# Forum Other Languages English for Russians - Изучаем английский язык Practice your English  just trying

## colonist

Hello. my name is Anatoly. I live in Russia, (North of it: Komi Republic). Did you hear about it?
I'm studying the English language just for pleasure, as a hobby. I will be glad if you help me and correct me. 
Tell me about yourselfs. Where do you live? What is your native language? Did you start to learn foreign one? What for? How old are you? 
I'm 29 years old and a peasant, a fisher, and a "чистильщик дымоходов"  ("pipes cleaner"?, "chemneysweep"? How does it sound in English?)

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## JackBoni

Hello Anatoly, 
To begin with, I will suggest corrections for your mistakes, then I will tell you a little about myself. I'll write in English, so you can see how I write.   

> Hello.My name is Anatoly. I live in Russia, (North of it: Komi Republic). Did you hear about it?
> I'm studying the English language just for pleasure, as a hobby. I will be glad if you help me and correct me. 
> Tell me about yourselfs. Where do you live? What is your native language? Did you start to learn foreign one? What for? How old are you? 
> I'm 29 years old and a peasant, a fisher, and a "чистильщик дымоходов" ("pipes cleaner"?, "chemneysweep"? How does it sound in English?)

 Hello. My name is Anatoly. I live in the Komi Republic, which is in nothern Russia. Have you heard of it?*
I am studying English for pleasure, as a hobby. I would be very grateful for your help and corrections. Tell me about yourselves**. Where do you live? What is your native language? Are you learning a foreign one, and if so, what for? How old are you? 
I'm 29 years old. I am a fisherman. 
Everything in red is a mistake. Everything in blue can be said in many different ways. For example: 
1. I live in the Komi Republic, which is in Northern Russia.
   I live in the Komi Republic, which is in the north of Russia.
   I live in in the north of Russia, in the Komi Republic. 
2. I would be very grateful for your help and corrections.
   I will be very grateful to you for correcting me. 
3. Native tongue/language
    Mother tongue
    Birth language
    First language 
4. What for? = (В этом случае) почему? 
*Have you heard of it? Этот вопрос спрашивает нас, если бы мы знаем, что Коми Республиса (?) *существует*. 
**Very often, when a word ends in " f " or sometimes "fe" in English, it makes its plural in "ves". For example: 
Yourself, yourselves (а ещё "ourselves, themselves")
Shelf, shelves.
Elf, elves.
Life, lives.
Knife, knives.
wife, wives.  
Hello Anatoly. My name is Jack and I am 19 years old. I live in Nottingham, which is in England. No, I had not heard of the Komi Republic before today  :: . I am studying Russian at university, and have been learning German for about eight years. One day, I hope to live in Germany. My mother tongue is British English, although I speak Welsh with my mother, as she was brought up in Wales. Although she was born in South Wales, she speaks Welsh very well. (Люди на юге Уэльса не очень часто говорят по-валлийски) 
I hope that helps you, Anatoly. If I can do anything more to help, do ask. I am sorry, but I do not know the word you were looking for. Perhaps someone else does? 
Jack

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## colonist

Thank you very much, Jack, for your answer and for the corrections. 
You are studying Russian and have been learning German, and you do speak Welsh... and British English. It means you will know FOUR   ::  languages? 
How different Welsh and English languages? I guess it has much of common words.

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## Оля

> How different are Welsh and English _? I guess [s:35nfwzkc]it has[/s:35nfwzkc] they have much of common words (many common words?)

 Jack, this is a very common mistake for those whose mother tongue is English or who study Russian after studying English:   

> Этот вопрос спрашивает нас, *если бы мы знаем*, что Коми Республика (?) *существует*.

 _I don't know if bla bla bla..._ is translated as _Я не знаю, bla bla bla ли..._ into Russian. No "если". If you need examples, please ask. 
And, in Russian it's not "Коми Республика", but "республика Коми".

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## JackBoni

Hello Оля and Anatoly.   

> You are studying Russian and have been learning German, and you _ speak Welsh... and British English. That/which means you will know FOUR  languages?

 Yes, Anatoly, that's right. I have been studying Russian for a few years, and *masterrussian* has helped me a lot toward my goal of eventually speaking Russian to a reasonable standard. I read a lot of Russian from various sources, although I do not watch Russian films very often, contrary to Оля's continuous recommendations. I have recently found how easy it is to acquire Russian films - again, as Оля has always maintained - and will start to work through a list of films posted on another thread very soon. 
Welsh is a different language from English entirely. Saying that, though, they do have many words *in common*. А ещё можно сказать "Saying that, though, they do have many cognates". 
Оля, the above (first option) is the best way, in my opinion, to get across your previous idea. In this context, the second one sounds okay, but doesn't flow quite as well. You can get by with your variant of "many common words", although I don't think it flows quite as well as the first phrase I used. Also -   

> Jack, this is a very common mistake for *English native speakers/native speakers of English*or *those*who study Russian after studying English.

 Оля, I will start a new thread in the Grammar and Vocabulary section about that. I think I understand now, but I want to make sure. Thank you. Anatoly and Оля, I hope the suggested corrections make sense. Please ask if you'd like explanations. 
Jack

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## Оля

Jack, could you please explain why "_those whose mother tongue is English_" is wrong?

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## Lampada

> Jack, could you please explain why "_those whose mother tongue is English_" is wrong?

 Ой, извиняюсь.  Вместо *is* English я прочитала *in* English.

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## rockzmom

> I have recently found how easy it is to acquire Russian films - again, as Оля has always maintained - and will start to work through a list of films posted on another thread very soon. Jack

 Jack! 
Yes, please come over to the dark side (we have some fresh cookies!) and join our Thread about Films and Book.  ::   
Can always use another fresh new person to post their reviews and thoughts about first time watching these films or reading books! 
So, come on over! We don't bite!   ::  http://masterrussian.net/mforum/view...hp?f=1&t=16413  
Rockzmom

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## JackBoni

Hello Оля, 
Your variant is not wrong at all; I apologise that my thinking was not clear. I view my variants to be a little more concise and natural, though. You will hear people say it the way you have here, perhaps even in this context, but I think my variants to be more natural. Do not think, however, that your variant was wrong, because it is not. Lampada, if your comment has anything to do with what I said, I am sorry but I don't understand it.   ::   
Jack

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## Оля

> Originally Posted by Оля  Jack, could you please explain why "_those whose mother tongue is English_" is wrong?   Олечка, ты что, шутишь?  Разве мы скажем "Те, у кого родной язык по-русски" ?

 А разве "those whose mother tongue is English" значит "те, у кого родной язык *по-русски*"? 
Я пыталась сказать "_те, у кого родной язык английский_".

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## Lampada

Я уже исправилась.  В спешке увидела что-то другое.   ::

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## colonist

> And, in Russian it's not "Коми Республика", but "республика Коми".

 Здесь оба варианта правильны. Вероятно из-за влияния языка коми. Мы говорим  "Республикa Коми" и "Коми Республика"...            Both variants are correct here.

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## Оля

> Both variants are correct here.

 So in the Komi Republic only then.  ::

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## JackBoni

> Both variants are correct here.

 If both variants are correct, then which variant is most common? I assume that if Оля has only seen республика Коми, then that, in turn, must be the most common variant?

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## Оля

> If both variants are correct, then which variant is most common? I assume that if Оля has only seen республика Коми, then that, in turn, must be the most common variant?

 In the whole Russia they say "Республика Коми", and it seems like only in the Республика Коми they say "Коми республика".   ::   
In the Wiki, you can find the page *Республика Коми* only.

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## colonist

> In the whole Russia they say "Республика Коми", and it seems like only in the Республика Коми they say "Коми республика".

 That's right. It's because of influence of Komi language probably.

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## JackBoni

Oops, sorry guys, but the articles seem to be causing you trouble again. 
[quote"Оля"]* On* Wiki, you can find the page Республика Коми only[/quote] 
Here, Оля, the definite article is not needed, to the point that's even considered wrong. 
[quote"Оля"]In the whole Russia[/quote] 
In this situation, your phrasing sounds slightly out of place to me. It will do, but doesn't sound as natural as it could. Perhaps something like this will do: 
Generally in Russia they say "X"
Russians normally say "X" 
I think the reason it sounds odd in this context is that you say "_in the whole of Russia"_, but then specify a place where you can also say something else, which sounds contradictory. Apart from that, it does sound slightly odd linguistically. 
Hope that helps.

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## Zaya

> Generally in Russia they say "Республика Коми", and it seems like only in the Республика Коми they say "Коми республика".

 I also wouldn't say so. And I'd like to add that it used to be "Коми АССР".  ::

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## JackBoni

Zaya, I must apologise for my ignorance, but what would "Коми АССР" stand for? I am aware that the well-known acronym "CCCP" stands for Союз Советских Социалистических Республик. What would  "Коми АССР" stand for? 
Большой спасибо за помощь. 
Джек

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## Zaya

> Большо*е* спасибо за помощь.

 "Спасибо" is neuter.  ::   

```
http://slovari.yandex.ru/dict/bse/article/00036/25800.htm
```

 

> CCCP" stands for Союз Советских Социалистических Республик

 Right. And "A" stands for "Автономная". E. g. АРК means "Автономная Республика Крым".

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## Оля

> Большое спасибо за помощь.

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## JackBoni

::  Thanks for correcting that particularly embarrassing mistake

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## kottoo

mmm last post date is 1-feb-09. nyaa! It was my 22 birthday. Nice)) 
I read this forum, and think that's good idea to spoke with people who really can say: You are mistaken, and it's better to say bla-bla-bla.
hmmm but I can't chouse what I wanna more: try to make my English better, or simply talk about everything with anybody. 
I know that i can mistake sometimes (and may be more often then I think), but I wanna try and try again until I will do it well. "That's ninja way is mine!" like sais one my favorite anime character - Naruto.

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## Оля

> mmm last post date is 1-feb-09. nyaa! It was my 22th birthday. Nice))
> I read this forum_ and think that's a good idea, to [s:1aplo63r]spoke[/s:1aplo63r] [s:1aplo63r]speak[/s:1aplo63r] talk with people who really can say: You are mistaken, and it's better to say bla-bla-bla.
> hmmm but I can't choose what I [s:1aplo63r]wanna[/s:1aplo63r] want more: try to make my English better, or simply talk about everything with anybody. (somebody?) 
> I know that I can mistake sometimes (and maybe more often than I think), but I [s:1aplo63r]wanna[/s:1aplo63r] want to try and try again until I [s:1aplo63r]will[/s:1aplo63r] do it well. "That's ninja way is mine!" like [s:1aplo63r]sais[/s:1aplo63r] one my favorite anime character Naruto sa*y*s.

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## kottoo

> Originally Posted by kottoo  mmm last post date is 1-feb-09. nyaa! It was my 22th birthday. Nice))
> I read this forum_ and think that's a good idea, to [s:30ijqky3]spoke[/s:30ijqky3] [s:30ijqky3]speak[/s:30ijqky3] talk with people who really can say: You are mistaken, and it's better to say bla-bla-bla.
> hmmm but I can't choose what I [s:30ijqky3]wanna[/s:30ijqky3] want more: try to make my English better, or simply talk about everything with anybody. (somebody?) 
> I know that I can mistake sometimes (and maybe more often than I think), but I [s:30ijqky3]wanna[/s:30ijqky3] want to try and try again until I [s:30ijqky3]will[/s:30ijqky3] do it well. "That's ninja way is mine!" like [s:30ijqky3]sais[/s:30ijqky3] one my favorite anime character Naruto sa*y*s.

 Sumimasen. As expected I made many mistakes. But my friend says that I can use "wanna" if I want  ::  . And, yes! I think about somebody, but I don't know why I change my choose))
thanks, Оля.

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## noheat

> Sumimasen. As expected I made many mistakes. But my friend says that I can use "wanna" if I want  . And, yes! I think about somebody, but I don't know why I change my choose))
> thanks, Оля.

 "wanna" is slang or maybe a modern contraction? It's fine by me, in fact i use it all the time  ::  , so i say go ahead.

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## kottoo

noheat, thank you! Than I will use "wanna". mmm I think I will use "want to" at some formal meeting.

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## Оля

> But my friend says that I can use "wanna" if I want

 Yes, you can, but I believe in some contexts it could sound bad and/or strange, especially from a foreigner. 
You can read this post viewtopic.php?p=158472#p158472
(the whole thread, also, is mostly about "wanna")

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## kottoo

Thank you Оля!  ::

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## paulb

Clarification: 
Wanna is very common in spoken (American) English. It is very uncommon in written English. Feel free to say it, but don't write it.

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## Agnetha

Hello, my name is Natalia, I'm 15. I'm fond of foreign languages. I study English, German and Romanian. I can speak English rather fluently, but I still need more practice. I hope you'll help me))

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## oles_land

it's such a good idea to make this topic! 
guys, you are really cool! 
I'll be happy to find a friend to check our mistakes ::  I'm native Russian, editor, and I like to study languages (English, Arabic, Tetum, French). You are welcome!  
__________________________________
Please, correct my mistakes. Thank you!

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## Elena*

Don't laugh! My English is very bad! But i wanna be a good speaker. Please, help  me. They  says, that real english is differ from leaning in klasses. Really?

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## Оля

> Don't laugh! My English is very bad! But [s:2ojoc3n4]i wanna[/s:2ojoc3n4] I want to be (become) a good speaker. Please, help me. They  say_ that real English is differ from [s:2ojoc3n4]leaning[/s:2ojoc3n4] in classes (maybe: "from the one learned in a class"). [s:2ojoc3n4]Really[/s:2ojoc3n4]? Is that true?

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## gRomoZeka

> that real English differs

 (to) differ - глагол ("отличаться")

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## Elena*

i see, thanks!

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## Matroskin Kot

> that real English differs   (to) differ - глагол ("отличаться")

 Правильно. Также можно сказать "is different from" или "isn't the same as". Это немножко разговорнее.

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## Matroskin Kot

> Don't laugh! My English is very bad! But I want to be a good speaker. Please, help  me. They say_ that real English  differs from English learned in the classroom. Is that true?

 Ответ на твой вопрос простой: да и нет.    ::   
Язык из учебника всегда отличается от естественной речи на практике. Всегда и в любом языке. Но _сколько_ это отличается зависит от учителя (и учебника). Но все равно учишься, поэтому не стоит об этом переживать, ин май хамбл апиньан.  
Успехов!

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## FromRussia

Hello, my name Ilona. I'm from Russia, Kazan. 
I don't know English, because my teacher is so boring, and I always sleep on her lesson   ::  But I want to study English! So... Please, help me!  ::

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