COMMON MISTAKES - Weather vs. Whether

Here are another two words that sound alike, are often confused and have absolutely different meanings:

Weather: the atmospheric conditions in a specific place, usually making reference to the sun, clouds, temperature, wind and rain.

Whether: a way to introduce a statement or question involving alternative possibilities.

EXAMPLES:

1. The weather for today is partly-cloudy, with a 30 percent chance of rain and winds from the South-East at 40 miles per hour.

2. Tina loves rainy weather when she has to paint.

3. Tom needs to decide whether or not he's going to work together as a member of this team.

4. Whether we have the soccer match this afternoon depends on the weather.

COMMON MISTAKES - Plural Noncountables

When learning a foreign language, there is probably only one rule that never fails. What works in your native language, doesn’t necessarily work in another language.

Look at the following examples. What's wrong with the words in bold?

1) Waiter, I would like two sandwiches and two waters.

2) I’m receiving different informations from my team.

Naturally, in romance languages like Spanish, words like water and information can be singular and plural. However in English, the situation is a little different.

The reason is that they are noncoutables (or non-count nouns). Noncountables refer to things that are generic like water or plastic; as well as abstract ideas such as peace and love.

So what are some examples of these generic and abstract things known as noncountables?

Generic materials: wood, cloth, plastic, wool, steel, glass, leather, porcelain, hair

Generic activities: reading, boating, smoking, dancing, soccer

Generic substances: ice, dust, air, oxygen, water, milk, wine, beer, sugar, rice, meat, cheese, flour

Other generics: luggage, equipment, furniture, experience, applause, photography, traffic, harm, publicity, homework, advice, heat, cold, humidity, sunshine, electricity, biology, history, mathematics, economics, poetry

Abstract concepts: information, peace, anger, courage, violence, safety, justice, work, friendship, love, freedom, good, evil, time

But here is the million dollar question. Can any of these words ever be plural?

Sure, some of them can, but not when they are in the generic or abstract sense. In other words, they can be plural when they refer to something specific in plural quantities.

1) The best wines in Argentina are from Mendoza. (doesn’t refer to wine as a generic substance, but to specific wines of a specific region)
2) The works of Pablo Picasso are magnificent. (specific pieces of art)
3) Tell us about your experiences as an English User. (specific moments in your life)
4) Remember the times you went to the library this week (specific occasions)

But what about those cases like information that cannot be expressed as plural? For those, we can add a countable + of to describe a plural situation.

This means we can talk about:

1) Pieces of/ types of / tons of / a lot of information, equipment, luggage
2) Cups of coffee, tea, juice
2) Bottles of / glasses of wine, water, milk

In conclusion, in English - before you make something PLURAL - you just need to ask yourself if whatever you're talking about is of the generic / abstract type or if its use is more specific.

COMMON MISTAKES - Affect vs. Effect

Here are two words which sound alike and are often used the wrong way.

Affect (verb): to modify something
Effect (noun): the result of a modification

Examples:
Were you affected by the new tax?
The visual effects of the movie were incredible.