You ain't from 'round here, are ya? (MN)
Now we head east to Minnesota for local pronunciations of city names.
Shakopee – SHOCK-oh-pee
Wayzata – Why-ZET-ah
Mahtomedi – Mah-doe-MEE-die
Anoka – Uh-NO-kuh
Edina – Ee-DIE-nuh
Otsego – Aht-SEE-go
Faribault - FAIR-ih-bow
Cloquet - Kloh-KAY
Waseca - Wah-SEE-kuh
Lutsen - LOOT-sen
Aitken - AAY-kin
Bemidji - Beh-MIH-jee
Pequot Lakes - PEE-kwaht
New Prague - New Prayg (not Prahg)
Lake Winnibigoshish - Wih-nih-bih-GOSH-ish
Mille Lacs Lake - Mill-Lacks
Kabetogama Lake - KAB-beh-TOE-geh-muh
You ain't from 'round here, are ya? (SD)
Let’s travel this country to discover how the locals pronounce their city names.
I’m from South Dakota, so I’ll start here.
Belle Fourche – bell-FOOSH, French for beautiful fork
Lake Sinai – SY-nee-eye, unlike Mount Sinai in Arabia
Lead – LEED, a mining term meaning an outcropping of gold bearing ore
Pierre – PEER, an improper pronunciation of Pierre Choteau’s first name
Wear a life-jacket to prevent drowning!
drown means to be suffocated in water
It is conjugated as follows:
I drown (He drowns)
I will drown
I drowned
I have drowned
I had drowned
I will have drowned
I would drown
I would have drown
I am drowning
I have drowned
Do not use drownd (missing the e).
The kind of noun is important
Be sure to match these word with a singular noun:
kind of, type of, sort of.
Match these word with a plural noun:
kinds of, types of, sorts of.
For further explanation, see Everything Language and Grammar.
I have bought them there before
buy means to purchase
I buy groceries after work.
I bought the book last week.
I have bought many garden tools.
Never use boughten.
For further explanation, see Everything Language and Grammar
Rarely use rains or snows as nouns
rain (noun) is condensed water vapor falling from clouds
the plural is rain, unless you are speaking of several rain episodes
The spring rains caused much flooding.
to rain (verb) is to have rain fall from the sky
It is conjugated as follows:
it rains
it rained
it will rain
it has rained
it had rained
it will have rained
it would rain
it would have rained
snow is grammatically identical
For more information, visit Everything Language and Grammar.
It has been prophesied
prophecy is a noun meaning a prediction
prophesy is a verb meaning to predict
It is conjugated as follows:
I prophesy (He prophesies)
I prophesied
I will prophesy
I have prophesied
I had prophesied
I will have prophesied
I would prophesy
I would have prophesied
I am prophesying
I have prophesied
British and English spellings sometimes differ
We gained our independence from Britain and now have different spellings for certain words. Why is this the case?
“The first answer is to blame Noah Webster, of Webster’s Dictionary fame. He believed it was important for America, a new and revolutionary nation, to assert its cultural independence from Britain through language. He wrote the first American spelling, grammar, and reading schoolbooks and the first American dictionary. He was also an ardent advocate of spelling reform, and thought words should be spelled more like they sound.”
For the rest of the explanation, visit Grammar Girl.
Straighten up
catercorner (kittycorner) means not directly across from something
catawampus (cattywampus) means crooked
Such a sneaky verb
to sneak means to go stealthily
I sneak
He sneaks
I sneaked
I have sneaked
I am sneaking
Though “snuck” is widely used, it is not proper English.