Search results for 'tag:Sentence structures tag:Literature' matching tags 'Sentence structures' and 'Literature'

Re: had decided that I have / had decided that I had

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 14:29:20 GMT

Mkyol wrote:

1) "My mother had decided that I have talent in language and literature, and opened my eyes to them."

2) "My mother had decided that I had talent in language and literature, and opened my eyes to them."

Which one is correct? The thing bothering me is 'I had talent' somehow feels like "I had it but now I don't", kind of idea, but in the context of the sentence structure this is not what it means, right? (I'm thinking 2) is correct)

In the sentence, there is something about "talent," "language," "literature," and "them" that sounds awkward. Should them be it?

My mother had decided that I had talent [in language and literature], and opened my eyes to it.

Re: had decided that I have / had decided that I had

Doll — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 13:59:13 GMT

My try:

1) "My mother had decided that I have talent in language and literature, and opened my eyes to them." --- Grammatically wrong sentence.

2) "My mother had decided that I had talent in language and literature, and opened my eyes to them."-- This is okay.

The thing bothering me is 'I had talent' somehow feels like "I had it but now I don't", kind of idea, but in the context of the sentence structure this is not what it means, right? No, I can't make the same comment. I think such an information wasn't given in the sentece.

had decided that I have / had decided that I had

Mkyol — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 10:34:36 GMT

1) "My mother had decided that I have talent in language and literature, and opened my eyes to them."

2) "My mother had decided that I had talent in language and literature, and opened my eyes to them."

Which one is correct? The thing bothering me is 'I had talent' somehow feels like "I had it but now I don't", kind of idea, but in the context of the sentence structure this is not what it means, right? (I'm thinking 2) is correct)

My mother had decided that I have talent in language and literature...

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 10:33:18 GMT

1) "My mother had decided that I have talent in language and literature, and opened my eyes to them."

2) "My mother had decided that I had talent in language and literature, and opened my eyes to them."

Re: Please help me proof it. Thanks

Cheese1987 — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 04:39:46 GMT

Julielai wrote:

Some parts in red for you to fix

Cheese1987 wrote:

Thank you!

Account of the recent language learning experience and insights gained through the course both inside and outside of class

      I have learnt some useful skills in the course in these months.(incomplete sentence) The most impressing (missing three letters) lesson teach me how to write a composition in an (article) appropriate (sp.) style. I do know it is important to choose the appropriate style and tone when writing. I also understand that language style can be classified as formal, neutral and informal before. However, I do not know how I can write in an appropriate style correctly. The skills are not taught when I am in secondary school. After the lesson, I understand choice of vocabulary, sentence structure and grammar, use of transitional words and phrases, use of punctuation and use of abbreaviations and short forms affect the language style. I feel happy that I know how I can write in an appropriate style now. I believe that I can match the type of writing more correctly and therefore, my writing will _not__ _be__ (Insert words here) awkward or unnatural.

      Reading English newspapers also helps me to improve my English. I am not used to reading English newspaper before. But I am required to buy South China Morning Post from the courses. From then on I try to make reading South China Morning Post to be my daily routine. I find that it is an effective way to learn more vocabularies. It also helps me to broaden my horizon(Review your use of not only but also) Now I read South China Morning Post form Yahoo. So I can read South China Morning Post everyday. I deeply believe that South China Morning Post is worth reading.

Personal changed feelings/opinions/attitude towards English language learning

    I am convinced that English language learning are stressful and frustrating before. I feel nervous when everyone is focus on me and when teacher is listening carefully. I believe this feeling comes from my self- doubt. I think classmates are step ahead of me. I also cannot correctly pronounce some sounds and sets of sound. To be frank, I have thought that English is no more important because I am in Chinese Language and Literature Programme. I no need to improve my English anymore.

However, my friends told me that mastery of the English language is important. Hong Kong being a service - oriented economy, the advantage of having a competent English-speaking work force has become all the more improtant. I know that being a Chinese Language and Literature student is only an excuse to avoid learning English (You shouldn't think like that! Nothing wrong with being a Chinese major.). This thought only badly affects my interest and progress of learning English. I do know that if I lose the interest of learning English, my English cannot improve anymore. I need to find some ways to prevent feeling so embarrassed.

     There are ways for me to prevent feeling so embarrassed. I think the most practical way is to improve English. I should study English continuously. When I find some words that I cannot pronouce, I will check the electronic dictionary immediately. I will also try to speak English with my friends. I believe I can speak English fluently if I often do that. My friends can also kindly point out my grammatical mistakes. They will not laugh at my absurd mistakes. Therefore, I will not feel embarrassed anymore.

Personal Learning Plan

Long term goals:

a)         To get a C grade in Use of English in Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination

b)        To get a band score of 7 in IELTS

Short term goals:

a)         To finish all the exercises in Advanced Grammar in Use.

b)        To keep reading South China Moring Post and Hong Kong Standard

c)        To write compositions

Materials to use:

a)         Advanced Grammar in Use Exercise book

b)        South China Morning Post

c)        Hong Kong Standard

Activities to engage in:

a)         To join some workshops held by ITC

b)        To exchange oversea in Summer

How often:

a)         Doing 3 exercises everyday

b)        Reading Newspapers everyday (Look up the difference between "every day" and everyday)

c)        Writing a composition every 2 weeks

Mode of learning:

a)         Keep doing exercise and composition

b)        Keep reading newspapers

Mode of assessment:

a)         To sit for Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination.

b)        To sit for IELTS.

Re: Please help me proof it. Thanks

julielai — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 22:06:53 GMT

Some parts in red for you to fix

Cheese1987 wrote:

Account of the recent language learning experience and insights gained through the course both inside and outside of class

     Some useful skill I have learnt in the course in these months.(incomplete sentence) The most impress_ _ _ (missing three letters) ~~me is the~~ lesson teaching me how to write a composition in a (article) approicate (sp.) style. I do know it is important to choose the appropriate ~~and~~ tone when writing. I also understand that language style can be classified as formal, Neutral and Informal before. However, I do not know how I can write in an approriate style correctly. The skills are not taught when I am in secondary school. After the lesson, I understand choice of vocabulary, sentence structure and grammar, use of transitional words and phrases, use of punctuation and use of abbreaviations and short forms ~~are a critical issue~~ affect~~ing~~ the language style. I feel happy that I know how I can write in an approiate style now. I believe that I can match the type of writing more correctly and therefore, my writing will ~~be avoided to regard as~~ ___ ___ (Insert words here) awkward or unnatural.

      Reading English newspapers also helps me to improve my English. I am not used to reading English newspaper before. But I am required to buy South China Morning Post throught the courses. From then on I try to make reading South China Morning Post to be my daily routine. ~~I find that not only vocabularies I can learnt more , but also the horizon I can borden.~~ (Review your use of not only but also) Now ~~when the days I cannot received Newspaper from the lesson,~~ I read South China Morning Post form Yahoo. So I can read South China Morning Post everyday. I deeply believe that South China Morning Post is worth reading.

Personal changed feelings/opinions/attitude towards English language learning

    I am convinced that English language learning are stressful and frustrating before. I feel nervous when everyone is focus on me and when teacher is listening carefully. I believe this feeling comes from my self- doubt. I think classmates are step ahead of me. I also cannot correctly pronounce some sounds and sets of sound. To be frank, I have thought that English is no more important because I am in Chinese Language and Literature Programme. I no need to improve my English anymore.

However, my friends told me that mastery of the English language is indispensible. Hong Kong being a service - oriented economy, the advantage of having a competent English-speaking work force has become all the more improtant. I know that being a Chinese Language and Literature student is only an excuse to avoid learning English (You shouldn't think like that! Nothing wrong with being a Chinese major.). This thought only badly affect my interest and progress of learning English. I do know that if I lost the interest of learning English, my English cannot improve anymore. I need to find some ways to prevent feeling so fear and embarrassed.

     There are ways for me to prevent feeling so embarrassment. I think the most basical way is to improve English. I should study English continuously. When I find some words that I cannot ~~ensure to correctly~~ pronouce, I will check the electronic dictionary immediately. I will also try to speak English with my friends. I believe I can speak English fluently if I often do that. My friends can also kindly point out my grammatical mistakes. They will not laugh at my absurd mistakes. Therefore, I will not feel embarrassed anymore.

Personal Learning Plan

Long term goals:

a)         To get a C grade in Use of English in Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination

b)        To get a band score of 7 ~~marks~~ in IELTS

Short term goals:

a)         To finish all the exercises in Advanced Grammar in Use.

b)        To keep reading South China Moring Post and standard

c)        To write compositions

Materials to use:

a)         Advanced Grammar in Use Exercise book

b)        South China Morning Post

c)        Hong Kong Standard

Activities to engage in:

a)         To join some workshops held by ITC

b)        To exchange in Summer

How often:

a)         Doing 3 exercises everyday

b)        Reading Newspapers every day (Look up the difference between "every day" and everyday)

c)        Writing a composition every 2 weeks

Mode of learning:

a)         Keep doing exercise and composition

b)        Keep reading Newspapers

Mode of assessment:

a)         To sit for Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination.

b)        To sit for IELTS.

Please help me proof it. Thanks

Cheese1987 — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 16:41:16 GMT

Please help me proof it. Thanks!

Account of the recent language learning experience and insights gained through the course both inside and outside of class

Some useful skill I have learnt in the course in these months. The most impress me is the lesson teaching me the skills to write a composition in a approicate style. I do know it is important to choose the appropriate and tone when writing. I also understand that language style can be classified as formal, Neutral and Informal before. However, I do not know how I can write in an approriate style correctly. The skills are not taught when I am in secondary school. After the lesson, I understand choice of vocabulary, sentence structure and grammar, use of transitional words and phrases, use of punctuation and use of abbreaviations and short forms are a critical issue affecting the language style. I feel happy that I know how I can write in an approiate style now. I believe that I can match the type of writing more correctly and therefore, my writing will be avoided to regard as awkward or unnatural.

Reading English newspapers also helps me to improve my English. I am not used to reading English newspaper before. But I am required to buy South China Morning Post throught the courses. From then on I try to make reading South China Morning Post to be my daily routine. I find that not only vocabularies I can learnt more , but also the horizon I can borden. Now when the days I cannot received Newspaper from the lesson, I read South China Morning Post form Yahoo. So I can read South China Morning Post everyday. I deeply believe that South China Morning Post is worth reading.

Personal changed feelings/opinions/attitude towards English language learning

I am convinced that English language learning are stressful and frustrating before. I feel nervous when everyone is focus on me and when teacher is listening carefully. I believe this feeling comes from my self- doubt. I think classmates are step ahead of me. I also cannot correctly pronounce some sounds and sets of sound. To be frank, I have thought that English is no more important because I am in Chinese Language and Literature Programme. I no need to improve my English anymore.

However, my friends told me that mastery of the English language is indispensible. Hong Kong being a service - oriented economy, the advantage of having a competent English work force has become all the more improtant. I know that being a Chinese Language and Literature student is only an excuse to avoid learning English. This thought only badly affect my interest and progress of learning English. I do know that if I lost the interest of learning English, my English cannot improve anymore. I need to find some ways to prevent feeling so fear and embarrassed.

There are ways for me to prevent feeling so embarrassment. I think the most basical way is to improve English. I should study English continuously. When I find some words that I cannot ensure to correctly pronouce, I will check the electronic dictionary immediately. I will also try to speak English with my friends. I believe I can speak English fluently if I often do that. My friends can also kindly point out my grammatical mistakes. They will not laugh at my absurd mistakes. Therefore, I will not feel embarrassed anymore.

Personal Learning Plan

Long term goals:

a) To get a C grade in Use of English in Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination

b) To get 7 marks in IELTS

Short term goals:

a) To finish all the exercises in Advanced Grammar in Use.

b) To keep reading South China Moring Post and standard

c) To write compositions

Materials to use:

a) Advanced Grammar in Use Exercise book

b) South China Morning Post

c) Hong Kong Standard

Activities to engage in:

a) To join some workshops held by ITC

b) To exchange in Summer

How often:

a) Doing 3 exercises everyday

b) Reading Newspapers everyday

c) Writing a composition every 2 weeks

Mode of learning:

a) Keep doing exercise and composition

b) Keep reading Newspaper

Mode of assessment:

a) To sit for Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination.

b) To sit for IELTS.

Re: Is American English lazy English?

Anonymous — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 12:47:04 GMT

sorry to revive this discussion if it has already been past expiration, but i think not nearly enough has been discussed about this subject. I must warn anyone i usually have an indirect and evasive way of writing or speaking, so please forgive me if i lack coherence. Also my grammar is not very conventional, but in fact, i communicate strictly for effectiveness (if i had a choice, i'd rather be a philologist - a lover of words than a linguist - a scrutinizer of words). I am not an expert at language like i imagine many others in this board are, but i am a keen observor and i believe in what i am about to explain with enough conviction to give a go at it. I have noticed that Americans are indeed very lazy with their speech. I have been raised all my life in America, and as i am learning more and more literature, i am becoming more and more appalled at this laziness. Americans write their literature properly and effectively (at least to meet ends), but their speech is far shallower and the greatest tragedy is americans are unable to express deep feelings with the use of more sophisticated sentence structure and vocabulary (ill try to explain later). English has about 500,000 or so words in the dictionary, but Americans (at least here in California) unfairly neglect a huge portion of that library. In fact, its especially the most sophisticated and rich words (often latin) words that are unused. Sure, it is better to use the simpler words instead of the more complex in any given situation, but it is sad when the more intricate and sophisticated word is not used when appropriate and the speaker is unable to communicate effectively. Please, before my fellow Americans dismiss me, please understand that it is sad for me as someone Pakistani in nationality and an urdu (you must realize that urdu ultimately evolved from Sanskrit) speaker, to see how people of my nationality can convey emotion (especially love) with so much more affection because of proper use of language, wheras Americans are unable to compete in conveying emotion. How do they lack this? Americans, at least here in California, firstly, speak at a relatively sluggish speed and have difficulty forming coherent well structured sentences. WHen they do attempt to form a well structured sentence, their speech contains many breaks as the speaker tries his best to figure out the next word they will use in the sentence. During these breaks they will often say "um" or "ah". They will do this many many times when you speak to them. This is why they often prefer "small talk" and i know this is used in other languages, but its overuse has reduced it to banality in american speech. "Went to the store, checked it out, ran back, was like "dang", and then i never went back". THat previous sentence is how a person described a visit to the store to briefly check something (notice how much detail is emitted in this common speech). That previous sentence can be spoken with fast speech and is communicated effectively enough to describe the incredibly shallow details that the speaker cares (or rather, cares little) enough to express. However, if an American describes technical information in proper format they will stumble and experience many breaks and, again, take notice how slooowly they speak and how difficult it is for them to form proper sentences and how many times they say "um" or "ah" within sentences. And you wonder how we produce a President Bush! Actually, there are many people that speak like him. The problem with him - in spite of his many sentence breaks and difficulty in forming well-structed sentences - is that he speaks too much like ordinary Americans! And what need am i of evidence of ordinary Americans speaking in this manner - come here to California and speak to these otherwise normal, perfectly intelligent people! No, dont read what they write on the boards, or how they speak on televised speech, come and converse with everyday Americans.

Is it perhaps that americans are complacent and therefore avoid use of eloquent language (except in linguist circles and in literature) because they simply "dont feel like it". No, because there are times that admist this decay of language, when Americans like any other individuals must also convey strong emotions through expression. Perfect example: courtship. It is such a pity to watch "Jerry Maguire" and see Tom Cruise in his speech during the climax of the film, in which he displays the pinnacle of human empathy in Hollywood film. It was in his desperate attempt to bring back his wife that he must express to her how greatly he loves her. I dont remmeber the details, but you've all seen that movie. He stumbles upon words trying to express the love he has for his wife- sure he is certainly not nearly as eloquent or enchanting as romeo, but it is a pity that he is reduced to merely saying this: "you complete me" and that was the pinnacle of American romance film and far more than enough to win back the heart of his wife. Sure maybe the whole romantic aspect of that scene was the fact that he was unable to express himself. But i am focusing merely on that whole problem of stumbling and being unable to express oneself with langauge to begin with (and it also bothers me why that is considered the peak of romance films set in post modern times - you would expect some other romance to exceed this standard, but they rarely do), which has poisoned and pervaded everyday American speech. Americans within their families and among loved ones or most sadly, in courtship, are unable to express emotion effectively and stumble in this aspect. They are unable to use express the weight of their emotions through the right sophisticated vocabulary or proper sentence structure becaues that very same weight translates into sentences of length and complexity too much to bear for the everyday American. And so they begin stumbling and speaking very slow when they are poised to express themselves deeply. In similitude, it really is like an impotent and invirile man trying to mount a lady of most luscious beauty - no matter how bravely he climbes he is unable to surmount the mountain of his affliction and deficiency and reach his most lovable desire. The similitude is a case of pity, but in contrast, the case for americans is not only a pity, but it is a shame. Sure, comparing to my own sanskrit derived language is an unfair standard (as we all know, indian film is infatuated with its own adeptness in expressing love) for communicating emotion, but surely a lot of the luster of English language has been lost in the United States by oversimplification in everyday speech. Or do you not understand? Go ahead, ask a common American to describe how they feel about someone they love - be it kin or spouse, etc - and see if they can explain with nearly as much eloquence as common speakers of other languages (i already know Americans do not even compare to urdu and hindi speakers, and i am far more advanced in english than urdu).

Old dialects (LOTR)

JohnElbek — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 16:06:46 GMT

Hello everyone.

I wish to further explore the type of english and dialect used in LOTR and in the fantasy genre such as Warcraft. I know Tolkien had his own particular way of writing but i've seen similar
sentence structures in medieval literature as well. Is at all possible to talk about a certain period where this type of english was used? I am refering to sentences such as: "The hour of wrath is drawing near..." and "It has come to pass that..."

I am fully aware that the english language has been subject to many influences and that the structure of a phrase could come from a variety of other languages. English is my 2nd. language and I do not know an awful lot about the history of the english language. I am intrigued by the way LOTR and other books in this genre is written. It's uncommon and can be very poetic. I would really appreciate it if someone could direct me to any relevant literature.

Thank you.

Please help me check these two thesis abstracts on linguistics about Hakka

Nightstalker — Sat, 11 Mar 2006 03:36:53 GMT

My high school Chinese teacher asked me to help her translate these two abstracts from Chinese into English. I have finished, but I need to correct them into better English. Please help me. I have to give my teacher the translation. She helped me quite a lot while I encountered the most unfortunate fate in high school days, so I wish I could help her in return. Please help me check one of these two if you have time.

1. Abstract

This study aimed at the morphological comparison of Hai-Lu Hakka and Southern Min including speech sounds, morphology, grammar and culture. The following is the content of this study:

Chapter One Introduction: Presenting the research motive and research method, etc.

Chapter Two Literature Review: Revealing the importance of research in bi-dialects.

Chapter Three The Relationship of Hakka and Southern Min: This chapter presented the overview of historical background, geographical distribution and social contact of the Hakka and the Southern Min.

Chapter Four Phonological Comparison of Hakka and Southern Min: This chapter examined the rules of code-switching and the history of the phonological evolution of both dialects.

Chapter Five and Chapter Six were the morphological comparison of the classification, number of syllables, the composition and the word order regarding Hakka and Southern Min lexical words. It was the hope to find the unique feature words of Hakka and Southern Min as well as those that revealed the linkage of the two dialects.

Chapter Seven Syntax Comparisons: This chapter discussed the dynamic aspect of words as they turned into sentences, including discussions on aspectuality and sentence structure.

In addition, Chapter Eight probed further into lexical items in terms of culture, focusing on the classical words, words with âmaâ, the forbidden words and the borrowed words and the way they reflected the culture.

Chapter Nine Conclusion: this chapter presents the conclusion of this study and suggestion for future research.

This study looks forward to a more rising research attention regarding the languages of Taiwan enabling the development of Hakka and Southern Min to move from the state of co-existence to the common good in this new century.

Key words: Hai-Lu Hakka, the comparison of Hakka and Southern Min, bi-dialects, the languages of Taiwan, morphology

2. The Morphology of Hakka Gender Word âmaâ and the Cultural Interpretation

Abstract:

Language is the symbol of culture. When a dialect has a word that is rare or even unfound in others, this word is considered precious for it often reflects the unique culture of this dialect. Such a word was found in Hakka. It was the gender word âmaâ, which was unusual in other dialects but was habitually used in Hakka as a feature word. On the basis of the research of this study, âmaâ was used with at least eighty Hakka lexical words. This study examined the usage of the lexical words with âmaâ; first, the semantic relationship and morphology of the word âmaâ was discussed before probing into the cultural implication for its extensive use in Hakka. The goal was to uncover the various complicated semantic relationships. This study discovered that âmaâ had as many as 15 lexical combinations and at least 9 extended meanings. It should be noted that in some combinations âmaâ were considered affixes while in others they were only quasi-affixes. In addition to âmaâ, discussions of other gender words in Hakka such as âkungâ, âkuâ and âpoâ were also included in this study.

The conclusion of this study was that Hakka had a particularly rich gender affixes and it was highly likely to be the results of general personification or deification of the Hakka. Based on the word âmaâ, the unique characteristics of Hakka culture was also revealed to a certain degree.

Key words: Hakka lexical words, feature words, affixes, gender, ma

Note: âma(old lady or granny)â, âkung(elder man)â and âpo(old lady or old woman)â can be shown using the original character and transliteration such as "ma(å«²)". They are the gender affixes for words in Hakka or Southern Min such as âgingerâ, âThunder Godâ and ârocksâ, etc.