Text only  Print this page | E-mail this page| Add to favourites
British Council LearnEnglish Central British Council LearnEnglish Central
learnenglish central grammar, image copyright by Paul Millard
learnenglish grammar
See the latest answer to your grammar questions, brief explanations of common grammar points, previous answers or play grammar games
e-newsletter
Sign up for our newsletter and receive updates about what's happening on this site.
learn english
Learn English in your country, in the UK or take an exam
grammar
Short answers 1

Double-click on any word and see its definition from Cambridge Dictionaries Online.

What's the difference between I and me?

I is the first person singular subject pronoun. Me is the first person singular object pronoun.

I gave it to him.
He gave it to me.

Confusion occurs in sentences like:

You can return it to either Peter or me/I

The secret here is to remove the other person (Peter) from the sentence. Which is correct?

You can return it to I.
You can return it to me.

The second, of course, and so me is the correct pronoun to use.

http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/myself.html

"How many variations are there of structures like: the bigger the better"?

We use comparatives with the … the … to say that things change at the same time, or that two (apparently) different quantities are related.

The bigger the dog gets, the more savage it becomes.
The more "private" the utilities become, the more public and political becomes the outcry against them.
The brighter its colour, the more poisonous it is.

Theoretically, any adjective can be used in its comparative form in this way. A short form of this structure is used in the expression:

The more the merrier

and in sentences ending in the better:

And the more they're together, and the more they have a laugh together, the better team spirit becomes.
The fewer the risks that the savings institution takes, the better the chances of your money being there when it is needed.
The sooner the patient is under the care of a skilled team the better the prognosis.

To see examples of this structure, look at the Web Concordancer:

Type the more or the better into the "search string" field and choose any corpus.

"How do you pronounce the word there're?"

This word rhymes with the words fairer, bearer or carer.

For a related item, see:

http://www.wsu.edu/%7Ebrians/errors/their.html

"Which is correct: religion leaders or religious leaders?"

Religion is a noun meaning "the belief in and worship of a god or gods, or any such system of belief and worship"

She loves to discuss religion.
He practises the Jewish religion.

Cambridge International Dictionary of English

Religious is an adjective meaning "of or concerned with religion".

The government wants to increase the amount of religious education in schools.

Cambridge International Dictionary of English

Hence the correct form is "religious leaders", because the adjective religious describes the noun "leaders".

The United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.
A registered charity: 209131 (England and Wales) SC037733 (Scotland)
Our privacy and copyright statements.
Our commitment to freedom of information. Double-click for pop-up dictionary.
 Positive About Disabled People Download Browsealoud