Language Overflow

Anonymous

03:36

0

A: Is such participle clause reducing usage constrained to only past tense?

As you may know, English does not have perfect tenses: only infinitive, past, present, and future. But we can approximate the perfect tenses with some (slightly awkward) grammar constructions. She will have gone into the home, leaving her shoes. She had gone into the home and had left ...

Anonymous

I'm struggling to figure out what the point of this answer is, if it's even an answer . . . ?

Jude

06:47

Greetings everyone!

after a very long time in ELL

@Rubisco I had to spend some time to find your new name :p

BTW; how are you all?

@Rubisco your only identity was whether a user has 4k rep in Chemistry forum :D

AliRıza Adıyahşi

hi

I am new here

I just started to learn english

V.V.

08:23

@snailplane he tried to explain what it would look like using perfect tenses by saying there are no such tenses. And made it more confusing.

Hope you are OK.

user62015

08:37

The infection which causes(1)/ gums to bleed and teeth to fall out (2)/ results from the build – up of a particular bacteria that is common to the most mouths.(3)/No error(4) @V.V.

Can we use a bacteria or a bacterium?

which one is correct? @V.V.

Anonymous

08:59

@user62015 that is common to most mouths, remove the.

user62015

@snailplane Let me check

Please wait

V.V.

@user62015 the first

user62015

@snailplane Option 1?

Okay

I understood.

@snailplane 51. These days, job opportunities are not as better (1)/ as thus used to be (2)/ in the early 70’s.(3)/No error(4) it says we need to use as good as instead of as better as?

Anonymous

Yes, change better to good.

Anonymous

(And thus to they.)

user62015

09:03

but we use better for comparing so here we are comparing opportunities to old opportunities?

Why?

when we compare two things we use better

good is only for one

Anonymous

Generally, you don't use the comparative form with as.

user62015

Okay.

that's the reason?

Anonymous

You use the comparative form with than: Job opportunities are better/worse than they used to be

user62015

Okay.

Anonymous

But not with as: Job opportunities are (not) as good as they used to be

user62015

09:07

I understood.

Thank you so much @snailplane

CowperKettle

My photo from December 2013

Anonymous

Oh, beautiful! :-)

CowperKettle

This is the only piece of the city pond that has no ice through the winter (0:

Because there's a large pipe discharging hot water from the nearby sports facilities

@snailplane Thank you! (0: Good afternoon!

So people go there to feed the ducks (0:

BBL

AliRıza Adıyahşi

where is this place?

Man_From_India

10:25

Native speaker logic: If I change it to "It is I who hates learning," then "hates" sounds much better than "hate" to my ear. — Kevin yesterday

Though I know both hates and hate are possible, I had no idea that natives prefer hates. I thought it's a bit informal, though.

V.V.

11:09

@Man_From_India it's logical after "who"

Man_From_India

@V.V. Logically it should have been hate, not hates, but both are in use.

(I hate ~~hates~~ learning)

Man_From_India

11:26

HI @Araucaria

long time, no see

V.V.

I meant it belongs formally to the relative clause, but semantically(can I say that?) to" I."

English is an easy language, they say. There are thousands of traps.

Damkerng T.

@Man_From_India It is I who hates learning is weird to me, FWIW.

V.V.

And the more you learn, the less you know.

Damkerng T.

11:42

I think English is easy to learn, but very difficult to truly master.

But maybe it's the same for everything.

@Jude Welcome! Hope to see you around again soon. :D

I guess others may be still inactive.

> grammaring.com/participle-clauses

> - an action that happens just before another action:
Opening the envelope, I found two concert tickets. (I opened the envelope and I found two concert tickets.)
- an action that is the result of another action:
Moments later a bomb exploded, leaving three people dead and twelve others injured.
When I entered they all looked at me, making me feel uncomfortable.

I say the information is a bit misleading.

> “I expect we were afraid of ramming the jetty,” said Jonathan, recalling a rowdy bunch of rich Egyptians swilling champagne on the club veranda.

> --The Night Manager

It would be strange to read that as he said it and then recalled it.

user36188

11:57

when to use will and would in sentence, both are represent the future tense

and also i have doubt on been and being usage, please anyone explain me

Jude

Thought it's too early, I can't stop listening to this masterpiece

O Come All Ye Faithful- Dan Forrest- chorus and orchestra

►

Damkerng T.

@user36188 The usage is too complicated to explain from the scratch. It's probably easier to build up from (and probably tear down some of) what you already know.

@Jude Thanks for sharing!

Jude

my pleasure :)

I wish I could play on a orchestra like that some day

with my flute

Damkerng T.

I just enjoy the music. :-)

Flute is cool!

Jude

There me :D

Payphone Flute Cover

►

back in 2012

Damkerng T.

12:06

One thumbs up!

Jude

BTW; I missed the ELL mod election

Damkerng T.

Aww... the new mods are @snailplane and @ColleenV (in addition to the original mods), in case you haven't heard the results.

Jude

@snailplane My felicitations on elected as a mod! :)

@DamkerngT. so, what are you doing these days?

Damkerng T.

Maintaining some old stuff and developing something. ;-)

Jude

nice

Damkerng T.

12:11

Among chatting, I mean. :P

Jude

^_-

user36188

@DamkerngT. will represent the action going to be done from now to any time in the future, would represent what?,being used with the verb or adjective to make the sentence as continous

Damkerng T.

"being used with the verb or adjective to make the sentence as continous" <-- I'm not sure what you mean, but it doesn't sound right to me.

Would you like to hear my unorthodox idea about will and would, along with English's tenses?

user36188

for example, Being tired i have done homework, we cannot make the verb as Tiring,so we are used being

would represent ?

Damkerng T.

@user36188 Oh, I see. You add being to our discussion (will vs. would).

@user36188 Something like will, but less definite.

user36188

12:16

@DamkerngT. when we use been and would

Damkerng T.

Do you mean on what occasion we'll use been together with would?

user36188

no i did not know which action we have to use been and would

Damkerng T.

Hmm... that makes me curious; why would you want to know about when to use been and when to use would, then?

I mean, is it in your exercises from your textbook or something?

Or were you just curious after hearing something or reading some discussion?

user36188

consider this sentence, cm portfolio would have given to person, why we are not using cm portfolio will give to person

Damkerng T.

Neither is grammatical.

You would want something like The CM portfolio will/would be given to a/the/this/that person.

user36188

12:23

what is the difference showing the will and would

Damkerng T.

There are several possible differences, but as I said it's boiled down to would is less definite than will.

In other words, you may think of it as "tentative".

Have you learned English conditionals?

user36188

No

Damkerng T.

I see. Hmm...

user36188

spotting the errors in english for me little bit confusing

Damkerng T.

I'm thinking that you're probably better off reading/listening more at this stage.

Don't worry too much about grammar.

user36188

12:26

ok

How do i good at english

what i have to do

?

Damkerng T.

The best way is dating a native speaker. :P

The next best thing is living in the place where native speakers live. :-)

The next best thing yet is to read and listen to good English more, a lot more.

Interacting with native speakers is also a big help.

Jude

@DamkerngT. I wish I could

@DamkerngT. my dream

Damkerng T.

:D

0

Q: How to understand "This American government — what is it but a tradition" by Thoreau?

This American government — what is it but a tradition, though a recent one, endeavoring to transmit itself unimpaired to posterity, but each instant losing some of its integrity. What does "what is it but a tradition" mean? Can we use "though" and "but" together? Does "each" mean "each post...

grammar

Works by Thoreau are mentioned again and again on ELL.

I guess it's part of the canon taught in many countries.

Damkerng T.

13:00

3

Q: Used to or past simple with the adverb 'When'

I know that both 'Used to' and past simple can be used to talk about things that happened in the past, and that 'Used to' is informal in negative sentences but is the preferred construction when the sentence is positive. The main function of 'Used to' is expressing a habit that you had in the p...

sentence-construction past-tense adverbs

This one needs a better answer.

Catija

13:58

@DamkerngT. don't forget that people can't participate in chat if they don't have sufficient rep.

Damkerng T.

Oh, yes! I keep forgetting that!

What's the minimum rep? 10? Or 20?

Catija

20.

Damkerng T.

@Tiffany I'm sorry that I forgot to tell you that you need at least 20 rep points on Stack Exchange to post anything in chat. (I hope you'll hang around with us on ELL, maybe ask some more questions, and get 20 rep points soon. :-)

In any case, I'm gonna post Tiffany's question here in chat, so any native speaker could see her question and give her some feedback if they wanted to.

0

Q: Give me some comments on my English accent

I live in Asia. I've started doing some kind of audio books on Youtube for my friends' kids. However, I'm not really confident of my English accent. I want to know that how do Engliah native speakers think about my accent. Pleas give me some comments. Thanks a lot. My video links: https://w...

accent

Here are the links to her videos: youtube.com/watch?v=X5CJXzED7lM, youtube.com/watch?v=Y7Tu8b1MUCs

Damkerng T.

14:26

FWIW, googling for "Bundles in Academic Discourse", though not directly related to your question, might help tune our perception that it's just "different", not "more difficult". — Damkerng T. 1 min ago

I think this might be worth sharing in here.

Man_From_India

A exam preparation question -

Q10. The railway budget is not proposed any revision in passenger fares and freight rates.
(a) is not proposing any revised
(b) has not proposed any revision
(c) has not revised any proposal
(d) has no revised proposal
(e) No correction required

We need to use these option to make the sentence in question correct. I think the sentence as it is is incorrect. We need option b to make it correct. Right?

Damkerng T.

(b) is the most comfortable alternative for me.

(to read :-)

Man_From_India

Thanks, The answer key says option e. But I think the sentence is wrong. So correct does require.

Damkerng T.

is not is strange.

Man_From_India

I think the way propose is used is strange! It's not using the passive voice properly.

Damkerng T.

14:31

nods

Man_From_India

@DamkerngT. Have you written such exams?

Damkerng T.

No. I just went straight to use English in my jobs. :D

(Which was part of the reason of my problem with grammar in the past.)

Man_From_India

Same for me. But you seem to know a little bit (or maybe more) about these tests.

Damkerng T.

@Man_From_India It came much later, when others asked me to help.

Man_From_India

@DamkerngT. Ah I see. Despite your problem regarding grammar in the past as you say, in the past you have written some fantastic answers, and thus solved some grammar issues :-)

Damkerng T.

14:35

I learn as I go, I guess. :D

Thanks for the nice words, BTW.

Man_From_India

@DamkerngT. More of "true" words!

Damkerng T.

Hehe!

BTW, the local standardized English tests over here in the past were rather easy. (I'm not very sure if they're still the same.) I was exempted from the required standard English courses in my university days, and I was like, "What the?" -- I mean, I knew I wasn't that good.

@Man_From_India Hey, this one says it's (b)! raceinstitute.in/expected-questions-idioms-and-phrase-2

Man_From_India

@DamkerngT. Great find! Thanks.

Damkerng T.

My pleasure!

Words of the Day: pariah

(What should I read/listen to if I want to run into new positive words more often? I really wonder!)

Man_From_India

14:56

Humor :D

Damkerng T.

('pariah' is not exactly new to me, BTW, but it's obviously not part of my active vocab.)

@Man_From_India Hehe!

Cardinal

15:11

:-)

Damkerng T.

15:38

@Cardinal I know nothing about this card thing, but it looks awesome! :-)

Anonymous

17:01

I'm surprised it says "Cards Types" rather than "Card Types".

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. If a moderator is present in chat, we can add a user below 20 rep to the access list so they can chat anyway.

Anonymous

I don't think room owners can do that, but maybe.

Damkerng T.

@snailplane I'm not sure. I didn't try. I will, next time. :-)

Food words are tricky. I didn't know polenta, and an AusE accent made it sound like "palento"! :P

Anonymous

They are tricky. Sometimes I don't know what they mean in English, let alone in languages I'm learning!

Anonymous

Trick question: How do you pronounce quinoa?

Damkerng T.

17:09

Hmm, kwinnow?

Haha! (I just looked it up!)

Wow, Spelling Bee in an Australian accent is really tricky! Anorak sounds like "en-nuh-rack".

Haha! Let's make this one another word of the day!

S.R.I

@DamkerngT. Huh, Anorak? That's not usually seen in common International English, surely? Sounds like a slang word

Damkerng T.

Word of the Day: croquembouche

@S.R.I It's in Aus. Spelling Bee. :-)

S.R.I

shrug, doesn't matter where it came from. The source of all lies confirms my suspicions!

There's also Parka, for Anorak

Damkerng T.

17:26

LOL -- And I thought conscientiousness should've been spelled "conscioustiousness". :P

@S.R.I Haha! The origin of the word sounds funny!

Really, I think I heard cerebrovascular pronounced as "cerefrovascular"!

Ah, it sounds like cerebrovascular when the program is resumed and I sit nearer to my TV.

Cardinal

@DamkerngT. Thanks. It's very simple. I just put that figure to show how many cards I generated.

@snailplane Perhaps, because I've generated more than one deck.

<It's just a guess>

Anonymous

18:00

Anorak isn't a common word, but it's not slang.

Anonymous

It's around the 37,000th most common word in COCA.

Anonymous

Parka is more common.

Damkerng T.

Oh, no, a little girl just got eliminated by the word antecedent!

Anonymous

Wikipedia claims there's a difference between the two.

Anonymous

Aww!

Anonymous

18:02

If only they'd studied linguistics!

Damkerng T.

If only! :-)

Anonymous

I say this to myself on a daily basis.

Damkerng T.

Ratatouille is sometimes served cold, but I must prefer it hot. -- An example sentence of the word that eliminated another little girl!

Anonymous

@DamkerngT. Your edit makes my use of they less acceptable!

Anonymous

Some speakers will accept they in my example, while to others it will sound distinctly odd.

Damkerng T.

18:11

@snailplane I'm sorry! Hehe!

Anonymous

In general, younger speakers are more likely to accept they when the gender of the antecedent is known, but being younger is no guarantee that the speaker will accept it.

Damkerng T.

The winner won by spelling camaraderie right!

Anonymous

Yay!

Damkerng T.

I didn't know lots of words in their fourth to tenth rounds.

It was fun! :D

@snailplane You could fix it quickly to She before anyone can see that! :-)

Anonymous

18:42

@DamkerngT. I could, but I could also leave it the way it is so that our discussion remains coherent :-)

Damkerng T.

Understood!

BTW, did you wash the ELL shirt before wearing?

I wonder if the color is fast.

Damkerng T.

19:17

confidentvoice.com/blog/…

Huh? /w/?

English Grammar lesson - Errors made using 'Simple Present Tense' ( English for Beginners)

►

/t/, maybe, but no, I don't think /w/ is a problem.

/p/, /b/, maybe as well, but it's not that difficult to adjust our ears to the accent, I think. (I'm not American anyway, though.)

Cardinal

20:57

@Nathan Tuggy I think you should make some youtube videos, teaching how to edit a post on ell! (^_^)/ — Cardinal 1 min ago

Cardinal

22:12

Why is the verb reckon informal when it means "think"?

It's interesting because when it means "consider", it's not informal.

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