Search results for 'tag:Articles' matching tag 'Articles'

Re: proofreading of funny article

Skrej — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 21:39:08 GMT

changeling
Hi everybody!

I was translating a kind funny recipe. Could you, please, check the following passages? Does it sound good? Do I need any improvement?

You will need eggs to make this apple pie. If you've run out of them, get dressed and rush out to the store. And get iodine, cleansers, soap, bandage and sticking plaster, too. On your way back, grab some flour, apples and sugar. So, you come back home and go to your kitchen right away. While unloading your purchases you will surely drop a few of eggs on the floor. Donât worry about that, just beat remaining 5 (put the number first - 5 remaining eggs) eggs into a bowl. C l (This is a typo, I think - delete it) Clean the kitchen floor, or else it will be slippery. Now follow directions carefully. Take your mixer and start beating eggs. Your mixer wonât work? Just try to switch it on. It did no difference? (use made, instead of did - It made no difference?) You probably have to place the blades. (Say 'insert' instead of 'place', or say "put the blades in" instead of place the blades. Also, you might want to say 'beaters' instead of blades) So now you can beat the eggs. When you finish splashing beaten eggs all over the place you will want to have a shower. Wash yourself very well and get the yolk out of your nose. And finally, wash your clothes.

You have three (Earlier you said 5 eggs in the bowl, now 3 - is this intentional? Does this mean the person splashed out 2 eggs?) beaten yolks in the bowl and that's enough to make our apple pie. Now find old newspapers and magazines and paste (I'd use 'cover' instead of paste) the entire kitchen with them. Cover your furniture with some waste blanket (Subject/verb agreement error here - either say 'some waste blankets' or 'a waste blanket) if you don't plan to buy new furniture. Take (Missing a definite article 'the' here) flour package and put about a cup of flour into the bowl. Gather the flour you spilt on a table (forget about the flour scattered on the floor) and put it back to the package. Make sure youâve pasted (Again, I'd use 'covered' instead of pasted) all the walls and the ceiling in the kitchen properly. Now blend the eggs with the flour.

You need a bath again. Wash all that beaten mixture (Simpler just to use the word 'batter' here instead of 'beaten mixture) off. Take a sharp knife. Well, that's where you need iodine, bandage (either 'a bandage' or 'bandages) and sticking plaster. Peel five apples. Apply iodine to your cuts and bandage your fingers. Stick (Use 'apply' here instead of 'stick' ) the plaster. Now, cut (Again, you're missing the definite article 'the' here) apples. Keep in mind, though, we need two apples for our pie, so feel free to eat the rest of them while cooking. (Consider rewording this sentence slightly. It's gramatically ok, but a bit confusing. I'd say use either one of these two options: (1) Keep in mind, though, we need two apples for our pie, so don't eat all of them. or (2) Keep in mind, we only need 2 apples for our pie, so feel free to eat the rest of them while cooking.) Pick up all apple pieces you dropped on the floor and wash them in running water. Add apples and sugar to the dough. Beat the ingredients. Clean up all those nasty spots on the fridge and windows, or else they will dry up which will make cleaning much harder.

Pour what's left in the bowl in a frying pan (A frying pan is for frying, but you're putting the pan in the oven to bake. I think you mean baking pan.) Forgot to coat your frying pan (baking pan?) with oil? That's ok, just pour the mixture back in the bowl. Now wash the frying pan, (baking pan?) towel it dry and coat with vegetable oil. Wash your hands and again pour the dough in the frying pan. (baking pan?) Place in the oven. If your pie still looks pretty much the same after an hour of baking, check if you turned the heat on. So now the heat is on and you can take a rest. As you wake up suddenly, open all windows, doors and your oven. Bring (Use 'give' or 'make' instead of 'bring'.) your apologies to your neighbors and convince them that there was no fire. Now that you've recovered from all that shock, call your darling and say you gonna make something special for the dinner. Make (Use 'go to' or 'head to/for' instead of 'make') for the store again and buy a cake and a bottle of wine, or even something stiffer. Unpack the cake and put it on the frying pan (Again, use 'baking pan' but you'll need to use the preposition 'in' instead of 'on. - Unpack the cake and put in the baking pan). Greet your darling!

Hi Changeling,

You did a pretty good job with your funny recipe, but I commented on a few minor errors. Feel free to ask for further clarification if my comments don't make sense.

Hope this helps!

Re: after the fact

Ant_222 — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:23:23 GMT

Hi, Avagni.

I fully agree with you, but since the post is about a video file, why there's no article before "video"? I have no idea...

Sorry for bothering...
Anton

Re: after the fact

Ant_222 — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 22:25:16 GMT

And here's the context, by which I'd even suppose the indefinite article should have been used before "video":

http://forum.digital-digest.com/showthread.php?t=86179

Re: Use of 'either'

Tanit — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 20:55:19 GMT

Anonymous
The remaining seven SMEs were unable to participate either due to their head office being located elsewhere, had not commenced their operation or refused to take part.

Hi,
I am terribly sorry, but this sentence makes no sense at all to me!
It looks as if it were an excerpt of an academic work (essay, paper, article) describing the results of some sort of research. Is it?

Are you saying that those SMEs did not take part in something for one or more of the following reasons: (1) location of their head offices, (2) business not started yet, or (3) refusal to participate?
If that's the case, I wouldn't say "were unable to participate", because this does not apply to somebody who "refused to take part" in whatever it may be. If I refuse to do something, I don't want to do it, despite being able to!

As for your question, I wouldn't use "either" and I would also rephrase the part after "due to" ("due to their head office being located elsewhere, had not commenced their operation or refused to take part"), which doesn't sound good to me. I think you've got some problems with verb forms.

Warning: This is just my opinion and I'm not a native, so please wait for some more reliable answers. I really don't want to mislead you.

Re: after the fact

Avangi — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 15:16:09 GMT

Hi Marius, I'm interested in your concept.

As you say, "the video," I assume you're referring to a DVD (disc) or a VCR (tape). I had interpreted the question (absent the article) as referring to the reproduction equipment, and its ability to produce a better image than was "originally" possible.

I know there are computer programs which can "enhance" the digital file to improve the quality of the image. I don't know if this is true of analog tapes. I expect the process of "improving" old movie films involves first converting them to digital.

Perhaps the existence of enhancement technology for the file or the reproduction equipment is not relevant. CJ opted to stand with Ant in holding that it can't be settled without context. (I notice that Ant also wrote "the video," as you did.

Anyway, my statement, "The only thing it can possibly mean" was more than a bit extreme. This becomes increasingly clear to me.

Best wishes, - A.

Re: Versatile participles?

Marius Hancu — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:11:09 GMT

Present participle: don't remember seeing them as adjectives after verbs. The past participle may be more accepted in this respect.

When is the best time to be born?

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 04:50:18 GMT

When is the best time to be born?

As the time past lifestyle changes as a result of advancement in technology and also new laws. In addition different generations have different cultures due to new ideas that come into play everyday.

Some people believe it was better if we have been born in the past. One reason that they express is that although advancement in technology help us to get rid of some boring and labor activities, it bring with itself new kind of difficulties which are more complex for human to face and endure, they bring examples like new kind of diseases or systematic and machine like lifestyle.

Another reason they argue is that advancement in technology lead to destruction of environment, they say human is so selfish that they donât even bother destroying environment and finally it will lead to extinction of human body like other species.

But I have not such a negative point of view, I believe living in future should be more interesting. I believe advancement in technology is brightening the future more and more. It help us live more comfortably and having less engagement.

In my opinion although technology may bring with itself some difficulties it would bring the solution for them too.

We have seen that technology may improve lifestyle and make it easier; however, it may bring some difficulties too.

To sum up I believe advancement in technology have much more advantages for human being than disadvantages and as result I think living in future is much more interesting.

I would appreciate everybody who bother himself and have look at my article, your advices would be of great importance for me.

thank you very much,

Sadeq Morshedloo.

Re: A sequel to an article before a gerund question

Avangi — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 23:38:48 GMT

<<I think making instances (that is "separate occurances") is what has been done for these sentences I copied>>

I agree.

This is not official, but to me, where the object of "playing" is uncountable, then so is "playing." "I spent the afternoon playing checkers."

Where the object is countable, then so is "playing." This is the fifth time he has played that damned record. I can't possibly sit through a sixth playing.

a playing of cards for money in an outhouse, would be an occurance, or an incidence of playing.

I find playing Chopin's nocturns on the piano to be very relaxing. Uncountable. On each playing of the fifth nocturn, I improve very slightly. Countable.

While Chopin's nocturns are clearly countable, the playing of them in general is not. It's like eating potato chips. The chips are countable but the eating of them in general is not. But you could refer to a particular occasion on which you ate too many as an excessive eating of potato chips. This would be opposed to "the excessive eating of potato chips," which would be habitual.

At universities where the dining room cannot accomodate the entire student body, they sometimes have what is called "a second sitting."

Best wishes, - A.

Re: A sequel to an article before a gerund question

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:25:48 GMT

Hi,

I think I have seen more than enough cases where what people call a verbal noun has the indefinite article 'a' in front of it and at the very least, the sheer number (should it be - sheer numbrs??) of it warrants some good explanations from experts in this forum. I think I can laid out a similar framework of argument for a quoted content too.

These days, students from where I use to live don't study hard. A lot of people seem to feel "sit in your chair and do nothing for eight hours" should be replaced with a quality "sit-in-your-chair-and-do-some-work hours." -- I think I made into a type. I was trying to make it an instance of it though. Do you think all the hyphens in quote in allowed? I think Mr. M said we should use either a hyphen or quotation marks, but usually not both.

I must say, the indefinite article "a" doesn't seem to go well with "hours" in the quotes but see nothing wrong with it, IMO.

Re: When the teacher (had) arrived, they stopped talking.

Ant_222 — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:23:38 GMT

"Is this the reason you call it indefinite?"
Yes.

"Does the person I speak to know which books I'm talking about? No. Do I know? Yes."

I don't think this is the question you have to ask. My shelter is a castle. Do I know whereof I speak? Yes. Do I use the indefite article? Yes!

To decide whether a thing is definite I suggest that you ask a question like: do I describe or specify this thing? In the first case you'll have to use the indefinte article, and the definite one in the second case.

"Anton, By the way what's all those underscores? They make your posts difficult to read, IMO."

I just wanted to emphasize words that way... and it didn't work. I would use a bold font if this new forum's editor was't so slow and funny and unstable in Opera...

EDIT: Sorry for the typo above: the example should have been: "Take me by my hand" (as is sung in Diamonds' "The Stroll"...

Search results for 'tag:Articles' matching tag 'Articles'

Re: proofreading of funny article

Re: after the fact

Re: after the fact

Re: Use of 'either'

Re: after the fact

Re: Versatile participles?

When is the best time to be born?

When is the best time to be born?

As the time past lifestyle changes as a result of advancement in technology and also new laws. In addition different generations have different cultures due to new ideas that come into play everyday.

Another reason they argue is that advancement in technology lead to destruction of environment, they say human is so selfish that they donât even bother destroying environment and finally it will lead to extinction of human body like other species.

But I have not such a negative point of view, I believe living in future should be more interesting. I believe advancement in technology is brightening the future more and more. It help us live more comfortably and having less engagement.

In my opinion although technology may bring with itself some difficulties it would bring the solution for them too.

We have seen that technology may improve lifestyle and make it easier; however, it may bring some difficulties too.

To sum up I believe advancement in technology have much more advantages for human being than disadvantages and as result I think living in future is much more interesting.

I would appreciate everybody who bother himself and have look at my article, your advices would be of great importance for me.

thank you very much,

Sadeq Morshedloo.

Re: A sequel to an article before a gerund question

Re: A sequel to an article before a gerund question

Re: When the teacher (had) arrived, they stopped talking.

Another reason they argue is that advancement in technology lead to destruction of environment, they say human is so selfish that they donât even bother destroying environment and finally it will lead to extinction of human body like other species.