1. After waking up, please copy the following info about usage into your English Notebook. THINGSTHINGS THATTHATTHINGSTHINGS THATTHAT MAKE YA GO, “HMMM!” 1.Lie or Lay ?Lie or Lay 2.I or Me?I or Me 3.Who or Whom?Who or Whom 4.Good or Well?Good or Well 5.Hung or Hang?Hung or Hang 6.Affect or Effect?Affect or Effect 7.Among or Between?Among or Between 8.Alot or A Lot?Alot or A Lot 9.Bad or Badly?Bad or Badly 10. Alright or All Right?Alright or All Right

2. Lie means to rest or recline, and lay means to place. If you want to get technical, lay is a transitive verb, meaning it always takes a direct object, which of course is a noun. Lie never takes a direct object. Example: The books are lying on the floor. Explanation: Since a subject can’t be a direct object, there isn’t a noun receiving the action of lying or resting; therefore, lying is correct because it never takes a direct object.

3. If the whole direct/indirect object thing confuses you try this: If you can substitute the verb “put,” use “lay.” If you can’t, use “lie.”  Example: Lay the books down.  Explanation: Makes sense because “Put the books down” works as a sentence.  Example: I’m tired, so I think I’ll lie down.  Explanation: You would never say, “I think I’ll put down,” so since “put” doesn’t work, use “lie.”

4. A major problem with pronouns is the use of the wrong case. In English certain pronouns are meant to be the subject or predicate nominative of a sentence. Other words are meant to be the objects--whether direct, indirect, objects of prepositions, or object complements.  Pronouns used as subjects or predicate nominatives (nominative case): I, you, he, she, it, we, they, who

5.  Pronouns used as objects (objective case): me, you, him, her, it, us, them, whom  Some things are really obvious. All English speakers know we say "I like him," not "Me like he."  If we know that "Me like him" is incorrect, then that also means that "Katy and me like him" is incorrect. The word I belongs in the subject. The sentence should read "Katy and I like him."

6.  Politeness says that the I, we, me or us comes last.  If the sentence had some kind of compound object, the sentence would read: "Katy likes Joe and me," not "Katy likes Joe and I."  After all, we would say "Katy likes me," not "Katy likes I." Similarly the object in "Katy likes the Gonzales’s and us" is correct.

7. All this confusion can easily be avoided if you just remove the second party from the sentences where you feel tempted to use “me” as an object.  You wouldn’t say, “A.O.L. sent the refund check to I,” so you shouldn’t say “A.O.L. sent the refund check to my brother and I” either.  And you shouldn’t say “to my brother and myself.” The only correct way to say this is, “A.O.L. sent the refund check to my brother and me.” Sounds too casual? Get over it. It’s correct.

8. On a related point, those who continue to announce “It is I” have traditional grammatical correctness on their side, but they are vastly outnumbered by those who proudly boast “it’s me!”  There’s not much that can be done about this now. Similarly, if a caller asks for Cassie and Cassie answers “This is she,” her somewhat old school correctness is likely to freak out the questioner into utter confusion.

9. The pronoun “who” is always the subject of a sentence or clause. “Who” is never the object, but “whom” is always the object of a transitive verb or preposition.  Example: Who created a profile on MySpace without my permission?  Explanation: Who is the subject of the sentence. It stands for the person who created a profile.

10.  Example: Chance called whom?  Explanation: “Whom” is receiving the action of being called, making it the direct object, and we know the pronoun “who” can only be the subject of a verb, never the object.

11.  Example: To whom shall I e- mail the photos?  Explanation: Here, “whom” is the object of the preposition “to.” Since “whom” is always an object of either a verb or preposition, using “who” would be incorrect.

12. Well, don’t know which one to use? Good, but here’s how you figure it out. Just remember “good” is an adjective and “well” is an adverb. Use “good” to describe nouns or pronouns and “well” to describe verbs. Example: Ken makes good sushi, and he serves it well. adjective noun verb adverb

13. Explanation: “Sushi” is a noun, so “good” can be used to describe it. “Serves” is a verb, so “well” can be used to describe how it’s served. Tip: Use “good” when describing feelings and “well” when describing health.  Example: After hearing your apology, I feel good.  Example: Since eating lunch at school, I don’t feel well.

14. Just remember this. Things are hung, people are hanged. It helps avoid embarrassing sentences.  Example: Kari hung her sweater on the chair.  Example: After being caught by an angry mob, Mussolini was hanged in the town square.

15. First, you have to know your parts of speech. Don’t use affect as a noun unless you mean it in reference to your state of mind or mood. “Affect” as a verb means “to influence”; “effect” as a verb means “to bring about” or “to cause.” So, “effect” and “affect” have two different meanings, which means you must think what you’re trying to say before choosing which one to use. Yikes!

16.  Example: She effected changes in the government.  Example: His shoes affected his ability to jump.  Example: The weather effected tremendous damage in the mountains.  Example: Her teaching had a poor effect on me.

17. Rarely in life is something this simple. If you are comparing two things or people, use “between.” If the comparison involves more than two, use among. Example: While it’s easy for me to choose between sushi and McDonald’s, it’s more difficult if I have to choose among Italian, Mexican, and Indian food.

18. Wouldn’t it be nice if we all had a spell check imbedded in our brain? If we did, we’d realize that “alot” is a spelling error. The correct spelling is “a lot.” Two little words, that’s all. DO NOT USE “A LOT” in x2 writing. There is better, more precise vocabulary available (see your notes). Example: A lot of our spelling errors are due to a lot of ignorance.

19. In general, bad is an adjective and badly an adverb (after all, it ends in – ly). However, when applied to the five senses of sight, smell, sound, touch, and taste, use bad. Example: The chili at the local fast food restaurant left a bad taste in my mouth. adjective noun Example: Ever since Shaq left the Lakers, they’ve played badly. Verb Adverb

20. Remember, when applied to the five senses of sight, smell, sound, touch, and taste, use bad. Sight: Those mushrooms look bad. Smell: Never eat sushi that smells bad. Sound: Admit it, Brittany Spears sounds bad. Touch: Chewing of foil feels bad. Taste: Black licorice tastes bad to many people.

21. One more thing about bad or badly. If you’re describing someone’s feelings, use bad. If you don’t, it sounds like you’re talking about someone’s sense of touch, such as “She feels badly.” Literally, it means her sense of touch is bad or that her fingers lack sensation. Right: I feel bad about your grade in English. Wrong: I feel badly about your grade in English.

22. Alright is all wrong. It’s always “all right.” All right? Example: After falling in class, Sara yelled, “I’m all right!”

23. All right. I’m awake now!