can't really make head or tail of the difference between these two words... :wacko:
can anyone help me out? a reply with a few examples will be very much appreciated
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can't really make head or tail of the difference between these two words... :wacko:
can anyone help me out? a reply with a few examples will be very much appreciated
Generally a policy is a course of action (eg. company policy - политика компании), and politics is everything which has to do with parties, state structure, etc.
Например, "Jane enjoys reading about politics." versus "Jane does not like her company's policy regarding vacation days."
thanks, it seems to be clearer now.
by the way if there's a date written somewhere (e.g.: November 5) what's the most natural way to pronounce it?
i think THE FIFTH OF NOVEMBER and NOVEMBER THE FIFTH both sound alright
will NOVEMBER FIFTH do? or is it incorrect? and what's the best variant?
Both of those are acceptable but formal. This way is more common: November FifthQuote:
Originally Posted by moo-cow
paulb
thanks a lot
a few more questions if no one minds :roll:
1. should the predicate be in the plural or in the singular in the following sentence:
"Devoting your spare time to going in for sports, physical training is / are essential"
2. which version is correct:
"I have never learnt to read or write"
or
"I have never learnt to read or to write"
3. "I meant to have given you five shillings this morning for a Christmas-box, Sam. I'll give it you this afternoon, Sam."
i came across this sentence somewhere on the Net and couldn't understand whether the part in bold is grammatical or not. the point is that all my english-english explanatory dictionaries say that you can only say "give somebody something" or "give something to somebody". so is this sentence actually acceptable or not? if yes, is this kind of structure used very often?
4. "Some grammarians maintain that in sentences of this type we ..."
will it be a mistake to put the definite article here? (in the sentences)
5. "... such a one as that."
we need to put a here, don't we? i think we do, but the whole phrase sounds kind of strange to me, so i decided to ask about it...
6. "She does nothing but make scenes from morning till night."
don't we have to add the inflection s here?
7. if there's a sentence with a few homogeneous subjects expressed by infinitives should the form of the predicate be singular or plural?
8. in Russian punctuation rules are of huge importance. it really gets on my nerves to see a comma misplaced or missed when reading a text in Russian. do punctuation rules in English matter so much as in Russian? i've been learning English for quite a while now, both at school and at university, but i know nothing of punctuation, primarily, i guess, because teachers don't take the trouble of explaining these rules. so are they simply not that important or... or what?
9. is there any difference between unconsciously and subconsciously?
eg.: i did it unconsciously / subconsciously.
10. which variant of the following two do you find more correct? if both, what's the variant which is used more often?
"There is an enormous number of words and expressions ..."
"There are an enormous number of words and expressions"
11. a little dialogue:
(1) - this is a good book.
(2) - this is also a good book.
(3) - i liked the first one better / i liked the first better.
in the third line of the little dialogue above - do we need to put one or not? i might be wrong, but i think that you've got to put one because it sort of substitutes the noun there.
and in sentences like "i'm not the first you've been engaged to" we don't put one, because there's no noun for it to substitute - am i right or not? i always get confused in cases like these, so i need someone to kind of confirm or reject my little hypothesis :wall:
thanks in advance to those who'll be so kind as to answer my questions!
Warning: I am not a grammar expert, just a native speaker, so I could be technically wrong on all these questions.
"to going in for sports" doesn't sound right. How about: "Devoting your spare time to sports and physical training is essential"Quote:
"Devoting your spare time to going in for sports, physical training is / are essential"
I never learned to read or writeQuote:
"I have never learnt to read or write"
or
"I have never learnt to read or to write"
I sound like something out of Dickens or turn of the century writing.Quote:
3. "I meant to have given you five shillings this morning for a Christmas-box, Sam. I'll give it you this afternoon, Sam."
i came across this sentence somewhere on the Net and couldn't understand whether the part in bold is grammatical or not. the point is that all my english-english explanatory dictionaries say that you can only say "give somebody something" or "give something to somebody". so is this sentence actually acceptable or not? if yes, is this kind of structure used very often?
Using "in the sentences" does not sound right.Quote:
4. "Some grammarians maintain that in sentences of this type we ..."
will it be a mistake to put the definite article here? (in the sentences)
Got more context?Quote:
5. "... such a one as that."
we need to put a here, don't we? i think we do, but the whole phrase sounds kind of strange to me, so i decided to ask about it...
Congrats, you know more about English grammar than me :)Quote:
6. "She does nothing but make scenes from morning till night."
don't we have to add the inflection s here?
7. if there's a sentence with a few homogeneous subjects expressed by infinitives should the form of the predicate be singular or plural?
It all depends on who you are communicating with. A highly educated English scholar will have punctuation down, but some random guy on the internet (like myself) may not follow all the rules. :) I will say that Russian punctuation, specifically commas, are really frustrating for me. I'm used to them being used in English to mark a place to pause your speech, but in Russian a lot of times it seems that people just plow right through the commas when reading (e.g. ignore them and read straight through).Quote:
8. in Russian punctuation rules are of huge importance. it really gets on my nerves to see a comma misplaced or missed when reading a text in Russian. do punctuation rules in English matter so much as in Russian? i've been learning English for quite a while now, both at school and at university, but i know nothing of punctuation, primarily, i guess, because teachers don't take the trouble of explaining these rules. so are they simply not that important or... or what?
I think of "unconsciously" as being unconscious, e.g. asleep, in a coma, etc. So using "sub" in your sentence makes more sense to me.Quote:
9. is there any difference between unconsciously and subconsciously?
eg.: i did it unconsciously / subconsciously.
Quote:
10. which variant of the following two do you find more correct? if both, what's the variant which is used more often?
"There is an enormous number of words and expressions ..."
"There are an enormous number of words and expressions"
Quote:
11. a little dialogue:
(1) - this is a good book.
(2) - this is also a good book.
(3) - i liked the first one better / i liked the first better.
in the third line of the little dialogue above - do we need to put one or not?
But there is a noun, "I'm not the first (person/man/women) you've been engaged to"Quote:
and in sentences like "i'm not the first you've been engaged to" we don't put one, because there's no noun for it to substitute - am i right or not?
No, the sentence is fine as it is. Make, not makes.Quote:
Originally Posted by moo-cow
If you are talking about sentences like "To speak, to write, and to read are all essential skills," then the verb should be in plural. However, a similar sentence with gerunds instead of infinitives ("Speaking, writing, and reading") would sound much better, IMO.Quote:
Originally Posted by moo-cow
thanks for the replies guys :)
now i'd like to englarge a little bit on my last post...
1.
Quote:
5. "... such a one as that."
we need to put a here, don't we? i think we do, but the whole phrase sounds kind of strange to me, so i decided to ask about it...
yes, here it is:Quote:
Got more context?
I would sooner die here, at your feet than see you married to such a one as that.
so is it ok with a?
2.
concerning punctuation rules - i'm more interested whether an average English-speaker observes (or at least tries to observe) them in everyday formal writing (e.g.: when making up a contract).
3.
"There is an enormous number of words and expressions ..."
will remember, but is the variant with are totally incorrect?
4.
so do you mean it's obligatory to say "the first one" here as well?Quote:
But there is a noun, "I'm not the first (person/man/women) you've been engaged to"
i'm asking because i saw this sentence in a Mark Twain book or somewhere and, as far as i remember, it was without one there
5.
that was exactly what i meant, thanks again.Quote:
If you are talking about sentences like "To speak, to write, and to read are all essential skills," then the verb should be in plural. However, a similar sentence with gerunds instead of infinitives ("Speaking, writing, and reading") would sound much better, IMO.
Like the other guys said, I'm not a grammar expert, but this is just my opinion on everything.
Technically, I don't think anything is inherently wrong with this, although the phrasing is very over the top. A better way to say it would be: "I would sooner die here, at your feet, than see you married to one such as that/she/he".Quote:
yes, here it is:
I would sooner die here, at your feet than see you married to such a one as that.
so is it ok with a?
Yes, punctuation is generally observed, and definitely in formal writing such as essays for school, resumes, etc. However, some punctuation (like the semicolon for instance) is often misused or not used at all. But commas, periods, colons and the like are important, and native speakers may come across as uneducated if they are used improperly in writing (especially in things like your example of the contract). Hope that clears it up.Quote:
2.
concerning punctuation rules - i'm more interested whether an average English-speaker observes (or at least tries to observe) them in everyday formal writing (e.g.: when making up a contract).
Honestly, in informal speech, nobody would ever correct you whether you used "are" or "is" here. Not 100% sure on what the truly correct verb is, but I believe "are" is correct grammatically because here, you need a plural verb as both "words" and "expressions" are plural.Quote:
3.
"There is an enormous number of words and expressions ..."
will remember, but is the variant with are totally incorrect?
Saying "the first one" is more common, but you don't need to add "one". Just "the first" is fine as well, albeit a bit more formal.Quote:
4.
so do you mean it's obligatory to say "the first one" here as well?
i'm asking because i saw this sentence in a Mark Twain book or somewhere and, as far as i remember, it was without one there
brandonp
thanks a lot!
think i understand everything now
one last thing
i made a short recording (mp3) to pratise my English pronunciation.
can anyone please listen to it and say whether it's generally all right or not? :oops:
the file is just one and a half MB so it won't take you long to download it.
here's the link:
http://www.zshare.net/download/59083952e31572cc/
noheat...Quote:
Originally Posted by noheat
Just like you, I am a native speaker and not an expert; yet, I am wondering why you went with "is" and not "are" for the above sentance. As there are two items "sports" AND "physical training" would this not then be a plural sentance and require the "are" and not an "is"???
moo-cow....
I rememebered this expression from reading Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and pulled a copy off my shelf...Quote:
"I have never learnt to read or write"
or
"I have never learnt to read or to write"
I also remember from the movie, yet not the book the line…Quote:
If I have wounded your sister's feelings, it was unknowingly done; and though the motives which governed me may to you very natuarlly appear insufficient, I have not yet learnt to condemn them. - Chapter 43
As P&P was first "appeared" in Great Britain in 1813, that might be why the term is a little out of date.Quote:
If I had ever learnt, I should've been a great proficient.
The verb "is" agrees with "devoting," not with "sports and physical training." "Devoting your time" is a gerund phrase acting as the (singular) subject of the sentence. (Devoting = gerund/subject; your time = direct object; to sports and physical training = indirect object.) Or more simply:Quote:
Originally Posted by rockzmom
"Devoting your time [to anything] is important."
vs.
"Sports and physical training are important."
moo-cow
Your pronunciation is great! There are only two things I noticed on my first listen. "Transferred" is stressed on the first syllable, rather than the second. The "u" is "buffet" is pronounced with an "uh" sound rather than an "oo" sound. In other words, a short rather than a long "u" sound. But other than that, the rest was great. If anyone else wants to give it a listen though to try and catch anything I missed, please do.
It's excellent! Some very small things: "emPLOYees" and "TRANSferred." And just be aware, when you said "whole office," the OH in "whole" sounded a little like EH, which is getting close to "hell office" :)Quote:
Originally Posted by moo-cow
In general? Quite good.
Ah yes, I meant to mention the pronunciation of "whole" as well. Although, from the sounds of it, hell office may have also been an accurate description as well. :wink:
My dictionaries insist that the verb is "transFER", as opposed to the noun "TRANSfer".Quote:
TRANSferred
What's the catch?
When the word is in noun form, the stress is always on the first syllable. As far as the present tense verb goes, the stress can change depending on the context it is being used in. The more common usage of the word will still have the stress on the first syllable. For example, if you were to say: "I am going to transfer you to another department", the stress would be TRANSfer.
I can only think of one instance where I would put the stress on the second syllable, and that would be if I were to say something like: "I would like to transfer this bit of knowledge to you". In this case, I would say transFER. Although, this is definitely not a common stress pattern, and I'm really not sure of the difference in semantics here.
thank you all for listening to my recording and correcting my mistakes! :friends:
will try to work hard on my pronunciation to polish it up :crazy:
:idea: :idea: :idea:
can anyone tell me which tense the verb must be in in the following sentence:
I knew Paul LIVED there VS I knew Paul LIVES there (considering that Paul still lives there)
and what preposition is used after the verb "to email" in sentences like these:
Email me TO / AT sport@times.co.uk
Email your views TO / AT sport@times.co.uk
:?: :?: :?:
I knew Paul lived there.Quote:
Originally Posted by moo-cow
Email me at...
Email your views to...
thanks
i also wanted to know if there's any difference between "remind about smth" and "remind of smth" - clear this up for me too please :roll:
You remind someone about something that they've forgotten:Quote:
Originally Posted by moo-cow
"I'll remind you about the meeting so you don't miss it."
"She forgot my birthday even though I reminded her about it last week."
You remind someone of something when there is similarity:
"He reminds me of my brother... they look exactly alike."
"This madeleine (cookie) reminds me of childhood."
thanks, very clear explanation! :good: