Good at or Good in?

Prepositions seem to be the most confusing aspect of English grammar for the speakers of English all around. While many people say ‘she is good at English’, the number of those who say ‘she is good in English’ is also growing. So, which sentence is the correct one?

Practically speaking, it is unwise to say only one of these two sentences is correct. The reason is English language is constantly undergoing a process of being plain, straight-forward and flexible. In spoken English, you may either say ‘good at’ or ‘good in’ as both these prepositions are nowadays interchangeably used by an increasing number of English speakers across the world. However, the standard form appears to be ‘good at’. Therefore, in formal contexts try to use ‘good at’ and in informal English either of the two!

More examples:

John is bad at Mathematics.

Jane is better at French than (at) Spanish.

Sania Mirza is very good at tennis.

The footballer was at his best performance last year.

(The sentences above can also take ‘in’ in the place of ‘at’ though the former (in) is not considered standard especially while talking about one’s ability in a subject. However, by convention, only ‘at’ is widely used with sports and games)

Difference between RESUME and CURRICULUM VITAE

Résumé and curriculum vitae are two familiar words to every educated individual today. Though they are roughly the same in meaning, there are a few subtle differences between the two.

Résumé is basically a French word meaning ‘summary’. It is one of the widely mispronounced words too. The pronunciation of the word is something like re-zyu-mei with a stress on ‘re’. Please use a pronunciation software to get it right. A resume primarily highlights a person’s professional skills, recent work experience, responsibilities held, outstanding achievements etc. The details are given in reverse chronological order i.e. latest experience first, followed by the previous ones. It also outlines the applicant’s educational qualifications but in brief, unlike in a curriculum vitae.

The length of a good résumé is generally one page (preferably A4 size). If too difficult to summarize on a single page, use two, not more than that. It is not necessary to include your sex, religion, hobbies, interests and so on in a résumé.

In short, a résumé is a customized summary which is used by experienced professionals to get a better targeted opportunity. Freshers on the look out of a job should prepare and submit a curriculum vitae about which we will discuss in my next blog.


Click to jump to next post about CV: http://novaenglishcampus.blogspot.in/2011/05/what-is-cv.html

Why 'GOOD Friday' is not 'BAD Friday'?

It is 'Good Friday' today. Christians all over the world observe Good Friday to commemorate the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It is observed every year on the Friday which comes immediately before Easter Sunday.

Do you know why this day is called ‘Good Friday’? Many people wonder why this day is not termed ‘Sad Friday’ or 'Bad Friday', as Jesus Christ was brutally killed on this day by being nailed to a cross.

There are three arguments behind the origin of the term 'Good Friday'. The most widely accepted argument is that Jesus Christ sacrificed his life willingly so that the sins of the people who believe in Him will be forgiven. Hence this day of sorrow is called 'Good Friday'.

The second argument goes like this: the adjective ‘good’ is an Old English synonym for ‘holy’ or ‘sacred’. So the term ‘Good Friday’ must be interpreted as ‘Holy Friday’.

According to the third and least accepted argument, ‘good’ in ‘Good Friday’ is a corruption of the word ‘God’. A few people believe that originally the day was named ‘God Friday’ which accidentally became ‘Good Friday’ in the long run!

The touching poem below was written after a Hindu friend asked the poet "Why is Good Friday 'good'? Shouldn't it be 'Bad Friday'?"

GOOD FRIDAY -
THIS SOMBRE DAY
WHEN CHRISTIANS MOURN
A 2,000 YEAR OLD DEATH.

HE DIED, SOME SAY, 
TO APPEASE A VENGEFUL GOD,
DEMANDING A ONE-TIME
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
FOR HUMAN SIN,
BOTH PAST AND YET TO COME.
IT WAS, THEY INSIST,
THE ONLY WAY
WE COULD BE SAVED.

OTHERS ASK
IS THIS THE SAME GOD
WHO SAID "THOU SHALL NOT KILL"
NOW OFFERING HIS SON
AS A SACRIFICIAL LAMB
TO BE SLAIN
FOR OUR SALVATION?

YET OTHERS SAY
HE DIED BECAUSE
HE LOVED TOO MUCH -
LOVED THE OUTCAST,
THE SINNER, THE SICK,
THE POOR, THE OPPRESSED.

AS HE HUNG THERE
BLEEDING, DYING,
SOME HEARD HIM SAY:
"FATHER, FORGIVE THEM. 
THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO."
IS THIS WHAT MADE 
THAT BAD DAY GOOD?

WHATEVER WE DO, HE HAD SAID,
WE DO TO HIM.
AND WE ARE CALLED
TO FOLLOW IN THIS WAY.
THUS, IF WE IGNORE ANOTHER'S PAIN
WE SURELY CRUCIFY HIM AGAIN.

IT WAS INDEED A BAD FRIDAY,
MADE GOOD BECAUSE
IT SHOWS THE WAY TO OUR SALVATION -
SALVATION AS LIBERATION.
LIBERATION
FROM OPPRESSION TO JUSTICE,
FROM WAR TO PEACE,
FROM HATE TO LOVE.
AND THIS 
IS TRULY
RESURRECTION.

Poem source: http://www.web.net/~doreenls/GoodFriday.htm

SOCIAL DRINKING and BINGE DRINKING...

Alcoholic drinks have always been a matter of hot debates among the peoples across the world. Here are a few drinking related words that might be of great daily use.

If a person is slightly drunk, you can say ‘he is tipsy’. You can also describe him by saying ‘he is tight’. One who drinks alcohol in very big quantities can be described with a funny idiom – ‘he drinks like a fish’. The term ‘social drinking’ is the act of drinking alcohol at a function etc without the intention of getting too much drunk. One who drinks alcohol only on such occasions can be called a ‘social drinker’.

In many societies, alcoholic drinks are served free at functions organized to celebrate a happy occasion like a wedding party. The temporary bar arranged at such places is called an ‘open bar’. At open bars, some people drink excessive quantities of alcohol with an intention of getting as intoxicated as possible and behave uncontrollably.This practice is widely known as ‘binge drinking’.

‘Booze’ is another popular term for alcoholic drinks. The word can be used either as a noun or as a verb e.g. 'A lot of booze [noun] was served at the party'. 'He spent the whole night out boozing [verb] with his friends'. The adjective form ‘boozy’ can be used to describe a person as in, ‘she is fed up with living with her ‘boozy’ husband’

'When India won the Cricket World Cup, a few of my friends painted the town red'. The idiom means they kept moving from bars to clubs to pubs and enjoyed themselves!

Last but not least, there is a good number of people who never drink alcoholic beverages. They are called teetotallers.

Now tell me. What kind of a drinker are you?

A. social drinker.

B. boozy.

C. teetotaler.

You may comment below.

DON'T GIVE EXAMS!

Sentences like ‘I will give my exam next week’, ‘When did you give your exam?’ etc have caused a lot of confusion among many non-native speakers of English.

When you say that you are 'giving’ an exam, it means that you are probably a teacher or examiner who is conducting the examination. And when you say that you are 'taking' an exam, you are going to be writing one; that is you are a student, candidate or examinee.

Unfortunately, in many parts of the world especially in south Asian countries like India (north in particular), Pakistan, Bangladesh etc this distinction is not always maintained. Due to MTI (mother tongue influence), the majority of people in these parts of the world translate their ideas word by word into English. Strange to say, a good number of speakers of English whose mother tongue is Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Bangla, Haryanvi, etc use give in place of ‘take’ and take in place of ‘give’ while talking about an examination. This is ridiculous and totally opposite to Standard English!

So, if you are a candidate or student who has an exam next week, you should say, ‘I will take my exam next week’. This idea can also be conveyed in another way by saying, ‘I will sit my exam next week’ or ‘I will do my exam next week’. But do not say ‘I will take/write my exam next week’

On the other hand, if you are a teacher who is going to conduct your students’ exam next week, you must say, ‘I will give you an exam next week’, not ‘I will take your exam next week’.

And now, a tip for the confused users to remember this rule: imagine exam is an ice cream. Examiner is your mother. You mother is giving you the ice cream (examiner is giving you the exam) and you are taking the ice cream (hence, taking the exam)!

SHOULD or SHOULD HAVE TO is correct?

Many speakers of English in non-English speaking countries often use 'SHOULD HAVE TO' in speaking and writing. Among them, sentences like the following are very common.
1) “I SHOULD HAVE TO complete my assignment within three days”
2) “You SHOULD HAVE TO pass this test”

But, according to English grammar, this is a wrong use. Instead of using SHOULD HAVETO, you must use either SHOULD or HAVE TO. The reason is SHOULD is almost equal to HAVE TO although there is a slight difference in detailed grammatical analysis.

So, the previous wrong sentences can be rewritten as follows:
1) “I SHOULD complete my assignment within three days”
OR
“I HAVE TO complete my assignment within three days”

2) “You SHOULD pass this test”
OR
“You HAVE TO pass this test”

You can also express the same idea by using ‘WILL HAVE TO’ as in,
“I WILL HAVE TO complete my assignment within three days”, “I WILL HAVE TO pass this test” etc.

CAN or MAY? Which is correct?

There are a number of simple but confusing aspects of grammar that many speakers of English are worried about. Unprofessional advice from teachers and peers with little or outdated knowledge in English further worsens the situation.


Let's take an example of such two controversial grammatical terms: CAN and MAY. Most of the speakers of English are, of course, familiar with the meanings and basic usage of these two words.


But the confusing question is, are CAN and MAY interchangeable when it comes to asking or granting permission?


The answer is 'YES'!
Many people think that CAN is used only to show 'ability/capability', and they argue that it is wrong to replace MAY with CAN in a request like,
'May I ask you a few personal questions?'.


In fact the majority of modern grammarians and successful writers are nowadays use both CAN and MAY to ask or grant permission though a damned few still oppose it! So, you may use either "May I ask you a few personal questions?" or "Can I ask you a few personal questions?" as both have exactly the same meaning and are acceptable in modern English.


The only difference between them in this context (permission/request) is that MAY is a little more polite than CAN. Therefore, try to use CAN in informal situations (at home, with friends etc.) and MAY in formal ones (in an interview, an official discussion etc.)