Ansuya here is one more A Lady Who Thinks She Is Thirty * * Unwillingly Miranda wakes, Feels the sun with terror, One unwilling step she takes, Shuddering to the mirror. Miranda in Miranda's sight Is old and gray and dirty; Twenty-nine she was last night; This morning she is thirty. Shining like the morning star, Like the twilight shining, Haunted by a calendar, Miranda is a-pining. Silly girl, silver girl, Draw the mirror toward you; Time who makes the years to whirl Adorned as he adored you. Time is timelessness for you; Calendars for the human; What's a year, or thirty, to Loveliness made woman? Oh, Night will not see thirty again, Yet soft her wing, Miranda; Pick up your glass and tell me, then-- How old is Spring, Miranda? Ogden Nash
Here is one more.. I know who on this thread will enjoy this..:rotfl Celery Celery, raw Develops the jaw, But celery, stewed, Is more quietly chewed. Ogden Nash
Susi It's good to have you here, and thanks for paying me the ultimate compliment - that I explain things in an easily understandable way. I am very happy to answer your question, and please don't apologise for anything. It is not silly at all - I am sure many people will benefit from you having asked it, and I get VERY excited when I have a new question to answer Like naming words are called nouns, and doing words are called verbs, we call words that show CONNECTIONS prepositions. In your examples (I've changed the tense form slightly to make them more accurate) I am building a house for my daughter. I am building a house to my daughter. "for" and "to" are prepositions. The first sentence is correct - in this example, we would use "for" and not "to". However, you could also say I am building a house TO give TO my daughter. This is correct also, and makes use of "to", but it is longer and in a way, a clumsier construction. Prepositions are used for three basic purposes: 1) To show a connection of time I will meet you AT noon. My yoga class starts ON Monday. She was born IN March. My cat has been ill FOR two months, FROM June TO August. 2) To show a connection of place, that is, where is one thing located in relation to another I left my scarf ON the bus. He likes to eat AT home. Luckily, the cricket ball went THROUGH the open window. She is the middle child, born BETWEEN two boys. 3) To introduce objects of verbs. To repeat what I explained in an earlier post, a SUBJECT performs an action (signified by a verb) to an OBJECT which receives the action. So, some prepositions are used to make a connection between a verb and the object. Here are examples: You must think ABOUT what I said. He hoped FOR a happy ending to the story. These clothes smell OF smoke. These are not the only ways in which prepositions are use. The example you give is slightly more complicated, as "for my daughter" is a prepositional phrase, not an object as such, but we don't need to go into that. Instead, I imagine your main concern is how to figure out which preposition to use when. Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to this question, or a rule I could give you to follow. There seems to be no clear or simple logic to choosing the right preposition for a particular sentence, so most teachers get students to practise using prepositions until they have memorised the correct usage. Eventually, it is hoped the student will figure out which one "sounds" right, which obviously comes only with much practice! If you would like more practice, here are a few sites you could use. Most of my discussion here is based on the first link. Prepositions of Time, Place, and to Introduce Objects Prepositions: Locators in Time and Place ELC Study Zone: Prepositions http://www.infoplease.com/cig/grammar-style/prepositional-phrases-big-daddy-phrases.html I hope that this has answered your question, Susi, and I look forward to your continued participation in this thread. Thanks for stopping by! Ansuya
Chitra I can see how Ogden Nash would amuse and entertain you so much - judging from the excellent sense of humour you display in your own posts, you would naturally take much delight in his mischief-making! Here's an example of how easy it is to get confused with words, for me anyway! I just wrote a message to someone, and used the word "discrete". I wanted it to mean "tactful". However, something was niggling at me, because I remembered the word "discreet". So, which one is right in this context? Well, one quick Google search later and it turns out I used the wrong word! "Discrete" means "distinct", as in They can be divided into discrete groups, as they have nothing in common. What I wanted was "discreet", as in She is such a blabbermouth; she should learn to be more discreet. So, as I am always saying, it's a tricky business, but the good news is, we can constantly improve our language use if we're open to it
Thanks Ansuya. I envy you for your English.I am surprised to see your answers for ( hope "for" is correct here. Nowadays i am confused) various levels. Yes. Really i want to practise prepositions. I'll make best use of the sites given by you. Bye, Susi.
Susi I envy you for the Indian language/languages you speak as well as English! Be proud of your ability to communicate in several languages, and more importantly, your willingness to improve your skills even though you don't necessarily have to. "For" was indeed the right preposition to use in that case, and don't worry - prepositions are confusing for everyone Here are a few more useful websites for preposition practice: English Prepositions The Language Project, Bristol: Learn English and practise with free interactive exercises. English Language Study JavaScript Quiz (I-TESL-J) ESL Quiz - Prepositions (Edmilson Sá) Good luck with the practice!
Ansuya, I am wondering about the usage of 'may vs might' as in 1. She may join for a walk with us tomorrow 2. She might join for a walk with us tomorrow. Love the way you are changing signatures!
Hi Anusuya, This is a really great thread and I feel bad for missing it all these days. I read it all in one go. Its very interesting and informative. I have learnt a few tips in today's reading and hope to do more so in the future. (Please correct my usage if I am wrong . I would welcome that as I really dint get an oppurtunity to learn English the way it should be spoken when I was young.) I should thank Anandchitra for posting the link in misc recipes thread without which I would not have ventured here. Regards, CC
Dear Ansuya, Thanks to Anandchitra who mentioned this thread elsewhere, I am here and am delighted. This is a brilliant idea from you and I see that it has attracted a lot of feedback. And why not?! For most of us here, English is only the second or the third language in the schools. Some of us may have attended English medium schools, yet, when we get home, it is one's mother tongue that is spoken. Hence, most of us are raised with two languages and are bound to colour the languages accordingly. This is a great thread in that one can clarify any doubts here and also help to improve their English. I have read a couple of pages and have noted as to how well you are explaining the English matters! Kudos to you for that!! Although I love English and have been raised with English as the school medium, I know my English is full of errors and at times, I do not make time to stop and correct or stop and think! I know that I take plenty of liberties with English, after all, I feel it is my English and can do whatever I want with it!! I will definitely be one of those who will be peeping here often to refresh my grammar and polish up my language I loved the way you have explained advice and advise in the beginning of this thread. Keep it up and thank you Ansuya. It will be sometime before I go through this word-rich thread of many pages, but I am looking forward to it. L, Kamla
CharuChitthra and Kamla It is good to hear from both of you, and I am glad that AnandChitra, our #1 English Matters cheerleader, is sending people this way! Your feedback is most encouraging, and I do appreciate the compliments. This thread is working because of the great input I've been receiving from all its contributors. I have been pleasantly surprised by how interested people are in this topic, and it's this enthusiasm from all of you that keeps it going. Like I have said before, the idea came from Sanju and was helped along by Srama. I simply took their lead and "ran with it". So, welcome to both of you, and I hope you continue to find this thread informative and helpful. I am certainly enjoying it very much!
