250 = Two hundred and fifty
Two hundreds and fifty
7,812 = Seven thousand, eight hundred and twelve
Seven thousands, eight hundreds and twelve
$10,000,000 = Ten million dollars
Ten millions of dollars
I / my / me / mine / myself
I is the subject – the person who does the action in the sentence.
I gave John the book.
Me is the object – the person who receives the action in the sentence.
John gave me the book.
OR: John gave the book to me.
Most people get confused when there are multiple subjects or objects in the
sentence, but the rule is still true:
Dana and I saw Jim at the party.
Dana = subject
I = subject
Jim = object
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The teacher called Sarah and me.
The teacher = subject
Sarah = object
me = object
My and mine show possession. Use my before the word, and use mine after the
word:
Paul is my friend.
Paul is a friend of mine.
Those are my glasses.
Those glasses are mine.
The word myself is used in two cases:
1. As a reflexive pronoun - when “I” is both the subject AND the object
o
I gave myself a haircut.
(This means I cut MY own hair)
I gave me a haircut.
o
I accidentally cut myself with the scissors.
2. For emphasis - when you want to emphasize the “I”
o
I baked this cake myself!
(I want to emphasize that I made it, and not another person)
o
I know John was at the party because I saw him there myself.
(I saw John at the party with my own eyes)
o
Give me the letter – I’ll deliver it myself.
(I’ll deliver the letter personally)
Finally, the expression by myself means alone:
I went out to dinner by myself.
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If I was… / If I were…
Which is correct?
If I were you, I’d apologize.
If I was you, I’d apologize.
The first one is correct – If I were you – because this is a hypothetical (imaginary)
situation. It is not possible for me to be you, but I am imagining that this is the case.
Here are more examples of imaginary situations using “were” instead of “was”:
If he were in better shape, he could run a marathon.
(the reality is that he is NOT in good shape, and he could NOT run a marathon)
My mother would definitely disapprove if she were here right now.
(the reality is that she is NOT here, so she does not have the opportunity to
disapprove)
If the situation is not imaginary – if there was a possibility that it really occurred in
the past – then we can use was:
I’m sorry if I was rude.
(= it’s possible that I was rude)
If he was drunk, then he should have called a taxi to drive him home.
(= it’s possible that he was drunk)
I don’t know if she was at the party; I wasn’t there.
(= it’s possible that she was at the party)
However, in casual spoken English, many native speakers are starting to use was
even in imaginary situations, for example:
My sister is a teacher. She would make more money if she was a lawyer.
Technically, it should be “if she were a lawyer,” but the incorrect use is becoming
more and more common.
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