PLEASE RSVP or PLEASE REPLY?

 RSVP stands for the French phrase Répondez s’il vous plaît (“reply, please”), so it doesn’t need an added “please.” S'il vous plait means if you please.

However, since few people seem to know its literal meaning, and fewer still take it seriously, it’s best to use plain English: “Please reply.” 

It is a mistake to think that this phrase invites people to respond only if they are planning to attend; it is at least as important to notify the person doing the inviting if you cannot go. Respond with a "yes" or "no'. 

And don't assume that the kids or other uninvited guests are also invited.

To Take or Not to Take?

Warning: If you attend TCT, there will be a test this coming Thursday!
‘to take after’ means to resemble a parent or family member.
‘to take along’ means you take someone or something with you when you go somewhere.
‘to take apart’ means to separate something into the parts it is made up of.
‘to take aside’ means to isolate a person from the rest of a group to talk to them privately.
‘to take away’ means to remove something from its place and put it elsewhere.
‘to take away’ also means to remove something and stop them having it again.
‘to take back’ means to return something you have bought or borrowed.
‘to take down’ means to go to a lower level or place with something.
‘to take down’ also means to remove something that is attached to a wall or other object.  

1. She took Danny _____ and explained what she wanted him to do.
2. Now the election is over, all the posters have been taken ______.
3. Take that _____! I don’t want it in here.  
4. Shall we take a bottle _____? That is always appreciated.  
5. He is good at math. He doesn’t take _____ me!
6. When you’ve finished using it, can you take it _____ to the kitchen and put it ______, please? (Bonus)
7. Can you take that _____ please? It shouldn’t be up here in your bedroom.
8. The machine needs taking _____ and cleaning and oiling then it’ll work.
9. Security was very strict in the airport, they even took ____ my bottle of water! 

Why did the chicken cross the road?

The chicken may have crossed the road, but did so by walking across it.


Incorrect: The chicken ran  acrossed the road.

Correct: The chicken ran across the road.

Across, Acrossed, and Cross

Across is a preposition. It describes the relationship between two persons, places, or things. It is sometimes used with the preposition from.

Example: That house is across the street.

Cross is most commonly a verb or noun. As a verb, it means "to go or place across." As a noun, it means "an object made of two intersecting segments."

So why did the chicken cross the road?

The Melody of the Preposition

 Click on this You Tube link for some fun! And then try to sort out all the prepositions below!
 Prepostion Song

God hath all life, glory, goodness, blessedness, in and of Himself; and is alone in and unto Himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creatures which He hath made, nor deriving any glory from them, but only manifesting His own glory in, by, unto, and upon them. He is the alone fountain of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom are all things and hath most sovereign dominion over them, to do by them, for them,or upon them whatsoever Himself pleaseth.  (The Westminster Confession of Faith)

January Snowstorm! Cumming, GA

It's time to use your winter weather vocabulary!
avalanche
below freezing
blizzard
cold spell
flurries
forecast
freezing cold
frost
frostbite
icy
precipitation
sleet
slush/slushy
wind chill factor
and
school closing  - This word is unique to Georgia winters!

English Errors

COULD OF, SHOULD OF, WOULD OF

COULD HAVE, SHOULD HAVE, WOULD HAVE

This is one of those errors typically made by a person more familiar with the spoken than the written form of English. A sentence like “I would have gone if anyone had given me free tickets” is normally spoken in a slurred way so that the two words “would have” are not distinctly separated, but blended together into what is properly rendered “would’ve.” Seeing that “V” tips you off right away that “would’ve” is a contraction of “would have.” But many people hear “would of” and that’s how they write it. Wrong.

What are Modal Verbs?

Modal verbs are special verbs which behave very differently from normal verbs. Here are some important differences:
1. Modal verbs do not take "-s" in the third person.
Examples:

• He can  speak Chinese.
• She should  be here by 9:00.
  

2. You use "not" to make modal verbs negative, even in Simple Present and Simple Past.
Examples:

• He should not be late.
• They might not come to the party.
  

3. Many modal verbs cannot be used in the past tenses or the future tenses.
Examples:

• He will can go with us. Not Correct
• She musted study very hard. Not Correct
  

Common Modal Verbs

Can Could May Might Must

Ought to Shall Should Will Would

Turn Over a New Leaf?

Turn over what?  a leaf ? 
1. one of the expanded, usually green organs borne by the stem of a plant.

2. any similar or corresponding lateral outgrowth of a stem.

3. a petal: a rose leaf.

4. a thin sheet of metal: silver leaf

5. a unit generally comprising two printed, blank, or illustrated pages of a book, one on each side.

This is an appropriate idiom for the New Year, because it means to make a fresh start, or to try to develop new habits. The idiom comes from turning over the leafs, or pages, of a book. To 'turn over a new leaf' is to start on a fresh page. This idiom is often used in connection with someone who is trying to break a bad habit.

    Example: "Hector used to get into trouble with the principal, but he turned over a new leaf and now he's one of the best students in the school."

Happy New Year!