📚｜english-questions

[agile crow]

It seems to me to be saying that the state of living is defined by the process of dying

[forest solar]

No, however there are people who may be fluent or teachers, or English helpers who help answer questions.

here

Yes, if you cannot live in a country, then the next best thing would be a discord server based in such a region, or with a large number of people from that region. But its really necessary for you to speak, to increase your skills.

[spice swan]

Ah ok, I wanna be more active here to answer English questions, so I was just wondering!

[forest solar]

If there are questions asked here and they dont look like they have been answered, or there are also different perspectives on the answer, then feel free to post a reply for those people.

[spice swan]

Okkkk thank youuu

[signal shell]

Oftentimes, this is where natives come to be arrogant and prescribe erroneous rules of English onto learners, leaving learners more confused once someone comes along to correct them. The native will rage while insisting that they are correct because they are the authority on the subject simply for being a native.

How's that for another perspective on this question?

[spice swan]

Oh i see, lots of natives don’t really know the rules of grammar I believe. It can be very confusing

[signal shell]

Yeah, I've been known to be ||wrong at times (🤫 don't tell anyone)|| but I try my best to accept the ||mistake|| and move on in a respectful way

Just do your best

No one here is perfect

[sudden niche]

Hi, I have some research questions and I'm looking for help from someone with an MA or PhD—preferably in English

[forest solar]

I have an MSc, but I guess I'll never meet the MA requirement. But if I can help, post your question. It's been many years though.

Some others could possibly help also if you ask the question.

(s)

[paper robin]

I promise you an MA would be extremely hard to find on Discord, and a PhD even more rare.

[merry peak]

?def would

[hazy herald]

Word: would

No definitions listed.

Definition requested by eliangelt

[boreal ingot]

I've met two MAs (physics and philology) but no PhDs 😔

[dense oasis]

I've met 10 PhDs

[boreal ingot]

Discord is the place of idiocy, none of the learned are to be found

[dense oasis]

Sometimes I meet new ones

So many experts on social media

[paper robin]

WHA?

REALLY?

[boreal ingot]

Bruh

[boreal ingot]

Do you mean on dc or just all over social media in videos

[dense oasis]

no

[short copper]

Hello, I want to learn about various background knowledge of the world (mainly social science, politics, global issues etc). I also want to learn deeply about liberal arts(mainly, why people choose to study liberal arts, what exactly do you do in liberal arts, why is liberal arts important.

[weary tartan]

Hello. I am now at A2 level. I have 10 months. Can I score 6.5-7.0 in ielts?

Pls answer 🙏

How much time is needed?

[halcyon mauve]

Hello, can someone explain the difference between 2 sentences please

1. RMT-like life
2. RMT is life

*RMT - Real Money Trading

[sleek fulcrum]

The former sentence indicates that "life" is filled with RMT, hence the adjective RMT-like conveying an idea that RMT is integral to "life".

The second sentence emphasizes on the fact that "life" is filled with RMT through a simile.

[heady crypt]

What is metaphor and is there trick to find out if a word is used as metaphor or not?

[paper robin]

Metaphor - A figure of speech to describe one thing is like another

Words such as "Like" or "As" will be your friend in trying to use metaphors but are not required to use metaphors.

Ex:

• She was as beautiful as the moon
• She's a shining star
• Life is a rollercoaster
• He is a human GPS

[boreal ingot]

He and I were friends, of a fashion, but I haven’t seen him in years.

I've not been able to find any definitions of 'of a fashion'. My guess would be that the meaning is akin to that of 'Of sorts'/'Of a kind', but I haven't been able to find a definition that matches. Any further insight would be great

[paper robin]

You're correct, lol

Fashion can mean like something or an interest in clothing

[boreal ingot]

But why is there no mention of it anywhere

[paper robin]

Eh, google is strange

Sometimes you find stuff, somtimes you don't

[boreal ingot]

I can't even find a second example of it in use

[boreal ingot]

I mean yeah, but it can't mean kind/sort, can it?

[paper robin]

Yep

[boreal ingot]

I'm not sure. I'm familiar with 'after a fashion', which is an expression that would perfectly fit the above sentence, but not with 'of a fashion'. Googling 'after a fashion' does turn up many results, also

[inner zinc]

i still don’t know the difference between “advice” and “advise”

[paper robin]

Well,

It's not very

Commonly used

[paper robin]

Advice is someone giving some helpful information to follow
"I gave my friend some advice"

Advise is a warning
"We advise you not to run because the floor is wet"

[boreal ingot]

You advise someone (verb)
You give and receive advice (noun)

[inner zinc]

ohh okay, thanks! ❤️

[paper robin]

I gotchu <33

[acoustic geyser]

yo

[paper robin]

Yo

Whatcha need?

[acoustic geyser]

do British people use "about" as a meaning of around?

[paper robin]

Yep!

[acoustic geyser]

are they interchangeble or about is the most popular?

[paper robin]

"It's about a quarter to ten"
"The car is going about the roundabout"
"The earth is about the sun"

And they are in most contexts, but they're about/around the same amount of popularity.

[acoustic geyser]

can I use just use about?

not around?

[paper robin]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure

If anyone does correct you, you can always come here to ask if they're right

[signal shell]

From my own thinking, I feel like you can always replace "around" with "about", but you can't always replace "about" with "around"

For example, "what are you talking about?" sounds fine, but "what are you talking around?" sounds wrong.

[paper robin]

I actually didn't think about that, thank you!

[vestal nova]

A: Do you have _____ yogurt in the refrigerator?

B: Yes, I do. what articles i can use?

-an -some -any

[toxic fossil]

any

[boreal ingot]

For physical location and movement, yes. However, in some cases 'around' means 'avoid by going to the side of [x] and then behind it' or 'orbit [x]', while 'about' wouldn't be interpreted so. It's not that 'about' can't have that meaning; in fact, it can. However, it's that 'around' is more readily interpreted as having that meaning, while 'about' often means 'aimlessly within [x]' or 'randomly within [x]'. 'About' can't mean 'avoid [x] by going to the side of and behind it', while 'around' can. Sometimes 'about' means 'orbit/go in a circle with [x] as the centre', but that is often left to 'around'.

Let me exemplify:

1. We drove about the town.

Implies that we walked aimlessly within the town.

2. We drove around the town.

Offers to be interpreted as meaning the same thing, but is more readily read as meaning either 'went in a circle outside of the town with it as the centre' or, more likely, 'avoided the town by driving beside it then going behind it'.

1.The clothes were scattered about the room.

And

2. The clothes were scattered around the room.

Meaning 'everywhere all within the room', are both acceptable, but the former is British.

1. I walked about the hospital.

This can only mean you walked aimlessly within the hospital. With more context, it could mean you orbited the hospital. However, it cannot mean you avoided the hospital.

2. I walked around the hospital.

This could mean you walked aimlessly within the hospital, avoided the hospital by going to the side and behind, or, less likely, orbited the hospital.

'About' is British in both its senses.

For the sense of 'orbit [x]', you could say

1. The Earth goes about the Sun.

Or

2. In Niels' model, electrons go about the nucleus.

This is British. Most would use 'around'.

However, in non-location/motional senses, they are NOT interchangeable:

1. I know about that.

Not

2. I know around that.

Likewise, in phrasal verbs and proverbs, they are NOT interchangeable:

Phrasal verb:

1. How will you go about doing that?

Not

2. How will you go around doing that?

Proverb:

1. What goes around comes around.

Not

2. What goes about comes about.

I really hope this helps!

(formatting might be wacky on phone. I've fixed it as best I can)

[rapid bison]

tl;dr

only sometimes.

[dense oasis]

"what are you thinking about" too

this "about" here is not even obvious to many non-native people, because in different languages this just doesn't exist

[dense oasis]

like german "Woran denkst du?", literally "What-next-to are thinking you?"

one of the most annoying things in languages, the fact that some words are used just because they are used, not because they follow a predictable rule. I think about you, not next to you as in german. I trust you, but I do not trust to you as in polish

...or I can walk down the street, but I can not walk with the street as in polish

We are all doomed 😔

[boreal ingot]

Okay, really oddly specific question, but, how do I say 'self-inflicted cutaneous excision' without the letter 'e'?

[agile crow]

You mean, like, "slf-inflictd cutanous xcision?"

[boreal ingot]

nono, more like

replacement words

that don't have e

a rephrasing

without e

like instead of saying 'tell him that', one could say 'talk of that to him' to avoid the 'e' of 'tell'

[agile crow]

You mean, rephrasing using words that don't contain the letter e?

[boreal ingot]

exactlyy

I'm struggling most with rephrasing 'self-inflicted'

[agile crow]

That's a strange and interesting question. I don't really have an answer to it.

[boreal ingot]

but I also can't think of any words for 'cutaneous'

'excision' could probably be rephrased to 'cutting out of', though

[boreal ingot]

Ah, alrighty. I shall wait longer

[agile crow]

E is the most common letter in english words, so it will be challenging

[agile crow]

Cut into his own skin, him did. (Lol)

[boreal ingot]

not really the same meaning though

[stable bone]

What parts of speech is "their'

[boreal ingot]

determiner

[boreal ingot]

What is the difference between a profiteer and a racketeer? My understanding of what a profiteer is is that it's someone who unfairly and illegally makes money off of others, and I am unsure how a racketeer differs

[signal shell]

I think the difference lies in the legality/illegality of the business being conducted

A racket is an illegal business

A racketeer is someone who is profiting from operating a racket

A profiteer is making money in an unfair way, but is still technically conducting a legal business

[boreal ingot]

ohhh

thank youuu

[opal trellis]

@boreal ingot is that your voice?

[acoustic geyser]

Do you guys know what does this introduce here mean?

[dense oasis]

to start something

"used to introduce a comment" means something like "used to make a new comment", start making it

You can introduce yourself to others, you can also introduce a person to someone else. But you can introduce things like comments or stories too, then it means you tell them/write them, you just let someone know about them and it's a new information

So it's not exactly the same as "to introduce yourself" or "to introduce someone to someone"

hopefully it makes at least some sense

[acoustic geyser]

Basically, making a new conversation?

[dense oasis]

it's not really about any conversations, it's just that you can "introduce something" so you can "let someone know about something new". Like a comment or a question, or maybe a story. For example I introduced my comment right now

No need to overthink. Just know that you can say "to introduce a comment/story/question" and it means you let someone know about it, it's a new thing to them

[green seal]

a chunk of an individual's skin cut out by said individual

[boreal ingot]

Ohh wait, with a little modification this would match exactly omg!!

(The) cutting out of a portion/chunk of an individual's skin by said individual
(Since my original phrase was talking about the excision [the cutting out], not necessarily the excised, [the/a chunk of skin])
Not sure how to get around the 'e' of 'the', but it works welll

Thank you so muchhhhh 💜

[green seal]

Ah I see that makes sense. No problem.

[sleek fulcrum]

I have some things in my bedroom, for instance. One thing is the PS5 over there.

Gemini is saying that this is rhetorically acceptable. I do not think so. Can someone help settle this?

[signal shell]

Well, I could say a few things about this, but the biggest one is that "for instance" doesn't seem to be structured correctly. I would rewrite it like this:

I have some things in my bedroom. For instance, one thing is the PS5 over there.

[boreal ingot]

^ this

[sleek fulcrum]

That's what I think too. But Gemini seems to say that the example I sent was of an unconventional style, and that it is rhetorically valid.

Is that really true?

[boreal ingot]

Your example could work with more context

[signal shell]

But also, saying "I have some things in my bedroom" would be an oddly mundane thing to point out to a typical audience. Sounds like the type of thing you'd write for a 6-year-old to read.

[boreal ingot]

I can prove that I am not poor through several examples. I have some things in my room, for instance. One thing is the PS5 over there.

While the whole thing is awkward, that 'for insatnce' is now valid

Since 'I have some things in my room' is serving as an example of something with this change

It depends on the context of your statement

[sleek fulcrum]

Teams from 32 countries gathered in Brazil in 2014 for the World Cup of men's soccer. The event, which is held every four years, now features teams from all over the world. The World Cup used to be much smaller and more limited geographically, for example. The 1934 event in Italy included only 16 teams, most from Europe and the Americas.

What about this one?

[boreal ingot]

This doesn't seem valid, with all the context provided

It's got to go after the full stop

[signal shell]

I would make the same change to this like in your previous question

[signal shell]

Teams from 32 countries gathered in Brazil in 2014 for the World Cup of men's soccer. The event, which is held every four years, now features teams from all over the world. The World Cup used to be much smaller and more limited geographically. For example, the 1934 event in Italy included only 16 teams, most from Europe and the Americas.

[boreal ingot]

'for example'/'for instance' introduces the example, not the 'promise'. I don't think the AI is correct here

[signal shell]

Yeah, I think the AI is getting this very wrong

[boreal ingot]

AI can often be incorrect. It's good to take its linguistic answers with a good bit of salt

[signal shell]

These chat AI's have a bias towards finding any little reason it can find to validate and justify. And it tends to ignore the opposing view, unless you prompt it specifically not to

[sleek fulcrum]

I can see that. Though, it's weird that it is quite persistent with it being true. I'd expect it to drop it off and concede with it after some exchanges.

[boreal ingot]

For some reason, it always does the opposite with archaic language and archaisms: it very much avoids stating they're correct

[boreal ingot]

Yeah, I'm not sure why that is. Normally when you point out its mistake it corrects itself

[sleek fulcrum]

I specifically explained how transition works, but then it still insisted on its correctness and resorted to rhetorics.

[signal shell]

That's intriguing

I wonder if this is just a common enough mistake that the ai has somehow identified a pattern for why this would happen

[boreal ingot]

Yeah, I'm certain the placement of 'for example' was incorrect, so I wonder that it should attempt to justify it. I see no logic behind this

[sleek fulcrum]

Post-posing?

[boreal ingot]

It's an odd mistake, though. It's so intuitive that 'for example' goes with the example

[boreal ingot]

not post-posed:

I have many hobbies. For example, I like to play video games.
post-posed:
I have many hobbies. I like to play video games, for example.

In either case, the 'for example' goes with the example

[signal shell]

This is describing the scenario where you might say "I have some things in my bedroom. One of them is a PS5, for example."

[boreal ingot]

Perhaps show it that

[sleek fulcrum]

It still insists on the nonsensical 'logical relationship' going on. I'm believing it's hallucinating.

Problem solved at least.

[boreal ingot]

😅

[warm dove]

how can i expand my vocabulary easily?

[native flare]

Follow #🌄｜word-of-the-day and utilise it by texting in public chats #💭｜general or #🫂｜beginner-chat

That’s how i’ve been practicing

[idle relic]

If you want to memorize vocabulary fast then everyday revision your vocabulary and Will memorize it in the morning.

[warm dove]

thanks guys, i'll try this

[gloomy oracle]

Hey guys, which sentence would be right? 1. "I can also do it," or 2. "I also can do it". Does it even matter grammatically if I put the "also" before or behind the "can"?

[paper robin]

It flows better in number one, but both are used in every day language

[past crypt]

/rank

[sturdy tendon]

Hi

[wanton mica]

Hi

Wsp?

Good night?

@sturdy tendon

[tulip pulsar]

Hi

[celest condor]

I agree the first is better. "I can do it also" is good too.

[atomic phoenix]

CAN SOMEONE HELP ME

[undone pagoda]

What do you need?

[atomic phoenix]

theres these few questions
could u turn the music … i cant hear you
a up
b down
c on AND ITS DOWN RIGHT AND MY TEACHER SAID IT WAS WRONG

I DONT KNOW WHATS WRONG WITH HER

[undone pagoda]

b is right.

[atomic phoenix]

thanks

[undone pagoda]

you are welcome

[acoustic geyser]

I dont understand this usage

by means of something; using something
She played a tune on her guitar.
The information is available on the internet.
We spoke on the phone.
What's on TV?
The programme's on Channel 4.

[undone pagoda]

I can not understand, Can you share the details?

[acoustic geyser]

I dont know how to use this usage of on

[paper robin]

This is correct

Basically, the word 'on' is for the state of being used.

The word 'on' helps with describing one thing in relation to another.

[mossy briar]

Heyyyyyyy

[rare sable]

Hi Everyone! 👋
I'm from Pune, India.
Native: Hindi & Marathi
Learning: English (intermediate level)
Looking for: Speaking practice partners
Feel free to message me for language exchange!​

[undone pagoda]

I am interested in your offer.

where are u from?

[paper robin]

I am from*

[merry canopy]

hi there. would you guys kindly help me to teach me English? i wanna enhance my English skills into B2 level

[stuck tinsel]

Hello!Does anyone have Mr James Green server ?I'm interested in his courses .

[quartz kiln]

Hello,

"Sleep with any consenting adult who'll have you": what's the exact meaning of "have" here?

[boreal ingot]

Could be any of those three (the third one would work if you thought of it a bit metaphorically, maybe. The first two are stronger, though)

[quartz kiln]

Thank you very much 👌

[spice swan]

Because it is used with the verb “sleep” and the adjective “consenting” which usually indicates having sex, the first definition @boreal ingot gave would be the most accurate— “engage in sexual intercourse with.” I am using context clues here.

[severe arch]

Hello, everyone. A bit confused about gerund. Does "swimming pool" contain gerund? Or there "swimming" is a Noun Adjunct?

[flat rune]

Gerund is only noun

[soft prawn]

If woman are like cats with a dogs mouth, they act smooth and untouchable, but they can bark, bite, and demand attention when they want to.
She's definitely not my pumpkin.
She's peace in chaos, not noise in comfort.

[paper robin]

Tf?

[soft prawn]

Men are like dogs with lion hearts — loyal to what they love, protective when tested, playful until provoked, and dangerous when disrespected.

To anyone feeling offended by this quote — relax. It wasn’t aimed at you… unless, of course, you heard the meow and barked back. 🐾
The truth usually only bites the ones wearing the collar.

[heady crypt]

Have you found it yet?

[acoustic geyser]

On: used to describe an activity or a state
to be on business/holiday/vacation
The book is currently on loan. In :used to show a state or condition
I'm in love!
The house is in good repair.
I must put my affairs in order.
a man in his thirties
The daffodils were in full bloom. what is different?

[verbal heron]

Could be a poem. Maybe they want the grammar checked

[quartz kiln]

Or like "to accept as a sexual partner", a mix of 15 and 16

[boreal ingot]

It's a gerund functioning as a noun adjunct, yes

Consider the difference between 'A swimming child', which can be rephrased as 'A child that is swimming', and 'A swimming pool', which cannot be said to be 'A pool that is swimming'

Similarly, 'A running machine' can be interpreted two ways

1. A machine that is currently running (on)
2. A machine for running (like a treadmill)

The former is a participle acting adjectivally, the latter is an adjunct acting adjectivally (as a noun adjunct)

[severe arch]

Got it. Thank you!

[toxic anchor]

Can we have GPT bot

Wouldn’t that make
It much easier

To learn English

[boreal ingot]

You can jus use ChatGPT; why are you asking here?

[boreal ingot]

AI can make many mistakes when teaching English, but it's not always wrong. I'd recommend using a textbook instead

[willow creek]

Hi guys! i have a pending english coursework (gcse) and one of the texts is the necklace i doubt anyone has read it but the quote itself is self explanatory “How little is needed to make or break us!” if u can i need a wide range of interpretations u guys can make out of the quote

[dense oasis]

"How little is needed to make us" would mean how little we need to be motivated or maybe become great people, depends on the context. And breaking us would mean we get depressed, or maybe demotivated, also depends on the context

Maybe you could say this about someone's childhood? This little thing could be love and support from someone's parents. Or maybe they lack this, then this could as well break them

Or maybe it's about money, someone just got richer, and now they act greedy, mean, insincere. But they used to be such a good, compassionate person

[rapid ingot]

I also like to see it here

[rapid ingot]

Tbh I trust ai more than books and humans

Books get outdated and could have typos

I have an old version of grammar in use and it's said there the pp of find is find

[stuck tinsel]

Nope

[verbal heron]

Then it'd be better to delete this channel 😕

[verbal heron]

It will help no one

[rapid ingot]

Why don't we try and see if ppl r gonna use it or not?

[verbal heron]

Try asking AI some questions you already know the answers to

you will notice that it hallucinates

Sometimes it even finds logic where there is no logic

[rapid ingot]

It actually gives quite a bit of good answers man

[rapid ingot]

We're talking about specifically English related questions right?

Like ask for a meaning

Or explain a grammar

[verbal heron]

Only when you know how to ask questions properly

[rapid ingot]

Give me an example then

[verbal heron]

Are u uninstalling the app?

[rapid ingot]

No?

I just wanna see other ppl use ai here

It's just , when they see an ai channel is as accessible as a regular ones , they're gonna try it out first

[verbal heron]

Yes, but if you don't fact-check the answers and just ask it, then you will forget what you have learned after a while

[rapid ingot]

And so with the human answers?

Why r u so ai phobic man

[boreal ingot]

I would interpret it as an exclamation of astonishment or wonderment at the fact that even something very little has the power to change the course of a person's life. One may have been made by something very little (that is, what one has become today is a result of that little thing), or one may have been made to lose all motivation and power and will by something very little. For example, if I read a story and am inspired to do more in life like the main character, and then I go on to become a great entrepreneuse, something as little as my reading a story 'made me'. It made who I became. It is the foundation whereupon all that I became stands. On the other hand, if I saw a cat suffering on the street and no one helping it, and I lost all hope in humanity and went on to become depressed and lose all my goals, one may say that very little broke me. Something as small as a cat suffering would have led me to a life of no great attainment and precipitated me into aphotic misery. So something small would have broken me.

That's how I interpret this expression. A reflection upon the grandeur of the consequences of something spuriously inconsequential

[boreal ingot]

Check out this conversation where the asker was using AI: #📚｜english-questions message

I'm not saying it can't be useful, but it's not always reliable

Always check after it if you use it

[verbal heron]

Alright.
Let's say you are reading a book and you come across a sentence that's hard to parse. Then you will go to AI and ask it to explain the sentence.
If you close the tab after that it will not help you, cuz you will forget what you just learnt.
You will have to understand the words and phrases individually.
But most AI users just tell it to explain the sentence and then close the tab

[boreal ingot]

It's useful as someone/something to bounce ideas off of instead of as a guide/pedagogue

[rapid ingot]

Okay? That also happens if you ask a human teacher? I don't understand your point

You need to keep studying to understand a topic so?

[rapid ingot]

Oka

[verbal heron]

Not sure how I came up with the idea of "AI phobia", but maybe u didn't properly read what I said.
I just said that you need to google the things again after asking the AI

[rapid ingot]

Yeah

[verbal heron]

Hope u get my point

[boreal ingot]

I see the merit in doing one's own research into a matter. It helps the idea stick. It also helps one gain a deeper understanding of the topic at hand. It's similar to a teacher letting their student puzzle out the answer rather than spoonfeeding them it all (which is what AI does)

It's a good resource, but over-reliance is harmful. But my issue with it is that it's sometimes just wrong, not that it spoon-feeds one with the answers

[heady crypt]

Are ai grammar and ai book better because you can ask question right away?

[verbal heron]

Hey, how often do you hear anyone use “in one's heyday” in everyday life?

[terse mesa]

Never

[signal shell]

Sounds like something an older generation would say

[boreal ingot]

Something an old man would say imo

Not as in the Victorian sort of old that you and I so adore, but as in a 40- to 60-year-old dude :p

[willow creek]

tysm

[verbal heron]

Alright, thanks to the three of you
@terse mesa @signal shell @boreal ingot

[verbal heron]

Ah, well I heard the phrase "in my heyday" in a song. The song is from the 70s tho

It started like this:
“In my heyday
Young girls wrote to me
Everybody seemed to have time to devote to me......”

[paper robin]

Agreeing witu SG—Never.

[novel dock]

Hello guys...

i have question for native English speaker, do you know what is barrette ? (without searching it on google)

[latent reef]

I didn't know what it was

[novel dock]

Thank you @latent reef .. I'm learning some merriam webster quiz, so many new vocabulary there... Sometime is really hard, that barrette is one of the example ...

[dense oasis]

not a native and I know it without looking it up

it's just another name for a hair slide

After looking it up seems like this is a regional difference. Like, barrette seems to be used in the states, while hair slides are a british thing

(the photo is from wikipedia)

seems like it could be regional indeed

[dense oasis]

Maybe it's not like it's hard, you've just encountered one regional word, maybe more

[latent reef]

Gonna say I wouldn't know what a hair slide is either, I would call it a hair clip

[novel dock]

Hoooo got it 📝

[novel dock]

TIL about "regional word", Previously I'm thinking maybe this is something related to gender...

Example: male tend don't know about that

[latent reef]

Just saying the sentence "male tend don't know about that" isnt correct grammatically, firstly i would use men/guys just as male is more of a "scientific" term, also "tend dont know" doesnt make sense, it would be better if it was something like "men usually dont know about that"

[dense oasis]

Oh. Maybe we are all just men

[dense oasis]

maybe like "men tend not to know"

probably makes sense too I guess

[green seal]

If you share it to #📝｜proofreading I will look at it. If you have to do it over DM you can wait for someone else.

[boreal ingot]

You can still use the word 'tend' (your mistake wasn't in that). I would say this:

Men tend not to know about that
Pixel is right, though. Their proposal is a trifle more casual than mine.

Here is an explanation regarding the 'scientific' connotation of 'male' that Pixel mentioned: #📚｜english-questions message

[sand talon]

What is means word “tuff”
I saw it many times in insta

[dense oasis]

are you sure you don't mean "tough"

[steel crown]

Hello guys.
Good afternoon. I’m Brasilian girl, and my English is basic

Are there any Brazilians?

[stuck tinsel]

Hi does anyone have Mr James channel ?

[worn marten]

There is someone english native speaker wanna learn russian or just talk with russian guy?

[boreal ingot]

Tuff is a kind of rock. Look at the attachments below.

However, online, 'tuff' is often used as an informal spelling of 'tough'. 'Tough', normally, means 'very solid and strong; not easily broken, moulded, or weakened'. It also has the meaning of 'able to handle bad situations well' when describing living things.

Informally, however, it's come to mean 'strong, resilient, nonchalant in a cool way'. However, it's almost always used sarcastically.

'Oh yeah, you're so tough for that' (Connotes one is trying too hard to act cool and strong)

To better convey the sarcasm intended, it's often purposefully misspelt as 'tuff'.

Some people aren't aware of the difference between 'tough' and 'tuff', though

They are pronounced the same

[stuck tinsel]

Hello !Does anyone know a website from where I can download audio books for free for example IELTS audio books DVD ?

[warm ferry]

The Libby app. The National Library of Malaysia doesn't require registration. Select "Add Library" and search for The National Library of Malaysia. Select "Sign in with my card" and type any number from "eb001" to "eb999"

[dense oasis]

you could find some audiobooks on YouTube, for free, but it's only some books and often old ones (because if people were uploading new things yt would probably detect them and take them down)

personally I have found some audiobooks made from Stephen King's books there, or from some very widely known books like 1984 by Orwell

[heady crypt]

https://englishpracticetest.net

[heady crypt]

There is so much resources on telegram.

[stuck tinsel]

Many thanks guys !❤️

[cold halo]

Hi, folks! Do you have any resources to prepare for IELTS especially for the writing section?

[sturdy tendon]

Hello

[potent edge]

Hello

[heady crypt]

Hello

[sturdy tendon]

How are you

[opaque coral]

Can someone help me with the lyrics of about 7 seconds of a song?

In English pls

[undone pagoda]

what sort of song?

[unique pawn]

Hi guys I have a question:
8. It was the CEO __ the controversial statement was attributed to, not the PR manager.
A. which
B. whom
C. that
D. who

B or D?

[paper robin]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but usually we would use "Which" in this context, but 'who' would be the second most commonly used. I think 'That' is also pretty commonly used, though. Whom is almost never used, so most don't remember the word exists.

Here's how you fit the others into this statement:

It was the CEO which the controversial statement was attributed to, not the PR manager.

It was the CEO of whom the controversial statement was attributed to, not the PR manager.

It was the CEO that the controversial statement was attributed to, not the PR manager.

It was the CEO who the controversial statement was attributed to, not the PR manager.

[unique pawn]

So the answer B is not correct right? A is the best correct answer?

[paper robin]

Correct, yes

This is just what I'd usually use though-They can all be correct

I think it's honestly who you ask

[unique pawn]

I think B or D will be most correctly than A and C😭 but it’s really confusing

[paper robin]

I can promise you if it is B, no one nowadays uses it 😭

The class is not always right

[unique pawn]

Right? I think it so, cause Whom is rarely used nowadays(maybe) but how about D 😭 it’s can be the correct answer.. uhh idk cause my grammar is bad😭

[paper robin]

They're all 'technically' correct

So like

Honestly

Shot in the dark

Good luck

Don't choose B

(Unless it is B and your teacher is ancient)

[unique pawn]

Yeah😭 okayy thank u ❤️ I’ll choose D as my opinion😭❤️

[paper robin]

Good luck!! <33

[unique pawn]

Thank u❤️

[signal shell]

Yeah that's a tough one

[signal shell]

I ultimately agree with @paper robin . I'll just add my two cents just to provide a different perspective.

To make sense of why "which" is the right choice, you can imagine that this statement is answering the question: "Which staff member was the controversial statement attributed to? Was it the PR manager?"

"Whom" is an option for those that want to sound very formally correct, but I agree that it feels archaic in the modern day. "Who" would be more informally used nowadays.

"That" is not a bad option either. It feels natural enough, to be honest.

In the end, they all work just fine, as was already pointed out. I don't think anyone would really complain no matter which one you choose in everyday conversation.

[unique pawn]

This is a very trick question 😭 I've asked this question a lot of people have chosen B a lot and I just don't know exactly what is answer😭 so WHICH is the most correct answer? So this question just have only one correct answer because it in the test so idk what is the correct that I can choose😭

[signal shell]

Honestly, I could be wrong. But I think A is correct.

[ruby stag]

Hi guys

[lucid rapids]

Actually I think the answer could also be C cuz "It was the CEO that the statement was attributed to." sounds pretty natural too...But i won't choose it in the exam.
This sentence wants to emphasize this paticular part "the CEO", and you need to find the correct relative pronoun for a human, which narrow the option to B C D cuz "which" is a pronoun for objects.
And since "the CEO" is an accusative case, D is absolutely not the right answer.
Considered all of that, the most formal choice would be B(whom), cause it is a accusative relative pronoun.
I'm not a native English speaker, I'm just a normal student from China.I'm pretty familiar with this kind of question since it's a common type that would appear in the exam in China. And B is the answer I would choose to fill the blank JUST for the exam.
(For reference only, sorry if I'm wrong or used the wrong vocabulay to describe all that, I don't actually know how to say those technical terms about the grammar... 🤧)

"that" is also an accusative relative pronoun, and can be used to describe both human being and object, so it's grammatical right too.It's just not that "formal" to be chosed in an exam...🤧

[opaque coral]

DM?

@undone pagoda It's rock song

If you wanna help me dm pls

[boreal ingot]

I don't think Sinful's answer is appropriate for a school or test. Formally, you would answer B. Informally, you could answer D, C, and maybe A.

It was the CEO of whom the controversial statement was attributed to

Which Sinful suggested, is entirely incorrect in both formal and informal language. It's equivalent to saying 'whom the controversial statement was attributed to of/of to'. I believe Sinful intended to front the 'to', thus:

It was the CEO to whom the controversial statement was attributed.

This is the most formal and correct option.

It was the CEO whom the controversial statement was attributed to.

This is correct grammatically, but the preposition being stranded at the end of the relative clause is slightly less formal than the use of 'whom'. It's correct and what I would choose on a multiple-choice test, but it's a bit less natural than the previous one, mainly because of the discrepancy in formality.

It was the CEO who/that/which the controversial statement was attributed to.

These are the most informal. 'Who' would be the best option since we're speaking of a person (The CEO). 'That' is very commonly used for both people and objects. 'Which' may be used informally

The language you use on a test may majorly differ from the language you use daily. 'Whom' is one such point where the two are in disagreement

I believe in written formal language 'whom' may yet be encountered, but, otherwise (save for after fronted prepositions, as in 'to whom', 'of whom', and the suchlike), daily language has forsaken it

Do listen to the natives' intuitions if this is a matter of daily conversation, but this strikes me as either an exam question or a sentence to be used in a formal context, in which case, a native's intuition may misguide you

[boreal ingot]

I would like to correct your last sentence.

The past participle (V3) of 'choose' is 'chosen'. The past tense (V2) of it is 'chose' ('choose' is an irregular verb). In passive constructions, V3 is used. Thus, your sentence ought to have been 'It's just not that formal/formal enough to be chosen in an exam'

I do agree with your answer to their question, though :3

[paper robin]

Ahhh, thank you! Tbh, I'm probably not great for those types of questions anyway. I learned something! :3

[boreal ingot]

I hope it did not come off as condescension! That was not my intent :3

[paper robin]

Nope, ofc not! :3

[neat bone]

Is discloser in british english disclosure?

If so, how would you explain "permitted disclosures" in this sentence "Each party acknowledges receipt of inside information by company will make company, and each person (legal or individual) of that company is entitled to disclose confidentiality information to ("permitted disclosures")"?

I think in that context disclosures would mean the person disclosing

Though it's odd since disclosure would mean "the action of making a secret information known."

[boreal ingot]

This whole sentence seems ungrammatical. Maybe you messed it up while replacing names or got it from an unreliable source, but, as it is, the whole sentence is ungrammatical, and so that one odd point regarding 'disclosures' can't be addressed with certainty, as one might be misunderstanding the badly-formed sentence. What I can say is that, in British English, the distinction between 'disclosures' and 'disclosers' is maintained

[lucid rapids]

Thanks for the correction!! I almost forgot this concept.🤧

[cyan pewter]

What does “gurting” mean in slang?

[minor radish]

To do something brilliant but dangerous.

[cyan pewter]

Could u please gimme some examples?

[wild raft]

Hello, how are you?

[proven shoal]

is there a teacher or something?

[scenic scroll]

Why the word island have the s in it

[green seal]

the word island has an s because the spelling was changed at some point (Something to do with a mistaken association with the french loan word isle according to Wikipedia)

Aisle and isle also both have a silent s

[scenic scroll]

Www thanks 😊

[opaque coral]

Can someone pls help me with the lyrics of about 7 seconds of a song of English?

[green seal]

Sure

[opaque coral]

https://youtu.be/4e9FpE_8lWs?si=kvjZcnWDQpDOUqIs
0:36 what's he say until the second 0:47?

@green seal

[green seal]

It isn't English. I'll DM you it though.

[dusky harness]

Michelle, ma belle
Sont des mots qui vont très bien ensemble
Très bien ensemble

[green seal]

Or there you go.

[opaque coral]

Thanks you so much guys

[neat bone]

Was written by english people

I know how catchy it sounds, already acknowledged that

Gotta work with what I got though

Also what do you mean by "the distinction between 'disclosures' and 'disclosers' is maintained"?

So it's not the same word?

Additionally shouldn't it be permitted disclosers?

[green seal]

The distinction is maintained means that even in British English they still have different meanings.

[green seal]

Was the text copy and pasted or is it from an image that you transcribed? If it is transcribed, posting the image here would help.

[neat bone]

Nope

Copypaste

Also I can't share much since it's a contract

And the information is sensitive

[green seal]

was the word "company" originally the name of a company?

[neat bone]

No

Neither of our companies is named company

[green seal]

That's not what I mean. I mean did you replace the actual company name with the word company. The portion you posted has no such replacements?

[neat bone]

No

It was originally there

[green seal]

Okay then it was not written by a native speaker and has mistakes. I could guess what it's trying to say but there's no point in forcing it to make sense as is.

[neat bone]

True

[neat bone]

What about this one?

It would make more sense if it was permitted disclosers right?

[green seal]

That would make it better grammatically but disclosers is not a natural word choice imo

[neat bone]

What would you say then?

What would you call a person that discloses confidential info?

[green seal]

I would reword it so I didn't have to call them a single word

[neat bone]

Okay this is not helping

[green seal]

"Each party acknowledges receipt of inside information from Company A will make their company, and each person (legal or individual) of that company entitled to disclose confidential information to all other parties permitted to disclose information"

[neat bone]

Again I can't tamper with it

But I get the meaning

[green seal]

Alright. Doesn't sound like there is much I can do for you in this case then.

[neat bone]

Okay, new question

What's OTC payment?

[green seal]

Over the counter I'd guess. Looks like Google agrees.

[neat bone]

It is over the counter

I still don't get it

Like is it at some box or booth?

[green seal]

I assume it's paying in person instead of by mail or some other remote means but it could have some special meaning in healthcare or something. Someone else may know better.

[neat bone]

That much I know, but does it also imply paying outside the authorities jurisdiction?

[green seal]

That would be under the counter

[neat bone]

Wow there's UTC too

Didn't know that

So OTC is legal

I've so much work to do holy shit

[dense oasis]

"a disclosure" means the fact that something was disclosed, and "a discloser" means the person who disclosed it

[dense oasis]

no, it can not

disclosures and disclosers are entirely different words already

[dense oasis]

there is a thing like OTC medicine, it means things that you can purchase without getting a prescription from a doctor

this varies by country of course

[dense oasis]

as people have pointed out, it's messy, but the weirdest thing to me here is "confidentiality information" instead of just "confidential information"

"(it) will make company... is entitled to..." is very weird, makes no sense, it was probably meant to be "(it) will make company... entitled to..." just like you can "make something possible"

or "it will make me hungry"

but not "it will make me is hungry"

[boreal ingot]

[dense oasis]

Insane french listening skills, my brain understood only ma belle somehow 😭

[severe edge]

Hey what are good podcasts to listen to?

[native flare]

Joe Rogan’s Podcast

[pearl tulip]

where r u guys from?

[signal shell]

Ireland

[cerulean cypress]

Is roof rack a thing?

[neat bone]

Idc 'bout OTC medicine

I mentioned OTC payment

[flat rune]

From : [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Sent : 12 Jan, 2025
Subject ; Thanking for a nice birthday gift

Dear xyz,
Take my love at first. Im happy that you are well.Im also well. However i got your email yesterday. I wanted to take a moment to thank you for your beautiful birthday gift. Birthdays are always reminder of the wonderful people we have in our lifes and your gift was the perfect reflection of kindness and warm. The book you gave me in my birthday is really outstanding. Particularly its storytelling aspects attracts you more. Thank you again for making my birthday memorable and full of joy.

No more today. Convey my salam to your parents and love to the _______ (tell me what can i write here)

Yours ever,
HM Alif

fill in the blanks- love to the ____________________________________

[green seal]

Well, who do you want to wish love to? "love to your family"?

[hollow night]

Another Question. Is the following sentence grammatically correct? Is this the right way to use the word "wager"?

Sentence: Why don't we use these marbles as our wager? If I lose, I'll buy them and give them to you. If you lose, you do the same.

[green seal]

Yes. It is fine as is but I'd personally say "Whoever loses buys them and gives them to the winner."

[hollow night]

Thanks! How about this then?

A passerby says, "Wow, they're going to use all those marbles as their wager? That's gonna cost them."

[green seal]

"Use" is slightly weird for a passerby I think.
"They're going to bet all those marbles?" or something

[green seal]

But grammatically it is fine as is.

[dense oasis]

"birthdays are always reminder" this doesn't sound right. Birthdays always remind us of... would be better

"lifes" are written as "lives", just like wolf wolves, wolfes is not used

and maybe... a wife, but multiple wives, not wifes

"of kindness and warm" should be and warmth, warm is an adjective

"in my birthday" -> on my birthday, in english you just say on a specific date (on a day, in January/any month, in 2025/any year)

"(these) aspects attracts you more" this is not right, these aspects attract you more. Aspects is plural, so we don't need this +s after the verb

you could also use a comma after "However", like "However, ..."

[atomic pine]

Which do you think is better, Gemini or ChatGPT, and why?

[hollow night]

I think both are equally bad

[flat rune]

love to the yourness or something

[paper robin]

It's AI, so it's bad.

[oblique idol]

I wouldn’t recommend ChatGPT or Gemini for language learning however if you want to maybe check small things or create study guides for yourself…USUALLY it’s not too bad. I use it at my job and its pretty decent at creating lesson plans

[boreal ingot]

I like using them as a second opinion, but I never trust them fully. However, if a learner wants a conversation partner in English, so that they can osmose the language, AI is pretty good at that

[paper robin]

^

[timber cypress]

Hi, who wants some English lessons, I'll be home in a bit, TEFL or IELTs.

Lmk. I miss teaching it.

[native flare]

Would you be willing to volunteer as a teacher in this server?

[timber cypress]

yea

[native flare]

You can contact the staff team about it here #🛂｜report-help and select “Apply for teacher” Category

[distant cobalt]

Help me

[eager egret]

Radio el bahdja

[upbeat orchid]

inox or Iron

hello

[distant cobalt]

Hhh

[boreal ingot]

They're different things. What is your question?

[solid adder]

hello

[verbal heron]

Please go to #💭｜general or #🫂｜beginner-chat if you want to chat

[supple haven]

Hi, anybody needs help?

[wheat granite]

hello can you help me with this

Does this line here have a poetic device? “ I wish maps would be without Borders and that we belonged to no one and into everyone at once.”

[green seal]

Literary device, yes. It's grammatically wrong though. Also probably best not to ping a bunch of people to ask.

[wheat granite]

Okay.

Also can you tell me what devices are used

It’s from a poem so can’t change grammar

[green seal]

I don't remember what it's called but "maps without borders" refers to not having separated countries so it isn't literal i.e. just drawing a map without borders on its own is not the point

[boreal ingot]

Hmm, I can see this being symbolism

The map symbolises the world

The borderlessness of the map represents unity

Perhaps it's a metaphor as well. Even if it's not explicitly stated, the world is the map in this situation

So that's a metaphor being implied

[wheat granite]

I called it a imagery

[boreal ingot]

I suppose that works, but 'symbolism' is more appropriate in my opinion

[warped gull]

Is it 'Wonderous' or 'Wondrous' ?
I usually use 'wonderous' but now the auto-correct say 'wondrous'.

[wooden vessel]

Yo

wonderous

[wooden vessel]

maps are confusing just as people are

[wheat granite]

maps? the poem or maps in general

[wooden vessel]

The poem I guess

[wheat granite]

it is called maps lol

[wooden vessel]

Yes quite

[wheat granite]

howd u know

[wooden vessel]

Idk

[proven nexus]

''howd u know''
the universe told me

[storm tundra]

Hey guys , help me here with a word !!!
"Threshold," Does it mean like Limit or Level?

[spiral sigil]

Yeah, a point or level at which something begins or changes.

[storm tundra]

It's clear now, I appreciate it

[feral spruce]

Hi

[boreal ingot]

1. Are natives typically aware of the older sense of 'cunnilingus' of 'one who performs oral sex on the vulva and vagina' (as opposed to referring to the act itself, that being the modern meaning)?
2. Are natives typically aware of the word 'anilingus' as the anal counterpart to 'cunnilingus'?
3. Are natives typically aware of the word 'penilingus' as the analogous term meaning 'fellatio'?

[dusky harness]

My impression is:

1. No. It is less apparent than, say, the dual senses of 'regicide'.
2. A definite maybe.
3. No, but one could probably infer the meaning.

[boreal ingot]

My many thanks! 💜

[latent reef]

It may not be what you want to hear but if it is a role you aren't super passionate about or it is for a big company cover letters don't really matter and I would use AI

If you have one written dm it to me and I can give some pointers

[robust bison]

Hi, Scella, nice to meet you, i'd like to chat with you

[ocean harbor]

hey guys, what mean "ahh" i see it daily

it's a diminutive like "idk--> i don't know"??

[green seal]

mainly it's a substitute for ass when insulting something. as in "goofy ahh" = "goofy ass".

[wispy cipher]

hello everynyan

does anyone want to do toefl speaking question number one practice together

[waxen cradle]

What Real Life said above is true when "ahh" is used to insult something. It can also be used to express emotions like understanding ("Ahh, I see, that makes sense") or tiredness/exhaustion ("Ahh I'm so tired, I want to quit my job."). It will depend on the context of the sentence! Note that when using it to express understanding, it's more common to spell it with just one 'h', like "Ah".
It can also just be used to express screaming in general, especially when drawn out like "Ahhhhhhhhhhh"!

[ocean harbor]

Thank you very much

[boreal ingot]

Regarding what?

[robust bison]

yeah, i'm looking for a partner to work with me

[robust bison]

yeah, i'm looking for a partner to work with me

[boreal ingot]

Uh, what on?

[robust bison]

Yeah, I've been learning English for 2 years but my English is still poor

so I want to get help from you

[boreal ingot]

I don't really give one-on-one lessons (or any lessons, for that matter). I just answer the English questions that I can in this channel. My apologies.

Besides, I haven't much to offer you in the way of advice but for 'consume much content in the language in all forms and be inquisitive when you happen upon anything that strikes you as queer'

The 2 years seem to have certainly paid off, as you're conversational, so I assume it's at literary and formal language that you desire to improve. That may only happen through the consumption of which language

[dense oasis]

scella scelling a lot today

[boreal ingot]

What do you mean 😭 ?

[robust bison]

i dont know what u mean

you should keep in mind with Scella

[tight minnow]

ALGUÉM DO BRASIL?

[green seal]

try here perhaps https://discord.com/channels/801609515391778826/1006565255192776704

[boreal ingot]

Is there any better way to phrase this than to have two 'by' phrases in a row?

the album cover of Rapist of Flesh by Dysmofectomy by Diko Nursyahra

The intent is to say that the album cover is by Diko Nursyahra and the album (Rapist of Flesh) by Dysmofectomy

[green seal]

Something like "The album cover of Dysmofectomy's RoF illustrated by Diko Nursyahra" Even in yours just inserting illustrated makes the double of a little smoother. If it's just the clause (no sentence) then "courtesy of" may also work.

altho u end up with a lot of "of"s that way lol

[signal shell]

Yeah, just adding onto the previous response. You'll see this sort of strategy when crediting the illustrator of children's books. I imagine the same could be applied when crediting an album cover

[mighty halo]

I think that option turns Dsymofectomy into a possessive noun and that would change the original meaning, no?

[boreal ingot]

Hmm, I mean, you can attribute a work to someone either by saying it's by them or by saying it's theirs. Surely you've heard something like 'Wilhelm Kotarbiński's Grave of a Suicide is ...' or 'Xue Jiye's Face Off is ..' when speaking of paintings. The same construction can be used when speaking of albums (such as 'Rapist of Flesh'), to attribute them to particular artists or groups. It has much the same semantic effect as saying 'by [x]', I believe.

This is a replica of Van Gogh's The Starry Night.
This is a replica of The Starry Night by Van Gogh.

[mighty halo]

[heady crypt]

Hello everyone, I was watching Harry potter and they harry got a cloak which ron says. Thats invisibility cloak. I wonder if there’s difference invisibility cloak and invisible cloak. I see so many patterns like this where two noun together to refer one thing. I don’t know which pattern to use either adj+noun or noun +noun

[dusky harness]

Yes, that's an important feature of English: attributive adjectives that are basically nouns in front of other nouns. But noun + noun is generally uncomparable; it is more about categorization or identification than mere description. Thus, 'invisible cloak' is a cloak that is invisible, whereas 'invisibility cloak' is a cloak that is associated with the power of invisibility.

[heady crypt]

Could you make it more simple explanation?

[mighty halo]

"Invisible" is adjective
"Invisibility" describes the object's function

[green seal]

An invisible cloak is just a cloak that you can't see. If you put it on it won't make you invisible. It would be similar to wearing a clear plastic raincoat.

An invisibility cloak probably makes you invisible but exactly what it does depends on what the author says it does. It might not work for a non-wizard for example.

[mighty halo]

Another example
Metal object
Metallic object

It highlights the object's nature

I've got a question myself. I'm reading introductions and I'm seeing people mentioning English grades as A1 or B1. What does that mean exactly?

[dusky harness]

CEFR levels, A1 beginner to C2 proficiency.

[heady crypt]

Here are more examples

Dangerous zone
Danger zone
Accurate test
Accuracy test

Publicity official
Economical plan
Economic plan
Historical marker
Historic marker
Industry park
Industrial park

[heady crypt]

A1 and a2 means beginner and ,b1 and b2 intermediate and c1 and c2 is advanced

[mighty halo]

So it's levels

[mighty halo]

I see

So C levels is advanced in this server. Thank you so much for answering the question

[waxen cradle]

Hi M, it is called "invisibility cloak" because it grants the wearer the power of invisibility. In this case, invisibility is the "power" or "skill" needed to become invisible.

Like Real Life said, an "invisible cloak" would mean that the cloak itself is not able to be seen. It does not tell us anything about the power it grants the wearer, it just describes the cloak as being invisible (which means being see-through or being transparent. Real Life example of a plastic raincoat is a great example!)

[mighty halo]

So like "waterproof jacket"

[waxen cradle]

Yes! This means that the jacket itself has waterproof qualities. It is made of a material that is waterproof.

[acoustic geyser]

How do I use this usage of at?
​used after a verb to show that somebody tries to do something, or partly does something, but does not succeed or complete it
He clutched wildly at the rope as he fell.
She nibbled at a sandwich (= ate only small bits of it).

[signal shell]

That's such an interesting idea. I never really considered it. It appears to me that using "at" in this way keeps the verb intransitive (it has no direct object), yet introducing this propositional phrase "at [X]" indicates what the action was being directed towards.

[mighty halo]

notice how in both of those sentences, the verb and adverb is "targeting" the subject

[verb + adverb] at [subject]

I look at the computer
I **stare **at the clock waiting for my shift to end

Look, Ross! I'm just trying to keep shit simple. We vietnamese only have like 15,000 words in our vocabulary

[signal shell]

There's something more interesting happening. Each of these sentences has an equivalent completed variation.

She ate a sandwich.
She nibbled at a sandwich.

He grabbed the rope.
He clutched at the rope.

[mighty halo]

Bascially it's dependent on what verb you use, right?

[signal shell]

Exactly

[mighty halo]

And that's why I hate the English language sometimes

[signal shell]

I guess that's really all it is

[mighty halo]

Oh you can say it this way, but that way can also mean the same thing.
Me, who learnt both english AND vietnamese

https://tenor.com/view/jontron-what-excuse-me-confused-gif-15932709

[signal shell]

The choice of words forces you into either a transitive form or an intransitive form.

If you want to indicate the target of your action with an intransitive verb, you would normally use "at"

Or maybe "on"

[mighty halo]

and that's the thing. I teach conversational English. I tend to discourage students from agonising over whether their shit is grammatically correct

[acoustic geyser]

Do people use this?

[mighty halo]

all the time

it is just depend on what verb you use

[acoustic geyser]

How do I know it simplified?

[mighty halo]

like in Vietnamese, if we want to eat noodles, we say

Anh ăn mì

[signal shell]

You basically learn it by seeing how people use it. I don't know if there's a better way to know, unless you find the verb in the dictionary and see if it is transitive or intransitive.

[mighty halo]

but if we want to say like "I nibbled at a sandwich", we'd say
Anh gặm nhấm banh mi

@acoustic geyser

[mighty halo]

Again, can I express my disdain for the language?

[signal shell]

It is quite painful sometimes

[acoustic geyser]

You're Vietnamese?

[mighty halo]

yes, I am

[acoustic geyser]

I mean, you came from your country and are living here, yes?

[mighty halo]

Well, I was born in Australia, still living in Australia, but I've grown up speaking our mother tongue with my parents

[acoustic geyser]

Welcome to Vietnam, I guess

[mighty halo]

Anh chưa đi về Việt Nam

[acoustic geyser]

You should remove "đi* to make it less redundant

[mighty halo]

Ah yeh

[boreal ingot]

https://discord.com/channels/801609515391778826/1006884754345439232

[runic sleet]

(A) had spread (B) would spread

whats the different

In 1995, a group of business and academic leaders met at the home of Juanita Brown and David
Isaacs in Mill Valley, California. None of them had any idea they were about to create a social innovation
that 11 rapidly around the world.

11. (A) had spread (B) would spread (C) had been spreading (D) would have spread

[green seal]

"were about to create" means they haven't created it yet.
"had spread" means it already spread.
"would spread" = it will spread in the future (the future from 1995's perspective)

[reef garden]

Hello friends, I am new here and I came to learn English, knowing that I use translation because I find it difficult to learn and I want help and advice ❤️✅️

[fading copper]

I too

Can I help, I want learn English ,.plears
Do Have a teacher here?😂

[green seal]

https://discord.com/channels/801609515391778826/1175013540617269248

[fading copper]

Thanks you very much.

[young mist]

How do I understand compound verbs?

[mighty halo]

(A) says that you've done it.
(B) says that you're considering

[mighty halo]

Practice using them in sentences

For example:
Babysitting my niece
Babysitting is a compound verb

[green seal]

While possible in general, this is wrong given the context

[mighty halo]

But we don't know if she will do it

[mighty halo]

But we don't know if she will definitely do it

See with would, it implies possibility

[green seal]

It doesn't indicate possibility, it indicates that it had not happened yet at that point but at some point in the future it would

[mighty halo]

Pause! Let me read that shit again

[mighty halo]

Fuck you're right

I apologise

[arctic pelican]

Any french here

[boreal ingot]

why do you swear so much, teach?

[obsidian bluff]

Hi guys

How are you today

[mighty halo]

My aussie vernacular!

[verbal heron]

Maybe it's his habit. Well that's the only reason I can think of

[boreal ingot]

lol

[verbal heron]

[verbal heron]

Fine and you?

[mighty halo]

But you are right. I'll try to tone it down

[verbal heron]

👍

[mighty halo]

I don't know, it's just that when I type, I just do it without rethinking

[verbal heron]

You don't swear a lot while teaching your students in real life, right?

[mighty halo]

Never

[boreal ingot]

nah it's fair enough. I'm not bothered by it, but I thought someone with the teacher role prolly ought not to swear much

[mighty halo]

Well....

[verbal heron]

Then you're fine

[mighty halo]

I teach conversational English

So my approach is a little unorthodox

[verbal heron]

Not "expletive language"

[mighty halo]

[mighty halo]

Again, you're not wrong

[verbal heron]

Unorthodox? What's ur approach

[mighty halo]

At the higher levels, I tend to be MUCH more casual

[verbal heron]

That's good ig

[mighty halo]

Like the rigidity loosens at each level

[verbal heron]

second that

[mighty halo]

That way people understand concepts like flow and how native English speakers have this dumb proclivity to shorten everything

ESPECIALLY us Aussies

[verbal heron]

I hate to admit it but I can't watch any movie in English without the subtitles on

[mighty halo]

I mean, English is your second language

[verbal heron]

Btw, since you are teaching conversational English, it's better to not use "proclivity". Instead, replace it with easier alternatives like "habit" or "tendency"

[verbal heron]

Saying that will be more of an excuse

to hide the fact that I can't speak English fluently

[mighty halo]

Not an excuse! It's a fact

[verbal heron]

Yes, but it's partially true. Otherwise there would be no fluent English speakers from any non-native English-speaking country

Dang yeah, I'm a slacker

[mighty halo]

Of course, nothing is definite. Polyglot is a thing

[mighty halo]

English is hard. Take your time

It's the only language where every rule has at least one exception

First time writing in English using time words

Today, I went to the park

But you can also put today at the end and it'll still be the same

[boreal ingot]

this feels made up

The 'only' part lmfao

[mighty halo]

Okay, the only language that I know of

None of the Asian languages that I've studied have this level of fluidity.

[signal shell]

I'm only just learning a tiny bit of Irish and it's already driving me crazy with how terrible it is to find any patterns anywhere. I'm not even sure if Irish has any rules to break.

[dense oasis]

because it is

english doesn't break too many of its rules

even german, which is related to it, loves to break everything again and again, it even has irregular plurals for every noun (english just adds +s, and has only a few exceptions like a mouse and mice)

[verbal heron]

Eh, this works in my native language as well. But ig we don't need to punctuate the adverb regardless of where we place it in a sentence

[verbal heron]

Like Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Tagalog etc.?

[verbal heron]

What I find crazy about German is that it allows so many modifiers to come together without any hyphens or commas

[verbal heron]

If there are no definite patterns, then maybe it'll take you a while to learn it

[dense oasis]

oh. yeah. It takes some time to get used to it lol

but my native polish behaves the same so to me it doesn't matter

[verbal heron]

Lol but still it's crazy how y'all manage to pronounce the long words in one go

English also has some long words but they are mostly useless in everyday life

[mighty halo]

Japanese and Vietnamese

[mighty halo]

Okay put it this way! There is no cl concrete way to write sentences

There are many ways of greeting people. A lot of them informal, sure. But it's still counts as saying hello

[dense oasis]

i don't speak vietnamese but I have tried learning japanese before

and one thing that struck me was definitely the way the language is spelled

it's almost entirely inconsistent and unpredictable

I have learned many kanji too, not only kana, and I have learned many things before, but it all showed me that oh no, some things just do not make sense. Like taberu right, you know the kanji character that goes with it, and the same one appears in other words suddenly as shoku

japanese spelling is a nightmare

[mighty halo]

Ah yes! Ooyomi and Kuyomi

[mighty halo]

Yeah, I was N2 before I stopped

I agree

If you understand pattern, then it's not too hard.

[dense oasis]

yes yes but still the fact that one character can take like even 5 different readings is just nightmarish, english spelling is often unpredictable but english is still heaven compared to this

[mighty halo]

I will agree with you. But you have the native role. So of course English is the easiest

If it was something with a C or B grade proficiency, then there might be merit

Anyways, to work I go

[dense oasis]

okay okay. Good luck

[dense oasis]

I have the fluent role, so no, I'm not a native speaker. My English is around C1, and my native is polish. So no, not really the easiest haha. I would certainly have it easier to learn russian or czech or slovak than to learn english

[boreal ingot]

I mean, most languages have many ways of greeting someone. For example, Finnish has Moikka, Moi, Moikkeli, Hei, Terve, Tere, Tervehdys, Tervetuloa, Moro, Moron, Heippa, Heipis, Päivää, and Tsau (among others). English isn't very special in that regard.

[mighty halo]

Ah

[last cypress]

Hello everyone. I'm an online English teacher with a bachelor's degree in English language and literature. I love helping learners get improved, build confidence, and express themselves freely without the fear of making mistakes. Feel free to reach out.

Or to ask any questions

[glad parcel]

how can I pronounce "the" front of "university and user and Europe", please help me

[boreal ingot]

thuh

thee before vowel sounds

thuh before consonant sounds

all of those may start with vowels, but thopse vowels are pronounced as Y is

(as consonant sounds)

so you use 'thuh', not 'thee'

[glad parcel]

thank u

[green seal]

you have the native English role

[boreal ingot]

Here is how I'd pronounce them (sorry I sound like shit I'm tired lol):

[boreal ingot]

Yeah, Real Life is correct. You should probably change your 'native' role if you're not one

[glad parcel]

how can I change

[boreal ingot]

Scroll up and click on Channels & Roles

Then choose one of these four, depending on your English level

[native flare]

Hey,

Would you like to volunteer as a teacher in this server?

[flat rune]

Hello, I am Iza. A Bachelor's Degree student & looking for 1 speaker for each of these dialect- British Isles/North America/Australia & the Pacific/The Caribbean for help with my global englishes assignment as we need to compare the pronunciation 😔 I have to conduct an interview (will be done via GoogleMeet) and I'll share the end result on Padlet. I have example from my seniors if you need more proof of the assignment. I'm in Asia and I don't know anyone from these places. May dm me if you're willing to help, as this work weigh 20% of my grade and i want to do my best for it. Tqsm 🙏🏻

[willow nymph]

can i dm you?

[mighty halo]

I'm an Aussie!

Feel free to reach out to me at anytime and I'll try to get back to you

[flat rune]

Ohh thank you so much!

[flat rune]

I sent you a friend req and you may ask/i can share if you need more details for my assignment

[signal shell]

I'm willing to help too if you still need someone from North America

[flat rune]

Thank you so much for willing to help but I've got a North American already. As of rn, only British Isles & The Caribbean slots are vacant.

[vast sorrel]

Hello everyone сan I ask you a question about English, what is the difference between Modern RP and Upper RP, and how many different RP are there?

[marsh flume]

Hi there, I am Maxim. I am looking for English friends. I am 15 and I am from Russia. dm me

[vast sorrel]

https://discord.com/channels/801609515391778826/852806317163937823

Тебе бы сюда пацан

[marsh flume]

Окей, спасибо

[last cypress]

Yes, feel free to reach out. I'd be glad to help.

[rapid bison]

💀
people looking for English friends and then NOT speaking the English language

[dense oasis]

booh-hwa-hwa-tah?

a bottle of water mate

[rapid bison]

that's Englishing enough 😭

[rapid bison]

I'm more talking this

[dense oasis]

boohwahwahwahwatah. It's like when an engine of an old car is just starting

[boreal ingot]

Normally, I believe people consider there to be three RPs. Old/older RP, conservative/traditional RP, and modern RP. Read the section on historical differences here to learn about specific consonant and vowel differences. You won't find any Old RP speakers nowadays. Anyone speaking traditional RP would be styled 'Posh'.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Received_Pronunciation#Historical_variation

[sonic crag]

“She drinks the milk every day” Is it grammatically correct

[boreal ingot]

Yes, it is

This would be regarding a specific kind of milk. If you wanted to say she drinks milk in general, you would say 'She drinks milk every day'

[atomic pine]

Yes, the sentence you've written is absolutely correct. 'she drinks the milk every day ' is a grammatically accurate statment that clearly express a daily habit.

[vast sorrel]

Is it worth learning U-RP at all?

[boreal ingot]

If you like how it sounds, sure, why not? There is nothing that makes standard English dialects 'not worth it'

Learning a low-class or very regional dialect might affect you if you go to work in England, but, when it comes to standard ones, go with whatever you find easiest or like most

[vast sorrel]

I'm just afraid that it won't be taken as a serious conversation witch this accent

[boreal ingot]

Oh yeah, Brits don't actually comment on it. Some Americans might tell you 'Oh, you sound British' (some will think it's a bit fancy). You'll meet the annoying person now and then that will tell you 'Bo'l o' wo'uh' (in imitation of a low-class Londonian accent), but that's a curse of British accents' and not veryyy common

As long as you're not goingg for Old RP, you'll be fine

if you're going for a hyper-British 1920s TV sort of very affected accent, you will face some comments

[vast sorrel]

Well, Elizabeth II's style was just like hers. Upper RP

Here he is – https://pronunciationstudio.com/upper-received-pronunciation/

[boreal ingot]

This clip you've sent sounds a bit put on, to be fair, but yes, that's Upper RP. It's not very common anymore, but you won't be bothered too much for it, especially considering that most learners go for that accent or a General American sort of accent.

It's really important that the way you do it sounds natural, though. So long as it doesn't sound like a veryyyy affected imitation but like a posh person speaking, you'll be fine

[vast sorrel]

I still only use the official Oxford dictionary

That's why I want to understand the literary version that officially exists in English without those words that don't exist in English, so that everyone can understand me

[rapid bison]

which official Oxford dictionary?

[verbal heron]

OALD, most likely

[rapid bison]

because I would have dared the dude to use the Oxford English Dictionary (OED)

[verbal heron]

Would you have picked him a tombstone font?

[rapid bison]

nope

[verbal heron]

Ok

[torpid beacon]

Hi! I’m new here. Please help me with grammar.
Is this sentence correct: I goes to school yesterday?

[green seal]

"I went to school yesterday"

[craggy saddle]

"Went", not "goes".

"Goes" is a conjugated verb, for he/she/it pronouns. "Went" is past tense, used for all pronouns

[rapid bison]

I wonder how every other sentence was correct-

[boreal ingot]

I have a quandary at hand, dear Anglophones, native and not alike, which greatly bemuses me, and, though I am not well acquainted with the manner wherewith I ought to act in such a place as this and though the social rules and hierarchical complexity of this manor are unknown to me—both facts being due to my not having long ago hence made my arrival here, and, ipso facto, my not having had much time to acclimatise to this place—I find that I simply cannot but urge you with most desperate a plee, kind people, to, through your doubtless greatly esteemed experties upon the subject (which experties are to be expected, as I understand this to be a place of great learning), inform me, perhaps to educate me, as to whether the expression in none but the most spoken of Anglo-Saxon's modern progeniture, which is stated hereunder, is of complete and incontrovertible propriety: 'Can I has a coffee?'

[rapid bison]

you are banned from our store.

[boreal ingot]

I simply wish to better understand the English tongue :( It was my belief that this was the home of learning, but, alack, oh, ALACK THE DASTARDLY ADVERTISING THAT LIES AS IT EVER HAS, WANTON AS THE DEVIL, it seems I am much mistaken

[dusky harness]

You can has coffee (no ‘a’). But it will always be cheeseburger flavoured.

[boreal ingot]

Lmfaoo 😭 😭

[torpid beacon]

Why is ‘went’ correct instead of ‘goes’? Please explain.

Can you explain the difference between ‘goes’ and ‘went’?

[dusky harness]

Regarding what happened "yesterday", the action is in the past. Verbs change not only for person or number, but time (tense) as well. 'Went' is the past tense of 'go' (any subject). 'Goes' is the present tense for he/she/it (third-person singular subjects). One can say: "I went to school yesterday because I go to school every day."

[torpid beacon]

Thank you! Now I understand.
Can you give me one more example?

For example: I ate dinner yesterday, but I eat dinner every day.

[sonic crag]

“What is the longest that you've gone without doing laundry?“ I dont understand this question

[dusky harness]

The word 'but' creates contrast, so it's a little out of place in your example because there is no real contradiction between the two clauses. You can say: "I ate dinner yesterday, but then I eat dinner every day (so it's not surprising, etc.)." Without context for that sentence, you're better off with a conjunction like 'because' or 'as'. One more example: "We don't usually buy souvenirs, but this time we bought some on our way home."

[dusky harness]

Picture this: The last time you did the laundry was seven days ago. You say to yourself, "Wow, I've just gone a full week without doing the laundry!" So, one week is how long you've gone without doing the laundry. But is it the longest you've ever gone? What about eight days? Nine days? What is the longest? That length of time is what the question is asking.

[dense oasis]

Yes you can have coffee. If you were german I'd even say "You can become coffee" because that's the proper way of expressing it there

You can also become a cup of coffee

Or "You can plead coffee", as it is the case in polish

Interestingly enough it could mean both that you plead coffee because it is a person and you beg them for something, and it could also mean that you're just asking for some coffee

[dense garden]

Hello

[fleet rain]

Hello, I have a question too. When should I say there is and there are ?

[warped gate]

As a b1+ i want to know how to improve my reading get faster, when i try to read faster i'm usually missing the plot and returning back, i can read a page in only 1 and half min

[little lake]

You use there is and there are to say that something exists or is present.

Use there is with singular nouns or uncountable nouns:
There is a cat on the roof.
There is a book on the table.
There is milk in the fridge. (milk = uncountable)

Use there are with plural nouns:
There are two cats on the roof.
There are many books on the table.
There are some people outside.

[fleet rain]

Ohhh ok tysm I understand it now !

[craggy saddle]

"Goes" is for he/she/it pronouns. For example:

He goes to school

The dog goes inside

And "went" is for past tense. Examples:

I went to the store yesterday

We went to the beach last week

[craggy saddle]

Listen to an audiobook maybe?

[boreal ingot]

It's good to note that this rule is very often broken by native and fluent speakers in informal spoken and written contexts

There is three men at the door.

Is something you may well hear spoken by a native

[fleet rain]

Ohh ok ty !

[kindred sleet]

hi, someone can explain what is "sup" ? It's like a hi?

[boreal ingot]

It's short for 'what's up'

I believe one is expected to say 'sup' in response

or 'hey' or 'hi' etc

instead of actually saying what's up lol

[waxen cradle]

Yes, it's a greeting short for "What's up". Some common responses are:

• "Sup" in return to simply acknowledge and greet them back
• "Nothing much" if you aren't busy
• "I'm working/I'm studying/I'm at home", to actually answer what you're up to (what you're doing). I usually see the simple progressive -ing form used, so for example: "Sup?" "Studying. You?"

[kindred sleet]

ohh, thank you guys 😄

[boreal ingot]

The Son of God renders praises to his Father for the manifestation of his gracious purpose toward man; but God again declares, that grace cannot be extended toward man without the satisfaction of Divine justice; man hath offended the majesty of God by aspiring to Godhead, and therefore with all his progeny devoted to death must die, unless some one can be found sufficient to answer for his offence, and undergo his punishment.

1. Can 'praise' mean 'entreaties' or something of the sort? He gives his father praise instead of begging?
2. What does 'purpose' mean here? I understand the meaning of this paragraph generally. I just want to understand the exact meaning of 'purpose' in this sentence and see other examples of this usage.

[waxen cradle]

I would interpret it as follows:

1. "Praise" is a synonym for "prayer". There are instances in the Bible where Jesus prays to God to ask him (or plead with him) to show mercy/forgiveness, and this is one of those instances.
2. The "purpose" is a reference to the Christian belief that Jesus appeared on earth for the purpose of dying for the sins of mankind, that his death would be a symbolic punishment for all sinning people. The second half of the passage restates that "purpose"! The reader is assumed to know this purpose that Jesus speaks of.

[boreal ingot]

Ah, my many thanks to you! 💜

[rotund zenith]

What is this ?

[boreal ingot]

What are you asking me exactly?

It's an English question

[rotund zenith]

I mean what do u understand from this?

[boreal ingot]

I'm not sure why you're asking me that lol. This isn't an English class. I was just confused about 2 words so I asked a question

The question has been answered, so I think the matter is over

[rotund zenith]

U from UK?

[boreal ingot]

No? Why do you ask?

[rotund zenith]

It's an English question XD

[boreal ingot]

In this context, English questions are questions about the English language and learning it, dear. You've misunderstood (or, more likely, willfully misinterpreted) the purpose of this channel

[rotund zenith]

Dear? yoo

[boreal ingot]

Toodles, I won't further entertain you

[rotund zenith]

Lol im just messing with u

[rotund zenith]

maybe u wont answer me but for real it was fun me who have a few words messin with u, i wish i were a native speaker XD

[left oracle]

What is toodles

[boreal ingot]

It means 'goodbye'! It is short for 'toodeloo', which means the same thing but is uncommon nowadays.

It's a very silly sort of word, one used lightheartedly

[left oracle]

ohh I see, is that word a C1 level or smth? in which country it is often used?

[boreal ingot]

I am not sure what makes a word a C1 word, so I sadly can't properly answer you on that. The dictionaries I've checked haven't indicated a level either. I would, however, expect all fluent speakers to know it (not to use it, just to know it exists).

It's an old-fashioned word. You might hear it spoken by a silly character from the '20s or so. I personally associate it more with British English than American English (particularly in its full form, 'toodeloo'; that is certainly British). You'd need an American to tell you whether they hear 'toodles' or not.

Perhaps @signal shell could comment on its standing in American English when he awakes, or any other Americans who are available theretofore could

[left oracle]

.

[left oracle]

Oh okay, thank you so much! You have such an ability to break things down clearly. I'm sorry If I'm wrong but you are a British native speaker, isn't? It is because recently I'm active on discord and trying to use every resource you have here

[boreal ingot]

I'm glad I could help! And, no, I'm not a native speaker; I'm just a British English learner! 💜

[green seal]

Toodles is a cutesy way of saying goodbye. It's too awkward for me to say in real life even as a joke. I can't remember the last time I heard it either.

[waxen cradle]

“Toodles” is not common in American English, but is known and understood to mean goodbye. I only hear it used in movies or on TV shows, as a cheeky or chipper “bye!”

[ivory viper]

it is usually used differentially, yes

[waxen cradle]

For example, it is used by the character Sharpay in the Disney Channel movie “High School Musical”. Sharpay is a character who performs in theater and musicals, and being exaggerated and dramatic is part of her character

[ivory viper]

Has anyone here read Cormac McCarthy?

If so, do you like the way he writes dialogue without any punctuation marks? I feel like it helps the writing flow better.

[left oracle]

Ohh wow I see, thank you, u are amazing!

[left oracle]

Oh that makes sense, thanks

[naive matrix]

can i ask questions what is the difference bteween miss ms mrs ?

[dense oasis]

I think it'd be good to mention that you can not really distinguish between an "A1/whatever level word" and a "C1 word" in reality, because when you speak the language you mix all kinds of words into one speech, so common words and rare words are mixed together. you can talk to a nurse and hear "veggies are good for you, and if you don't eat enough you'll feel as if you were malnourished", malnourished may seem advanced to some, but this doesn't matter, it is still used. Or "fatigue" for example, it's used to describe the state of being very tired, and it's used instead of something like "being tired"

just like in books or in any longer speech, especially about more complex topics than maybe making breakfast, rare words and common words are mixed with each other

[boreal ingot]

Miss (used on its own or with a last or first name): Young girl/woman. Or unmarried young girl/woman.

Mrs (used with last name or full name): a married woman.

Ms (used with last name or full name): any woman at all. It's by far the best choice, since it doesn't mark a woman by her martial status

They're pronounced
Mis
Misiz
Miz

For older ladies you can go with 'ma,am' in America and either 'ma'am' or 'madam' in Britain

Don't use 'madam' in America

Some regions of America you shouldn't use 'ma'am' at all

It's often best to simply ask for her preference of honorific (or if she wants you to use one, since they can feel stiff and formal), though it depends on context a lot

[dire crypt]

what is mean of history and western though?

anyone pls hlp

[flat rune]

say it: lock - luck - look - lack
can anybody help me with this?

[keen zealot]

Hi

[boreal ingot]

more lock luck look lack lek lick leak lurk lark like lake

and lawk :p

[flat rune]

and what does this means?

[boreal ingot]

exclamation of surprise/other emotion

like saying 'Lord!'

[flat rune]

oh nice, thank u!

[rotund zenith]

@boreal ingot Eye me here giv'us us some hellows

[hollow night]

Can anyone tell me if the following sentence is structually sound?

Sentence: **I only heard you shout, "Answer me!" at the end. **

Note: This sentence is supposed to go into a speech bubble in a comic panel.

[torpid beacon]

Thank you! I am a beginner, so your explanation is very helpful.

[cosmic nebula]

My name is Ali, and my problem in life is the English language, whether for life or for studying.

I need advice to start my learning journey.

[waxen cradle]

This sentence is correct, but it does feel a little bit awkward without context. At the end of what? Perhaps add that context into the speech: "I only heard you shout, "Answer me!" at the end of the soccer match." or "I only heard you shout, "Answer me!" after I had already started the car.". I think "after" is a good preposition to use here when adding in context!

[hollow night]

Thanks, Emily!

[lone mulch]

Hi guys I'm rajesh english learning beginner person could you teach me

[languid citrus]

Rajesh,
You should capitalise your name, and the word English, and end a sentence with a full stop or a question mark.
"Hi guys, I'm Rajesh, an English learning beginner person, could you teach me?"

[lone mulch]

Yes 🙂‍↕️, thanks you

Thank you for reporting

[boreal ingot]

It would be much more naatural to say 'correcting' here, not 'reporting'

I can see why you used 'reporting',b ut 'correcting' is a far better option

---

The second result is the introduction of a vast number of new words, which the rapid advance in every department of human investigation has rendered necessary. Many of these, to be sure, are nothing but revivals of terms which had previously been brought in during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, but had fallen into disuse; but much the larger proportion of them are entirely new coinages. Especially is this true in the manifold departments of modern science, in which every advance gives birth to a number of hitherto unknown words

1. Are natives typically aware of this usage of 'to be sure' as a phrase meaning 'certainly' or 'doubtless'?
2. Is this usage old-fashioned, formal, or casual (such that I may hear a native employ it in natural conversation)?

[green seal]

Aware of the phrase in that usage, mostly yes, but not necessarily able to pin it down to its exact meaning.

It would be rare but not unheard of in casual or formal conversation. Probably more likely to come up in a speech or similar.

I felt like a movie quote was affecting my impression of it so I googled it and, yep "A surprise to be sure but a welcome one"

[waxen cradle]

Yes! That is common enough, though it has a somewhat casual tone and is more common in speech. Older folks are more likely to use it than younger folks. Young people would instead say "for sure". Example: "These soda bottles are for sure the same ones that were in the kitchen yesterday!"

It can be used like "surely", but it can also be used to add emphasis, the way "totally" or "definitely" are.

[boreal ingot]

@green seal @waxen cradle, my many thanks to both of you! Your insights are invaluable

[green seal]

Np. For the record, I'm American.

[thorn pasture]

Hi guys, I wonder is this app a legit?

I just got 424 in the British Council's free Core Skills English test.

I have been using this for a year and I don't know if my English score actually that high. Because I don't even know how to talk properly in English

I want to know where is my skill at now. In exact grade point which is also free

[viscid fjord]

Hello everyone,
I’m looking for a focus group to review my English grammar workbook. If you’re interested in practicing grammar, please DM me — I’ll send you some worksheets and a few questions to get your feedback. It will help me understand how effective the materials are.
Thank you!

[plucky marlin]

I am not in any group but I want to learn. Please send

[rapid bison]

take everything, then come back

[green seal]

I'm a native so my impression might be skewed but it seemed too easy to truly test up to the levels it claims to. Anyway, there is no speech section so it's incomparable to IELTS and (purely speculating) even a perfect score, while good, would not necessarily indicate a near perfect score on the TOEIC.

[mighty halo]

So I'm marking my student's work before class. I was thinking about this multiple choice

Choose the word that correctly fills in the blank
I can paint __, but I want to be better than my sister"
a) Nice
b) Good
3. Well.
Student chosen a). But that's wrong. Why is that?

I explained that "Well" is better suited as nice is adjective

[green seal]

yeah it's not an adverb for one. but even in adverb form it's an awkward word to describe skill in painting.

there are cases where it does work like "nicely done" and "nicely handled" though

[mighty halo]

Man, I hate these gotchas when it comes to getting the students to complete the coursework

[mighty halo]

because we all know to turn any adjective into an adverb, just suffix that shit wtih "-ly"

[green seal]

unfortunately the reason something doesn't work is often nothing more than people don't say it that way so it sounds weird if you do

[mighty halo]

I mean, I keep seeing people writing "that" after the subject being a person.

like

I know people that will love to know you

I do not know why they do that

It should be

I know poeple who will love to know you

[green seal]

Ah but it's said enough by natives that it's more or less correct, at least conversationally

[mighty halo]

because repetition is the essence of vernacular

fucking apparently

[green seal]

they got irregardless in the dictionary so what can you do

[mighty halo]

Legally smack my C level students across the face with their B-level grammar textbooks

[green seal]

lol. if you have to grade on prescriptive grammar I feel bad for you but I suppose it is what it is.

[mighty halo]

Obligatory fuck my education system

Like this question:

Could you please turn (blank) the volume? I'd like to listen to the news

the choices were
a) up
b) out
c) on

Now the curriculum says it's A, but there's fuck all context to indicate whether the volume was muted

[green seal]

[mighty halo]

So I'm sitting here agonising over whether to complain to my boss to please ease up on the rigid adherence to the curriculum

up is the correct answer. But if the volume was muted, then c) is also correct

... I hate by-the-book English teaching

[left oracle]

Oh got it, that definitely makes sense, it also happens with every language I thinks so, thank you for explaining me!

[left oracle]

quick question are those audios made by you? or do you get them from another source?

[rapid bison]

she spoke them. I know her.

[dense oasis]

deedee is not lying, I trust all vietnamese

[rapid bison]

lmao

[dense oasis]

meow meow

[rapid bison]

nya

[rapid bison]

you're assigned the role of teacher here
you're supposed to know this

[rapid bison]

at level C2, would one be able to perfect a TOEIC (L&R) sitting anyway :'D

[mighty halo]

Look, I'm not going to come on here and claim that I'm the master of the language's grammar. I'm conversational English

I teach mainly conversational English

[rapid bison]

grammar ain't the point
the point is that you didn't understand how language worked

conversational English will change with the time

"repetition is the essence of vernacular" is correct; that's the point

"fucking apparently" isn't the best response to a fundamental language fact

[verbal heron]

[mighty halo]

I guess sarcasm and facetiousness is hard to see in text

[verbal heron]

Yes, it's often implied than stated

[rapid bison]

if that was sarcasm, your core facts were very off
if that wasn't sarcasm, you learnt late - too late

:)

[mighty halo]

I like how you tacked on "very" like you trying to antagonise me

[rapid bison]

because I am :)

gotta hold teachers to a higher standard here 👉😎👉

[mighty halo]

How about you don't

Are you this insufferable with your teachers at school

Or do you keep your mouth shut like you're supposed to because you know that your ass would get thrown out @rapid bison

[rapid bison]

no, because they are more decent than you will ever be 😭

[rapid bison]

I am overqualified for, making me exempt from, those classes; thank you

[verbal heron]

Not sure if I'm supposed to tell a teacher to calm down

[mighty halo]

No i should

Im just exhausted from work today

[verbal heron]

Please do not insult anyone here

[verbal heron]

Then please head to #💭｜general or #🫂｜beginner-chat

and help the beginners there

[mighty halo]

I apologise Dee

[rapid bison]

just to contextualize, I had to be here to make sure a teacher of current English remembers how a human language evolves
this is #📚｜english-questions, anyway; it's fascinating, and it helps with learning

dw, Chris; I apologize too for basically launching an all-out attack

[mighty halo]

I'll strive to be better

[rapid bison]

same - hopefully

please do study a little (more) linguistics though; it will help you in understanding how words came to be

I swear that it helps

[dense oasis]

meow

[rapid bison]

nyaaaa~

[forest bridge]

Is there anyone want to be an English teacher to teach Chinese children on the internet?

[boreal ingot]

I recorded them. Why do you ask?

[boreal ingot]

💔 not 'irregardless', it pains me

[left oracle]

I was just curious

[boreal ingot]

Oh alrighty

:3

[boreal ingot]

Don't just throw semicolons around A full stop would have worked there!!!

[rapid bison]

two commas 😭

I take pride on being able to use semicolons ;)

(I do not care if I worded any message awkwardly; the point is that I will keep on using semicolons nyeheheh)

[boreal ingot]

I mean, one oughtn't to overuse them :3 But I understand taking pride in being able to use them at all lol

[boreal ingot]

I do like the comma-offset 'making me ...' phrase there, though. It's a very nice touch. Perhaps it would do woth having some sort of linking conjunctive adverb or something of the sort before it.

I am overqualified for, and, therefore, am exempt from, those classes. Thank you.

That flows a bit better and clearly marks the logical connection

[rapid bison]

it's easier to use than commas, mind you ☕

[boreal ingot]

Indeed lol. Commas are a mess

[rapid bison]

I like the phrase in general; offseting the entire thing might be better than overusing commas here xP

[boreal ingot]

Meowwwww :3

[rapid bison]

three cats.

[boreal ingot]

True, while each comma I used has a reason for its being there, it does feel a bit heavy to use that many

A good balance must be struck with commas

[rapid bison]

the first comma in this message I'm replying to should have been a semicolon/full stop 😭

(see: I'm obsessed w/ them for all the wrong reasons)

[boreal ingot]

Rawrr :ɔ̯

[rapid bison]

<3

[boreal ingot]

I don't believe so? 'True' there is the sort of parenthetical comment that one would offset with commas, no? I should love to know the reason for using a semicolon there. 'True' isn't an independent clause. I suppose one could view it as an elliptical form of 'that is true'; in which case, I would agree to a full stop or semicolon. However, I don't think most conceptualise that usage of 'true' in such a manner.

[rapid bison]

nope; I really think it can even validly stand as, and should stand as, a separate sentence ☕

...so I just realized that it (= mine) would strike down "no, it's not acceptable"; I am forced to concede this point

ignore suggestion, thank you!

[boreal ingot]

Hmm, they almost seem like interjections. Would you put a semicolon after 'hello'?

[rapid bison]

yes.

[boreal ingot]

I'm curious whether you're going by any authority's dictum or by intuition

[rapid bison]

I believe I intuited that 😭

[boreal ingot]

I simply was curious if there was a prescription regarding the use of semicolons of which I wasn't aware

At the end of the day, punctuation exists to improve flow

Use it in such a manner as you find attains that goal

[rapid bison]

nya

[boreal ingot]

Nyaaa

[rapid bison]

meow

[left oracle]

What does offseting mean

[rapid bison]

splitting and shifting something away :3

kind of that

[left oracle]

oh I got it thanks

[boreal ingot]

It can mean to counteract a force by using an opposite force. For example:

The increase in hourly wages may offset the decrease in hours of labour.

Here, the increase acts against the decrease, resulting in a balance

[dense oasis]

kinda unrealistic example lmfao

in this capitalism it would be more like

the decrease in hourly wages may offset the decrease in hours of labour

[boreal ingot]

The way DeeDee and I were using it means basically to make something be out of line. If everything is in a particular order and you offset something, that means you 'shift' that something by some amount so that you break this order

[green seal]

Generally used to describe a positive thing making what would otherwise be a negative thing neutral