31) Beside and Besides

It is easy to confuse ‘beside’ and ‘besides’, but they are not one and the same thing. ‘Beside’ is a preposition, whereas ‘besides’ works as both a preposition and an adverb, and although ‘besides’ is sometimes used in place of ‘beside’, they have distinct meaning.

‘Beside’ means ‘by or at the side of’. He stood beside his new car proudly.
As a preposition, ‘besides’ means ‘in addition to’ or ‘apart from’. What are you working on besides the research project? As an adverb, it means ‘furthermore’. He was not selected because he did not have a good grasp of his concepts. Besides, he did not seem very keen.

As mentioned above, the distinction between the two words is sometimes ignored. ‘Besides’ can never mean ‘at the side of’, but ‘beside’ is often used in place of ‘besides’. This can lead to misunderstanding, though; the sentence There was no one beside him in the hall could mean that ‘he’ was all by himself, or that there was no one next to him.

32) Was and Were

The basic difference between ‘were’ and ‘was’ is obvious: ‘were’ is used when the number of objects or entities exceeds one, as in We were late for the dinner; ‘was’ is used when only one object or entity is being referred to, as in I was late for the dinner.

There are, however, nuances in their use. For example, Everyone was well-dressed seems incorrect because ‘everyone’ refers to more than one person. However, here the implication of the pronoun comes into play; ‘everyone’ refers to all the members of a group individually, as do ‘none’ (None of us was well-dressed) and ‘each’ (Each of us was well-dressed). Hence, ‘was’ is used after these words instead of ‘were’. On the other hand, ‘all’ refers collectively to the entire group (All of us were well-dressed).
This does not mean, however, that ‘all’ and ‘were’ necessarily always go together. When ‘all’ is used with countable nouns, it is correct to use ‘were’, as in All the apples were stale. However, when it is used with non-countable nouns, which are in the singular form, ‘was’ must be used, as in All the milk was over.

What about The examination was failed by all the students? This, too, can be confusing. After all, here ‘all’ refers to the collective student body but ‘was’ is used. This is because the verb ‘was’ acts on the singular ‘examination’, not on the phrase ‘all the students’. If the subject (‘examination’) were to be pluralised (‘examinations’), ‘was’ would have to replaced by ‘were’.
Lastly, the use of ‘were’ as the past subjunctive of the present ‘to be’ is important. A subjunctive is used to express possibility, hope, supposition, etc, rather than to state a fact. Hence, we say If I/he were famous... instead of If I/he was famous...

33) Double Negatives

A double negative is when two negatives used in a sentence cancel each other out to make a positive. This must not be misunderstood to mean that double negatives are an accepted grammatical device; they are grammatically incorrect and must not be used.

How does one avoid double negatives? It is quite simple. When using the negative form of a verb (e.g. aren’t, don’t, won’t, etc), do not follow it up with a negative determiner/quantifier (e.g. nowhere, nothing, never, etc). Consider the following sentences:
They aren’t going nowhere.
They won’t never stop. Both of the above employ the double negative, and are hence grammatically incorrect. Formerly, the double negative was a device for emphasis, but the effort to make English conform grammatically to formal logic has rendered it unacceptable today. Logically, the meanings of the above sentences, deduced by applying the formula negative + negative = positive, are:
They are going somewhere. (aren’t + nowhere = somewhere)
They do something. (don’t + nothing = something)
They will stop. (won’t + never = will)
The ban on multiple negatives also applies to combination with adverbs such as hardly and scarcely. It is therefore regarded as incorrect to say I couldn't hardly do it or The vehicle has scarcely no fuel.

34) Could, Would and Should

‘Would’, ‘should’ and ‘could’ are auxiliary verbs, meaning that their function is to assist main verbs. For example, in the sentence, ‘I would like to meet him’, ‘like’ is the main verb that is assisted by ‘would’. They can be defined as the past tenses respectively of will, shall and can, but each has many uses that sometimes even express the present tense. It is important to be able to differentiate between the three so as not to use them incorrectly. We shall discuss some of the common functions of the three words here.

Would

To ask questions:

Would you like to see the doctor? = Do you want to see the doctor?

With ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘when’, ‘where’, ‘why’, ‘how’:

How would he react?
What would she do?

In both sentences, ‘would’ is more or less interchangeable with ‘will’.

To make polite requests:

I would like more salad, please. = I want more salad, please.

To show a different response if the past had been different:

I would have done something if I had known you were in trouble. = I didn't know that you were in. This is why I did not do anything to help.

To explain an outcome to a hypothetical situation:

Were I to win a million dollars, I would go on a world cruise. = If I win a million dollars, I will go on a world cruise.

To show habitual past action:

The dog would howl whenever its owner would leave it alone at home.

Think of ‘would’ as ‘did’.

To show preference between two choices, used with rather or sooner:

I would sooner face the punishment than lie and escape it. = I prefer speaking the truth to lying.

To show intention:

He said he would do it. = He said it was his intention to do it.

Should

To ask questions (it is generally interchangeable with ‘ought’ in such cases):

Should I submit my assignment now? = Am I supposed to submit my assignment now?

To show obligation:

You should brush your teeth twice a day.

Here, too, ‘should’ can be replaced with ‘ought to’, but in this context it is used to make a persuasive statement.

To express a hypothetical situation:

Should you wish to do so, you may. = If you wish to do so, you may.

To express what is likely:

If you take the highway, you should be there in two hours.

Here ‘should’ means something like ‘probably will’.

Could

As the past tense of can:

There was I time when I could run a mile without breaking a sweat.

To ask questions:

Could I submit my assignment now? = Am I allowed to submit my assignment now?

To show possibility:

You could do a lot better. = You have the potential to do a lot better.

To express tentativeness or politeness:

I could be wrong. = I may be wrong.

35) Of and Off

The words ‘of’ and ‘off’ are used so frequently in modern English that people often confuse them. For example, the sentence, ‘He took off without a word’ could be mistakenly written as ‘He took of without a word’, and the meaning would be lost. Let us discuss the distinctions between the two words.

The word ‘of’ has several functions, but it is most in use as a preposition that denotes various relations described in the sentence. For instance, it indicates a point of reckoning: ‘South of the border.’ It is also commonly used to point out what something is made of or what it contains: ‘Heart of gold’ (this is metaphorical, of course), ‘Cup of tea’. Another relation frequently described by ‘of’ is that of possession, as in ‘Queen of England.’

‘Off’ is also a very common word with large number of functions as well, but it is most frequently used as an adverb or a preposition. As an adverb, it is used usually to describe a state of discontinuance, or suspension: ‘Turn off the light.’ As a preposition, it is used to indicate the physical separation or distance from a position of rest, attachment or union, as in ‘Take it off the table’ or ‘The gas station is just off the corner ahead.’

36) Till and Until

English speakers are often found asking for the difference(s) between the words ‘till’ and ‘until’. The fact of the matter is, however, that when ‘till’ acts as a preposition or conjunction, there is no difference between the two words.
To clarify, ‘till’ has multiple meanings: it works as a noun, verb, preposition and conjunction. ‘Until’, on the other hand, works only as a preposition and a conjunction; in these capacities, both words mean exactly the same thing and are thus entirely interchangeable. ‘Till’ is actually the older word. ‘Until’ was formed by the addition to it of the prefix ‘un-’, meaning ‘up to’. Today, as the first word in a sentence, ‘until’ is generally preferred.

37) In and Inside

‘In’ and ‘inside’ are words that are more or less synonymous as prepositions, and can be used in most cases interchangeably. There is a subtle difference, however, which explains why ‘inside’ cannot replace ‘in’ in phrases like ‘in the thick of it’.

‘Inside’ is generally used to contrast with ‘outside’; therefore, it carries with it the strong suggestion of being physically enclosed. For example, to say ‘We were inside Russia’ sounds wrong, doesn’t it? This is because there is sense of being surrounded by walls, or tangible boundaries on all sides, when one says one is ‘inside’ something. It is almost strictly locative, which in grammar/linguistics refers to words that indicate location. For example, to say ‘The clothes are inside the cupboard’ sounds correct.

On the other hand, ‘in’ is used more generally; it carries no such suggestion. To go ‘in’ can mean simply to participate in something (I’m in the group), or to be at a place (I’m in Chennai); it does not conjure images of enclosures or walls, or being physically surrounded.

38) Do and Does

The difference between ‘do’ and ‘does’ is very basic. ‘Do’ is a verb (see Auxiliary Verbs), and ‘does’ is its third person singular present tense.

Thus, when the subject is represented by the pronouns ‘I’, ‘you’, ‘we’, or ‘they’, we must use ‘do’.
I do not know the way.
Do you they know the way?
On the other hand, when the subject is represented by the pronouns ‘he’, ‘she’ or ‘it’, we must use ‘does’.
He does not know the way.
She does not know the way.
It does not look like the right way.

39) Will and Going to

‘Will’ and ‘going to’ are the two forms of simple future used in English. They are used more or less interchangeable, but there are certain subtle differences between them that even many experienced English speakers are not aware of. The main rule to keep in mind is this: if the decision to act was made before the time of speaking, ‘going to’ must be used; if not, ‘will’ must be used.

Will
There are two primary distinct uses for ‘will’:
1. To express voluntary action. Voluntary action refers to the following:

a. Any action that the speaker offers to perform.

I will take you up on that offer.

I will get you your breakfast in bed.

b. Any action that the speaker declines to perform.

I will not (won’t) be able to come for your party.

I will not do your work for you.

c. Any action that the speaker requests the listener to perform.

Will you come home on Friday night?

Will you take me to the amusement park?

2. To express a promise.

I will come back to work as soon as I make a full recovery.

I will call you later tonight.

Going to
There is one primary distinct use for ‘going to’: it is used to express plans, i.e. the intention of the speaker to do something in the future. This can take two forms:
1. To state such an intention:

I am going for the match on Thursday.

I am going to ensure that we have fun on this trip.

2. To ask about such an intention:

Are you going to watch the match on Thursday?

Are you going to Jaipur with the others?

Will/Going to
Both ‘will’ and ‘going to’ can be used when making predictions about the future.
            It looks like it will rain today. = It looks like it is going to rain today.
            I don’t think he will do it. = I don’t think he’s going to do it.

40) Allusion and Illusion

Allusion is a noun which means an expression where an object is referenced to, without mentioning it clearly.
1.     The novel she was reading made multiple allusions to the Bible.
2.     His speech was basically an allusion of the speech made by Martin Luther King.

Illusion is a noun which means an untrue idea or a belief.

1. A magician’s task is to create illusions.

2. Indian education system is based on the illusion that marks are more important than learning.

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