English Department

[czgibson]

Greetings,

I've been thinking for a while that it might be useful to have a thread where people can ask questions about the English language - spelling, grammar, punctuation and things like that. After getting the thumbs-up for this idea on the "Down Crack" thread, I've decided to give it a go. Also, if anyone has questions about specific texts they are studying at school, people who've read them might be able to help out with those, too.

I'll get things started with a quick explanation about something that confuses lots of people (English or otherwise) - the apostrophe (').

Apostrophes have two main functions:

1. to show that letters have been left out of a word
2. to show that something belongs to someone or something.

They should never be used for plurals, so writing something like "I love animal's" would be wrong.

Here are some examples with the correct usage:

It's raining.
I'm feeling fine.
He's very silly.
They've moved house.

The apostrophes are there to show that the writer means "It is...", "I am...", "He is..." and "They have...".

Incidentally, when writing about decades, we don't need an apostrophe, because no letters have been left out:

The 1980s

That's simple enough, now for the more tricky part.

When we want to say that something belongs to someone or something, we write an apostrophe after the owner, and add the letter 's':

The dog's bone. (One dog owns the bone.)
John's house.

If the person or thing ends with the letter 's', or we want to talk about something with more than one owner, it's common to put an apostrophe after it, and not to add another 's':

James' football.
The dogs' bone. (More than one dog owns the bone.)

We always put the apostrophe after the owner, so in the two doggy examples above, in the first one the owner is "the dog", in the second the owner is "the dogs".

Still with me? OK. Now for the confusing part - the word "its". How do we know whether to write "it's" or "its"?

The answer is that we only use "it's" when we mean "it is". If you want to talk about something that is owned by something else, use "its":

Every rose has its thorn.
The dog was playing with its bone.

Right, I hope that's been useful for somebody. For now, bring on the questions...

Peace

[Far7an]

Hi Callum (is it ok if I call you that?)

That was excellent! Maybe you can go over the usage of commas?

Merci.

[- Qatada -]

hey! nice thread and thanks for the explanation above.

the main two tools that confuse me are the:

: and the ;

i dont understand when your supposed to use them, like are we supposed to use the one with the comma (;) if we're going to mention a list, and would we use the one with the double fullstop [colon] (:) if we're just going to eg. explain the definition of something.

please could you explain that.
thanks.

peace!

[Zuko]

Hi Callum (is it ok if I call you that?)

That was excellent! Maybe you can go over the usage of commas?

Merci.

Yeah! Commas are confusing...

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[Shadow]

yessss finally en englesh diparment
i neeed sime emprovhing on me eglessh

:p

i have a question though

The answer is that we only use "it's" when we mean "it is". If you want to talk about something that is owned by something else, use "its"

i dont get that part

[- Qatada -]

Salaam o 'alykum warahmatulahi wabarakatuh.

I think commas are used in sentences to give a slight pause within that sentence, unlike full stops which are used as a slight pause but go onto another subject.

So for example; He went on the internet to visit the forum, it was really interesting so he stayed on longer than he had planned.

^^lol. If you look at the sentence above, it shows how the part after the comma could not make sense on its own, but you also need the slight pause in between for the sentence to make sense.


An example of a sentence is; He went on the internet to visit the forum. He really enjoyed his visit on the forum so he stayed on the net longer than he had planned.


Now from the example above, it shows how both sentences can make sense on their own, without having to be read together to make sense.


Allaah u a'lam. (Allaah subhanahu wa ta'aala knows best.)


Wasalaam o 'Alykum Warahamtulahi Wabarakatuh.

[h1jabi_sista]

as salam alikum! :peace:

ahaa! the friendly comma!!:okay:

the comma is used to emphasis a pause (like brother akhee mentioned) but its also used to list.

for example- The car, lorry, motor bike and the van.

the comma cannot be put BEFORE an 'and' because it signifies the ending to the list.

Just a quick question though, if i were to say 'commas' would i put the apostrophe here --> commas'

:w: :peace:

[sapphire]

oh yay finally an english department....i hope this will benifit me greatly as i find the subject english really hard...

[czgibson]

Greetings,

Thanks for the positive responses. I'll try to cover commas in the near future - it's quite a large subject so it'll take me a little while...

Meanwhile:

the main two tools that confuse me are the:

: and the ;

i dont understand when your supposed to use them, like are we supposed to use the one with the comma (;) if we're going to mention a list, and would we use the one with the double fullstop [colon] (:) if we're just going to eg. explain the definition of something.

please could you explain that.
thanks.

peace!

The colon (:) is often used for starting a list or giving an example, like this:

Here are the things I am going to talk about: blah, blah and blah.

So there I've given an example of a list, and I used a colon to introduce it, after the words "like this".

The semicolon (;) is often used to divide a single sentence into two, although its uses can vary a great deal. A vague rule of thumb is that it can be used when you want to signal a pause slightly longer that a comma.
Of all the punctuation marks, this one is most often used by writers in a variety of personal ways. Some writers use it to divide items in a list instead of commas, like this:

Here are the things I am going to talk about: blah; blah; and finally blah.

Most often, though, it's used to divide a sentence into two, where the two parts of the sentence are connected in some way:

He had no bodily co-ordination; that was why he couldn't dance very well.

In fact, in Akhee's example above, I would be tempted to use a semicolon, because the two parts of the sentence could indeed be separate sentences:

He went on the internet to visit the forum; it was really interesting so he stayed on longer than he had planned.

Since the use of the semicolon is often personal to the writer, it's difficult to give advice on how to use it beyond what I've said.

Peace

[czgibson]

Hello Gandalf,

yessss finally en englesh diparment
i neeed sime emprovhing on me eglessh

:)


The easy way to remember it is that "it's" with an apostrophe always means "it is", whereas "its" always means "belonging to it".

Hope that helps.

Peace

[- Qatada -]

hey thanks for the explanation.

lol i was just checking the 'whos online' section and 9 people are viewing your section :p so your well popular masha Allaah! lol

peace.

[Halima]

What are sentence fragments?



Fragments are incomplete sentences. Usually, fragments are pieces of sentences that have become disconnected from the main clause. One of the easiest ways to correct them is to remove the period between the fragment and the main clause. Other kinds of punctuation may be needed for the newly combined sentence.

[Zuko]

Hey Professor gibson (lol, I've always wnated to say that), can you explain 'passive' and 'active voice'? :coolious:

[Uthman]

Greetings Callum,

Firstly, your post was extremely helpful! Incidentally, I've just been writing my final draft of a poetry essay to hand in tomorrow, which leads me on to my question:

Do English teachers enjoy giving students essays to write or something? Seriously, there's only so much a student can take, especially when they have so many forums to visit and so little time to visit them in!

Finally, haben sie any tips for essay writing that you can share? It'd be invaluable!

Regards,

Der Grand Ozzenator

[czgibson]

Greetings,

as salam alikum! :peace:

ahaa! the friendly comma!!:okay:

the comma is used to emphasis a pause (like brother akhee mentioned) but its also used to list.

for example- The car, lorry, motor bike and the van.

the comma cannot be put BEFORE an 'and' because it signifies the ending to the list.

Yep - you're right on all counts.

Just a quick question though, if i were to say 'commas' would i put the apostrophe here --> commas'

You wouldn't need an apostrophe if you meant "more than one comma". Apostrophes are never used for plurals. If you meant "belonging to the comma" then you could do it like this:

The comma's shape is curved.

If you wanted to talk about something belonging to more than one comma, then you would write it like this:

The commas' shapes are all the same.

That would be quite an unusual thing to say, but that's how you'd write it anyway.

Peace

[czgibson]

Greetings,

Active and Passive voice

Here is an active sentence that I used to use with two rather excitable Saudi students of mine:

Nadir hit Fahad.

Here's a passive version of the same sentence:

Fahad was hit by Nadir.

The same verb features in both sentences ("hit"). We call the person (or thing) that is doing the verb "the agent". So, in the first sentence, Nadir (the agent) comes first, and in the second, he comes last.

That's the difference, but why do we use them?

We use the passive when the agent is obvious, unknown or we want to emphasise the person who the action is being done to. So, normally, we would use the first sentence ("Nadir hit Fahad.") because it is simpler. If we were more interested in Fahad, though, we would use the second.

Here is a passive sentence where the agent is obvious:

Six million hamburgers are eaten in America every week.

Who is doing the eating? People - it's obvious, so we don't need to mention it.

Here, the agent is unknown:

My bicycle was stolen last week.

So we can't mention the agent, because we don't know who did the stealing.

Hopefully that's clear - I'm teaching this very point with a Year 7 class on Tuesday!

Peace

[Zuko]

Thanks man!

[czgibson]

Hi Osman,

Firstly, your post was extremely helpful! Incidentally, I've just been writing my final draft of a poetry essay to hand in tomorrow, which leads me on to my question:

Cool - what kind of poetry?

Do English teachers enjoy giving students essays to write or something?

Yes - we love it! Students have to be able to write essays in order to pass exams. That's the main reason you need to do so many of them! The reason they're valued in exams is that they are the best way to ascertain someone's view on any given question.

Finally, haben sie any tips for essay writing that you can share? It'd be invaluable!

Well, there's a lot I could say, and it depends what kind of essay you had in mind. If you were writing an argumentative essay, that would be different from a descriptive essay, and so on.

If you're writing about poetry (or any other text), the most important thing to remember is textual evidence. Every point you make has to be backed up with reference to the text. One way of building up paragraphs that I use with my students is called Point, Evidence, Explanation (or PEE for short).

You make your point; you back it up with a quotation; you explain how that quote relates to what you've said. Voila! A perfect paragraph is born!

Peace

[Hajar]

Thanks for clearing that up!!!!! :smile:

[Zuko]

One way of building up paragraphs that I use with my students is called Point, Evidence, Explanation (or PEE for short).

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D LOL, now I'll never forget that! Thanks for the tip!

[czgibson]

Greetings,

Far7an asked for an explanation of how to use commas, but I'm taking the lazy option by giving this link, which explains it more fully than I could:

Commas - Wikipedia entry

As you can see, there are many uses for commas! All I would add to that is that a comma is generally used in writing where you would normally pause slightly if you were speaking.

Peace

[Uthman]

Hi Callum,

Cool - what kind of poetry?

The Laboratory and My Last Duchess by Robert Browning. I immediately noticed how both of the main characters were deranged, and I was sure to include that in my essay. :)

Yes - we love it! Students have to be able to write essays in order to pass exams. That's the main reason you need to do so many of them! The reason they're valued in exams is that they are the best way to ascertain someone's view on any given question.

I see. I agree, this has caused me to re-think my view on essayanity. Darn, resistance is futile!

Well, there's a lot I could say, and it depends what kind of essay you had in mind. If you were writing an argumentative essay, that would be different from a descriptive essay, and so on.

A comparative essay. I've read that essays are always arguments and that's a key thing that students must understand. Is this true?

If you're writing about poetry (or any other text), the most important thing to remember is textual evidence. Every point you make has to be backed up with reference to the text. One way of building up paragraphs that I use with my students is called Point, Evidence, Explanation (or PEE for short).

You make your point; you back it up with a quotation; you explain how that quote relates to what you've said. Voila! A perfect paragraph is born!

Thank you very much indeed! I swear that the first time my English teacher reminded us to PEE on our papers, I was -- well -- scared would be an understatement.

Lastly, what is the difference between practised and practiced.

Thanks for all your help!

Regards,

Osman

[czgibson]

Hi Osman,

Just a quick one, cause I've got to get to bed...

"Practice" is a noun, like "advice", whereas "practise" is a verb, like "advise".

Bonne nuit!

Peace

[h1jabi_sista]

Hi Callum,



The Laboratory and My Last Duchess by Robert Browning. I immediately noticed how both of the main characters were deranged, and I was sure to include that in my essay. :)

as salam alikum,

I remember doing that, i really enjoyed it and i hope you dont mind me helping.

Yes both the characters are deranged, but you have to say how? What do the two poems have in comman and what are their differences?

PEE was extremely helpful to me in my exams. Id make the most out it! I used to wonder why the teachers emphasised it soo much. But when your in the exam it adds structure to what your righting. Its a very good skill to have.

:sister:

:w:

[Muhammad]

Greetings Callum!

I am sorry I missed the launch of this thread, though I must say that I was extremely delighted that you went ahead with it! :sunny: I am sure you will benefit many people with this, as improving on our English skills is undoubtedly a very important task, and I thank you for taking the time to start this thread and helping the members of LI. :)

The thread does seem to be moving quite fast, and I hope you will not find the large numbers of questions too overwhelming!
I have a quick question from your first post about the apostraphes:

Is it wrong to say James's instead of James', or is it a case of common practice?

I think I will have more questions for later Insha'Allaah, but for now I will let you catch up on the thread!

Peace.

[czgibson]

Greetings,

Osman made the point that all essays are argumentative at some level, and this is broadly true. Even in a descriptive essay, or an explanatory piece of writing, you need to convince your reader that what you are saying is valid, which is a type of persuasive approach.

By the way, I'm not familiar with those two poems by Browning. :-[

Even though they're standard texts, I've never had to teach them! I've never got round to reading them either - but you've reminded me so I'll do so now...

Muhammad raises an interesting point about whether it's incorrect to write James's rather than James'. This is really a question of common practice - the first way is not wrong, but many people think the second way looks neater. Really, it's up to you which method you use, as both are acceptable, but in printed books in English the second way is much more common.

Peace

[czgibson]

Greetings,

If you fancy another test, here's a quiz about commonly confused words:

Commonly Confused Words

This one is useful, but quite hard - I certainly didn't get full marks first time round.

Peace

[czgibson]

Greetings,

Osman, thanks for reminding me about the existence of Robert Browning - those two poems were great! There are plenty of points to compare and contrast. It's too late for me to give you my thoughts since you've handed your essay in already, but, for what it's worth, I preferred 'My Last Duchess' - it's very subtle and it conceals its secrets more cunningly!

Browning is a writer I've never had much interest in before, but I'll definitely be looking into his work more thoroughly now.

Thanks again!

Peace

[czgibson]

Greetings,

Here's a poem that I love so much I feel compelled to show it to people all the time. It's one of the most famous sonnets in English, and it's heavily ironic. It's by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), and it's called 'Ozymandias':

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said:—Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things,
The hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains: round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Glossary:

trunkless = without a body
visage = face

Let me know what you think of it. Comments and questions are always welcome.

Peace

[h1jabi_sista]

as salam alikum, peace

That test was excellant! thank-you for sharing.

There are soo many words that have the same prounouciation, but are spelt differently, i didnt realise them until now.

Faze and phase, read and read, sun and son theres so many of them!

:sister:

:w:

[h1jabi_sista]

peace!

i get it!!!!

from here ''Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things,
The hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed.'' ....to here, the poet is describing a corpse? a lifeless object? something decaying?


thisman mocked them im guessing. He thought himself ''"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:''
to back this up he wrote ''Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!"


from the last few lines the irony kicks in
''Nothing beside remains: round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away. ''

the last line describes the vast distance of how wrong he was, as nothing is left but a few words to show the reader who he was.

:sister:

i just did that quickly, am i interpreting it right?

[czgibson]

Greetings,

....to here, the poet is describing a corpse? a lifeless object? something decaying?

It is a lifeless object - a stone statue which is mostly destroyed.

from the last few lines the irony kicks in
''Nothing beside remains: round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away. ''

the last line describes the vast distance of how wrong he was, as nothing is left but a few words to show the reader who he was.

i just did that quickly, am i interpreting it right?

Absolutely right - well done!

So the mighty will indeed despair, but not for the reason that Ozymandias imagines. The poem shows that the great will fall no matter how mighty they are.

Peace

[h1jabi_sista]

peace,

yes,:sister: hence the contrast on the the following line.

''Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!"

:peace:

[Uthman]

:sl:

That's no problem Callum! I have to say that Robert Browning doesn't appeal to me much though! It must be an 'English teacher' thing.

What do you think of Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy? We're studying it now. Do you suggest we try to interpret things word-for-word when reading pre-1914 prose or just to get the gist of what's going on?

Also, do you know why the exam boards are so insistent on us doing pre-1914 poetry and prose? Why must it still apply to everyone in the twenty-first century?

:w:

P.S. Your explanation about apostrophes has been really helpful :coolious:

[Muhammad]

Greetings Callum,

I just wanted to ask why poets sometimes write certain words with apostraphes, for example mock'd instead of mocked, and shatter'd instead of shattered. Is this simply the style of old poetry?

Thanks in advance,

Peace.

[Khaldun]

:sl:

I believe this is Elision you are refering to.

[F.Y.]

Awww, I missed the launch of this thread too!! Nevermind, I'm here now. Do you know the mistake I see many, many people making? When they spell the different "your/you're" wrong. E.g. "Your wrong" - ugh! It is You're, You're, You're.
It is shocking to see this kind of mistake on commercial stuff too.

I think that seeing as this is the 'proper English' thread, everybody is more willing (or under pressure?!) to spell and write out full sentences and words instead of "yeh i fink ur rite coz..." This kind of writing/spelling also annoys me - a lot.

hehe. Peace.

[Muezzin]

Word out to the LI Massive: Learn to Spell

Your -> This is your life... and your pair of underpants.

You're -> You're so sweet, they could make a cake out of you. An underpant cake.

Which -> Which pair of underpants do you want?

Witch -> She's a witch! She bewitched my underpants!

They're -> They're stealing my underpants

Their -> I stole their underpants

There -> There are your underpants

Son -> Those underpants belong to my son

Sun-> The sun burned your underpants to a crisp

[MetSudaisTwice]

salam
bro czgibson can you check this out for me? what can i do to improve it? or can you try and adjust errors or improvement for me?
jazakallah bro
wasalam

The Beggar

It is the season of summer now in the city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Warm? No, I think hot is the right word to describe today’s temperature. It was a particularly hot summer and each year as far as I can bear in mind the heat is significantly increasing in the city of Makkah, I have been suffering in this sweltering heat as I have many people to see and socialize with and usually walk through the beautifully yet jam packed streets to go to my friends houses. As I stroll through the congested streets full of locals and pilgrims from aboard celebrating the blessed month of Ramadhan I encounter one of my close friends and we decide to retire to a café to talk about life and have a cup of tea whilst talking.

As we sit down outside the café in the hot sunshine I call the waiter over, “Can I have two cups of tea please? Thank you”. Seeing as we were in café I thought I might as well get something to eat as I had work to go to in an hour’s time and it is a long shift. As I picked up the menu I notice there is many to choose from that I am spoilt for choice, after observing many delicious choices such as rice and chicken curry, chicken and chips that I could purchase to eat I then ordered to the waitress who was clearly not happy waiting for some time for me to order, “Can I also have two sandwiches please? Thank you”. While the waitress walked off to prepare our order I glanced over to the building that was opposite me and the café, the Grand Mosque of Makkah.

“The city looks simply stunning, don’t you think? Especially the Grand Mosque it looks so splendid!” my friend just nods his head in agreement, “Yes I agree; it is a joy to watch and mix with people who come from outside this Kingdom”
I was amazed as to how many people come year after year to visit this Mosque and how busy the streets of Makkah and the congested streets were so amazing to me. Although it is the summer period and many people suffer in the heat, people still find the strength to come and stroll through the beautiful city of Makkah.

As me and my friend sat there talking and laughing someone’s mobile started to ring. It was such a melodious ringtone and it was really loud too, very similar to my mobile phone’s ringtone. I got my phone out and checked if it was my mobile that was ringing. It wasn’t my mobile. I love my phone because it is such a thin, sleek design and it has all the essentials such as camera and video recording, but it was very expensive too. I then see that it was my friend’s phone that was ringing and he picks up and then indicates that he has to go, I presume maybe home to his wife and kids.

As I bid farewell to my friend my eyes caught a man who was disabled and he was a beggar in the busy streets, he was severely disabled and was begging in front of me on the other side of the street. This man was very desperate and looked very poor, he was wearing a shirt that was tattered and its buttons hanging off it and he was wearing a light colored trouser which was much worn out. As I observed his clothes I noticed that he was wearing a sandal which had seen its better days and the other foot was bare. The man had rummaged through the dustbin on the street in desperate hope to find food which to his joy he had found a few bones that he could chew on.
Just as he was chewing on a bone a rich looking man most likely to be a local Arab was clad in the traditional silky white thobe and red scarf on his head walked towards his parked car nearby the beggar. Many Arabian men wander through the streets wearing thobes which is aloose, long-sleeved, ankle-length garment. The summer thobes are white and made of cotton and it is perfectly suited for the hot desert climate of Saudi Arabia.

Just as the beggar was chewing on his dirty old bone, the Arab man who had parked his tinted Mercedes excessively close to the Grand Mosque in a designated VIP parking area walked passed the beggar on his way to his car. As he pulled the keys out and the alarm did that familiar electronic sound 'whup whup'. As the man entered his car the beggar put his hand on the Arab man’s shoulder in a desperate attempt to grab his attention and pulled him back. The beggar raised his finger to the sky and said, "Please, for the sake of your Muslim brother!”. The beggar had a clear accent and could speak perfect English, I could hear his speech clearly and I thought that isn’t bad for a beggar who could speak such clear and fluent English. The Arab man was taken aback at the fact that such a poor beggar had the nerve to touch and even ask such a rich man himself who was in such a high status in terms of social hierarchy compared to this ugly filthy looking tramp who was at the lowest point of the social status order.
“Do not touch me!” The voice was raised and in anger the Arab man pushed the beggar to the floor in such force that the beggar did not move from the ground for a while, his bone was thrown away from him as he landed on the floor on such impact. Trying to end the moment and avoid a dip into the pocket, the Arab man said back,
"Allah will provide you!" The beggar now on the floor in obvious pain said back, "What! Did you at any moment think that I thought YOU were my provider! I'm not asking for your provision, I KNOW Allah will provide for me."
As the beggar staggered and bought himself up from the floor, the two stood there staring at one another for a moment and then the Arab man went into his Mercedes and rolled up the tinted windows and then he drove away. He drove at such speed exquisitely and smoothly leaving behind the poisonous carbon monoxide fumes that continued to destroy the Earth’s Ozone Layer.

It was a shocking sight of course, to see so many people around, yet everyone was oblivious to the misery of this poor man. Why don’t the local community help the poor out more regularly? I try to donate as much money as I can generously but why can’t people align themselves with the poor and assist them out? I felt so emotionally overwhelmed by the incident the occurred right before my very own eyes. As I watched on in disbelief at such egotism of the Arab man the waiter delivered me my food. “Sir you have seemed to order two sandwiches but there seem to be only you here, do you want me to cancel this order?” I turned my back around to face the waiter, who had kindly put the sandwiches down the table.
“No leave them with me, leave both sandwich”.
The waiter seemed surprised as to why I had kept an extra sandwich but little did he know my intention as to why I intended to keep the extra sandwich. I looked at the sandwiches on the table, it looked very delicious, a toasted chicken sandwich with mayonnaise and lettuce. “Waiter hold on, can you give this sandwich to the beggar over there?” The waiter who had such neat combed hair and clean shaven face looked confused by my request.
“The beggar just across the road, he is wearing a light grey shirt that has its buttons hanging off and he is wearing cream trousers, go give the sandwich to him” then the waiter explains to me that he is not allowed off premises during work hours as it is against the work regulations. Looks like I will have to give him the sandwich myself. I might as well finish my delicious sandwich first and then I will give it to him. As I sat there eating my sandwich and also observing the beggar the thoughts of poverty and misery filled my mind. Here I was, someone to whom had been given so much. I had wealth, family, home, and so much more. Yet for the most part of my life was spent being unaware to the misery of the people around me.

I thought, "As I sit here eating this sandwich, safe and secure, how many people in this world are suffering from lack of food? How many people don’t have decent or any home to go to? I felt really ashamed of myself compared to this beggar because those who are blessed with such luxuries only think of buying bigger houses, better clothes, new mobile phones and faster cars while the poor only want some decent clothing and an adequate shelter to live in. people don’t give charity because they fear that it will lessen their riches but in fact it will help others and it will give you a moral boost.

As I eat my sandwich I notice that the beggar started to make a move.
“Waiter quickly give me the bill for these sandwiches” as I drop my half eaten sandwich on the table. i felt guilty knowing that my sandwich which I had not eaten will be thrown away in the rubbish tip. Yet how precious could they have been to the starving people in the country and around the world.

As the waiter hurriedly walks toward me with the bill I notice that the total amount is only 65 Riyals.
“Here is a hundred Riyals, keep the change”. It isn’t much and I can afford to buy food at such prices but these poor people can’t. As I ran out of the café I frantically search for the beggar. I really can’t see him, especially in this busy street. I ran toward the hotel at the end and by such chance I managed to see him in my sight.
“Hi I noticed what happened back there, and I am really sorry for what happened before with that egotistic man”, as I gasped and struggled for breath because that was a fair amount of running I did back there.
“What would you know?” the beggar says in a harsh and angry tone of voice. “Listen you just go back to wherever you came from, I don’t need you or your sympathy”
“I just wanted to give you this and I hope you accept this from me” As I show him the sandwich his scrawny face lights up and he is overjoyed. I feel really happy to be giving him such happiness.
“Thank you so much, this is probably the best food I will have in years” I felt so happy and proud to have been helping out the needy. I flicked my wrist and glanced at my Armani watch and noticed that I had not got long left until work.
“Brother I am going to have to go now, I am late for work” as I ran off toward the end of the street to catch the bus to work. As I wait for the bus feeling so happy and good about myself, I notice my bus was approaching. Oh I hope I get to work on time. I notice the gentleman in front of me reading a newspaper and on the back it read, ‘CHARITY DOES NOT DIMINISH WEALTH’

[czgibson]

Hi Osman,

That's no problem Callum! I have to say that Robert Browning doesn't appeal to me much though! It must be an 'English teacher' thing.

Maybe so. To be honest, I'm not usually that keen on most 19th-century literature; there's always something twee about a lot of it. I particularly liked 'My Last Duchess', though, because of the way that we are suddenly introduced to this strange character with no background, and we have to look for nuances of language to work out exactly what's going on. It's like a puzzle, and Ferrara's crime is only revealed with very close reading. I love that sort of thing - it's why James Joyce is my favourite writer!

What do you think of Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy? We're studying it now.

I'm not very keen on Thomas Hardy either - scandalous for an English teacher, I know! Having said that, his poetry is very good, but I find his novels very bleak. There's nothing wrong with being bleak, of course, but in the context of a chunky novel it's easy to feel overwhelmed by it.

Do you suggest we try to interpret things word-for-word when reading pre-1914 prose or just to get the gist of what's going on?

It depends how deeply you want to get into the book. When I read older literature I always want to know exactly what every word means, so I would recommend you try to do that. Feel free to show me some example sentences if you're having difficulty.

Also, do you know why the exam boards are so insistent on us doing pre-1914 poetry and prose? Why must it still apply to everyone in the twenty-first century?

It's partly to introduce you to the massive cultural heritage of English literature, and partly to show the enormous variety of tone, register and expression that's possible with the language. By the end of an English course, you should have a general impression of how the language has grown and developed. Also, unusual words and expressions can be very interesting, don't you think? For example, in the fourteenth century, the word 'also' was quite new. The word you'd find in its place more often is, wait for it, 'eek'! What a wonderful word!

Hi Muhammad,

I just wanted to ask why poets sometimes write certain words with apostraphes, for example mock'd instead of mocked, and shatter'd instead of shattered. Is this simply the style of old poetry?

Khaldun is right - this is called elision. Here's the reason for it: Before the 20th century, with a word like 'looked', you'd have a choice as to how to pronounce it, with one syllable, as we do now, or two (look-ed). In poetry, the number of syllables in a line is often very important in order to maintain a particular rhythm, so by eliding the word (making it shorter), the poet is making it clear how to pronounce it to give the intended rhythm. Conversely, if the poet wants the word to be pronounced with two syllables, you will see an accent over the 'e' to indicate this.

I hope that makes sense!

Peace

[czgibson]

Greetings, metsudaistwice,

salam
bro czgibson can you check this out for me? what can i do to improve it? or can you try and adjust errors or improvement for me?
jazakallah bro
wasalam

I can only give you general advice, since I already have quite a lot of marking to do, and also because I'm not sure what exactly what your teacher has asked for.

I have to say it's a brilliant story, with some great ideas. I particularly liked the way you described your expensive phone before introducing the beggar as a contrast - it works very well. When I first read it, I was thinking "Why is he talking about his phone?" but then it became clear and I thought "Very clever!"

You use some excellent vocabulary - "congested", "oblivious", "egotism". I also liked the comment on the rich man's exhaust fumes destroying the ozone layer (although you don't need capital letters for that).

Ways to improve:

1. With quotes for direct speech, always use a new paragraph for a new speaker.

2. Sometimes you repeat words a little too much - for example, in the paragraph about your phone, we have these sentences:

I got my phone out and checked if it was my mobile that was ringing. It wasn’t my mobile.

The words "mobile" and "phone" appear many times in that paragraph, so you should look to see if you could cut any of them out. Perhaps like this:

I got my phone out to see if it was ringing, but it wasn't.

That sentence is a little flat, so maybe you could liven it up by using an English idiom, like this:

I got my phone out to see if it was me that was ringing - it wasn't.

OK, that's all I have time for I'm afraid - but overall, very well done!

Peace

[MetSudaisTwice]

salam
thank you bro, if you could add anymore comments i would appreciate it, my courswork is to transform one genre to another
so i am transforming a poem on poverty in to a story of real life expereince
wasalam

[Halima]

:salamext:


Professor Gibson? Can I call you that for short? Well ok. In my English Class we've been going over DLP (daily language practices) and we've been going over sentence fragments, commas, vocabulary, and even Punctuation. Can you reinforce the differnce between a semi-colon, and a comma? When or when not to use it?

Jazakhallah Khairun


:wasalamex

[czgibson]

Greetings Halima,

Professor Gibson? Can I call you that for short?

Ha ha!! I'm not a professor, although I think I'd like to be one day.

Can you reinforce the differnce between a semi-colon, and a comma?

(A simple answer is that a semi-colon is used for a slightly longer pause than that indicated by a comma.)

It's difficult to give a cast-iron rule on when to use semi-colons and when to use commas; these things often vary according to personal preference.

For instance, in that last sentence, I used a semi-colon, because the two parts of the sentence could have been individual sentences by themselves. Since their meaning is connected, though, I decided to use a semi-colon. Others might have chosen to use a dash (-), or to write two separate sentences.

Semi-colons are also used in lists sometimes. Normally, people use commas to separate items in a list. When some of the items in a list actually contain commas, it's best to use semi-colons to avoid confusion, like this:

He has been accused of the following crimes: stealing money from his brother, whom he never got on with; driving an unlicensed vehicle, which was stolen anyway; and frightening lizards in winter, which, as everyone knows, is totally unacceptable.

Sorry about the silly example, but you get the idea. :)

Hope that helps. For advice on when to use commas, see the wikipedia entry that I linked to earlier. It does a better job of explaining their many different uses than I could!

Peace

[Shadow]

i have a question

is the book "The Davinci Code" based on a true story??

okay ill explain how i find that relevant to ask here

that book was originally wirtten in english(i think)

and this is the "english department"

that question is on my mind for some time now
because after reading it a bit, i find it hard to belive to be real

thanx for reading this

[mehnaz]

wow..kool...i love english...oh well..i luv all languages...i'd luv to get some lessons on grammar...with all the slang going on...wat abt learning new words??...jus a suggestion...

FiAmanillah

[Halima]

Greetings Professor,

Greetings Halima,


Ha ha!! I'm not a professor, although I think I'd like to be one day.

Oh? Is that so? It is hard to believe you are not a professor :)

For instance, in that last sentence, I used a semi-colon, because the two parts of the sentence could have been individual sentences by themselves. Since their meaning is connected, though, I decided to use a semi-colon. Others might have chosen to use a dash (-), or to write two separate sentences.

I think 'dashes' applies only when one has an interrupted thought right in the middle of the sentence therefore they would apply the dash.

He has been accused of the following crimes: stealing money from his brother, whom he never got on with; driving an unlicensed vehicle, which was stolen anyway; and frightening lizards in winter, which, as everyone knows, is totally unacceptable.

This example is kind of confusing because it appears as if you were creating a pattern between the semi-colon and the commas. Is it that one can use either or? A semi-colon or a comma? Although I can understand why you had put the colon because you were writing a list of things.

Sorry about the silly example, but you get the idea. :)

No, it's ok.:) Also, are are you good with vocabulary words? The reason why I ask is because I don't know the meaning of some of them.

Hope that helps. For advice on when to use commas, see the wikipedia entry that I linked to earlier. It does a better job of explaining their many different uses than I could!



Peace

Why go all the way to wikipedia when we can learn from you right here? :eek: I think you are doing a marvolous job.:peace:

[Muezzin]

i have a question

is the book "The Davinci Code" based on a true story??

Nah. It's mostly fiction based on pure conjecture. But it sells because hey, it's hip to diss religion now. Silly superficial readers. They should read a good book like Malcolm X's autobiography or anything by Edgar Allen Poe. They won't though, since they won't know who the former is, and will think the latter is a Telletubby.

[czgibson]

Greetings Halima,

It is hard to believe you are not a professor :)

:embarrass :)

I think 'dashes' applies only when one has an interrupted thought right in the middle of the sentence therefore they would apply the dash.

You're right - that's one use for dashes, but there are others. In that last sentence, for example, I used a dash to show that the following thought is connected to "You're right", but something like a comma would look a bit strange (to me, at least). As I said, uses for different items of punctuation are often personal to a particular writer. The writer William S. Burroughs uses dashes all over the place, whereas others hardly use them at all.

This example is kind of confusing because it appears as if you were creating a pattern between the semi-colon and the commas. Is it that one can use either or? A semi-colon or a comma? Although I can understand why you had put the colon because you were writing a list of things.

In this example you can't use one or the other. I had three items in the list, and because they all contained commas I used semi-colons to separate them. Imagine if I had used commas all the way through, and no semi-colons - that would be very confusing for the reader.

On the other hand, if I had a list where the items didn't include commas, I would just use commas to separate them, like this:

These are the important things to bring: a torch, a blanket and some sandwiches.

Also, are are you good with vocabulary words? The reason why I ask is because I don't know the meaning of some of them.

I know thousands of words, and any that I don't know I can look up, so feel free to mention any words you're having difficulty with.

Why go all the way to wikipedia when we can learn from you right here? :eek: I think you are doing a marvolous job.:peace:

Why, thank you! The main reason for me directing people to the wikipedia entry on commas is that there are so many ways to use commas that I would struggle to remember them all. Also, I don't think I could improve it as a reference on the subject.

Greetings Gandalf,

The Da Vinci Code is a work of fiction, but it does contain elements of historical fact, albeit twisted and modified in most cases. On this page you'll find loads of information (and links to more of the same) about the book. The question of "fact or fiction" is dealt with quite thoroughly at the bottom of the page (surprise, surprise, it's another wikipedia entry!):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Da_vinci_code

Hope that's of interest.

Peace

[Halima]

You're. The writer William S. Burroughs uses dashes all over the place, whereas others hardly use them at all.

In sheakspear why is the subject all over the place? That is the major between modern english and old english. The english that sheakspear wrote was poetic, however, the subject, predicate, verbs, and even linking verbs were all mixed up. Why is it like this but we still have to have footnotes to read off from it when the whole sentance is mixed up?

In this example you can't use one or the other. I had three items in the list, and because they all contained commas I used semi-colons to separate them. Imagine if I had used commas all the way through, and no semi-colons - that would be very confusing for the reader.

I had noticed a semi colon is half of an apostrophe and half a colon.

On the other hand, if I had a list where the items didn't include commas, I would just use commas to separate them, like this:

These are the important things to bring: a torch, a blanket and some sandwiches.

In the sentence above, shouldn't there be a comma after blanket? :eek:

I know thousands of words, and any that I don't know I can look up, so feel free to mention any words you're having difficulty with.

Ok. Well what does rancour and blatant mean?

[czgibson]

Greetings Halima,

In sheakspear why is the subject all over the place? That is the major between modern english and old english. The english that sheakspear wrote was poetic, however, the subject, predicate, verbs, and even linking verbs were all mixed up. Why is it like this but we still have to have footnotes to read off from it when the whole sentance is mixed up?

I think I know what you mean, but if you could give an example that would help. If you're referring to the fact that the subject of a sentence can appear in different places in Shakespeare's language compared to modern English, that's usually the result of differences in grammar. Sometimes you find this in poetry too - often writers will make adjustments in word order for a particular effect. This could be rhythm, the stresses of the syllables, or even to force a rhyme.

I had noticed a semi colon is half of an apostrophe and half a colon.

Half a colon and half a comma, I would say.

In the sentence above, shouldn't there be a comma after blanket? :eek:

Thanks for pointing this out; I forgot to mention it. In a list we often use 'and' before the final item, but there should never be a comma before the 'and'. After all, the commas are only there to separate the items in the list, and 'and' does that on its own.

Ok. Well what does rancour and blatant mean?

Rancour means a deep feeling of resentment or anger.

Blatant means unconcealed or completely obvious.

Hope that helps.

Peace

[Halima]

Greetings Halima,


I think I know what you mean, but if you could give an example that would help. If you're referring to the fact that the subject of a sentence can appear in different places in Shakespeare's language compared to modern English, that's usually the result of differences in grammar. Sometimes you find this in poetry too - often writers will make adjustments in word order for a particular effect. This could be rhythm, the stresses of the syllables, or even to force a rhyme.

Sorry for the late reply, however, here's an example from Sheakspear's MACBETH that I was talking about.




Scene:3
Act:5
Lines:47-56



Throw physic to the dogs, I'll none of it
Come, put mine armor on. Give me my staff
Seyton, send out.- Doctor, the thanes fly from me
Come sir, dispatch. If thou couldst, doctor, cast
The water of my land, find her disease
and purge it to a sound and pritine health
I would applaud thee to thy very echo
That should applaud again- Pull't off. I say-
What rhubarb, senna or what purgative drug,
Wouldscour these English hence? Hear'st thou of them?






So as you can see..the subjects and predicates are not in order unlike today's modern English. I wonder, how did English transition as to today's modern English from 1600 years ago.

[czgibson]

Greetings Halima,

I'm so sorry! I forgot about your question for a few days.

Sorry for the late reply, however, here's an example from Sheakspear's MACBETH that I was talking about.

Scene:3
Act:5
Lines:47-56

Throw physic to the dogs, I'll none of it
Come, put mine armor on. Give me my staff
Seyton, send out.- Doctor, the thanes fly from me
Come sir, dispatch. If thou couldst, doctor, cast
The water of my land, find her disease
and purge it to a sound and pritine health
I would applaud thee to thy very echo
That should applaud again- Pull't off. I say-
What rhubarb, senna or what purgative drug,
Wouldscour these English hence? Hear'st thou of them?

So as you can see..the subjects and predicates are not in order unlike today's modern English.

The only example I can see where the subject is in a different position than it would be in modern English is in the last sentence: "Hear'st thou of them?" All of the other subjects would be fine in those positions in modern English.

The reason for this is simply that English in Shakespeare's time used different grammatical rules. When asking a direct question to someone it was common to have the verb before the subject. For some reason, this word order fell out of use - I don't know why, to be honest.

Here's a webpage that gives other reasons for Shakespeare's common inversions of word order:

Shakespeare's Grammar - Syntax

I wonder, how did English transition as to today's modern English from 1600 years ago.

Phew! A massive question. There have been many books written on this subject. One that I would recommend very highly is David Crystal's The Stories of English. Alternatively, you could check out the information and links on this page:

History of English

I hope there's something of interest there.

Peace

[Uthman]

Hullo,

What is the best way to start off an essay?

[Muezzin]

Hullo,

What is the best way to start off an essay?

With words.

[Uthman]

:sl:

Darn it, why didn't I think of that(?)

:w:

[Brother_Mujahid]

With words.

i differ

you start with bismillah 'in the name of Allah'.......... and then begin with words :)

[Muezzin]

i differ

you start with bismillah 'in the name of Allah'.......... and then begin with words :)

Touche.

Which rhymes with 'True say'.

Which also conveys the meaning of this message.

Or something. :)

[czgibson]

Greetings Osman,

Long time no speak! Hope you're doing OK.

What is the best way to start off an essay?

You should start off an essay with an introduction. That sounds obvious, I know. What you include in the introduction depends to some extent on what kind of essay you're writing.

Ideally you should say what you intend to discuss, and how you are going to go about it. If you're presenting an argument, you should give a broad outline of your position before going into more detail. This way, the reader will be able to judge how well your essay succeeds by reference to your own criteria. You can also refer back to your introduction in your conclusion, to show how you have done what you said you were going to do.

Here's some advice on writing introductions:

Introductions

Incidentally, one of my professors at University gave me some useful advice on essay writing - try writing the conclusion first, and the introduction last. That's a good tip if you know what your thoughts are about a particular question but you can't quite figure out how to express them in a clear and logical way. It's not an approach that works for everyone, but I thought I'd share it anyway - give it a try and see what you think.

I'm curious to know what your essay is about now!

Peace

[Muhammad]

Greetings Callum,

I've just remembered a question that I couldn't remember the last time I came in here. It's about the usage of 'a' and 'an'.

I've noticed that some people tend to write 'an' before words starting with a H - when the H is pronounced individually. For example: 'It was an H.I.F'. Or I just used an example when I said "starting with a H" - I could have said "starting with an H".

This can also apply to any such word which begins with a vowel sound - I can't think of an example right now but I hope you know what I mean.

So can you clarify what is the correct usage in these situations?

Thanks for your help :).

Peace.

[czgibson]

Hi Muhammad,

The rule is that you should use 'an' before a word starting with a vowel (or a vowel sound), and 'a' before words starting with a consonant. It's because of the different ways people have of pronouncing 'h' that the ambiguity you've noticed crops up. Some people pronounce it with a consonant at the start - 'haitch', and some with a vowel sound - 'aitch'.

With abbreviations, if you say 'haitch' then you should normally use 'a'; if you say 'aitch', then 'an' would be appropriate.

Similarly, there are two ways of pronouncing words that begin with 'h'. Take the word 'hotel':

Most people pronounce the 'h', so saying 'a hotel' would be appropriate. Some people don't pronounce the 'h', and use 'an', so what you hear is 'an 'otel'.

Hopefully that's clear!

Peace

[Uthman]

Hi Callum,

Thanks for your help with my essay. It was on chapters 36 - 38 of 'Far from the Madding' by Thomas Hardy. You'll, no doubt, be familiar with it. :) Anyway, I handed in my first draft which I know I did really badly on because it was only 2.5 pages when other people were writing up to 4 pages!

Oh well...

[Uthman]

:sl:

What are panzies? What is a panzy? It isn't in the dictionary and Far7an didn't explain it to me very well. :brother:

[Muezzin]

:sl:

What are panzies? What is a panzy? It isn't in the dictionary and Far7an didn't explain it to me very well. :brother:

Pooftas, ponces, weaklings, girlymen, marmite miners, tutti-fruities, benders, homos, batty boys, gays.

No offence to any erm... homosexual people reading this.

[Uthman]

:sl:

Thanks, that clears things up :)

[shudnt_have]

:sl:
Informative thread, Can anyone go over the process of writing a thesis for a compartive essay?:heated:

[Lateralus63]

:sl:

I'd like to add on the bit for introductions. When your writing an essay or any kind of document that is analytical. The best introduction is usually a summary of your arguement. Since i feel the hardest thing in english is to actually *start* writing lol!

[Younus]

:sl:

This thread is to improve the English language skills and to ask grammatical questions on English, so that our English language improves inshaaAllah.

:w:

[The Ruler]

:sl:

This thread is to improve the English language skills and to ask grammatical questions on English, so that our English language improves inshaaAllah.

:w:

:sl:

good thread but maybe you can also turn this thread into a thread where you can learn nes vocabulary aswell :happy:...because that is why i am always failing to get the grade my mum wants :mmokay:

:w:

[Younus]

lets start inshaaAllah

whats the adjective form for 'business' ? I know the answer for this mashaaAllah.

[Muhammad]

:sl:

Threads merged :).

To attempt your question... is it businesslike?

[Nablus]

its a needed part in this forum


best regards

[Younus]

To attempt your question... is it businesslike?

no, thats not the correct answer. :rollseyes :)

:w:

[limitless]

lets start inshaaAllah

whats the adjective form for 'business' ? I know the answer for this mashaaAllah.

:sl:

The adjective form for the term, business, is:

Bankrupt Definition is indebted.


:w:

[Younus]

:sl:

The adjective form for the term, business, is:

Bankrupt Definition is indebted.


:w:

no, thats not the correct answer :rollseyes :)

[Younus]

shall I give the answer ?

[limitless]

Apparently it is, it is what I learned at ENG3U1 course which is, Canadian English University level. It is found on www.dictionary.com as well. Yeah lol give your answer, smarty pants lol

[Younus]

^ you are not supposed to look into dictionary ;D just tell what you feel, and if you don't know the anwer then tell me, and I will give the answer inshaaAllah

[Younus]

the adjective form of business is busy , isn't that amazing ?! ;D

[limitless]

*_* not really!! I looked it up, just to make sure I am not wrong !_! .

[Younus]

*_* not really!! I looked it up, just to make sure I am not wrong !_! .

*_* !_! what does that mean? :rollseyes

[Younus]

:sl:

next -

Add a question tag to the following sentence -

"There was a loud bang outside."

[czgibson]

Greetings,

Add a question tag to the following sentence -

"There was a loud bang outside."

"There was a loud bang outside, wasn't there?"

Peace

[Muslim Knight]

I've always confused with the use of "had" and "have"

He had been a good person in life
He has been a good person in life

Can you tell me what is the difference?

[syilla]

i'm confused with the usage of 'i had had'.

[Skillganon]

I've always confused with the use of "had" and "have"

He had been a good person in life
He has been a good person in life

Can you tell me what is the difference?

I think "have" is present tense and "had" past tense.

[Younus]

I've always confused with the use of "had" and "have"

He had been a good person in life
He has been a good person in life

Can you tell me what is the difference?

:sl:


He had been a good person in life

The word 'had' in this sentence indicates that the particular person was a good person, but later he may have changed OR he was good throughout his life, but he has died long ago, so the word 'had' has been used.

He has been a good person in life.

The word 'has' in this sentence indicates that the particular person was a good person throughout his life, and has died just recently.

had been - past perfect tense

has been - present perfect tense



Allah knows best.

[learningislam]

:salamext:

i am glad to see a thread dedicated to "English".
Here's what troubles me..

Listen to me.
Listen me.

Which is the right one ?

:wasalamex

[czgibson]

Greetings,

He has been a good person in life.

The word 'has' in this sentence indicates that the particular person was a good person throughout his life, and has died just recently.

Or they could still be alive. The present perfect indicates an action that began in the past and continues up until now (or has some effect now).

For example: "I have cleaned the house."

(I started cleaning the house in the past, and the house is clean now.)

Listen to me.
Listen me.

Which is the right one ?

The first one is correct.

Peace

[Pk_#2]

Your an athiest, i swear theres two members with the same username as you ^^

a sister whos a Muslim...

strange..!

[czgibson]

Greetings,

I occasionally get PMs that are obviously not for me addressed to a sister. Who could it be?

Peace

[Pk_#2]

Hmm, now that you say that, i'm guessing i sent you a PM, but it was for the sis, you know the one that writes a whole loada bull, in place of a few words, the funny n cute one!

And her name is..czgibson...so i thought.

Peace be upon those who follow guidance.

[Younus]

Change the following sentence to passive voice -

"Do the work."

[czgibson]

Greetings,

Change the following sentence to passive voice -

"Do the work."

Not possible. The sentence is an imperative (this means it is a command), and can only be precisely expressed using an active verb. A passive imperative would be something like: 'Let the work be done', which isn't quite as direct.

Peace

[syilla]

dear english teacher,

Can you please give me any specific reason why you have not answer my question? :cry:

sincerely
syilla

[Pk_#2]

AsalamuAlaykum,

ur question was answered by other members, was it not?

Don't worry be patient sis :)

[MinAhlilHadeeth]

Peace

czgibson, are you familiar with The Tempest, by William Shakespear? I have to write an essay on how Shakespear portrays the character Caliban. My teacher says I have a good writing style, but I need subtance.:mmokay:

[czgibson]

Greetings,

dear english teacher,

Can you please give me any specific reason why you have not answer my question? :cry:

sincerely
syilla

Sorry - I must have missed it.

You asked about 'I had had'. This tense of the verb is called the past perfect. We use it when we want to talk about something that happened before something else in the past. Here are some examples, using the verb 'make' in the past perfect:

Compare this:

When I got home, my wife made coffee. [I got home, then my wife made coffee.]

with this:

When I got home, my wife had made coffee. [I got home, and the coffee was already made beforehand.]

Just adding the word 'had' changes the order of events.

czgibson, are you familiar with The Tempest, by William Shakespear? I have to write an essay on how Shakespear portrays the character Caliban. My teacher says I have a good writing style, but I need subtance.

I'm very familiar with it. There's lots you can say about Caliban - is the essay no more specific than a general discussion of his character?

The best thing to do is to read as much as you can about him.

You could try these for starters:

http://nfs.sparknotes.com/tempest/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caliban_%28character%29

Peace

[learningislam]

Peace,

Listen to me.
Listen me.

Which is the right one ?

The first one is correct.

I use "listen to me".
But then, i have heard people using both. Why do they do that? is it because, they think they are conveying the same message as "listen to me", or because of too much slang.....they end up eating words from a sentence.For example:

You have given me those things.
You have given to me those things.( The right one)

I have all the things that you have given me.
I have all the things that you have given to me.(The right one)

Peace.

[MinAhlilHadeeth]

Greetings,


Sorry - I must have missed it.

You asked about 'I had had'. This tense of the verb is called the past perfect. We use it when we want to talk about something that happened before something else in the past. Here are some examples, using the verb 'make' in the past perfect:

Compare this:

When I got home, my wife made coffee. [I got home, then my wife made coffee.]

with this:

When I got home, my wife had made coffee. [I got home, and the coffee was already made beforehand.]

Just adding the word 'had' changes the order of events.



I'm very familiar with it. There's lots you can say about Caliban - is the essay no more specific than a general discussion of his character?

The best thing to do is to read as much as you can about him.

You could try these for starters:

http://nfs.sparknotes.com/tempest/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caliban_%28character%29

Peace

Thanks alot!:)

-Peace

[MinAhlilHadeeth]

Caliban learns that Stephano is neither a god nor Prospero's equal in the conclusion of the play, however, and Caliban agrees to obey Prospero again.

Oh man, thanks for ruining the ending.:uuh:

[The Ruler]

:sl:

ok the thing is this...i have been getting A's and miss says to bring that to an A*, i have to increase my vocabulary and use more 'sophisticated' words. how do i get to learn these words...i mean i cant memorise the thesaurus in 6 months...and it will be hard to remember anyways...any suggestion?...plus analysing media texts...i really suck at that :-\

:w:

[*noor]

:sl:

ok the thing is this...i have been getting A's and miss says to bring that to an A*, i have to increase my vocabulary and use more 'sophisticated' words. how do i get to learn these words...i mean i cant memorise the thesaurus in 6 months...and it will be hard to remember anyways...any suggestion?...plus analysing media texts...i really suck at that :-\

:w:

assalaamu alaikum

mashaAllah sister, if you want to use more sophisticated words and widen your uses of vocabulary, memorizing the thesaurus is not going to work because that's just too much.

let me tell you what you can do and I'm sure that this will help inshaAllah....take an essay that you wrote and look at the dull and overused words. use a thesaurus and try to replace them with more sophicticated words. I'm not telling you to change every word, but start with a few and work your way up. The only way that you will memorise these words is by usage. Remember what you used the word for and what word did you use it to replace. With practice, this will become second nature to you and you wont even need to use the thesaurus that often anymore because after a while you will develop a better sense of how to use these words.

don't expect yourself to improve after doing this once or twice or three times. it takes a long time to go from a good writer to an outstanding writer....so just keep on writing and use your thesaurus whenever you think there might be a better word out there.

good luck!!!.......fill us in on your progress! :)

[Muslim Knight]

:salamext:

i am glad to see a thread dedicated to "English".
Here's what troubles me..

Listen to me.
Listen me.

Which is the right one ?

:wasalamex

I vote Listen to me

Listen me is almost unheard of.

[The Ruler]

assalaamu alaikum

mashaAllah sister, if you want to use more sophisticated words and widen your uses of vocabulary, memorizing the thesaurus is not going to work because that's just too much.

let me tell you what you can do and I'm sure that this will help inshaAllah....take an essay that you wrote and look at the dull and overused words. use a thesaurus and try to replace them with more sophicticated words. I'm not telling you to change every word, but start with a few and work your way up. The only way that you will memorise these words is by usage. Remember what you used the word for and what word did you use it to replace. With practice, this will become second nature to you and you wont even need to use the thesaurus that often anymore because after a while you will develop a better sense of how to use these words.

don't expect yourself to improve after doing this once or twice or three times. it takes a long time to go from a good writer to an outstanding writer....so just keep on writing and use your thesaurus whenever you think there might be a better word out there.

good luck!!!.......fill us in on your progress! :)

:sl:

well i will try to do that as soon as i get my essays and courseworks back :mmokay: they are all with the teacher at the moment :)

:w:

[Abdul Fattah]

Greetings,

Some writers use it to divide items in a list instead of commas, like this:

Here are the things I am going to talk about: blah; blah; and finally blah.

Yeah I use it like that when the listed objects become sub-sentences or you would like to use multiple adjectives to describe a substantive from your list and it would be harder to notice when then next item of the list starts.

The things I'm going to list here are: the red, juicy and delicious apple I just ate; today's breakfast and the things that I ate yesterday, while meating up with John.

[lolwatever]

oh english..... dear me... :uuh:

i'll leave you's to it....

[learningislam]

Greetings,

Well, me and my sister are having a disagreement on this.
Well, she says Envious and Jealous means the same. But i read somewhere that envious is used in a good sense however jealous is used in a negative sense.I checked oxford and it voted for my sister.

envious.. feeling or showing envy
envy...a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by another better fortune etc.
jealous...envious or resentful of a person or a person's advantages etc.

Now, what i dont get is, if jealous and envious mean the same, so what to use if we appreciate someone's quality.

e.g. I envy your position. :raging: *
I envy your position. :thumbs_up :) **

* this shows that the person is not happy at someone's better fortune.
**this shows that you are glad at his accomplishment.

Thanks in advance for the help.
Peace.

[strider]

Envy has positive connotations as it is likened to admiring somebody/something whereas jealousy is mainly used in a negative context.

[islam servant]

Thanks a lot for this subject
My sister Strider -Jazaha Allah khairan -tells me that this subject can help me to learn English . But I can not read all the replies s I need to know how I can begin
My request is to find some one who can help me to write and speak English very well as I has mentioned before in this page http://www.islamicboard.com/educatio...tml#post670071

[czgibson]

Greetings,

envious.. feeling or showing envy
envy...a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by another better fortune etc.
jealous...envious or resentful of a person or a person's advantages etc.

These words are quite subtle in their shades of meaning. So much so that I've never been entirely sure on the distinction between them. Not great for an English teacher, but there we go. Here's what I would say:

They can mean the same thing, as in your definitions above, but they can also be used in slightly different senses. If you look further down the list of definitions in the dictionary, you'll find this distinction:

Envy and jealousy can mean feelings of resentment because of something someone else has.

However:

Only jealous can mean resentment caused by the threat of something being taken away.

So: I'm envious of you because you have such a nice house.

Or: I'm jealous of you because you have such a nice house.

But: He was a jealous husband, because he thought other men wanted to take away his wife fom him.

I hope that helps. There may be more to it than what I've said above, but looking through various dictionaries, that seems to be the most significant difference.

So it seems you are right!

Peace

[Haidar_Abbas]

:sl: Any brothers need help in english please post here or anyone in general need some help with english..lol im not a professional with it but im good enough alhamdulillah i also speak french alhamdulillah i need some help myself in arabic and id like to learn some other languages of our ummah its important we help eachother inshaAllah :sl:

[czgibson]

Greetings,

You could also try here:

English Department

Peace

[S_87]

Greetings,

You could also try here:

English Department

Peace

Hi

would you have any experience in TESOL or TBE by any chance?

[syilla]

sir czgibson,

i don't mean by a single 'had' usage.

But double 'had'.

for example

If you are using the 'to have' verb in the past perfect tense, you will see the strange double 'had.' For example, 'He had had a cold before he had the flu.' This means that getting and completing the cold happened BEFORE he later got the flu.

[Protected_Diamond]

LOL, good thread!

[czgibson]

Greetings,

sir czgibson,

i don't mean by a single 'had' usage.

But double 'had'.

for example

If you are using the 'to have' verb in the past perfect tense, you will see the strange double 'had.' For example, 'He had had a cold before he had the flu.' This means that getting and completing the cold happened BEFORE he later got the flu.

Sorry - looking back I can see I've only answered half your question. You're quite right in your explanation of 'had had'.

would you have any experience in TESOL or TBE by any chance?

Yes indeed. :)

Peace

[S_87]

Peace

oh cool, could you tell me what TBE would entail job wise? :?

and did you need to know another language for both TESOL and TBE or was english enough?

Thanks

[czgibson]

Greetings,

Peace

oh cool, could you tell me what TBE would entail job wise? :?

and did you need to know another language for both TESOL and TBE or was english enough?

Thanks

First off, I should say that I don't know what TBE is, but I assumed it had something to do with Teaching English as a Foreign Language, which I do have some experience in.

I know lots of words in other languages, but English is the only language I can speak fluently. It's definitely not necessary to know another language in order to teach English.

Peace

[Pk_#2]

Hiya :)

I just wanted to know if you know 'bout phonetics? because i might need help

Peace be upon those who follow guidance. :D

[czgibson]

Greetings,

Phonetics? It's been a while! At one stage I was familiar with all the labio-dental fricatives and so on, but I'm not sure I'd be much use now! Let me know what you need help with, though, and I'll see what I can do.

Peace

[glo]

Nice to see more of you again, czgibson. :)

I seem to remember your job prevented you from spending time here. Have you changed jobs? And do you still play that Gibson? :D

[czgibson]

Greetings glo,

No

and

yes!

Peace

[Pk_#2]

Greetings,

Phonetics? It's been a while! At one stage I was familiar with all the labio-dental fricatives and so on, but I'm not sure I'd be much use now! Let me know what you need help with, though, and I'll see what I can do.

Peace

;D labio dental cracks me up now, we had to make stupid faces in class, you know oo's and aaa's and ee's

Ok when i need help i will ask :D Thank you.

[czgibson]

Greetings,

I've had a general request for some help with academic essays. Here is a site that I sometimes use with students; I hope it's useful:

Englishbiz

It's obviously a specialist site for English school-age students, but a lot of the information there is very useful no matter which subject you're studying or at which level.

This page has some excellent tips on academic essays.

Let me know if there's anything else you need, people.

Peace

[S_87]

peace

^^ thanks for them sites :D

i have to write about this.
can anyone give me some ideas please :enough!:

what is meant about appropriateness (or appropriacy) in laguage use

[czgibson]

Greetings,

Appropriacy in language use at its basic level is to do with how we should use language in different situations. To begin thinking about this, consider how the words you say would be different if you were talking to your best friend or if you were talking to the King or Queen (or President, etc.) of your country.

What would be different?

Well, your vocabulary would probably differ. That is, you would use different words. For example, you might use slang terms with your friend, but you would be unlikely to do this in front of a very important person - instead you would probably try to speak formally and correctly. You might have words that only you and your friend know the meaning of, like a private joke. You would obviously not use words like that in front of the VIP.

Your pronunciation might be different. Again, you would be likely to use a more casual tone of voice with your friend, whereas in front of the VIP you might make an effort to speak very clearly and precisely.

There are other ways your use of language could differ, too, and they are all being referred to when someone talks about appropriacy of language use.

Other situations where appropriacy could be an issue:

What is appropriate language in a business meeting may be different from appropriate language in a religious service.

Appropriate language on a sports field will be different from appropriate language inside an operating theatre.

Keep in mind, though, that we are talking about something other than the specific jargon (or lexis) used in these different areas. Whether to use the word "glossopharyngeal" or not will usually depend on whether or not you are in a medical situation, and this is a slightly separate issue from appropriacy.

Here is a page showing a lesson plan for teachers of English as a foreign language covering this topic.

Here is a very useful overview of the different aspects of language that can be covered under the heading of "Appropriacy". Note that this author does include jargon, whereas I think it's slightly different. That's not a hugely important difference, and it shouldn't stop you from understanding the concept.

I hope that's been helpful - let me know if there's anything else you need. :)

Peace

[S_87]

Peace

Thanks a lot thats really helpful plus the links look great expecially the first link:statisfie

[S_87]

Salam

ok ive got this now :?

Explain, with examples, how language varies according to the context in which it is spoken or written.

would it be appropriate to include stuff like the americans use of the word 'garbage' brits use of word 'rubbish' and things like that?

[czgibson]

Greetings,

Salam

ok ive got this now :?

Explain, with examples, how language varies according to the context in which it is spoken or written.

would it be appropriate to include stuff like the americans use of the word 'garbage' brits use of word 'rubbish' and things like that?

Yes, I would think so.

It's a wide-open question - there are absolutely loads of things you could mention.

How does language vary?

*To begin with an obvious one: There are different languages. They are determined by nationality / ethnic group / dialect.
*Individual bits of language depend very closely on their written or spoken context - the word 'present' means different things in different circumstances, and so on.

But I'm not going to do your work for you! As you can see, though, you can talk about almost anything that shows variety in language use.

Peace

[InToTheRain]

Greetings,


Yes, I would think so.

It's a wide-open question - there are absolutely loads of things you could mention.

How does language vary?

*To begin with an obvious one: There are different languages. They are determined by nationality / ethnic group / dialect.
*Individual bits of language depend very closely on their written or spoken context - the word 'present' means different things in different circumstances, and so on.

But I'm not going to do your work for you! As you can see, though, you can talk about almost anything that shows variety in language use.

Peace

LOL, that word was probably at the top of your head due to Christmas being round the corner :D

"present" "Boxing day" "box" are all good examples :D

[czgibson]

Greetings,

LOL, that word was probably at the top of your head due to Christmas being round the corner :D

"present" "Boxing day" "box" are all good examples :D

Good call! I hadn't thought of that.

I guess I'd better get out to the shops...

Peace

[InToTheRain]

Greetings,



Good call! I hadn't thought of that.

I guess I'd better get out to the shops...

Peace

LOL :D DIG DEEP MOIT :okay:

[S_87]

Greetings,


Yes, I would think so.

It's a wide-open question - there are absolutely loads of things you could mention.

How does language vary?

*To begin with an obvious one: There are different languages. They are determined by nationality / ethnic group / dialect.
*Individual bits of language depend very closely on their written or spoken context - the word 'present' means different things in different circumstances, and so on.

But I'm not going to do your work for you! As you can see, though, you can talk about almost anything that shows variety in language use.

Peace

Salam

thanks that helps alot :D

[MinAhlilHadeeth]

Greetings,

Have you ever taught 'Lyrical Ballads' of William Wordsworth and S. T. Coleridge?

[czgibson]

Greetings,

Greetings,

Have you ever taught 'Lyrical Ballads' of William Wordsworth and S. T. Coleridge?

I've never taught it, but I've been taught about it, if you see what I mean. Are you studying it at the moment?

Peace

[MinAhlilHadeeth]

Yes, I am. Where did you study it? I'm enjoying it so far! I particularly like 'the rime of the ancyent marinere'. But I'm quite concerned as we're not going to be allowed to take the book in for the exam. We were doing Thomas Hardy last year, and that was a lot easier. Are there any other books/links you would recommend to help?

Peace

[czgibson]

Greetings,

Yes, I am. Where did you study it?

At university in Scotland.

I'm enjoying it so far! I particularly like 'the rime of the ancyent marinere'.

It's one of the best. You'll notice that it's Coleridge's major contribution to the project - Lyrical Ballads was really Wordsworth's baby, I think. 'The Ancient Mariner' has always got the most attention compared with all the other poems in the book.

But I'm quite concerned as we're not going to be allowed to take the book in for the exam.

What you'll find is that the examiners will take this into account, and they will not be expecting huge chunks of verse quoted from memory. What I suggest you do is create a list of short quotes that you will learn (twenty at the absolute most). Choose quotes that are as representative of the whole collection as you can, so that you can use them for a variety of different essay questions. Also, if you can remember a few words or phrases from the poems (i.e. literally one or two words here and there), it's perfectly OK to 'embed' these phrases into your own sentences, like this:

In his introduction, Wordsworth accuses many of his contemporary writers of 'gaudiness' and 'inane phraseology'.

Examiners love that sort of thing, because it shows real familiarity with the text, and there's no better way to show what Wordsworth's ideas were than to use his own words. Plus, you'll see that in the example above, I haven't had to memorise a large amount of information in order to make my point.

Are there any other books/links you would recommend to help?

Relating to Lyrical Ballads, the first thing I would say is if you're not using the Routledge edition by Brett and Jones, try and get hold of it, as it's the best edition currently in print.

This site has a few bite-sized chunks on Lyrical Ballads to digest.
Here are some excellent photos of Tintern Abbey.
This is a collection of all sorts of useful resources connected with Romanticism.

I hope that's helpful - let me know if there's anything else you need.

Peace

[MinAhlilHadeeth]

Thank you very much! That was very useful.

Peace

[S_87]

Hello

i want some help regarding morphemes and morphology. i think understand it but im not so sure putting them right in a sentence i have to. or that theres something missing

anyone there? :hiding:

Thanks :D

[czgibson]

Greetings,

Hello

i want some help regarding morphemes and morphology. i think understand it but im not so sure putting them right in a sentence i have to. or that theres something missing

anyone there? :hiding:

Thanks :D

I'm in a bit of a hurry today, so it's just links, I'm afraid. First some definitions, though:

The suffix "morph-" is to do with shape, and morphology concerns the form and shape of words. It is an important aspect of grammar (along with syntax); morphology is the study of the way words are formed. The smallest part of a word that can exist alone or which can change a word's meaning or function is called a morpheme (e.g. un-, happy, -ness).

A bound morpheme is an affix, i.e. usually a prefix or a suffix, e.g. un-, -tion. These are 'bound' called because they must be attached to another morpheme to create a word. Morphemes that can exist alone as a complete word are called free morphemes, e.g. happy.

Have a look at these as well:

A Basic Guide to the Structure of English

Morphology (from wikipedia)

Morphology Resources

I hope you find these useful. :)

Peace

[S_87]

Thanks! they were useful.

When you do have time can i send you some stuff to check up and see if im putting words and sorting out the morphemes correctly?

[Ali.]

Hi czgibson,

I need your help defining something if you don't mind me asking; my English teacher has set us an essay to write and given us three optional titles to choose from, one of them I don't quite fully understand; could you help me?

Before I give you the essay title, the essay is on The Truman Show (a film, ever seen it?), directed by Peter Weir.
The essay title is as follows:

Peter Weir uses sophisticated technology as a juxtaposition with the naturalness of Truman Burbanks character. Discuss how and why he does this.

Now I understand from what I have found out, juxtaposition is the positioning of two (or more?) things of unequal importance side by side. The essay title still confuses me, though. Could you please define the title for me the best you can, and if you have seen the film give some examples. I would really appreciate it if you would help me.

Thanks in advance.


If anyone else knows the answer to my question, don't hesitate to answer.

[czgibson]

Greetings,

Thanks! they were useful.

You're welcome. :)

When you do have time can i send you some stuff to check up and see if im putting words and sorting out the morphemes correctly?

I'll have a look, but I can't promise a speedy response for a little while.

I need your help defining something if you don't mind me asking; my English teacher has set us an essay to write and given us three optional titles to choose from, one of them I don't quite fully understand; could you help me?

Before I give you the essay title, the essay is on The Truman Show (a film, ever seen it?), directed by Peter Weir.
The essay title is as follows:

Peter Weir uses sophisticated technology as a juxtaposition with the naturalness of Truman Burbanks character. Discuss how and why he does this.

Now I understand from what I have found out, juxtaposition is the positioning of two (or more?) things of unequal importance side by side. The essay title still confuses me, though. Could you please define the title for me the best you can, and if you have seen the film give some examples. I would really appreciate it if you would help me.

Thanks in advance.

Hi there,

I saw 'The Truman Show' quite a while ago so I can't give specific examples unfortunately, but I can guess at some of the ideas the essay title is suggesting. I'm not sure I can improve on your definition very much, except to say that it is very often two things that are juxtaposed, although it's possible to juxtapose many things, as in this collage by Kurt Schwitters:

(Just thought I'd share that with you. :statisfie)



However, it's difficult for me to say too much without 'giving the game away', so to speak. After all, your teacher is interested in what you think, not what I think.

You could try thinking of the title in this way:

Write 'sophisticated technology' on the left-hand side of a page and 'naturalness' on the other, and then try to create two columns filled with words you associate with each of them. Once you have all of those ideas facing each other on the page, the sorts of points the director wants to make should become clearer to you. Here are a couple of ideas to start you off:



Sophisticated technology - new, powerful, cutting edge, public media

Naturalness - old, vulnerable, traditional, private life




The ideas in each list are often direct opposites of each other, and we call these binary oppositions. They are often juxtaposed in order to make particular points, as Peter Weir does in the film. You can find out more about binary oppositions here. The writer refers, to "the text" frequently, so remember that a film is an example of a type of text.

I hope that's useful - good luck! :)

Peace

[Ali.]

Greetings,


You're welcome. :)



I'll have a look, but I can't promise a speedy response for a little while.


Hi there,

I saw 'The Truman Show' quite a while ago so I can't give specific examples unfortunately, but I can guess at some of the ideas the essay title is suggesting. I'm not sure I can improve on your definition very much, except to say that it is very often two things that are juxtaposed, although it's possible to juxtapose many things, as in this collage by Kurt Schwitters:

(Just thought I'd share that with you. :statisfie)



However, it's difficult for me to say too much without 'giving the game away', so to speak. After all, your teacher is interested in what you think, not what I think.

You could try thinking of the title in this way:

Write 'sophisticated technology' on the left-hand side of a page and 'naturalness' on the other, and then try to create two columns filled with words you associate with each of them. Once you have all of those ideas facing each other on the page, the sorts of points the director wants to make should become clearer to you. Here are a couple of ideas to start you off:



Sophisticated technology - new, powerful, cutting edge, public media

Naturalness - old, vulnerable, traditional, private life




The ideas in each list are often direct opposites of each other, and we call these binary oppositions. They are often juxtaposed in order to make particular points, as Peter Weir does in the film. You can find out more about binary oppositions here. The writer refers, to "the text" frequently, so remember that a film is an example of a type of text.

I hope that's useful - good luck! :)

Peace

Hi again,

Interesting collage :hmm: :okay:

Thanks a lot for the binary opposition stuff and the examples - it's helped!

Although I am still confused; Peter Weir uses sophisticated technology as a juxtaposition with the naturalness of Truman Burbanks character. Discuss how and why he does this.

So HOW he does this: taking one of your examples is juxtaposing public media and Burbanks private life, right?
WHY he does this: is it to symbolize how precious privacy is?

Taking another one of your examples (new and old):

HOW: Shows new technology, e.g. high-tech cameras to 'spy' on Burbank.
WHY: Showing that technology these days are capable of anything?


Taking another one of your examples (powerful and vulnerable):

HOW: Powerful technology, vulnerable, sensitive Burbank.
WHY: Shows how sensitive and precious human feelings are and as he is vulnerable when he finds out he is being watched and his whole life is artificial?


I'm sorry for any trouble I have caused, as you can see I am having trouble finding the meanings of the juxtapositions.

Thanks in advance.

[czgibson]

Greetings, Ali.,

You don't seem confused - you're absolutely on the right track. Keep going and you'll have the essay done in no time!

Peace

[Ali.]

Greetings, Ali.,

You're absolutely on the right track - keep going and you'll have the essay done in no time!

Peace

Hi,

Alright. Thanks a lot for your help; I really appreciate it!

Peace:peace:

[Uthman]

Greetings Mr Gibson,

I don't know if this has been asked before, but could you possibly give me some help on writing essay conclusions?

I usually get told that you should "pull all your points together" or "tie up loose ends" or "summarise your main points".

But things like that don't really mean anything to me. Do they mean anything at all?

How exactly do you conclude an essay? It's actually a French essay I'm doing but rhe same principles apply I guess. It's about air pollution and what the French do about it.

[czgibson]

Greetings, Osman,

Greetings Mr Gibson,

I don't know if this has been asked before, but could you possibly give me some help on writing essay conclusions?

I usually get told that you should "pull all your points together" or "tie up loose ends" or "summarise your main points".

But things like that don't really mean anything to me. Do they mean anything at all?

They do indeed, and they are the most commonly given bits of advice about this with good reason. I can see how their meaning can seem a bit vague, though.

The conclusion is perhaps the most important part of the essay, and a good conclusion will sometimes make the difference between an essay that is rambling and literally inconclusive and an essay that has direction and focus. If you're writing an argumentative essay (and virtually all essays have an element of argument), then the conclusion is your knockout punch, where you remind the reader of all the excellent points you have made, and perhaps mention issues that your essay has not explored, which either fall outside of the essay's remit as you understand it, or which may remain as the focus for future work. One thing you should definitely try to avoid is making any new points in your conclusion.

How exactly do you conclude an essay? It's actually a French essay I'm doing but the same principles apply I guess. It's about air pollution and what the French do about it.

The same principles probably do apply, I would think.

So, what do the French do about air pollution? Well, as this essay has shown, they put most of their efforts into x. While y was seen as effective in days gone by, the people have learned that there's really no substitute for x. Another technique is z, but this is relatively new and is still at the prototype stage. The evidence I have gathered is surely enough to convince anyone that the French have found several ingenious / pitiful / useful / truly dangerous strategies for dealing with this modern menace.

That kind of approach (although with perhaps a more serious tone) is one I would recommend, provided you have had paragraphs in the main body of your essay about x, y and z, of course.

Here's some good advice from englishbiz.co.uk (a useful site):

To end the essay, you will need a concluding paragraph in which you restate your initial thesis statement and give your main reasons for thinking this. Although you have just explained all this in the detail of the preceding paragraphs, , it's a good idea to remind your reader, v-e-r-y succinctly (but this time with more individual feeling and personality, perhaps) of what you think and why. The secret is to keep the conclusion brief and to the point and, above all else, to introduce no new points at all.

Hope that helps!

Peace

[Re.TiReD]

Why do I keep getting confused with bought and brought :laugh: :-[

[Pk_#2]

Got your PM, Since you're free thought it would be better and easier to do it here!

I was wondering if you could link me to a good reliable site (or a book name) where I can learn about the following:

- History of English language ZzZ ano, but the teacher is sikkkkkkkk (as in cool)

- Critical reasoning

- Structure of English, like erm you know morphology, syntax, phonology and all the boring crap,

And if you have anything on your pc on the following, just copy and paste!

Thankoo for your time, much appreciated =D

[czgibson]

Greetings,

Why do I keep getting confused with bought and brought :laugh: :-[

This is one of the many confusing things in the highly confusing language that is English. This may help:

Bought is the past participle of buy.

Brought is the past participle of bring.

So: "I brought some money to the shop, then I bought some sweets."

:)

Peace

[Re.TiReD]

It's very simple now that you explained it :-[ Thank you :)

[bewildred]

Well, all this took me so many years ago, to my college years. Okay, it was ten years ago. I feel soooo old!!! I loved literature and english grammar. I hated linguistics and phonology. For so many years, I could not spell out N.Chomsky's and De Saussure's names,lol.

[czgibson]

Greetings,

Got your PM, Since you're free thought it would be better and easier to do it here!

Now I know it's an English related question, I think you're right.

I was wondering if you could link me to a good reliable site (or a book name) where I can learn about the following:

- History of English language ZzZ ano, but the teacher is sikkkkkkkk (as in cool)

The history of the English language is something I find fascinating, and I think you will too if you read Bill Bryson's Mother Tongue. I've got half a dozen histories of the English language and his is by far the most entertaining.

David Crystal's The Stories of English is very thorough but more technical.

Wikipedia, as ever, provides a concise article containing the main things you need to know.

- Critical reasoning

This could refer to many areas. Do you have any more specific information about this?

- Structure of English, like erm you know morphology, syntax, phonology and all the boring crap,

Here is a .pdf containing revision notes on these. Scroll past the contents pages and you'll find some useful definitions and examples.

Andrew Moore's English site may be of some help.

Thankoo for your time, much appreciated =D

:)

Peace

[Pk_#2]

Greetings,

The history of the English language is something I find fascinating, and I think you will too if you read Bill Bryson's Mother Tongue. I've got half a dozen histories of the English language and his is by far the most entertaining.

Cool, I've ordered that one now, =)

David Crystal's The Stories of English is very thorough but more technical.

And this wan ^

My lecturer loves him! (Not in a dodgy wai)

Wikipedia, as ever, provides a concise article containing the main things you need to know.

Cool, ima print it out and absorb in2 ma brain cells, briefly skimmed it, just wan question, when mentioning Germanic tribes he never mentions Frisians, is dat made up or do they hav another name?

This could refer to many areas. Do you have any more specific information about this?

It's kinda based on Argument structure (Identifying arguments, conclusions, seeing what constitutes an argument), making assumptions and so on.. I missed my lectures so :-[ *scratch head*

Here is a .pdf containing revision notes on these. Scroll past the contents pages and you'll find some useful definitions and examples.

Wowwww, double wow! You deserve a rep & more for that wan!

Andrew Moore's English site

may be of some help.

:)

Peace

Cool, I remember that wan! used that before, thankoo very much =D

[czgibson]

Greetings,

Sorry, as often, for the late reply. :-[

Cool, ima print it out and absorb in2 ma brain cells, briefly skimmed it, just wan question, when mentioning Germanic tribes he never mentions Frisians, is dat made up or do they hav another name?

The Frisians are mentioned. Have another look. You can find out more about them here.

It's kinda based on Argument structure (Identifying arguments, conclusions, seeing what constitutes an argument), making assumptions and so on.. I missed my lectures so :-[ *scratch head*

That sounds like a combination of logic, general philosophy and plain old common sense. A good, quick introduction to this sort of thinking that comes to mind is Bad Thoughts by Jamie Whyte. He examines several common ideas and exposes their fallacies, thereby giving you a crash course in logic on the way.

One classic introduction to philosophy is Bertrand Russell's The Problems of Philosophy. Again, it's a short book, but it might take a little longer to get your head around some of the ideas in it.

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy's page on Informal Logic gives a lot of information about evaluating arguments in everyday life.

If you want more of a literary direction, Peter Barry's Beginning Theory is a good introduction to critical reasoning in that sphere: Marxist, Freudian, post-colonial, feminist, structuralist and post- etc.

What is your course, by the way? Linguistics? English Language?

There are many books I could recommend, but I'm still slightly in the dark about what angle you're expected to be taking in your studies on all this.

Whatever it is, it sounds like there are some interesting things on your course. :)

Peace

[Pk_#2]

Greetings,

Sorry, as often, for the late reply. :-[

The Frisians are mentioned. Have another look. You can find out more about them here.

That sounds like a combination of logic, general philosophy and plain old common sense. A good, quick introduction to this sort of thinking that comes to mind is Bad Thoughts by Jamie Whyte. He examines several common ideas and exposes their fallacies, thereby giving you a crash course in logic on the way.

One classic introduction to philosophy is Bertrand Russell's The Problems of Philosophy. Again, it's a short book, but it might take a little longer to get your head around some of the ideas in it.

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy's page on Informal Logic gives a lot of information about evaluating arguments in everyday life.

If you want more of a literary direction, Peter Barry's Beginning Theory is a good introduction to critical reasoning in that sphere: Marxist, Freudian, post-colonial, feminist, structuralist and post- etc.

What is your course, by the way? Linguistics? English Language?

There are many books I could recommend, but I'm still slightly in the dark about what angle you're expected to be taking in your studies on all this.

Whatever it is, it sounds like there are some interesting things on your course. :)

Peace

Wow, thankoo,

You must read a lot of books,

English language Studies, (yeah I duno what I was thinking)

Oh yah ma teacher said Frisians do exist :coolious: br.Guven is a Frisian he lives in the Netherlands and must be in his 90's by now...:thumbs_up

Erm when looking at a text from old english and that how can you tell what century it is from? 'Cause in our exam, we might for example get a text from the nineteenth century and we have to say which one it is, argh this is too difficult for me :exhausted

Missing lessons to sit down infront of the pc with the blanket around me doesn't help! +o(

Ciao! =)

[Kas1m]

English is my second language and i have a question.
Sometimes i read in a book when it says 'it's' and other times it just simply says 'its'. What is the difference between them?
For example if you want to say its a good day.
Would your say: its a good day. Or: it's a good day.

[Pk_#2]

English is my second language and i have a question.
Sometimes i read in a book when it says 'it's' and other times it just simply says 'its'. What is the difference between them?
For example if you want to say its a good day.
Would your say: its a good day. Or: it's a good day.

It's a good day

As in... it is a good day

The (') aprostrophe (sp?) is there to fill in for the missing letter/s

I think =D

[Kas1m]

Yeah the true sentence would be it is a good day. But at some points they dont include the apros whatever it is.

[Tilmeez]

Mr. czgibson defined it well in first page, i beleive.

The easy way to remember it is that "it's" with an apostrophe always means "it is", whereas "its" always means "belonging to it".

trust this helps.

[Kas1m]

Mr. czgibson defined it well in first page, i beleive.


trust this helps.

Thankyou

[Zahida]

:sl: Nice one!!!! I am an English teacher and teach year seven English. We also do something called morphographs which helps.

I have been doing this job for nine years now, i find that slang is quite common and use of English grammer quite unknown, not just the writing, but the way the children read and speak and write.

Morphographs also help with pronounciation eg. What. W.H.A.T spells what
wot???????????:w::bump1:

[Zahida]

:sl: Remember it's quality not quantity what we annoying teachers expect!!

Stick to the point and answer the question you will be marked and assessed on whether you managed to answer the question or not!!

Punctuation and grammer does help.............:w::thankyou:

Greetings Callum,

Firstly, your post was extremely helpful! Incidentally, I've just been writing my final draft of a poetry essay to hand in tomorrow, which leads me on to my question:

Do English teachers enjoy giving students essays to write or something? Seriously, there's only so much a student can take, especially when they have so many forums to visit and so little time to visit them in!

Finally, haben sie any tips for essay writing that you can share? It'd be invaluable!

Regards,

Der Grand Ozzenator

[czgibson]

Greetings,

Tilmeez has quoted me talking about "its" and "it's", and I've just noticed that I made a mistake - how embarrassing! :-[

"It's" can also mean "it has", like in this sentence:

It's been raining all day.

I think I deserve to be hit over the head with Swan's Practical English Usage several times. That's the best book to look at, incidentally, if you're unsure about any aspect of English grammar and usage.




Pk has asked this:

Erm when looking at a text from old english and that how can you tell what century it is from? 'Cause in our exam, we might for example get a text from the nineteenth century and we have to say which one it is, argh this is too difficult for me

This sounds like a test of how wide your reading is. Here are a couple of tips:

Anglo-Saxon uses some different letters from modern English, so is easy to spot. Here is a page about thorn, one of them. Here is the opening of the most famous Anglo-Saxon text, Beowulf.

Middle English (the language of the great Geoffrey Chaucer) looks like this. Read several pages of it and you'll find it easy to recognise in the future.

If you notice words that look like English words, but which aren't spelled in our normal way, there's a good chance you're looking at something that's pre-18th century. That's when English spelling began to be formalised, as the first dictionaries arrived. Either that or it's text-speak or similar slang, which should be easy to spot.

Formal 18th century writing often contains Capital Letters in the middle of sentences to indicate Important Concepts.

Any mention of technology or current events will help to specify a date of writing. If you have a text in front of you that you think is 18th century, but then it mentions a television, that will obviously change your dating.

Those are just a few general tips. If you want to get specific, you'll need to read plenty of examples of writing from the different centuries. Here is a list of authors whose work can be said to be fairly representative of the writing of their times. Pick a period, and read a few pages from each of them. That should begin to give you a feel for how the language has changed over time. Don't try to do this all in one go - it will take time. Here's the list:

14th century:

Geoffrey Chaucer
John Gower
John Wycliffe
William Langland

15th century:

John Lydgate
Reginald Pecock
Thomas Malory
William Caxton

16th century:

Thomas More
Philip Sidney
Thomas Nashe
Raphael Holinshed
Edmund Spenser

I should of course mention William Shakespeare (1564-1616) at this point.

17th century:

Francis Bacon
John Donne
Robert Burton
Thomas Browne
Thomas Hobbes
John Milton
Andrew Marvell
John Dryden

18th century

Jonathan Swift
Samuel Johnson
Alexander Pope
Joseph Addison
Richard Steele
Daniel Defoe
Henry Fielding
Laurence Sterne
Edward Gibbon

The Romantics (roughly 1780-1830)

William Blake
William Wordsworth
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Byron
Percy Shelley
John Keats
Mary Shelley

The Victorians (1837 onwards)

Thomas Carlyle
Charles Dickens
William Thackeray
Emily, Charlotte and Anne Brontë
Robert and Elizabeth Browning
George Eliot

20th century

Far too many to choose from in the age of mass-publishing, so here are just a few to look at:

Thomas Hardy
Joseph Conrad
Bertrand Russell
D. H. Lawrence
James Joyce
Virginia Woolf
George Orwell
Ernest Hemingway
Anthony Burgess


The 20th century should be easier to spot than some of the others, of course.

Remember, your task is to get a feel for the writing of each period. Choose one period a week to immerse yourself in, and read a few pages from each of these writers each night. It's possible to find texts of much of their work online. There is also the library, of course. A few minutes a night, and you'd be able to get a very clear sense of what English looks like at different periods in history.

I'm not suggesting you have to go out and read every writer's complete works - you don't need to do that if all you want to do is get a feel for the language of their times.

[However, there are lots of other reasons for reading their works. These are among the very greatest writers in English.]

I hope this is helpful for you. Let me know what you think. :)

Peace

[Kas1m]

I try to write english stories with whatever i know and i have reached 130,000 word story(mostly translating from another lang) and i think im lacking a bit of description.
Just last week i finished carrie by stephen king and he uses a lot of metaphors and he takes a lot of length explaining one scene or situation. Do you think he writes good?

[Pk_#2]

Greetings,

Haaaallo! =)

This sounds like a test of how wide your reading is. Here are a couple of tips:

Anglo-Saxon uses some different letters from modern English, so is easy to spot. Here is a page about thorn, one of them. Here is the opening of the most famous Anglo-Saxon text, Beowulf.

Cool,

We're lookin' at Beowulf, I thinks it's recently been made into a film :rollseyes Oh and the Battle of Maldon, forgot who it was by...

Middle English (the language of the great Geoffrey Chaucer) looks like this. Read several pages of it and you'll find it easy to recognise in the future.

Cool, thank you for the link, we're looking at chaucers 'wife of Bath' which is dud to translate ZzZz I'm on line 333 and it goes up to 1237!! :exhausted If you could translate that for me I would be extremely grateful, no wait cheating is bad imsad VERY BAD!

If you notice words that look like English words, but which aren't spelled in our normal way, there's a good chance you're looking at something that's pre-18th century. That's when English spelling began to be formalised, as the first dictionaries arrived. Either that or it's text-speak or similar slang, which should be easy to spot.

Cool, but theres so many, we're looking at:

-Old English
-Middle English
-Renaissance
-Elizabethan
-Restoration
-Georgian
-Augustan
-Romantic
-Modern
-Post modern

So what dates go with each of these....Hmmm..

+o(

Formal 18th century writing often contains Capital Letters in the middle of sentences to indicate Important Concepts.

Is that the one where the first letter is designed? We saw some texts like that, looked cool but couldn't read a word, I thought I would be able to 'cause I can read phonetic transcript easily!:thumbs_up

Any mention of technology or current events will help to specify a date of writing. If you have a text in front of you that you think is 18th century, but then it mentions a television, that will obviously change your dating.

:thumbs_up

Those are just a few general tips. If you want to get specific, you'll need to read plenty of examples of writing from the different centuries. Here is a list of authors whose work can be said to be fairly representative of the writing of their times. Pick a period, and read a few pages from each of them. That should begin to give you a feel for how the language has changed over time. Don't try to do this all in one go - it will take time. Here's the list:

14th century:

Geoffrey Chaucer
John Gower
John Wycliffe
William Langland

15th century:

John Lydgate
Reginald Pecock
Thomas Malory
William Caxton

16th century:

Thomas More
Philip Sidney
Thomas Nashe
Raphael Holinshed
Edmund Spenser

I should of course mention William Shakespeare (1564-1616) at this point.

17th century:

Francis Bacon
John Donne
Robert Burton
Thomas Browne
Thomas Hobbes
John Milton
Andrew Marvell
John Dryden

18th century

Jonathan Swift
Samuel Johnson
Alexander Pope
Joseph Addison
Richard Steele
Daniel Defoe
Henry Fielding
Laurence Sterne
Edward Gibbon

The Romantics (roughly 1780-1830)

William Blake
William Wordsworth
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Byron
Percy Shelley
John Keats
Mary Shelley

The Victorians (1837 onwards)

Thomas Carlyle
Charles Dickens
William Thackeray
Emily, Charlotte and Anne Brontë
Robert and Elizabeth Browning
George Eliot

20th century

Far too many to choose from in the age of mass-publishing, so here are just a few to look at:

Thomas Hardy
Joseph Conrad
Bertrand Russell
D. H. Lawrence
James Joyce
Virginia Woolf
George Orwell
Ernest Hemingway
Anthony Burgess

We're looking at the ones in bold and a few more, Jane Austin, Dr.Johnson (Might be the one I bolded), Kipling, Churchill x2, Rochester, Woah that's alot of reading...Ahh I need a break from Li *sigh*

The 20th century should be easier to spot than some of the others, of course.

:coolious:

Remember, your task is to get a feel for the writing of each period. Choose one period a week to immerse yourself in, and read a few pages from each of these writers each night. It's possible to find texts of much of their work online. There is also the library, of course. A few minutes a night, and you'd be able to get a very clear sense of what English looks like at different periods in history.

:coolious:

I'm not suggesting you have to go out and read every writer's complete works - you don't need to do that if all you want to do is get a feel for the language of their times.

:coolious:

However, there are lots of other reasons for reading their works. These are among the very greatest writers in English.

I hope this is helpful for you. Let me know what you think. :)

Peace

;D You sound exactly like my teacher.

Thank you & Peace.

[czgibson]

Edit: Double post.

[czgibson]

Greetings,

We're lookin' at Beowulf, I thinks it's recently been made into a film

It has been. Very good it was too, I thought.

:rollseyes Oh and the Battle of Maldon, forgot who it was by...

And so has everyone else! All we know is that he was a monk.

Cool, thank you for the link, we're looking at chaucers 'wife of Bath' which is dud to translate ZzZz I'm on line 333 and it goes up to 1237!! :exhausted If you could translate that for me I would be extremely grateful, no wait cheating is bad imsad VERY BAD!

Cheating is pointless.

Chaucer's English definitely is hard to get into, but it's so much easier than learning another language or anything like that. If you know English, you'll start to see connections and similarities all over the place. In fact, Chaucer is where modern English suddenly becomes much easier to recognise. Compare some of his writing with some Old English and you'll see what I mean.

The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale are some of the funniest and most human bits of writing ever produced. For pretty much the first time in English literature, here we have one of a group of real characters that you could imagine meeting. The Canterbury pilgrims are not just names on a page, or exaggerated heroes or villains with no possible basis in real life; they are people. And the Wife of Bath is definitely one of the most engaging.

Get into it - you'll love it.

Cool, but theres so many, we're looking at:

-Old English
-Middle English
-Renaissance
-Elizabethan
-Restoration
-Georgian
-Augustan
-Romantic
-Modern
-Post modern

So what dates go with each of these....Hmmm..

All of these are covered in my post. Plus, to be honest, this is the sort of information you could easily find by picking up any History of English Literature and looking at the contents page.

However, since I'm a nice guy (and, hooray, it's half-term), I'll help you out on this one - on the condition that you try to start finding things out for yourself a little more. Go into a library with any question in your head and don't leave till you've found the answer. The more you do it, the easier it becomes.

Here is a list of approximate dates:

Old English: pre-1066

Middle English: 1066-1510

Renaissance: 1510-1620

Elizabethan: 1558-1603 was Elizabeth's reign. Shakespeare's early works fall into this category. His later works are Jacobean (i.e. written during the reign of James I)

Restoration: 1660-1689

Augustan: 1700-1745

Georgian can refer to almost all of the 18th century. Britain was ruled by Georges from 1714 to 1830

Romantic: 1780-1830

Modern can mean a lot of things (e.g. Shakespeare's English is called 'Early Modern English') but in this context it could either mean "20th century onwards", or it could be referring specifically to the Modernists, a group of highly experimental artists, writers and thinkers working roughly during the period 1910-1930. The writers include people like Virginia Woolf, Ezra Pound, T. S. Eliot, Wyndham Lewis, D. H. Lawrence, and, with my vote for first equal Greatest Writer Of All Time, James Joyce.

Apart from Muezzin, maybe. ;)

Post-Modern can be thought of as roughly post-World War Two in terms of time, but as a specific genre of literature it arose somewhere in the 1950s or 60s.

Is that the one where the first letter is designed? We saw some texts like that, looked cool but couldn't read a word, I thought I would be able to 'cause I can read phonetic transcript easily!

I think you may be thinking of Medieval manuscripts like this one for example. Zoom in and have a look - you'll see loads of words you recognise.

What I mean by 18th century writers using capitals mid-sentence is this type of thing:

The Author giveth some Account of himself and Family: His first Inducements to travel. He is shipwreck'd, and swims for his Life: Gets safe on shoar in the Country of Lilliput: Is made a Prisoner, and carry'd up the Country.

Those are the opening word of Swift's Gulliver's Travels, a book that I would recommend to everyone. We all know that it's the book about the big man and the small people, but it's actually much, much better than that simple account of it sounds. If you only read ten English classics in your life, make this one of them.

We're looking at the ones in bold and a few more, Jane Austin, Dr.Johnson (Might be the one I bolded), Kipling, Churchill x2, Rochester,

All excellent wordsmiths, although for Churchill I assume you mean Winston C. and who else?

Rochester is someone who your teacher probably thought would sound exciting and prurient for you to enjoy. His writing can get a little on the racy side, as you may have discovered, but if you haven't, proceed with caution.

Woah that's alot of reading...Ahh I need a break from Li *sigh*

I know I've given you a big list of names, but don't look on it as a lot of reading. From the sound of things, to answer this part of your course you don't need to read any of the authors I've mentioned in their entirety, or any of their books all the way through.

Here's the secret thought behind those words:

You could probably read seven pages by twenty of them and pass with flying colours.

Think how easily you could do that. Seven pages a night. Three weeks. Job done.

However, I can assure you that if you use this method, something will grab your attention, or take you by surprise, and will spark your curiosity to invite you on a journey that you cannot have imagined. If you accept, you could discover much about what it means to be human, and how words can attempt to explain our being. You might also discover just how much the English language, or any language, can express about life, the universe and everything.

You sound exactly like my teacher.

I do my best. :)

Peace

[Pk_#2]

Greetings,

Haallo =)

It has been. Very good it was too, I thought.

:thumbs_up Haven't seen it, not a film typa girl..

And so has everyone else! All we know is that he was a monk.

Cool.

Cheating is pointless.

Agreed :thumbs_up

Chaucer's English definitely is hard to get into, but it's so much easier than learning another language or anything like that. If you know English, you'll start to see connections and similarities all over the place. In fact, Chaucer is where modern English suddenly becomes much easier to recognise. Compare some of his writing with some Old English and you'll see what I mean.

I printed off a dictionary of old words and things, so it's easier to translate their work now =)

The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale are some of the funniest and most human bits of writing ever produced. For pretty much the first time in English literature, here we have one of a group of real characters that you could imagine meeting. The Canterbury pilgrims are not just names on a page, or exaggerated heroes or villains with no possible basis in real life; they are people. And the Wife of Bath is definitely one of the most engaging.

Get into it - you'll love it.

:thumbs_up

However, since I'm a nice guy (and, hooray, it's half-term), I'll help you out on this one - on the condition that you try to start finding things out for yourself a little more.

Hooray!! Double Hoooray!! :D Thankoo sho much!

Here is a list of approximate dates:

Old English: pre-1066

Middle English: 1066-1510

Renaissance: 1510-1620

Elizabethan: 1558-1603 was Elizabeth's reign. Shakespeare's early works fall into this category. His later works are Jacobean (i.e. written during the reign of James I)

Restoration: 1660-1689

Augustan: 1700-1745

Georgian can refer to almost all of the 18th century. Britain was ruled by Georges from 1714 to 1830

Romantic: 1780-1830

Modern can mean a lot of things (e.g. Shakespeare's English is called 'Early Modern English') but in this context it could either mean "20th century onwards", or it could be referring specifically to the Modernists, a group of highly experimental artists, writers and thinkers working roughly during the period 1910-1930. The writers include people like Virginia Woolf, Ezra Pound, T. S. Eliot, Wyndham Lewis, D. H. Lawrence, and, with my vote for first equal Greatest Writer Of All Time, James Joyce.

Apart from Muezzin, maybe. ;) :D

Post-Modern can be thought of as roughly post-World War Two in terms of time, but as a specific genre of literature it arose somewhere in the 1950s or 60s.

:awesome:

All excellent wordsmiths, although for Churchill I assume you mean Winston C. and who else?

Yah he's wan, da ova wan I duno his first name,I'll ask him tomorrow!

Here's the secret thought behind those words:

You could probably read seven pages by twenty of them and pass with flying colours.

:coolious:

Peace

Peace & keep SHMILIN'!

You Mr, are super cool =D, I'll try not to bug you for a few days :D, enjoy yah half term bro!

Yes, my spellin is outrageous. :muddlehea

[buddy1]

NOW i know why i was so rubbish at english at school, its just a difficult being english and learning all the different ways of spelling and use of commas and apostrophys!!

its like spelling, i used to always struggle with the following words

Difficulty so when i was a kid i used to do, mrs d mrs i mrs f f i mrs c mrs u mrs lty!!

and Unecessary one Collar two Sleeves! (meaning there is one C and two S's!!)

to remember that after Q comes a U, i used to say The Queens Underpants!!

I still do it now!!!!

:D

[Pk_#2]

and Unecessary one Collar two Sleeves! (meaning there is one C and two S's!!)

:D

1 cup, two sugars,

You still spelt it incorrectly :X Necessary & Unnecessary. I fink :coolious:

[Re.TiReD]

lol ^ kool, I'll definately remember that now :-[

Quick question: Why is it that an English teacher has not capitalised the first letter of his name? :-[ I was just wondering....

[Güven]

Oh yah ma teacher said Frisians do exist :coolious: br.Guven is a Frisian he lives in the Netherlands and must be in his 90's by now...:thumbs_up

OMG how could i missed this , WHat Tha LOL ;D Im not frisian ! and 90's? Maybe in 70 years lol

[Pk_#2]

lol ^ kool, I'll definately remember that now :-[

Quick question: Why is it that an English teacher has not capitalised the first letter of his name? :-[ I was just wondering....

It's his initials cz and then Gibson what ever that is Lol, so entirely that's not his name really.

OMG how could i missed this , WHat Tha LOL ;D Im not frisian ! and 90's? Maybe in 70 years lol

Shush you Frisian Lol ;D


Alright hold up, lets not be mean to lil bro, you decide, German or Frisian? :p

[czgibson]

Greetings,

Quick question: Why is it that an English teacher has not capitalised the first letter of his name? :-[ I was just wondering....

What an excellent question!

It derives from my first email address, and for some reason it's never occurred to me to capitalise it.

Peace

[unknown_JJ]

Hey CzGibson,

That time of the year eh, packed with assignments :(.i need some help with word to word dependency diagrams, they r really confusing and i have an undergraduate dissertation to do on phonology, syntax is doin my head in grr.

Heres what i know; i know what all the word classes are, aprt from those that don't have any (suprasyntagmatic?) and i know, well i think i know what a pre adjunct is and a complement, i know what a parent and dependant word is but

how do i know where the subject and object of the sentence is, what is a sharer? what about co-ordination, how do i know which way the arrow goes?

I hope you understand, because i don't get it.

[czgibson]

Greetings,

Sorry for the late reply. I must have missed this one.

Hey CzGibson,

That time of the year eh, packed with assignments :(.i need some help with word to word dependency diagrams, they r really confusing and i have an undergraduate dissertation to do on phonology, syntax is doin my head in grr.

Heres what i know; i know what all the word classes are, aprt from those that don't have any (suprasyntagmatic?) and i know, well i think i know what a pre adjunct is and a complement, i know what a parent and dependant word is but

how do i know where the subject and object of the sentence is, what is a sharer? what about co-ordination, how do i know which way the arrow goes?

I hope you understand, because i don't get it.

Sorry, my friend, it sounds like you know more about this than me. Linguistics is not a specialist area for me.

I can tell you a bit about subject / object, though.

In simple terms, the subject of a sentence is the one that is doing something to the object.

[Subject in bold / Object in italics in the following examples.]

The cow ate the grass.

Subjects can be more abstract or complex than a cow, however:

The dialectical materialism of Karl Marx is the basis for Communism.

Sometimes subjects don't need an object:

The house was particularly ugly.



Is that any help?


Peace

[unknown_JJ]

Greetings,

Sorry for the late reply. I must have missed this one.



Sorry, my friend, it sounds like you know more about this than me. Linguistics is not a specialist area for me.

I can tell you a bit about subject / object, though.

In simple terms, the subject of a sentence is the one that is doing something to the object.

[Subject in bold / Object in italics in the following examples.]

The cow ate the grass.

Subjects can be more abstract or complex than a cow, however:

The dialectical materialism of Karl Marx is the basis for Communism.

Sometimes subjects don't need an object:

The house was particularly ugly.



Is that any help?


Peace

Dearest brother,

This was a very late reply imsad I've moved on to Keltoi now! *Bugs Kel*

I've handed in the assignment bro, I hope I done well..+o(

What did you teach then? Phonology? :D

[czgibson]

Greetings,

What did you teach then? Phonology? :D

For me, it's all about the Literature.

Peace

[unknown_JJ]

Greetings,


For me, it's all about the Literature.

Peace

Perfect!

Can Yu check my work for me? :D Pretty please with a carrot on the top?

[czgibson]

Greetings,

Perfect!

Can Yu check my work for me? :D Pretty please with a carrot on the top?

Luckily for you, I'm at a bit of a loose end at the moment. Holidays - hooray! etc.

I'll give your work a cursory glance if you like, and I could tell you what I think of it, but at no stage will I do the work for you. Do bear that in mind.

You can send it to me in a PM or put it here on the thread - up to you.

Peace

[unknown_JJ]

Greetings,


Luckily for you, I'm at a bit of a loose end at the moment. Holidays - hooray! etc.

I'll give your work a cursory glance if you like, and I could tell you what I think of it, but at no stage will I do the work for you. Do bear that in mind.

You can send it to me in a PM or put it here on the thread - up to you.

Peace

I wasn't gonna make you do it for me, you just look through it, don't be silleh, I'm a good girl =D

I dun the work, just need to type it up!

[czgibson]

Greetings,

I wasn't gonna make you do it for me, you just look through it, don't be silleh, I'm a good girl =D

Ah, but sometimes you have to be silly. That's just a general principle of mine - on to the reason why:

I often get asked to look through people's work, and a lot of the time what they mean is "can you improve it for me so I get a better mark when I hand it in?"

I'm not saying that's your reason for asking, just letting you know that it's not what I'm here for. I'll point you in the right direction with your work if I can, then it's up to you to get going with it.

I dun the work, just need to type it up!

Good stuff - you seem to be pretty well-organised. :)

I'll be online this evening, but away over the next few days.

Peace

[unknown_JJ]

Greetings,


Ah, but sometimes you have to be silly. That's just a general principle of mine - on to the reason why:

I often get asked to look through people's work, and a lot of the time what they mean is "can you improve it for me so I get a better mark when I hand it in?"

I'm not saying that's your reason for asking, just letting you know that it's not what I'm here for. I'll point you in the right direction with your work if I can, then it's up to you to get going with it.



Good stuff - you seem to be pretty well-organised. :)

I'll be online this evening, but away over the next few days.

Peace

Well organised. :X I started yesterday and it's due in on Monday, we actually have aaaaaages to do it, but I were unwell. :exhausted . No pressure =D

No I don't want Yu to do the work, dat'll make me gay, Yah happy, what were you thinking? :p

Ima PM you in a bit and then let you enjoy your holiday(s)!

[Re.TiReD]

Hi,

Is it 'sang' or 'sung'? :><: I always get confused and say 'singed' instead :-[

[Yanal]

If you don't mind can you explain the usage of "who" and "whom"? Thanks!

[glo]

Hi,

Is it 'sang' or 'sung'? :><: I always get confused and say 'singed' instead :-[

Depends ...
It is ' I sang a song' (as an active action) and 'A song was sung' (as something being passively done).

'Singed' however, is always wrong! :D

I am sure czgibson can either correct me or explain it better! :)

Peace

[Muezzin]

'Singed' however, is always wrong! :D

'Singed' is incorrect in the context of the verb 'to sing'.

But, it is correct in to the context of the verb 'to singe'. :)

[glo]

'Singed' is incorrect in the context of the verb 'to sing'.

But, it is correct in to the context of the verb 'to singe'. :)

Haha, Muezzin, now you are being clever!! :D

To clarify the difference.
Sing - sang - sung for this:

Singe - singed - singed for this:

[Whatsthepoint]

What's the best way to learn all phrasal verbs without too much trying?

[Cabdullahi]

i kum hear to liran english,the englsih many depriveed ma containment afrika and so i woodo likey english many to teach meehee enslish luggage

[Yanal]

Nice language keeping in mind thats how zAk speaks which is a probability in 1/2.

[Re.TiReD]

Depends ...
It is ' I sang a song' (as an active action) and 'A song was sung' (as something being passively done).

'Singed' however, is always wrong! :D

I am sure czgibson can either correct me or explain it better! :)

Peace

'Singed' is incorrect in the context of the verb 'to sing'.

But, it is correct in to the context of the verb 'to singe'. :)

Haha, Muezzin, now you are being clever!! :D

To clarify the difference.
Sing - sang - sung for this:

Singe - singed - singed for this:

Thanks...makes sense Glo :D nice pics too

Muezzin...JazakAllah khayr =D

[transition?]

I always get farther and further mixed up.
-_-

[Muezzin]

I always get farther and further mixed up.
-_-

Farther means physical distance. 'The barber shop is farther away'.

Further is used... at all other times, basically. Like when you're introducing a new idea: 'You are a rubbish barber, and further, you smell'.

But czgibson is the master of this thread. And an English teacher. So he probably knows a thing or two about these things.

[glo]

Where is our forum English teacher when we need him???

[czgibson]

Greetings,

Where is our forum English teacher when we need him???

Believe it or not, I'm just back from giving an extra English lesson! The son of a friend of mine has his English GCSE coming up and he needs every bit of help he can get.

It looks like I've got a lot of questions to get through, so here goes:

Is it 'sang' or 'sung'? I always get confused and say 'singed' instead

Here is a verb table for the verb 'to sing':


Present: sing [As in 'I like to sing.']

Past simple: sang [As in 'He sang for two hours.]

Past participle: sung [As in 'Our choir has sung in many large venues.']


When it comes to sang and sung, one easy way to remember which one to use is this:

If you're just using a pronoun then the verb, use sang. Examples: 'We sang', 'you sang', 'they sang'.

If you're using a pronoun, then an auxiliary verb (like was or had), then the main verb, use sung. Examples: 'She has sung', 'The tune will be sung', 'They had sung'.

If you don't mind can you explain the usage of "who" and "whom"? Thanks!

It's possible to get through life without ever using the word 'whom', which is not used nearly as much as it used to be. It's almost always possible to rephrase things to allow the use of 'who'.

This page explains the difference:

Who vs. whom

What's the best way to learn all phrasal verbs without too much trying?

Practice and memory. I'm afraid there doesn't seem to be a shortcut for this!

I always get farther and further mixed up.

Muezzin's explanation is excellent. :)

I would only add that very few people nowadays are too bothered by this distinction. If in doubt, use 'further', and only the most extreme pedant would complain.

I hope those are helpful answers - let me know if you'd like any clarification and I'll try to reply before too long.

Peace

[Yanal]

Thanks brother. So for example I say the letter is for whom ? I understand now,thanks one again.

[czgibson]

Greetings,

Thanks brother. So for example I say the letter is for whom. I understand now,thanks one again.

Exactly! :)

Your example is grammatically perfect, but, on the other hand, it's very 19th century, isn't it? :D

[It needs a question mark, too...]

Peace

[Yanal]

LOL yeah it just poped out of my head and I types it....

About the ? I noticed it and will change it,thanks!

[czgibson]

Greetings,

By the way, people, if you're regularly beset by questions of the "sang / sung", "who/whom" variety, this is an excellent book to look into:

Bill Bryson: Troublesome Words

Peace

[Yanal]

Are you an English teacher?

[glo]

Greetings,

By the way, people, if you're regularly beset by questions of the "sang / sung", "who/whom" variety, this is an excellent book to look into:

Bill Bryson: Troublesome Words

Peace

I have read several of Bryson's travel stories and enjoyed them.
Is this book written in a similar humorous style? (Can one write a book on language usage in a humorous style?? :?)

[czgibson]

Greetings,

Are you an English teacher?

I'm afraid so! I also teach music.

I have read several of Bryson's travel stories and enjoyed them.
Is this book written in a similar humorous style? (Can one write a book on language usage in a humorous style?? )

Yes - there are flashes of his humour throughout. It's much more entertaining than reference books usually are. :)

Peace

[Uthman]

I have never really gotten past the first few pages of Bryson's books. It's not that they are boring necessarily, but they are just not sufficiently 'gripping' as it were. Perhaps they are not supposed to be but a gripping style is what I look for in a book. I love books that really hold your attention, such that you hate having to put the book down.

[Yanal]

I should be on too! I am getting 90.4% mashAllah!

[Hugo]

I don't know if you are familiar with iGoogle but is can be very useful as a home page and because it lets you add gadgets; of which there are hundreds. But one I find very useful is called "Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus". It is in fact a cut down version of a full product and you can access the full product as well though there are some restriction (mainly to do with printing).

Often when you are writing you might feel you have not quite got the word you want and this is where a VISUAL Thesaurus can come in very handy because you get a kind of spider diagram and as you move the mouse pointer over it definitions appear. It of course is also useful if you come across words you don't fully understand.

[Whatsthepoint]

Reported speech..
She said she loved me.
She said she loves me.
What's the difference between these two sentences? They're all supposed to describe her love to me that is still lasting.

[Salahudeen]

loved is past tense

loves is present tense

[czgibson]

Greetings,

Reported speech..
She said she loved me.
She said she loves me.
What's the difference between these two sentences? They're all supposed to describe her love to me that is still lasting.

If the intended meaning is that the love is still lasting, then both sentences are fine. It's your choice whether you use the verb in the past or the present tense.

If the love only existed in the past, then only the first one would be correct.

Peace

[Whatsthepoint]

Greetings,


If the intended meaning is that the love is still lasting, then both sentences are fine. It's your choice whether you use the verb in the past or the present tense.

If the love only existed in the past, then only the first one would be correct.

Peace

What about 'she said she'd loved me'?

[Muezzin]

What about 'she said she'd loved me'?

Contraction of:

'She said she had loved me'

Which means she had loved you in the past but doesn't love you anymore.

[glo]

What about 'she said she'd loved me'?

Contraction of:

'She said she had loved me'

Which means she had loved you in the past but doesn't love you anymore.

I think it means she had loved you in the past but didn't love you anymore (at the point of making her statement)

[Yanal]

:salamext:

Wonderful thread for me studying English 9 which the exam is coming up within days. Thanks for all your help brother.

:salamext:

[Whatsthepoint]

Contraction of:

'She said she had loved me'

Which means she had loved you in the past but doesn't love you anymore.

I know what it means but I'm not sure what the difference betwen using past perfect and regular past tence in this particular case, if there is any. According to czgibson "she said she loved me" can refer both to love that stopped at some point in the past as well as one still lasting and 'she said she's loved me' can only refers to the past, though glo says it refers to love that stopped in the past.

I thought it was similar to
I wish you were here (present)
I wish you had been here for me (past)

So I thought "she said she loves me" was wrong, but it isn't.

[czgibson]

Greetings,

I know what it means but I'm not sure what the difference betwen using past perfect and regular past tence in this particular case, if there is any. According to czgibson "she said she loved me" can refer both to love that stopped at some point in the past as well as one still lasting and 'she said she's loved me' can only refers to the past, though glo says it refers to love that stopped in the past.

There may be little difference between the use of the past perfect and the past simple in this case, although if you use the past perfect it allows for some precision in the time scale of events, as in:

"She said she'd loved me from the moment she saw me."

Note that using the past perfect does not necessarily mean that the love no longer exists.

So I thought "she said she loves me" was wrong, but it isn't.

It's not wrong, but it's rarely seen. A similar example turns up in a Beatles song:

"She said she loves you
And you know that can't be bad."

I hope that helps. :)

Peace

[glo]

Greetings,


There may be little difference between the use of the past perfect and the past simple in this case, although if you use the past perfect it allows for some precision in the time scale of events, as in:

"She said she'd loved me from the moment she saw me."

Note that using the past perfect does not necessarily mean that the love no longer exists.


Peace

I can see that now.
When I read the sentence for the first time I had assumed that the love no longer existed ...

... as in "She said she'd loved me until she found out about my unfaithfulness."

So the only thing we know is that the love had existed prior to the time the statement was made, but we only know whether or not it still exists depending on other information given?

[czgibson]

Greetings,

So the only thing we know is that the love had existed prior to the time the statement was made, but we only know whether or not it still exists depending on other information given?

That's right, but the not quite the whole story:

We know that the love had existed prior to the time of the statement, and prior to some other event in the past. That is the general usage of the past perfect tense.

Peace

[glo]

Greetings,


That's right, but the not quite the whole story:

We know that the love had existed prior to the time of the statement, and prior to some other event in the past. That is the general usage of the past perfect tense.

Peace

Aha!

It strikes me that the sentence "She said she had loved me" on its own doesn't seem to make much sense.
It seems to demand further information - perhaps it is that second point in time you mention - to relate the sentence to.

It seems to become clear when I read the sentences you and I have given as examples:

"She said she'd loved me from the moment she saw me."
"She said she'd loved me until she found out about my unfaithfulness."