Short English lesson

[broden 57,115]

[lazydays 1,306]

Then we have the other conundrum, English vs American spelling, which Wombat often points out "Spelling you Yanks".

[Jess Bartone 1,820]

Ooooh fun with contractions.

 

I'm I am, They're They are, Isn't Is Not, Aren't are not, You're you are, We're We are, That's that is.

 

That's a few to start things off.

What I would like to know is how "will not" became "won't".

 

 

Jesse, point taken, but no one speaks using that form anymore. The primary problem is when so many people mistakenly write "loose", when they clearly mean "lose".

It is confusing, even to someone who has studied English, but it's all part of a rich tapestry of words drawn more from other languages than from itself. Just to confuse the issue even more... the English language originated in Germany.

[Headshot 29,349]

i before e, except after c.... so its spelled Grief.

Oh...you mean like you see in weird science?

Edited August 26, 2011 by Headshot

[Mr. Mike 10,446]

I would not mind an english/grammar moderator on the LinC. God knows I could use the help, and I would welcome it!.......just a thought. The appointed moderator teacher would only intercede if a member requested the coaching, and only to those members. It would be there for all to see, but others might benefit by the lessons as well.

 

 

........in other words........ if a members grammar is poor, coach them! If they request it.

 

It is one thing to speak well, yet another to compose cogent thoughts on paper/posts.

 

 

.just a thought.....

[Mailman 660]

What I would like to know is how "will not" became "won't".

 

I woll not ever tell you.

[Stranded Shipscook 2,856]

I slowly start to worry about picking up wrong English here in this forum

 

One has to forgive me, i am a native German and certainly make a lot of mistakes, But I appreciate any correction or lesson.

 

(And for those who may mock or ridicule other non=natives not so good in English ... learn bloody German,Norwegian,Italian,Visayan,Tagalog,French,Hungarian and other members languages perfectly first and only then one can joke )

[Mr. Mike 10,446]

I slowly start to worry about picking up wrong English here in this forum

 

One has to forgive me, i am a native German and certainly make a lot of mistakes, But I appreciate any correction or lesson.

 

(And for those who may mock or ridicule other non=natives not so good in English ... learn bloody German,Norwegian,Italian,Visayan,Tagalog,French,Hungarian and other members languages perfectly first and only then one can joke ) :biggrin _01:

Not to worry about your language skills Guenther, you speak and spell at least one more language than many on this forum........that's my guess.........I am still working on my English!

[Headshot 29,349]

And it's written "it's", not "its" because its shorthand for "it is"

 

KonGC

Unless the word is being used as a posessive.

 

ie: It's limping because it hurt its paw.

 

it's: conjunction of it is (it's limping)

 

its: posessive of it (its paw)

Edited August 26, 2011 by Headshot

[A_Simple_Man 6,198]

Here's another short English lesson. Words or phrases can mean totally different things in different contexts. Thus it is more important to read the whole paragraph and absorb the content rather than emphasizing spelling or grammar. Here is my example. The phrase is "He's a nice guy". From reading the rest of the statement can you tell where 'He' met the girl?

 

1 He's a nice guy. It means his pic is cute and he has a nice smile on cam and he calls me honey.

 

2 He's a nice guy. It means he buys a lot of lady's drinks and he gives a nice gift for favors.

 

3 He's a nice guy. It means he likes shopping and buy me things. It means he has a lot of friends and they visit at French Baker.

[Jess Bartone 1,820]

Unless the word is being used as a posessive.

 

ie: It's limping because it hurt its paw.

 

it's: conjunction of it is (it's limping)

 

its: posessive of it (its paw)

The way my English teacher (an Irishman) explained it to me is that apostrophe S ('s) denotes ownership (Headshot's... Jesse's), it is actually a contraction of (for example) "Headshot his comments (Headshot's comments)", but an "it" cannot have ownership, not being human, thus "its".

 

The single most annoying use of apostrophe S is when people use it to pluralise.

[Sonny 3,568]

And "your, you're, and, um... yore".

 

Cracks me up sometimes to see the use of English here... and some of the worst offenders complain about Filipinos' lack of English. Sheesh. Can't think of any right now dagnabbit, but I'll try to remember to paste a few here... without naming anyone of course, just in the interest of education and a little smile.

 

 

Jesse

 

'Yore'___(Texism)____personal possesive. Often used by the Good 'ol boys.

[tom_shor 1,202]

Or just use ain't which means anything contracted with not.

 

I almost threw that one in but it is not considered by many to be proper English since it can mean more than one thing. Am not Are not

 

That doesn't mean it isn't widely used especially in the South.

[tom_shor 1,202]

Jesse, point taken, but no one speaks using that form anymore. The primary problem is when so many people mistakenly write "loose", when they clearly mean "lose".

 

English contains a lot of words like that. There, their, they're all sound the same but mean differen't things. Just one example.

[tom_shor 1,202]

Then we have the other conundrum, English vs American spelling, which Wombat often points out "Spelling you Yanks".

 

What does this have to do with contraceptives? Oh..... Never mind.