the non-defining relative clause “whom she loves very much”. In less formal usage, “who” can be used instead of “whom”: “Her aunt, who she loves very much, is in hospital”.

In modern English, “whom” is considered very formal. One common use of “whom” is in the expression used in a reference or testimonial written for a scholarship applicant or job-seeker, i.e. “To Whom It May Concern”. But in questions, “who” is more often used, e.g. “Who did you give the book to?” instead of “To whom did you give the book?”

Take a Break

Reasons why the English language is so hard to learn:

1) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

2) We must polish the Polish furniture.

3) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

4) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

5) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.

6) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

7) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

8) I did not object to the object.

9) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

10) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

11) They were too close to the door to close it.

12) The buck does funny things when the does are present.

13) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

14) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

15) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

16) After a number of injections my jaw got number.

17) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

18) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

19) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

:)

‘Always’ and ‘never’ with past tense verbs

“Always” and “never” can be used with a simple past tense verb, although they are more often used with verbs in the perfect tenses, the simple present tense or simple future tense.

Here are some examples of the use of these two adverbs with simple past tense verbs:

• “Ellie was always very good at art.” (example in Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary 2005)
• “I always thought I’d have children eventually.” (example in online Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary)
• “In those years we always did well against them in one-on-one games.”
• “He never went to university.” (Collins Cobuild English Grammar)
• “I never did that again,” he said.
• “He never did his homework in primary school, but always did well in exams.”

Adverbs of Frequency (Always, Often, Sometimes, Never, etc.)

There was a confusion about this part of speech recently, so I'm sharing this information (from esl.about.com & english-zone.com). Hope it's helpful...

Use adverbs of frequency to say how often you do something. Adverbs of frequency are often used with the present simple because they indicate repeated or routine activities. For example, They often go out for dinner.

Adverbs of frequency include (from most often to least often):

always
usually
often
sometimes
occasionally
seldom
rarely
never

If the sentence has one verb (e.g. no auxiliary verb) put the adverb in the middle of the sentence after the subject and before the verb.

Examples

Tom usually goes to work by car.
Janet never flies. She always goes by bus.

Adverbs of frequency come after the verb 'be':

Examples

I am never late for work.
Peter is often at school.

If the sentence has more than one verb (e.g. auxiliary verb), put the adverb of frequency before the main verb.

Examples

I can never remember anything!
They have often visited Rome.

When using adverbs of frequency in the question or negative form, put the adverb of frequency before the main verb.

Examples

She doesn't often visit Europe.
Do you usually get up early?

Note: Adverbs of frequency is also known as Frequency Adverbs

Frequency Adverbs - ALWAYS / USUALLY / OFTEN, etc.

Other Verbs (play, do, study, work, etc.)	Frequency Adverbs come BEFORE other verbs.
	I always help the other students. My brother usually comes late to school. Jenny and Susan often study in the library after class.
BE Verb (am, is, are, was, were, etc.)	Frequency Adverbs come AFTER a BE verb.
	I am always a good student. My brother is usually late to school. Jenny and Susan are often in the library after class.

If Only Life Could Be like A Computer

-If you messed up your life, you could press "Alt, Ctrl, Delete" and start all over! -To get your daily exercise, just click on "run"! -If you needed a break from life, click on "suspend". -Hit "any key" to continue life when ready. -To get even with the neighbors, turn up the sound blaster. -To "add/remove" someone in your life, click settings and control panel. -To improve your appearance, just adjust the display settings. -If life gets too noisy, turn off the speakers. -When you lose your car keys, click on "find". -"Help" with the chores is just a click away. -You wouldn't need auto insurance. You'd use your boot diskette to recover from a crash. -We could click on "send" and the kids would go to bed immediately. -To feel like a new person, click on "refresh". -Click on "close" to shut up the kids and spouse. -To undo a mistake, click on "back". -Is your wardrobe getting old? Click "update". -If you don't like cleaning the litter box, click on "delete".