Search results for 'tag:Sentence structures tag:English grammar' matching tags 'Sentence structures' and 'English grammar'

Re: Real/unreal conditional

Cool Breeze — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 09:55:35 GMT

Hi MrP

Now that I look at the original poster's sentences again with more time at my disposal, I realise that it's the past participle been that I don't like. My ear tells me it's the wrong verb:
'If the storm is moving as quickly as the meteorologists say, it should have been here by now.'

I think the sentence would improve considerably if we replaced been with, say, arrived:
'If the storm is moving as quickly as the meteorologists say, it should have arrived here by now.'

I find that perfectly correct English. What does your educated native ear say? Should + the perfect infinitive have been to me denotes a state of affairs, not action, and my ear objects to this perfect infinitive have been coupled with by now.

Whether you agree or disagree with me, I must say English grammar is a very fascinating field of study and I enjoy reading your erudite analyses of sentence structures.

Cheers
CB

Re: ways to imrpove my english

Goodman — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 18:26:55 GMT

Friendshipz wrote:
hi all, i am from singapore, currently studying in polytechnic, in other terms if i am not wrong, it is called a college.

i came from a chinese speaking family,where i speak chinese all the time at home which makes this one of the main reason why i am not fluent in english, back in high school, my result for english langauge is always at the bottom of the class.

just about 1 years ago, i tired to shove up my foundation in english language by reading through some online source and forum.
eventhough people had advised me that the best solution to improve this language is by reading newspaper and story book, however, i felt very reluctant to do so.

i visited forum like animesuki that allows me to actively participate in some dicussion and at the same time, i will pick up some words that i did not understand the meaning.

i am very new to this forum since this is my first post, from now on, i will be glad that you guys here can help me in the journey of learning english language.

if possible do give me some suggestion and advice on what should i do to improve this language, something which is very entertaining at the same time. i am not looking to write queen language,just want to write and speak well in english.

side note: i have been learning japanese for the past 1 year, i am currently learning both of them at the same time.

From the same background as your, I also had the same experience. I had said it many times, here and other forum, English is particularly hard for Asian learners for the simple fact that our own language is not made up of alphabets and spoken very differently in terms of tongue and jaw muscle movement and pronunciation. Additionally, English grammar works nearly entirely opposite from ours. That said, itâs not completely impossible to learn and master written and spoken English. There are several critical elements learners must have in order to achieve the goal. Itâs a long commitment and one must have perseverance, determination, patience, and the what-ever-it-take attitude. You canât have a thin face or fear of people laughing at your accent or grammar because if you do, chances are you will be discouraged to practice or use what youâve learned. If we have these requirements established, we already won half the battle. The other half is to maintain constant English exposure to our ears and eyes, meaning listening to good radio programs, watching TV programs like Discovery or The History Channel etc, and reading good English materials. The more we are exposed to English, the more our senses get accustomed to the sound and sentence structure and thus our subconsciousness is reprogrammed to function in English. The most difficult part to non-native Asians is spoken English and speech patterns. I used to spent 30 minutes a day practicing my speech by repeating after TV program narrators or commentators. This allowed my tongue and jaw muscle to develop and adapt to the correct pronunciation and intonation. Thatâs my own experience and how I developed my English skills. It may not be an orthodox approach for others. But it sure worked for me. I hope this helps you as well.

Is this business writing????

BermanIJr — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 14:51:59 GMT

I have until Wed. 09/28/2005 to submit this letter in for a grade. Can somebody please check my grammar or offer any suggestions on how to make it sound more business-like?

There seems to be two distinct types of English styles: creative and business/professional. I tend to excel in creative writing; however, I falter when it comes to writing business and professional correspondence. In my opinion, business writing is often cut-and-dry; however, this style is concise and at the same time effective. My style of writing, on the other hand, is more descriptive and imaginative. In other words, I never get to the point. As a creative writer, I can often avoid using the rules of grammar and composition and still write an interesting story. In the business world, such an avoidance of grammar and punctuation rules can be detrimental to a personâs career. By the same token, in todayâs job market, the likelihood of maintaining a career without a firm understanding of the fundamentals of English grammar and composition is slim to none. This conclusion is what prompted me to want to take your course. I want to have a career one day, preferably in human resources management. I must be able to communicate effectively if I am ever to attain a career in this field.

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I am positive that this class will be instrumental in making my goals and dreams a reality. Equally important is the fact that you really bring the material to life. Your ability to combine humor in your lectures is a talent that is rarely experienced in todayâs educational institutions.

I think my present communication skills are fair. I have a natural ability to formulate smooth flowing sentences. I can sometimes create an almost poetic sentence structure by using the right words at the right time. Trepidation is an example of one of the many words I enjoy using. What I do not enjoy is finding myself using the word as an adjective instead of a noun. My speaking skills, on the other hand, alternate between very articulate to extremely inarticulate. My ability to speak well is determined by the kind of day I am having or the amount of sleep I had the night before.

Currently, I am not employed; however I do not expect this situation to be permanent. When I graduate with a degree in human resources management, I am positive that my one-in-a-million personality will be that rare quality employers are always looking for in potential employees. I also have a solid professional background in front office operations and management. A degree, good personality and relevant work experience will make me a triple threat to my competition.

My activities are limited to watching movies with friends and spending hours in front of the mirror trying to make my hair perfect. I once heard somebody say, âProgress, not perfection.â When it comes to my hair, I have to disagree.

Re: help me up with easy english grammar.thanks

Mister Micawber — Mon, 01 Aug 2005 05:49:10 GMT

You remember 'S-V-O', don't you, Vincent-- the most common basic sentence structure? I am speaking of 'O', the object of the verb. Take the sentence,

The armadillo ate the damsel fly.

The subject is armadillo, the verb is ate and the object of the verb is damsel fly. It is the damsel fly which suffered the effects of the verb, so it is the verb object.

Re: Sentence Help (Commas and Verbs?)

xSTALLiONx — Fri, 03 Jun 2005 21:32:14 GMT

Thank you! I'm slowly working on my English grammar skills so I might have other questions about sentence structure in the coming days.

Need a help about English Grammar Book

kehiltonus — Fri, 11 Mar 2005 06:48:07 GMT

Need a help to finding BEst English Grammar Book!!
I'm new student, came from Vietnam to USA..now i'm taking HighSchool but i got some problems with English Because i forgot alot about English Grammar and Sentence Structure.
So Brothers, please advise me some Best Book for Re-taking English Grammar easily,fasterly, successfully and economically:-P or :p.Thankyou bros

Contrary-to-Fact Conditional

spoonfedbaby — Sun, 05 Sep 2004 19:40:45 GMT

I read in my English grammar book:

I would have been (past conditional) happy if he had come (past perfect).

I read in a novel a sentence structure that I never encountered but it is similar to the contrary-to-fact structure:

James wondered absently how different his life might have been had he found his way to such a place when his mother had died, rather than ending up in the â¦

Is it equivalent to the following?

James wondered absently how different his life might have been if he had found his way to such a place when his mother had died, rather than ending up in the â¦

I would say "might have been" is the past conditional and "had found" the past perfect.

Help me!

eternity — Thu, 05 Feb 2004 19:38:02 GMT

I moved to romania...and i applied for a customer service job in a private american company here. And instead they gave me a job as English Grammar teacher. Ok its on thing to speak the language all your life...but to teach it...i have no clue what im doing. They all know english..its basically getting them to learn the proper sentence structure and grammar use.
if someone can help me with ideas on how to teach english grammar as a second language and how to improve the speaking to make the accent minimal...please please help.