dessert /dih-ZERT/ Listen Sweet food eaten at the end of a meal — cake, ice cream, fruit salad. Quick Answer A dessert (double s) is the sweet dish you eat after your main meal. Say it dih-ZERT, with the stress at the end. Want more sweet? Add more s! Example: We had chocolate cake for…
desert /DEH-zert/ Listen A large, dry area of land with very little rain, often covered in sand — like the Sahara. Quick Answer A desert (one s) is a dry, sandy place where almost no rain falls. Say it DEH-zert, with the stress at the front. Think: sand, sun, camels. Example: The Sahara is the…
Quick Answer Use is when you talk about one person or thing. Use are when you talk about two or more. For example: “The dog is big” but “The dogs are big.” Is or Are — See the Pattern Look at these sentences. Can you see when we use is and when we use are?…
Quick Answer Who’s is the short form of “who is” or “who has.” Whose asks about the owner — who something belongs to. Try saying “who is” in place of the word. If it makes sense, use who’s. If it does not, use whose. Who’s and Whose — See the Difference These two words sound…
Quick Answer Use who when the person is doing the action (like “he” or “she”). Use whom when the action is done to the person (like “him” or “her”). Quick trick: if you can swap in “him,” use whom. If “he” fits, use who. Who and Whom — See the Difference Look at these sentences….
Quick Answer Lose is a verb — it means you do not have something anymore. Loose is a describing word — it means not tight. The correct phrase is “lose weight,” not “loose weight.” Lose and Loose — Two Different Words These two words look almost the same, but they mean very different things. Look…
Quick Answer Compliment means to say something nice about someone — it is about praise. Complement means something that goes well with something else — it makes something complete. Remember: complIment = I say something nice. ComplEment = complEte. Compliment and Complement — See the Difference These two words sound almost the same. But they…
Quick Answer Averse means a person does not want something — it is a feeling. Adverse means something is bad or harmful — it describes a situation. “She is averse to flying.” (She does not want to fly.) “The team faced adverse weather.” (The weather was bad.) Averse and Adverse — What Is the Difference?…
Quick Answer Wasn’t is short for “was not.” Use it with I, he, she, it. Weren’t is short for “were not.” Use it with you, we, they. Example: “She wasn’t home” but “They weren’t home.” Wasn’t and Weren’t — See the Pattern Look at these sentences. Can you see which subjects go with wasn’t and…
Quick Answer Use a comma before “but” when it joins two full sentences. Do not use a comma when “but” only joins two words or short phrases. For example: “She was tired, but she kept working.” Comma Before “But” — See the Pattern Look at these sentences. Some have a comma before “but” and some…
