Language & Grammar discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
Grammar Central
>
Ask Our Grammar "Experts"
My God! Have I graduated to philosophy? I thought it would never happen. Thank you, Jana and NE! I'd never have realized it.
Mod
Jan wrote: "Oh, Jana, I'm not sure if this is how you spell it butYak se maj?
And don't worry too much about M & GN. Sometimes they confuse all of us. I think they even confuse themselves at times. Congra..."
"Ako sa mas?" in Slovak and I think "Jak se mas?" in Czech. That is in informal. If it's formal it would be:
"Ako sa mate?" or in Czech "Jak se mate."
I read Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Jane Eyre, Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield and few more by Balzac, Dostoyevsky, Dumas and few more.
I had problem with Rob Roy big time, Treasure Island and Gulliver's Travels.
You're doing very well, then. The reason I asked about the classics is that some young people, native English speakers, have trouble reading the older style of books.So for someone whose first language is not English, you are really talented. Keep up with the reading, and feel free to bring any questions about words or sentences here: we won't think any of your questions silly, in fact I wish I had your level of competence in any of the languages I've learnt! We'll be happy to help with any queries you may have.
Which is correct and which would be preferable in your estimation if both are correct?I enjoyed him saying that.
I enjoyed his saying that.
Did you enjoy him, Geoffrey? (lucky you!)Or did you enjoy what he was saying?
I enjoyed his speech.
Mod
I enjoyed him saying that.
I enjoyed his saying that."
Number 2
Hi, GN! Did anyone ever tell you that you look a lot like Lawrence Durrell?Do you mind my saying that?
Hello guys,I have problem with this.
when should we use "on" and "in"? I have difficulties (in?) using either of them.
thanks. :)
Mod
If you're referring to
I have difficulties (in?) using either of them. Just leave in out. "I have difficulties using either of them" makes perfect sense without it.
M wrote: "Do you mind my saying that?"M, old chap. So good of you to drop in. Please say that as often as you like.
I'm late to this discussion, but to say 'I have finals day after tomorrow' sounds like broken English to me, rather than idiomatic. Something that someone whose native language isn't English would say - like 'I go to bank' rather than 'I'm going to the bank'. We don't say that in England at all, no matter how idiomatic we're being. But I notice Americans sometimes use 'the' differently from us - omitting it where we would use it and using it where we would omit it. Also prepositions are used differently. I observe Americans say 'I have a couple bags' whereas Brits would say 'I have a couple of bags'. So I imagine 'in' and 'on' might be used differently too. I'd say 'I have difficulties with using them'.
In conversation, I'd say 'Do you mind me saying that?' Most Brits I know would say that. 'Do you mind my saying that?' sounds like phrasing that people decided upon later to try to be more logical, but it doesn't sound quite logical to me. If I were using language formally, I'd rephrase it to 'Do you mind if I say that?' or 'Do you mind the fact that I said that?' (depending on whether it's been said yet or not).
In the sentence Do you mind me saying that, me is the object of the verb. It's a construction in which the phrase saying that makes no sense grammatically as part of the sentence. In the sentence Do you mind my saying that, the object of the verb is saying (a gerund), modified by my. Grammatically, in the first sentence, what you mind is me. In second sentence, what you mind is what I'm saying (the saying of me, i.e., my saying). The object of the gerund is that.
M, now why on earth would you inquire for a mere four instances of that?
GN, I didn't recognize you! Where's your teacup?
Ruth wrote: "It depends on the circumstance. If you're referring to a physical place, in is in, inside, surrounded by, etc. On is on, on top of,attached to, etc. If you're referring to
I have difficulties ..."
but how about this: it's on/in my lap.
I've read a sentence used in and the other one as well.. so it really makes me confuse which is to use.
Mod
My husband, whose native language is not English, says prepositions are the hardest thing to master in most languages.
M wrote: "GN, I didn't recognize you! Where's your teacup?"G wanted to retire it. N agreed. We prefer a watery incarnation at present.
In and on can be confusing but the general rule is that "in" suggests something more enclosing. However everything is subject to common usage as well. One lives in the lap of luxury.
One lives in a house.
The unemployed live on the dole yet one lives in poverty.
Sometimes one sits on a chair (particularly a stool) but one can sit in a chair (particularly a big comfy one that sort of surrounds you.
In a crowded car you may sit on someone's lap. But if its an intimate sofa and you're cuddling you're most likely sitting in their lap.
In keeping with the season... A small child may sit on Santa's lap to give him a Christmas list but a vixen may sit in Santa's lap to sing him "Santa Baby."
Good definition Stephen. Easy to understand.
I live on a small income, but tonight I'm going to a love-in.
M wrote: "I live on a small income, but tonight I'm going to a love-in."Whoaaaa......
I live in a small house, but tonight I'm going out on the town! :-)
Is the community on the grow? Are its members in the know?
Off-key, in sync, on the sly, and gone slow.
Its 'an hotel' but 'a hospital' and I cant explain clearly to my students(who take english as a second language)why this is so.Help.
An hotel.An hospital.
If you use 'an' as the article, your pronunciation of the 'h' is silent, therefore you need a consonant between 'a', hence 'an' and the first syllable of the words 'ot' for hotel, and 'os' for hospital.
A hotel.
A hospital.
If you use 'a' as the article, your pronunciation of the 'h' will be enunciated as in 'hot'.
There are also other words, such as herb, which are pronounced with 'an' and a silent 'h', or 'a' and a voiced 'h'. This is a result of French influence on the language.
Sonali wrote: "Its 'an hotel' but 'a hospital' and I can't explain clearly to my students(who take english as a second language)why this is so. Help."You might also explain that while you're teaching them proper grammar, spelling and so forth, many many native speakers don't use it.
I was raised speaking American English and I've dealt with British English for years at work and yet I'd be hard pressed to tell you when and where to use "a" versus "an" when it comes to "H" words. I just avoid the problem altogether. Choose a different article. One can always say the hospital or the hotel or my hotel or your hospital.
Except for the fact that an/a are the indefinite articles and the/pronouns are the definite articles. So this will have an effect on the intended meaning of the sentence/question.Either choose to voice the 'h', in which case use 'a'. Or don't voice the 'h', in which case use 'an'.
Mod
Does anyone ever actually say that outside of Eliza Doolittle?
You surely don't expect Higgins to say 'An Hospital', do you?
Sonali, GN is right. For an American to say or write something like "an hotel" or "an historic" is an instance of hypercorrectness. Americans pronounce the h-, so (for an American, at least) the correct article is a.Gaucheries such as "an hotel" among speakers who pronounce the h probably spring from the same counterintuitive impulse that leads some people to use nominative forms of pronouns in objective positions, such as, "The guide gave Myrtle and I directions" ("Myrtle and me" is correct). I think for many people, the need to sound correct overrides considerations of what's actually correct.
I agree whole heartedly with M. But as I read his comment it occured to me that the word "Gaucheries", while a great written word would be sort of onamatapeic in spoken English.
That reminded me that we seem to be discussing spoken English above. When writing I might actually write An historic ocassion but most other "h" word situations I'd just avoid.
Stephen wrote: "I agree whole heartedly with M. But as I read his comment it occured to me that the word "Gaucheries", while a great written word would be sort of onamatapeic in spoken English.
That remind..."
Thanks a lot everyone.Since we speak Indian english which follows British Pronunciation I thought that 'an' would be correct; but a colleague(who went to a convent school and is thus deferred to) confused me.
Not that it really applies here but your mentioning India did bring up a memory. My company outsourced a number of our positions to an Indian firm and part of the arrangement a number of Indian born workers joined our staff for a few months. Among our American born workers there was some fun made of the way that the newcomers pronounced certain words and phrased certain things. The fact that these newcomers spoke five languages on average didn't make a whole lot of difference to the american born, haven't even mastered English yet, people who had friends replaced in the change.
A big part of communicating is the context.
Stephen wrote: "Not that it really applies here but your mentioning India did bring up a memory. My company outsourced a number of our positions to an Indian firm and part of the arrangement a number of Indian bor..."At University we first came to know of RP English. We admired some of our Professors who spoke that way and tried to imitate them.It proved to be impractical away from our esoteric circle- people laughed at us.Now ofcourse I know that what matters most is communicating.By the way- I myself have to speak three languages fluently on a regular basis everyday.
A few minutes ago, as I was having breakfast and reading Modern American Usage, it occurred to me to see what Jacques Barzun, Lionel Trilling, Phyllis McGinley, and a host of assistant editors had agreed on about the use of an before aspirates:"Some very Anglophile or very bookish Americans, and perhaps others influenced by them, are addicted to an before historical, homiletic, humble and other words with a formerly silent h and before words beginning with the consonantal y sound (Eurasion, euphonious, unique); also sometimes before w sounds (one, once). . . . The normal, undoubtedly the prevalent, American feeling is that such words begin with consonants, not vowels, and that it is archaic and unnatural to precede them with an instead of a. This feeling has the right of way in speech and should have it in writing . . ." (34-35).
Follett, Wilson. Modern American Usage: A Guide. Ed. Jacques Barzun, et al. New York: Hill and Wang, 1966.
Ruth wrote: "What is RP English?"Received Prounciation, the way the English Monarch is supposed to speak the language, though I read in the papers once that the Queen's pronunciation has become 'common' over the years. this was after someone analysed her speeches given several decades ago and those of recent years.Pretty amusing.
sorry to be late.But I think an or a depends on how the first syllable of the word sounds after either of them. example:
an honor (since the first syllable of this word sounds "o" or a vowel sound, it is right to use an.)
a heart
a home
Right.use your common sense, or sense of pronunciation not being native english speakers...
Mod
Once again, I seek for your help dear grammar experts. Which is correct?
To John, it is too difficult to understand math.
For John, it is too difficult to understand math.
Ah prepositions. :/ Oh, and since this is to John/for John, it's considered a prepositional phrase, right? Thanks so much for the help. :)
Math is too difficult for John to understand. So the second one is closest to being correct.
M wrote: "Math is too difficult for John to understand. So the second one is closest to being correct."What if I retain the original sentence but only change the first word?
As worded, I'd choose For John. However, both are somewhat awkward. Other alternatives albeit with slightly different focuses and shades of meaning.
Understanding math is difficult for John.
John feels math is too difficult to understand.
To John, understanding math seems too difficult.
Math concepts were a mystery to John.
John sometimes finds math too difficult to understand.
John sometimes exhibits acalculia.
John sometimes exhibits dyscalculia.
Note that I've not suggested "Understanding math is too difficult for John." for some reason that construct seems too judgemental & too final.
Yes, you are correct. "Understanding math is too difficult for John." is too final and judgmental. Thank you for the suggestions. I'll probably just use one of those. :)
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
Language & Grammar
Books mentioned in this topic
Little Women (other topics)A Tale of Two Cities (other topics)
Twilight (other topics)
The Associated Press Stylebook (other topics)
Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You (other topics)
More...
Yak se maj?
And don't worry too much about M & GN. Sometimes they confuse all of us. I think they even confuse themselves at times. Congratulations on your success with English. Have you tried reading any of Jane Austen's novels yet? Or any thing by Charles Dickens?