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Anonymous
00:19
@DamkerngT. Different linguists define modality differently, but that does seem like a pretty decent definition.
06:02
@snailboat That confusion about determiner is clear now :-) thanks ....
 
3 hours later…
09:12
@snailboat Yes. It looks quite good and it makes things a lot clearer.
By that definition, used to and dare wouldn't be modal verbs, I think.
1
Q: "What is it like?" vs "How is it to?"

MinecraftShamrockThe German language (my mother tongue) does not offer different question words for asking for an adjective and for an adverb. In both cases Wie? is used which literally means How? in English. This raises some difficulties for English question sentences: Is my assumption right, that for adverbs h...

Interesting.
My first idea: adjective vs. adverb
And a bit about the choice of verb.
Provably copula verbs make the difference.
Good afternoon, @Man_From_India!
Good afternoon @DamkerngT.
Now watching Dark Knight :-)
Cool!
Dark Knight Rises?
Yes that one :)
I like Nolan's movies.
His scripts are superb.
09:28
Oh btw yesterday's discussion helped me a lot. I read today morning a lot, and corrected my previously written answer that was wrong on some parts. Corrected it today :-)
1
A: 'Such [something/someone]' OR 'Such a [something/someone]' -Any diference?

Man_From_IndiaThe word such is used as a predeterminer. (Not concentrating on other uses of such, because they are not relevant here) When it is used as predeterminer, we use a/an after such. We can also use such as a single determiner, without the need of any other determiner, such as a/an following it. ...

This one, previously I thought such can also be used as a postdeterminer. But that is plain wrong. It's only a predeterminer as Macmillan Dictionary says.
I haven't read CGEL so I don't know how they classify pre- post-determiners.
Traditionally, determiners and predeterminers should be enough.
No this one is taken from A Comprehensive Grammar of English Language. I don't think CGEL classify it that way. Not very sure, I didn't read that part in CGEL.
Oh, I mixed them up!
Quirk et al.?
09:36
:-) ACGEL and CGEL :-)
@DamkerngT. Ah right...
@DamkerngT. A German translation might be helpful for the OP, I guess in this case.
nods -- Could be. I'm not sure how different the two languages are in this respect.
So generally to ask for an adjective, the What is ... like form is used? Or could I also say How is the car that is twice as fast as our old one?MinecraftShamrock 11 mins ago
How is the car that is twice as fast as our old one? -- "In perfect condition." maybe.
Hmm seen that...
I can't remember anyone from our chatroom users who is a German.
If anyone was there, he could help here :-(
09:52
Some of ELL users can speak German. I think it can be answered without the answerer having to know German, though.
0
Q: Does this sentence sound natural?

Gerson These classes have been my only opportunity to speak english. Does this sentence sound natural to native English speakers? If not, how can I correct this sentence? Thanks.

It's interesting that the OP asked "Does this sentence sound natural?" but then asked "If not, how can I correct this sentence?"
But it sounds like OP is not very sure about the use of how and what.
I think they think of "grammatical" and "natural" as the same thing.
@Man_From_India nods -- Me either. I can't explain why I choose to use What's it like sometimes and How is it some other times.
Hmmm without context is in place of have been sounds better to me. But op's sentence is grammatical.
Brb
10:01
room topic changed to Language Overflow: Random thoughts about language, language learning, learners, and their language (no tags)
10:15
Hi! @DamkerngT. How are you?
I'm okay. How are you?
I am bit confused. I am great, thanks.
I am going to send you a question. My answer was right but I couldn't find the reason why it was right.
Please visit the link.
Question number 3.
Answer is: Indian industry on fighting pollution.
Why we are using on as we always use the preposition "on" after the word "invest".
Hmm...
The preposition "in"*
Have you understood? What I want to ask.
Yes. I understand it.
Well, how should I put it?
First of all, how do you know that you can trust that site?
10:23
I have to as the answer is there. But does the answer also sound odd to you?
Maybe in Indian English, it's supposed to be on. I don't know.
Okay. What your view on it?
It looks like the site conflates spend on with invest in.
Okay.
> A. In a report issued by Indian Statistical Institute, B. the Iron and Steel Industry is investing more than any other C. Indian industry in fighting pollution. D. No error. - See more at: theonlinetestcentre.com/spotting-errors12.html#3
> Answer: Option C
Explanation: Indian industry on fighting pollution
- See more at: http://www.theonlinetestcentre.com/spotting-errors12.html#3
10:27
Checking.....
Oh!
It's your site.
No!
I was just giving the exam.
I am preparing for a government job.
10:28
But that was a nice joke, How can I maintain that kind of website?
I am just a learner.
So, do you think that was a wrong answer?
I think it isn't a good question.
My question or on the website?
The test.
Yes.
It is Indian English!!!
10:34
You know what, Indian population is so high and we are going to beat China soon, but point is that India is the country where people speak English more compare to other countries. So soon Indian English will get more attention!
It's widely accepted that Indian English is a real dialect.
You can say it's a good benefit of having more population.
It got touch from Hindi.
The problem is that most people who speak Indian English speak English as a second language.
nods
Good day, @DamkerngT.!
10:36
Good afternoon, @CopperKettle!
But soon it will become our first language as most of the Indian just speak English.
I wonder if the sentence "Have you been fighting again?" is natural. I've been reading about Present Perfect Progressive and started wondering.
And young generation is also following them.
nods -- At this stage, I doubt how consistent Indian English is.
I mean within the same dialect. Does it vary from one speaker to another? By how much?
@CopperKettle It sounds natural enough to me. The only thing I think we need is the context.
In India we speak same way.
10:38
@user62015 I might be good for the Indian economy, since business is so English-centered
@DamkerngT. Oh, the context I imagine is a mother looking at her two sons, out of breath and with some bruises.
But we use prepositions of Hindi when there is something which does not make sense
@user62015 I still doubt it. There are a lot of websites similar to your test website. And every one of them seems to try to impose some sort of standard Indian English.
@CopperKettle Thanks.-:)
@CopperKettle That's a good context!
@DamkerngT. But in our exams we are asked questions same way.
10:40
@DamkerngT. Thanks!
@user62015 the same way (if you don't mind my prompting, it's a language chat and stuff (0:)
@CopperKettle Thanks, I love it.
That's why I am here.
@CopperKettle correct me when you think I am wrong. I love it. I have an online exam soon as I have applied for a government job!
@user62015 Okay, @user62015-ji! (0:
@CopperKettle Thanks for "ji!". it shows you know Hindi maybe a bit.
@user62015 I've picked it from articles about Modiji
@CopperKettle Sounds good.
10:45
About Narendra Modi (0:
It's to give respect.
Yep. (0:
Where are you in India?
> A. Regretfully, profits earned by your company
B. fell by 20 per cent last year
C. despite higher sales.
D. No error. - See more at: http://www.theonlinetestcentre.com/spotting-errors12.html#2
@CopperKettle @DamkerngT. Copper Kettle ji and Damkerng ji.
> Answer: Option A
Explanation: Regrettably, profits earned by your company
- See more at: http://www.theonlinetestcentre.com/spotting-errors12.html#2
@user62015 ji!
10:46
@DamkerngT. yES.
About regretfully vs. regrettably, I believe that both are possible, even though I may opt to use regrettably too.
"Read the each sentence" - O_o
@CopperKettle Oh, I missed that! :D
A very strange test
nods
> Usage:
The adjectives regretful and regrettable are distinct in meaning: regretful means ‘feeling or showing regret’, as in she shook her head with a regretful smile, while regrettable means ‘giving rise to regret; undesirable’, as in the loss of jobs is regrettable. The adverbs regretfully and regrettably have not, however, preserved the same distinction. Regretfully is used as a normal adverb to mean ‘in a regretful manner’ ( he sighed regretfully), but it is also used as a sentence adverb meaning ‘it is regrettable that’ ( regretfully, mounting costs forced the branch to close). In thi
10:49
Maybe regretfully pertains more to the manner in which something is done. Since profits can have no regrets, it could me a minor error.
I think that's what the test seems to aim at.
"The error, if any will be in one part of the sentence." - I don't get the meaning of this, frankly. Written by a non-native user of English.
nods -- I remember StoneyB said something about "if any" -- when it can be shorten, when we are better off with "if there is any".
A few useful links on regrettably vs. regretfully:
@CopperKettle @DamkerngT. That's my problem. I read the news on Dailymail and novels which are written by American writers but when I go to face Indian exams I get confused.
@user62015 I tried to dab at InE a bit here and there. I think at its most acceptable form, it's pretty much like BrE, probably a few decades ago, mixed with some expressions commonly used in AmE.
I mean grammar-wise.
The most noticeable difference (to me) is the difference in information delivery.
But there are a wide variety within InE itself, as far as I can tell, so I'm not sure how to get a hold of it properly.
11:05
I am back.
Ah, but I've got to go. :D
Be back later.
@DamkerngT. The main difference I see is the way of making sentences.
See you soon. Bye for now. Thanks for your time.
11:27
@CopperKettle I am from New Delhi.
12:08
Got an interesting sentence from another room:
in English Language & Usage, 3 hours ago, by Justyna Nogala
The older and the handicapped people transported from Skawina were buried there within a few days.
Context aside, the usage is interesting.
Some possible choices are the old, the older, the elderly, the old people, the older people, the elderly people.
Also handicapped vs. disabled.
> Words that may cause offense: old
> Avoid saying that someone is old or elderly, and avoid referring to old or elderly people as the old or the elderly. Instead, use expressions such as older people, retired people, the over 50s/60s etc. or seniors where appropriate.
On Google Books:
"The elderly and handicapped were" 32 results
"The elderly and the handicapped were" 20 results
"The older and the handicapped were" 0 results
"The older and handicapped were" 0 results (a couple results on the web)
"The older and handicapped people were" 0 results
"the older were" 30-40 results
"the older and disabled were" 1 result
"the older and the disabled were" 0 results (1 on the web)
"the older and disabled people were" 0 results
"the older and the disabled people were" 0 results
"The elderly and disabled were" 36 results
"The elderly and the disabled were" 26 results
"The elderly and disabled people were" 1 result
"The elderly and the disabled people were" 0 results (1 on the web)
"the old and disabled were" 24 results
"the old and the disabled were" 22 results
"the old and the disabled people were" 0 results
"the old and disabled people were" 1 result
"the old and handicapped people were" 0 results
"the old and handicapped were" 6 results
"the old and the handicapped were" 14 results
"the old and the handicapped people were" 0 results
So, these are the common choices: The elderly/old and (the) handicapped/disabled were.
12:35
Hmm.
13:06
> Their happiness was not decreased by the absence of summer. They loved, and sympathised with one another; and their joys, depending on each other, were not interrupted by the casualties that took place around them. The more I saw of them, the greater became my desire to claim their protection and kindness; my heart yearned to be known and loved by these amiable creatures: to see their sweet looks directed towards me with affection was the utmost limit of my ambition. I dared not think that they would turn them from me with disdain and horror. The poor that stopped at their door were never
> Ravaged by grief and guilt, Victor retreats into the mountains. The Monster locates him, pleading for Victor to hear his tale. Intelligent and articulate, the Creature says that his encounters with people led to his fear of them, driving him into the wilderness. While living near a cottage, he grew fond of the family living there. The Creature learned to speak by listening to them and he taught himself to read after discovering a lost satchel of books. When he saw his reflection in a pool, he realized his physical appearance was hideous. Despite this, he approached the family in hopes of
13:24
@DamkerngT. So dramatic!
By Mary Shelley!
-1
Q: Would you help me with English?

nimaIf you say who somebody is talking to, use TELL: Sonia told me that you were in hospital.( not Sonia said me) Would you tell me what the following means? and would you give me some example, so that I can understand? If you say who somebody is talking to

What the what?
Tha' is the worst title I've ever seen on main sites.
It reflects one concern I have: our users may not understand our answers
> If you say who somebody is talking to, use TELL:
Sonia told me that you were in hospital.( not Sonia said me)
That should be clear enough by itself.
Well I think we've cleared up the case by Nima.
(I hope the original phrasing was better than that.)
13:33
We should make our answers as hard as possible.
He will not ask if he doesn't understand it anyway.
13:48
Hi! @DamkerngT. @M.A.Ramezani
He as well as you 1/ is tired of 2/ this long 3/ and troublesome affair 4/. No error 5
He as well as you 1/ are tired of 2/ this long 3/ and troublesome affair 4/. No error 5
Which is perfect?
The first one, if I understand your sentence correctly.
You are right, but could you tell me the reason please?
I couldn't understand so I have pasted it here to get help.
As well as you isn't part of the sentence's subject.
The verb agrees with subject, nothing else.
13:51
Okay. Made sense.
What @M.A.Ramezani said.
Hmm, @Dam what is as well as you in that sentence?
Though imho, it's the best to avoid this kind of sentence.
So when we use "as well as" in the subject it does not make any changes between the subject and the helping verb?
A parenthetical? I don't think so.
@user62015 We don't use that in the subject.
13:52
Hmm... I'm not sure about its part of speech.
That as well as has a different role of speech.
And there are more than one kind of agreement.
Okay.
@DamkerngT. Yes, but talking about that distracts it here/
So I wouldn't want to go into the "perfect" or "flawless" trap.
@M.A.Ramezani nods -- I agree.
13:54
@DamkerngT. FLAWLESS?
According to the FLAWLESS book, the second sentence is correct.
This kind of exercise must be from that kind of book.
Yeah, something junky.
No offense there @User.
Sometimes truth bites.
Okay.
So "as well as you" is not the part of the sentence, right?
So that's why it doesn't make any difference in the sentence.
13:57
It is part of the sentence, but not part of the subject.
It's part of the sentence. It's part of the subject.
@DamkerngT. Wha?
Well, depending on how you parse it.
Hmm yeah.
@DamkerngT. @M.A.Ramezani I am sorry, I meant the same thing.
13:58
He reading a book is always a pleasurable sight to see. -- I think reading a book is part of the subject.
Along the 1/ northern frontier of India 2/ is seen 3/ the Himalayas mighty in their splendour 4/. No error 5
Along the 1/ northern frontier of India 2/ are seen 3/ the Himalayas mighty in their splendour 4/. No error 5
@user62015 The omitting of many parts of speech in a sentence doesn't make fundamental changes to the meaning.
@user62015 What's that No error 5?
Second one is right? But I don't understand why?
It is kind of online test. -:)
@user62015 This sentence clicks my ear as an inversion.
@user62015 Oh you little. . .!
The phrase the Himalayas mighty in their splendour is interesting.
14:00
Ahan. There comes English - I mean @snail.
Hullo @snail. Some serious online test going on here.
@DamkerngT. Poetic.
Oooh the drama!
Good evening everyone :-)
@Man_From_India Evening!
nods -- Post modifier? I think.
Evening @Man_From_India, @snailboat!
Anonymous
The sentence begins with a preposition phrase, but this phrase is not the subject; that comes later
The first one?
Or the second one?
14:01
The Himalayas one.
Oh, the second one.
Yes. The second one.
Interesting are sentences these with lot a of structures mixed.
But why the second one?
@user62015 Two clues: Himalayas, their
14:03
@user62015 Because their.
Yeah, @Dam cluified it.
Anonymous
> The Himalayas (is/are) seen along the northern frontier of India.
I understood.
Thanks.
Anonymous
Which verb would you pick now that I've put the sentence in a more basic word order?
Anonymous
I removed one modifier
Eeeekh there's a cheesy old bollywood movie on the TV.
@snailboat I think they got it.
14:05
It's "mighty", the subject...so there should be a is. Isn't it?
@snail what about the previous question? What's the role of speech of as well as?
@Man_From_India Mighty is a copula there.
I think.
Anonymous
Ignore their and the entire modifier it appears in
Methinks.
@Man_From_India Try to read it as "the Himalayas which are mighty in their splendour".
Anonymous
Mighty is not a copula, it's an adjective
14:06
Ah got it, thanks....
Eh?
Oh.
Ah.
Ih.
Where's the U, Uh? :D
Anonymous
The only relevant word is Himalayas here
Oh that'd make a nice chemal symbol for the next element.
14:09
> He as well as you is tired of this long and troublesome affair.
as well as is a quasi-coordinator
2
Cool. WHAT IS THAT?
Ah, a good term for it!
Is it edible?
It's starrable at least.
as well as acts both as a coordinator, and a preposition.
Ahan.
That's so weird in itself.
14:12
So they called it a quasi-coordinator. :-)
Further? snailboat can help :D
For example -
> He is better than I am
than is a conjunction.
> He is better than me (or I -hypercorrection)
than here is a preposition. So than is a quasi-coordinator.
As well as as a preposition -
> As well as trying to influence the black press through the official propaganda network and through a disingenuous form of consultation, the government was exercising a third form of more direct inducement.
Gosh! What's with the disingenuous craze these days? It must be a meme.
And this -
@Man_From_India It's interesting to think of as well as as a preposition, but after thinking about it for a while, I think it's true.
> They'll add freshness, flavor, and variety to your diet, as well as increasing the productivity of your garden
@M.A.Ramezani It's probably more polite than saying you liar. (I saw an ELL question about that yesterday or the day before, I think.)
You liar.
@Man_From_India A-ha! Thanks!
I was referring to the mosquito flying around here.
@DamkerngT. Free dictionary is another good dictionary. I like it mostly because of Collins Cobuild Usage guide.
14:20
Word of the day: Involution
nods
1
Q: Why in English it is considered rude to say "he is lying"

jim3377I am foreigner and I want to describe somebody's behavior. Why in English it is considered rude to say "he is lying". Or he is liar.

@Man_From_India I mostly like it because of its games in its win8 app.
@M.A.Ramezani Haha...(I wish stackexchange had whatsapp-like emoji support :D)
@DamkerngT. This looks more like a psychological and opinion based question :D
Hehe! But I think it's true that it's generally considered rude if it's out of nowhere.
If I do wrong, and if you abuse me on my face for that, it's expected that I will not take your words other than rudely, no matter how true you are :D
I believe this is human psychology, that varies with culture and region. Yes some words can mean a bit different, though.
14:28
That's fair enough. I guess that can be the right time to use that kind of word. The other time is probably in an investigation or a trial.
My sentence ...take your words other than rudely.... is wrong, I guess....I needed to reword it in a different way.
My plain choice: I'll take your words as nothing but rude.
Anonymous
@Man_From_India That portion of the sentence looks okay (though the wording isn't particularly common)
Anonymous
True isn't the right word. Right, perhaps?
Anonymous
What languages is it not rude to call someone a liar in?
14:35
Turkish.
14:46
Hmm... take something rudely. How can we do that?
Like this.
@Dam please take my words rudely. Here you go.
I don't know how to do that!
OK, Do as the follwing:
First, repeat I'm not a robot! ten times.
On the other hand, this makes sense to me:
> It is sufficient to take away the flesh rudely, and to dry the bones together thoroughly, without separating them.
14:50
Yeah it makes sense to Jim too.
I think take someone words or something rudely may be possible, as something opposite to take someone/something kindly, but it's hard for me to imagine it.
@M.A.Ramezani haha
@DamkerngT. hmmm...I don't know how to explain it. But it does sound right to me.
nods
I think if I want to take someone's words rudely, I have to be rude myself first. Maybe that's why it's hard to imagine for me.
The opposite is easier: take someone's words kindly
or Kindly take someone's words
I mean, we can kindly/patiently/etc. take someone's rude words.
Oh, impatiently makes sense!
So we can impatiently/rudely take someone's polite words as well.
@DamkerngT. But wait snailboat said it's possible, but the wordings are not just common.
OK you're overthinking it.
14:55
@M.A.Ramezani I was just trying to make sense of the expression.
Hey guys I'm going to have you proofread something for me in a few minutes.
At this point, I agree that's it's possible, though I think it's not a frequently used expression.
Eh?
Its my meta Q.
15:07
@Man_From_India Hi!
hi @user62015
How are you?
Yes fine...thanks for asking...what about you?
I am great.
Are you from India?
15:10
Great.
Which part of it?
Currently in Bangalore.
Where r u from?
Anonymous
@Man_From_India But what a plot twist it would have been if the answer were 'no'!
@snailboat :D haha
@Man_From_India I am from New Delhi.
@user62015 Oh u r also from India :-) From capital :-)
15:15
@Man_From_India Yes :-)
@Man_From_India What do you do for a living?
@user62015 Eat :D
@Man_From_India That's the thing which everyone had to do :-)
has*
School teachers might object to your using which there, but that is not correct :D
15:42
@Man_From_India +1 :-)
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