منظورتون همینه؟ (Is That What You Mean)

[Angel]

Is That What You Mean? 01

incorrect:
"Try to phone Michael— he might be at home."

correct:
"Try phoning Michael— he might be at home."


NOTE:
If you use "try" with the infinitive, it means that the action is something difficult and you have to try very hard because you might not be able to do it.

example:
'Try to walk' (you are injured)
'Try to sleep' (there's a lot of noise in the house)

Here you need to use "try" with the verb in another form, so that it means "experiment." It's not a difficult thing to do — you just do it and wait to see what the result is.

مطالب این پست از کتابی به همین نام گرفته شده است.

[Angel]

Is That What You Mean? 02

incorrect:
"There were very little people in the supermarket this morning."

correct:
"There were very few people in the supermarket this morning."


NOTE:
LITTLE is the opposite of MUCH, and is used with uncountable nouns e.g. 'I have very little time.'

If you use LITTLE with a plural noun it means SMALL e.g. 'There were some beautiful little houses near the beach.'

PEOPLE is a plural noun e.g. 'The people are friendly here.'

with a plural noun you have to use a different word which means the opposite of MANY.

[Angel]

Is That What You Mean? 03

INCORRECT:
'After the bell rang, the boxers continued hitting themselves.'

CORRECT:
'After the bell rang, the boxers continued hitting each other.'

The reflexive noun 'themselves' means that one person is doing something to himself or herself, and the other person is doing something to himself or herself.this is used for sentences such as 'The children washed themselves and got into bed.'
If both people are doing something to the other person, you use two words.