Language Overflow

Man_From_India

00:57

@Catija I was trying to say "dreams must be like something that don't let you sleep". so can I rephrase it like "dreams must be like what don't let you sleep"/ I think the previous version with something that in it is better.

@Catija I wish I could talk with this great Ben :-)

Man_From_India

01:12

It's grammatically correct but often deleted in speech. Do a search on prepositions for more information. — Mark Hubbard 2 days ago

> I would like for you to get me that pen.

I thought it's only in conversation that we find such sentence. I mean it's very rare to use that for here other than conversation. In writing, I don't think it's used this way. Though grammatically it's correct.

Anonymous

02:05

@Man_From_India I think it would rather be the opposite. For is more likely to be missing in speech.

Anonymous

Subordinators like for and that are required in many situations and optional in others. They're usually optional when the structure of the sentence allows us to the that the clause is subordinate without a specific marker of subordination.

Anonymous

So for example, when a that-clause (expandable declarative content clause) comes before the main clause predicator (verb), you have to include that because if you don't, it looks like a main clause rather than a subordinate clause.

Anonymous

Same thing with for, really.

Anonymous

When subordinators are optional, whether it's included is a personal choice but the frequency depends on style and register.

Anonymous

02:24

@ColleenV A lot of the time it's the stuff we think of as "simple" or "easy" which is actually the most difficult :-)

toha

03:50

Hello @DamkerngT. Can You explain what is the meaning of this picture?

skill patrol

May I try?

toha

It is a please

@skillpatrol

skill patrol

You've heard about all the negativity Trump has created, right?

toha

No

What is that, @skillpatrol?

Mr. or Mrs ? @skillpatrol?

skill patrol

Trump is the American president who has created a lot of negativity towards America by trying to ban certain foreigners from coming to America.

toha

04:06

Yes

Badness

?

skill patrol

So the Eagle symbolizes the American people.

toha

Is that means, even we have so many difficulties, as a gentleman, we have to do the best?

skill patrol

Yes.

toha

Ok. I like this picture

I set it as WA profile pic

Thanks

skill patrol

Thanks for asking.

Jude Niroshan

05:04

Greetings!

anyone there?

I need a favor of writing an email to a girl

yeah. That's bit strange

skill patrol

Askaway

CowperKettle

06:46

Good noon!

I've a tense question

> Upon reaching its full capacity, the plant will have created 1700 new jobs.

Is this okay?

Can I just write "the plant will create 1700 new jobs"?

M.A.R.

07:51

@CowperKettle It's okay IMO

V.V.

08:46

@CowperKettle it's OK, up to the moment.

Anonymous

@CowperKettle Sure. It doesn't improve anything, but you can make it shorter.

Anonymous

Though I suppose it might be better with have.

Anonymous

Assuming it happens in the span of time leading up to that point.

Anonymous

Otherwise, upon implies it happens right when the plant is completed.

V.V.

When I lie upon the granite I can feel stone pressing down against my skull, the trajectory of satellites across the sky above me a slow steady pulse in time with the firing of chemical signals in my head. Can't parse the sentence, perhaps a comma is missing somewhere.

After "above me"?

"in time" is synchronous, I believe.

M.A.R.

09:19

!!greet/Atomic

Ellbot

Welcome to ELL's chat room @Atomic! Happy chatting!

M.A.R.

Or not

skullpetrol

09:38

!!time

!!wiki/time

Ellbot

Time

Time is the indefinite continued progress of existence and events that occur in apparently irreversible succession from the past through the present to the future. Time is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to compare the duration of events or the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change of quantities in material reality or in the conscious experience. Time is often referred to as the fourth dimension, along with the three spatial dimensions. Time has long been an important subject of study in religion, philosophy, and science, but defining it in...

Jude Niroshan

@DamkerngT. hi

when someone compliments me, how can i continue my conversation without losing?

M.A.R.

09:56

@JudeNiroshan Why would a compliment make you lose?

Unless it's a Jim-style compliment

Jude Niroshan

let me tell the whole story

it's just a email i send to a girl in our college

i don't know her

M.A.R.

Oh crud

skullpetrol

Conversations are not about winning or losing.

Jude Niroshan

she has replied all instead of reply

M.A.R.

Jude Niroshan

10:01

Shoot Seriously :/ hey thanks for letting me know.
that was really nice of you.

This is her reply

CowperKettle

@snailplane Ah! I see. Thank you!

Jude Niroshan

I want to reply her again and I want her to continually send emails or even go further :D

CowperKettle

> When the plant reaches it full capacity, the project will have created 1700 new jobs.

M.A.R.

@JudeNiroshan This is not a dating site ಠ_ಠ

CowperKettle

@V.V. " a slow steady pulse in time with the firing of chemical signals in my head" is a definitional phrase

Jude Niroshan

10:03

@M.A.R. damn... I just asked your help. I know that this is not a dating site. I thought any of you might help me

M.A.R.

@JudeNiroshan I was kidding

Jude Niroshan

@M.A.R. But it didn't sound as kidding to me :D

CowperKettle

Jude, find another girl. There are billions of them (although none is like Snailplane).

(0:

Jude Niroshan

@CowperKettle hahaha.... snail is even not here. Anyway she is not Japanese :p

skullpetrol

(0:

Jude Niroshan

10:06

I just can't think, how can i continue our email conversation

she just only gave me a compliment when I pointed out something she had mistakenly done.

M.A.R.

I can't think how to continue your email too

I'm a guy from another corner of the world

I don't even know you, man

Jude Niroshan

But she seems to be a cheesy girl

M.A.R.

So the stuff that you can say, I don't know

Jude Niroshan

@M.A.R. I don't know you either. That's what makes us common :)

M.A.R.

Yeah but I'm not asking you to write my emails :P

Jude Niroshan

10:08

LOL

How about if i ask you to do a role play this situation?

M.A.R.

I'll be Jude, you be the girl

@JudeNiroshan Then what's so good about her?

Jude Niroshan

yeah... let's do this

@M.A.R. She looks pretty. That's all i know still

@M.A.R. and she has put single as relationship status in FaceBook

@M.A.R. Dear Madam, here is my bank slip which i paied my semester fees. Please refer to it (Reply All --- So I(Jude) saw this email)

M.A.R.

What

Jude Niroshan

@M.A.R. [don't we do the role play?]

M.A.R.

Yes, but I have no idea how I should parse what you sent me

Jude Niroshan

10:16

@M.A.R. you(Jude) saw this email and replied privately to that girl like this -> You better be careful in next time sis :P

You have shared the bank slip to others as well.

M.A.R.

Oh, so that's what happened. Oooooh, girly ooops

Jude Niroshan

@M.A.R. now she said something like this to this -> Shoot Seriously :/ hey thanks for letting me know.

that was really nice of you.

----------------------------------------- From here onwards, we have to continue ---------------------

M.A.R.

Reply "You're very welcome. It was my moral duty to inform you."

@JudeNiroshan Nah, I feel too bored for this

Jude Niroshan

@M.A.R. c'mon man

M.A.R.

@JudeNiroshan I already said what the reply should be

It should prolly contain one or two other sentences as well

But it shouldn't be too long

Jude Niroshan

10:20

@M.A.R. but if I just say so; she might not reply again to me

something funny would work, I guess

M.A.R.

But what do you have to say to get another reply?

@JudeNiroshan Nah, too soon IMO

Hmm, getting-to-know-you-more might work @Jude

Jude Niroshan

Were you able to sort out the problem? - is this sentence correct?

M.A.R.

Yep

And a good idea

Jude Niroshan

yeah. But now it seems like she is bit elder than me or not

however, i'll not give up

Araucaria

11:05

1

Q: 'It took them everything they had' versus 'It took everything they had'

This question is related to the idiom It took everything/all I had (within me) Is it grammatically sound to place a second object after the verb TAKE? To clarify what I mean, below is the sentence I want to construct: He was very aggressive. It took [two policemen] [everything they had] to ...

M.A.R.

@Araucaria \o

M.A.R.

11:43

0

Q: Can we use "then" before tha man verb?

Each page takes less than a minute to produce, although for colour pages four versions, once each for black, cyan, magenta and yellow are sent. The pages are then processed into photographic negatives and the film is used to produce aluminium printing plates ready for the presses. ROBOTS AT WO...

adverbs

Da man verb protects our city

M.A.R.

12:56

I've edited your question for you to make it a bit clearer for readers. If you don't like the edit, please feel free to roll it back :-) — Araucaria 2 hours ago

I would've gotten crazy if I wrote this in my every edit

CowperKettle

13:32

Word of the day: wraith

PauloHDSousa

wraith

M.A.R.

!!greet/Paulo

Ellbot

Welcome to ELL's chat room @Paulo! Happy chatting!

PauloHDSousa

13:47

Does wraith means the same as ghost?

userr2684291

13:58

@PauloHDSousa Apparently.

PauloHDSousa

@user

Right

M.A.R.

14:28

@PauloHDSousa This actually prolly pinged 3 people

PauloHDSousa

What?

M.A.R.

You just typed user in your ping

PauloHDSousa

Sorry

M.A.R.

Nah no problem

PauloHDSousa

So where are you from?

I'm from Brazil

can i ask you something?

could you please correct me everytime that i wrote something wrong?

userr2684291

14:36

@PauloHDSousa You could start by using proper capitalization and punctuation.

M.A.R.

14:51

@PauloHDSousa Sure. Every sentence should start with a capital letter.

Damkerng T.

Hello, everyone!

How is ELL going?

M.A.R.

@DamkerngT. \o

@DamkerngT. It's going

Damkerng T.

Haha! Okay!

@JudeNiroshan There are a few non-evil approaches men usually use whey they get real.

One is having her chasing you instead of the other way around. Figure out how to get to that is probably tricky, but if you figure it out, you'll be a happy man.

PauloHDSousa

15:09

@M.A.R. Ok, sorry

Damkerng T.

Another is showing you care. By this, I mean really care, not just wanting to have her around, to be near her, or such. But really know her and support her.

M.A.R.

@PauloHDSousa ?

Damkerng T.

Another one may work, too. When all else fails, some men just be persistent.

That's probably all I can help. (^_^)

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. YMMV.

PauloHDSousa

@M.A.R. I will start every sentence with a capital letter

Damkerng T.

@toha Hello! @skillpatrol already helped you. :) Nice to see you again, BTW.

Hi, @PauloHDSousa! Welcome to the room!

M.A.R.

15:13

@PauloHDSousa Yay! Strike first to improving your writing

PauloHDSousa

@M.A.R. yes, where are you from?

M.A.R.

@PauloHDSousa Tabriz, Iran

PauloHDSousa

@M.A.R. Iran... isn't there at war?

@M.A.R. is that sentence correct?

Is!

M.A.R.

@PauloHDSousa Looks outside It seems peaceful

Damkerng T.

@Catija I'm afraid you're going to have to spend more money on his shoes, then. :P -- Nice to see you, and Ben, again!

PauloHDSousa

15:16

@M.A.R. What do you know about Brazil?

M.A.R.

@PauloHDSousa It's not wrong, but it's more common for people to say ''isn't it at war with country X?''

@PauloHDSousa Some stuff

Like you're the first country that used ethanol as fuel

Damkerng T.

0

Q: How to improve in writing? My comprehension abilities are fairly good.

I've been on the internet for quite a while now, I can safely say. I've come across countless of interesting threads from sites like Quora, Reddit, or here. I've also encountered many users who are really good in their English, judging from how they present their opinions or questions. This is ...

writing

If the OP can write that question naturally, without taking too much time, I don't think they should worry about their writing in general at all.

So I guess... they're talking about essay writing, especially in those standardized tests.

PauloHDSousa

@M.A.R. the first and the only one i think

Damkerng T.

I think your writing in general is fine. So I think, maybe you can improve this question by adding what you can see in those writing examples you think are good, or even great, but not in yours. — Damkerng T. 13 secs ago

So I made my comment.

PauloHDSousa

@DamkerngT.

@DamkerngT. what does the essay mean?

Damkerng T.

15:27

essay

Noun: essay (plural essays)

A written composition of moderate length exploring a particular issue or subject.
(obsolete) A test, experiment; an assay.
(now rare) An attempt.
1988, James McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, Oxford 2003, p. 455:
This was Lee's first essay in the kind of offensive-defensive strategy that was to become his hallmark.

Verb: essay (third-person singular simple present essays, present participle essaying, simple past and past participle essayed)

(dated, transitive) To try.
1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, The House Behind the Cedars, Chapter II,
He retraced his steps to the front gate, which he essayed to open.
(intransitive) To move forth, as into battle.

:D

PauloHDSousa

@DamkerngT. I still can't understand, sorry.

Damkerng T.

@PauloHDSousa Hmm... has your English teacher given you a writing assignment? It's a good example of essay writing.

PauloHDSousa

@M.A.R. Oh, now i get it.

M.A.R.

@PauloHDSousa Get what?

userr2684291

@M.A.R. I think they pinged the wrong person.

PauloHDSousa

15:42

@M.A.R. Ops, wrong person. @DamkerngT. Now i get what does essay means.

Damkerng T.

Good! :)

PauloHDSousa

16:28

This chat is a littleempty

M.A.R.

@PauloHDSousa we're a little bit busy today

PauloHDSousa

@M.A.R. what's your job?

M.A.R.

@PauloHDSousa I'm still a student

PauloHDSousa

@M.A.R. ah ok.

user8469759

16:54

It's not empty anymore

I'm here xD

PauloHDSousa

@user8469759Where you from?

user8469759

I'm italian

How about yourself?

PauloHDSousa

I'm from Brazil

user8469759

Nice to meet you

PauloHDSousa

Does Italians learn English at school?

learns*

user8469759

16:56

generally speaking... yes

in practice well...

when I moved in uk

what I learn't at school wasn't that good

learnt* (typo)

PauloHDSousa

Same happens in Brazil

user8469759

are you learning english for a particular reason?

PauloHDSousa

no

maybe

I'm a programmer

you know?

user8469759

I'm an engineer

computer engineer

so yes... I know xd

PauloHDSousa

It's almost the same, right?

do you build apps?

and websites

and stuffs like that?

user8469759

17:00

not for job, but I've studied how to do that

PauloHDSousa

with Java ou Javascript?

user8469759

both of them

PauloHDSousa

in your oppinion, wich one is better?

user8469759

I don't think you can actually judge which one is better

one is a script language

the other one is compiled (although in its own peculiar way)

PauloHDSousa

Right

user8469759

17:05

In general you can do different things

PauloHDSousa

No

uheahuaea

sorry

user8469759

for what?

PauloHDSousa

I was thinking but i didn't wrote

did you build an app with JAVA (native) for Android?

and the same app using Javascript ?

user8469759

The only thing I know about java (for web development) are servlet and the other thing which is java mixed with HTML

PauloHDSousa

ok

Do you play LOL?

user8469759

17:11

no

I play unreal tournament xD

PauloHDSousa

Really?

Online? does it still online?

user8469759

not the first one

the last one

the pre-alpha version

anyway yes, online

PauloHDSousa

Unreal Tournament 3

?

user8469759

epicgames.com/unrealtournament

this one

PauloHDSousa

It will be f2p??

user8469759

17:15

It IS free to play

and yes, is going to be free once finished

PauloHDSousa

hm...

I will check it.

Do you what is Carnavel?

do you KNOW what is Carnaval?

user8469759

the brazilian carnival?

PauloHDSousa

Yes

Is there another one?

user8469759

I wasn't sure what you meant xD

Do you know the movie RIO?

the animated one

PauloHDSousa

Yes

But

I never watched

user8469759

17:29

Well that's why I know brazilian Carnaval

PauloHDSousa

ah ok

Brazil is not a jungle like everybody thinks

user8469759

XD

how old are you

?

PauloHDSousa

24

how about you?

M.A.R.

Don't listen to him

Brazil is a jungle

PauloHDSousa

eauheuaaeaeua no it is not

Do you know São Paulo?

our subway is better than NY's

=D

How is the weather?

M.A.R.

17:54

Coldish

PauloHDSousa

32 Cº here

=)

Celcius

how about there?

M.A.R.

Dunno

minus something

A bit busy now, I'll be back

PauloHDSousa

np

CowperKettle

@TRomano - in a classroom situation, when you are teaching pupils to ask questions, you would tell them to use "what is this?" in relation to trousers. My guess is that Yulia is a teacher. Maybe I'm wrong. Okay, I'm too busy so maybe I'm wrong to answer questions when I don't have time to investigate the issue. — CowperKettle 6 mins ago

@PauloHDSousa +2 °C here

PauloHDSousa

Hi @CowperKettle, where are you from?

user62015

19:51

@DamkerngT. @CowperKettle Could you please tell me what would be suitable for I in a negative interrogative questions, I mean to ask, aren't I, amn't I, ain't I?

Damkerng T.

aren't I is the way to go in standardized test English.

ain't I and maybe amn't are what people really use, though. (I'm not sure about the latter, BTW.)

user62015

Okay.

But I have just read that we should also avoid aren't I and only only use am I not?

Please check the link abobr

above

M.A.R.

@DamkerngT. I amn't sure either

Damkerng T.

@M.A.R. LOL

@user62015 am I not is perfectly fine. It sounds a bit too formal in most circumstances, though.

user62015

Okay.

So I must go with aren't I, right?

Damkerng T.

19:56

If the only choices you have are those three, aren't I would be the choice.

user62015

Thanks.

Damkerng T.

(aren't I, amn't I, ain't I?, I mean)

No problem!

user62015

You made my day.

Damkerng T.

(^_^)

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