Search results for 'tag:British English tag:Dates' matching tags 'British English' and 'Dates'

Re: Adjective

Goodman — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 22:08:07 GMT

Hi Tanit,
I guess it can be both depending on the construction....
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/likely

likely

Adjective

1. tending or inclined: likely to win

2. probable: the likely effects of the tunnel

3. appropriate for a purpose or activity: a likely candidate

Adverb

1. probably or presumably

2. not likely Informal definitely not [Old Norse lÄ«kligr]

USAGE: Likely as an adverb is preceded by another, intensifying adverb, as in it will very likely rain or it will most likely rain. Its use without an intensifier, as in it will likely rain, is regarded as unacceptable by most users of British English, though it is common in colloquial US English.

Re: kayak

nona the brit — Wed, 14 May 2008 16:22:38 GMT

My take. I've tried to go for a natural conversational British English style.Remember that there are usually many different ways of expressing the same thing. Also, contractions are much more natural for spoken language.

A: Let's go over there and see whether they rent kayaks.

B: It doesn't look like there's anybody in the booth. (I found 'guarding' particularly odd here). Maybe they're closed because of the rain over the last few days. It still looks pretty cloudy . I think it's going to rain again.

A: We'll see. I really want to go kayaking. We've already been here 4 days and are going home tomorrow. I don't want to miss this opportunity.

B: We should have paid more attention to the season when we picked the dates. It would have been a great holiday if the weather had been better.

A: Cheer up. Seize the moment.

<B sees a man lying in a hammock?

B: Excuse me, do you work for the kayak hire?/Do you hire the kayaks?/Are you the person to see about the kayaks?

B: How much is it?

Operator: $25 per hour, 3 hours minimum.

B: How about $100 for half a day?/Would you take $100 for a half day? (although your maths is a bit off. 4 hours = half day = $100 at the usual rate?)

Operator: Oh go on then. You guys are lucky I'm in a good mood today. The deal is you empty out the water and stack the kayak on the rack when you've finished. OK?

B: Sure will.

Operator: Also, don't cross the bouy line. Someone drowned the other day and some new rules ban anyone from crossing the line/don't allow anyone to cross the line. Don't get me in trouble.

Re: Year and Date

ytsirk — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 03:19:25 GMT

I was born in Feb. of '75. I was born on Feb. 24, 1975. (Note American English puts dates after the month, but British English does not.) Bottom line: you're born on a day, but in a year.

Re: Confused with verbs

Goodman — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 00:09:25 GMT

Marius Hancu wrote:
Goodman wrote:

Can i say: It is essential that we be informed of your plans. Yes!

Help him understand - Ok
It is essential that we ~~should~~ be informed of your plans.
We insist that he ~~must~~ be on time

There are those who use modal in subjunctive which in my opinion is improper but some considered it acceptable. I wouldn't not recommend it.

You may want to read (if you find it) the Grammar ... by G. Curme, the best treatment of subjunctive I know (published in the 30s, but re-issued). "Should be" is a legal subjunctive, weaker than "be," in his opinion.

Well there goes nothing! I had this debate many time over the same damned topic previously. You know what ! I was trying to confirm my own knowledge, I did some searching and 20 minutes later, the answers were 50/50 or inconclusive, but amazingly I accidentally came across this:

Moderator MrPedantic Join Date: Feb 2005

Country: England

Location: SE England

First Language: British English

Posts: 1,937

Hello Aurimas

If you leave out the "should" in those sentences, the meaning won't be changed; but in British English, you'll give a greater impression of formality.

For instance, if you were writing a strong letter of complaint about the ticket collector at your local station, you might use the subjunctive version:

1. He is rude, inconsiderate, and thoroughly obnoxious. I demand that he be sacked immediately.

While in conversation or less formal contexts, you would be more likely to use the "should" version:

2. I insisted that he should contact them immediately.

Incidentally, I copied and pasted a couple if interesting threads on this topic:

http://alt-usage-english.org/subjunctive_supplement.html

http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/ask-teacher/22159-try-tried.html

Re: Effective from Jan 1, 2008...

Infinik — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 08:30:55 GMT

Avangi wrote:

I don't believe I've heard S2, but I could be wrong.

That's quite helpful, Avangi. I've found quite a few usage of "effetive from + date" in UK governmental websites, suspect it British English?

Re: Why is "Can you show me the way how you did it?" incorrect?

Tanit — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 20:42:55 GMT

Yoong Liat wrote:
Hi Tanit

In Singapore, students are taught to use 'whom'. For example, "The man whom you spoke to this morning is my father." Using 'who' would be considered wrong. In an exam, it is advisable to use 'whom'. ( Singaporeans are using British English.)

The above is related to the grammar section of the English Language Paper. As for the essays, I do not know how the examiners will mark usage relating to 'who' and 'whom'. However, I believe it is safer for our students to opt for formal usage.

Hi Yoong Liat,

In Italy, students are taught to use "whom" as well, especially in schools, where hardly any native speaker teaches English (or French, or any foreign language).
I am sure you've got good reasons to say "I believe it is safer for our students to opt for formal usage".
I only wanted to point out that there are other exams (international examinations, not Italian ones) where students are required to master both formal and informal structures. What's more, candidates would lose marks if they mixed up formal with informal language, or if they chose the wrong register (for instance, by writing a formal letter to a close friend).

Best.

Re: Wannabees both?

CalifJim — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 22:15:49 GMT

They both want to be something, I suppose. Don't we all? But isn't that irrelevant to sending them packing? I think so. I would try to put them in touch with people who were more expert at those ways of using language. I'm just a bit too old to teach the most up-to-date, coolest slang, and being middle-class American, I wouldn't be very good at upper class Standard British English either. It wouldn't be fair to the student for me to pretend I could fulfill those wishes.

CJ

RESEARCH PAPER

Doll — Sat, 26 May 2007 10:19:44 GMT

Hello everyone, the writing below is my research paper for this term. I looked through it once but my problem is not being able to see my own mistakes. I will really appreciate your help if you can give me hints to turn the language into formal British English and find grammatical mistakes. Thanks in advance.

INTRODUCTION

Capital punishment-executing of criminals, has been done all over the world, regardless of age, sex and nationality in different ways such as by using guillotine, hanging, injection, gases or electro shock. The only aim to do this was to hinder similar crimes, even some countries preferred to show execution to people to give a lesson to them and to make an unforgettable memory, while the others did it behind closed doors. But the interesting point is that though capital punishment has been done in many countries since ancient times, there are still no satisfactory evidence showing that it has a deterrent effect. In this paper, the ineffectiveness of it will be discussed by many different aspects. First, the history of it and where it is done will be described to give a general idea. Then, the thoughts of people and criminalsâ family and what Human Rights Law tells about this will be explained. To provide these, information will be given on its expenses, other possibilities of wrong decisions and the non-deterrent effect evidences.

HISTORY OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

There are different assumptions about the origin of capital punishment. Some experts believe that capital punishment was done to please Gods while others claim that it is hatred and revenge coming from the uncivilized Mediterranean, Germanic and Nordic people. Another claim is that the first capital punishment was done in Babylon by the ruler Hammurabi, the founder of talionic principle (Franck, 2003) which requires the parallelism between the crime and punishment.

WHERE IS IT DONE?

If we look at today nothing seems to have changed much. Researches show us that from that time till now nothing has changed much. Despite all campaigns done against the capital punishment, Amnesty International revealed that at least 2.148 people were executed last year mostly in China (1,770), Iran (94), Saudi Arabia (86), the USA (60) and Pakistan (31) respectively and more than 20.000 people are waiting for their date of death. (Irons, 2006, par.1)

WHAT DO PEOPLE THINK ABOUT CAPITAL PUNISHMENT?

Aside from all these, the most surprising point is the change in the thoughts of people. A U.S. study of a group of randomly chosen people shows us that people knew very little about the effects of capital punishment and as they learned more about it, their thoughts changed too. Another point is that time has a role in this too. For example, in Germany many people were still supporting the capital punishment even after it was abolished but twenty years later hardly anyone seemed to oppose it. ( Franck, 2003). It is obvious that the attitudes of people are not a reliable source for learning the acceptance of a rule. So, peopleâs not opposing to capital punishment shouldnât be shown as a reason by countries.

However, if we look at a poll recently declared, we will see that people seem to be more determined on their thoughts about the non-deterrent effect of death penalty. The poll done by the Center for Survey Research at Penn Sate Harrisburg, declared that out of 865 respondents 42.9 % preferred the death penalty while 45.1 % chose life with or without parole. The theoretical margin of error of the poll is 3.4 %. The other 12 % answered âdonât know/ not sureâ or didnât answer. The spokesman for Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to Death Penalty said that this poll is a show of changing attitudes in the sate over a decade. (Morrison, 2007, par 4-6)

WHAT DO CRIMINALSâ FAMILIES FEEL ABOUT CAPITAL PUNISHMENT?

Despite of the fact that there are not many researches done on the effects of execution have on the families of condemned, a few of them shows us that such families encounter with much challenges in their lives. While some attempt suicide, others either lose their jobs or feel isolated.(Gelineav, 2006) To give an example, Christina Lawson, whose husband David Martinez,was executed last year for the rape and murder of Kierza Paul, a 24-year-old Minnersota University student, said:â When somebody says âhow did your husband die?â and you say âOh, he was executed by the state of Texas,â their hand leaves you and they walk away as if you are contagious with this death penalty disease.â (Gelineav, 2006, par 3).

To give another example, a sociologist, Susan Sharp, said in her book, Hidden Victims, that she found family members who had been threatened, lost their jobs and had their tires slashed even one woman told her that her pets were killed by others accusing her relativeâs crime. And one women , Reid(55), whose brother was executed in Virginia said though she had support from the others she still felt isolated.(Gelineav, 2006, par 6) .As we can see, death penalty not only affects the person, but also affects the whole community and leave the condemnersâ families in a hard situation.

WHAT DO HUMAN RIGHTS TELL ABOUT CAPITAL PUNISHMENT?

Furthermore, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which is a fundamental declaration for human rights and dignity, tells this about the liberty of life in article three: â Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person â. This brief explanation is completely supports the liberty of human life. Moreover, no mention was done about the capital punishment let alone its being used. (Franck, 2003). Though America is the founder of the Human Rights Declaration, it is among the countries which prefer the death penalty most. As a result, aside from what people think and do, there may not be an agreement between what countries do and what their laws tell about this.

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT COSTS TOO MUCH

By 1976, with Gregg and Georgia thirty five states made new laws about the capital punishment on the constitutional standards of sentencing phase. But from that day till now, all these changes failed and new procedures were tired to be enacted. But as Bennar says:â the constitutionalizing of capital punishment created an enormously complicated, expensive and time- consuming apparatus that had little affect on the outcome of cases. Being executed was still, as Justice steward had put it in Furman, like being struck by lightning; the only difference was now that it only took a decade and millions of dollars or public money for the lightning to strike. ( Garland, 2006, par 15).

The only unlucky states are not them. Another report was done by New Jersey Policy Perspective, which says: New Jersey, having the death penalty, spent $ 250 million in 1982, still thought not to be counted exactly which means the expenditure is higher than this. The only conclusion can be reached by this is that over the past twenty three years tax payers paid more than a quarter of a billion dollars on a capital punishment executing no one. ( Berman, 2007). These three states are among the hundred ones spending treasures on a non-working system. If we calculate the real costs, it would be better to use this money to hinder punishments rather than punishing condemners.

OTHER POSSIBILITIES OF WRONG DECISIONS

Taken into consideration, death penalty is found to be used unfairly against some racial minorities, the poor and mentally ill. So, agreeably it is a criminal system that no justice system can afford. (Irons, 2006)

As Ted Heath states the possibility of executing an innocent must be the strongest argument against the death penalty. The execution of Derenk Benkley in 1953 turned the tide of the abolition campaign in Britain. Ted Heath, arguing in the Commons for abolition, said that the true test of a commitment to capital punishment was not a willingness to act as the executioner, but a preparedness to be executed by mistake. Since the death penalty was reintroduced in the USA in 1973, 122 people have been released from death row when evidence exonerating them came to light. Justice is always fallible; this is why an irrevocable penalty is unacceptable. (Irons, 2006, par. 5)

Other than these, there is also the possibility of executing mentally ill people. The American Civil Liberties Union reveals that more than 10 % out of 3,400 inmates mentally ill people who are waiting for their execution day .In 1997 The Dallas Morning News reported that 3/1 of 602 inmates nationwide responding the newspaperâs poll had been treated for various psychiatric problems.(Malone, 2005, par. 30)

As we can see from the examples, capital punishment doesnât give the chance to change the verdict in case of a wrong decision in the court. Also, the possibility of executing an innocent and its being used against the poor and some radical minorities are enough to show its ineffectiveness and useless.

Death penalty again fails deterring because criminals donât think of future while they kill or steal. A Japanese prison psychiatrist studied 145 men put into jail because of murder between the years 1955- 1957. Surprisingly, he found out that o one has thought of the death penalty when they did kill. In 1969 a British Physician Roper found that most criminals were such in an aggressive situation during the act that they couldnât think of anything or stop themselves while others could escape. (Franck, 2003)

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT HAS NO DETERRENT AFFECT

In 1959, Thorsten Sellin did a research showing the relation between the death penalty and crime rates in neighboring states within the U.S, some of which used the death penalty while the others didnât. A comparison of Rhode Island, Massachussets and Connecticud showed that within 1920- 1963, the murder rate for every a hundred thousand people were as much high in Rhode Island as in the other two states where capital punishment had been abolished . Another comparison between Kansas, where the death penalty was introduced in 1935, Montano and Colorado, where the death penalty was abolished, showed that the crime rate was similar in three states. ( Franck, 2003)

In one of his recent studies he gave us these results: in one of the graphs he did comparing homicide rates among randomly chosen states, Texas, New York and California within the years 1982 to 2002, Texas executed two hundred and thirty nine prisoners, California ten a New York none. In spite of these, the homicide rates are quite alike in all three states. (Goertzel, 2004)

To add, there is no statistical evidence showing that death penalty has deterrence. After a moratorium, executions resumed in the U.S. in 1977. From that time till now, Texas has a third and one- half of all executions in the U.S. Moreover, since the first execution in 1982, violent crime has increased by forty six per cent in Texas which can be compared to an average rise of five percent for the rest of the country.

In 1985, a United Nations group trying to prevent drug trafficking found that the death penalty had no effect on drug traffickers. On the contrary, since they had a chance of obtaining guilty verdict, courts had to need more solid proof to condemn them to death penalty. So, they pointed out that it was better to sentence them to have a deterrent effect.

If it deterred criminals than other punishments, analyses of comparative legal systems would show a lower crime rate for the nations who didnât abolish it than the abolished ones.

The only known study indicating that capital punishment has deterrence was done in 1975 by Isaac Ehrlisch in the U.S. Within the time 1932- 1970, he found that while the executions were diminished, crime rates were increased which made him think that death penalty had a deterrent effect. However, he did not take into consideration the increased availability of guns and he forgot that the number of executions couldnât affect the crime rate where the capital punishment were abolished or no longer used.

In 1975, the U.S Academy of Science sent a group to approve these results. However, it came out that his study didnât present any useful prove on the deterrence of the death penalty. The report also stated that the most widely assumptions on the deterrent effect couldnât be used making certain decisions. ( Franck, 2003)

A recent study done by The Times shows that for the last twenty years the homicide rate in states with the death penalty has been 48% to 101% higher than in states without the death penalty. The same study also showed that homicide rates sowed the approximately the same rates in the states between having capital punishment and the states which didnât have it. (Bonner & Fessender, 2000)

Another recently done research supporting these findings points out that though America has death penalty in its thirty eight states, crime rate and executions are showing the same rates. Even Texas using injection, has the most crime rate itself.

Furthermore, criminologists searching the effects of death penalty on people found that crime just leads to crime. (Irons, 2006, par 6-7).

However, though people may not be seem to agree with this, in this point research results help us. For example, when Minnesota abolished capital punishment in 1911, 60 % of people were in favor of the capital punishment said, Susan Gardner, a career prosecutor in St. Paul and elected country attorney there since 1994. However, the research results didnât say so said Ms. Gardner and added:â The public policy makers in Minnesota think the death penalty is not efficient, it is not a deterrent, it is a devise form of punishment that we simply donât need.â (Bonner & Fessender, 2000, par. 15)

CONCLUSION

As it is understood from the results of researches and studies, regardless of place, state and time capital punishment still canât be proven to have a deterrent effect on crime rates. On the contrary, all researches show very openly that crime breeds violence for people. Moreover, capital punishment not only gives harms to the person but also to condemnersâ families and to society. They feel isolated and helpless. Furthermore, there is a contradiction between what laws say and what countries do about capital punishment as well as what people think and do. Also regarding the attorneysâ and judgesâ thoughts on capital punishment, giving a reason showing these just seems nonsense. Capital punishment is also against the Human Rights Declaration and if we consider the expenditures done on it, the possibilities of wrong decisions in the court and the possibility of condemning an innocent and mentally ill people, it is absolutely an unnecessary and ineffective thing to do. Having not been proven to have a deterrent affect statistically should be taken into consideration as well.

Rather than preferring the death penalty and trying to find proofs to continue doing this, all this time and money should be spent on learning whether life imprisonment can be a more effective punishment and why capital punishment is still preferred despite all these researches proving its ineffectiveness and why black people are condemned most.

Re: Mr. or Mr?

Cool Breeze — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 09:11:35 GMT

Goodman wrote:

Fleder,

"Mr Tom" in British English- Are you sure of that? Or you just think you are correct? "Mr." is the abbrivation of "mister" and all abbrivations by rule should have a "period" or "stop" at the end, no matter it's BrE or AmE. It's like "F.B.I" and "The U.N.". Don't be confused with other acromyms....

Hi Goodman

It was customary in BrE to put a period at the end of abbreviations when I was young. That has changed to a large extent and perids and commas are used much less in BrE than AmE. Here are some examples that are very common in BrE:

Mr Bell
Mrs Bell
the UN
the USA
the FBI

Some quality newspapers like the Guardian write dates in the following way: March 24 2007. Also, it is very common not to use a comma at the end of a letter:

Yours
Cool Breeze

Re: "Updates" to language

Kooyeen — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 19:18:42 GMT

Hi everyone,
this thread is cool. Yeah, it's cool because I was just thinking of that "updating" and I thought it would be funny. Americans receive updates from England:

Grammar Geek is at her computer, and sees a pop up, "Your database is pretty old, your vocabulary may not be up-to-date." Oh my, she says, and clicks on "update it now"... done! "Thank you for upgrading your English! You got a new word: aubergine."

Now, I would say that it's British people who are somehow upgrading thier English... This would be more likely:

Nona the Brit is at her PC, she's upgrading her English... "Thank you for upgrading your English from the new Hollywood database. You got a new word: dude."

Hahahah, funny.
Seriously now, I think it's not possible to control a language. Languages evolve, change, merge and die. If there was only a variety of English, don't you think it would be a dull language? It would be simple to learn and it would be understood everywhere, yes, but that would be dull. The only thing I hope is that English varieties won't diverge too much, to the point they will actually be separate languages. I don't think that will happen, mainly because of the Internet, Hollywood and mass-media in general. But if the Americas had been discovered 5000 years ago (thousands of years without media, heh), I believe American English and British English would now be two completely different languages.
That's all.