In Verbs^x, Contractions^x

Well Paco, you certainly get me questioning my own understanding and usage of English! (no bad thing!) You are right (of course) "southwardly" etc. are in the OED, as is "southernly". However, they are not in common Eng. usage, and I suspect that "southerly" may be a contraction of...

From: http://www.craigmarlatt.com/canada/symbols_facts&lists/canadianisms.html loonie A dollar. The Canadian $1 coin has a loon (the bird) on one side. toonie Two dollars. The Canadian $2 coin is gold-coloured in the middle, with a silver-coloured ring around the outside. It takes its name...

People sometimes refer to the CGEL on this site. Conveniently, some sample chapters from this publication are now online at CGEL sample chapters The preliminary chapter includes the odd lapse of logic. This is one of the first. Apologies for the fairly lengthy quotation: Another kind of...

ALL - (noun) - A petroleum-based lubricant. Usage: "I sure hope my brother from Jawjuh puts all in my pickup truck." ARE - (noun) - A colorless, odorless gas containing oxygen. Usage: "He cain't breathe ... give 'im some ARE!" BAMMER - (noun) - The state west of Jawjuh. Capitol is...

Hi, it's me, Ralf, the starter of this thread. Thanks for your answers so far. A post in another thread pointed me to the "American Heritage - Book of English Usage", where I found this section: According to the standard rule, when the pronoun there precedes a verb such as be, seem, or appear,...

"cannot", not "can not", for "can't" "I'd" = "I had" or "I would"; same for all the others - we'd, you'd, ... I've been to Mexico twice. Correct. No "I've" when "have" is the main verb; contraction is possible only for auxiliary "have", and even then not always: "You have been to Mexico, and...

From Merriam Webster's: AIN'T Etymology: contraction of are not 1 : am not : are not : is not 2 : have not : has not 3 : do not : does not : did not -- used in some varieties of Black English Usage: Although widely disapproved as nonstandard and more common in the habitual speech of the less...

1. If I go to the moon, I will look for the existence of any living beings. CORRECT (Conditional Type 1) 2. If I went to the moon, I would look for the existence of any living beings. CORRECT (Conditional Type 2) 3. If I had went to the moon, I would have looked for the existence of any living...

As you probably already know, these reduced forms occur in speech, not in writing (except to illustrate how to say them, of course). "wanna" is "want to"; "gotta" is "got to", "gonna" is "going to". I want to give my Mom something nice for her birthday. Said: I wanna give my Mom ... I have...

It's no surprise that the use of "up" as the second component of phrasal verbs seems chaotic. There are something like 30 to 40 different kinds of verbal concepts that take "up" as a complementary particle. I've never attempted to classify them all, but here are some examples. Note how some...