jodiann12

I agree that the Asian languages, such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, are much harder to learn than English. The grammar rules are not the only things you need to worry about when learning these languages, but learning how to write the characters too. :confused:

I use this word in the same way, CalebMelvern. I only use "upon" when I would like to be formal, and I only see this word being used in very formal or legal documents. I never see or hear this word being used in every day modern language. Most persons are using "on" nowadays.

I'm interested in learning Italian because I would like to travel there some day. I know that it's going to be quite difficult to learn the language because each region in Italy has its own dialect, but, hey, I love a challenge.

Babbel is an app that you can use on your Android device. You can use this app to learn advanced and beginners vocabulary. There's also integrated speech recognition for pronunciation exercises. You can also do beginner and refresher courses grammar and verb training. There are also phrasebooks and tongue twisters that you can use to help you with your pronunciation.

Tambien, soy una chica flaca pero como mucho. Una de mis comidas favoritas es cena. Una de mis cosas favoritas comer es pollo con arroz. Igualmente, me gusta paella.

Geoffrey Chaucer is one of the fathers of English Literature, and he is credited for being one of the first persons to publish his writings in English when it was unpopular to do so. Latin and French were spoken by the aristocrats and the clergy, but English was the language of the poorer classes during the Middle Ages. Has anyone read any of Chaucer's works?

My favorite Charles Dickens novel is Great Expectations. I didn't get a chance to read A Tale of Two Cities while I was in school or university. As soon as I have the free time, I would try to read it online. That is quite difficult for me to do nowadays because I'm quite busy doing several things online.

I have learned that there are many misused idioms. Here are some of them: Incorrect: "All intensive purposes" Correct: "All intents and purposes" Incorrect: "Tender loving care" Correct: "Tender love and care" Incorrect: "Wrecking havoc" Correct: "Wreaking havoc" Incorrect: "Free reign" Correct: "Free rein" Incorrect: "Chester drawers" Correct: "Chest of drawers" Incorrect: "I could care less" Correct: "I couldn't care less" Incorrect: "Use to" Correct: "Used to" Incorrect: "Suppose to" Correct: "Supposed to"

The hardest English book that I have read (or tried to read ) is James Joyce's Ulysses . That book is so difficult! I just read one paragraph and I had to stop. :grin:

Thank you Beverley for the link to that NBC article. I found it very interesting and informative. I found out about Jan Olsen, the founder of Handwriting Without Tears, that she is teaching students cursive writing using the vertical stroke instead of the slant stroke which was adapted in the 20th, 19th, and earlier centuries. I still think cursive writing is needed when wanting to master the art of calligraphy. Technology is also integrating the use of cursive writing through the use of tools such as the stylus. Evernote now has an app that you can use on your iPad along with a stylus; so, technology is not banishing cursive writing forever.

Cursive writing is still being taught at the elementary/primary school level in my country. I also occasionally see some persons using cursive writing when producing hand written documents; but since many persons are now using word processing programs, there's no need to use cursive writing so much nowadays.

The Ginger App allows you to spell check on your Android device, and you can also get an extension for your Chrome and Mozilla Firefox browsers. I recently found out about this app while surfing the web. Has anyone here used this app or use it as an extension for their Chrome browser, for instance?

I just found out about Pro Writing Aid where you can check your text for overused words, grammar and spelling. You can also use it to eliminate redundancies, cliches, as well as vague, abstract and complex words. You can find out more about it at this link right here: http://prowritingaid.com

I have recently found out about the website, Englishpage.com. It's the perfect website for persons who are studying English as a second language. You can get help with your grammar, and there's even a reading room there where you read e-books. Does anyone else know about this site?

I believe that "couldn't care less" would be the grammatically correct statement. I also agree that both statements are sarcastic, and is not used in situations where you are attempting to be polite. I have heard persons say "could care less" but obviously that's incorrect. I believe I said that a few times, and later on realized my mistake, and I'm no longer saying that.

I was doing some browsing, and I found out about Pro Writing Aid. This is a free online writing editor and personal writing coach, which helps you to eliminate cliches and redundancies, eliminate vague, abstract, and complex words from your text, improve overall readability of your writing, etc. Have you ever used this or any other writing tool to improve your written English?

I have to agree with Laura M on this one. Information Technology is greatly influencing the manner in which persons communicate with each other. Persons have adopted the short hand way of typing and writing, which is influenced by SMS texting and instant messaging. Persons don't have any time to write in complete sentences anymore. Additionally, the few books which are being read are books written by celebrities and "How-to" (personal development/self help) books. People don't read as much as they use to in previous times; and sadly, this is affecting how we communicate in English, at times in a negative way.

Here are some words which are no longer in use in the English Language: 1. Uhtceare This word means to "lie awake before dawn and start worrying." I found out that recorded being in use only once. 2. Expergefactor This is anything that wakes you up. This could be an alarm clock or a very noisy person. 3. Mugwump This means an authority figure who is above petty squabbles and fights. These words sound so weird! :amazed: It's hard to believe that these were actually used in the English Language.

I read Derek Walcott collection of poems entitled Sea Grapes, The Castawy and Other Poems, and Midsummer. He is a great poet, and I'm not just saying this because he is the Nobel Prize Laureate for Literature and a graduate of my former university. Some have considered to be the best living English-speaking poet. It's so obvious from his writings that he has such great control over his use of punctuation, imagery, and diction. He is almost like the Shakespeare of poetry--he is that good. So, has anyone read any of his works?

I also find Lady Macbeth to be a very intriguing character, too. It's almost unheard of that woman, especially during those times could be so ambitious and could be so domineering, too. Another character who I find fascinating is Richard III. He was also quite ambitious, too. He was able to charm any women even though he had a lot physical flaws. Very interesting.

If you're a serious literature buff, then neither books are for you. I have read an excerpt of the Twilight Saga, and I have to say that it is poorly written. I have also read the first of the Fifty Shades of Grey series, and I have to admit, it is poorly written. The characterization and plot development both need a lot of work. I also found some grammatical and typographical errors there as well.

Reading books and periodicals in English would also help you to give you feel of the language in written form so that you will feel more comfortable writing it, too.

John is right. You never say "did received", you always say "did receive."

Yes, workbooks can be useful, especially if you're practicing your reading and writing skills in the language. It also helps you to get a good grasp of the grammar and mechanics too.

There are several slang words that we use here in Jamaica, and some of them are influenced by the popular songs or television program of the time. Here there are: 1. "Slap weh" -- This means that something is very good, and this slang came about as a result of a television program. 2. "Di ting tun up"-- This also has the same meaning as the slang above, and it was influenced by a popular song here. 3. "Dem shell it"-- This is Jamaican patois which means that a group of individuals did something very well, for example in a performance, etc.