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

Re: Article usage: proper noun and uncountable noun correspondence?

Cool Breeze — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 08:57:58 GMT

1. It may be unwise to say that something can be done to all proper nouns in English because there seem to be so many exceptions to every rule. However, using a and the with proper nouns in certain contexts is normal. The of-genitive - or of structure - or whatever you prefer to call it often requires the:

the England of my dreams

An adjectival attribute is a common reason for a:

We saw a sad George Bush on television last night.

He wants to live in a different England.

2. The names of cemeteries are not listed in grammar books as requiring the. Moreover, it is normal that if a name is made up of a proper noun plus a common noun, no article is used:

Gatwick Airport, Oslo University, London Bridge, Westminster Abbey

Re: South Ossetia. Whose fault? - poll

Dominik — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 13:47:49 GMT

>The author is either historically illiterate, or purposely frogot of the other claches.

Donald Rayfield is Professor of Russian and Georgian at Queen Mary (University of London). He is the author of a number of books, including The Literature of Georgia: A History (1994/2000) and Anton Chekhov: A Life (1997), and various articles. He is currently leading a team compiling a Georgian-English dictionary. He has just been awarded an OBE for Chekhov: A Life and for his work on Russian history.

The other articles are written by different authors.

Here you can find out more about the roots of the conflict:

The Georgian - South Ossetian Conflict

Looking for some tips and/or curriculum suggestions

mikesusangray — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:50:11 GMT

Hi all!

I've been giving English conversation lessons to a theology professor for about a year now. He's getting on in the years - a couple years from retirement - and his primary goal has been just to get his spoken English going a little stronger. His mother tongue is French but he's been teaching at a German language university for many years.

I'd like to add some more specific inputs to our lessons but I can't seem to find the right material. His passive skills are excellent - he reads widely and with perfect comprehension in his field - and he can communicate quite understandably. He is a linguistics specialist and can grasp any concept about the language immediately. I brought along Cambridge Advanced Grammar in Use and he could plow through a chapter in five minutes with perfect conceptual comprehension.

However, he also continues to make very simple errors - for example, he has trouble choosing between present simple and continuous or often uses the present tense for past events. Sentence order tends to get wander hither and yon while definite and indefinite articles come and go with the tide. (Prepositions are a problem too, but I won't beat him to hard there - prepositions are difficult in any new language.) In many cases his mistakes are typical of French or German speech patterns.

One other limitation is that he enjoys the weekly lessons (a good hour), but doesn't have much time to study in between.

Right now we spend about 15 minutes reading a chapter from Advanced Grammar in Use and about 45 minutes talking about just about anything under the sun, while I take notes and show him problems under the categories Pronunciation/Articles & Prespositions/Word Order/Other Grammar/Vocabulary/Idioms. However, I don't think the work book is a good choice - particularly since he doesn't do the homework - and it seems like he isn't making very good progress with his typical problem patterns - though he greets them like old friends when I point them out.

Any tips here?

Re: Alternately vs. Alternatively

Mr Wordy — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:38:02 GMT

Cool Breeze
Then I checked Webster's and according to it "alternate" can mean the same as "alternative":

Different people have different opinions on this, so you pays your money and you takes your choice I guess. Here are a few (randomly Googled) definitions that agree with my position:

San Diego State University Style Guide (http://bfa.sdsu.edu/editorial/section2.htm):

"Alternately" means one after the other, in time or space. "Alternatively" means one instead of the other.

"250 Often Confused Words" (http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/confused_words.html):

Alternately means "taking turns": We paddled alternately so neither of us would get too tired.
Alternatively means "as an option": Instead of going by train, we could have gone alternatively by car.

"Easily Confused or Misused Words" (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0200807.html):

Alternately is an adverb that means in turn; one after the other: âWe alternately spun the wheel in the game.â Alternatively is an adverb that means on the other hand; one or the other: âYou can choose a large bookcase or, alternatively, you can buy two small ones.â

Re: Please help me with my motivation letter , please its urgent

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 23:17:50 GMT

Hi,

I think the best way to approach this is to break it into 3 sections; why this subject; why you; and are you interesting and unique. So, I'd definitely expand on what you've got - I'd probably aim to write 1 - 2 pages of properly spaced A4. The most important thing to remember is that this may be your only opportunity to sell yourself to the admissions tutor. And it's also worth bearing in mind that itâs a double edged sword â while a great supporting statement will impress, a poor personal statement will damage your chances of success.

Why this subject? Ideally you should sum up your feelings for a subject in a short, snappy sentence. You need to really capture the reason why you are interested in the subject.

Why you? You will need to show that you would be a good student and are suited to the subject you have chosen.

Are you interesting? What experiences have you had that would bring something extra to the university community

This is just a brief answer to your question. Check out this interesting article on writing university supporting statements.

---
Daniel

Re: Please help me with my motivation letter , please its urgent

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 22:49:27 GMT

Re: W is a vowel

Kooyeen — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 18:47:39 GMT

I agree with those who say there could be several definitions.

Considering letters. Vowels: A E I O U (so W is not included here)
Considering sounds. Vowel sounds: all those in the IPA vowel chart. (so W is not included here either. "The" is pronounced "thee" and the article "a" becomes "an" before vowel sounds of this kind, so say "a wall" and "a university")
Considering sounds more broadly. I think dark l's (as in "wall"), r-colored schwas (as in the last syllable of "powder"), w-sounds and y-sounds ("wall", "year") can all have some points in common with vowels. That's why some people often consider W a semi-vowel.

In general, I usually don't consider W a vowel, for several reasons. Here's some that came to my mind:
the end - the winner <-- does not behave like a vowel when considering some changes in pronunciation
an oar - a war <-- does not behave like a vowel when considering those articles
at all - at work <-- does not behave like a vowel when considering tapped t's

That said, it's just my opinion, and there are lots of other different definitions of vowel that make sense.

Re: article dilemma

CalifJim — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 02:16:43 GMT

I would like to find a job in a (no 'a'?? No. You need "a".) university/school/church/camp. -- if I am thinking in terms of a distinct university, not necessarily the building, can I use 'a'? No. eg, A university next to my store is one with rich history. Sounds very strange. You need The university ... Otherwise, it sounds as if you are saying "One of the (possibly many) universities next to my store ..."

#1 line of hospital tapes -- I think the word 'tape' is uncountable, not variable, and it would seem unlikely to be made a plural without a good adjective or context. The change to the plural tapes here indicates "kinds of tape". A "line" is a series, a variety of different kinds of tape.

The types of jobs favored by people living here are professor, computer programmer, and driver. -- no article OK before the words professor, computer programmer, and driver? Right. No article is good.

Typical definition of a word: An *** is a small box with a microphone which is connected to a ... -- what difference would it make if written as "An *** is the small box with a microphone which is connected to a ... It would not make much difference. Sometimes a change of article doesn't make a lot of difference. Nevertheless, it would sound as if you were saying "An *** is the small box -- you know which box I'm talking about -- with a microphone which is ...". And that would seem a little strange to most speakers of English. It makes the definition lose its generality, which is what we normally want in a definition.

article dilemma

Anonymous — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 01:44:36 GMT

Hi,
Please tell me what differences the inclusion or exclusion of articles would make.

1. I would like to find a job in a (no 'a'??) university/school/church/camp. -- if I am thinking in terms of a distinct university, not necessarily the building, can I use 'a'?
eg,
A university next to my store is one with rich history.

2. #1 line of hospital tapes -- I think the word 'tape' is uncountable, not variable, and it would seem unlikely to be made a plural without a good adjective or context.

3. The types of jobs favored by people living here are professor, computer programmer, and driver. -- no article OK before the words professor, computer programmer, and driver?

4. Typical definition of a word: An *** is a small box with a microphone which is connected to a ... -- what difference would it make if written as "An *** is the small box with a microphone which is connected to a ...

Re: A sequel to an article before a gerund question

Avangi — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 23:38:48 GMT

<<I think making instances (that is "separate occurances") is what has been done for these sentences I copied>>

I agree.

This is not official, but to me, where the object of "playing" is uncountable, then so is "playing." "I spent the afternoon playing checkers."

Where the object is countable, then so is "playing." This is the fifth time he has played that damned record. I can't possibly sit through a sixth playing.

a playing of cards for money in an outhouse, would be an occurance, or an incidence of playing.

I find playing Chopin's nocturns on the piano to be very relaxing. Uncountable. On each playing of the fifth nocturn, I improve very slightly. Countable.

While Chopin's nocturns are clearly countable, the playing of them in general is not. It's like eating potato chips. The chips are countable but the eating of them in general is not. But you could refer to a particular occasion on which you ate too many as an excessive eating of potato chips. This would be opposed to "the excessive eating of potato chips," which would be habitual.

At universities where the dining room cannot accomodate the entire student body, they sometimes have what is called "a second sitting."

Best wishes, - A.