Search results for 'tag:Modals tag:Jokes' matching tags 'Modals' and 'Jokes'

Re: use of modal verb "could"

CalifJim — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 19:07:31 GMT

I could play tennis well -- could be interpreted as referring to a person's present state ability -- how he can play tennis well now; but, it could mean how he could play tennis well in the past if some part or parts preceding it or following it indicate that. Right?

Yes, that's right in general. could can mean 1 used to be able to (past) and it can mean 2 would be able to (tentative present or the consequence of a present hypothesis).

1 When Steve was a young man, he could tell the funniest jokes.
2 I could tell you (now) that you are the smartest person in the world, but I don't know if you would believe me.

CJ

Re: Modal verbs

Aperisic — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 13:07:26 GMT

MrPedantic wrote:

Yes they are similar, but...

When you want to say that it is required something to be done regularly you use have to

He has to do his homework after school every day.

Cf. however

1. You must take three of these pills every day after lunch.

Yes but in this case it is the doctor or whoever that told you to do so, so it is not only a regular obligation but slightly more an official one.

Formally, when you speak about the law or obligation you use must

Everyone must pay taxes.

Cf.

2. I have to send in my tax return before 31st January.

3. Not pay tax? Of course you have to pay tax! Everyone has to pay tax.

Well, I meant when you have an official announcement (given by the government for example) must is more usual.

If you believe in certain fact you use must

You must be that man from the TV.

(If you believe something is not true you say You can't be the man from the TV.)

You use have to with the similar meaning but not with you

It has to be true.

(negative: It canât be true.)

Cf.

5. You have to be joking.

I do not hear this so often as You must be joking. If someone says You have to be joking it is very close to a question, so I can answer No, I don't. With You must be joking, it is that person cannot accept the event that force him (or her) to say this sentence unless it was a joke. He or she does not expect that much a confirmation or denial as he or she might with You have to be joking

MrP

The real difference between must and have to lies in the fact that must does not have the future or the past and actually does not have a true negation.

Think about this

I must go to school. What I must = go to school
I must not go to school What I must = not to go to school

Thus, must is a rare verb that is actually invariant and it always means must.

All given examples are not a device that is going to give a strict distinction between must and have to, rather I tried to collect them to show that people feel different things when they use must and when they use have to. These are not either rules or guidelines, these are the frequency usages, which may help you understand these feelings better and exploit them.

It almost can't happen that, if you use must instead of have to, someone will understand you incorrectly. What can happen is that he or she might understand that your attitude toward certain subject is stronger or weaker than it really is.

I can say that with a proper intonation a spoken have to is almost equal with must. In writing that is not so.

In general, must slightly more introduces a punishment or serious consequence if you do not fulfill what was said than have to.

Help for wprd game and poetry

Anonymous — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 07:39:48 GMT

Dear madam / sir,

Being possessor of an exploitation right concerning an innovating technology of communication described below, I solicit your attention in order to know if any utilization would eventually interest you.

Kind regards,

(letters into brackets are readable with a phonetic font)

The language's way game

Preamble

The phoneme is the smallest unit of pronunciation. As this time is slower than the time of thought, one can introduce some numbers in the communication. We can separate the sounds into two classes : the letters -1 and +1 which symbolize negative and positive, down and up, left and right, female and male, yin and yangâ¦

Because these successions of phonemes have different senses according to the languages, itâs possible to express them simultaneously, in order to add a large number of meanings for the same sound.

1) The phonemes

The international code retained is the following one :

â=1

b baby

c, s price, sense

ci, s, sh, ssi, ti [$] official, sure, fashion, session, emotion

d hard

d, t lacked, toll

e bread

e, ae, ea, ee, ie [i:] theme, paediatric, easy, see, piece

f, ph fire, phonetic

i, y eight, boy

m [m] meat

n nice

p peace

s, z as, zone

v [v] have

y [j] yes

sh [$] shade

th [Î´] that

th think

s, z allusion, seizure

a [eI] take

g, j [dZ] revenge, jug

ch [t$] chain

â=-1

a [@:] ask

a frost

a travel

a, e, o pagoda, the, oâclock

a, o [%:] ball, door

ea, o, u, w learn, how, house, now

g gate

h house

c, k, q , ch neck, king, quarter, ache

i, u [E:]/[U:] bird, nurse

l life

o on

o, u done, but

r [r] root

u, oo [u:] plume, pool

w why

-2

o [&U] no

ai [E&] stair

i, y [aI] I, by

ng [M] during

u [ju] use

x [gs, ks] exact, execute

[â] = H mute

Thanks to this phonetic key, we can get meaningful positive results in all languages. Itâs also possible to add the results of several people in a discussion, or to designate something (3 hours = on the right).

By insisting on a sentenceâs value, we can use many metaphors to designate this/these number(s) to any quantifiable meanings. For instance the hour, position, height, priceâ¦ By extending the other meanings (or degrees) of languages can be called words, jokes, and sound, air, wind, life, clothes and so on according to the given cases. Now you can read between the lines.

Example of utilization :

-Wake up !

[weIk ^p] = 0 and is the absolutely same phonetic as âway cupâ or âway upâ where can be âquââ = âonlyâ in French.

Even if people canât see all the possible meanings, they may understand the original one and their research promises a lot of dreams and motivation. Itâs necessary to be careful, human language includes tons of anagrams and other stylistic devices.

Anybody might at one given moment, from a certain number of sentences, recover the private written key of a person (which must be complementary to the international phonetic one).

Example to give the result of three keyâs sentences :

To do zeal I ate the large dose. [tu: du: zi:l aI eIt D& l@g d&Us] = 4.

= beware of the for numbers : two [tu:] + douze [duz] (French twelve) + eight [eIt] + dos [d%s] (Spanish two).

The mathematic operators broached in this document are :

For and : French et , Italian e , Spanish y , Russian a and Ð¸

For or : French ou , Spanish and Italian o , Russian Ð¸Ð»Ð¸ [ili]

Furthermore we can propose the following grid to communicate a lot of data through spellings and numbers :

A [eI] : one + est et [e e] (âis andâ in French) + e (âand in Italian) + he (âI haveâ in Spanish) + (âandâ in Spanish and Russia) + written A = âhasâ in French + âatâ in Spanish and Italian + âandâ in Russian.

B [bi:] : be + vi [bi] = âI sawâ in Spanish.

C [si:] : see + sea + å [sÃ¬] (âfourâ in Chinese) + si (âifâ in French) + si (âyesâ in Spanish and Italian)

D [di:] : di (âI gaveâ in Spanish) + âdiâ (âsayâ in Spanish) + dis (âsayâ in French) + di (âofâ for belonging in Italian) + die [di] (âtheâ for feminine plural in German)

E [i:] : I + Italian e i + French est et + Spanish he y (by this way the sound âiâ could become a new pronoun composed of English I + Spanish y + Italian i = I + the and).

F [ef] : French âfÃ©e faitâ = fairy does + Spanish âfeâ = faith

G [dZi:] : French [Ze] â [ZE] = jâai

H [eIt$] : ate eight + chez [$e] {âfromâ or âatâ somebodyâs place in French}

I [aI] : I + ahÃ [a'i] (= there in Spanish)

J [dZeI] : D + jâai + A

K [keI] : que [ke] = relative pronoun who/what in Spanish + A

L [el] : Ã©l [el] = âheâ in Spanish + elle les [El le] = âshe theâ for plural in French (â+â)

M [em] : aime [Em] mais [mE] = âlove butâ in French.

N [en] : en = âinâ in Spanish.

O [&U] : Spanish and Italian o, and have also the same spelling in French, Spanish and Italian : , which is the pronunciation of âhoâ = âI haveâ in Italian, and the exact sound of âeauâ (= âwaterâ in French) and âauâ (= âat theâ in French). And yet weâve just seen that this letter and its sounds has been considered as feminine, so weâve got either the meanings of âI, woman, have water at the orâ (âwaterâ spelled in French as [watEr] could become [wAt] âwhatâ + [Er] French âairâ = âwhat air ?â) or âI have feminine sentences or objectsâ or âI or a woman haveâ or âI, not a woman, haveâ and so on.

P [pi:] : pi.

Q [kju:] : = quâ = âonlyâ in French + you (Italian i + French ou).

R [@:r] : art [ar] = âartâ in French + âR her airâ ( â) spelled in French [Er Er Er] and âer airâ (â) : er [e:r] = âheâ in German, and âaire et Ã¨reâ [Er e Er] (âarea and eraâ in French

S [es] : est-ce [Es] = âisâ in the French questions + es = âitâ in German + es = âisâ in Spanish + ess (âessenâ = âto eatâ in German, and its radical turned in an English conjugation gives âthey essâ)

T [ti:] : ÑÑ [ti] =âyouâ in Russian + ti [ti] = âyouâ in complement in Spanish and Italian + tea.

U [ju:] : you.

V [vi:] : vis vie= â(I/you) saw lifeâ in French + wie = âhow/asâ in German + Ð²Ñ [vi] = âyouâ in plural in Russian.

W [âd^blju] : ***.

X [iks] : anonymous.

Y [waI] : why [waI] ?

Z [zed,zi] : the [Di:] + in German : Sie [zi:] = âpolite youâ + sie =âshe/theyâ.

1 [w^n] : won

2 [tu:] : tout [tu] (= âallâ in French) + too to + tu [tu] (= âyouâ in Spanish and Italian)

3 [Tri:] : T+H+R+E+E + riz ris = ârice laughâ in French.

4 [f%:r] : for [f%:r] or + Ohr [o:r] = âearâ in German.

5 [faIv] : hive + fa (âhe doesâ in Italian) + faille faille [faj] = âfault needâ in French.

6 [sIks] : C + X.

7 [sevn] : sais ses câest ces [se se se se] (= âknow his/her/its itâs theseâ in French) â say + V +N.

8 [eIt] : ate At.

9 [naIn] : N ein nein [naIn naIn] = N âone noâ in German.

10 [ten] : ten = âhaveâ in Spanish + tN.

2) Examples of interpretations

Mother, father, brother, sister =[âm^D&r âbr^D&r] = -3.

M + other + fa = âhe doesâ in Italian + bR [ber] ver = âto seeâ in Spanish + other + si = âyesâ in Spanish and Italian + ist = âisâ in German + [&r] â heure [CR] = âhourâ in French.

Free school called home. = - 5Â°

= freeze cool called old cold + (= au = âat theâ in French) + home.

One two three four. = 0

= without H it wonât be too tree for air.

Easy to do.

[i:zi tu du] = 3

it is easy to sit on this sit where you can see the sea + 2 + du [du:] (âyouâ in German) + do + doux dâou dâoÃ¹ [du du du] (âsoft from or + from whereâ in French).

Each one possesses its own style of communication, but some meanings being contradictory within one expression, we can choose to underline some of them by the written and/or phonetic context. Moreover it could be judicious to marry the languages which countryâs names bring some supplementary senses :

Come on itâs not so far. = 2.

= (= quâ = âonlyâ in French, this country name partially spelled in French could become fREnch [fEren$] = fair + en {= âinâ Spanish} + chez in French), so overall, weâve got = âonly in fair fromâ) + komm [k%m] (to come in German = âkommenâ) + homme [%m] (= man in French) + home + Mo (= [Emo] = aime mot(s) = âlove word(s)â in French) + money + oÐ½ [on] (âheâ in Russian) neat on eat it is not naughty (no T) knot Not [no:t] (= distress in German) + note of + Italian fa + fahr [fa:r] (âto driveâ in German = âfahrenâ) + sofa so far + phare [faR] (âlighthouseâ and âlampâ in French).

He talks about the bad weather by the past, and explains his belief in teaching. = 1 + 15 = 16

= he + ÑÃ³Ð»ÑÐºÐ¾ [tolka] (= âonlyâ in Russian) toll out of a cab, bad way sir, buy the path + stA = [steI] = stay, index plain is bull leaf fine + ä¸ [it$] (= âoneâ in Japanese) each + itch + hitch.

This week is filled. = 6

= this weak wick, kiss, feel viel [fi:l] (= âplenty ofâ in German) fils [fil] (= âthreadâ in French) + fee + fient fis [fi fi] (= âthey trusted + I/you didâ, without their pronouns in French) + number six => sentence filled of âIâ.

To close that pathetic door, you know that. = -1+ 0 = -1

= took hook, clothe hat, at path attic door + dâor (= âof goldâ in French) + German Ohr + or you nose at.

Because the boat of hundred feet of length still operate now. = [bI'kAz D& b&Ut Av h^ndr&d fi:t Av le1(k)T Ap&reIt stIl naU] = 7 or 8 ?

= Spanish vi + cause + causent eux, osent bottes [koz G oz& b%t] (= âthey talk, dare bootsâ in French) of fun off un- + (D [de] spelled in French + red =) dare + head aide (= âhelpâ in French) + fit feat it still steal steel + âstiel still stilâ (= âstalk calm styleâ in German) + o (= or in Spanish) + fell hope air rate eight ate = 8 (number of the rate).

The army has begun there. = 1

= arm (= âpoorâ in German) arm harm arm me, the army, big gun un-, in the air at the second floor.

Take the steering wheel. = 4

= T ([te] in French like tes = your {+ plural}, or tâes = you are) + ache + steer + ST (which spelled in French [Este] could mean âesteâ = âthis oneâ in Spanish) + ear + will (modal/want) + wheel (could symbolise 0 or O).

= you will take the wheel (proper and figurate), listen because you have acheâ¦

This mill makes good flour. = 2 [tu:] (= to)

= The smile ill + M ([Em] = aime = âloveâ in French) + Ã®le il (= âisland heâ in French) + il (= âtheâ in masculine in Italian) + the millâs meal may in may + goÃ»t dâ [gu d] (= âtaste ofâ in French) + flower [âflaU&r] (exactly the same English phonetic as flour).

During the game, make it with proficiency. = 3 + 9 = 12.

= Dur (= âhardâ in French) ring, the gay aim may + ma (= âbutâ in Italian) + [ki t] (by spelling the âTâ in French weâve got = qui tâes = âwho are youâ in French) + we + P (= [pe] spelled in French, so it could give : [pE] = paie = âpayâ in French + [pER] pÃ¨re = âfatherâ in French, perd = âlooseâ in French, pair = peer in French, [âpero] pero = âbutâ in Spanish + fit [fi] = made in French => but the father peer lost the made + (un- + si = âifâ in French => not if.

The tale of the fine daring sheep which bit a knee on a beach =17.

= the tale of love, the tail of the sheep [$i] + fine = âthinâ in French + fine (ticket) dare ring + written dar = âto giveâ in Spanish + cheap [t$i] cheep [t$i] / chip [t$Ip] / ship [$Ip] + which + beat [bi:t] a bit [bIt] beet [bi:t] + French nis nid [ni ni] = âdeny nestâ + ni = âtwoâ in Chinese and Japanese + knee on a â eux = âthemâ in French = > the knees + bi (two) + beech [bi:t$] + *** [bIt$].

From the plane it could seem invisible =12.

From homme = âmanâ in French + home the plain (obvious) plane (tree) plane (map) neat could + coude [kud] cou = âelbow neckâ in French + seem + cime [sim] = âpeak, topâ in French + in V + vise [viz] = âaim atâ in French + I + bL [bEl] (L spelled in French) = beautiful on the feminine gender + twelve = to L + V spelled in French = [ve] â [vE] = vais = âI goâ in French.

They said that the camera saw the suite without the mattress = 8.

[esE] = âtestingâ in French + sed sed sede [seD seD âseDe] = âbe thirst seatâ on the second person of plural imperative present in Spanish + s'aide = âhelp him/her/itself or themselvesâ in French + head + camera = âbedroomâ in Italian + saw (tool) sweet with how T the M at + matt mat (dark carpet) + Ð¼Ð°ÑÑ [mat] = âmotherâ in Russia + tress.

Close ! The weather would provoke some leaks on the vice = -2 + 2 = 0.

Close [kl&Us] (near) close [kl&Uz] (end) clothe [kl&UD] + weather whether (either) wether (sheep) ['weD&r 'weD&r 'weD&r] wood PRV âOKâ some lick [lIk] leek [li:k] + weiÃ weiÃ [vaIs vaIs] = âknow whiteâ in German + vice (instead of) vice (fault).

At the bottom we can see the child = 4.

At the bottom + homme beau Ã´te bottes [%m bo ot b%t]= âbeautiful man removes bootsâ in French + weak week see the shield [$i:ld].

The police in the centre = 5.

a = = eux (them in French) => here a singular article (for a subject) is used with the plural conjugation of the French spelling of police : [p%lis] = also polissent = they âpolishâ + seen scene + cÑÐ½ = âsonâ in Russian + sin = âwithoutâ in Spanish + sin + the [&s] â [^s] âusâ + enter.

3) Applications

3.1) Board game

With the help of this technology, everybody can play a game which for a given question, accepts several answers. In case of litigation it will be sufficient to record the playâs minutes to overrule competitors. The winner is the first who has his answers right in the imposed theme, while respecting the exact phonetics or spelling of the language used.

Of course the different possible themes are not quantifiable : "country => associated lexical fields", "country = > elements of this country" (rivers, mountainsâ¦) for beginners, and then "country = > capital", "country = > presidentââ¦

Example : âWe can add an additional destination in our travel.â

The player answers : âOh no, itâs hot, awash and deserted.â

Thanks to the underlined link, the answer could allow the player to play again, and his movement is defined by the following sum :

[&U n&U it s hAt &'wA$ Gnd dI'zU:tId] = +3.

The board is round, players win a certain number of points. The different slots of it represent the themes, and the use of homonyms must be expressed solely by the player who is the master of his movement.

Examples of question :

Itâs well on donât go in this district.

=> Because itâs belongs to the barbarian you knighted king, domestic problem it is.

Where can I rush a pursued man ?

=> Over there are moss, cows and nobody to find him.

Did you see his pain ?

=> Yes he was the mad reader.

3.2) The languages school

The languages school is intended to become a didactic software including a data base regrouping the maximum languages. This new type of dictionary is going to become necessary to communicate as described in the first chapter. Moreover itâs a pity that no actual dictionary groups all whatâs essential together : the tonic accent and phonetic of every words (conjugated verbs), all definitions with the maximum multilingual translations, reseach of proverbs, the whole with a phonetic and written research key, and a link for any bilateral update on the Internet.

After the launch of the application, a customizable menu will propose the following choices :

- Translation / Definition

First it will be necessary to choose an origin language and a certain number of destinations with the help of an unwinding menu. Then the interface will adopt the outgoing language that will remain in memory.

To get the definition and translation in the wanted languages, enter a part of a word or any phonetic in the interactive window, or select a term from the list of outgoing language, automatically updated in real time, according to the level of the letters previously entered.

Example : the user will enter in the first column âlighâ and select "light", so the columns of right will let appear the words of the languages translated.

Search English French German

ligh | Light: n â¦ Clair : adj â¦ Erleuchtung : nf ...

Lighten : v â¦ Leger : adj ... Leuchte : nf ...

Lighter : n ... LumiÃ¨re : nf â¦ Licht: nnâ¦.

By selecting a second time one of the words appeared, its definition will be displayed then on full screen in its language. With phonetic and followed by synonyms.

Then two options will be available : come back on the previous page thanks to the history of the software, or select the word in progress so it becomes the word to translate of the outgoing language.

Rechercher FranÃ§ais Anglais Allemand

LumiÃ¨re LumiÃ¨re : nf â¦ Light : n â¦ Erleuchtung : nf

Lighten : v â¦ Leuchte : nf â¦

Lighter : n ... Licht: nnâ¦.

The user will be able to modify the languages columns at any time :

Search English French Spanish

Light Light: n â¦ Clair : adj â¦ Genio: nm ...

Lighten : v â¦ Leger : adj ... Luminare: nm ...

Lighter : n ... LumiÃ¨re : nf â¦ Luce: nf ...

Phonetic example :

Search French English German

lu | Loup : nm. Lubricant : n, adj ... Lud: v ...

Louable : adj ... Lubricate : v â¦ Luder : nn â¦

... â¦ â¦

It will be also interesting to be able to find examples of a pronunciation, getting a list of all words containing for example /A/.

- Translation of texts and expressions

The application will be able to interpret some expressions according to the context, even also translate any whole file, and eventually add a tool bar in texts softwares, in order to assist document writes.

Besides an option "Sentenceâs totals" would be put up-to-date in real time, according to the selected communication codes (12 maximum).

It will depend on the flexibility of the software to give the spoonerisms, anagrams and palindromes or any other hidden meanings of words.

Otherwise, a system of multilingual lexical fields printing, with possibilities of any adaptation on poster format, wallpaper or a worldâs map with one word per country, could be proposed.

To provide the most possible complete application, a speech recognition mode is also to study.

A camera (on glasses) scrutinizing the reader's eyes could permit the navigation after focusing the look of the user.

- Coding functions

* Define some communication codes

To create a code as in the chapter one, enter the wanted languages and a variable defined part of the alphabet letters, the application will propose a viable solution.

Some other encryptions could be available like the for instance the replacement of the whole letters by others in a text, with possibility to send the code grid by e-mail.

* Recover a code

In keyboarding or joining a text, the application would be able to extract all possible codes used by the creator, with or without a given public encryption key.

Re: The strange case of the hidden conditional.

CalifJim — Fri, 19 May 2006 21:54:57 GMT

Actually this division into two tenses (Past and Non-past) is not at all unconventional. Many linguists and writers on language have observed of English (especially since we use the present to express the future so often, and since we cannot express the future with a grammatical ending, but must use the modal "will") that it really has no future*. ()

CJ

*Also a joke. "to have no future" is an idiom for "will never amount to anything", "will never be a success".