Eudora13

There are so many beautiful words in English that I wouldn't mind keeping as my name (if I ever wished to do away with mine ). I like the words Felicity, Laurel, Ivory, Epiphany, Evanescent (yes, I know!), Demesne. In fact I would love to keep my name Demesne, it's a pity such a poetic word has such a banal meaning as land possession. What would be your choice of words?

Haha, I can almost relate to this! I combine English with my mother tongue so effortlessly and so often that I don't even realize when I'm doing it. It used to bother my mother terribly, but I guess she realized I was a lost case. :confused: I'm trying to cut down on this and I've been making a conscious effort to keep myself from speaking hybrid languages.

I simply feel too lazy to open the big fat dictionary that I have. If there's a word that I'm absolutely clueless about and cannot proceed any further unless I figure out its meaning, then I usually Google the word on my phone. I'm not exactly proud of this habit, but I guess it works for me.

Oh thank you so much for taking the trouble to give so many examples! It certainly helped a lot! I guess, in being able to speak the language fluently I had never really bothered too much with its grammar, which is a shame. From all the examples you've put forth, I understand that the 'do-er' of the action - or the verb in the sentence - is always the subject, and if that subject is the main focus and is 'active', so to speak, then that sentence is an active sentence. Am I right?

Hey this is quite a sound explanation you gave. I didn't know about the translation bit at all, thanks for sharing that! From you're point of view, it does seem like antithesis isn't the right answer. You've quite convinced me it's hypothesis. I'll find out which it is and come back with it for sure.

In order to write well one must read regularly. There are no two ways about this. By write well I mean knowing how to manipulate words and phrases to put forth an idea is an appealing/catchy manner. Only through reading can we really learn the ways of language, learn how different authors write. It's amazing how the same thing can be said in so many different ways! Also reading helps in expanding your vocabulary which then improves your writing. However, if you're not into writing seriously I don't think not reading will make that much of a difference. If you speak the language regularly that should help you know enough to write decently. But then again, between reading and not reading, the former is ALWAYS a more sensible and obvious advice.

I came across this question while solving a question paper, does anyone know the right answer? "Man proposes, God disposes." is an example of a/an _____. a) hypothesis synthesis c) antithesis d) thesis It can't be a) and d). I'm guessing it's antithesis. What do you think?

Recently a young cousin of mine came to be with a grammar exercise in which she had to convert given sentences from active to passive voices, and vice versa. Embarrassing to admit but I wasn't sure about a number of them! :( Here's one of the questions: Which of the following is NOT a passive sentence? a) I was denied admission into the school. I was wheeled into the operating theater. c) I was informed of the dangers involved. d) I was tired by the end of the day.

For me, poetry is most definitely an art. To be able to find the right words to say what one wants to say in the right way so as to convey the thought precisely to the reader, is nothing short of an artistic ability. I wrote my first poem in the third grade, about a teddy bear and a girl. Haha. That would be compared to a little kid's doodle! Over the years my writing has evolved, turned somewhat morbid, but I can say it takes time and effort to write a poem. Finding the perfect words is similar to finding the right shade of color for painting. Even harder sometimes! Emily Dickinson, Sylvia Plath, John Keats, Robert Frost, all these poets are phenomenal.

In India we use both "did you eat" and "have you eaten". Having the Brits as our colonial rulers once, and being heavily influenced by the American culture now, has led to a confusing concoction of Britmerican language here. :-/ For us "english" now just means english, inclusive of both countries and possibly others as well. This is somewhat unfavorable for a literature student like me because when we have to scan poetic passages and study its rhythm and meter, I never know if I'm right. The entire exercise depends greatly on word pronunciation and it doesn't do good to get confused between a pure American pronunciation and a British one.

These haven't troubled me much as far as using them in simple, general form is concerned. It gets confusing, however, when the otherwise adjective form "loose" is used as a verb. Example - The tigers were let loose on the grounds. (Not likely to happen, though. Lol). or The snakes had been loosed on them. (Scary!) These are instances when I stumble and take time figuring out if it'll be 'lose' or 'loose'. Otherwise it's easy to differentiate between the verb (lose) and adjective (loose).

My all time favorite play is Gaston Leroux' Phantom of the Opera. No matter how many times I see it, it moves me every time, particularly the last scene when the phantom is abandoned by Christine. This apart Shakespearean plays are a treat to watch, I've only watched Twelfth Night and Lear and both were quite well done. Recently I watched a school production of "Wicked", an adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, which was neatly staged.

Someone had asked this same question (cant recall who). My mother tongue isn't English but sadly I speak it better than the former. I was put into an English school when I had just about learnt to string two words together. So it hasn't been hard for me at all. On the contrary I have had to work hard to learn my mother tongue and the national language of my country, which I'm painstakingly making efforts to do because it's a shame not to know your own language!

It would be really convenient if the world understood and could speak in one universal language. And yes, I do anticipate English becoming THE language of the world someday, not because I have any personal attachment to it or anything, but simply because every nation knows this language in some degree or the other. But that said, I wouldn't want English or any one language to eradicate all other tongues. There's a reason why we travel to different places and experience different cultures, and language forms one of the most important parts of any nation's culture. Imagine if the present diversity were lost. I'd hate that! In fact, I think every person should learn as many languages as they can and make efforts to keep obscure tongues from getting completely lost.

I read the previous thread where each one added a line to create a story. It was really interesting to read, starting from a happy picture, through tragedy, morbid, funny, to downright bizarre! So here's another one..not a fairy tale beginning, perhaps not a beginning at all, but let's see where it goes! I was alone at home last Sunday, with the alert of the storm upon us, when the stranger came knocking at our door.