Hurray for Slew!

Hurray for Slew! Hurray for Slew! Hurray for Slew! By Maeve Maddox I saw a headline in my morning newspaper (Yes, I still read print!) that renewed my hope that one of my favorite irregular verb forms, slew, is going to survive after all. U.S. says raid slew leader of terror cell Ever since Buffy the Vampire Slayer ruled the television waves, the regularized form slayed has been gaining ground. The traditional simple past form, slew, was slipping away, but between headline writers and writers of fantasy, it may have a new lease on life. Slew has fewer letters than slayed and in writing headlines, short words trump long words. I like slew because it sounds more deadly, serious, and final. Buffy slew the vampire. David slew Goliath. Saint George slew the dragon. If youre going to opt for slew for the simple past, youll want to use the past participle form slain: Buffy has slain the vampire. On the other hand, I can think of at least one context in which it would be more suitable to use the -ed form. A common figurative expression to describe the effect of a funny comedian is to say, He slays me. Ex. That Jerry Seinfeld just slays me! Translation: Jerry Seinfeld makes me laugh. It would sound odd even to me to put it in the past as The other night at the club, Jerry Seinfeld just slew me. When it comes to killing unusual creatures, however, or writing tight headlines, you can go with the irregular forms of slay/slew/slain. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:35 Synonyms for â€Å"Look†Ten Yiddish Expressions You Should Know15 Names and Descriptions of Effects

Parentheses, Braces, and Brackets in Math

Parentheses, Braces, and Brackets in Math Youll come across many symbols in mathematics and arithmetic. In fact, the language of math is written in symbols, with some text inserted as needed for clarification. Three important- and related- symbols youll see often in math are parentheses, brackets, and braces. You will encounter parentheses, brackets, and braces frequently in  prealgebra  and  algebra, so its important to understand the specific uses  of  these symbols as you move into higher math. Using Parentheses ( ) Parentheses are used to group numbers or variables, or both. When you see a math problem containing parentheses, you need to use the order of operations to solve it. Take as an  example the problem: 9 - 5 à · (8 - 3) x 2 6 You must calculate the operation within the parentheses first, even if it is an operation that would normally come after the other operations in the problem. In this problem, the times and division operations would normally come before subtraction (minus), but since 8 - 3  falls within the parentheses, you would work this part of the problem first. Once youve taken care of the calculation that falls within the parentheses, you would remove them.  In this case (8  -  3) becomes 5, so you would solve the problem as follows: 9 - 5  Ãƒ ·Ã‚  (8 - 3) x 2 6 9 - 5 à · 5 x 2 6 9 - 1  x  2 6 9 - 2 6 7 6 13 Note that per the order of operations, you would work whats in the parentheses first, then calculate numbers with exponents, then multiply and/or divide, then add or subtract. Multiplication and division, as well as addition and subtraction, hold an equal place in the order of operations, so you work these from left to right. In the problem above, after taking care of the subtraction in the parentheses, you need to divide 5 by 5 first, yielding  1;  then multiply 1 by 2, yielding  2;  then subtract  2  from  9, yielding  7;  and then add  7 and  6, yielding a final answer of 13. Parentheses Can Also Mean Multiplication In the problem 3(2 5), the parentheses tell you to multiply. However, you wont multiply until you complete the operation inside the parentheses, 2 5, so you would solve the problem as follows: 3(2 5) 3(7) 21 Examples of Brackets [ ] Brackets are used after the parentheses to group numbers and variables as well. Typically, you would use the parentheses first, then brackets, followed by braces. Here is an example of a problem using brackets:   4 - 3[4 - 2(6 - 3)] à · 3 4 - 3[4 - 2(3)] à · 3 (Do the operation in the parentheses first; leave the parentheses.) 4 - 3[4 - 6] à · 3 (Do the operation in the brackets.) 4 - 3[-2] à · 3 (The bracket informs you to multiply the number within,   which is -3 x -2.) 4 6 à · 3 4 2 6 Examples of Braces { } Braces are also used to group numbers and variables. This example problem uses parentheses, brackets, and braces. Parentheses inside other parentheses (or brackets and braces) are also referred to as nested parentheses. Remember, when you have parentheses inside brackets and braces, or nested parentheses, always work from the inside out:   2{1 [4(2 1) 3]} 2{1 [4(3) 3]} 2{1 [12 3]} 2{1 [15]} 2{16} 32 Notes About Parentheses, Brackets, and Braces Parentheses, brackets, and braces are sometimes referred to as  round, square, and curly brackets, respectively. Braces are also used in sets, as in: {2, 3, 6, 8, 10...} When working with nested parentheses, the order will always be parentheses, brackets, braces, as follows: {[( )]}