Search results for 'tag:Expressions tag:Articles' matching tags 'Expressions' and 'Articles'

Re: Georgia - a peaceloving genocide

Anonymous — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:20:11 GMT

"Russia now stands for the INTERNATIONAL DISCUSSION of the status of these republics." (Dew 2007's message from August 23, 2008, 12:32 PM in the thread "US Intervention")
"Russia recognizes South Ossetia and Abkhazia as sovereign states" (Reuters, August, 26, 2008, http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSL768040420080826 - though I hate their emotional expressions)
What kind of DISCUSSION do you mean, Dew? Is this the Russian style of it? (And please refrain from referring to what America did previously)
Grrr, I am mad about it

P.S.: It's Lawyee, by the way. I can't seem to log in. Grrr for the second time This is surely conspiracy

Edited to make the link work. - Mod.

Re: superative and article

Avangi — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 03:55:21 GMT

Yes, you need the definite article before a superlative, whether the noun it modifies is singular or plural. the most beautiful girl/girls

Top gun; top dog are fixed expressions when used without an article. Ultimate climber/climbers may be a fixed expression, but I haven't heard it. If so, and the plural uses no article, I believe the singular would use the indefinite article. They are ultimate climbers. He is an ultimate climber (possible fixed expression.) They are the ultimate climbers. He is the ultimate climber. (superlative)

- A.

Re: Georgia - a peaceloving genocide

Ruslana — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:09:35 GMT

Agree with you, Isu.

I've just found a today's article that gives an interesting overview of the all happened. Maybe you'll be interested too.
In any case, just for your information, even though it's mass media source (but a British source, which surprised me, to be honest).

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/aug/14/russia.georgia

The outcome of six grim days of bloodshed in the Caucasus has triggered an outpouring of the most nauseating hypocrisy from western politicians and their captive media.

You'd be hard put to recall after all the fury over Russian aggression that it was actually Georgia that began the war last Thursday with an all-out attack on South Ossetia to "restore constitutional order" - in other words, rule over an area it has never controlled since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

"I saw a Georgian soldier throw a grenade into a basement full of women and children," one Tskhinvali resident, Saramat Tskhovredov, told reporters on Tuesday.

But under the Bush administration, Georgia has become a fully fledged US satellite.

Lawyee
Russians, please stop to feel that the whole world is trying to hurt your country, or destroy it or whatever. Once again, there was no expression of these intentions. I don't understand your expressions like "be aware of the consequences", "Russia is losing patience", "Russia is a strong country and is not afraid of anyone, but other states are afraid of Russia". What do you mean by these words?

Now the Bush administration is preparing to site a missile defence system in eastern Europe transparently targeted at Russia.

By any sensible reckoning, this is not a story of Russian aggression, but of US imperial expansion and ever tighter encirclement of Russia by a potentially hostile power.

Unipolar domination of the world has squeezed the space for genuine self-determination and the return of some counterweight has to be welcome.

As great power conflict returns, South Ossetia is likely to be only a taste of things to come...

Memos show Clinton turmoil

Jackson6612 — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:05:10 GMT

Memos show Clinton turmoil

Question: I would have written ''Clinton's turmoil''. Why didn't the author use apostrophe?

BY CRAIG GORDON AND TOM BRUNE | <email addresses removed by mod.>
August 13, 2008

Question: Why is semicolon used instead of comma to separate the email addresses above?

WASHINGTON - In a fresh postmortem (=an examination of a plan or event that failed, done to discover why it failed, =autopsy) on Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential bid (=attempt to obtain or do something), newly published staff memos (=a short official note to another person in the same company or organization) and e-mails reveal a campaign hobbled (=to hobble something or someone means to make it more difficult for them to be successful or to achieve what they want) by internal rivalries (=a situation in which two or more people, teams, or companies are competing for something), faulty planning, bloated (=more than needed, =excessive) spending - and perhaps most important, Clinton's own failure to make the hard decisions.

Clinton offered herself to voters as a hyper-competent (=extra competent) executive ready to be president from day one. But atop (=on top of something) her own campaign, she was a hesitant leader, who allowed bitter infighting (=when members of the same group or organization argue, or compete with each other in an unfriendly way) to fester (=If an argument or bad feeling festers, it continues so that feelings of hate or dissatisfaction increase) among staffers over whether to go negative against Barack Obama, according to the Atlantic magazine.

The most bare-knuckled (=characterized by disorderly action and disregard for rules) lines of attack came from Clinton's chief strategist, Mark Penn, who urged Clinton to highlight Obama's "lack of American roots" due to his upbringing in Indonesia and Hawaii - saying he could only win if he faced Attila the Hun ((?406-453 AD) a king of the Huns (=an ancient people from Asia) who attacked and took control of large parts of the Roman Empire. He is famous for being violent and cruel).

But Clinton didn't embrace Penn's flag-waving (=the expression of strong national feelings, especially when these feelings seem too extreme) approach (=way of doing something), which campaign aides (=someone whose job is to help someone who has an important job, especially a politician) insist was never seriously considered.

Question: Clinton didn't embrace Penn's approach because she did not consider it seriously. Therefore, what campaign aides were saying is redundant.

The article also says that Clinton at times grew frustrated and short-tempered - including on the morning after her stunning third-place finish in Iowa in January, when aides on a call were silent. Clinton's camp dismissed the story as "inside-the-Beltway gossip" and "old news." And former campaign aides sharply disputed the notion of Clinton as an indecisive leader, with one campaign veteran saying, "Nobody seems to want to remember the fact that we had so many successes and come-from-behind victories in this campaign ... and they are due in large part to Senator Clinton's leadership."

Question: What does the line including on the morning...when aides on a call were silent mean? If she finished third place, then why would the author describe it as stunning? What does call mean in when aides on a call were silent?

Question: What does the phrase inside-the-Beltway gossip mean?

Question: What does the line Nobody seems to want to remember...to Senator Clinton's leadership'' mean?

But the e-mails and memos offer vivid (=very clear and detailed) new details about what had long been reported - that Clinton's headquarters was beset (=to make someone experience serious problems or dangers) by caustic (=bitter) internal battles involving Penn and former President Bill Clinton, who wanted to forcefully attack Obama, and others who wanted the New York senator to take a more positive tack (=method, =way of doing something). At one point, it was Bill Clinton - and not Hillary - who approved the famed 3 a.m. phone call ad.

Question: what had long been reported is passive past perfect tense. Am I right?

Question: I think headquarters should take plural verb. What do you say?

Question: Why are the hyphens used in -and not Hillary-? I believe commas would do instead?

Adding to the turmoil was the fact that the campaign had little strategy and no money left to seriously compete in the post-Super Tuesday contests - having (=the form having with a past participle can be used to introduce a clause in which you mention an action which had already happened before another action began) burned through $106 million before Iowa. That allowed Obama to win 12 straight contests and effectively wrap up (=to finish a job, meeting etc) the nomination.

Question: What does burned through mean?

In the end, the campaign's strategy came to reflect some of the internal turmoil, as Clinton veered (=changed course) from attacking Obama to emphasizing her personal side.

Question: What does her personal side mean?

Penn did offer some advice in March 2007 that proved on the mark - Clinton's path to victory lay with women and lower- and working-class voters.

Question: What does proved on the mark mean? I couldn't find it in the dictionary.

But by the time Clinton finally settled on that strategy to win the later primaries, it was too late.

Excerpts from the memos

"All of these articles about his boyhood in Indonesia and his life in Hawaii are geared towards showing his background is diverse, multicultural and putting that in a new light ... It also exposes a very strong weakness for him - his roots to basic American values and culture are at best (=even when considered in the most positive way) limited. I cannot imagine America electing a president during a time of war who is not at his center fundamentally American in his thinking and in his values." Strategist Mark Penn, from a March 19, 2007, memo to Hillary Rodham Clinton advising her to attack Barack Obama for his "lack of American roots."

Question: What does centre mean in the above context?

"The right knows Obama is unelectable except perhaps against Attila the Hun, and a third party would come in then anyway." Penn, from the same memo.

Question: Does right refer to right wing in the above context?

"This has been a very instructive call, talking to myself." Clinton, before angrily hanging up on a staff conference call the day after coming in third in Iowa in January. "She complained of being outmaneuvered (=to gain an advantage over someone by using cleverer or more skilful plans or methods) in Iowa and being painted as the establishment candidate," according to the Atlantic - but was met with near-silence.

Question: I would have written This has been..., talking to me. Why did she use myself?

Question: What is a conference call? Is it some kind of telephone call which address many poeple?

Question: Why is in used in coming in third?

"STOP IT!! I have help my tongue for weeks. After this morning's WP story, no longer. This makes me sick. This circular firing squad that is occurring is unattractive, unprofessional, unconscionable, and unacceptable ... It must stop." Robert Barnett, a Clinton lawyer and Washington insider, from a March 6, 2008, e-mail to campaign staff after a Washington Post story detailed the infighting.

Question: What does I have help my tongue for weeks mean?

Question: What does This circular firing squad mean?

Question: Were the comments in the last paragraph made by Robert Barnett?

Re: The next / Next

Mr Wordy — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 22:29:02 GMT

I think the difference in meaning that they're highlighting relates to the words "immediately following", which means "immediately following in time, starting now". Here are a few points relating to this usage that immediately come to mind. I don't claim that this is in any way complete.

In "next + noun" combinations, "the" is normally omitted only in the "immediately following in time" sense, and only with named days and months, seasons, and a few specific words such as "week", "month", "quarter", "year", "time", etc.:

Next Monday is my birthday.
I'll be 40 next July.
Next summer we're going on holiday to Japan.
It's going to be hot next month.
Next year will be tough.
Next time I see you, I'll be married.

You cannot use "the" in this sense with named days and months. For example, "The next Thursday is 12 April" is wrong. However, you may be able to do so with words such as "week", "month", "year", "time", etc.:

The next year will be tough.
The next time I see you, I'll be married.

But it depends. You would not, for example, usually say "It's going to be tough the next year."

When referring to events in the past you can use "the", even with named days and months. Randomly Googled examples:

The following winter the galleys lay on the Loire, but the next summer they cruised on the east coast of Scotland...
The next Monday we went to the soap market together...

For expressions consisting of a number and a time period, you have to use "the". For example,

The next six months will be the hardest.
Our biggest challenge is the next three years.

"The" may also be omitted in certain special idioms (such as "next thing you know"). However, with most other "next + noun" combinations, you usually have to use "the" (or any of various words that can take the place of the article), though there are almost certainly other exceptions that I haven't mentioned.

The next train leaves in an hour.
He's the next Marlon Brando.
Where's our next meal coming from?

Re: Is "There is the ..." an exceptional use?

CalifJim — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 01:28:22 GMT

jazzmaster
A few grammar books carried by ESL students suggest that "there is" only takes indefinite articles

Good advice for beginners using "existential there".

You've got four combinations to disentangle here.

"existential there" means there exists -- such-and-such "has existence".

"locative there" means in that location -- at that place.

The two meanings are different. And each can be used with either an indefinite or a definite expression.

1. Existential there with an indefinite: There's a book on the table. (A book is to be found -- has existence -- on the table.)

2. Existential there with a definite: For sinners, there's hell. | For help with your homework, there's your brother. This turn of phrase asks us to take something into consideration. (Consider hell, consider your brother, as an answer to the problem of sinners, of doing homework.) Common with always: If you ever need a favor, there's always good old Charlie.

3. Locative there with an indefinite: I'd like a good mystery for summer reading. -- (pointing to a book on a shelf) There's a good one for you. (In that location is a good one.)

4. Locative there with a definite: There's the postman. He's coming up the walk just now. | Where did I leave the car? -- Oh! There's my car! (In that place the postman is found. | In that location is my car.)

You'll probably notice that, statistically, existential there usually goes with an indefinite expression, and locative there usually goes with a definite expression. Your three examples that you wanted to call exceptional are actually members of class 4 above, and are not among the patterns the ESL text is cautioning against. (I don't think so anyway.) Case 2 is the focus of the prohibition. And for beginners, it might not be a bad idea to keep away from those, since they are, as I pointed out above, more like an idiomatic way of asking someone to take something into consideration.

Re: look forward to see ...

HanJH — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:28:04 GMT

Thank you, Diamondrg.

What I want to learn is that the expression of "look forward to see how ..." in the article

is grammatically right or not.

If it's right, is there any different meaning to its ordinary meaning of "to feel pleased

and excited about something that is going to happen"?

Thank you, Kooyeen, too.
What if in this case: I am at home and somebody knocks outside window.
So, I look forward to see outside well.

Han,

Re: Need an advise!

Cool Breeze — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 15:55:21 GMT

I think you mean the sentence Never listen to fear, right? Listen is an imperative and no inflection is ever used in English imperatives. Imperatives like this look like infinitives, which should make it easy for you to learn English. Except for certain fixed phrases and idiomatic expressions, the is not used with nouns when nouns are used in a general sense and the reference is not to anything specific.That's why fear has no article.

Re: coke can of a car

New2grammar — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 13:59:18 GMT

Thanks, Delmobile. The article I took the expression from talked about the same model of car. G-Wiz. What a small world :)

A head for figures?

Stenka25 — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 23:10:54 GMT

StartFragment>

In 'figure' article in a dicitonary, 'a head for figures' come up two times and

6 figures [plural] British English :the activity of adding, multiplying etc numbers [= arithmetic]

â¢ a natural ability with figures

8 a person in a painting or a model of a person:

â¢ the figure in the background

â¢ A Head for Figures

I want to know what 'a head for figures' means?

It seems like the meaning of the expression can be 'be good at arithmetic' in meaning six. But in meaning eight I cannot figure out what the 'a head for figures' refers to. Does it still mean 'be good at arithmetic'?

Thanks in advance.