By Translation, Nouns

Hello Hela, yes, it's nice to see you too! I'm not posting here much at the moment, because my pc is defective; but I hope to be re-kitted-out shortly... If I say that you're harping on about X, I mean that you are obsessively talking about X, in an irritating and excessive way....

Good evening, Mr P, nice to read you again. I often ask questions on the site but you seem not to have seen my posts What's the meaning of "to harp on about something" then? How would you use it?Best regards,Hela

LOL, that's what happens when you don't have the slightest idea how to express a certain concept in another language. Dictionary, direct translation... total nonsense. That's why I believe every learner should use a monolingual dictionary "for learners", where everything is...

Yes, it's possible but it changes the meaning. Use the definite article where the noun is already known to the listener/reader or has been introduced in a prior sentence.

The problem with non native speakers could be because of the translation from their native languages. It could also because of the fact that most of the non native speakers think in their native languages when they have to speak and try to put words in english that would be of close match. If we...

Hi everyoneI just wondered if anyone could help - I have to write a profile of a chinese learner of English (completely made up). In it I must put any difficulties that the learner has in learning English as an L2. I have got so far:Intonation transfer from L1 may cause them to be perceived as...

I am a french native speaker and I study translation (english to french). I have a text to translate and I have to clarify something about the use of the adjective in this "sentence": ... the first round of extensive physical examinations and lifestyle interviews that they would...

That lesson cost me almost a hundred dollars They first settled here almost 75 years ago or Almost 1000

Long sentences are not wrong in themselves but very complex structures are probably best avoided until you are really fluent. They tend to be used for more formal writing and care needs to be taken that they do not become confusing for the reader. It's more a style issue. Actually, looking again...

Thank you. I'm determined to take your advice. But one more question. Is long sentence absolutely needless? I just searched on google, and found that almost 99% say it should be avoided. If that's the case, why I frequently encounter huge sentences when reading and translating? Such as in...