English Language Learners

I agree, too!

(I'm agreeing with myself. Yay!)

Anonymous

3:36 PM

I agree with your agreement!

@snailboat yesterday after I said goodbye and was gone to bed, it occurred to me. I forgot to ask you what all pets do you have other than snails? Actually I am interested to know :-) And your snail has generated some curiosity inside me ever since I saw the picture of its eating bananas :-D

Anonymous

@Man_From_India Right now I only have snails. In the past, I've had land snails, water snails, hermit crabs, frogs, newts, hamsters, gerbils, ferrets

Anonymous

Oh, I really like rodents of all kinds!

Anonymous

When I was younger, my dad had a pet dog

Anonymous

And I've always been around cats, but I've never had a pet cat of my own

3:48 PM

rodents? even rats? :-O

Anonymous

Rats are lovely! Domesticated rats

Anonymous

They're cute and intelligent

Stuart Little type? ;-)

Anonymous

is this a wallpaper from Internet or it's your pet?

Anonymous

3:50 PM

It's from the internet. I don't have any pets except snails right now

Anonymous

I don't have any rat pictures that cute

ahh yes you already mentioned.

Anonymous

I have lots of pictures of my pet rodents, but they're mostly physical photographs from when I was younger

Anonymous

I don't have them on my computer

Anonymous

I do have a few hamster pictures :-)

3:51 PM

can i download that picture of your snail eating bananas that you shared here?

because i feel it is too cute :-) and wanna show my friends

Anonymous

@Man_From_India Yes! Please feel free :-)

ohh thanks :-)

Anonymous

My avatar on Stack Exchange was this picture of Bean for a long time:

Anonymous

3:53 PM

what is that? the dark one?

Anonymous

That's a hamster! She was a girl hamster

Anonymous

She was very active :-)

Is it as naughty as Jerry? ;-)

Anonymous

Oh, well, hamsters will do all sorts of things if you let them!

I think a hamster is bigger than a mouse

Anonymous

3:54 PM

A hamster broke my brother's car

:-D

Anonymous

Yes, a hamster is a little bit bigger than a mouse, but smaller than a rat

broke? :-O how?

Anonymous

My brother bought a pet hamster from the store, and they put him in a cardboard box, which my brother put on his car seat and drove home

Anonymous

During the drive home, the hamster chewed the corner of the box and escaped into the car!

Anonymous

3:56 PM

He climbed up behind the glove compartment and got behind the dashboard, and he couldn't get the hamster to come out!

Anonymous

The next day, the hamster had chewed a tunnel through the passenger seat

Anonymous

And chewed apart the cassette adapter for the CD player

Anonymous

And it used old receipts to make a nest behind the car stereo

Anonymous

So my brother started taking the car apart to rescue the hamster

Anonymous

3:57 PM

ha ha ...oh my god!!! naughtier than Jerry, I guess. Jerry needs some provocation from Tom, but this one is different :-D

Anonymous

Here he is, hiding in the steering column... :-)

Anonymous

ha ha...yes spotted it

Anonymous

3:58 PM

And here he is, safe and sound!

coming after dinner ;-)

Anonymous

Yeah, my brother eventually lured him out with food!

Anonymous

But the hamster chewed some wires behind the dashboard, and the car wouldn't start!

Anonymous

When I was little, I trained a hamster to climb up and down stairs

Anonymous

I'd hold lettuce above the hamster, and it would reach up, and reach and reach and eventually try to climb up the step, and I'd give it lettuce as a reward

Anonymous

4:01 PM

And before long, the hamster was trained to climb up and down stairs on its own!

Anonymous

And one time, the hamster escaped and got loose in the house

Anonymous

And we'd see the hamster running around downstairs, and then the next day, it had made a nest upstairs inside a drawer on some plates!

Anonymous

But I usually try my best not to let hamsters get to anywhere that could be dangerous for them

Anonymous

You can set up a safe area for them and let them run free, though :-)

Anonymous

I love hamsters.

Anonymous

4:03 PM

They're some of my favorite animals.

4:19 PM

:-) sounds too naughy, but cute

Anonymous

We have twenty redwoods here, and multiple families of squirrels living in them

Anonymous

So I see squirrels every day :-)

Anonymous

They aren't domestic, of course, and I can't keep them as pets―they live outside and do their own thing

but squirrel can be trained...i have seen one feeding a squirrel from his own hand...and that squirrel is not his pet...it came from a tree outside :-)

Whenever I see squirrel I can remember Chip-n-Del :-) you know that cartoon?

Anonymous

Oh, well, you can do that to lots of animals

Anonymous

4:24 PM

But you shouldn't

Anonymous

There are exceptions, of course

Anonymous

If a squirrel is hurt and will die without help, then nursing it back to health is an act of kindness

Anonymous

@Man_From_India I do! :-)

Anonymous

Chip and Dale

Anonymous

(It's a pun on the name Chippendale)

Anonymous

4:26 PM

Some of my good friends used to keep birds as pets, but I've never had pet birds

Anonymous

They seem like very noisy pets!

I used to see all these cartoons a lot in my childhood..good old days!!!

Anonymous

Yeah! I remember that, it was a long time ago for me :-)

yea...now a days it's not aired in any channel here....even I tried to find some old cartoons of Disney in some reputed DVD stores over here...but they seem to have no idea about those cartoons :-O

too surprising...but those are some of the best cartoons made ever, IMO

Anonymous

Oh, yeah, there were shows from my childhood that were never released on DVD that I'd like to see again someday

Anonymous

4:30 PM

Someday it may all be available on the internet :-)

If at all the content is preserved...

Anonymous

Oh, that's a good point, too

Anonymous

I've heard they lost a bunch of the old episodes of Doctor Who

Anonymous

(I haven't really seen that show, but people talk about it all the time)

Anonymous

I need to find a question for a third bounty

4:31 PM

But some of them are available in youtube, that is a relief...i wish kids these day can grow up watching these kind of innocence cartoons

5:17 PM

H e l l o !

hi @Hanaa

Anonymous

Ｈｉ　ｔｈｅｒｅ、　Ｈａｎａａ！

Is it just me, or is the font really different?

I'm at another computer, and I'm not used to this keyboard layout. I hit \ several times when I wanted to press the Backspace key.

Oh, what a nice conversation we have up above. :D

@snailboat I know the pseudo-cleft sentences. All I knew is that when the fused relative clause has do as the main verb, the to is optional as in All he did is (to) copy the answers from the reference books. For other verbs in pseudo-relative clause, the to is needed.

Is the last line correct?

While snailboat isn't here, I will say that it's correct. :-)

5:25 PM

thanks @DamkerngT.

You might want to wait for snailboat's confirmation. :D

But I have not got good text on that

Do you mean you couldn't find similar sentences when you searched for it?

This machine is very good, but I don't really like its keyboard.

I haven't checked CGEL, because I can't go through the pdf I have :( no hard copy :(

i haven't actually searched for it.

In any case, when in doubt, you can always use to there. I'd say it's safer with to.

5:29 PM

that is correct :-)

Freddy

Hello everyone :-)

Hello!

Q: "All you should do is [infinitive]" vs "All you should do is to [infinitive]"

How r you @Man_From_India?

Anonymous

I started a bounty on a related question

Anonymous

4

All you should do is study hard All you should do is to study hard Is the one with to correct? When should I use to like that?

word-usage

Anonymous

5:34 PM

@DamkerngT. I thought I would try to match Hanaa's spacing by using wide characters :-)

I just finished installing Flash Plugin. Going to restart my browser. See you in a jiffy.

Anonymous

When you have Japanese input, you can type ｗｉｄｅ　ｃｈａｒａｃｔｅｒｓ

What do you mean by pseudo-cleft?

I am fine @Hanaa..thanks for asking

Anonymous

Ｊｕｓｔ　ｔｙｐｅ　ｓｔｕｆｆ　ａｎｄ　ｈｉｔ　Ｆ９

5:35 PM

Wlcm

@snailboat

Is this stc correct?" We have three quizes tomorrow"

I'm back.

@snailboat Nice. :-)

Anonymous

A pseudo-cleft is a particular type of copular clause

Anonymous

It has a free relative clause (or "fused relative") on one side, which introduces a variable x

Anonymous

And the other side specifies the value of this variable x

Anonymous

> [What I want] is [a new car].

Anonymous

5:39 PM

The variable is "what I want"

Anonymous

The value of this variable is "a new car"

A-ha

Anonymous

Pseudo-clefts are generally reversible:

Anonymous

> [A new car] is [what I want].

Yes i got it

Anonymous

5:42 PM

The term "cleft" refers to splitting a sentence in two and focusing an element:

Anonymous

> Snailboat ate all the cake.　　→　　It was snailboat who [ate all the cake].

Anonymous

Pseudo-clefts look similar, but they aren't real clefts

Anonymous

Many of them can't be related to "unclefted" sentences

Anonymous

> [What I like about it] is [that it's so compact].　　←　　＊I like about it that it's so compact.

Anonymous

(CGEL p.1020)

Anonymous

5:44 PM

So we stick the pseudo- label on the name.

The verb to be is between the two clefts as i see

Ohh that is a good point...if it is reversible the to should be a must. But only for fused relative where do is the verb, the to is optional. Isn't that starnge?

In all the examples

snaiboat must have her hands full now. There are two questions waiting in line. :-)

he he :-)

Anonymous

5:45 PM

Yes, that's right, be is always present in these constructions

Yes

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. Sorry, my description of pseudo-clefts took a while :-)

That's all right with me. I enjoy observing at the moment. :-)

N I C E!

I couldn't believe that only a small change in my keyboard layout could have this much impact!

Now I have to read what I type before hitting Enter, because I often miss the Backspace and Del keys!

A: Which is correct - "Assume..." or "Assume that..."?

5:49 PM

How about the stc i have asked about @snailboat?

Anonymous

@Man_From_India When a subordinator precedes the matrix verb, it's usually non-omissible:

Anonymous

3

If you're adopting a relatively formal written style, especially an academic style, it makes sense to choose to include that. But it is not required by the rules of grammar. In examples like yours, that is a subordinator marking a content clause. It lets the reader know that the clause they'...

Anonymous

The infinitive marker to is a subordinator

Anonymous

I haven't thought through the whole to thing, though

Anonymous

Maybe that's not relevant here …

Anonymous

5:52 PM

@Hanaa Which sentence is that?

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. Are you using a new keyboard?

Anonymous

My backslash key moved when I bought this keyboard.

Anonymous

Now it's the same place it is on a Japanese keyboard.

We have three quizes tomorrow

@snailboat I finally give up (for this moment) and decide to use the best machine I have. But I really don't like this keyboard.

Anonymous

5:53 PM

@DamkerngT. Oh no!

Anonymous

Maybe you can swap keyboards :-)

I think this PC can open maybe 4000-5000 tabs just fine. :-)

@snailboat The problem is this one uses USB and the other one uses PS/2.

Anonymous

Oh, I see

Anonymous

"We have three quizes tomorrow" was the sentence

Anonymous

Apart from the spelling error, it seems fine

5:54 PM

You can buy a good usb keyboard

Anonymous

It's spelled quizzes

@Hanaa I'm thinking about it! :-)

It doesn't cost much

I think I'm more familiar with the layout of Logitech keyboards. This one is Genius.

Anonymous

I recommend getting one with Cherry MX Blue switches :-)

5:55 PM

looking that up...

Wait, why the first link is Cherry MX Blue Sound Test!

Anonymous

Possibly because mechanical keyboards are somewhat loud!

lol

Not like the tactile ones

Oh, when I was working with the team from Frankfurt, me and them really enjoyed smacking the keys loudly. Click-a-clack-smack-smack!

Hhhhh

5:58 PM

Cherry MX Blue brings back some good old memories. :D

Onomatopea there!

Yes!

A L L O @snailboat

@snailboat I will see it tomorrow :-) I am tired :( going to bed...good night :-)

goodnight all!!!

Happy night

6:00 PM

Good night!

@snailboat Is it typical that Cherry MX Blue will come with no key labelled?

Anonymous

@Hanaa Allô !

Anonymous

@Man_From_India Rest well, Man from India!

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. You can get blank keyboards.

Anonymous

I mean, you can get blank keyboards with that type of switch.

Oh, it's customizable, then.

Anonymous

6:02 PM

I think most of them usually have labels.

Anonymous

There's a blank one here: daskeyboard.com/daskeyboard-4-ultimate

It looks like the layout I'm familiar with.

Anonymous

Thanks, autocorrect :-)

@infinitesimal LOLROTF!

Even the autocorrect watched the game!

6:04 PM

Beast is the nickname of the running game.

Anonymous

Oh, is it?

Anonymous

"Beast mode" is a common bit of internet slang

Anonymous

I haven't heard it in a football context before

I think the context was just newly made earlier today. :-)

Anonymous

This discussion made me wonder if it was originally from football

6:05 PM

@snailboat . is this stc correct? " We have three quizes tomorrow

Anonymous

@Hanaa Like I said earlier, it's fine except for the spelling of quizzes

They call football teams from the east coast the beast from the east.

Anonymous

Hey, they're poets!

In the last 20 seconds of the game, it was the 2nd down and one yard to the end zone, and the QB decided to throw!

It was to stop the clock

Anonymous

6:08 PM

Oh! How exciting!

Says the coach.

But they got 2 TOs left, iirc.

Anonymous

That must be "time out"

Yep!

So you were correct@DamkerngT.

6:08 PM

@Hanaa I know I was correct. :-)

Anonymous

Oh! What are we talking about?

Hanaa and I were debating if We have three quizzes tomorrow is okay.

@DamkerngT. achieved the native like proficiency

Anonymous

Congrats, Damkerng!

@Hanaa Nah, I know it's easy to tell that I'm a non-native speaker.

6:11 PM

It is easier yes

Wow! Das Keyboard is serious about keyboards!

I guess that what German folks do.

(They smack their keyboards, like a lot, so keyboard must be very important to them. :-)

Hhhhhhh

Oh, my German friends call this keyboard smacking activity "hacking". :D

Lo!

Anonymous

English doesn't have a future tense, strictly speaking―it's possible to talk about future events with or without will

Anonymous

6:14 PM

And it's possible to talk about non-future events with will

Anonymous

Will is a modal auxiliary

Anonymous

One of its main uses is to indicate future time

A ha

Anonymous

See What's will? on Language Log for some discussion

Language Log has everything about English!

Wow, they name their keyboard: Bad Ass 4!

What a name!

Anonymous

6:17 PM

@DamkerngT. That's slightly embarrassing, but ... :-)

What does it mean?

It means the person who uses it must be a really, really cool person.

A bad ass guy.

Embarrassing?

Anonymous

Well, I wouldn't want to tell people I had a keyboard with that name!

Ah, embarrass is easy to find in dictionaries.

@snailboat I think I wouldn't feel embarrassing. :D

Anonymous

6:18 PM

True. Embarrassing is actually a separate word, a derived adjective

Anonymous

Although it can also, of course, be the -ing form of the verb embarrass

"What keyboard are you using?" "Bad Ass, you know." <-- proud :-)

Ass means stupid?

Hmm... I don't think so.

It's kinda difficult to explain. :D

Q: What is a polite substitute for badass (used as a noun)?

So no need to do :d

Anonymous

6:20 PM

Huh. This got closed:

Anonymous

0

Badass and BAMF are both modern words with approximately the same meaning: "Someone who is awesome to an extreme level, thereby leveraging unquestionable authority." Is there another noun or title that would convey the same level of awe, admiration and toughness that calling someone a badass does...

single-word-requests nouns phrase-requests slang offensive-language

Anonymous

I wonder why

What!?

> badass: The epitome of the American male. He radiates confidence in everything he does, whether it's ordering a drink, buying a set of wheels, or dealing with women. He's slow to anger, brutally efficient when fighting back.

> urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=badass

> (warning: offensive language is likely)

Anonymous

A badass can also be female

Anonymous

And it can be used to describe an action or event

6:23 PM

> The badass is an uncommon man of supreme style. He does what he wants, when he wants, where he wants. You won't find him on facebook, myspace, msn et cetera because he is probably out being cool somewhere.

I laughed so hard on that!

"You won't find him on facebook, myspace, msn, etc."

@snailboat Agree.

Hhhhhhhhhhh

Cool got a new meaning today

I'm not sure if interjecting cool is still cool nowadays.

But I think Cool! is still in use.

That i have not known before

Anonymous

Cool is perennial.

Anonymous

It's now used by speakers of all ages.

6:26 PM

See, I missed my keys again.

Ahh

Oh, a machine with 8GB RAM is this pleasant!

BGB TAM=?

8 gigabytes of memory (usually called RAM, which stands for Random-Access Memory).

Is that space enough fr u!

?

More than enough. My old one has only 2GB.

Congratulations!

6:33 PM

Oh, actually 3GB. I added an old memory bank to it to make it a bit more powerful.

Thanks!

Yes

And the CPU usage is rarely above 5% here. Wow!

Yes

Testing another keyboard. This one is wireless.

Hey, the feeling is quite good!

A ha

6:59 PM

The first language is acquired unconciously. Is this stc clear and correct?

Anonymous

Apart from the spelling error, it's okay. I can't tell if the is appropriate without context, of course.

Anonymous

"One's first language is acquired unconsciously."

Ok

7:42 PM

All have gone

My smart mobile can not see who is here!

@DamkerngT.

Anonymous

There's me, you, Damkerng, and infinitesimal

Thank u @snailboat

@Hanaa And now I'm back here. :-)

Anonymous

Welcome back!

Yes

7:51 PM

I went out trying to get XMBC up and running on Banana Pro. Looks like it won't work very well. I gathered that the software is not in good shape yet.

I'm gonna try Android 4.2 instead. Just to test wi-fi and SSD. (My plan is to run it on Bananian.)

Anonymous

XBMC runs fairly well on our Haswell box

Is Bananian a software?

@snailboat It runs really well on Raspberry Pi, too!

Anonymous

Yay!

@Hanaa Yes, it's a variant of Debian.

7:54 PM

And what is XMBC?

@snailboat There are Banana Pi and Banana Pro. I think I made a wrong choice. Software for Banana Pi seems to be more stable.

@Hanaa It's media center software. If you're interested, try searching for HTPC.

I am really illetrate in this domain of softwates

I bought one Raspberry Pi and one Banana Pro. Raspberry Pi is for fun, and Banana Pro is for office use. (Or at least that's the plan.)

@Hanaa It's all right. Nobody knows everything. I don't know a lot of other things. :-)

Yes u r right

I like to know about psychology

Psychology could be fun.

Anonymous

7:58 PM

@DamkerngT. Ahh, I don't know much about those

Anonymous

I have only a vague idea from, well, from hearing you talk about it :-)

Fun?

Hehe!

Anonymous

@Hanaa It's okay. There's always more software, so no one ever knows about all of it.