Removed #5 Posted August 8, 2011 Report Share Posted August 8, 2011 Ok you two there is a bit of a problem when writing on a computer in the UK as most programs are from the US its becoming a pain that when we write something and it gets under lined we have to either check the spelling by the use of an Oxford English Dictionary or just ignore the spelling mistake, its the same with pronunciation, ie aluminium, which has now come up as a spelling mistake ????????? I rest my case lol Most of those programs, at least those from MS, have the option to use an alternative dictionary. Since many of my correspondents are British / European I often use the UK dictionary rather than the US. If you'd like me to point out how to do that, give me a yell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Removed #5 Posted August 8, 2011 Report Share Posted August 8, 2011 That's a rule that seems to be really going out the window, these days! It's done so frequently, that the preposition in the proper place now sounds "stilted, effete, pompous" - seems like I've even seen the preposition at the end in some of my teaching textbooks! Aha, you liked that "stilted ..." eh?? (( Possibly someone should have added "redundant" to that list! )) If it's not obvious, from some of my replies here, I like to write. I actually like to write in something resembling correct English! (( Thank you Mrs Rue! [my 11th grade English teacher] )) Like y'all it pains me to see what some people write and call "English" (and I'm not criticizing any of the present company, this is an informal group so I'm fine with rules going out the window.) I told @mydiamond in a PM that I'd correct some of her grammar (mostly) but I want her to be able to look at it and say "Thanks!" not "Oh gawd, the pedant's at it again!" If I get on her nerves, all she has to do is say "Stop!" If her English weren't already so good and if she hadn't said that she wants to improve it, I wouldn't bother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Removed #5 Posted August 8, 2011 Report Share Posted August 8, 2011 My spelling is awful (horrible for a teacher to admit, but I blame it on being taught a weird way of spelling in 1st grade - a weird type of phonics/invented spelling - then being switched back to regular, standard English and spelling!), but I have a fairly good grasp of grammar. Would rather teach Spanish grammar than English, though! I'd rather teach *ANY* grammar, I think, rather than English. Even Spanish or German, with their exceptions, make more sense than English. For that matter, Japanese grammar makes more sense than English!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranormal Wolf Posted August 8, 2011 Report Share Posted August 8, 2011 Take the "still" out of the first sentence and both are correct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutsibe Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Aha, you liked that "stilted ..." eh?? (( Possibly someone should have added "redundant" to that list! )) If it's not obvious, from some of my replies here, I like to write. I actually like to write in something resembling correct English! (( Thank you Mrs Rue! [my 11th grade English teacher] )) I enjoy writing, too - for the most part. Sad thing, the two Internet classes I'm currently taking are really souring me on our educational system. They are so intense with work, and it's so much b.s. that I hate what I ought to love! They obviously now expect students to skim all reading assignments to find the answers to questions, rather than to truly read to integrate information. I'm learning precious little, and spitting out garbage that will get me good grades! I'd rather teach *ANY* grammar, I think, rather than English. Even Spanish or German, with their exceptions, make more sense than English. For that matter, Japanese grammar makes more sense than English!! I've no familiarity with Japanese, unfortunately. Spanish is a fairly regular language - even their irregularities often follow some sort of pattern! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mydiamond Posted August 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Aha, you liked that "stilted ..." eh?? (( Possibly someone should have added "redundant" to that list! )) If it's not obvious, from some of my replies here, I like to write. I actually like to write in something resembling correct English! (( Thank you Mrs Rue! [my 11th grade English teacher] )) Like y'all it pains me to see what some people write and call "English" (and I'm not criticizing any of the present company, this is an informal group so I'm fine with rules going out the window.) I told @mydiamond in a PM that I'd correct some of her grammar (mostly) but I want her to be able to look at it and say "Thanks!" not "Oh gawd, the pedant's at it again!" If I get on her nerves, all she has to do is say "Stop!" If her English weren't already so good and if she hadn't said that she wants to improve it, I wouldn't bother. oh come on don't be like that Al you can correct my grammatical mistakes in any way you want I need to improve my English anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueWolf Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 I enjoy writing, too - for the most part. Sad thing, the two Internet classes I'm currently taking are really souring me on our educational system. They are so intense with work, and it's so much b.s. that I hate what I ought to love! They obviously now expect students to skim all reading assignments to find the answers to questions, rather than to truly read to integrate information. I'm learning precious little, and spitting out garbage that will get me good grades! Oh wow. At least I'm not the only one who's having problems with that At my previous school we had to solve a bunch of questions at such rate that it was nearly impossible to finish them by the end of the year. The best thing you could do -and that is what the rest of the class did- was copying answers from each other. Most teacher knew that and decided to ignore it. All my classmates where more than happy to give me all the answers I needed but until the end I refused to do that because I actually want to KNOW what I'm doing. I'm there to LEARN things, right?! As a result, I didn't got them done by the end of the year. In fact, I wasn't even halfway. I decided to quit that school after three years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elenamarie Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 I enjoy writing, too - for the most part. Sad thing, the two Internet classes I'm currently taking are really souring me on our educational system. They are so intense with work, and it's so much b.s. that I hate what I ought to love! They obviously now expect students to skim all reading assignments to find the answers to questions, rather than to truly read to integrate information. I'm learning precious little, and spitting out garbage that will get me good grades! I've no familiarity with Japanese, unfortunately. Spanish is a fairly regular language - even their irregularities often follow some sort of pattern! I took Hebrew to meet my foreign language requirements in college. The rules are so different from English it took some getting used to, but once you got the rules it was pretty easy. I have heard that English is the most difficult language to learn, so kudos to @mydiamond for tackling it and doing it so well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mydiamond Posted August 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 I took Hebrew to meet my foreign language requirements in college. The rules are so different from English it took some getting used to, but once you got the rules it was pretty easy. I have heard that English is the most difficult language to learn, so kudos to @mydiamond for tackling it and doing it so well! I've been learning English since I was three. So... I've spent 12 years of my life learning this tricky language x) And I STILL made mistakes O_O Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elenamarie Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Ok you two there is a bit of a problem when writing on a computer in the UK as most programs are from the US its becoming a pain that when we write something and it gets under lined we have to either check the spelling by the use of an Oxford English Dictionary or just ignore the spelling mistake, its the same with pronunciation, ie aluminium, which has now come up as a spelling mistake ????????? I rest my case lol Here's the option for MS Word 2007 in image form (click to enlarge.) Hope that helps! [ATTACH]17734[/ATTACH] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elenamarie Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 I've been learning English since I was three. So... I've spent 12 years of my life learning this tricky language x) And I STILL made mistakes O_O You write it better than many of my kids' friends! Give yourself more credit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valhalla Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Here's the option for MS Word 2007 in image form (click to enlarge.) Hope that helps! [ATTACH]17734[/ATTACH] Thank you Elenamarie, I will do that now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elenamarie Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Thank you Elenamarie, I will do that now Most welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutsibe Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Oh wow. At least I'm not the only one who's having problems with that At my previous school we had to solve a bunch of questions at such rate that it was nearly impossible to finish them by the end of the year. The best thing you could do -and that is what the rest of the class did- was copying answers from each other. Most teacher knew that and decided to ignore it. All my classmates where more than happy to give me all the answers I needed but until the end I refused to do that because I actually want to KNOW what I'm doing. I'm there to LEARN things, right?! As a result, I didn't got them done by the end of the year. In fact, I wasn't even halfway. I decided to quit that school after three years. Most of what we have to do involves writing relatively short papers (a couple of paragraphs to a page or two), distilling a LOT of info down into that small amount - doesn't show what we've learned, to my mind. We have to write several short posts for the class's online bulletin boards, and then respond to several classmates' posts. Some of the info is from the 5 texts I have for the 2 classes, a bunch of documents downloaded from the course site, and info found at various web pages. If you did more than skim the reading, plus watching the videos and other activities, it would take quite a bit more time than they suggest it should take, and I'm quite good at reading! I'm learning more from the face-to-face class where I just have to read a chapter or two a week, take a quick quiz weekly, and have a fairly short mid-term and final. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Removed #5 Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 oh come on don't be like that Al you can correct my grammatical mistakes in any way you want I need to improve my English anyway! Oh, don't fear, I will Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian brown Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Aha, you liked that "stilted ..." eh?? (( Possibly someone should have added "redundant" to that list! )) If it's not obvious, from some of my replies here, I like to write. I actually like to write in something resembling correct English! (( Thank you Mrs Rue! [my 11th grade English teacher] )) Like y'all it pains me to see what some people write and call "English" (and I'm not criticizing any of the present company, this is an informal group so I'm fine with rules going out the window.) I told @mydiamond in a PM that I'd correct some of her grammar (mostly) but I want her to be able to look at it and say "Thanks!" not "Oh gawd, the pedant's at it again!" If I get on her nerves, all she has to do is say "Stop!" If her English weren't already so good and if she hadn't said that she wants to improve it, I wouldn't bother. I'm sorry but...... "wasn't" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutsibe Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 I'm sorry but...... "wasn't" Nope - use of the subjunctive 'contrary to fact'. Just not used in English much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Removed #5 Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 I'm sorry but...... "wasn't" Sorry, but subjunctive mood is correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Removed #5 Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Nope - use of the subjunctive 'contrary to fact'. Just not used in English much! pedant .... LOL!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutsibe Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 pedant .... LOL!! Actually, I learned the use of the Subjunctive from learning Spanish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Removed #5 Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Actually, I learned the use of the Subjunctive from learning Spanish! Haven't been there yet, my Spanish is my border and tourist Spanish. Seldom, consciously, out of the indicative; and when I am, the conjugation is normally wrong - oh well, that's what I gt for living on the border where the Spanish is a MESS! and ... You must have posted your message while I was checking mine .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutsibe Posted August 9, 2011 Report Share Posted August 9, 2011 Haven't been there yet, my Spanish is my border and tourist Spanish. Seldom, consciously, out of the indicative; and when I am, the conjugation is normally wrong - oh well, that's what I gt for living on the border where the Spanish is a MESS! and ... You must have posted your message while I was checking mine .... I haven't had a chance to use it enough, outside of teaching it to kids who know generally very little, so am really rusty! I can read up to about the level of the first Harry Potter book (looking up the occasional word), but I have to put a LOT more thought into it, than I do when reading in English. Interestingly, most of the Mexican kids I've worked with at school understand it, but really can't speak it - and have no clue how the grammar works! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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