CyberGenius

I don't really pay much attention to grammar and all. But in your example above, the correct form is, "It is our duty to care for he who has suffered." That he could be anybody who has suffered. him can't go, if you want to use him. You can write your sentence like this, "It is our duty to care for him."

A while ago I was teaching a language on another forum so I made google translate my ally. I'll check words on it from time to time, in order to find synonyms and to be sure I was teaching the right thing. However, I found out that not only did google translate lacked adequate synonyms for the language, but specific context usage words were missing. With that I concluded google translate isn't good for sentence translation but for words, and the user must know what they're doing otherwise they would be led astray.

A while back I saw a post by a woman whom her husband wanted her to speak his language to their baby instead of hers. They both communicated in English but have different languages. While the woman didn't have any problem with the husband speaking his language to their baby, the man did with hera because of some silly reasons. I once cited here how my younger brother was taught two languages almost at a time as a baby growing up. According to a research, it is believed that it's easier to learn a language as a kid than as a grown up. So, in your situation I propose you use most the language that is foreign to your household and immediate environment with your daughter. If it's English everyone speaks very often, you use Malay and the other for her. And as time goes on, she would pick up English.

Your story is kind of funny. I didn't have any problem with homophones, since I could always trace the exact word to the context of usage. Although, homophones can be really confusing.

Well, every time is the correct spelling while everytime is an alternative spelling according to Wikipedia. However, I don't think it is advisable to use the latter in place of the former.

This is one mistake I see very often among native speakers as well as learners. I've even seen it on here at least once and I must have seen it online more than 100 times. In fact, I once saw it on a television advert, but it didn't really matter until someone made it their last point on some list like that on Forbes. I'm sure we all know the meaning of definitely but some of us just don't know that its actual spelling is DEFINITELY but not DEFINATELY.

Well, I think "as well" should be included like the person above me suggested. The thing is "too" can do the work of "as well" and "also" but both can't replace "too" totally as "too" could also mean "very". Personally, I tend to use "as well" for comparism, and "too" for "very" or something like that and "also" to add more point to a previous discussion. I often start a new discussion with "also" and use "as well" inbetween sentences or end of sentences. I believe the usage of the three words is a matter of choice, but one or two of them always fit in well in some situations.

Nice explanation you have here! I've never had any problem using the three words correctly, though. I believe I've always known their uses and meaning. Generally, I don't have any problem related to mixing words together. However, that's not to say I am 100% efficient when it comes to using the English language.

I just took your quiz, it was pretty simple. However, I am certain that not everyone would feel that way. BTW, I wanted to include the screenshot of my 100/100 but the screenshot folder was full.

I've never made that mistake, and to be honest I don't see why someone should mix the two up. However, I've seen someone use 'massages' for 'messages' on another forum. Perhaps, it's probably the way they pronounce 'messages' that affected their spelling. But, to me the two are two different words with two different pronunciations, and just like someone said, I rarely use massages.

I took the TOEFL test a while back and I had 102. But, just like you, I knew I could have done better if not for the speaking section. I'm not a shy person, and I communicate in English language very often. In fact, I often think using English and not my local language. However, I think it was awkward speaking to a mic, and with other students around, it was just somehow. But, the big blow came when the pretty girl sitting close to me got to the speaking section before me and said the exact stuffs I would have gone for in the first section or so. So, when I got to the section I couldn't say almost the same thing she said. I opted for something else, I stuttered, and got nervous which affected my composure till almost the end.

Over the years, I've learned lots of idioms that even now if I am hearing an idiom for the first time I can easily relate to it. I believe I learned my first set of idioms in primary school and later learned others from movies, books and during discussion with people. I don't think I've a favorite but I do have one I use very often but I can't seem to remember right now. However, listed below are few I started with: *Let bygones be bygones - Forgive and forget. *To kick the bucket - To die. *The ball is in your court - The decision is yours to make. *A stitch in time saves nine - The earlier you deal with a problem the better. *It rained cat and dog - It rained heavily.

One of the common mistakes I do see people make in the English language is that of writing "Registration" as "Registeration". Although, I do not see this mistake as annoying since it's only normal for people to assume that the process of registering should be spelled as "registeration". Perhaps, the correct form was "registeration" but pronunciation made registration to be accepted as the correct form.

Well, to your question I can't even if I don't speak my native language at all. I've gone too far than to forget my native language just by moving into another country. However, if one left their country as a kid[like 7 years old] and rarely use their native tongue in their country of destination then they're most likely going to forget. I've seen that happen to friends and relatives so many times. But if one was a teenager when they left, then the tendency of forgetting is very low. I know some friends and relatives who left here permanently as a teenager and they're still fluent in our native language. Although, they prefer speaking in English but that's not to say that they're acting as wannabes or whatever[English is the general language here, anyways].

Well, just like you, I often use simple words. However, it really depends on the person/people I'm talking to and the information I'm trying to convey unto others. Whenever I'm talking to professional I try to use vocabularies that are more than simple to show that I know my onions. Also, I use complex vocabulary sometimes when I'm trying to pass an information across and it's easier to say it faster with complex vocabulary. Although, it's not uncommon for people to tell me to break what I said down that they didn't get what I said. :grin: However, whenever I'm having a normal conversation, I keep it simple.

I think I'm a good listener. You can't imagine how many talks that are not interesting to me that I listen to with absolute attention; From girls who tell me the woes of their lives which they are actually the cause by lowering their standards. Perhaps, I should talk about 'that' our driver that sits me down for hours to talk about his life problems to silly love affairs that don't even bother me. But, what are my expected to do? Listen and listen and agree[even though I always feel like telling them the truth despite the fact that I couldn't care less] with them just like a good listener should. BTW, I always pick everything people say when I'm really listening, and I got 30/30 in the listening part[not that it's a big deal, though] of a TOEFL test I took a while back.

Wow! I actually had a problem with these and I wouldn't even call it a problem because I didn't know. Before I found out that I was using the two wrongly, I used both based on assumptions. However, one day something prompted me to clarify and I saw that I'd been wrong over the years. It's not uncommon for me to check posts I made on the web over the years and see the mistake in my posts. I was not alone though. :grin: @OP, thanks for sharing this, a lot of people will find your post helpful.

Well, I use the correct form of English but I really don't put much effort to write correctly. Although, there are certain words we write in a way leaving out the actual correct form. But, my usage of those words are minimal unlike my friends. [i'm one of those people that chat as if they're writing an essay] Also, when we're talking in flesh, we all use the correct English unless we're speaking pidgin English. e.g. Where are you going? - Where you dey go?

They should if they feel like, I believe it's a wonderful thing do. Moreover, it's easier to learn a language when a child is still a kid. When I was 11 my mother gave birth to my immediate younger brother, and we(his siblings and parents) communicated with him with only English language which isn't our mother tongue. By the time he(my younger brother) was over a year he could speak the English language, and by the time he was above two years old he could speak our tongue properly(he couldn't speak it properly before due to low usage of the language). At some point he could speak English verbally than I could since he was using the language more than I was.

To be honest I really do not have the problem of confusing a word for another, and most time it's funny to me how people confuse a word for another. I've seen people confusing "lose" for "loose", "their" for "there", "then" for "than"(this is really irritating to me *sorry to say*) and vice versa etc. My Advise - If you're confused get a dictionary to check the differences, and you won't make the same mistake again. BTW, someone mentioned people mistaking "you're" for "your"; I think a lot of people know the differences, it's just like a trend that has taken over people.

Well, just like Eudora13 pointed out, in almost every society there is a sizable number of people who understand and can speak the English Language. Isn't it even funny that in a country with different tribes and local tongues, most people understand English than they do the language of the other tribes not too far from them? I believe it's only normal and making sense that we all have a language[English] that we can all communicate in. That way anyone can go down south, and they'd still be able to communicate. You can go up north and still be able to communicate. I can go far away east and still be able to communicate. Personally, I see having English as a global language a good thing because I'm from a country with people of diverse culture and without English it wouldn't have been easy communicating with people that don't have the same mother tongue as mine. However, just like everything there's always a downside; The downside here is making sure that English do not wipe out people's culture(language) as I've seen that happened. But, it's mostly the people's fault, when they start deeming their own language as inferior.