Is it “I” or “me?”
Picture this: Jesse Kasserman, a high school senior with a strong academic record and high hopes, walks into the office of Dr. James, an admission representative of XYZ University. “Thank you for inviting my mom and I to see the campus,” he says.
The college representative cringes.
Jesse might have blown the interview already. Why? Jesse should have said “my mom and me.” Smart people everywhere agonize over the misuse of “I” and “me.” It’s one of the most common mistakes in word usage.
People seem to fear the word “me.” Why? Maybe the word “me” reminds us of baby talk, and that makes us nervous. You would never say “Me want a sandwich,” after all. That would be very embarrassing.
But to many people, it sounds just as wrong to hear “The secret is just between you and I.” It’s just wrong.
The official explanation is, “I” is a nominative pronoun and is used as a subject of a sentence or clause, while “me” is an objective pronoun and used as an object. Sound too technical? Then think of this:
The trouble with “me” usually begins when speakers are stringing together two or more objects in a sentence. “I” is not an objective case word, but people try to plug it in as an object because it just sounds smarter.
All you have to do is leave out the second object. Look over these examples, and you’ll see it’s really simple.
You might be tempted to say:
WRONG: “Would you explain that to John and I?”
But then, when you omit the other object, you’ll have:
WRONG: “Would you explain that to I?”
Now that just sounds silly. Try this:
RIGHT: “Would you explain that to John and me?”
RIGHT: “Would you explain that to me?”
Now practice with these:
WRONG: Leave the decision to Laura and I.
RIGHT: Leave the decision to me.
RIGHT: Leave the decision to Laura and me.
WRONG: Please join Glenna and I for lunch.
RIGHT: Please join me for lunch.
RIGHT: Please join Glenna and me for lunch.
WRONG: It’s just between you and I.
RIGHT: It’s just between you and me.
WRONG: The group consists of Laura, Joe, and I.
RIGHT: The group consists of Laura, Joe, and me.
Don't forget, when composing any essay or any research paper, be sure to go back and proof read carefully.

Nominative Pronoun –
Subject of a Sentence –
What Are the Nominative Pronouns?
Here are the nominative pronouns: I, you, he, she, it, they, and we. These are the pronouns that are usually the subject of a sentence – and they do the action in that sentence. A few examples of these nominative pronouns acting as the subject of a sentence are as follows:
• I went to the store today.
• She talked to her brother on the phone.
• You ran five miles yesterday.
• They are not very happy about what happened.
• We work together as a team.
• It is my favorite color.
• He is my best friend.
Here are a few pronouns that are not nominative because they are being affected by the subject and verb: me, them, her, him, us. Here are a few examples of these pronouns in action – can you understand why they are not nominative pronouns?
• My mom told me to go to the store today.
• The coach ordered her to go for a run.
• The students don’t understand him.
• Nobody will listen to me!
• The maid doesn’t want to do the cleaning for them.

Nominative Pronoun
Many people struggle when labeling pronouns by their type, but they usually use these pronouns correctly in a sentence. However, sometimes there are typical mistakes which even native English speakers make. This usually involves using I and me interchangeably. Look at the following two sentences, for example:
1. Sally and me are doing our homework together.
2. Sally and I are doing our homework together.
The second sentence is correct, because “Sally and I” is the subject of the sentence, so the nominative pronoun must be used for the sentence to make sense grammatically. However, the example below completely changes the situation. Can you understand why?
1. The teacher told Sally and me to do our homework.
2. The teacher told Sally and I to do our homework.
Not so fast! If you assumed that you once again had to use “Sally and I” – you were wrong! Many young students drill the mini-phrase “and I” instead of “and me” in their minds because the first is much more commonly correct than the second. Remember, though, that “I” is a nominative pronoun. This means that you can’t use it when it is an object in a sentence. “The teacher” is the subject, which makes “Sally and me” the correct object. Don’t confuse your nominative pronouns with other pronouns, or you’ll find yourself in trouble.
Examples of Nominative Pronouns in Sentences
Look at the following sentences, which all use nominative pronouns correctly.
1. She likes chocolate ice cream.
2. It is a beautiful day outside.
3. He is very tall.
4. They live near my house.
Now look at the following sentences – they all use pronouns incorrectly! Can you use nominative pronouns to fix each sentence?
1. Me like to eat cookies.
2. Her is a very nice lady.
3. Him go to the store to buy milk for breakfast.
4. Them are my neighbors.
In the following examples, can you tell which sentences use nominative pronouns correctly, and which don’t use nominative pronouns correctly? Be careful – these are designed to trick you!
1. I am the team leader.
2. Everyone has to follow what me says.
3. If you want to understand he, then you will have to listen very carefully.
4. Not many people know that her is an astronaut.
For more examples that involve using a nominative pronoun correctly, speak to your English teacher at Wizard and see if he or she can help you – or take a grammar book out at your local library and practice on your own.

How to Pronounce "the" in English

Normally, we pronounce "the" with a short sound (like "thuh"). But when "the" comes before a vowel sound, we pronounce it as a long "thee".

vowel sound	we write	we say
A	the apple	thee apple
E	the egg	thee egg
I	the ice-cream	thee ice-cream
O	the orange	thee orange
U	the ugli fruit	thee ugli fruit

It is important to understand that it is what we say that matters, not what we write. It is the sound that matters, not the letter used in writing a word. So we use a long "thee" before a vowel sound, not necessarily before a vowel. Look at these cases:

we write	with	we say	with
the house	consonant (h)	thuh house	consonant sound
the hour	consonant (h)	thee our	vowel sound
the university	vowel (u)	thuh youniversity	consonant sound
the umbrella	vowel (u)	thee umbrella	vowel sound

Emphatic the [thee]
When we wish to place emphasis on a particular word, we can use "emphatic the" [thee], whether or not the word begins with a consonant or vowel sound. For example:

A: I saw the [thuh] President yesterday.
B: What! The [thee] President of the United States?
A: Yes, exactly.

English Improvement Suggestions

Improving Your English

A lot of people are always asking, "How do I improve my English?" There are many possible answers, but here are just a few pieces of advice.

Be responsible for your own learning

Sure you have teachers, reading materials, and websites to help you with your English, but who is really responsible for making sure you learn English well? Nobody but you. Make sure you are the one who is taking charge of your own learning. There is a good article about the subject on the 5 Minute English website. It's at www.5minuteenglish.com/articles. Check it out.

Immerse yourself in English as much as possible

Immerse means to be surrounded by something. If you are immersed in English, it is all around you. Of course this isn't always possible, but you can do some things to surround yourself in English from time to time.

Listen to the radio in English. If there are no English radio stations where you live, listen to one on the internet.

Watch TV and movies in English. If you have English channels on your TV, watch them. If they have subtitles (the words written in your language) underneath the picture, see if they can be turned off. Some people even tape paper across the bottom of the screen so they can't see the words. Most DVD's are great because you can choose the language you want to hear.

Speak English to your friends. Get a conversation buddy (friend) and speak in English as much as possible. If it is a person whose native language is the same as your own, you may feel silly speaking in English at first. But don't worry. Continue to do it and it will become more natural to you. Finding friends whose native language is English is even better. Ask your friend to correct you when needed.

Study or travel to an English-speaking country. Of course the best way to immerse yourself in the English language is to live in an all English environment. You'll find yourself surrounded with the language everywhere you turn. It can be a more difficult and expensive choice, but you may find it to be a very valuable and helpful experience.

Other ideas. Take an English class, join an English group, find a tutor, read English magazines. Do whatever you can to immerse yourself in the language.

Monitor yourself

This means to pay attention to how you use English. Think (a little) about how you are going to say something before it comes out of your mouth. But don't think about all of the problems you have in English at the same time. Just choose something you know you are having difficulty with and work on using it correctly. For example, if you know that you have problems remembering to use a, an, and the, spend a few days trying to put them into sentences as you speak. Don't worry about anything else. Concentrate on that. When you feel that you are improving, choose something else to work on. Just keep trying and little by little, your English will get better everyday.

Life's True Lessons I Learned in Kindergarten

Enjoy this real piece of wisdom.

All I ever needed to know, I learned in Kindergarten

from “All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten” by Robert Fulghum

Most of what I really need to know about how to live, and what to do, and how to be, I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand box at nursery school.

These are the things I learned. Share everything. Play fair. Don’t hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don’t take things that aren’t yours. Say you are sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are food for you. Live a balanced life. Learn some and think some and draw some and paint and sing and dance and play and work everyday.

Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out in the world, watch for traffic, hold hands, and stick together. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the plastic cup? The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why. We are like that.

And then remember that book about Dick and Jane and the first word you learned, the biggest word of all: LOOK! Everything you need to know is there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation, ecology, and politics and the sane living.

Think of what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about 3 o’clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankets for a nap. Or we had a basic policy in our nation and other nations to always put things back where we found them and clean up our own messes. And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out in the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

So true. Peace.

Pink Skink

THE PINK SKINK

By Philip Schanberger

Illustrated by Carol Carone

All rights reserved. © ApplePieBrasil

I once had a pet skink whose color was pink.

Now that’s quite unusual, wouldn’t you think?

He had a long tail that was bit by a mink,

so he dragged it around, complete with a kink.

Once when he was thirsty and needed a drink,

he climbed up the cupboards to the edge of the sink.

When he got to the rim, perched high on the brink,

he lost his balance and was gone in a blink.

He slid down the drain pipe, plated in zinc,

with his crooked tail going “clink, clink, clink.”

I grabbed my tools and loosened a link,

As he popped out his head, he gave me a wink.

Dirty and grimy, the color of ink,

I was happy to find my little pink skink.

Dedicated to my family:

Kaydon, John, James, Lucas and Momma too.

I love you all.

We're not so different, well kind a sort of......

Here is a list of words that we use in English that have some root (history) in Portuguese. This may help you learn your English a little quicker now that we already speak the same language. Well, in so many words we do.

This is a list of English words potentially borrowed or derived from Portuguese (or Galician-Portuguese). The list also includes words originally derived from other languages:

Albacore

from albacor from Arabic بكورة al-bukr (="the young camels")

Albino

from albino, with the same meaning, from Latin albus

Albatross

an alteration of albatroz, under influence of the Latin word albus ("white");

Alcatraz

(="gannet") from Arabic غطاس al-ġaţţās ("the diver")

Amah

from Portuguese ama, nurse, housemaid, from Medieval Latin amma, mother

Anil

from anil, through French, via Arabic النيل al-nili and Persian نیلا nila; ultimately from Sanskrit नीली nili (="indigo).

Auto-da-fé, a judicial 'act' or sentence of the Inquisition

from auto da fé (= "act/sentence of faith")

Banana

from Portuguese or Spanish (more probably from Portuguese, as the most widespread Spanish word is plátano); from Portuguese, of African origin; akin to Wolof banäna banana

Baroque

from barroco (adj. = "unshapely")

Breeze

(= "from Portuguese word brisa")

Bossa nova

(= "new trend" or "new wave")

Buccaneer

from Tupi mukém

Cachalot

from Portuguese cachalote (same meaning), probably via Spanish or French. The Portuguese word comes from cachola ("head" or "big head").

Carambola

Portuguese, perhaps from Marathi कराम्बल karambal

Caramel

from caramelo, caramel, from Late Latin calamellus

Caravel

from caravela

Carioca

from Tupi "carioca" (cari = white men, oca = house; house of the white men), via Portuguese carioca (native of Rio de Janeiro)

Carnauba

from carnaúba

Caste

from casta (="class")

Cashew

from caju (a tropical fruit)

Cobra

shortening of cobra-de-capelo, with the same meaning (literally, "snake with a hood").

Coconut

from coco (coconut)

Commando

from comando (="command")

Cougar

from French couguar, from Portuguese suçuarana, perhaps from Tupian sɨwasuarána or Guaraní guaçu ara.

Cow-tree

a tree abundant in a milk-like juice : from árvore, pau de vaca (="tree of cow")

Creole

French créole, from Castilian Spanish criollo, person native to a locality, from Portuguese crioulo, diminutive of cria, ("'person raised in one's house with no blood relation, a servant'"), < Portuguese criar ("'to rear, to raise, to bring up'") , from Latin creare, to beget; < Latin creo ("'to create'"), which came into English via French between 1595 and 1605. [same root as creature]

Dodo

According to Encarta Dictionary and Chambers Dictionary of Etymology, "dodo" comes from Portuguese doudo (currently, more often,doido) meaning "fool" or "crazy". The present Portuguese word dodô ("dodo") is of English origin. The Portuguese word doudo or doidomay itself be a loanword from Old English (cp. English "dolt").

Embarass

from Portuguese embaraçar (same meaning; also to tangle - string or rope ), from em + baraço (archaic for "rope")^[1]

Emu

from ema (="rhea")

Fetish

from French fétiche, from Portuguese feitiço ("charm", "sorcery", "spell"), from Latin factitius or feticius ("artificial")

Flamingo

from Portuguese flamingo, from Spanish flamenco

Grouper

from garoupa

Guarana

from Portuguese guaraná, from Tupi warana

Jaguar

from Tupi or Guaraní jaguarete via Portuguese

Junk

from junco, from Javanese djong (Malay adjong).

Lambada

from lambada (="beating, lashing")

Macaque

from macaco, through French

Macaw

from macau; ultimately from Tupi macavuana.

Mandarin

from mandarim, from the Portuguese verb mandar (='to rule; to send') via the Dutch mandorijn, from the Malay mantri, from Hindi मंत्रीmatri, from Sanskrit मन्त्रिन् mantrin (="counsellor")

Mango

from manga, via Malay mangga, ultimately from Malayalam മാങ്ങ māṅṅa or from Tamil மாங்காய் mānkāy

Mangrove

probably from Portuguese mangue mangrove (from Spanish mangle, probably from Taino) + English grove

Manioc

from mandioca (="cassava") from Tupi mandioca.

Maraca

from maracá from Tupi

Marimba

from Portuguese, of Bantu origin; akin to Kimbundu ma-rimba : ma-, pl. n. pref. + rimba, xylophone, hand piano

Marmalade

from marmelada, a preserve made from marmelo (="quince")

Molasses

from melaço (="treacle")

Monsoon

from monção

Mosquito

from Mosquito meaning 'little fly'

Mulatto

Portuguese mulato. From mula (=mule) a cross between a horse and a donkey or from the Arabic term muwallad, which means "a person of mixed ancestry"

Negro

Negro means "black" in Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian, being from the Latin word niger (Dative nigro, Accusative nigrum) and the Greekword Νέγρος Negros both of the same meaning. It came to English through the Portuguese and Spanish slave trade. Prior to the 1970s, it was the dominant term for Black people of African origin; in most English language contexts (except its inclusion in the names of some organizations founded when the term had currency, e.g. the United Negro College Fund), it is now considered either archaic or a slur in most contexts.

Pagoda

from pagode; corruption of Persian بوتکاتا butkata (+"idol deity")

Palaver

a chat, from palavra (="word"), Portuguese palavra (word), parabola (parable), speech (current fala, discurso), chat (current bate-papo, papo {pronunc. : bahtchy papoo}, palavrinha, conversa and also Eng. chat) alteration of Late Latin parabola, speech, parable.

Palmyra

from palmeira (="palm")

Pickaninny

from pequenina (="little one") or pequeninha (="toddler")

Piranha

from piranha (=piranha), from Tupi pirá ("fish") + ánha ("cut")

potato

from "batata"

Sablefish

from sável (="shad," "whitefish")

Samba

from samba ; ultimately of Angolan origin, semba

Sargasso

from sargaço (="sargasso")

Savvy

from sabe he knows, from saber to know

Stevedore

from estivador (="stevedore")

Tank

from tanque

Tapioca

from tapioca

Teak

from teca

Tempura

Japanese 天麩羅, tenpura?, also written as "天ぷら", from Portuguese têmporas, (=Ember Days)

Verandah

from varanda (="balcony" or "railing"), from Hindi वरांडा varanda or Bengali baranda

Yam

from inhame or Spanish igname from West African nyama (="eat")

Zebra

from zebra (same meaning), which started as the feminine form of zebro (a kind of deer), from vulgar Latin eciferus, classical LatinEQUIFERVS.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Well, for the record, this list was found on Wikipedia. I thought that it would help my students in Brasil to see the link that we have between our two languages. Ate logo.

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