Proofreading
When you write quickly, it is easy to make mistakes. Always check your email carefully before you send it. It is a good idea to keep a list of words you have spelled wrongly in the past. Use this list to check that you have spelled them correctly. Also, use your computer's spell checker if you can. This will automatically correct spellings for you. Finally, here are a few other things to check for.
Words with similar sounds
Some words sound the same in English but have different spelling:
*Theirnot *hearyet. > They're not here yet.*Weardo you want to *meat? > Where do you want to meet?
Short words
These are easy to spell, but they are also easy to spell incorrectly. Short words are the ones we type most quickly. It's easy to type some of the letters in the wrong order.
a lot *fomistakes > of
Thank you *froyour letter > for
at *htemeeting > the
Silent letters
Many words that are common in emails have silent letters. Here are some examples (the silent letters are underlined):
know write wrong forward thought right interesting Wednesday Bye
Grammar: subject/verb agreement
You should always check that you have used the right verb in the right form. A common mistake is to forget the -s in the 3rd person singular (he/she/it).
The training*startat 9 a.m. > starts
My plane*leaveat 4.35. > leaves
How long*doit take? > does
How many times*havehe been here? > has
Punctuation
Remember to start every sentence with a capital letter, and to use a capital letter for place names, days, months, names, etc.
We will be in Newcastle with Mrs Hamilton on March the 4th, in Manchester with Dr Kassu on Tuesday the 5th, and Birmingham with Andrea Este on the Thursday.
We usually use commas when opening and closing emails, use a full stop at the end of a sentence and a capital letter at the start of a sentence. An exclamation mark (!) is OK in a friendly email, but it's better not to use them in formal emails.
Hi Mark,
Thank you very much for all your help this week. You must be glad it's the weekend!
With best regards,
Pattie
Hello xeesid,
I think I see what you mean now, though am I right in thinking you already knew the answer to your question?
What you learned is correct in most situations -- when each part of a plural subject possesses something individually, the thing possessed is also usually plural. This is clearly the case when talking about body parts.
'heart' can be a body part or could have a more abstract meaning of the kind I suggested in my first reply, which is why I think that either 'heart' or 'hearts' can be correct. If 'hearts' (which even in the plural can also have the more abstract meaning), then I'd encourage you to use that form. I had understood that you were trying to understand why someone might say 'heart'.
Hope this helps.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Aniyanmon
The gerund 'watching' in 'watching your videos' is singular, so 1 is correct here.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Mariyan
I'm afraid I don't understand what the sentence means, either, but I put this down more to not knowing enough about the insurance industry. For example, is a 'damage tree' a kind of insurance term? Or are you speaking about some trees that were damaged? If it's the latter, then it should be 'damaged trees'. I might also say 'implicated parties' if that's referring to people. In short, if you could explain what you want this sentence to communicate in other words, we'll be happy to help you understand it.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team