Symbols in English

Dashes 

Dash is used to indicate a pause in the middle of a text. There are two types of dashes. N and M dash.

N Dash

The best way to remember the N dash is that it is as same as the width of a letter N. If you use a keyboard you should type key dash and enter.

I will explain few instances you should use N dash. So you can understand when N dash should use on your tasks.

Range of numbers.

I can eat 10-15 hamburgers for dinner.

Range of time

The schedule window for the management meeting is 1:00-1:30pm.

If there is a connection between two words.

He is a well-educated businessman who will be conducting the seminar.

M Dash

Using M dash is quite a complex task. I advised you not to use it for your exams. 

It is basically used in informal writing. If you are a transcriptionist or a writer you can use em dashes sparingly.

M dash was used when the author seemed to indicate a strong connection. Instead of using semicolons, it is appropriate to use the em dash.

All in his life, He has had two friends__ Nimal and Kamal.


This is also used for presenting abusive content.

How you can get 7.5 Band in IELTS

I want to share my journey regarding how I got a 7.5 band for speaking English. There are a lot of myths and false news out there about speaking English.

It is not a big obstacle. Yes, anyone can score 7+ in IELTS even if you are not a native speaker. I never speak in English during my childhood.

I was brought up in a very rural background and also not from English-speaking family background. 

So, it is up to you to listen and learn. I would say this will take time. You can hit 7+ without speaking with others. I did that, and I wasn't known as a social person. 

You have to refer to my previous articles on how I managed that.

Things to do

Read news (CNN/BBC/FOX)

Firstly, You have to understand the content. If you have found difficult words, then you can google them. Never use another language dictionary. At first, If you are a beginner, it can get difficult for you since you don't know most of the words. But never give up!!

Find IELTS model papers and practice on your own for reading.

There are hundreds of sites you can download IELTS pass and practice tests. You have to do at least 30. Keep an eye on the clock. Time is the main enemy here.

Doing a practice test on youtube is the best way of listening. There are hundreds of tests out there.

Writing

To achieve higher bandwidth, you need to be good at Grammar. You have to write letters and essays, and the most important thing is to rectify your mistakes. Make sure to check for punctuation.

Use software like Grammarly to improve your punctuation.

Six Common Mistakes of Learning English

I listed out below common mistakes that can make while speaking, writing. 

These bad habits ultimately hold back a lot of people from speaking and learning for me is a simple language. People try hard and lose their ambition. 

They're hiding away from it. This happens to me not once in my life. Since I know the feeling. Therefore you must grab these points and work smart. Don't waste your money on tutors. 

They earn money but they never deliver proper results.

WORK SMART NOT HARD

1. Go to English Tutors

This is not going to help you in improving your knowledge. That is why a lot of Non-Native students struggle. Your tutor can't help you. 

The tutor goes rambling along with is lecture but the student unable to grasp anything.

2. Not having fun

You have to make it fun and interesting. Otherwise, you might fall into sleep and wast your money and energy. Try to watch some movies.

Don't try to do complex grammar exercises or don't learn by heart.

In order to make it interesting learn some swear words in English and you definitely find the suitable sentenced formed that can use those swear words.

3. Not thinking in English

This is a struggle that most non-native speakers face. They tend to convert their thoughts to English while speaking. 

This causes them to lose confidence and fluency. Ultimately be negative and does not take proper action.

4. Using Local English Dictionary 

This method will definitely hurt you and ultimately lead you to frustration. 

People tend to use those to learn English but little they know how much negative impact these dictionaries have on your ability to improve your knowledge.

5. Watching Lot of Local media

I cover this topic on my previous post:


https://addedvalu.blogspot.com/2020/02/how-to-speak-english-fluently.html

6. Lack of confidence while speaking

If you want to be fluent of course, you have to speak. But most non-native speakers insecure about their English knowledge. 


Therefore stay away from places where they can speak. Be confident about your self. even native speakers also made blunders in grammar while speaking. Therefore allow your self to fail.

Possessives ('s or s') in English

If you are a beginner this topic will not be suitable for you. However, if you are preparing for an IELTS or any other English exam this might be helpful for you.

Writer + pen

Singular: Writer's pen (One writer )

Plural: Writers' pen ( Multiple writers)

Nouns that not end with 'S'

Men's basketball

Not Mens's basketballl 🚫🙅🙅🙅🙅🙅

Joint Possession

Jack  and Jim +  Glossary shop

Jack and Jim's glossary shop →    Both owns the same shop

Jack's and Jim's glossary shop→   Both own different shops

Name ending with 's'

Ulysses is the name

Ulysses'

Not Ulysses's 🚫🙅🙅🙅🙅🙅

Common Errors

its, Whos,  🚫🙅🙅🙅🙅🙅

There are no English words like this. Even English experts get this wrong.

Make sure to subscribe and comment on any question on the topic you have

This is a very confusing topic for even for native speakers. here, I am not going to bore you with everything. 

I will provide a few shortcuts to be an expert on possesions. It is really important not to learn these things by heart. My best method for you is to read an article on 

CNN or other news channels and hit control+F and type 's and s'. Then you can understand while looking at this post and the news post.

     

Homophones in English

Same Pronunciation    ⟹⟹⟹⟹⟹⟹      Different Meaning

Many beginners tend to make so many mistakes when they are dealing with homophones. This is confusing. Pronunciation is quite similar. 

however, you have to be careful about your spellings. You might end up writing a very different idea to what you have in mind.

Below are the few instances on Homophones

                         

1. ad, add
2. ail, ale
3. be, bee
4. beach, beech
5. bean, been
6. beat, beet
7. canvas, canvass
8. cast, caste
9. caster, castor
10. caught, court
11. caw, core, corps
12. cede, seed
13. ceiling, sealing
14. cell, sell
15. censer, censor
16. descent, dissent
17. desert, dessert
18. deviser, divisor
19.  dew, due
20. die, dye
21. discreet, discrete
22. doe, doh, dough
23. wain, wane
24. waist, waste
25. wait, weight
26. waive, wave
27. wall, waul
28. war, wore
29. told, tolled
30. tole, toll
31. ton, tun
32. tor, tore
33. tough, tuff
34. troop, troupe
35. tuba, tuber

How to speak English Fluently

Speaking English has become a struggle for most non-native speakers. 

Oops...This will affect their pay grade, promotion, and social status. This struggle is real for subcontinent citizens.
However, there is no exact solution for it. 

Phony and real lectures and teachers used to earn a BIG income from doing nothing. But still, the majority of the population of the subcontinent finds it difficult to improve on English.

You can't be fluent in 5 minutes. It takes time, be patient and do the below things.

Reasons why your English Tutor will not help you with your speaking,

English is a language, not another subject. It can not teach you like math but unfortunately, most places do teach like it is another subject.

Too much emphasis on Grammar.

No study on culture, history, and ethics of native speakers and speaking places.

No recommended Tv programs, movies.

No exposure to practical situations.

Important Things to do If you want to be fluent. ( GET ADDICTED TO BELOW!!!)

1. Background radio podcasts

You have to use the internet radio to listen to native speakers. Don't need to understand what they say.

Just switch on the radio and do your work. The goal is not to listen, YES YOU HEARD ME!!. Just allow them to hear in the background. In my experience,

 I think this would be the best method to improve your speaking.

Hack: Don't try to listen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Few Native Podcasts Listed below.....

• This American Life
• Scientific American Podcast: 60-Second Science
• Freakonomics Radio
• Here’s the Thing
• Comedy Bang Bang: The Podcast

2. Start to Listen to English songs, Thousands of them.

You have to keep listening to English music. If you are a beginner, I would recommend artists like Brian Adams, Bruno Mars, West life, Backstreet Boys.

It is important to understand the lyrics of these artists if you don't know, google it. By doing this you will gain access to more vocabulary and also your mind starts to notice some patterns in the English language.

3. Start to watch movies and TV shows

This is a great medium to learn the language. It is important to adapt to different accents and at least understand 70% of the conversations. otherwise, you will get bored.

4. Reading Novels, Newspapers.

This is another way to improve your vocabulary and the understanding of basic grammar rules. 

I would recommend books like God Father by and most of the J K Rollings books. If you are a bookworm, This is the best way to improve English.

Dont's

Listening to music in another language. This will not help when you are trying to learn English. Especially when you are at the beginning stages. 

You have to give up your local language quite a bit. Reading Local Newspapers, Teledramas, Movies.

Until you get Fluent you have to stop doing these things