Just Memorize These Irregular Verbs

Is there a foolproof strategy for remembering irregular verbs? Absolutely. Just memorize them! Of course, that’s easier said than done. Do memory tricks actually work? Why not try to create a mnemonic for each of these common irregular verbs?

Henry L. Roediger III, a psychology professor at Washington University’s Memory Lab, confirms that songs help encode information into the hippocampus and frontal cortex of the brain. The rhythm of music provides patterns that serve as memory cues, making it easier for people to retrieve information. One teacher, known on YouTube as FluencyMC, makes rap songs of irregular past participles and grammar rules. Can you compose a song to memorize the present tense conjugation of “to be?” You might begin with the tune of a simple song such as, “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” or “Row Your Boat.”

To Be I am You are He/She/It is We are They are

You can also take the letters or beginning sounds of verbs to form an acrostic poem or an acronym. According to “Your Memory: How It Works and How to Improve It” by Kenneth L. Higbee, acronyms and acrostics work because they make the information more meaningful than words do alone, and they combine information together so that you have less to remember at once. Can you use an acrostic or acronym to memorize the past participles of the irregular verbs “to teach,” “to catch,” and “to fight?” Remember, you can use the beginning sounds, not just the beginning letters to form memorable words, phrases, or sounds.

Teach, taught, taught Fight, fought, fought Catch, caught, caught

Did you notice a similarity between the past participles of teach, fight, and catch? Memorizing information in groups rather than single units is called chunking. You can find many charts of irregular verbs grouped together by their past participles or some other similar feature. The tables are great for reference, but if you really want to master the verbs you should investigate the patterns and create your own charts.

Some people are visual or kinesthetic learners. In other words, they retain information from seeing and doing. If you learn well this way, create a physical or visual cue for the items you want to recall. For verbs like “to see” and “to run,” it’s easy to make a drawing or perform an action that represents each verb.

See, saw, seen Run, ran, run

For other verbs, such as “to have,” a visual or physical cue might not be effective. In this case, the most tried-and-true method should be employed: practice, practice, practice… Thankfully, practicing doesn’t have to be boring. You can make flashcards, quiz a friend, or play an online game such as the MacMillan Dictionary Verb Wheel. Because “to have” is such a common verb in English, you will have plenty of opportunity to use it in conversation.

How will you master irregular verbs? You can try setting them to a catchy tune or clapping out a rhythm. You can take the first sounds to create an acronym or an acrostic. You can create charts to organize the verbs in patterns that will help you to chunk the information together. Finally, you can create visual aids or physical actions to make a lasting impression. If all else fails, practice, practice, practice. You may have a lot of fun trying to figure out ways to memorize these essential irregulars. Which way will be most effective for you? There’s only one way to find out—give them all a try.

How Is Grammar at Work Changing?

Articles with Plural Nouns

The indefinite articles a and an are used to modify singular nouns. When using a plural noun, these two articles are unnecessary. Plural nouns can take either a definite article or no article at all.

The definite article is the word the. It precedes a noun when something specific (i.e., definite) is being referred to.

The phone is ringing.

Indefinite articles, on the other hand, are used before nouns that are nonspecific within their class.

I bumped into a lady on the sidewalk.

We do not know from this statement who specifically this lady is. We only know generally that the person is a lady.

Plural nouns can be used with the definite article or no article at all; to use an indefinite article would be incorrect.

I have a books in my locker.

I have books in my locker.

I have the books in my locker.

It is also unnecessary to use an indefinite article if there is an adjective in front of a plural noun.

When he is in public, he does an embarrassing things.

When he is in public, he does embarrassing things.

When he is in public, he does an embarrassing thing.

When selecting courses, there are a many options to choose from.

A is not necessary in this sentence and should be removed. However, if you want to refer to the specific quantity of options, the sentence can be rephrased to use the definite article the with a plural noun:

You may select courses from the many options available

.

You can explore more by reading Articles: Grammar Rules and Plural Nouns: Rules and Examples.

How to Read Between the Lines of a Job Description

Guest post from Jennifer Parris, Career Writer for FlexJobs

On the surface, a job description might seem fairly straightforward. It lists the job title, a smattering of responsibilities, and contact info by which you can apply for the position. But upon a second reading, you’re sure to find many layers to the posting, full of nuances and hidden messages that a seasoned job seeker might be able to pick up. If you’ve ever read a posting and wondered, “What are they really asking for?” here are some tips on how to read between the lines of a job description—and submit a job application that will get you the position.

Pay attention to the placement.

By their very nature, job descriptions are fairly short and succinct. Without having pages to list every single job duty, company background, and so on, hiring managers will write what’s most important at the top of the job description. It’s there that they’ll give you—in either a sentence or two—an overarching idea of what they want from their potential employee. As a job seeker, it’s important for you to repeat that information (in your own words, of course) in your cover letter. Not only does it show that you read through the job description, but that you can do the work as well.

Respect the responsibilities.

A typical job description might have upwards of ten or more job duties listed. Generally, the top five are the most critical ones and those that can make or break your job application. Make sure you actually can perform these duties, particularly if some of them are listed as “requirements” or “qualifications.” If you don’t, your job application will be rejected by the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) or the actual person who is reading your resume.

Learn the lingo.

Team player. Strong organizational skills. Leadership qualities. There are some terms that go hand in hand with a job description. But what do they really mean—and do you really need to possess these skills and traits? A team player means that you’ll be working with others, and you’ll need to do so without any drama or complaining. Strong organizational skills is code for having a very busy workload and having to be able to manage it all well without dropping the ball—or making your prospective boss look bad. If you’re expected to have leadership qualities, you’ll need to command the respect of your colleagues and lead and inspire them, which will require you to think outside of the box at times and be adaptable.

Share the love.

In an effort to avoid being inundated with job applications, some companies will refrain from posting the company’s name in the job description. If the company’s name is listed, though, you should make a concerted effort to offer up some praise about the organization in your cover letter. If you’re not very familiar with the company, do some research first, and then include a couple of sentences in your job application that depict how much you want to work for that specific organization. For example, you might write something like, “I admire your organization’s policy on workplace flexibility.” After all, a boss is more apt to hire someone who specifically wants to work for his company as opposed to someone simply looking for any old job.

Find out the compensation.

It’s the question of any job seeker: how much does this job pay? Unfortunately, very few job postings will name a dollar amount. That doesn’t mean you can’t find out how much the company is willing to cough up for the position, though. By using sites such as salary.com, you can find out comparable salaries for the job you’re after, and you can use this info to determine if it’s worth applying for the position or not.

When you’re deep in the throes of your job search, it’s easy to quickly scan a job description so that you can submit your application ASAP. But taking the time to thoroughly read through the posting can help you submit quality job applications that will get you hired for a position that you truly want—and deserve.

 

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About the Author

Jennifer Parris is a Career Writer for FlexJobs, an award-winning service that helps job-seekers find professional opportunities that offer work flexibility, such as telecommuting, freelance, part-time, or alternative schedules. To learn more about Jennifer, visit FlexJobs.com or tweet @flexjobs.

9 Easy Tips That Will Improve Bland Writing

Just like food, your writing needs spice. Keep these tips in your cupboard to take your writing from bland to scrumptious.

About a year ago, I got interested in cooking. For most of my adult life, I’d been making things like spaghetti with sauce from a jar, macaroni and cheese complete with powdered “cheese,” and the occasional boxed meal (just add ground beef!). Sometimes, I went a little wild and threw some canned tuna into the mac and cheese, or added real frozen broccoli to the boxed meal. My family ate it. They didn’t know any better.

But then, spurred on by a retired chef I befriended, I decided to give cooking a try. Real cooking. I bought fresh veggies and meats. I practiced until I had the knife skills to slice, dice, and julienne. I learned that stovetop burners aren’t meant to be set to high heat unless you’re trying to boil something. (Who knew?) I learned that basic salt and pepper make everything delicious. Throw in some well-chosen herbs and spices, and I can elevate the taste of my food to a whole new level. The kind that makes another friend kiss the backs of his fingertips like a French chef in an old movie and declare my meals delectable.

Writing is a lot like cooking. You can string together bland, canned phrases and hope that readers who don’t know any better won’t mind, or you can pull some spicy new tricks off the shelf and make your content truly delish.

The Basics

Before you can improve your cooking skills, you’ve got to learn a few basics. It’s the same with writing. Keep your text lean, use flavorful language, and express yourself confidently.

1 Begin with lean writing.

Flabby writing is unpalatable. Trim excess adverbs and use strong verbs or adjectives instead. (The comedian wasn’t very funny, she was hilarious.) Learn what a preposition is and how to streamline prepositional phrases. (The car didn’t come over the top of the hill, it crested the hill.) Slash extraneous words and phrases.

2 But don’t make it too lean.

Just as a cut of meat can be so lean that it’s dry and lacking flavor, writing that’s overly sanitized can sound sterile. Using an occasional adverb as a conscious style choice can make your writing sound more natural and conversational. Just don’t overdo it. Every adverb you use should have to justify its existence. If you can’t explain why you think it enhances your text, then out it goes.

3 Write with confidence.

Timid knife skills are dangerous when cooking. Timid language is a danger to writing.

Are you hedging your bets, using language that sounds unsure and wishy-washy? Eliminate phrases like you may want to, it’s possible that, and they can try, and weasel words like probably and sometimes.

You don’t have to give your readers an out clause unless you’re truly sure that what you’re suggesting might not work. And, in that case, ask yourself why you’re suggesting it in the first place.

4 Use powerful words and imagery . . .

If you use a lot of “to be” verbs (be, am, is, are, was, were, been, being) or other linking verbs (appear, feel, look, seem, remain, sound), search for opportunities to spice up your writing with livelier verb choices.

Weak Verb

Alex felt anxious when it was time to give his speech.

Rather than telling the reader that Alex felt anxious, paint a word picture. Help the reader see Alex and recognize the feelings Alex is experiencing. The example below uses strong verbs and the time-honored advice given to writers: show, don’t tell.

Strong Verb

Alex’s hand trembled as he adjusted the microphone. His heart hammered in his chest.

5 . . . but keep your language simple.

Yes, use colorful, expressive language. But no, don’t hunt through your thesaurus in search of exotic words no one’s going to recognize. Don’t use fancy words just for the sake of it.

Keep your audience in mind. I had a colleague years back who regularly used SAT words that sent even those of us with stellar vocabularies scrambling for our dictionaries. We wrote for the video game industry. The average gamer is plenty intelligent, but most don’t flock to read articles full of words like cynosure, excogitate, and perspicacious. What a sesquipedalian that guy was!

How to Find Your Writing Style

Now that you’ve got the basics of lean, expressive writing down, it’s time to add some serious flavor. To spice up your writing, find your style. Here are some ways to develop it.

6 Emulate other writers you admire.

Yes, you should develop your own voice. But a great way to start finding it is to write in the style of another writer you admire. Learn their language, techniques, and patterns. Then, start adapting that style to make it your own.

When I was a young, green fiction writer, I idolized Stephen King. (Who am I kidding? I still do.) I tried my best to write like him. I didn’t become a rich and famous Stephen King clone, but I did learn a thing or two about style. If there’s one thing I have to thank Mr. King for (in truth, there are many things) it’s the fact that I can write solid, authentic dialog.

7 Try creative formats.

I could’ve made this article into another dull treatise on how to write better. The Internet is full of them. Instead, I decided to use cooking as a metaphor for spicing up bland writing. You certainly don’t have to search for a gimmick for every article you write, but do try to change things up on the regular. Maybe your article on ways to learn a new language is better suited for a listicle. Writing up a history with lots of dates? Maybe it would work well as a timeline.

8 Be a storyteller.

Storytelling isn’t just for fiction. I’ve shared my experience with learning to cook and related it to liven up your writing. I offered an anecdote about a sesquipedalian (it means one who uses long words) games journalist. We relate better to writing that seems to come from a real person, and also writing that’s about real people. If your content reads like a textbook, consider whether adding an anecdote or story, or just revealing some of your own thoughts, would give your post flavor.

9 Be interested in what you write about.

Being interested in your topic is one of the best ways to make your writing sizzle. Even if you’re faced with a topic you find dull, odds are good you’ll be able to find some intriguing facts you didn’t know before you started researching. Once you’ve uncovered something fascinating, write about it in a way that says “Look at this cool new stuff I learned!” Explore what captures your interest, and your content will be less like a box of mac and cheese and more like a nourishing gourmet meal.

Why Mistake-free Writing on Your Phone Is So Valuable

Remember when phones were used exclusively for making phone calls? (Hard to believe, right?) Now we use our smartphones for all sorts of fun things . . . like sending text messages, answering emails, posting on Facebook, commenting on our favorite cat videos, and even finding true love.

While the freedom and flexibility of using a mobile device is awesome—the frustration that comes from typing on a tiny touch screen is not so great.

No matter how accurate your typing skills are on a full-size qwerty keyboard, it’s inevitable that you’re going to hit some wrong letters when typing on your smartphone. And then features like autocorrect have a way of making things extra interesting.

Text exchange with my 12 year old daughter yesterday #autocorrect pic.twitter.com/ugIuFPKlaF

— David J. Doorey (@TheLawofWork) July 22, 2015

These garbled messages are occasionally hilarious, but more often they’re confusing, and sometimes they can be pretty embarrassing.

If you’re tired of dealing with annoying typos and punctuation issues on your phone, we’ve got some good news. Grammarly has made the jump to iOS! (Don’t worry, we’re coming to Android soon.)

Typing on a tiny keyboard may always be a chore, but thanks to the Grammarly Mobile Keyboard, you can say so long to embarrassing messages and horrendous grammar. Here are three reasons mistake-free writing on your phone is so valuable.

1Clearer Communication

Being misunderstood can cause problems. If you’ve ever texted your partner a grocery list, you may have figured this out. (You needed red sauce, not red socks. How was that not obvious?)

It’s important to make your meaning crystal clear the first time around. Whether you’re texting a coworker your lunch order or creating an important event on Facebook, we think using your phone should make communication easier, not harder.

Our new mobile keyboard catches those easy-to-make mistakes in punctuation and spelling. So the next time you’re submitting a support ticket for your favorite app, the help desk will know you’re having trouble with “direct messaging” and not “dotweb meditating.”

And when you comment on your friend’s baking blog, fellow readers will understand that “carrot cake” is your favorite, not “carpet cake” (which may lead to some awkward questions).

2It Saves You Time

Don’t you love getting things right the first time? It’s hard to avoid errors when you type on your smartphone, and having to go back and fix mistakes in every message can get pretty tedious.

But when your errors are fixed instantly while you’re typing, you no longer have to waste time manually correcting them.

…Or sending multiple follow-up messages to clarify what you tried to say in your original message.

…Or apologizing for the nonsense you wrote in your original message.

With efficient, error-free writing, your message is ready to send as soon as you finish it. You won’t have to stress over missing an error in that important email to your client or worry about texting your boss something that will be embarrassing later.

3It Helps You Make a Positive Impression

Using correct grammar is essential for maintaining your credibility in business—both as an individual knowledge worker and when you’re communicating on behalf of your company.

Life and work can get busy though, and sometimes you’ll need to answer important work emails even when you’re not at your desk. Mistake-free writing on your phone will help you keep your communication at the same level of professionalism your clients and colleagues expect, despite being away from your computer.

So when a potential client needs a quick turnaround on an estimate, you can use your phone to type a detailed, error-free response on your train ride home.

Or when your boss sends you an urgent question about your TPS report while you’re out to lunch, there’s no need to rush back to the office. You can quickly respond on your phone with a well-written reply, then get back to chatting with your server about the “flair” on their vest.

via GIPHY

And it turns out good grammar isn’t just important for your professional life, it matters for your dating life too.

A Match.com study found that 88% of women users and 75% of men said grammar usage in messaging was the single “most important quality” they judged a potential date on.

Ouch.

Similarly, another survey found that almost half of all singles using the Zoosk dating site considered poor grammar to be a deal breaker. Many participants saw bad grammar as an indication that someone was unintelligent, uneducated, or “lazy,” and an impressive 72% were “turned off” by bad spelling.

So, there are some great benefits to staying on top of your grammar game when writing with your phone: greater clarity and speed when typing, showing up as the successful professional you are, and making the best impression possible when communicating with potential dates.

If you haven’t downloaded the new Grammarly keyboard for your smartphone yet, click here to try it out!

Brought and Bought—Learn the Difference Quickly

Brought and bought are two words are often confused with each other, particularly when one first learns English. They are both irregular verbs with an -ough- construction—a combination that trips many up with both pronunciation and spelling.

The Difference between “Brought” and “Bought”

Brought is the past tense and past participle of the verb to bring, which means “to carry someone or something to a place or person.”

Bought is the past tense and past participle of the verb to buy, which means “to obtain something by paying money for it.”

Both brought and bought rhyme with cot, tot, and plot.

Legend has it that European explorers bought Manhattan for twenty-four dollars.

Alex brought a cup of coffee to his exhausted mother.

Bought implies an economic transaction; brought implies the transport of something (or someone).

Conjugating Bought and Brought

To buy

Present Tense	I buy	you buy	he/she/it buys	we buy	you buy	they buy
Simple Past Tense	I bought	you bought	he/she/it bought	we bought	you bought	they bought
Present Participle	I am buying	you are buying	he/she/it is buying	we are buying	you are buying	they are buying
Past Participle	I/you/we/(s)he/it/they bought	—	—	—	—	—

To bring

Present Tense	I bring	you bring	he/she/it brings	we bring	you bring	they bring
Simple Past Tense	I brought	you brought	he/she/it brought	we brought	you brought	they brought
Present Participle	I am bringing	you are bringing	he/she/it is bringing	we are bringing	you are bringing	they are bringing
Past Participle	I/you/we/(s)he/it/they brought	—	—	—	—	—

Why Do We Have the Spellings “Brought” and “Bought”?

As funny as it would seem to use buyed and bringed as past tenses of to buy and to bring, you might be wondering how these irregular verbs came to be spelled so differently in the first place. The truth is, these two verbs have been irregular in English for more than a thousand years. No kidding!

In Old English, which was in use roughly from the fifth century to the eleventh, the verb bycġan meant the equivalent of our verb to buy and had the past tense bohte. Similarly, the equivalent past tense of to bring was brohte. Both are ancient words that can be traced to Proto-Germanic origins and perhaps even further back. The h in the middle of these two words represent a hard sound similar to the Scottish h in loch.

Suffice it to say that by the time the French invaded England in 1066, bohte and brohte were firmly ensconced in the language. Over time, the French influence on English regularized the spelling of the hard, middle sound of these words, and others like them, to gh. This is how words containing ough came to be part of our language. The spelling has survived the ages, even though the original pronunciation has not.

Bought and brought have proved their staying power, and unless you plan on living upwards of a thousand years, you are not likely to see a simplified spelling of either of them. Although you never know—there are little spelling rebellions thriving in our text messages these days, like nite for night and thru for through. If one of those words becomes standard, perhaps the whole gh dynasty will come tumbling down someday.

Now that we have sorted out bought and brought, perhaps you will want to learn more about other commonly confused words.