Language & Grammar discussion
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The L&G Kitchen Party
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Introductions and Welcomes
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Teen swap - what a great idea! Because other people's teenagers are always nicer than one's own, as long as too much familiarity is avoided!
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"When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years."
That's reassuring. My younger brother is going through a 'difficult' stage right now. He's 18 and thinks he knows it all. He's mad at my parents and doesn't understand why they won't just be quiet and do what he says seeing as he is so reasonable and sensible and all!It's comforting to know that there's hope that he might eventually start to consider acting civilly again.
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*Home from college and knows everything
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OH MY GOSH!!! HOFCAKE! That is what I have... a girl HOFCAKE! I was trying to figure out who the heck she was-now I know!!!
Thanks Ruth, that's quite a bit nicer than what I have been thinking!
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A HOFCAKE has got to be one step up from a HOMSAKE (HOme from Middle School And Knows Everything).
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"When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer"
by Walt Whitman
When I heard the learn'd astronomer;
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me;
When I was shown the charts and the diagrams, to add, divide, and
measure them;
When I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with much
applause in the lecture-room,
How soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick;
Till rising and gliding out, I wander'd off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.
I have to be honest. Walt and I never connected. I've read him as a class duty and an American treasure, but his poetry just never captured me. Don't think less of me New. I do share the sentiment he expresses in the verse though. Physics very much tempered my enthusiasm for astronomy in college. The beauty is in looking up.
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"Fire and Ice"
by Bob Frost
Some say the world will end in fire;
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
We're in the same groove now New -- I love Frost.A Question
A voice said, Look me in the stars
And tell me truly, men of earth,
If all the soul-and-body scars
Were not too much to pay for birth.
On Looking Up by Chance at the Constellations
You'll wait a long, long time for anything much
To happen in heaven beyond the floats of cloud
And the Northern Lights that run like tingling nerves.
The sun and moon get crossed, but they never touch,
Nor strike out fire from each other nor crash out loud.
The planets seem to interfere in their curves -
But nothing ever happens, no harm is done.
We may as well go patiently on with our life,
And look elsewhere than to stars and moon and sun
For the shocks and changes we need to keep us sane.
It is true the longest drout will end in rain,
The longest peace in China will end in strife.
Still it wouldn't reward the watcher to stay awake
In hopes of seeing the calm of heaven break
On his particular time and personal sight.
That calm seems certainly safe to last to-night.
Robert Frost
You'll wait a long, long time for anything much
To happen in heaven beyond the floats of cloud
And the Northern Lights that run like tingling nerves.
The sun and moon get crossed, but they never touch,
Nor strike out fire from each other nor crash out loud.
The planets seem to interfere in their curves -
But nothing ever happens, no harm is done.
We may as well go patiently on with our life,
And look elsewhere than to stars and moon and sun
For the shocks and changes we need to keep us sane.
It is true the longest drout will end in rain,
The longest peace in China will end in strife.
Still it wouldn't reward the watcher to stay awake
In hopes of seeing the calm of heaven break
On his particular time and personal sight.
That calm seems certainly safe to last to-night.
Robert Frost
Hi all,Just found this group and thought I'd say hello. English is my second language, which I learnt when I was 21. My mother tongue is French.
I find English an incredibly complex language, especially if you want to go beyond the few hundred words you need to function. I'm still having problems with prepositions, and will probably hit people with questions on that.
Fortunately, I have a good friend who has helped me through the years with my grammar and my punctuation (which is also very different from French).
bonjour m.d.
glad to have you here with us
a few here speak french or write it
not me except
bonjour :)
glad to have you here with us
a few here speak french or write it
not me except
bonjour :)
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R
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Ruth,Maybe your husband and I can commiserate together.
Thank you all for the warm welcome. As to prepositions, they are the bane of my writing existence. For instance, I think there are at least 30 prepositions you can use with the verb get, and everyone of them changes the meaning of the main word: get in, get out, get at, get over, get through, get aboard, get across, get along, get into, get past, etc., etc., etc....
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NE- do these witticisms just pop into your head?
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OH! Too funny & so true:
"eye-rolling moments" (unless the kids don't get it, in which case they're called "the teacher laughing at his own jokes again").
It happens to me all the time.
"eye-rolling moments" (unless the kids don't get it, in which case they're called "the teacher laughing at his own jokes again").
It happens to me all the time.
students? i need students?
argh i've been doing it wrong all these years?
argh i've been doing it wrong all these years?
You can have mine. I'll be happy to loan them out for a bit :) Say until May 30th?
no no no
i've got grandkids and a german to deal with
students not necessary
i've got grandkids and a german to deal with
students not necessary
My name is Chris. I am married to a wonderful lady, and together we have nine beautiful children, six girls and three boys, ages 20 to 20 months. I am 40 years old and have spent most of my adult life as a plumber/pipe-fitter. Unfortunately, I am currently disabled due to an on the job injury back in 1999. I love to read and collect books. My library is comprised of mostly classic fiction and books on theology and religious studies. Religion, in general, fascinates me.
This group is very interesting. In fact, it seems allot more active than I expected. I look forward to getting involved and getting to know many of you.
chris
I'll be the first to offer welcome, Chris! That is quite a family you have there!
We are a fairly active group, as you mentioned . . . and a nicer group you'll have a hard time finding.
Looking forward to your contributions!
We are a fairly active group, as you mentioned . . . and a nicer group you'll have a hard time finding.
Looking forward to your contributions!
wow
6 girls
i had one and she nearly did me in
20 mos. to 20
your wife isn't wonderful...she's a saint :)
6 girls
i had one and she nearly did me in
20 mos. to 20
your wife isn't wonderful...she's a saint :)
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Hey everyone. My name is Nathan. I'm a (computer program) developer from Dallas, TX. My father was an English major, which is the main reason I didn't choose to study English at school, although I love language and literature. So now I'm kind of an amateur linguist, which means I think I'm much smarter than I actually am.Anyway I've been enjoying keeping an eye on the discussions. Yesterday I dropped a comment for the first time, and someone suggested I introduce myself, so here I am.
helllloooooo
i'm running to the amazing sentences thread nathan to out you as an amazing sentence writer on that thread
i'm running to the amazing sentences thread nathan to out you as an amazing sentence writer on that thread
So glad you have joined and posted, Nathan!
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Hello everybody! I'm trying to get caught up with some of the threads, and this looks like a neat group.I teach high school journalism and English in rural Iowa. I love to read and don't write nearly enough, especially for a writing teacher. I have a two year old who is finding all sorts of neat things to say, which is pretty fun.
heeellllllooooo holly
glad to have you here
perhaps you could write the two year old's witticsms down and take care of the writing teacher who doesn't write problem? ;)
glad to have you here
perhaps you could write the two year old's witticsms down and take care of the writing teacher who doesn't write problem? ;)
our little forum is quiet today
where is everyone?
where is everyone?
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Welcome Holly....hope you enjoy it here. Just one thing.....I am allergic to 'neat' in all and any of it's permutations!!!!! Same with 'nice'!!
A two year old is lovely....a twenty year old is better!! Mine stayed here last night after a 21st party nearby. She is sitting behind me right now tucking into eggs and field mushrooms on toast for breakfast...and regaling me with stories of her night. More fun than two!!!
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Remember, introductions aren't good enough. Then you have to hang around a bit (when we shake the hand of new blood, we don't let go.... bwa-ha-ha-ha-etc.).
And I would like to reintroduce myself. I'm New (not) and, after running the trails this a.m., will have a hellacious afternoon completing a final assignment for a graduate course that's due this week. Of course, as usual, I will occasionally cheat by looking in here. That's the problem with word processing on a computer -- it's too close to the places you play on-line, like the good ole Language and Grandmas Group (copywrong, 2008, goodly reads dot calm).
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By the way....I like 'hellacious'. Is that copywronged?
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And please, you haven't cornered the market on scaring people away. In the first place, Nathan and Holly posted rather recently, so give them time to come back! In the second place, you can't do any worse than I did when I scared Chris with Nine Kids away by correcting his spelling like some dusty old school master out of colonial days (fill the wood box while you're at it, lad).
Odd how you don't need Halloween to scare people. And do they even celebrate Halloween in New Zealand? If not, I'm moving there for sure...
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Language & Grammar
Books mentioned in this topic
Roughing It (other topics)The Fault in Our Stars (other topics)
The Way We Live Now (other topics)
Farnsworth's Classical English Rhetoric (other topics)
Farnsworth's Classical English Rhetoric (other topics)
More...
The NJ Shakespeare Festival is at Drew University, and they are excellent (usually). NE, you were right here, too bad you didn't attend a performance or two. You may have felt a little better about the much-maligned NJ.
So, why are kids throwing up on these school overnights? Too much small beer? We banned that here in NJ!