The Improve Your English Thread

Ha! non existent skirts and 'bling' seemed to be the uniform (and whatever victoria Beckam or some other Chav goddess was wearing) Actually probably not fair of me to speak ill of them, I doubt my spiky purple hair'd fit in at your school anymore than their hoodies and chains.
Pupil appearances aside it's a shame that all schools do not value manners and good behavior as much as public schools. Stricter boundaries seem to make it easier to learn. Lessons where chairs are thrown ect really drag everyone down and make it impossible to concentrate.



Bloody blair. "Education, education, education" My foot!

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You don't think El Presidente's policy to give out A*s to everyone, even if they can't read or write, is working then

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Thus choosing to die resisting, rather than to live submitting, they fled only from dishonour, but met danger face to face, and after one brief moment, while at the summit of their fortune, escaped, not from their fear, but from their glory.

Thucydides: The Peloponnesian War

Perzident blairs is top geezer! Me wuden't be minista for 'elf if it weren't for 'im.

we're doomed!

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Which is correct: all of THE sudden or all of A sudden? All of *insert correct form here* sudden I can't remember!

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I would say all of a sudden (I think)

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Agreed

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Thus choosing to die resisting, rather than to live submitting, they fled only from dishonour, but met danger face to face, and after one brief moment, while at the summit of their fortune, escaped, not from their fear, but from their glory.

Thucydides: The Peloponnesian War

I have a question about two phrases I hear a lot on American TV (I'm from the UK). Both sound horribly wrong to me but seem to be very common over there, so I was just wondering if they're correct to use.

The first is "bunch of" - e.g. "I know a bunch of people that like that movie".

The second is "would have" - e.g. "The concert sounded great, I wish I would have gone to it".

To me, the word bunch should only be used when talking about grapes or flowers etc - something that is actually bunched together. As for my second example, should it not be "I wish I had gone to it"?

To the person who asked about how to handle cutlery - when cutting food I hold the fork in my left hand and my knife in my right, but then I put my knife down and change my fork to my right hand to actually eat. If I'm eating something that doesn't require a knife at all the fork/spoon is always in my right hand.

One last thing, why do Americans constantly use the word "real" when they should be using "really"? As in "he's real smart" - it really bugs me!!!

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A book is much like a mirror: if an idiot looks in, you can't expect a genius to look out.

In informal American English this is acceptable. However in formal writing or in all forms of British English; group, not bunch, would be used.



It's somewhat convoluted as a construction so I'd obviously prefer "I had". [/QUOTE]

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Thus choosing to die resisting, rather than to live submitting, they fled only from dishonour, but met danger face to face, and after one brief moment, while at the summit of their fortune, escaped, not from their fear, but from their glory.

Thucydides: The Peloponnesian War

This is my las post, goodbye. I have never been able to get an avatar anyway

Ah, thanks, guys! About "real": I think fewer people are using that now, thankfully. I usually hear people over 30 saying it, and personally it reminds me of Leave it to Beaver when I think about it (such as in "gee, that's real neat!" or something), but maybe that's just around here.

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I'd like to point out, that English is one of the hardest languages to learn. So please, if you write in English and it isn't your native tongue, don't feel bad, we all must learn things and I find forgein languages hard to learn, I know a few Japanese words but not a lot.

Man, I was homeschooled since first grade, I think I'd be terribly put out in a Brit shcool. Really, black marks?

EDIT: I was just reading Chapter Three 'THe Knight Bus' in POA. I was wondering if it is common (or not so common) for someone to drop their 'H's when they talk, like Stan?

Also, I've been taught to not start off a sentance with the word 'and' (though sometimes I do) is that common in British writting?

Example: And without even removing his glass, he slumped back onto his pillows and fell asleep. (POA, Chapter 3, pg, 48)

Can anyone answer my questions?

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~Writers aren't exactly people.... they're a whole bunch of people trying to be one person.~
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~Unless one is a genius, it is best to aim at being intelligible.~ Anthony Hope Hawkins

~If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.~ Harry S. Truman


"Anyway, Dementors must be Demented dead people!"
[Me, from 'Dementors: Beasts or Beings?']

I don't think English is a hard language to learn...But, sorry, I can't answer your questions (even if I also think that it's incorrect to start a sentence with "and"). By the way, I have a very silly question, what does IMO (or IMHO??) mean, I see it everywhere on forums. Feel free to correct my mistakes if there are some...

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ID MEMENTO

There is a supposed grammatical rule about not starting a sentence with a conjunction but it's done all the time. And it's fairly common for some people to drop their aitches (Hs) but it's exagerrated in the film

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IMO=In My Opinion, IMHO=In My Humble Opinion

It is technically incorrect. When I intend to begin a sentence with a conjunction I try to imagine the sentence without it and see how it sounds. Usually the conjunction is unnecessary and a sentence would function fine without it. "And without even removing his glass, he slumped back onto his pillows and fell asleep." in this case (as in most) the point of the sentence would be conveyed just as well without the "and". It's nothing major IMO and writers use their discretion.

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To quote Bill Bryson's Troublesome Words:

"The belief that and should not be used to begin a sentence is without foundation. And that's all there is to it."

my advice : Hooucked of Fonicks werked fer me!

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hehe

Well, I just wasn't sure about it, I have seen the same thing in 'My Fair Lady' but, it seems kinda weird when you read it in a book. I don't know, I was always taught not to start a sentance with a word like 'and' or' but', like I really care, I thought that was just silly cause' I had seen people use it like that, just like JKR does. I guess, as long as you get your point across to the readers, it really doesn't matter much that you use conjunctions.

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~Writers aren't exactly people.... they're a whole bunch of people trying to be one person.~
F. Scott Fitzgerald

~Unless one is a genius, it is best to aim at being intelligible.~ Anthony Hope Hawkins

~If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.~ Harry S. Truman


"Anyway, Dementors must be Demented dead people!"
[Me, from 'Dementors: Beasts or Beings?']

I also have a question about a few things I've heard on American TV, (maybe it's just me...) They seem to say 'BRING' in situations where I would say 'TAKE" and 'WITH' when I would say 'TO' eg:

If I am standing at my dressing table in my bedroom (putting my make-up on), my suitcases are standing at the door and my husband comes in, I would say to him: 'Please could you take my suitcases to the car.', however the Americans would usually say 'Please could you bring my suitcases to the car' ??

and...

I would say to someone: 'Could I speak to you?', whereas Americans say: 'Could I speak with you?' (I have visions of both people jabbering away together...)

Or am I just being silly?

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