Let’s face it, there is nothing too exciting about “to, too,
and two.” Although alike in sound, these words have different meanings, and
whether it’s fun or not, it’s important to know how to differentiate between
them. If all else fails, turn to youtube. Not only can youtube provide us with
funny cat videos, surprise
engagement proposals (that no boyfriend to follow could ever live up to), and
teenage singing sensations like Justin Bieber, but it can also be a fun approach to learning grammar.
The word “to” can be used as a preposition of movement or
direction, it can be used to mean ‘receive,’ and can also be used in
conjunction with times. Some examples of these being used can be seen below:
-I will walk to the bakery.
-I would like to go toParis.
-The restaurant is open from 4:00pm to 11:00pm.
The word “too” is used to mean “very” or “also.” The proper use of "too," is shown in the following examples:
-I ate too much.
-They are coming too.
Let’s hope that there aren’t too many people who get this
“two” wrong. I realize the confusion, but I am hopeful that this will clear
everything up. The word “two” is used only for the number. Here’s an example:
-Who ate my last two donuts?
There are too many rules to follow when
learning English grammar. I feel as though I need to take a break every two
minutes just to get through it.
While this hasn’t been my most enthralling post, I am
hopeful that the proper use of these words is a little clearer. Call me crazy,
but they seem important, considering we use them in most of our everyday sentences. If
nothing else, you’ve picked up a few ideas of what to check out on your next
youtube surf. You’re welcome!
For anyone who has ever written anything, I'm sure there have been instances in which you have been unsure as to the spelling of some of our language's common words. The reason for the confusion is that the Americans began referring to the American Webster's Dictionary for their spelling, whereas the British chose to refer to the Oxford English Dictionary. Canadians (with their love for all things royal) decided to follow the Queen, and tend to favour the British way of spelling -- notice how I spelled "favour."
A few examples of words that can be seen spelled differently by Americans versus Canadians can be seen in the following chart:
You'll notice that a main difference between the British/Canadian versus American way of spelling is how the British/Canadian words tend to comprise of an "our," whereas the American spelling normally contains an "or."
One interesting little tidbit of information that I would like to bring to everyone's attention is that the American space shuttle, Endeavour, is spelled using the British/Canadian spelling rather than the typical American spelling. The reason for this is that the shuttle is named after the British HMS Endeavour, the ship which took Captain James Cook on his first voyage of discovery! Maybe this was a bit off topic, but seeing as the Americans are the "picture of patriotism," this seemed an interesting choice of name.
Oops... Wrong Captain.
With Canada being as multicultural as it is, as well as having the Americans as neighbours, there are bound to be many crossovers when it comes to spelling. Ultimately, the choice will come down to the audience you are writing for -- or whichever spelling you can remember at the time.
If you are anything like me, you're one of those people that doesn't go anywhere without her cell phone. If we're not texting (having actual oral conversations over the phone seem to have gotten lost somewhere with the dinosaurs), we're checking our emails, paying our bills, or finding some other way to avoid taking part in real-life conversations. The chances are that most of you are probably reading this from your cell phones. This being as such, I have to take this time to voice my concern for the poor grammar that tends to go along with texting.
The last text message I received was "np. lol." I had just thanked a friend for answering a question for me. The "np," I understand to mean "no problem." The "lol," I'm assuming is being shortened from "laugh out loud" -- this friend isn't quite the "lots of love" type. If I'm interpreting this text message correctly, then I'm perplexed as to why the "lol" is even in there? It seems that this acronym is being thrown into just about every text message now without the sender even really knowing why!
For myself, the appeal of sending a text message is that it's quick and easy. What's unappealing, is that to make texting even "faster," we're making acronyms out of all our common phrases. I say "faster" because, it can sometimes take me five minutes just trying to decipher a 30 character text.
I wonder then, what this means for our future generations? Children who don't even have any friends to talk to yet are getting cell phones for their birthdays. Will "words" like "ttyl" and "brb" become common grammar for them? I guess that English and grammar teachers will have their work cut out for them.
With technology continuously improving and coming out with the latest versions, it seems that we won't be seeing the end of texting anytime soon. That being said, I still find it difficult embracing text messages that barely contain any actual words. Maybe I'm just old?
