[title]Family quotes[/title] [description]Welcome to our family quotes section! Here you'll find some of the funniest (and wisest) quotes on the subject of family life![/description]
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Latest post Thu, Jun 5 2008 6:33 PM by New2grammar. 6 replies.
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New2grammar  +  523187 Thu, 05 Jun 08 03:01 AM
A: Tell us about your latest movie.

B: It's about a kid, me, moving to China and leaving behind his past in the US. In the foreign country, he has to blend into the completely different culture. Though he speaks Chinese, there are other obstacles like gaining peer acceptance, not to mention attracting the opposite sex, and getting used to Chinese food. You know, people in China eat anything under the sun, ranging from pork feet to cow's testicles to dog.

A: I know you've been living in China since 2003. Do you eat them?

B: No. I'd rather stick to a normal diet.

A: Do you have friends who eat them? And what do you do if they're going to a restaurant
serving these variety meats? Do you find an excuse to bail on them? Or do you join them but be frank with them
and just keep them company?

B: Fortunately, most of my friends don't take them. But once, we went to this restaurant and and one of my friends
ordered pig's penises. It was gross. Though it brothered me I just told myself they were hotdogs.

Could you correct any mistakes?

Thanks in advance.

 

 

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Mr Wordy  +  523345 Thu, 05 Jun 08 12:49 PM

A: Tell us about your latest movie.

B: It's about a kid, me, moving to China and leaving behind his past in the US. In the foreign country, he has to blend into the completely different culture. Though he speaks Chinese, there are other obstacles like gaining peer acceptance, ...

In writing, some people don't approve of "like" when "such as" is meant (i.e. when introducing a list of examples, as you have here). Others aren't bothered, or wouldn't even notice. In a real-life conversation I think almost no one would be that fussy.

... not to mention attracting the opposite sex, and getting used to Chinese food. You know, people in China eat anything under the sun, ranging from pork feet to cow's cows' testicles to dog.

A: I know you've been living in China since 2003. Do you eat them?

[I slightly edited the following para a short while after posting it.] 

To me, it's not totally clear what "them" refers to. It seems as if it refers to just one of the named plural items, and I'm left wondering which one. If you mean those weird things in general, then it would probably be better to say "Do you eat all those things?" Again, I'm commenting on this as a written piece. In a real-life conversation this would pass without comment.

B: No. I'd rather stick to a normal diet.

A: Do you have friends who eat them? And what do you do if they're going to a restaurant
serving these variety meats? Do you find an excuse to bail on them? Or do you join them but be frank with them
and just keep them company?

B: Fortunately, most of my friends don't take them.

To me, "take them" is not a very natural phrase in this context. I would only use "take" in the sense of "consume" for condiments, medications and things of that nature. It might be fine to others though.

But once, we went to this restaurant and and one of my friends
ordered pig's pigs' penises. It was gross. Though it brothered bothered me I just told myself they were hotdogs.

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Philip  +  523391 Thu, 05 Jun 08 03:24 PM
No problem other than what Mr. Wordy pointed out.  However, using "variety meats" may show a cultural bias, since in China, such things are part of the normal diet.
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New2grammar  +  523424 Thu, 05 Jun 08 04:59 PM

Thanks, Mr Wordy and Philip.

1. Does it mean native speakers wouldn't say "Do you take beef?" What would you say instead?

2. It was gross. Though it brothered bothered me I just told myself they were hotdogs.  (I expected you to correct the pronoun inconsistency in this line. Though it sounded right to me, I couldn't find a grammar rule to justify it. Please help)

3. Would you accept the non-possessive form pig penises too?

4. Philip, could you please explain the bias? I mean the internal parts of animals is called variety meats in English. What would be a non-biased term for them?

Philip  +  523429 Thu, 05 Jun 08 05:17 PM
New2grammar

3. Would you accept the non-possessive form pig penises too? 

4. Philip, could you please explain the bias? I mean the internal parts of animals is called variety meats in English. What would be a non-biased term for them?

3.  Yes, I would.
4.  I may be wrong, but I've always thought that "variety meats" refers to what isn't in the average diet.  For example, I wouldn't consider liver to be a variety meat, because it is so commonly consumed in various presentations.  If my interpretation is wrong, that anything other than flesh is considered 'variety', then I stand corrected.  Won't be the first time.
Mr Wordy  +  523459 Thu, 05 Jun 08 06:18 PM

New2grammar

1. Does it mean native speakers wouldn't say "Do you take beef?" What would you say instead?

2. It was gross. Though it brothered bothered me I just told myself they were hotdogs.  (I expected you to correct the pronoun inconsistency in this line. Though it sounded right to me, I couldn't find a grammar rule to justify it. Please help)

3. Would you accept the non-possessive form pig penises too?

4. Philip, could you please explain the bias? I mean the internal parts of animals is called variety meats in English. What would be a non-biased term for them?

1. Certainly not the native speakers that I come into contact with. There are only four Google hits for "do you take beef" in this sense, and none of them looks to be a reliable source of correct English. Instead I would say "Do you eat beef?"

2. You mean "it ... they"? "It" substitutes for "the fact that he/she ordered (and presumably ate) the pigs' penises" (just like the "it" in "It was gross", in fact), so it's fine.

3. Yes.

New2grammar, 1 yr 173 days ago

Thanks, Mr. Wordy.

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