English speakers, unite!

[ja]

Hello,

I am inviting everyone to discuss different topics in English. All levels are welcome!

I found from experience that reading and writing greatly improves mastery of the language.

Topic suggestions are appreciated, also please let me know if you want your grammar corrected. Conversely, if you see a typo in my writing please let me know, thanks in advance!

About myself - I live in the USA for 28 years, graduated from a private University in Chicago in 1996, worked in multiple Fortune 500 corporations throughout the years.

Hope to see many of you here!

A lot of issues in your text... I have highlighted only a few...

 

[George Moran]

A lot of issues in your text... I have highlighted only a few...

Hmmm.... Thanks for pointing these out!

However,

1.

here is an excerpt:

“I found from experience that people who are gifted get bored,” Werner said. “But I found people who aren’t as talented are those who keep at it and really work hard.”

from

⚠ Тільки зареєстровані користувачі бачать весь контент та не бачать рекламу.

And there are other examples. So, it's hardly a case of bad grammar. People talk this way.

2.

I see no problem whatsoever with "please let me know if you want your grammar corrected". Could you elaborate, please?

3.

or with "if you see a typo in my writing please let me know", though with lack of commas I agree.

4.

Agreed, I should have written "I have been living in the USA".

 

[ja]

Hmmm.... Thanks for pointing these out!

However,

1.

here is an excerpt:

“I found from experience that people who are gifted get bored,” Werner said. “But I found people who aren’t as talented are those who keep at it and really work hard.”

from

⚠ Тільки зареєстровані користувачі бачать весь контент та не бачать рекламу.

And there are other examples. So, it's hardly a case of bad grammar. People talk this way.

2.

I see no problem whatsoever with "please let me know if you want your grammar corrected". Could you elaborate, please?

3.

or with "if you see a typo in my writing please let me know", though with lack of commas I agree.

4.

Agreed, I should have written "I have been living in the USA".

No punctuation at all everywhere.

Student newspaper would be a very good example for the topic, wouldn't you?

 

[Svetuchka]

it's much more important to communicate effectively than to be perfect in your writing.

Also, I found that native (or not native, I don't know for sure) clients or colleagues never correct me. I understand, they have another goal. So, I try to improve my English by learning their phrases and using it in next conversations.

 

[Svetuchka]

USA и US почти всегда используются с определенным артиклем. Исключения настолько редки, что можно смело всегда ставить the перед этими аббревиатурами.

Thank you! I knew it before, but forgot.

 

[Svetuchka]

Now I changed a dream.

You always can have two or more dreams))

 

[George Moran]

No punctuation at all everywhere.

Student newspaper would be a very good example for the topic, wouldn't you?

You should have said "wouldn't it?", or "wouldn't you say?", not "wouldn't you?".

The fact is, student newspaper or not, it's perfectly fine to say what I said, the way I said it.

It was my mistake to ask for corrections, it seems you are bent on finding every word usage that you consider imperfect or every comma that I missed.

My apologies to the topic participants, I did not intend for us to stoop to bickering about incorrect punctuation or about widely used constructs that someone finds questionable.

Let's discuss something more interesting instead, like vacations, work, hobbies or family life.

 

[George Moran]

Last year we visited Portugal and before that Spain.

Both countries appear to me as very nice places to live for a while and maybe eventually spend part of our retirement.

Beaches, mountains and vibrant cities, quality of life is very good, the whole of Europe is at your fingertips, rich culture, history, safety, friendly people, good food and everything is very inexpensive.

Of course now we have to wait until this madness is over, but next time we are planning to visit Valencia region of Spain.

 

[ja]

в этом случае used to be- в прошлом, а сейчас не так, past - просто в прошлом

for learning...

⚠ Тільки зареєстровані користувачі бачать весь контент та не бачать рекламу.

 

[George Moran]

Sorry, I have a question.

Это ведь условное предложение, даже если оно не начинается с If. Разве нет? Тогда не совсем понятно, почему там стоит «should have written». Не следует ли здесь писать «should write»?

Agreed, I should write "I have been living in the USA".

Или из-за Agreed тут еще добавляется согласование времен?

А если вот так, это верно или нет?
Agree, I should write "I have been living in the USA"

That's what we are here for!

Я не учитель английского, не судите строго. Я закончил здесь универ (правде по математике и компьютерным наукам), английский как родной, но формальную грамматику не знаю от слова совсем. Пишу так как говорят люди, пишут писатели, говорят дикторы.

I should write - я должен писать

I should have written - я должен был бы написать

Так как рeчь о чём то что я уже написал (а не буду писать впредь) то правильно "I should have written".

А тут просто разные выражения:

I agree - Я согласен

Agreed - Согласен, договорились

"Agree" обычно не пишется, пишется "I agree".

I agree, I should write "I have been living in the USA" значит Я согласен, впредь я должен писать "I have been living in the USA".

Agreed, I should have written "I have been living in the USA" значит Согласен, я должен был бы написать "I have been living in the USA".

Надеюсь так понятнее.

Мой совет - забудьте конспект и запоминайте выражения и их значения.

У Вас будут готовые конструкции в правильности которых Вы будете уверены.

А запоминание правил - дело мутное и неинтересное.

 

[George Moran]

Agreed, I should write "I have been living in the USA".

Согласен, я должен был бы написать ...

Предложения не эквивалентны.

Повторяю

- "I should write" значит "Я должен писать" (имеется в виду впредь, вообще).

- "I should have written" значит "Я должен был бы написать" (тогда когда я писал).

Разные вещи.

If I were not busy, I should come to you today. - это корявое предложение.

Правильно:

If I were not busy, I would have come to you today.

B Америке "should" в таком случае не применяется, применяется "would".

"Should have come" у нас имеет оттенок похожий на "ought to have come" - должен был бы прийти.

"Would have come" - "пришёл бы".

 

[George Moran]

Считаю, что

It's your unalienable right.

 

[George Moran]

Пример If I had received the book yesterday, I should have brought it.
Если бы я получил эту книгу вчера, я бы ее принес.

С "should" звучит как

Если бы я получил эту книгу вчера, я должен был бы её принести.

***

If I had received the book yesterday, I would have brought it.

звучит как

Если бы я получил эту книгу вчера, я бы ее принес.

Возможно такое различие между "should" и "would" только в США.

 

[George Moran]

Поэтому I should write ... в значении Мне следовало бы написать... также имеет право на существование

Не вижу смысла продолжать спор.

"I should write" само по себе безусловно имеет право на существование, но не в том значении которое я имел в виду когда писал "I should have written".

 

[George Moran]

This letter should be sent off at once. Это письмо должно быть отправлено немедленно. (сейчас)

This letter should have been sent off at once. Это письмо должно было быть отправлено немедленно. (тогда, в прошлом).

 

[George Moran]

То есть I/ we shall/ should, все остальные лица will/ would.

Ниже там же читаем: "В современном английском вместо shall с первым лицом обычно употребляется will: I will be free tonight. We will not have an English lesson tomorrow."

Значит, я учила его 100 лет назад. За это время многое изменилось. Так сразу не переучишься.

Сейчас "shall" употребляется в Америке исключительно в каком то подчёркнуто формальном значении, типа

"I shall have an honor of dining with you" - "Я буду иметь честь отобедать с Вами".

 

[Svetuchka]

Возможно, нас неправильно учили.

This is definitely true. I know now that almost all school courses we studied had significant mistakes. We learned phrases and words which never used in English, historic events, which never happened and even math terms in another meaning from the meaning in which they are used by everyone else in the world.

 

[Svetuchka]

Yes, but the worst thing was we couldn’t spoke well and understood English talking after finishing school or institute. When you need to talk somebody, you open your mouth. But well-known English words run off like cockroaches. You need to catch them, after you start thinking how to build the sentence, which tense is used there, do you need in Passive Voice, Sequence of Tenses and so on. Then you shut your mouth quietly and think - I'd rather say nothing. I'll try another time

This is just because our education system is so pure. I learned English during the whole my life with no results. And it takes me about two years working in English environment to understand that there is no sense to learn the rules, we need to learn the phrases instead.

 

[George Moran]

And it takes me about two years working in English environment to understand that there is no sense to learn the rules, we need to learn the phrases instead.

This is exactly what I said. Learn common phrases and their usage, learn how to build sentences, this is all you need.

I swear to God, I never had to use past perfect "had had" in my 28 years in the States.

 

[olley]

This is just because our education system is so pure.

То, что называется "чистый английский" в данном случае лучше выразить как "academic English". Т.е. "Our education system is too academic and/or disconnected from the real world".

And it takes me about two years OF working in English environment

Либо took me (если эти два года были где-то в прошлом), либо has taken me (если они только-только закончились).

Можно с формой в настоящем времени: Every time it takes me about two years of working in English environment... В данном случае смысл будет немного другой: каждый раз я хожу по этим граблям