Word of the day: Endowment / Interesting Facts About English

Word of the day

Endowment: doação, dotação, dote, dom

Synonyms: aptitude, bent, talent, faculty, flair, genius, gift, head, knack

“ The hospital's endowment was established by a local family.”

“ The college has a large endowment.”

(www.merriam-webster.com)

<><><><><><><><>

Interesting Facts About English

In English, the @ symbol is usually called "the at sign" or "the at symbol".

If we place a comma before the word "and" at the end of a list, this is known as an "Oxford comma" or a "serial comma". For example: "I drink coffee, tea, and wine."

Some words exist only in plural form, for example: glasses (spectacles), binoculars, scissors, shears, tongs, gallows, trousers, jeans, pants, pyjamas (but note that clothing words often become singular when we use them as modifiers, as in "trouser pocket").

The shortest complete sentence in English is the following. "I am."

The word "Checkmate" in chess comes from the Persian phrase "Shah Mat" meaning "the king is helpless".     (www.englishclub.com)

<><><><><><><><>

Novo livro  (ficção científica) no Clube dos Autores:

Clique aqui para comprar: 

 

À procura de Lucas  (Flávio Cruz)