English Language Learners

happenask

00:36

hi

F.E.

07:43

. . . yawn . . .

Tiger cooked himself up a pot of chicken cacciatore, stuck it in the frig. It always taste the best in about 3 days (of storage in frig). -- [How comes it the spell-correction software keeps changing my "frig" into "frog"!]

1

Q: goes around/by the lake (prepositions)

For these sentences: The road goes around by the lake. The road goes around the lake. The road goes by the lake. How are they different?

Damkerng T.

@snailboat That's amazing! (Though I've heard some people can speak over 20 languages, all fluently.)

F.E.

(cont.) I've thought about an answer for this question, but I'm feeling way too lazy to write it up -- for it would take up a couple of pages.

Damkerng T.

Hello!

F.E.

Hello!

Damkerng T.

07:59

I wonder if I can count Hmong and Akha as language I learned. Though I have never learned them beyond asking for food or water. :)

F.E.

Tiger only talk one language.

Since I'm kinda real tired, maybe I'll go and spend some time answering that question, . . . or maybe not, . . . or maybe so, . . . or maybe . . .

Damkerng T.

Ah, I just got some mail.

Hmm... I shouldn't write *mails. I think emails got me.

A-ha! It's 16 bucks!

F.E.

@DamkerngT. What's 16 bucks?

Damkerng T.

Oh, it's a dividend from some company I bought their shares. :-)

Since it's only 16 bucks I'm sure you could guess that I didn't buy a lot of their shares.

Once upon a time, Robot bought small amount of shares of a lot of companies, just to be able to join the shareholder meetings. This is a side effect of that. :-)

F.E.

08:14

You have time to go to shareholder meetings?

Damkerng T.

Back then, yes. Not lately. Not for several years already, actually. :D

F.E.

(I'm writing up a post for that earlier question.)

Damkerng T.

Hooray!

F.E.

It is a long, long post. :(

Damkerng T.

You could insert a TL;DR section into it. :D

I wonder if anyone watches Survivors there.

Hello @skullpatrol!

skullpatrol

08:26

Hi pal @DamkerngT. How are you?

Damkerng T.

I'm fine. Thanks. (I just got 16 bucks. Yippie!) How are you?

skullpatrol

Hooray :D
I'm fine, thanks.

Damkerng T.

Add the context. Setup has a couple of meanings. If we forcefully fit, both the meanings look fine here. — Maulik V 4 hours ago

I have a hunch that the verb fit can't be used this way.

Damkerng T.

09:18

@F.E. Is that close enough?

F.E.

@DamkerngT. I'm almost finished with my post . . .

Damkerng T.

Umm, okay! :-)

F.E.

@DamkerngT. Yes, basically that's what I'm thinking too. But there's also overlap in usage, imo.

Damkerng T.

nods -- I didn't try to imply that they are mutually exclusive.

Though looking at my drawing I think it could read that way.

F.E.

@DamkerngT. I've finished my post! Phew! Please see if I've made any error, or mistake, or whatever. :)

Wow, over an hour on that post. :(

Damkerng T.

09:27

Hooray! reading...

F.E.

Wow, someone just gave me 10 points! :)

Damkerng T.

Or some robot. :-)

F.E.

Thanks!

Another 20 points and I'll be over 1000.

Damkerng T.

You're welcome. I'm glad that the OP got a great answer!

Yay!

F.E.

But it took me over an hour straight to write the post, and this was after I had thought most of it out earlier. That was why I really didn't want to write it -- due to all the time and effort I knew it would take.

Tiger be lazy.

Tiger be quick.

Tiger be, er . . .

@DamkerngT. You know, you could put that picture/graph in as an answer too. :)

Damkerng T.

09:38

You could use it if you'd like. Hee.

F.E.

@DamkerngT. Or, you could edit my post and insert it.

We cross-posted.

Damkerng T.

Haha. :D

F.E.

-5

Q: If you want to know how English works, refer to this page!

One of the most often referred to pages on ELU when it come to queries regarding verb forms, tense and aspect is the following: How do the tenses and aspects in English correspond temporally to one another? If you visit this page, you'll find two answers. One is a diagrammatic representatio...

discussion

Does that picture-graph look familiar? :D

Damkerng T.

Ahh... So this is its origin, I think.

Oh, no, it's not.

Damkerng T.

13:36

Here is my personal tip: avoid memorizing the use of prepositions as patterns depending on what follows the preposition. The choice of preposition in a specific utterance, as I've observed, is the result of what comes before and after, both competing for the right choice, in the given context. — Damkerng T. 58 secs ago

skullpatrol

All hail, the snail :D

Damkerng T.

Hail, snailer!

Anonymous

Damkerng T.

Cute! -- That looks like cheese, but I'm sure it's not.

Anonymous

It's a slice of sweet potato!

user116848

13:53

Nice!

user116848

hi guys

user116848

How are you all?

Damkerng T.

I'm okay. I got 16 bucks today!

user116848

@DamkerngT. ha :) Howcome?

Damkerng T.

It's the dividend this year of a company I bought some shares years ago. :D

Well, not many shares.

user116848

13:55

Aha :D Good for you pal

Damkerng T.

So, it's kinda like a gift card or something for me. Thanks!

What about you? I didn't come in here very frequently lately.

user116848

@DamkerngT. i am fine. It's all usual these days. Studying and all :D

user116848

I am not very frequent here too these days

Damkerng T.

Good, good. I remember you have an examination coming up soon.

user116848

Yep it's in December :)

user08742

13:59

hi

user116848

hi

user08742

the chrome font has changed, hasn't it?

Damkerng T.

Hi!

I don't use Chrome. :D

user116848

I haven't noticed it

user08742

Really? The font has become creamier like on Apple computers.

A lot less angular.

user116848

14:01

I use Firefox :)

user08742

Then now is the time to switch to Chrome.

lol

user116848

You think? I am kinda used to Firefox

user08742

As you wish, sir---to each his own.

user116848

You are right. There are mixed opinions of people about which is better.

user116848

@DamkerngT. So Damks you are busy these days I am guessing. You don't visit here in chat very frequently.

Damkerng T.

14:05

I installed something on my PC a couple of weeks ago and since then my Courier font always look different than it once did.

@Arrowfar A little. :D

user116848

I see

user08742

Damkeng what are you reading of late?

Damkerng T.

Me? Lots of papers. :-)

user08742

Par example?

Damkerng T.

I'd like to keep the list to myself, but most of them are engineering and computing stuff.

user08742

14:07

oh...not newspapers, but industry papers englutted with cant?

Damkerng T.

I still listen to BBC Radio sometimes, and watch a movie every day or every other day.

And lots of tube!

user08742

I see. You must be a Solomon.

Damkerng T.

Eh? I'm not sure what you mean by that.

I'll take it as a good thing, anyway. So, thanks! :-)

user08742

Solomon is a man of unrivaled wisdom.

Damkerng T.

(In any case, I'm very far from the wisdom of King Solomon.)

user08742

14:11

From the Bible

Anonymous

14:29

0

A: What emphasis to use when referring to words?

I don't really think code is a good alternative for adding emphasis. Code is for code, not visually highlighting something. According to me, italics serve the purpose. They're called emphasis (<em>) in Web development too, so here you have it.

Anonymous

Is "According to me" InE?

Damkerng T.

I'm not sure, I think it's Asian English.

Anonymous

corpus2.byu.edu/glowbe/?c=glowbe&q=32763876

Damkerng T.

Wow!

Anonymous

I should have picked per mil

Anonymous

14:31

corpus2.byu.edu/glowbe/?c=glowbe&q=32763911

Anonymous

30x more frequent in InE than AmE by that count

user116848

Any one here goes to writer's beta on Tuesdays?

Damkerng T.

I can imagine that phrase in Thai, and it seems like most if not all languages in this region seem to have such a phrase too, according to what I've heard on TV (through translation).

user116848

The Overlook Hotel has a writing session on Tuesdays

Damkerng T.

@Arrowfar Ahh... I went there a couple of times last year. But nothing happened much.

Anonymous

14:33

"Anyone here go to X?"

user116848

What's X?

Anonymous

= "~~Does~~ anyone here go to X?" (Conversational Deletion)

Anonymous

I was trying to talk generally about the sentence structure

user116848

Ah I see

Anonymous

So X is a placeholder for the rest of the sentence

user116848

14:34

So my sentence structure wasn't grammatical?

Anonymous

Yeah, it wasn't, it should be go

Anonymous

"Anyone here goes to X?" ← This needs subject-auxiliary inversion.

Anonymous

"~~Does~~ anyone here go to X?" ← This has subject-auxiliary inversion, even though it might not seem like it since does is deleted

user116848

So is subject-auxiliary inversion always a must?

user116848

I mean in structures like these.

user116848

14:40

Thanks for correcting it. That's what I like about these chats, natives pick up our mistakes :p

user116848

@DamkerngT. I wrote this yesterday according to their topic at the Oerlook Hotel-------> chat.stackexchange.com/transcript/message/17466425#17466425

Anonymous

You wrote this yesterday?　　←　　Here I could ask an echo question without inversion

Anonymous

That is one example

user116848

Matt and Kitfox etc. also wrote their stories

user116848

:D

Damkerng T.

14:42

I think so too. (I'd say point out rather than pick up, though.) In fact, I don't mind that they have to be native speakers, as long as their correction is correct.

user116848

@snailboat I see. I remember you picked the some mistake same time ago here :D

Damkerng T.

@Arrowfar Oh, I haven't seen theirs before. But I know that KitFox likes Hemingway too.

Anonymous

There's a type of question called a declarative question, which is a main-clause sentence without inversion. Essentially you take a regular sentence and convert it to a question with rising final intonation (or in print, a question mark)

user116848

@DamkerngT. hah :D

Anonymous

But these are only sometimes appropriate

user116848

14:43

@snailboat What is?

user116848

These mistakes?

Anonymous

Hehe :-) Declarative questions are only sometimes appropriate.

Anonymous

It's true that declarative questions aren't always mistakes.

user116848

Ahh that. Yes I know you hate 'em (declarative sentences)

Anonymous

I do not :-) In fact, most of my sentences are declarative.

Anonymous

14:45

Two types of echo questions:

Anonymous

1. Incredulity questions

Damkerng T.

I imagine that "What this is?" could have a similar effect to native speakers.

Anonymous

"I brought $50000 to the video store." "Wait, you brought how much??"

Anonymous

Not: "How much did you bring?" ← This question is neutral in tone.

Anonymous

"You brought how much?" ← This question is incredulous in tone.

Anonymous

14:46

2. Reclamatory questions

Anonymous

"Yeah, I went to New York last week." "You went where? Sorry, I couldn't hear you."

Anonymous

Here, the tone is neutral, but the speaker is asking their conversation partner to repeat themselves.

Anonymous

3. Extended questioning.

Anonymous

On game shows, in the court room, and so on, you commonly encounter in-situ wh-questions:

Anonymous

"And after that, you went where?" "I went home to get a change of clothes." "And you did what?"

Anonymous

14:49

(quiz show) "The Star-Spangled Banner is what country's national anthem?"

user116848

right. Thanks for making it clear.

Damkerng T.

Ahh... I guessed right.

I think you could use "I don’t know how the killer will have known the key code." there. And I don't think could would be a good alternative. — Kinzle B 24 mins ago

Reading that comment gives me a strong idea that Kinzle B is not a native speaker.

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. It's difficult to imagine an appropriate context for that

Damkerng T.

I think will ~~would be~~ is wrong. (The OP gave a rather complete context in her question.)

Anonymous

There's a difference between polar questions and wh-questions without inversion.

Damkerng T.

14:54

What is a polar question? (I only know polar bears.)

Anonymous

A polar question is a yes-no question.

Damkerng T.

Ahh... Thanks!

Anonymous

A polar question is the type of question that is most typically associated with 'question intonation', a rise of pitch at the end of the sentence.

user116848

Oh, I have a question for you Damk.

Anonymous

But echo questions (1 and 2 above) are associated with question intonation as well

Damkerng T.

14:55

@Arrowfar Hmm... What is it?

Anonymous

There are more situations where questions without inversion are appropriate.

user116848

@DamkerngT. I am writing

Anonymous

The above isn't a complete list.

Damkerng T.

I also think, "And what you did?" is also incorrect.

Anonymous

But they're the main 3 uses you need to know.

user116848

14:57

@DamkerngT. you always use "thee" pronunciation of "The" before 'vowels' and "th uh" pronunciation before consonants??

user116848

Because although I know the rule I can't follow this one.

Anonymous

That's a rule not all native speakers follow.

Anonymous

It's commonly taught to learners and it accurately reflects the speech of many but not all speakers

Damkerng T.

In normal pronunciation, I would pronounce them like that. However, I always say thee when I want to emphasize it.

Anonymous

It is not accurate for me.

Damkerng T.

14:58

nods

Anonymous

in English Language & Usage, May 30 at 13:01, by snailboat

John Wells writes in the Longman Pronunciation Dictionary:

user116848

@snailboat It seems very difficult to pronounce "thee" before 'vowels' so 99% of the time I stick to "th uh". Am i wrong in doing so??

Anonymous

in English Language & Usage, May 30 at 13:01, by snailboat

> The English as a foreign language learner is advised to use ðə before a consonant sound (the boy, the house), ði before a vowel sound (the egg, the hour). Native speakers, however, sometimes ignore this distribution, in particular by using ðə before a vowel (which is in turn usually reinforced by a preceding ʔ), or by using ðiː in any environment, though especially before a hesitation pause. Furthermore, some speakers use stressed ðə as a strong form, rather than the usual ðiː.

Anonymous

@Arrowfar If you say "thuh" before a vowel, you should probably insert a glottal consonant between the two.

Anonymous

(A glottal consonant is the sound in the middle of "uh-oh")

Damkerng T.

15:00

@Arrowfar I don't really think about it much when I speak. I think thee has a big advantage in pronunciation before a vowel.

I pronounce the apple as [thee YAP le].

Well, the Y is perhaps not that strong, but you get the idea.

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. Yeah, there's a debate about the reality of automatic glide insertion in English

Anonymous

Do you think you can tell the difference between the ear and the year?

Anonymous

The answer is probably yes, which leads us to ask what the difference is.

Damkerng T.

Only sometimes, I think. I mean, without the help of the context.

user116848

@snailboat Yes I remember your comment in my question. Can you explain this glottal stop? From what I know it is like "AA aa aa sound". I heard it in wikipedia entry fo rglottal stop. You mean I have to use my vocal chords to make "th uh" sound like "thee" before vowels?

user116848

15:02

2

Q: the and thee (I prefer to pronounce it as thuh all the time)

My question is can I always pronounce THE with thuh instead of thee? Because unlike "a" "an" rule, pronouncing "thee" seems cumbersome for some people (including me) Note that I know the "emphasis" and "vowel, consonant" rule about THE but I still prefer to pronounce it as thuh everytime. So can ...

pronunciation definite-article non-native-english sandhi

user116848

There's some discussion here with recordings: englishspeechservices.com/blog/… — snailboat May 30 at 13:37

Anonymous

Oh, that was your question! I didn't realize

Anonymous

I upvoted that one :-)

user116848

Good one. I mean your response

Damkerng T.

A-ha! Opinion-based is not a big surprise, I think.

user116848

15:04

@snailboat But still I tend to use "th uh"

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. But it's not (in my opinion) appropriate.

Anonymous

It should be open.

Anonymous

The fact is a lot of native speakers always say "thuh" (ðə)

user116848

Yes Open it Againnnn

user116848

@snailboat Can you open this question again?

Damkerng T.

15:05

I'm not sure if anyone has a comprehensive source for the variation. I hope someone does.

Anonymous

Sure, I'll try, but it probably won't work. :-)

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. No one does.

user116848

It's okay.

Anonymous

The source I quoted is one of the most definitive

Anonymous

But as far as I'm aware there is no comprehensive survey to see how wide the distribution is. John Wells said there wasn't, anyway.

Anonymous

15:06

So the best we can do is point out that many native speakers do so.

user116848

@snailboat I listened to the recordings in your comments, and noticed that in some regions they always use "th uh"

Damkerng T.

Isn't it strange that I think I usually say "theeyapple" but "thih idea".

(I use ih as a mix of ee and uh sounds. And this ee is not supposed to be long.)

user116848

Who is John Wells ?

Anonymous

What is thih in IPA?

Damkerng T.

@snailboat I'm not sure if they have one.

Trevör Anne Denise

15:09

Hello guys, I was wondering, if I have a question that is about english but that doesn't really suit the ELL forum rules, can I ask it there ?

Anonymous

@Arrowfar Professor John Wells is a prominent phonetician and the author of the Longman Pronunciation Dictionary.

Damkerng T.

I think it's halfway between /spɪt/ of spit and /ðə/ of the.

Trevör Anne Denise

(I am wondering if something I wrote is correct or not...)

Damkerng T.

@TrevörAnneDenise You can ask, but answering is not guaranteed. :)

Trevör Anne Denise

Ok :D So here it is :

(the words written in red are my answers... I had to fill this text)

Damkerng T.

15:11

Oh, no! Is it an exercise from a grammar book?

Trevör Anne Denise

Nope, english class ! Actually I am doubting about "As a matter of fact"

(actually, a sheet of exercices)

user116848

@snailboat From the internet can you give me an example of the sound of glottal stop with (vowel and 'th uh' pronunciation)?? So I can clear this thing.

Trevör Anne Denise

I don't understand exactly where I should use "As a matter of fact"

Damkerng T.

Hmm...

user116848

@snailboat I mean 'uh oh' sound with {vowel + The}

Trevör Anne Denise

15:13

@DamkerngT. Have you got something agains grammar books ? :D

Damkerng T.

You could try this: macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/american/…

Anonymous

@TrevörAnneDenise By the way, in English we don't put spaces before tall punctuation (question marks, colons, exclamation points). "Have you got something against grammar books?"

Trevör Anne Denise

So I used it appropriately, didn't I ?

Damkerng T.

@TrevörAnneDenise Nope, but that depends on which grammar book we're talking about.

Anonymous

@Arrowfar Let me get back to you on that.

Trevör Anne Denise

15:15

@snailboat How, that's true! I am always forgetting it (some other people already told me that on ELL)

user116848

okay np

Trevör Anne Denise

@DamkerngT. I progressed a lot in english thanks to TV Shows, but now that my level is quite acceptable, books are great !

@DamkerngT. BTW, does my answers look correct ?

Damkerng T.

@TrevörAnneDenise Is is possible that those red words are the choices given by the book?

Anonymous

When I read "As a matter of fact", I thought "In my opinion" might work

Trevör Anne Denise

Yes they are...

Anonymous

15:17

I don't know what the choices in the book are

Damkerng T.

I think This is the reason why is misplaced.

Anonymous

To be honest, I wanted "In my opinion" for that one, too . . . :-)

Anonymous

I was trying to think of something else that could come before a comma!

Trevör Anne Denise

Here it is :

Anonymous

Presumably they don't want "In my opinion" twice in a row :-)

Trevör Anne Denise

15:18

Anonymous

But I couldn't think of what to put in those blanks.

Damkerng T.

So I guess they want you to shuffle those words around and shove them into the right places.

Anonymous

So you've got ten phrases and ten blanks.

Trevör Anne Denise

Yes, that's what they want...

Anonymous

How about replacing "Indeed" with "This is the reason why"

Anonymous

15:19

And vice versa. Swap 'em.

Damkerng T.

I think This is the reason why must be the last answer.

Oh, it works there too.

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. Then it would be a comma splice.

Damkerng T.

But however shouldn't be after a comma.

Anonymous

I'm not sure what should go in that last blank.

Trevör Anne Denise

@snailboat Nice idea !

Anonymous

15:20

Oh, these exercises are tough! :-)

Trevör Anne Denise

Are you guys native english speakers ?

Anonymous

I am.

Anonymous

That doesn't mean I'm good at this sort of test, though. ;-)

Damkerng T.

I'm not.

Trevör Anne Denise

And yet you found this exercice difficult Oo

Anonymous

15:22

Well, my problem is that I probably wouldn't phrase stuff quite like they do.

Damkerng T.

It's difficult because it's forced.

Let's see, which ones need a comma after it.

Anonymous

I phrase stuff like I do. Like me! I'm like me. Very much like me, in fact.

Trevör Anne Denise

(I think it might reassure people having difficulties with those exercices)

Damkerng T.

First of all, Furthermore, Therefore, In my view, However.

Trevör Anne Denise

@snailboat Do you think that this is an old-fashioned way to tell it ?

Damkerng T.

15:23

Oh, I should open it in another window, not in another tab.

Trevör Anne Denise

Oh thank you ! I had forgot the punctuation !

I have another question about the text

Anonymous

Oh, StoneyB is here! Ask him. I bet he has opinions.

Damkerng T.

Indeed, As a matter of fact, and To conclude should come before a comma too.

Trevör Anne Denise

"one must take the responsibility for the consequences of one's action", could "of one's action" be replaced by "of the other ones action" ?

Damkerng T.

I think It implies, First of all, and To conclude are safe enough to assume that they are in their places.

Trevör Anne Denise

15:27

@snailboat In fact looks like they didn't wanted indeed and this is the reason why to be swapped...

StoneyB

@snailboat Indeed I do. I am the most opinionated person I know.

Damkerng T.

@TrevörAnneDenise I think "of the other ones action" doesn't make sense.

Trevör Anne Denise

@snailboat Because there wasn't enough place to write "this is the reason why"

@DamkerngT. "Of the actions of the other ones/peoples" then ?

@snailboat But I'll swap them anyway...

Damkerng T.

of other people's actions or of the actions of other people might be grammatical, but still doesn't make much sense to me.

Trevör Anne Denise

Does the original sentence makes sense to you ?

Damkerng T.

15:31

What is the original sentence again, please?

Trevör Anne Denise

"one must take the responsibility for the consequences of one's action"

In context :

Damkerng T.

That makes sense.

Trevör Anne Denise

Does it mean that someone should take the responsibility of what other people are doing ?

Damkerng T.

In other words, you must be responsible for your own actions.

(This one means you, or anyone.)

Trevör Anne Denise

Oh yes ! I did this errors because of the 's, that's a stupid error....

(I thought it was plural...)

StoneyB

15:35

Seems to me the only thing you can advance as a matter of fact is your assertion of your opinion, which leads the second paragraph. That would push First of all into the two-hole, as your first argument in defense of that opinion.

Trevör Anne Denise

@StoneyB Is "as a matter of fact" always used before telling your opinion ?

@StoneyB Anyway, what's wired is that if we put "as a matter of fact" in the second hole, then... where will we put "First of all" ?

At the place of as a matter of fact ? It doesn't seems wright to me...

(I mean, even if I wrote it in french — witch is my native speaking language — I would have found it wired...)

[this moment where coming to SE ELL makes you ask yourself even more questions than BEFORE coming to the chat ^^ But that's great ! Makes me learn english !]

Everybody's gone ?

Damkerng T.

I went typing.

Trevör Anne Denise

Oh no problem ! I was just wondering !

Damkerng T.

Solving it on screen is like trying to multiple a three-digit number with another three-digit number. It's not difficult, but it's hard to do mentally.

> There is an old sayting that "the end justifies the means". It implies that men have always found it necessary to justify their acts, no matter how terrible they may be, by making it clear that what matter to them was the result, and this was reason enough to justify the means.

> First of all, I cannot agree with such a statement, even when it comes down to fulfilling one's ambitions. Furthermore, I don't think that ambition can excuse anything. Some people are prepared to do anything to satisfy their desires and to make their dreams come true. Such people would argue that it is the law of the jungle, that they live in a very competitive society and are therefore obliged to succeed at all costs. However, such an argument is unacceptable on all accounts.

> In my view, we must respect other human beings and not see them just as obstacles on our path to success. Indeed, one must take responsibilty for the consequences of one's actions. As a matter of fact, I strongly object to people using illegal means to reach their goals or climb their way up the social ladder.

> To conclude, I would say that ambition is certainly an asset in the modern world, This is the reason why any success that comes from it should not be the price of one's integrity.

That would be my first rough. Now we can revise them and shuffle them around as needed.

Trevör Anne Denise

Oh thanks a lot !

I'm gonna compare it with my original answer...

Damkerng T.

15:46

Hmm... The original doesn't have a comma after my As a matter of fact. It seems like I want to type it there.

Trevör Anne Denise

Well, it looks great ! But what do you think about StoneyB idea to put "As a matter of fact" in the second hole ?

Damkerng T.

Lemme check out his opinion.

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. That seems to work except for the comma splice at the end.

Damkerng T.

Oh, it's a comma before This is the reason...

Trevör Anne Denise

Although I like your answer, I think that there are some places where it wasn't what the author of the exercice expected (because there isn't enough blank space, but I don't know if we should rely on that to determine which is the right choice...)

Anonymous

15:48

@TrevörAnneDenise Does your book not have an answer key?

Trevör Anne Denise

@snailboat It's not a book (it's a sheet of paper they gave us in class...) so no, I does not... and I googled it and didn't found any answer !

Anonymous

Oh! It's for a class

Damkerng T.

The last one should be a conjunction, but I can't find one!

Anonymous

You know, it's possible the number of periods they put in is more or less random :-)

Anonymous

For blanks, I mean.

Trevör Anne Denise

15:50

Yes !!! (I told it since the beginning ! :D)

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. Yeah, I couldn't figure out what would work there.

Anonymous

I gave up :-)

StoneyB

DT's right, "As a matter of fact" does suit "I strongly object" - it's another statement of fact, not a judgment - but that comma shoots it down. And you need a contrasting statement after "modern world" or the argument is shot -- "however" is the only one you've got. (But that's still a comma splice whatever you put there.)

Damkerng T.

Hmm... Perhaps they want however as the last one, but that would a bit weird, at least if I understand how to use however correctly.

Trevör Anne Denise

@DamkerngT. In your opinion, what's wrong with putting however at the end ?

Damkerng T.

15:57

Probably not wrong. I think it's not wrong. I haven't really read the passages. I just skip through it, so I didn't notice that the last two ~~sentences~~ clauses don't agree with each other.

Trevör Anne Denise

@StoneyB I am still having some difficulties to understand it...

Damkerng T.

Okay take #2

> There is an old sayting that "the end justifies the means". It implies that men have always found it necessary to justify their acts, no matter how terrible they may be, by making it clear that what matter to them was the result, and this was reason enough to justify the means.

> First of all, I cannot agree with such a statement, even when it comes down to fulfilling one's ambitions. Furthermore, I don't think that ambition can excuse anything. Some people are prepared to do anything to satisfy their desires and to make their dreams come true. Such people would argue that it is the law of the jungle, that they live in a very competitive society and are therefore obliged to succeed at all costs. Indeed, such an argument is unacceptable on all accounts.

> In my view, we must respect other human beings and not see them just as obstacles on our path to success. As a matter of fact, one must take responsibilty for the consequences of one's actions. This is the reason why I strongly object to people using illegal means to reach their goals or climb their way up the social ladder.

> To conclude, I would say that ambition is certainly an asset in the modern world, however any success that comes from it should not be the price of one's integrity.

Trevör Anne Denise

@StoneyB What do you mean when you say that he comma shoots it down ?

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