English learning thread

[Radhia Sweety]

your- possessive pronoun (cha kwako)
you're- you are

The use of your instead of you're is a very common mistake in English. I teach my students not to abbreviate words especially when leaning the language as it tends to (how shall I put this without sounding condescending..) silly mistakes.
dont use I'm, you'll find yourself using am. use I am
we'll is also another huge no no. forget the apostrophe and you got yourself a well. tee hee

and loads more that I can't think of right now, but the bottom line is, do not shorten your words as
(a) its a very informal habit *DO NOT USE in letters, essays, journals and anything that is to be written down* (unless you're me and tend to flaunt the rules)
(b) like I said, it leads to common mistakes

An English teacher like you should always be careful not to misapply words ''flout'' and ''flaunt'' not least because they're two of the most commonly confused words in English language. To flaunt is ''to exhibit ostentatiously'' as in ''She flaunted her Mercedez Benz;'' on the other hand, to flout is ''to show contempt for'' as in ''Pupils must be reminded not to flout school regulations.'' I'm referring to (a) above where you've wrongly used ''flaunt'' in place of ''flout'' by saying ''unless you are me and tend to flaunt the rules.'' The correct sentence is ''Unless you are me and tend to flout the rules.'' ( I'm still doubtful if the sentence itself yields any sense anyway.)
I should also add that the process of shortening word or words by omitting some of the letters and introduce an apostrophe is not known as ''abbreviation'' as you've suggested; it's rather known as ''contraction'' as in ''Don't for do not'' or ''We've for we have.'' Writers are free of course to use this technique as long as the writing is informal or unofficial. However, in formal or official work, they can't enjoy the same latitude and are therefore constrained to write words in their normal lengths--as you've pointed out.

 

[leh]

An English teacher like you should always be careful not to confuse words

this part I liked, :biggrin: and yes in all honesty 'twas but a silly mistake :biggrin:. I tried to flaunt and ended up having egg on my face *rofl*. thank you sweety *pun* , it's been awhile since I've been corrected and we all need to be pulled back to earth every now and again.
AND, if anything, it goes to jusify my earlier argument that *the English language is actually a hard to learn language* (which if I recall correctly, you never replied to) if even maestros as I can make such seemingly obvious mistakes. chuckle
now, as to calling my mistake common.. tsk tsk tsk, me feelings have been hurt

I should also add that the process of shortening word or words by omitting some of the letters and introduce an apostrophe is not known as ''abbreviation'' as you've suggested; it's rather known as ''contraction'' as in ''Don't for do not'' or ''We've for we have.''

I must disagree here. I was in the right by calling it an abbreviation. you see, an abbreviation is any form of shortening a word, while contraction is the bringing together of two words by omitting a letter/ letters (usually a vowel in English). all contractions are therefore abbreviations but the same can't be said in reverse (not all abbreviations are contractions)
that being said, I did have a hard time choosing whether to call them contractions or abbreviations (in strict sense, I shouldn't use abbreviation, and I never would in a classroom), but we must remember that this is a forum to help others master the English language, and with that in mind, I chose to use the latter seeing that it sounds like *abbreviation* and would thus be easy to relate and comprehend for any reader

 

[Radhia Sweety]

this part I liked, :biggrin: and yes in all honesty 'twas but a silly mistake :biggrin:. I tried to flaunt and ended up having egg on my face *rofl*. thank you sweety *pun* , it's been awhile since I've been corrected and we all need to be pulled back to earth every now and again.
AND, if anything, it goes to jusify my earlier argument that *the English language is actually a hard to learn language* (which if I recall correctly, you never replied to) if even maestros as I can make such seemingly obvious mistakes. chuckle
now, as to calling my mistake common.. tsk tsk tsk, me feelings have been hurt



I must disagree here. I was in the right by calling it an abbreviation. you see, an abbreviation is any form of shortening a word, while contraction is the bringing together of two words by omitting a letter/ letters (usually a vowel in English). all contractions are therefore abbreviations but the same can't be said in reverse (not all abbreviations are contractions)
that being said, I did have a hard time choosing whether to call them contractions or abbreviations (in strict sense, I shouldn't use abbreviation, and I never would in a classroom), but we must remember that this is a forum to help others master the English language, and with that in mind, I chose to use the latter seeing that it sounds like *abbreviation* and would thus be easy to relate and comprehend for any reader

For the simple reason the piece of writing is exceedingly wanting in its grammar and punctuation, I've honestly totally failed to get the real sense of it. Instead, I've found myself asking what kind of 'maestro' this is who can't even correctly punctuate his work and, in rendition, ends up terribly bungling his otherwise credible ideas. My advice is that you take time brushing up on your writing skills so you perhaps eventually become the 'genuine maestro.' I hope you won't take it personally the counsel, will you?

 

[leh]

I've honestly totally failed to get the real sense of it

have you ever thought about why such few people read the great classics and/ or the great writers like shakespeare, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Dickens? its because the way of the way they impose their sentences. while am not comparing myself to these great authors, with more understanding of the language comes a kind of misuse and irrational use of words that though playful and witty, may come off sounding wrong, pretentious or silly.

try this for an example. its an excerpt taken from one of my fav. authors of all time: F. Scott Fitzgerald. the short story is called Bernice Bobs Her Hair, and if you'd be intersted in reading all of it, I'd be more than happy to share with you my summarised version

With a flourish and a bang the music stops. The couples exchange artificial, effortless smiles, facetiously repeat "la-de-da-da dum-dum," and then the clatter of young feminine voices soars over the burst of clapping.
A few disappointed stags caught in midfloor as they had been about to cut in subsided listlessly back to the walls, because this was not like the riotous Christmas dances--these summer hops were considered just pleasantly warm and exciting, where even the younger marrieds rose and performed ancient waltzes and terrifying fox trots to the tolerant amusement of their younger brothers and sisters.

sounds alot like something I'd write :madgrin:

I hope you won't take it personally the counsel, will you?

mmh, haha, no I won't take it personally. it's all in good sport isn't it? (though I detect a wee bit malice in your words, methinks I poked the dragon by correcting you :biggrin
you are however right, my posts do seem wanting when it comes to punctuation (as for grammar, you've got me all wrong sweety, I rarely if ever, make grammatical and/or spelling errors). you seem to forget,

unless you're me and tend to flout the rules

. I come home from work tired from correcting students grammar the whole day, I don't think I can be bothered to make the effort to punctuate my sentences. if I were writing this by hand, I wouldn't cross the *t*'s or dot the *i*'s

as for my being a maestro, you are right (perhaps), I do need to brush up on my writing skills, but not in the sense you've said. I will however put your words into consideration and maybe one day even implement then. till then I will openly disregard punctuating my sentences in forums as I after-all am not one of my students :biggrin: :biggrin:

you are good, I agree, but I think you could also benefit from a few lessons with me, especially over your sentence structures :madgrin: :A S tongue:

 

[Radhia Sweety]

Leh, for a prose to be readable and fathomable, it requires that the writer has to be well-versed in the principles of good writing. The rules are clear that the text should have all its sentences focus on one chosen idea, point, or opinion; and they all should be well marshaled by properly being connected in some way to one another. This way the reader will not only enjoy the prose, but also will find it really easy to follow and grasp the content being communicated by the writer.
Unfortunately, this very know-how so eludes you that all of your writings nearly are neither penetrable nor engaging--at least to any average grammar-skilled reader. Such an imperfection certainly might be forgivable if it were possessed by a ward school student, but by a person professing to be an English teacher? It can be perceived by others as a strong and sufficient indication that the writer's ability is indeed below the standard to put his ideas in the perfect order.
That's why I'm compelled to reiterate here my originally given recommendation that you sign up for a basic English grammar course--specifically on the part of paragraph construction--with the intention of ridding yourself from composing what appears to me as noticeably pathetic paragraphs. After you've observed and implemented this guidance, I'm sure you'll quickly find the act of writing comprehensible and forceful pieces of work to be a simplicity itself.

 

[Mama wawilii]

Are you prepared to invest some cash in this learning effort? Thanks.Seriously I need that software.My question is have you ever used this software?Home Version - Dragon NaturallySpeaking Home - Speech recognition software for the PC - Nuance.co.ukWhy this approach?Many folks can communicate effectively through written means but that doesn't automatically translate to good verbal skills in the same language. This tool can bridge that gap for you in that you will be able to see your oral speech in text form. This can help to gauge your own preparedness in conveying a message and the words you use to achieve this. Think of this as the little voice in your head coming out to play.Santa, please remember me when xmas comes round, I need this too!!!!

I am ready Kotinkarwak. My question is have you ever used this software?I want some clarification on how to use it.

 

[Mama wawilii]

I will appriciate if you will give me those directions on how to acces dictionary and e-books.Most of the time I am using a computer.

Mama wawilii, nimependa sana nia yako ya kutaka kujua lugha ya kiingereza. naipenda sana hii lugha, naifunza darasani (not at the moment though) na ingekuwa up to me, everybody in the world would converse in this wonderful language, or darn well learn how :biggrin:. naamini that with practice comes perfection, and you are headed the right way. pia, kama una dictionary, inasaidia sana as you can look up and correct yourself when you are unsure. jaribu pia kusoma novels, they hugely boost not just your vocabulary, but your comprehension powers (yes I call them powers) and communication skills. kama unatumia mda mrefu mbele ya computer, au you have a smartphone, let me know nikupe directions za kupata dictionary and e-books for your device as *real books* tend to be expensive huku kwetu

regards, leh

 

[salosalo]

of course im going to impliment it,hope you will assist and correct me,as you see i have started

I wanted to be among your teacher but now I have changed my mind after realising that you are better at English than myself. May be I should be your fellow student

 

[Freeman Patrick]

For sure, you are one among the fluent english speakers in tz, i hv big trust in you and hope that i am about to become one of your kind!

 

[kotinkarwak]

I am ready Kotinkarwak. My question is have you ever used this software?I want some clarification on how to use it.

I liken this to a prompter that assists you in preparing your words prior to verbally communicating them. It could be software based or simply you recording yourself and playing that recording back to yourself and critiquing what you hear. This software I believe will try and "type" out the words for you and that speeds up the process since you can use that text and pass it through other checks say, a thesaurus to see other likely words to use and the like.

Unfortunately, they don't have a trial version available hence my call to Dear Santa to remember me this xmas.

On how it is used, I believe you just need a computer with a microphone facility either built in (most laptops will have this, or a headset for PCs) or externally installed. Once you fire up the application, it will ready itself to record on your command anything you say, transcribing it as you progress. You will be able to playback the voice and the application will highlight the words in the sentense for you.


BTW: In my reply, I am intentionally introducing words that you might need to lookup, but hope their context assist you in building that crucial range of vocabulary.

 

[Freeman Patrick]

i do really enjoy when i get to browse this forum, mama wawili, you are really getting hot.:hat:

 

[snochet]

Mama wawili,nakupongeza kwa hatua kubwa uliyochukua,,,kwa kujitambua na kukubali hali halisi....ili kuweza kuongea kingereza fasaha,nakushauri haya
1.hakikisha una kamusi ya kingereza na kiswahili(prefferably ipo imeandikwa na author anaitwa Baba Malaika kinapatikana kwenye bookshops kubwa),na kamusi ya kingereza na kingereza(nashauri Oxford na Longman)
2.tafuta kitabu kinaitwa common mistakes in english....kitakusaidia sana
3.ongea ,ongea na fanya majaribio na jaribu kutembelea sehemu wanazoongea kiingereza tu.
4.pendelea kusikiliza vipindi vya kiingereza na kuangalia tamthilia za kiingereza.

mwisho wa yote ni majaribio......PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.....kila la kheri....

 

[BelindaJacob]

Mama wawili, how are you? How was your day?

I am sure you are enjoying this particular lesson, I certainly do. I wish you a pleasing evening.

 

[kotinkarwak]

Mama wawili, how are you? How was your day?

I am sure you are enjoying this particular lesson, I certainly do. I wish you a pleasing evening.

BJ, tumia pleasant pale kwenye pleasing. Tofauti yake ni kuwa "furahisha" au "pendeza" na sidhani ni sawa kani lengo ni kuwa na siku "njema"

 

[Reginald12]

Attn: Radhia Sweety and Leh

Unless I am mistaken, the aim of this thread was to help Mama Wawili and others who are struggling to improve their English language skills. I feel that your discussions and choice of vocabulary are way beyond the scope for someone of Mama Wawili's ability, at least for now. Maybe another 'Maestro' thread would be handy and the theorists can have a field day. Leh for one, writes like someone from the 18th Century (quite commendable really) but Mama Wawili would like to learn English that she could use in the office and at the market today!

 

[Mama wawilii]

Sorry for late reply Belinda.Im doing fine,but somehow busy with the parenting issue and raising family income.How are you too?
Honestly I am enjoying much.My fellow JF members are very supportive.They try their level best to make sure I get what I want,they correct ,teach and give new ideas to meet the goal. I have learned alot and I am still learning,and I promise to never let them down.Hope you are gaining too.Aren't you?

Mama wawili, how are you? How was your day?

I am sure you are enjoying this particular lesson, I certainly do. I wish you a pleasing evening.

 

[Reginald12]

Sorry for late reply Belinda.Im doing fine,but somehow busy with the parenting issue and raising family income.How are you too?
Honestly I am enjoying much.My fellow JF members are very supportive.They try their level best to make sure I get what I want,they correct ,teach and give new ideas to meet the goal. I have learned alot and I am still learning,and I promise to never let them down.Hope you are gaining too.Aren't you?

You are making good progress Mama Wawili. Your structure has improved greatly in the past month. I wish you all the best as you work steadily towards your goal.

 

[Mama wawilii]

Thanks alot Reginald12. I have nothing to say lather than to thank you all JF members for your courage ,advice,and support that you are continuing to give me.Ipromise to never let you down.I will keep on practising.Have a good day

You are making good progress Mama Wawili. Your structure has improved greatly in the past month. I wish you all the best as you work steadily towards your goal.

 

[Mama wawilii]

Ye Soya I get your point. Though I have seen some mistakes in your sentences.I dont know if its structure or grammer,

let and me tell you mother two, engish is not a play, ooho. speak english is good i am at home or the job places. but see me, because i am experiency in talk and write and to teach of you is ok to me. now speak only the language of english, after two months, tell me, yu will be talk straight..dont tired and afraid mistakes.

 

[Mama wawilii]

Thanks Snochet for the advice.I have longman dictionary.I will find the books written by Baba Malaika and common mistakes in English.About speaking English and listerning English program most of the time,its almost a month now Iam doing so,.And I have seen some improvement.Real practice makes perfect

Mama wawili,nakupongeza kwa hatua kubwa uliyochukua,,,kwa kujitambua na kukubali hali halisi....ili kuweza kuongea kingereza fasaha,nakushauri haya
1.hakikisha una kamusi ya kingereza na kiswahili(prefferably ipo imeandikwa na author anaitwa Baba Malaika kinapatikana kwenye bookshops kubwa),na kamusi ya kingereza na kingereza(nashauri Oxford na Longman)
2.tafuta kitabu kinaitwa common mistakes in english....kitakusaidia sana
3.ongea ,ongea na fanya majaribio na jaribu kutembelea sehemu wanazoongea kiingereza tu.
4.pendelea kusikiliza vipindi vya kiingereza na kuangalia tamthilia za kiingereza.

mwisho wa yote ni majaribio......PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.....kila la kheri....