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English Grammar Discussion


Optic

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I thought it would be interesting to have a topic where we could discuss English grammar. :D

 

Disclaimer: though I am a native English speaker (Australian), my grammar isn't top-notch so I might make mistakes (feel free to correct me with a poke).

Though I touched on English grammar in school, I would have to say many foreigners would have a better grasp on English grammar rules and linguistics over me because other languages generally have more tighter and consistent rules in regards to tense, gender, suffixes and prefixes. *cough* German.

 

Feel free to ask random questions, discuss or write about any English grammar experiences you may have had trouble with in the past.

 

I'll start with three common ones that people ask me which even I can get confused with from time to time. xD

 

Swim vs swam vs swum

Drink vs drank vs drunk

Ring vs rang vs rung

 

So this is the classic present tense, past tense vs past participle:

Swim to freedom! / He swam to freedom! / Have you ever swum for freedom?

I love to drink coke! / She drank my coke! / Have you ever drunk coke?

Did you ring me? / He rang me just now! / He rung my phone yesterday!

 

With these tenses in English you can easily get away with mixing it up and 90% of the time people will understand you anyway. ;) But if you're writing an essay or report best to keep it in mind.

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I am sometimes confused with American English and UK English. I'm used to the UK one but I always get into an argument with Microsoft word xD

Colour vs Color? Favourite vs Favorite etc.

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Ah yes, I'm guessing you would prefer UK English spelling @@NightDancer? As long as you change the spellcheck language to the UK one you should be good to go. :)

 

A few others to consider:

Armour vs armor

Labour vs labor

 

But yeah not just spelling, it can also be vocabulary too. The most notorious example is: petrol vs gas/gasoline. I never use the word gas when referring to car fuel, but of course we all use gas for barbeques... so just small things like that.

 

Another one that comes to mind: freeway vs motorway...

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Yes, spot on! Admittedly I find myself using both terms interchangeably from time to time, watching too many American movies and TV dramas will subconsciously do that to you. xD

 

The UK English just sounds more beautiful to me, I love the accent! <3

Speaking of accents, what do you think of the New Zealand accent? ;)

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Yes, spot on! Admittedly I find myself using both terms interchangeably from time to time, watching too many American movies and TV dramas will subconsciously do that to you. xD

 

 

Speaking of accents, what do you think of the New Zealand accent? ;)

Not sure if I heard that one yet, I think you should show me an example. =)

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Not sure if I heard that one yet, I think you should show me an example. =)

We've been flooded with lots of New Zealand TV shows lately, Highway Cops is a good example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBPHWcdzoco

 

Listen closely to how they emphasise certain words. ;) I can't quite describe the accent, bit like a hybrid..

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Something I'd like to bring up that I've had to clarify with some people is the difference between bear and bare.

 

Bear by itself is a noun.

For example:

Look at that big brown bear! xD

mama_bear_with_cubsx.thumb.jpg.c4e6cfc4e9ab42813ddbbb956b40547d.jpg

 

Bare is an adjective.

For example:

He/she is bare naked!

The Gundam became bare and vulnerable after it's Phase Shift armour was deactivated due to its energy reserves being depleted.

The fence looked bare without any paint.

 

 

Now it can get confusing because bear can also be a verb.

Examples:

- I can't bear this long wait any longer!

- Lacus could tell Kira was having difficulty bearing the burden of piloting the Gundam because he was forced to kill in order to protect his friends.

- Bear in mind, it could take awhile to order due to the long queue.

 

 

So keep that in mind. :)

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  • 4 weeks later...
Optic, enlighten me, does Australia use British English or American English? Why is the word "Labor" in "Labor Party of Australia" not spelled as "Labour" as in "Labour Party of UK"? :)

As you would have noticed in our vocabulary discussion above, we're more closer to British English. As for slang though, now that's another topic. :P

 

As for the Australian Labor Party naming convention, I agree that is a strange one indeed as the UK version definitely uses "Labour" ..

 

Wikipedia probably explains this one best:

The ALP adopted the formal name "Australian Labour Party" in 1908, but changed the spelling to "Labor" in 1912. While it is standard practice in Australian English both today and at the time to spell the word "labour" with a "u", the party was influenced by the United States labour movement and a prominent figure in the early history of the party, the American–born King O'Malley, was successful in having the spelling "modernised".[11] The change also made it easier to distinguish references to the party from the labour movement in general.[12] Furthermore, the spelling "labor" had been acceptable in both British and Australian English in earlier periods.
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  • 1 year later...

True evil does exist on AnimeForums! :o

I tend to have good grammar because of all the books I read.

As somebody who has been speaking English all my life, I'll admit grammar is hard sometimes.

 

I'll tell you the most confusing things to me.

Everyone is singular.

Everybody is singular.

Everything is singular.

True Story.

 

It doesn't make sense in my mind to say that everyone, everybody, and everything are all singular.

Subject/Verb Agreement dictates that this is true.

 

You don't say: Everybody are here.

Singular subject Plural Verb

 

You say: Everybody is here.

Singular Subject Singular Verb

 

 

Don't even get me started on things like Past Participles and such as that. It's all demon spawn in my opinion.

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Imagine trying to teach this (everyone, everything, everybody). ><. It's something I can't fully explain.

 

Anyway, those three may fall under the countable/uncountable rule.

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I love grammar, tbh. I like to believe that I have good grammar considering the amount I read daily, and I think the fact that I know a variety of Languages helps as they each have their own grammatical rules.

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English is a bit of a crazy language, eh? It contradicts itself at times. *points to Seacliff's post*

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Imagine trying to teach this (everyone, everything, everybody). ><. It's something I can't fully explain.

Yeah..........nope. I don't even fully understand it myself.

 

 

Anyway, those three may fall under the countable/uncountable rule.

I've never heard of that rule.......

 

English is a bit of a crazy language, eh? It contradicts itself at times. *points to Seacliff's post*

English has exceptions, exceptions to the exceptions and exceptions to the exceptions of the exceptions etc etc etc.

^That's why I'm a math major :P

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

English is fairly easy in my opinion... although I 'm not a native english speaker, I never had a problem with grammar or anything (probably cause I like it :P ) Funny thing is that, I started learning english when I was like 7-8 years old and I realised that I have no idea on rules and stuff only when I entered high school. What I mean is, I don't know the theory of grammar even though I can use it xD

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It comes down to what you intend to use English for I suppose.

 

If you need to use written English in your job, e.g. writing reports, articles, documentation, support role, marketing, etc. then yes you definitely need to know some English grammar or at the very least the "nuances" and "exceptions" ...

 

If you're just speaking it then it's not so important.

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