Setting aside the question of"proper," you can get a clear idea of what is taught (at least in the US) by googling, e.g.,"alphabet line" or"alphabet strip for classroom" (the model letters put up in classrooms). I believe every one of the images that came up for me has some form of the OP's version 2 for a printed a. (At some point as an adult I switched over to the other a (fig. 1 ...
Share, comment, bookmark or report
I've changed my mind a number of times about which of these variants works best: the second most northerly coffee shop in Seattle the second-most-northerly coffee shop in Seattle the secon...
Share, comment, bookmark or report
Related questions: What does"lemon on" mean in this context? What is the origin of the phrase"when life gives you lemons, make lemonade"? In the above questions,"lemon" is used to mean a faulty or defective item. A typical use might be to describe a second hand car that, once bought, turns out to have serious faults, as a"lemon". Why is the delicious fruit associated with faulty goods ...
Share, comment, bookmark or report
Your second sentence, on the other hand, is an example of the Second Conditional, which expresses something that is still possible, but which is unlikely. It’s easier to see the difference with sentences that are positive rather than negative, as these three examples may show.
Share, comment, bookmark or report
I thought it actually was a second-hand reference to witch doctors. psychiatrists were perceived as witch doctors, and head shrinking referred to how some tribes used to sever and preserve the heads of their enemies.
Share, comment, bookmark or report
It's a perfectly legal construction (although the word personally should probably be set off with commas), even if it is sometimes misused or overused. As an evidential marker (something English doesn't require) it tells the listener that what you are saying comes from personal, as opposed to second-hand, experience. This is often left to context, or made more explicit with phrases like,"I ...
Share, comment, bookmark or report
The particular phrasing might be attributable to Cervantes, albeit at second hand, if it occurs in Part One: Shelton's translation of that appeared in 1612, before Thursagen's second citation (Camden, 1614).
Share, comment, bookmark or report
Is it grammatically correct to sequence paragraphs using First, Second, Third, and Finally? If not, is there a good word that replaces Finally? Starting a paragraph with Final doesn't sound corre...
Share, comment, bookmark or report
Wish in one hand and sh--- in the other, and see which will be full first. There is also an early Scottish version of the saying. From James Kelly, A Complete Collection of Scotish Proverbs Explained and Made Intelligible to the English Reader (1721): Wish in one Hand and drite in another, and see which will be first full.
Share, comment, bookmark or report
The word, I think it's an adjective, describes experiencing something second-hand. It could be used to describe, for example, gossiping or reading a book - the listener/reader experiences second-hand what he/she hears/reads.
Share, comment, bookmark or report
Comments