English Practice

Stars

10th July 2005, 23:23

First time I've seen this part of the forum I immediately thought you guys were opening a series of English Language threads. Don't get me wrong, theory is good but why shouldn't we practice it? Wouldn't it be a good idea if we made an "All crap, no topic" thread?
How many of us pretend they know English? How many like it so much they feel the need to practice it? And how many feel they can exercise their humour in English?

Wouldn't it be...worthy of the "English Language"
section this kind of a thread? Romanian gossip, Romanian hot topics, Romanian humour, all of them or any other kind of a subject talked about in English...right here.
If this idea appeals to you, feel free to post. If no one likes my proposal, then I must ask the Administrator to delete it.
So, what's your opinion on the lines above?

arty

10th July 2005, 23:40

There IS an English based forum hosted by Softpedia. It's called "theBoard" or something like that. Not very popular thou...

so, you wanna chit/chat 'bout nothing, eh? why dont you start then and watch the goingons? anyway I assume a weak interest in this but it's worth a try... good luck

addicted

10th July 2005, 23:47

well, i write crap all over the forum,i guess i wouldnt mind also writing it here from time to time.

shumilica

11th July 2005, 00:04

this is not a way of getting romanians to practice english: telling them to say anything 'couse here is about nothin. You have to give them a subject to debate on, so they will feel motivated to post.

martzafoi_

11th July 2005, 08:25

Stars, please give us something interesting to talk about, and maybe we'll be interested, who knows?

Zazie

11th July 2005, 08:45

This is lovely! Where is knifeboy? We need some intervention on Stars. You are going down dude!

don_dannielo

11th July 2005, 09:57

There is around here a bus driver who forgot to turn right, and he generated a 950-page discussion about his mistake.

Try to beat that!

evilone

11th July 2005, 10:01

QUOTE(don_dannielo @ Jul 11 2005, 10:57)

There is around here a bus driver who forgot to turn right, and he generated a 950-page discussion about his mistake.

Try to beat that!

That discussion is hardly about the mistake.

Mosotti

11th July 2005, 10:18

whatta heck is this, the central sewer system? oh my god, my knife is soaked in crap and I can see it's beginning to rust, so maybe I'll get tetanus when I'm gonna shove it through my ugly ears. the good news is I'll be dead, because life sucks and I blow

Zazie

11th July 2005, 10:32

Knifeboy is in action! Central sewer system. Ha ha ha.

Stars

11th July 2005, 22:09

Wow! 9 posts in two days, on a no-topic (..yet!) thread!! This, I can bragg with..given the fact that there are older threads with less then 4 (four) posts. Nice!
Ok. Now, let's get down to business. You want a subject to chat about.
Everytime some shit happens in Romania or elsewhere there are always some Romanian wits (that accidentally live nextdoor or even in the room next to mine's) that have to twist everything up, make a big fuss over it, involve the freemasonry. Nothing escapes the Conspiracy Theory. The kidnapping of our 3 journalists was part of a bigger, meaner, dark plan. The war in Iraq is more than meets the eye. The death of the Pope wasn't really a "natural" one...etc. So, what do you think? Is there a small group of old, decrepit grandpa's that are actually ruling the world and manipulating us completely in believing vivid-like, complicated storied that are fabricated just for preventing us from finding out the pure truth? Who believes in the Conspiracy Theory?

(please note that the first objective of this thread is helping you all practice your English. this can be more efficient than the boring English classes at school)

Penn

11th July 2005, 22:42

I think this is boring as well... maybe if someone would correct the posts and told us what is wrong, it would make it much more interesting and exciting...

You should start with my post...

Rodeo

12th July 2005, 00:53

"Oh, my God, they've killed Kenny!"
"The Canadian Gouvernment allready appologized for Brian Adams!"

HAH, I realy wanted to say that but it never was a good time! Thanks!

Stars

12th July 2005, 11:53

QUOTE(Penn @ Jul 11 2005, 22:42)

I think this is boring as well... maybe if someone would correct the posts and told us what is wrong, it would make it much more interesting and exciting...

You should start with my post...

Ok, "if someone would...,it would make it..." Rule: never use would after if. You intended to use the 2nd type of Conditional, so it should have looked like this: "If someone corrected the posts and told us what is wrong, it would make it much more interesting and exciting". I know that it doesn't sound 100% natural for a Romanian ear, but it's the correct choice

Stars

12th July 2005, 12:09

QUOTE(Rodeo @ Jul 12 2005, 00:53)

"Oh, my God, they've killed Kenny!"
"The Canadian Gouvernment allready appologized for Brian Adams!"
HAH, I realy wanted to say that but it never was a good time! Thanks!

Rodeo, good words of wisdom, but as requested I must to show you that you don't know how to write in English

1. Gouvernment [wrong] - Government [correct]
2. allready [wrong] - already [correct]
3. appologized [wrong] - drop a "p"

PS: I tought for a full semester in College practice and I hated is every single day I went to do it because it is the most boring job on the planet. I just wanted to practice my English, but because I'm so new here, I haven't seen that we already have an entire forum in English. So, I'm too lazy to strive to convince you to stay here or to act as a thread-starter. Therefore, if you don't feel like thinking in English then c'ya... Bye children!

Penn

12th July 2005, 15:28

QUOTE(Stars @ Jul 12 2005, 13:09)

Rodeo, good words of wisdom, but as requested I must to show you that you don't know how to write in English

1. Gouvernment [wrong] - Government [correct]
2. allready [wrong] - already [correct]
3. appologized [wrong] - drop a "p"

PS: I tought for a full semester in College practice and I hated is every single day I went to do it because it is the most boring job on the planet. I just wanted to practice my English, but because I'm so new here, I haven't seen that we already have an entire forum in English. So, I'm too lazy to strive to convince you to stay here or to act as a thread-starter. Therefore, if you don't feel like thinking in English then c'ya... Bye children!

Please don't leave... It felt good that you've corrected my post and you've prooved to me that I was wrong. Are there any mistakes now?

I never heard about the rule not to use would after if... so I can really say I've learned something useful here.

Tell us more about yourself...

Mosotti

12th July 2005, 16:17

QUOTE(Stars @ Jul 12 2005, 12:53)

Ok, "if someone would...,it would make it..." Rule: never use would after if. You intended to use the 2nd type of Conditional, so it should have looked like this: "If someone corrected the posts and told us what is wrong, it would make it much more interesting and exciting". I know that it doesn't sound 100% natural for a Romanian ear, but it's the correct choice

that's an interesting observation. does this rule apply to american english as well?

gtk

12th July 2005, 16:33

QUOTE(Stars @ Jul 12 2005, 13:09)

Rodeo, good words of wisdom, but as requested I must to show you that you don't know how to write in English

1. Gouvernment [wrong] - Government [correct]
2. allready [wrong] - already [correct]
3. appologized [wrong] - drop a "p"

PS: I tought for a full semester in College practice and I hated is every single day I went to do it because it is the most boring job on the planet. I just wanted to practice my English, but because I'm so new here, I haven't seen that we already have an entire forum in English. So, I'm too lazy to strive to convince you to stay here or to act as a thread-starter. Therefore, if you don't feel like thinking in English then c'ya... Bye children!

1. must to - nu merge .. doar must
2. "don't know how to" nu e gresit dar se poate folosi si "can't" (e vorba de o aptitudine precum reading, swimming, cooking, etc.)
3. tought? probabil "taught " vroiai sa zici
4. cu "in College practice" nu prea merge... daca vroiai sa zici ca ai predat la un colegiu spuneai "at a college" ... "practice"- la ce te referi?
5. "is" nu merge acolo...vroaiai sa zici "it"? mai departe nu prea am inteles restul frazei... ai facut-i pt. ca era cea mai plictisitoare meserie? de fapt... ai predat sau ai invatat?

gtk

12th July 2005, 17:06

QUOTE(Stars @ Jul 12 2005, 12:53)

Ok, "if someone would...,it would make it..." Rule: never use would after if. You intended to use the 2nd type of Conditional, so it should have looked like this: "If someone corrected the posts and told us what is wrong, it would make it much more interesting and exciting". I know that it doesn't sound 100% natural for a Romanian ear, but it's the correct choice

nu e neaparat gresit in contextul de fata deorece se refera la vointa cuiva de a face ceva... folosirea lui "would" in acest caz este o exprimare mai politicoasa si este corect... mai este o exceptie cu "should" dupa if care se foloseste atunci cand e vorba e o posibilitate foarte mica... sar traduce aprox. "in eventualitatea in care" si este echivalentul lui "Should you ... "

dar astea sunt exceptii.. atentie mare... in mod normal, intr-adevar se foloseste trecutul pt. conditional...

QUOTE(Penn @ Jul 12 2005, 16:28)

Please don't leave... It felt good that you've corrected my post and you've prooved to me that I was wrong. Are there any mistakes now?

I never heard about the rule not to use would after if... so I can really say I've learned something useful here.

nu e bine sa amesteci prezent perfect cu simple past in propozitiile subordonate cand vorbesti de aceeasi actiune... ori.. ori... (exista si exceptii, dar alea sunt altceva)... in fuctie de situatie,daca actiunea e incheiata, folosesti doar "past"... "you corected"

"the rule" trebuie sa aiba un "of" dupa... adica "the rule of not using"...

QUOTE(Mosotti @ Jul 12 2005, 17:17)

that's an interesting observation. does this rule apply to american english as well?

da.

Stars

12th July 2005, 23:20

<< nu e bine sa amesteci prezent perfect cu simple past in propozitiile subordonate cand vorbesti de aceeasi actiune... ori.. ori... (exista si exceptii, dar alea sunt altceva)... in fuctie de situatie,daca actiunea e incheiata, folosesti doar "past"... "you corected" >>

First of all, thank you for the corrections gtk. I must admit that I got in a little bit of a hurry when having posted the replies.
Secondly, your observation <<folosesti doar "past".."you corrected">> wasn't 100% correct because the original statement was "It felt really good that you've corrected" ... So he felt good AFTED I had made the action, and we have to be careful how we use the sequence of tenses (concordantza timpurilor), so as to express the anteriority of the action. Therefore, the correct sentence would have been " It felt really good that you had corrected.." ["felt" is present simple, so the speaker would have been obliged to go way back in time to express anteriority of action].
The sequence of tenses is a pretty tricky part of English for most learners. It is difficult to master it because Romanian is more flexible and doesn't require different tenses to express anteriority.
Example: "Am cumparat masina dupa ce am vazut-o" - am cumparat is the same tense as am vazut, but the reader feels the anteriority because of the "dupa ce". Whereas in English the sentence must look like this: "I bought the car after I had seen it" - you see that "bought" isn't the same tense as "had seen", because "after" isn't enough to express the anteriority aspect.
If I wasn't explicit enough, it is because it's late and I'm dead tired

.. but we can discuss more about the sequence of tenses if you guys are interested.

PS: gtk, I intended to make this thread a tool for English Practice. So I have to ask you to please express yourself in English even if you are bound to make mistakes. No one asks you to master the Academic English

Stars

12th July 2005, 23:29

QUOTE(Stars @ Jul 12 2005, 12:09)

PS: I tought for a full semester in College practice and I hated is every single day I went to do it because it is the most boring job on the planet.

"I taught for a full semester in college practice". (Am predat un semestru intreg in timpul practicii pedagogice - correct)
"...and I hated IT ("S" - wrong letter, I was tired

) every single day I went to do it" (si am urat-o in fiecare zi in care am fost sa o fac - correct sequence of tenses)
"because it is the most boring job on the planet" (the statement is a general observation, therefore I am allowed to use the present tense, even if the rest of the statement uses past tense)

edit: I forgot to mention, this is a reply to one of GTK's posts

Stars

12th July 2005, 23:56

I have an advice for you guys. Anyone with a medium English vocabulary has to concentrate on completing his vocabulary knowledge with a good grammatical one. And if you want to speak correctly, my advice would be to learn very well the types of conditionals and the sequence of tenses. If there are persons interested in being explained these two segments of English Language, do not hesitate to ask.
My argument in favour of the above would be a job interview at a Customer Support Centre that I've attended. I was given a test in which, among vocabulary issues and knowledge testing, I had to deal with conditionals and sequence of tenses. Someone later explained me that these two are crucial for a good communication in English. Not knowing them can bring about trouble. So anyone who plans on leaving for England in the near future, get your ass in the library

gtk

12th July 2005, 23:57

QUOTE(Stars @ Jul 13 2005, 00:20)

Secondly, your observation <<folosesti doar "past".."you corrected">> wasn't 100% correct because the original statement was "It felt really good that you've corrected" ... So he felt good AFTED I had made the action, and we have to be careful how we use the sequence of tenses (concordantza timpurilor), so as to express the anteriority of the action. Therefore, the correct sentence would have been " It felt really good that you had corrected.." ["felt" is present simple, so the speaker would have been obliged to go way back in time to express anteriority of action].

In acest caz nu se schimba timpurile precum in cazul vorbirii indirecte (Reported Speech)... revin cu detalii teoretice daca vrei... pe scurt: daca ai fi spus ceva de genul am spus/mi-a spus: I told you it felt good that you had corrected... se aplica schimbarea de care vorbesti... deci e nevie de un element din care sa rezulte ca o actiune din prezent se leaga de una din trecut care la randul ei se leaga de una si mai din trecut...

Cred ca ar fi o idee buna totusi sa dam explicatiile la corecturi in limba romana... nu toata lumea stie engleza foarte bine...

Stars

13th July 2005, 00:18

QUOTE(gtk @ Jul 12 2005, 23:57)

In acest caz nu se schimba timpurile precum in cazul vorbirii indirecte (Reported Speech)... revin cu detalii teoretice daca vrei... pe scurt: daca ai fi spus ceva de genul am spus/mi-a spus: I told you it felt good that you had corrected... se aplica schimbarea de care vorbesti... deci e nevie de un element din care sa rezulte ca o actiune din prezent se leaga de una din trecut care la randul ei se leaga de una si mai din trecut...

Cred ca ar fi o idee buna totusi sa dam explicatiile la corecturi in limba romana... nu toata lumea stie engleza foarte bine...

If we start talking in Romanian, no one will bother to write anything in English. But I can;t force you to do anything so..your choice. Now, about what you said: you are wrong. The sequence of tenses isn't used only in reported speech. Let me explain it:
The way I understood the statement "It felt good that you've corrected..." is that the speaker felt good about something upon realising that the action had already been done and finished. If he had been there at the time of the correction, it would have been possible for him to say "It felt good that you corrected...", but he noticed the "correction" later on, so I think you are wrong

edit: I think a "Sequence of Tenses Chart" along with some explanations and simple rules would settle this debate and be very useful for whoever will be reading this thread.

gtk

13th July 2005, 00:18

QUOTE(Stars @ Jul 13 2005, 00:29)

"I taught for a full semester in college practice". (Am predat un semestru intreg in timpul practicii pedagogice - correct)

"because it is the most boring job on the planet" (the statement is a general observation, therefore I am allowed to use the present tense, even if the rest of the statement uses past tense)

1. daca vrei sa zici "in timpul" ar trebui sa folosesti "during"... "to teach... + in ..." in seamna a preda intr-un anumit loc incapere/tara, etc. sau intr-un anumit deomeniu...

2. prezentul in cazul respectiv se foloseste pt. adevarurile general valabile... de ex. fenomene naturale