Search results for 'tag:Grammar tag:Universities' matching tags 'Grammar' and 'Universities'

Present perfect/simple past in since clause

Viceidol — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:17:59 GMT

Hello, everyone:

I've asked a question in http://www.englishforums.com/English/QuestionAboutTenseUsageSinceClause/gwxpb/post.htm , but I find out there are more than I need to ask, so I think it would be better to write a new post.

Recently I saw several sentences using simple past and present perefect in their since clauses. They are really confusing to me. I really hope you could help me comfirm their meaning. It may be very easy for you, but I've been wondering what their real meanings are for many days and couldn't find a clue. Please take a look at the following sentences:

1. It's a long time since he has lived there.

2. It's a long time since he lived there.

3. It is already 6 years since he have lived in New York.

4. It is already 6 years since he lived in New York.

I think those four sentences suggest "He doesn't live here/in New York now.", right? If my understanding is true, then please see the next pairs of sentences:

5. She has written to me frequently since I have been ill. (Does it suggest "I am still ill now"? If not, what does it suggest?)

6. She has written to me frequently since I was ill. (Does it suggest "I am not ill now."? If not, what does it suggest?)

If my understandings about sentence 5, 6 are right, then I think that's very tricky. Because sentence 1 and 3, which also use "have done" in their since clauses, suggest the same as sentence 2 and 4, which use simple past in their since clauses. However, although sentence 5 also uses "have done" in its since clause like sentence 1 and 3 do, sentence 5 does not suggest the same thing as sentence 6 does. Why is that? Is it because sentence 1, 2, 3, 4 use "It is + a period of time" structure? If so, I would be very amazed that simply a minor change like this would completely change the meaning of "have done" in the since clause. What do you think?

Here are some similar pairs of sentences:

7. Since she has been at Beijing University, it has gone through great changes. (I think it suggests "She is still at Beijing University now", am I right? If not, what does it suggest?)

8. Since she was at Beijing University, it has gone through great changes. (I think it suggests "She is not at Beijing University now", am I right? If not, what does it suggest?)

9. It's already 5 years since he has been in the army.

10. It's already 5 years since he was in the army.

I think sentence 9 and 10 both suggest "He is not in the army now", am I right? (Because "It is + a period of time" structure is used in the main clauses.) If not, what does it suggest?

11. They have been happy since they have lived in London. (I think it suggests "They still lives in London now", am I right? If not, what does it suggest?)

12. They have been happy since they lived in London. (I think it suggests "They don't live in London now", am I right? If not, what does it suggest?)

13. It's a long time since they have lived in London.

14. It's a long time since they lived in London.

I think sentence 13 and 14 both suggest "They don't live in London now", am I right? (Because "It is + a period of time" structure is used in the main clauses.) If not, what does it suggest?

I know those questions might be a piece of cake for native speakers, but they're totally confusing to me. I've searched all my grammar books for the answer but couldn't find one. I would appreciate it if you could help me solve my doubt. Thank you for reading this post!!

Please I need help! Could you take a look at my application!!!

Anonymous — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 23:57:37 GMT

Hallo

I am for the first time here. I want to apply for a position of German account internship in an chinese company.

I never wrote an application before. Can you please look at this letter and give me some advice what can I do better.
I am also not sure about the grammar. Can you please tell me if something is wrong!

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR HELP !!

Dear ***,

I am writing you to express my interest in the German account internship at the company ***.

I am currently studying a B.A. in Computer Science with an e-Business focus at the *** graduating in 2010.

My aim is to work in an international field of work related to marketing and consulting. Subjects which I am studying that are relevant to the post of German account internship include Project Management, R&D, Finance and Controlling, Developing Database, Marketing and Strategic Management.

At the work as a student employee in a small team I have collected experiences with Photoshop and Dreamweaver. The work has referred to the updating and developing of the WNB homepage.

With pleasure I would offer to you my cooperation and I am very interested in gaining an opportunity with your company to use the skills I developed, in a 6 months-practical internship, starting in September 2008.

I have excellent teamwork and leadership skills as evidenced by numerous university projects involving teams. I have a good command of written and spoken German. I also have a good command of written and spoken English and Russian.

I have strong evidence to show that my communication and organisational skills are also well developed.

An opportunity to apply my skills with an international perspective at your company would be an excellent opportunity for both of us.

I enclose my CV outlining my experience to date and key skill areas which I believe are relevant to this post. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss my application with you and I look forward to hear from you.

Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

Yours sincerely

***

Re: sweet water.

Yoong Liat — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:54:27 GMT

Hi New2grammar and Khoff

When Singaporeans ask for water in a restaurant, they use the term pain water. Plain water may, nevertheless, have ice in it.

Standard English speakers would simply ask for water.

(Singapore English in a Nutshell by Adam Brown)

The author is an Associate Professor in the School of Arts of the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University. He has taught at universities in Britain,Thailand and Malaysia. He holds a doctorate in phonetics frrom the University of Edinburgh, and has written widely on lingustics and English language teaching.

Re: English grammar help

Marius Hancu — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:14:26 GMT

Also:

The chances for a newborn baby to survive are good now.

-------

Bulletin to the Schools / University of the State of New York

by University of the State of New York - Education

We knew that the chances for the baby waxwing to survive were few. If we could
save the bird, we would. An old robin's nest was placed in a pasteboard box, ...

Re: creams and detergents

Goodman — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:19:09 GMT

Mr. Miclawer,

I wasnât going to expand this pluralization discussion on âcreamsâ and âwinesâ.
But it really bothered the heck out of me for two reasons.
1) I really wanted to find out if I was really blowing hot air on this subject
because of my misunderstanding of this topic, and 2) if there is another side of the usage
I am not aware of.
This is perhaps not relevant to the discussion but to establish my point, I think it needs
to be said. Mrs. Milton whom I learned English from was an excellent English teacher who
also had taught for 5 years at the Beijing University, which is a top University in China, by
invitation of the Government. Many of her students had landed positions working for the
Chinese Government and the U.N. as translators and interpreters. I was very blessed to be
among her students. Most of my English foundation was learned from her. And I was really
surprised to see your examples pluralizing âcreamâ and âwineâ. By your earlier examples, which I
compared with the information found on the WEB, I must ask this question. Am I to understand
that itâs completely grammatical to say in a restaurant âmay I have 2 waters and soups?â. I know
we hear that all the time but if we are discussing the whether a particular usage is grammatically
correct, running into this type of scenario is inevitable. Here are some âsupportsâ you had
asked for which may not may not be validated to your satisfaction. No doubt, you are the
English authority and perhaps possess âsuperiorityâ over many frequented this forum and I donât
mean to sound like challenging your examples, let alone to waste anymore of your time.
Nonetheless, as a serious learner, Iâd owe the real answers to myself and the learners if I just
accepted your answers as given. I may be wrong with my search result and you are correct.
And If so, here is my âadvanced apologyâ.

Nouns only countable nouns can be either singular or plural. ... He had some ice cream on
his face. He had an ice cream. mass. countable ...
www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/dick/tta/wc/nouns.htm - 21k - Cached - Similar pages

http://ajaja.paradoxinc.org/Basic/Grammar/CountAndNoncount.ht

Liquids: beer, milk, coffee, blood, cream, juice, honey, gasoline, oil, shampoo, soup, tea, water, wine.

Solids and semi-solids: Bread, butter, cheese, ice, ice cream, lettuce, toast, meat, beef, chicken, fish, ham, lamb, pork, chalk, 
copper, cotton, glass, gold, iron, , soap, tin, toothpaste, wood, wool,

http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/grammar/countnon.html

A Revision of the RulesThe exceptions require that the rule for pluralizing be revised: count nouns and nouns used 
in a count sense can be pluralized; noncount nouns and nouns used in a noncount sense cannot.

	Pluralizes with -s	Does not Pluralize
Count Noun	X
Count Use	X
Noncount Noun		X
Noncount Use		X

http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080425090142AAom2ui

Answers (4)

If coffee is an uncountable noun, cream certainly is by common sense. Thus the rule applies.

Â· Answerer 1

Many nouns can be used as countables or uncountables. It depends on whether you are thinking of a substance or
a single serving or object made of the substance. So:

Beer is fattening (uncountable - the substance)
Don't drink more than three beers a day. (Countable - servings)

I love chocolate (uncountable - the substance)
Get me a box of chocolates (countable - individual pieces)

A vase made of blown glass (uncountable - the substance)
A glass of wine (A single piece / artifact)

Coffee gives me indigestion (the substance - uncountable)
I need at least three coffees to wake up on a morning (countable - individual servings)

2 months ago

http://www3.law.cuny.edu/wc/students/multilingual/articles.html

Uncountable nouns often refer to drinks and food, other general substances, or concepts (meat, tea, steel, information, justice):

Examples of Uncountable Nouns in English:

Food and Drink: bacon, beef, beer, bread, butter, cabbage, candy, cauliflower, chicken, chocolate, coffee, corn,
cream, fish, fruit, juice, lettuce, meat, milk, oil, pasta, rice, salt, spinach, sugar, tea, water, whiskey, wine, yogurt.
General Substances: air,cement, clay, coal, copper, dirt, dust, foam, gasoline, gold, ice, leather, paper, petroleum,
plastic, rain, rubber, silver, soap, steel, wood, wool.
Abstract nouns: abandonment, access, adultery, advice, alimony, anger, anguish, arson, authentication, beauty, capacity,
conduct, confidence, courage, deprivation, desperation, discretion, employment, empowerment, evidence, extortion, fortune,
fun, happiness, health, honesty, housing, information, insurance, intelligence, intent, knowledge, land, love, malice, negligence,
poverty, privacy, real estate, sadness, satisfaction, strength, truth, wealth.
Others: biology, clothing, darkness, equipment, furniture, gossip, homework, jewelry, luggage, machinery, mail, money, music,
news, poetry, pollution, research, scenery, traffic, transportation, violence, weather, weight, work.

Some uncountable nouns (except for concepts) can be turned into countable nouns by preposing a phrase to them
(two bottles of wine, a bar of soap, a piece of information, an act of violence, a burst of anger, a piece of evidence).

e.g. The defendant's lawyer is sure the judge will accept new evidence in this case.

vs. The defendant's lawyer is sure the judge will accept three new pieces of evidence in this case.

Some uncountable nouns can be used in the plural, but their meaning changes:

experience / experiences: e.g., He had to rely on experience / I lived unforgettable experiences

Re: Grammar help.Thanks

26TMNTJG2PG — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 12:09:33 GMT

Dear Sir or Madam

I refer to your recent advertisement. Please accept this letter and resume for a sales Agronomist position currently available within your company.

As my enclosed resume shows, I graduated from Orel Agricultural University. I have experience in Russia and the USA and during the last 6 years, my work had been as an agronomist in the USA.

Given my related experience and excellent capabilities. I should deserve your favorable consideration for this job opening. I am confident that I can make a valuable contribution to your organizationâs future projects and initiatives.

Examples of results from my experience in recent years include the following:Â·        Calculations of revenue expenses, profits and losses of agricultural companies;        Forecasting of financial results, reports of production and determining the cost price of products;        Agricultural planning and research;        Improvement productivity and quality of agricultural crops, solving problems; and        Understanding farm business.

I believe that I have the skills and experience to be a good employee in your company, and I would appreciate the opportunity of an interview to discuss my application further. At the present time, I am looking for an employer who hires foreign worker to get a temporary work in Canada. My resume contains additional details regarding my career accomplishments. And I thank you in advance for your time and review of my qualifications.

Faithfully yours,

Name

Re: Standard spoken English

Anonymous — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 09:00:04 GMT

Something to chew on:

THE NOTION OF STANDARD SPOKEN GRAMMAR

The term âstandard grammarâ is most typically associated with written language,
and is usually considered to be characteristic of the recurrent usage of adult,
educated native speakers of a language. Standard grammar ideally reveals no
particular regional bias. Thus âStandard British Englishâ grammar consists of items
and forms that are found in the written usage of adult educated native speakers
from Wales, Scotland and England and those Northern Irish users who consider
themselves part of the British English speech community.

The typical sources of evidence for standard usage are literary texts, quality
journalism, academic and professional writing, etc. Standard grammar is given the
status of the official record of educated usage by being written down in grammar
books and taught in schools and universities.

Spoken transcripts often have frequent occurrences of items and structures
considered incorrect according to the norms of standard written English. However,
many such forms are frequently and routinely used by adult, educated native speakers.

Examples of such structures are split infinitives (e.g. We decided to immediately sell it),
double negation (e.g. He wonât be late I donât think, as compared to I donât think he will
be late), singular nouns after plural measurement expressions (e.g. Heâs about six foot
tall), the use of contracted forms such as gonna (going to), wanna (want to), and so on.

Standard spoken English grammar will therefore be different from standard
written English grammar in many respects if we consider âstandardâ to be a
description of the recurrent spoken usage of adult native speakers. What may be
considered ânon-standardâ in writing may well be âstandardâ in speech.
Speech and writing are not independent. Although some forms of spoken
grammar do not appear in writing (unless in written dialogues), there is
considerable overlap and there is an increasing range of forms appearing in
informal written texts which previously were only considered acceptable in
speech. In 120 the presence of typically spoken grammatical forms contexts as emails and internet chat-room exchanges is discussed.

From: The Cambridge Grammar of English (GCE)

Re: Medical English/mature teacher

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 02:40:02 GMT

Dear Loretta: Thank-you for your letter. It is always interesting to hear from someone with a similar background or interest. Let me answer some of your questions for you. I want to share with you what I have learned over the years in this business. I hope I can be blunt? 1) You asked: what is the value of these certifications if one is already fluent in english and has taught professionals as part of their professional career? I teach adults at work all the time. My response: This is a common question for people who want to teach at any an all levels of ESL. a) Simply being fluent in a language doesnât make you good at it. Think of all the regional dialects and inner city dialects of English just in the USA alone. Surely to goodness you can see this? This question (and I know from experience) is perceived as incredibly rude and un-knowing by those people who have spent the time, effort and dedication learning how to teach language. b) I am on faculty teaching nursing in a university program, full time. There is a great deal of difference in teaching in a program and curriculum (particularly a program that moves in a lengthy step wise progression) than there is in teaching patient groups and communities in short programs. I have done both of these (because I am a nurse) and am able to compare and contrast the two. c) This statement could be perceived as diminishing the importance of teaching programs everywhere. It suggests that just because a nurse has experience âteaching adults at work all the timeâ that he/she might just as well apply for a teaching job in general education! Can you see where I am going with this? Ouch. It devalues the importance of undergraduate, graduate and PhDs/MEds in education. What if the teachers were to say this about nursing? d) What is the value? Well, if you wish to teach in a school of any merit, you will need this type of credential, for the reasons I have just cited. If you donât mind teaching at âany old language schoolâ of questionable repute and wages, then the credential isnât necessary. Please donât let that discourage you. You can always, always find work without the TESL certification and this is a FANTASTIC WAY to see the world. FANTASTIC. It just depends on your personal plans. 2) You asked: if I have a web-based business for international students, do I still need TESL certification if I am not traveling abroad to teach? My response: no, you donât really ever NEED to have the TESL, as Iâve said. But having it will improve your credibility exponentially. Just in closing, Iâd like to share a bit about myself so that you will see I am speaking from experience. I am a native English speaker. I studied French in school. I started my young adult years teaching English at Berlitz School of Languages and this helped pay for part of my nursing education. In later years, I picked up the TESL Certificate because I wanted to travel and work teaching English. Then I picked up Spanish! Throughout all of this, I have been a career nurse & nursing instructor first and foremost. I have a post-graduate diploma in Adult Education and a Masters of Science in Administration (Health focus). In the next couple of months I will graduate with a Masters of Education in TESOL. I believe I have a very, very solid background in language studies, adult education and nursing combined. That is why I have been able to build up a reputation for English for Nurses and English for Medical Purposes worldwide. Loretta, you have a fabulous background in Nursing and I would really like to encourage you to pursue your idea to teach Medical English. Those of us who are dually trained (Nursing and ESL) are very, very rare. Itâs a challenging but rewarding niche market to get into! Yours very truly, Melodie Hull, RPN, MSC, BA, TESL, PID, MED (candidate) Nurse-Educator & Consultant Canada Ps: Yikes, just one more thing. If you wish to be seen as a credible English language teacher, you must, must use proper grammar and capitalize titles, names and proper nouns as appropriate, especially if you are posting on the web. (Just a friendly hint.) MH

Grammar help.Thanks

Toma — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 18:50:27 GMT

Dear Sir or Madam In response to your recent advertisement, please accept this letter and resume for a sales Agronomist position currently available within your company. As my enclosed resume shows, I graduated of Orel Agricultural University. I have experience in Russia and the USA. Especially during the last 6 years my work had been as an agronomist in the USA. Given my related experience and excellent capabilities. I would appreciate your consideration for this job opening. I am confident that I can make a valuable contribution to your organizationâs future projects and initiatives. Examples of results from my experience in recent years include the following:Â· Calculations of revenue expenses, profits and losses of agricultural companiesÂ· Forecasting of financial results, reports of production and determining the cost price of productsÂ· Agricultural planning and researchÂ· Improvement productivity and quality of agricultural crops, solving problemsÂ· Understanding farm business I believe that I have the skills and experience to be a good employee in your company, and I would appreciate the opportunity to discuss your open the sales agronomist position. . At the present time I am looking for an employer who hires foreign worker to get a temporary work in Canada. My resume contains additional details regarding my career accomplishments. And I thank you in advance for your time and review of my qualifications.. Sincerely,

Name

Re: Grammar Doubts help!

Clive — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:40:15 GMT

Hi,

1) In 1963, she was graduated summa cum laude and become the first woman to receive the highest degree offered in sacred theology. Should it be "became"? Please advise. Yes. (2) Penned in 1861, while she was in Washington, DC with her husband as he distributed supplies to Union soldiers, the poem became the call to arms during the Civil War's final years and was a finalist as the national anthem until 1931. Does the phrase "and was a finalist as the national anthem until 1931" makes sense? Not really. The writer, not the poem, was the finalist. Please advise. (3) She created a literary magazine, Northern Lights, that ran for eleven issues, wrote about her travels in Europe, published the Woman's Journal that became a conduit for suffrage information, and penned varied other works, including a biography of Margaret Fuller in 1883. Is the phrase "and penned varied other works," ok? Do we need rephrasing? 'Various' would be a more common word to choose. (4) Antoinette Brown was born in Henrietta, New York. At the age of eight, she indicated a desire to entire the ministry but was told that the pulpit was closed to women. Is it "entire the ministry"? Please explain meaning of the phrase. The word should be 'enter', not 'entire'. (5) Chastised by critics and the public alike when she was first published, Kate Chopin was rediscovered by later feminists and became their literary banner carrier for decades. Should it be "when she first published? Please check. The phrase is OK as written. (6) She also sat on the board of Boston University and fought to end discrimination in hiring and among students on the campus. Is the phrase construction " discrimination in hiring and among students on the campus." Ok? Yes, but it's not clear about what kind of discrimination the students are involved in. Please check. (7) During a speaking tour of the West she had taken by rail in spite of medical advice that she not ignore her pernicious anemia, Inez collapsed on stage during a presentation in Los Angeles. Can the sentence start be rephrased in a better way? It's OK as written. Please rephrase. (8) Although Boissevain was an agent for social change, the attention paid her was primarily a consequence of her physical attractiveness and her ability to offer entertainment. Should it be " the attention paid to her"? Please advise. It's OK to omit the 'to'.

Best wishes, Clive

Search results for 'tag:Grammar tag:Universities' matching tags 'Grammar' and 'Universities'

Present perfect/simple past in since clause

Please I need help! Could you take a look at my application!!!

Hallo

I am for the first time here. I want to apply for a position of German account internship in an chinese company.

I never wrote an application before. Can you please look at this letter and give me some advice what can I do better.I am also not sure about the grammar. Can you please tell me if something is wrong!

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR HELP !!

Re: sweet water.

Re: English grammar help

Re: creams and detergents

Mr. Miclawer,

Nouns only countable nouns can be either singular or plural. ... He had some ice cream on his face. He had an ice cream. mass. countable ...www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/dick/tta/wc/nouns.htm - 21k - Cached - Similar pages

http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080425090142AAom2ui

Answers (4)

Re: Grammar help.Thanks

Re: Standard spoken English

Re: Medical English/mature teacher

Grammar help.Thanks

Re: Grammar Doubts help!

I never wrote an application before. Can you please look at this letter and give me some advice what can I do better.
I am also not sure about the grammar. Can you please tell me if something is wrong!

Nouns only countable nouns can be either singular or plural. ... He had some ice cream on
his face. He had an ice cream. mass. countable ...
www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/dick/tta/wc/nouns.htm - 21k - Cached - Similar pages