25000!!!

The blog has now hit 25000 page views.  This is quite a big number.  Thank you everyone for looking at it.  I hope you are learning from it, and I hope that you keep learning from it.  I will keep writing it.

Just in case you were wondering about the statistics.  Here are the top page views by country.  If your country is not here, only you can do something about it.

Canada	6411
United States	6097
Brazil	1661
Japan	1573
South Korea	1375
Germany	1299
Switzerland	886
Poland	466
Mexico	329
Turkey	236

Lesson 220--Can't Seem To....

She can't seem to stay awake.

Sometimes we are just not able to do something, even though we put in some effort.  While we can express this kind of thing with can't, it is a little softer if we use the phrase "can't seem to".  Take a look at the following examples, and see what I mean.

He can't be on time.

He is never on time.

He can't seem to be on time.

Of these, the last one is a little bit less critical sounding.

Here are some other examples

Tsewang can't catch the early bus.

Tsewang never catches the early bus.
Tsewang can't seem to catch the early bus.

** Sorry Tsewang, but you are the perfect example. (if only I had a picture of you at the bus stop)

Lesson 178--There are no stupid questions

I have heard students tell me that they have a "stupid" question.  The truth is, there are no stupid questions.  There are basic questions, but they are still important questions.  If there is a gap in your knowledge, I will try my best to bridge it.

 

A student asked:  What's the difference between Sam and I, and Sam and me?

 

Sam and I is for subjects (usually before the verb)

examples:        Sam and I went to the movies.

                        Sam and I are playing tennis on Tuesday.

                        Sam and I are going to win our match.

 

Sam and me is for objects (usually after the verb)

examples:        Greg bought cars for Sam and me.

                        Jeannie is going to pick up Sam and me.

                        Mom is making dinner for Sam and me.