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Confusing guide

Made from

We often use made from when we talk about how something is manufactured:

Plastic is made from oil.

The earliest canoes were made from tree trunks.

Made of

We use made of when we talk about the basic material or qualities of


something. It has a meaning similar to ‘composed of’:

She wore a beautiful necklace made of silver.

A:

What’s this table made of?


B:

It’s oak, American white oak.


A:

It’s lovely.

Made out of

We usually use made out of when we talk about something that has been
changed or transformed from one thing into another:

In the 1970s, it was popular to have candle-holders made out of wine


bottles.

They were living in tents made out of old plastic sheets.

Made with

We use made with most often to talk about the ingredients of food and
drink:

This dish is made with beef, red peppers and herbs.

Is sushi always made with raw fish or do the Japanese use cooked fish
too?

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1.1 At, on and in (time) clue: 'at a time, on a day, in a week, month, or
year'

We use at:

- with particular points on the clock:

I’ll see you at five o’clock.

- with particular points in the day:

The helicopter took off at midday and headed for the island.

- with particular points in the week:

What are you doing at the weekend?

- with special celebrations:

At the New Year, millions of people travel home to be with their


families (but we say on your birthday).

We don’t use at with the question What time …? in informal situations:

What time are you leaving? (preferred to At what time are you
leaving?)

We use on:

- with dates:

We moved into this house on 25 October 1987.

- with a singular day of the week to refer to one occasion:

I’ve got to go to London on Friday.

- with a plural day of the week to refer to repeated events:

The office is closed on Fridays. (every Friday) In informal


situations, we often leave out on before plural days:

Do you work Saturdays?

- with special dates:

What do you normally do on your birthday?

We use in:

- with parts of the day:

I’ll come and see you in the morning for a cup of coffee, okay?
- with months:

We usually go camping in July or August.

- with years:

The house was built in 1835.

- with seasons:

The garden is wonderful in the spring when all the flowers come out.

- with long periods of time:

The population of Europe doubled in the nineteenth century.

At or on?

We use at to talk about public holidays and weekends, but when we talk
about a particular special day or weekend, we use on.
Compare >>

We never go away at the New Year because the traffic is awful.

On New Year’s Day, the whole family gets together.

I’ll go and see my mother at the weekend if the weather’s okay.

The folk festival is always held on the last weekend in July.

*Note that American English speakers usually say on the weekend.


In or on?

We use in with morning, afternoon, evening and night, but we use on when
we talk about a specific morning, afternoon, etc., or when we describe the
part of the day.
Compare >>

I always work best in the morning. I often get tired in the afternoon.

The ship left the harbour on the morning of the ninth of November.

In the evening they used to sit outside and watch the sun going down.

It happened on a beautiful summer’s evening.


At or in?

In the night usually refers to one particular night; at night refers to


any night in general:

I was awake in the night, thinking about all the things that have
happened.

‘It’s not safe to travel at night,’ the officer said.

At the end or in the end?

We use at the end (often with of) to talk about the point in time where
something finishes. We use in the end to talk about things that happen
after a long time or after a series of other events:

At the end of the film, everyone was crying.

Not: In the end of the film …

I looked everywhere for the book but couldn’t find it, so in the end I
bought a new copy.

At the beginning or in the beginning?

We use at the beginning (often with of) to talk about the point where
something starts. We usually use in the beginning when we contrast two
situations in time:

At the beginning of every lesson, the teacher told the children a


little story.

In the beginning, nobody understood what was happening, but after she
explained everything very carefully, things were much clearer.

See also:

At

Other uses of in with time

We use in to say how long it takes someone to do something:

He was such a clever musician. He could learn a song in about five


minutes.

We use an apostrophe -s construction (in a year’s time, in two months’


time) to say when something will happen. We don’t use it to say how long
someone takes to do something:

I won’t say goodbye because we’ll be seeing each other again in three
days’ time. We can also say in three days, without time, in this example.
He ran the marathon in six hours and 20 minutes.

Not: He ran the marathon in six hours and 20 minutes’ time.

Time expressions without at, on, in

We don’t normally use at, on or in before time expressions beginning with


each, every, next, last, some, this, that, one, any, all:

He plays football every Saturday.

Are you free next Monday at two o’clock?

Last summer we rented a villa in Portugal.

See also:

Time

Next

At, on and in (time): typical errors

- We use on not at to talk about a particular day:

The two couples were married in two different cities on the same day,
25 years ago.

Not: … at the same day, 25 years ago.

- We don’t use at to refer to dates:

The General was killed on 26 August.

Not: … at 26 August.

- We use at, not in, with weekend(s):

What do you usually do at the weekend? Do you go away?

Not: What do you usually do in the weekend?

- We use in with months, not on:

They’re going to Australia in September for a conference.

Not: They’re going to Australia on September …

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1.2 Singular or plural: news, measles, number of, pair, half, kilometres,
dollars?

Many people, particularly non-native English speakers, have difficulty


knowing whether to use a singular or plural verb with some nouns. Here are
a few trouble spots.

A few common nouns that end in s are singular in meaning.

The news is good.


Measles is a contagious disease.
The new series is starting now.

A number of takes the plural, but the number of takes the singular.

A number of details are wrong.


The number of details wrong is a concern.

When we use pair for sets of two, we need a singular verb.

This pair of shoes is my favourite.


but
These shoes are my favourite.

Fractions and percentages take a singular verb with a noncount noun, and a
plural verb with plural count nouns.

Half of the population is in favour of reform.


Fifty per cent of the voters are in favour of reform.

Titles of books, plays, operas and movies take a singular verb.

Pirates of the Caribbean is a great movie.

Majority is or are? When used to mean a ‘large number of people’, majority


can take either a single or plural verb.

The majority believes in the system.


The majority believe in the system.

Plural units of measurement, time and money take singular verbs.

A thousand kilometres is a long way.


Five million dollars is what the business needs

Sometime, some time and sometimes

The words sometime, some time, and sometimes are obviously related in
meaning, but they're used in different ways.

Definitions
The adverb sometime (one word) means at an indefinite or unstated time in
the future. As an adjective, sometime means occasional or former.
The expression some time (two words) means "a period of time."
The adverb sometimes (one word) means "occasionally, now and then."
Also, see the usage note below.

Examples
"He's been talking to just about everybody and wants to talk to you
sometime."
(John Updike, Rabbit, Run. Knopf, 1960)
"Lynne was particularly disappointed because her sometime companion,
George Archibald, was not paying much attention to her that evening."
(Julian Scher, Until You Are Dead. Vintage Canada, 2001)
"You must give some time to your fellow men. Even if it's a little thing,
do something for others--something for which you get no pay but the
privilege of doing it."
(Albert Schweitzer)
"I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I
am saying."
(Oscar Wilde)
Usage Note
"Of these three, sometimes is easy. It means 'now and again,' and it is
always written as one word: My wife and I sometimes play Scrabble. The
other two are more difficult, and usage varies. When some is unstressed,
the form is some time: We'll need some time to consider this. When the
sense is 'an indefinite length of time,' it is usual to write some time:
She arrived some time after dinner. But some people write sometime here,
and this style cannot be considered wrong. When the sense is 'at an
indefinite time in the future,' sometime is usual: We'll talk about this
sometime next week. But the adjective meaning 'occasional' or 'former' is
always sometime: his sometime colleague."
(R.L. Trask, Say What You Mean! David R. Godine, 2005)

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