http://www.englishforums.com/English/LinguisticsDiscussionForum/Forum35.htmGet into the nitty-gritty of the language.enXMOD (Build: 3598.39794)http://www.englishforums.com/English/AboutSocialLinguisticFailure/lwwpq/post.htmTue, 03 Nov 2009 12:07:25 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:960618Vestigium2http://www.englishforums.com/English/AboutSocialLinguisticFailure/lwwpq/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-960618.xmlGood morning, good afternoon, and good evening! It is suddenly getting much colder in Korea. Especially, the flu is so rampant. Take care of your health. I'd like to ask you what a social linguistic failure is. From the book i read, the example of it is follows: Native teacher: Wow, you have a good pronunciation! Student: ... and i also want to know "pragma linguistic failure" (i guess 'pragma' might mean 'pragmatic') The example of it is follows: Native Teacher: Would you like some more? Student: No, i would not. would you please explain what they are and mean? and if you can, please give me more examples and compare each other. and if you...http://www.englishforums.com/English/CognitiveGrammar/pgdk/post.htmTue, 07 Apr 2009 22:41:16 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:75490sheela10http://www.englishforums.com/English/CognitiveGrammar/pgdk/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-75490.xmlThe language system allows to express a perceived events in different ways using different linguistic resources. Currently I am doing a research based on ideas from Langacker's Cognitive Grammar. Basically Langacker explains sentences through schemas or diagrams such identifying the subject as trajector(tr) and the object as landmark(lm). Based on this, I would like to know what are the differences between: a) The vase was smashed b) The vase smashed c) The vase is smashed I am also having problem in displaying it in a diagram form. Please help.http://www.englishforums.com/English/EllipticalSentences/lhprp/post.htmFri, 30 Oct 2009 20:03:50 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:957472Anonymous0http://www.englishforums.com/English/EllipticalSentences/lhprp/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-957472.xmlI would appreciate it is someone could define a simple elliptical sentence and a complex elliptical sentence with a possible example please?http://www.englishforums.com/English/AboutOmissionArticles/zhbxk/post.htmWed, 07 Jan 2009 23:41:16 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:452533Omo7http://www.englishforums.com/English/AboutOmissionArticles/zhbxk/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-452533.xmlEnglish has a lot of set phrases with no article. eg)"on foot", "in context", "go to school", "play piano" and etc. What sort of theories exist behind the phenomenon? Would you tell me your opinion?http://www.englishforums.com/English/Complain/lvvqh/post.htmMon, 12 Oct 2009 21:46:32 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:939818WHIZZO3http://www.englishforums.com/English/Complain/lvvqh/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-939818.xmlI don't want to be a pain in the neck but I am doing English Grammar II at the teacher training school and we are analyzing sentences. Since I am practising on my own I have come across many doubts. My doubt has to do with the verb complain. In the following sentence : "Students complain the teacher does not give enough homework." "...the teacher does not give.." is it a DIRECT OBJECT (THAT-NOUN CLAUSE)? Is this a case in which the verb complain is a transitive verb? Thanks. Whizzo.http://www.englishforums.com/English/SubjunctiveMoodInEnglish/qdwj/post.htmSat, 07 Feb 2009 23:41:16 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:79620paco200415http://www.englishforums.com/English/SubjunctiveMoodInEnglish/qdwj/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-79620.xmlHello This is a garbage-like posting written by a poor English learner who has been and still now is agonized by subjunctive things which supposedly underlie English collocations. My way of understanding English grammar The English language uses two moods (indicative/subjunctive) and two tenses (present/past). Accordingly, all English verbs including modals and auxiliary verbs have four inflective forms beside finite forms (-ed, -ing). The four are; (1) indicative: present / past (2) subjunctive: present / past For example, 'can', 'have', 'be', and 'smoke' inflect the ways like: (1) indicative: can / could (2) subjunctive: can / could (1) indicative: have, has / had (2) subjunctive: have /...http://www.englishforums.com/English/Syntax/ldmxz/post.htmSat, 10 Oct 2009 23:04:13 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:937181WHIZZO2http://www.englishforums.com/English/Syntax/ldmxz/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-937181.xmlIn the following sentence: "One teacher neatly described the teacher role as being blurred between teacher,psychlogist and friend." How could I analyze "...as being blurred between ..."?http://www.englishforums.com/English/ThePrecisionConstruction/zjblx/post.htmSat, 07 Feb 2009 23:41:16 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:462312Hoa Thai14http://www.englishforums.com/English/ThePrecisionConstruction/zjblx/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-462312.xmlTo all native English speaking friends, PART I: Does ' A is not as strong as B' mean 'A is weaker than B' to you? If it does go to PART II, else go to Part III below and see if your reason is the same as mine; if not, please offer your thought. PART II: a) Why do you use 'not as strong as' instead of 'weaker'? and b) could you please offer a reason why you think that way? PART III: The reason I ask those questions is because the following logic does not support the above interpretation: 1. As strong as = equally strong. 2. Not as strong as = not (as strong as) = not (equally strong). 3. 'Not equally strong' lacks the logic to help us determine which / who is stronger than which / whom. In short, if X ≠ Y, X < > Y; thus, one...http://www.englishforums.com/English/AboutEnglishPluralS/pcln/post.htmTue, 07 Apr 2009 22:41:16 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:74473Su Cheng Zhong30http://www.englishforums.com/English/AboutEnglishPluralS/pcln/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-74473.xml'Five books' is a piece of idea. From the word 'five' we know it means more than one book. The question is why we put an extra 's' to denote it is a plural? If we don't put this 's', shall somebody mistake what we mean to say? This is another example of double expressing. Of course the following question would be why and when shall we double express and why and when we express the same idea one time or three times. For five books, it is easy to get an integer number. Yet, if we want to express something in fraction, it would be a nuisance. 1.23 pies comparing 0.23 pie, are they two different things? Something like 1.0000001 dollars, we put 's', while 0.99999 dollar we don't. Beside this, we have to know the different among 1.0001...http://www.englishforums.com/English/HelpNominativeAccusativeCase/dlmdc/post.htmSat, 07 Mar 2009 23:41:16 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:308127M. Caliban5http://www.englishforums.com/English/HelpNominativeAccusativeCase/dlmdc/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-308127.xmlAlthough I'm a native English speaker, I've often struggled to understand English grammar, especially its morphosyntatical elements. I've done some reading on nominative-accusative as well as ergative-absolutive cases and I just don't get it. Can someone who's better at linguistics explain this to me? I understand that a sentence has a Subject, a Verb, and an Object. (John sees fish) I understand that a verb can be transitive, in that it demands both subject and object, or intransitive, in that it won't accept an object. For example, 'to see' is transitive in that John (the subject) has to see something (the direct object), he can't 'just see.' On the other hand, 'to sleep' is intransitive in that John can 'just sleep' but he...http://www.englishforums.com/English/AreReadyKissWhomGoodbye/hzzmw/post.htmTue, 07 Apr 2009 22:41:16 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:610869Anonymous18http://www.englishforums.com/English/AreReadyKissWhomGoodbye/hzzmw/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-610869.xml"Kiss whom goodbye. It is rarely heard in conversation now, and just about never in clause-initial position." G K Pullumhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/VerbComplementation/bxglc/post.htmSat, 07 Mar 2009 23:41:16 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:154226Anonymous34http://www.englishforums.com/English/VerbComplementation/bxglc/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-154226.xmlCan anyone explain to me the verb complement structure of "John tends to get hungry." My guess is that "to get hungry" is a direct object, but I am not sure.http://www.englishforums.com/English/TheWordIndividualNoun/xgjv/post.htmSat, 07 Feb 2009 23:41:16 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:70673Elena31http://www.englishforums.com/English/TheWordIndividualNoun/xgjv/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-70673.xmlI would appreciate if you can clarify this for me, since I am confused about the thought that gave birth to this word. Individual (noun) = entity, being, creature, person. But , if we inquire into its origin, etymonline says to us that it comes from in- "not" + dividuus "divisible" from dividere "divide." Why did the people who formed the word think about the impossibility of 'dividing' a creature, an entity, a person, which already looked like ONE? Does the term imply that humans "contain" two principles through the prefix di- = two/different (ying and yang; masculine and feminine principles; whatever we call them) and the makers of the word were aware of that duality, therefore---> individual = indivisible duality? ...http://www.englishforums.com/English/DoBelieveLatinBasedWordsFormal/vmnqv/post.htmThu, 07 May 2009 22:41:16 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:397073Grammar Geek21http://www.englishforums.com/English/DoBelieveLatinBasedWordsFormal/vmnqv/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-397073.xmlIn another thread, someone wrote that word of a Latin word origin are considered more formal, and therefore used by more well educated English speakers, over words of Anglo-Saxon origin. Do you believe this to be true?http://www.englishforums.com/English/MaleVsFemaleLanguageHelp/kxlmz/post.htmFri, 18 Sep 2009 14:23:59 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:907380zith851http://www.englishforums.com/English/MaleVsFemaleLanguageHelp/kxlmz/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-907380.xmlHello, I'm writing an essay about male and female language and since I don't have any native speakers of English in my surroundings, I hope you could help me. If you could answer these questions for me I would be very happy. (Note: I only want answers from NATIVE speakers of English.) 1: Gender 2: Age 3: Do you think that there is differences between how man and women speak? a: If yes, what kind of differences and can you give an example? b: Do you think this may cause problems when men and women interact with each other? How? (I originally posted this in the "ask a question"-forum, but just found this and found it more suitable for my question. Sorry for the crossposting :/ )http://www.englishforums.com/English/ScaredTheHell/krlgb/post.htmWed, 29 Jul 2009 09:33:42 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:838492Anonymous2http://www.englishforums.com/English/ScaredTheHell/krlgb/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-838492.xmlWhat is the meaning of "hell" in this sentence? "She scared the hell out of me when she stood on the edge of the cliff."http://www.englishforums.com/English/UseExampleUncleExistenceEnglish-Language/bpcph/post.htmSat, 07 Mar 2009 23:41:16 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:158056Pigfoot10http://www.englishforums.com/English/UseExampleUncleExistenceEnglish-Language/bpcph/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-158056.xmlI heard someone say that in Canada people extend the use of in-law to the uncles, aunties, nephews, nieces and grandparents of one's spouse. Is that so? If so, is it true elsewhere, too? Further, can we say that there is more than one English? Can we say, for example, that there is a Canadian English and an American English? What is the correct term for distinguishing the Englishes spoken in different countries? Languages? Dialects? Variations? Thanks!http://www.englishforums.com/English/AdverbialObjectives/bvwmv/post.htmTue, 07 Apr 2009 22:41:16 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:105693paco200416http://www.englishforums.com/English/AdverbialObjectives/bvwmv/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-105693.xmlMany English nouns and noun phrases can be used as adverbs. They are called "adverbial objectives". From the standpoint of word order, an adverbial objective is put as if it were an objective of a verb, but actually it works as an adverbial modifier of the verb. This sort of constructs comes from an Old English grammar rule that allowed ti use accusative cases of nouns as adverbs. For example, let's take an Old English sentence "He eode ham" . From the view of current English the word "ham" would be treated as an adverb but it was the accusative of the noun "ham" in Old English. In current English this sort of noun phrase uses is prominent especially in the case the noun phrases means "time/duration", "space/direction/distance",...http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhichLanguageMostDifficultLanguage-Learn/vvgcd/post.htmSat, 07 Mar 2009 23:41:16 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:355507Diego Simão56http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhichLanguageMostDifficultLanguage-Learn/vvgcd/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-355507.xmlI think it is russian. My father has a friend who learns russian. He's perspective is: russian is the most difficult language for him to learn. And he has learnt german and espanhol.http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhySpeakersEnglishSoundForeign/bdbvg/post.htmWed, 07 Jan 2009 23:41:16 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:98623captainproton9http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhySpeakersEnglishSoundForeign/bdbvg/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-98623.xmlWhy do L2 speakers of English sound foreign as a result of different phonetic patterns? Any ideas would be appreciated!http://www.englishforums.com/English/CorrectUsageFirstFirst-Served/bdcjn/post.htmWed, 07 Jan 2009 23:41:16 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:99004officewriter20http://www.englishforums.com/English/CorrectUsageFirstFirst-Served/bdcjn/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-99004.xmlIs the following sentence correct related to hyphens and using "served" rather than "serve"? "All sponsors will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis." Thank you.http://www.englishforums.com/English/MegaVerbPhraseWouldEating/cjzrh/post.htmSat, 07 Feb 2009 23:41:16 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:212711Anonymous12http://www.englishforums.com/English/MegaVerbPhraseWouldEating/cjzrh/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-212711.xmlJust trying to get my head around this long verb phrase; can anyone help me break it down into its elements? Working backwards, I can see that "have been eating" is the present perfect continuous form. Presumably, the preceding "had to" is just a periphrastic modal meaning the same as "must". What, then, is the "would have" element? A conditional modal? But if so, it surely wouldn't fit the ordererd pattern for verb groups: MODAL, PERFECT (have), PROGRESSIVE (be), PASSIVE (be), MAIN VERB, because "had to" is a modal as well. And you can't have two modals, in a verb group, surely? Also, where (in the above pattern) does the "have" that follows "would" fit in? Many thanks for your time. Alexhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/LearningPlummyAccent/clcxl/post.htmWed, 07 Jan 2009 23:41:16 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:221912J4mes_bond255http://www.englishforums.com/English/LearningPlummyAccent/clcxl/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-221912.xmlAround a year or so back, I came across a rather intrigued survey on BBC News about "Nation's Favourite Accent". According to the survey, Scottish accent were more acceptable for holding management position, along with nation's strong penchant for "plummy" as of Hugh Grant. Sean Connery was voted to be nation's favourite accent followed by Hugh Grant. American accent were also liked, especially as of George Clooney. Accent that people often disliked were Brummie (Birmingham), some Northern accent along with to my huge disappointment, VERY STRONG regional accent like Midlands having its own setbacks in working life. This made me delved into ways of losing my rather strong East Midland accent. Once I looked...http://www.englishforums.com/English/ShutUp/krldd/post.htmWed, 29 Jul 2009 08:41:56 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:838443Anonymous10http://www.englishforums.com/English/ShutUp/krldd/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-838443.xmlIs the "up" in shut up an adverb or a PP?http://www.englishforums.com/English/TransformationalRulesSubjectVerb-Agreement/vdlxn/post.htmThu, 07 May 2009 22:41:16 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:352253Anonymous9http://www.englishforums.com/English/TransformationalRulesSubjectVerb-Agreement/vdlxn/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments35-352253.xmlMy question may be a little strange...but I appreciate any help I can get. Given a passive sentence: "The subjects have been captured by the officer"... ...and applying transformational rules to the underlying structure... Underlying Structure: The officer past have en capture the suspect. Passive Transformation: The suspect past have en be en capture by the officer. Affix-Hopping: The suspect have+past be+en capture+en by the officer. How does subject-verb agreement come into play? As a native english speaker I would say "The officer has captured the suspect" or "The suspects have been captured by the officer." It is unclear to me wether subject-verb agreement must be taken into account before or after the passive transformation....