How skilled is your use of the English language

ihh1IXa.gif.png
 
English is not my first language but I think I am adept enough at it to get across the message that I wish to convey. If that is not the case then I am not that fussed!
 
Pretty good, I'd hope, what with it being my job to teach other people how to use it!

Though, it wasn't until I was actually doing my CELTA that I realised how little awareness I had of the actual mechanics of the language. If you'd said something like "future perfect continuous" to me a few years back, I'd have been totally lost. Now I regularly have to field questions from students on why they should be using the present perfect as opposed to the simple past, but know enough to be able to make up believable answers :p
 
“When I read some of the rules for speaking and writing the English language correctly, I think any fool can make a rule, and every fool will mind it.”
Henry David Thoreau
 
Do you know what nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions are. All childsplay to you folks I assume?

If I was to try I suspect I'd struggle to categorise words into their types as I don't believe I ever really learned them, maybe I wasn't paying attention in school on the days where they were discussed. However I hope my standard of written English isn't too bad and that most of the time I can make myself understood. I'd like to think that generally I'll use the correct word in the correct place so I've convinced myself that being able to categorise them probably doesn't hold all that important a role in my life.

There are so many things I don't know about the English language but I've got an issue common to lots of people who have reached a certain level of proficiency in any skill but skipped some of the basic building blocks, I don't want to go back to the beginning and put in lots of work to improve beyond my current plateau.
 
I like using in the wrong descriptive word place which makes a problem, for me anyway.

Grammar geeks get a $10 prize if they can tell me each of the rules I have broken (I am serious).
 
If I was to try I suspect I'd struggle to categorise words into their types as I don't believe I ever really learned them, maybe I wasn't paying attention in school on the days where they were discussed. .

I'm back in School now learning Swedish and as a Brit it should be easier for me than the Arabic speakers that most of the other class is made up of.

I too completely struggled with categories other than Verbs... I consider myself to be moderately well educated but i do not recall learning any of this at school, I just know how to read and write in English... :p
 
I agree about the basic building blocks: I was never taught them correctly and, although I know what nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, prepositions and conjunctions are, to identify them, I still have to stop and think about it. I use this verse as an aide-mémoire:


Every name is called a NOUN,
As field and fountain, street and town;

In place of noun the PRONOUN stands,
As he and she can clap their hands;

The ADJECTIVE describes a thing,
As magic wand and bridal ring;

The VERB means action, something done-
To read, to write, to jump, to run;

How things are done, the ADVERBS tell,
As quickly, slowly, badly, well;

The PREPOSITION shows relation,
As in the street, or at the station;

CONJUNCTIONS join, in many ways,
Sentences, words or phrase and phrase;

The INTERJECTION cries out, 'Hark!
I need an exclamation mark!'​


If I was to try I suspect I'd struggle to categorise words into their types as I don't believe I ever really learned them, maybe I wasn't paying attention in school on the days where they were discussed. However I hope my standard of written English isn't too bad and that most of the time I can make myself understood. I'd like to think that generally I'll use the correct word in the correct place so I've convinced myself that being able to categorise them probably doesn't hold all that important a role in my life.

There are so many things I don't know about the English language but I've got an issue common to lots of people who have reached a certain level of proficiency in any skill but skipped some of the basic building blocks, I don't want to go back to the beginning and put in lots of work to improve beyond my current plateau.

Relatively, you have a high standard of written English. :)
 
my command of the english language ****** is ******* awesome and i can **** *** ***** ******************* ********** with the best of them and ******* ***** more for added ***** measure

***** of *****
 
I'd say I have one of the highest standards of written English out of everyone in my company. That's not to say I'm very good at it though, more that nobody really cares as long as you get your point across.

I personally think that mathematics is far, far more important than English. It's very easy to be usefully proficient at English and too easy to not be any good at maths.
 
Language is about communication, it's not about making people like the OP feel superior to others just because they have a good memory.

However, if this thread leads to a trend were less people say "could have" and "would have" then I'm all for it.
 
However, if this thread leads to a trend were less people say "could have" and "would have" then I'm all for it.

Despite what I said in my previous post, one thousands times the above tbh.

Drives me spare when people say 'of' instead of 'have'. Also 'anythink'.

Arghaghagh.
 
Language is about communication, it's not about making people like the OP feel superior to others just because they have a good memory.

However, if this thread leads to a trend were less people say "could have" and "would have" then I'm all for it.

'were'

^cough noise happening^
 
[FnG]magnolia;27660850 said:
I like using in the wrong descriptive word place which makes a problem, for me anyway.

I've gone through your sentence and highlighted each of the problems for you.
 
Back
Top Bottom