English Matters

Discussion in 'Education & Personal Growth' started by Ansuya, Dec 20, 2008.

  1. Srama

    Srama Finest Post Winner

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    Ansuya, so very cute.....just loved it! My son was giggling (if I can use that word for a boy) so much while watching with me. Thanks for sharing.
     
  2. tikka

    tikka Gold IL'ite

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    Ansuya, Nandshyam, to fill in on the gaps: This is my domestic help's 16 year old daughter who is in grade XI. She does well in other subjects taught in Tamil as the medium of education but has been consistently doing poorly in English, taught as the second language. She came to me for help with this lesson, as they had to present a "seminar" on it for evaluation that will go into her grades. I am trying to help her learn to speak English for her day to day communication, but when she came with her lessons and somewhat nervous about it, I did not want to turn her away.
    It so happened, she DID give her own understanding of the short story and the teacher DID pick her apart. To prepare for the seminar, the girl had borrowed the original in Tamil out of the school library and showed the teacher where she got the information from. Surprisingly, the teacher took it well and marked her higher for the initiative. I'd given her a bad advice, asked her to be non-commital about the teacher's explanation, what do I know :).
     
  3. Anuprasan23

    Anuprasan23 New IL'ite

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    Hi Ansuya,

    What is the difference between 'he/she does not know?' & 'he/she do not know?'
    Pl elucidate.

    Anu
     
  4. Ansuya

    Ansuya Platinum IL'ite

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    Hello, Anu

    He/she does not know

    is the correct form, while

    He/she do not know

    is incorrect.

    This is because in English, which verbs ("do" and "does" are verbs) we use depend on the number (singular or plural) and person (first, second, and third person) of the nouns we are using.

    So, we use "do" with first and second person pronouns

    I do like a good breakfast in the morning.
    Will you do as I asked, please?


    and plural nouns

    The children do not eat as healthily as they should.

    "Does" would be incorrect in all of the above examples.

    We use "does" with third person singular pronouns

    He does as much exercise as he can every day.
    She does not enjoy fast food.
    It does look like there will be more snow this week.


    and singular nouns

    The child does her work well, until she is distracted.

    "Do" would be incorrect in the four examples above.

    You will soon get used to the sound of what is correct, and what is not, the more practice you get (reading and speaking). Thanks for a good question!
     
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  5. Anuprasan23

    Anuprasan23 New IL'ite

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    Hi Ansuya
    Thanks a lot for clarifying my doubt. Here is another one, whether the following sentence is correct or not??
    "If you would have informed me earlier, I might have told my friend to come for your help."
    Also kindly explain about using of would and might. Sorry for the disturbance.
    Anu
     
  6. Ansuya

    Ansuya Platinum IL'ite

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    Anu, may I know why you need this information? If I know the context of your questions, I may be able to give an answer more well-suited to your needs.

    On a general note - spelling:

    I always thought "hormone" was spelled like this, but I see it all over IL, especially, spelled like this: "harmone", by lots of different people - am I missing something?
     
  7. tikka

    tikka Gold IL'ite

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    I am guessing a lot of people pronounce the "o" in hormone as an "a" sound, similar to the "a" in "harmony".
    I find that very common here too, even amongst people who should know better: lab technicians. I was given a receipt for doing a T3/T4 "harmone" test. I might never have understood the difference in how the "o" is pronounced, though I knew the spelling, had it not been for learning phonics with my three year old :)
     
  8. Ansuya

    Ansuya Platinum IL'ite

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    Thanks, Tikka, that was an erudite and quite plausible explanation. I'm never quite sure about spelling, which is why I thought to check, especially when it's as widespread as "harmone".

    I spent the first half of 2000 spelling "millennium" with one "n", until someone pointed out my mistake to me.
     
  9. smrithi4u

    smrithi4u New IL'ite

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    Hello Ansuya

    I am back with a small question again.
    How do we say the following sentences.

    1).Talk to you over the weekend or
    Talk to you at the weekend or
    Talk to you on the weekend

    2).How are things at your end?.
    How are things with you?.
    How are things on your end?.

    Thanks in advance.
    Smrithi.
     
  10. Anuprasan23

    Anuprasan23 New IL'ite

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    Generally, i am getting confusion in using Would and Might.
     

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