After waking up, please copy the following info about usage into your English Notebook. THINGSTHINGS THATTHATTHINGSTHINGS THATTHAT MAKE YA GO, HMMM! 1.Lie or Lay ?Lie or Lay 2.I or Me?I or Me 3.Who or Whom?Who or Whom 4.Good or Well?Good or Well 5.Hung or Hang?Hung or Hang 6.Affect or Effect?Affect or Effect 7.Among or Between?Among or Between 8.Alot or A Lot?Alot or A Lot 9.Bad or Badly?Bad or Badly 10. Alright or All Right?Alright or All Right Lie means to rest or recline, and lay means to place. If you want to get technical, lay is a transitive verb, meaning it always takes a direct object, which of course is a noun. Lie never takes a direct object. Example: The books are lying on the floor. Explanation: Since a subject cant be a direct object, there isnt a noun receiving the action of lying or resting; therefore, lying is correct because it never takes a direct object. If the whole direct/indirect object thing confuses you try this: If you can substitute the verb put, use lay. If you cant, use lie. Example: Lay the books down. Explanation: Makes sense because Put the books down works as a sentence. Example: Im tired, so I think Ill lie down. Explanation: You would never say, I think Ill put down, so since put doesnt work, use lie. A major problem with pronouns is the use of the wrong case. In English certain pronouns are meant to be the subject or predicate nominative of a sentence. Other words are meant to be the objects--whether direct, indirect, objects of prepositions, or object complements. Pronouns used as subjects or predicate nominatives (nominative case): I, you, he, she, it, we, they, who Pronouns used as objects (objective case): me, you, him, her, it, us, them, whom Some things are really obvious. All English speakers know we say "I like him," not "Me like he." If we know that "Me like him" is incorrect, then that also means that "Katy and me like him" is incorrect. The word I belongs in the subject. The sentence should read "Katy and I like him." Politeness says that the I, we, me or us comes last. If the sentence had some kind of compound object, the sentence would read: "Katy likes Joe and me," not "Katy likes Joe and I." After all, we would say "Katy likes me," not "Katy likes I." Similarly the object in "Katy likes the Gonzaless and us" is correct. All this confusion can easily be avoided if you just remove the second party from the sentences where you feel tempted to use me as an object. You wouldnt say, A.O.L. sent the refund check to I, so you shouldnt say A.O.L. sent the refund check to my brother and I either. And you shouldnt say to my brother and myself. The only correct way to say this is, A.O.L. sent the refund check to my brother and me. Sounds too casual? Get over it. Its correct. On a related point, those who continue to announce It is I have traditional grammatical correctness on their side, but they are vastly outnumbered by those who proudly boast its me! Theres not much that can be done about this now. Similarly, if a caller asks for Cassie and Cassie answers This is she, her somewhat old school correctness is likely to freak out the questioner into utter confusion. The pronoun who is always the subject of a sentence or clause. Who is never the object, but whom is always the object of a transitive verb or preposition. Example: Who created a profile on MySpace without my permission? Explanation: Who is the subject of the sentence. It stands for the person who created a profile. Example: Chance called whom? Explanation: Whom is receiving the action of being called, making it the direct object, and we know the pronoun who can only be the subject of a verb, never the object. Example: To whom shall I e- mail the photos? Explanation: Here, whom is the object of the preposition to. Since whom is always an object of either a verb or preposition, using who would be incorrect. Well, dont know which one to use? Good, but heres how you figure it out. Just remember good is an adjective and well is an adverb. Use good to describe nouns or pronouns and well to describe verbs. Example: Ken makes good sushi, and he serves it well. adjective noun verb adverb Explanation: Sushi is a noun, so good can be used to describe it. Serves is a verb, so well can be used to describe how its served. Tip: Use good when describing feelings and well when describing health. Example: After hearing your apology, I feel good. Example: Since eating lunch at school, I dont feel well. Just remember this. Things are hung, people are hanged. It helps avoid embarrassing sentences. Example: Kari hung her sweater on the chair. Example: After being caught by an angry mob, Mussolini was hanged in the town square. First, you have to know your parts of speech. Dont use affect as a noun unless you mean it in reference to your state of mind or mood. Affect as a verb means to influence; effect as a verb means to bring about or to cause. So, effect and affect have two different meanings, which means you must think what youre trying to say before choosing which one to use. Yikes! Example: She effected changes in the government. Example: His shoes affected his ability to jump. Example: The weather effected tremendous damage in the mountains. Example: Her teaching had a poor effect on me. Rarely in life is something this simple. If you are comparing two things or people, use between. If the comparison involves more than two, use among. Example: While its easy for me to choose between sushi and McDonalds, its more difficult if I have to choose among Italian, Mexican, and Indian food. Wouldnt it be nice if we all had a spell check imbedded in our brain? If we did, wed realize that alot is a spelling error. The correct spelling is a lot. Two little words, thats all. DO NOT USE A LOT in x2 writing. There is better, more precise vocabulary available (see your notes). Example: A lot of our spelling errors are due to a lot of ignorance. In general, bad is an adjective and badly an adverb (after all, it ends in ly). However, when applied to the five senses of sight, smell, sound, touch, and taste, use bad. Example: The chili at the local fast food restaurant left a bad taste in my mouth. adjective noun Example: Ever since Shaq left the Lakers, theyve played badly. Verb Adverb Remember, when applied to the five senses of sight, smell, sound, touch, and taste, use bad. Sight: Those mushrooms look bad. Smell: Never eat sushi that smells bad. Sound: Admit it, Brittany Spears sounds bad. Touch: Chewing of foil feels bad. Taste: Black licorice tastes bad to many people. One more thing about bad or badly. If youre describing someones feelings, use bad. If you dont, it sounds like youre talking about someones sense of touch, such as She feels badly. Literally, it means her sense of touch is bad or that her fingers lack sensation. Right: I feel bad about your grade in English. Wrong: I feel badly about your grade in English. Alright is all wrong. Its always all right. All right? Example: After falling in class, Sara yelled, Im all right! All right. Im awake now!