To have or have not

The English verb ‘to have’ has a few peculiarities. It doesn’t always mean what it seems to say. If you say ‘I had an ice-cream’ you don’t mean you still have it – it has either long melted or been eaten. If you say ‘I have had a mango ice-cream’ you perhaps mean I tried one once, but never again. However, if you say ‘She had a baby last year’, in by far the majority of cases the baby still exists, she still has it. The ‘had ‘refers in this case to the actual birth. If you say on the other hand ‘She had a boyfriend last year,’ this probably means either she had one and she hasn’t got one now, or at least that she hasn’t got that particular one any longer. 

We also talk about the "haves and the have nots", which describes the relationship between the rich (the haves) and the poor (the have nots).  [editor] Which one are you?  I'm not rich, but I consider myself a "have".  

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Visiting Cornwall

by Mandy Miller

Tourism is vital to Cornwall and it sustains a large number of businesses, hotels, restaurants, shops, camp sites and attractions as well as many National Trust properties. Thousands of small businesses making everything from pasties to real ale depend upon the tourist trade. More than 290,000 visitors can be found exploring Cornwall's delightful towns and villages at peak weekends, driving down the winding, narrow lanes and visiting the many attractions, yet few places are overcrowded.

Writing Emails and Memos

Communicating effectively in business involves using words in a variety of formats. Whether as part of a speech or a sales brochure, or in a host of other ways, your goal is to get your message across clearly with words. When people understand your message they understand your business and its purpose better.

Consider the plethora of words that are part of a corporation's annual report. These words accompany the financial statements and their myriad of numbers. Words explain what a business did in the past, what they are currently doing, and what they plan to do in the future. In addition, words often form the narratives that help explain the "story" behind the "numbers" in business.

We're going to look at the simplest forms of business communications this month, emails and memos. In subsequent months, we'll look at more complicated forms of writing.

Relationships

My daughter got engaged this week. It was all very romantic on the shores of the Grand Canal in Venice. Now they have returned from their holiday and are getting done to ordinary life again, a life that promises new relationships. Once they get married they will both acquire, as we will, lots of in-laws, people who are family without being blood relations. There will be new people to meet and new names to be learnt. I will become a mother-in -law. For many, many years English comedians have been making jokes about their awful mother-in-laws and now I’m going to be one!

The Evaluation Essay

The Essentials of an Evaluation Essay

You write an evaluation essay when you want to present your take on a topic with the hope of possibly getting others to accept your point of view. It is similar to an argumentative essay; however it should be impartial, balanced writing- you're not out to win an argument. With this type of essay you state your thesis and the subsequent paragraphs are to support this thesis.