55 Matching Annotations
  1. Oct 2023
    1. In this book, grammar refers to the manner in which the language functions, the ways that the blocks of speech and writing are put together. Usage refers to using specific words in a manner that will be thought of as either acceptable or unacceptable. The question of whether or not to split an infinitive is a consideration of grammar; the question of whether one should use literally in a nonliteral sense is one of usage."
  2. Sep 2023
    1. "Surrendering" by Ocean Vuong

      1. He moved into United State when he was age of five. He first came to United State when he started kindergarten. Seven of them live in the apartment one bedroom and bathroom to share the whole. He learned ABC song and alphabet. He knows the ABC that he forgot the letter is M comes before N.

      2. He went to the library since he was on the recess. He was in the library hiding from the bully. The bully just came in the library doing the slight frame and soft voice in front of the kid where he sit. He left the library, he walked to the middle of the schoolyard started calling him the pansy and fairy. He knows the American flag that he recognize on the microphone against the backdrop.

  3. Jul 2023
    1. But in almost all English sentences containing »there is«, these words do not mean »in this place is« but »it exists«. But the German words »da ist« do not have the meaning »it exists«. They only mean »in this place is«.
  4. Jan 2023
    1. Learning a New Language Can Help Us Escape Climate Catastrophe

      !- Title : Learning a New Language Can Help Us Escape Climate Catastrophe !- Author : Nylan Burton !- comment : summary - while I agree with the analysis, the futures-related question I ask is this: what does a desirable hybridized linguistic landscape look like that integrates English, evolved into a post-colonialist lingua franca and reconstituted indigenous languages with their rich bio-cultural heritage?

  5. Jul 2021
    1. En dashes, which are about the width of an upper-case N, are often mistaken for hyphens. But, traditionally, en dashes function as a kind of super hyphen. They’re meant to give you a little extra glue when you have a compound modifier that includes a multi-word element that can’t easily be hyphenated. For example, the phrase Elvis Presley–style dance moves uses an en dash because Elvis-Presley-style dance moves is awkward; “Elvis Presley” isn’t a compound modifier, so hyphenating it looks odd. But, keep in mind, not all readers will notice en dashes or understand what they mean. Sometimes, it’s better to simply reword the phrase. Elvis Presley–style dance moves or: dance moves like Elvis Presley’s pre–World War II buildings or: buildings constructed before World War II En dashes are also used to show ranges of numbers, such as times, page numbers, or scores (I’ll schedule you from 4:30–5:00). But, outside of formal printed publications, this type of en dash is commonly replaced with a simple hyphen.
    1. Anne: What was family life like with you and your brother and your mother and father? Did you guys speak English at home? Did you do American things, activities? Do they work a lot? Tell me a little bit about family life.Juan: Right now, my dad, he's always been the boss of the family. He's always worked, he works in construction, and as you know, Utah, with the climate change, it snows, it rains, all of the climates. Since he works in construction, he does work outside all the time, so even if it snows or even if it rains, even if it's minus five degrees outside, he still goes out and works because nobody's going to give him the money to provide for his family.Juan: In a way, my dad, you can say he's one of those hard working men who doesn't look out for himself, but rather looks out for his family. In my house we spoke Spanish all the time because of my mom. To this day, she doesn't want to learn English even though we tell her to learn English. My little sister, she doesn't speak Spanish, she speaks more English and with her it's different. We tell her, "You have to learn Spanish because it's going to help you," but she doesn't want to learn.Anne: Is she a citizen?Juan: Yes, she was born in the US. So my parents didn't really adapt to the American culture. They always wanted to follow Mexican traditions, even when it's Mother's Day over there … I think here it's May 10th but over there, when is Mother's Day?Anne: I think it's the second Sunday of May, so it could be different days.Juan: We could take that as an example. They'd rather follow Mother's Day here in Mexico than over there. Also Christmas, I guess the one thing they did adapt to was Thanksgiving. We don't celebrate that here in Mexico, but they do celebrate there, and they did adapt that. Another thing, Easter day. You go out with your family, you hide the eggs as a tradition, no? They adapted to that, but here in Mexico they don't do that. They don't even know about that. In a way they wanted to keep their Mexican culture alive even though they were in the US, but they also wanted to adapt to the things that they did there.

      Time in the US, Homelife, Mexican traditions, Holidays, Spanish language, US traditions, Holidays

  6. Jun 2021
    1. Anne: So, you were playing this game with the tapes—Ben: With the tapes and stuff and then later we started elementary school and then once I started elementary school, it changed. Well my mother had a rule, she goes, "No English inside of the house.” Before, it’s “Speak English, speak English,” but once we started school, she goes, "I don't want you all speaking English here inside the house” to me and my brother. And we used to think that’s because she didn't understand, but it was because she wanted us to practice the Spanish.Ben: And when I would get home from school when I was going to kindergarten—my brother would get out an hour later—I would get home and my mother would give me these little comic magazines, Mexican comic magazines, and she'd have me read them. And then she would make me write letters to my grandmother. So that's how I was able to learn a little bit of, keep the Spanish and English. But English I did, I went through elementary, middle school, went to tenth grade in high school, then I dropped out of high school to go help my father. He started a small construction business, but then he got sick and he was hospitalized for three months.

      Time in the US, School, Kindergarten, Elementary, Learning English, Arriving in the United States, Living situation, Homelife, Parents, Expectations

  7. May 2021
  8. Mar 2021
    1. Originally he had used the terms usage scenarios and usage case – the latter a direct translation of his Swedish term användningsfall – but found that neither of these terms sounded natural in English, and eventually he settled on use case.
  9. Nov 2020
  10. Oct 2020
    1. In agent-oriented programming the antonym is depender, though in general usage the common term dependent is used instead. There is no common language equivalent for dependee', however – other metaphors are used instead, such as parent/child. The circumlocutions “A depends on B” and “B is depended on by A” are much more common in general use than “A is the depender, B is the ' dependee ”.
  11. Aug 2020
    1. Lie: I felt sick, so I lay down.Here’s where it can get a bit tricky. The past tense of lie is lay, but not because there is any overlap between the two verbs. So when you say, “I lay down for a nap,” you’re actually using the verb lie, not lay, despite the way it sounds.
  12. May 2020
  13. Apr 2020
    1. English tends to build new compound nouns by simply writing them as separate words with a blank. Once the compound is established (and the original parts somewhat "forgotten"), it's often written as one word or hyphenated. (Examples: shoelaces, aircraft...)
    2. Web site / website seems to be somewhat in a transitional stage, being seen as an "entity" that web page hasn't reached yet. Depending on which dictionary you check you will find web site and website, but only web page, not webpage.
  14. Feb 2020
    1. data is collected

      data that is collected, or data collected

    2. and applications to forecasting and estimation of dynamic causal effects.

      and its applications to forecasting and estimation of dynamic causal effects.

      The word "its" is necessary since it refers to the noun econometric techniques.

  15. Sep 2019
    1. This phrase book is aimed to help newcomers to the U.S understand what some popular local idioms really mean.

      A nice little phrase guide to US English.

  16. May 2019
    1. Why Speak If You Don't Need to? The-Case for a Listening Approach to Beginning Foreign Language Learning.

  17. Apr 2019
    1. “But beyond the pleasure of Dreyer’s prose and authorial tone, I think there is something else at play with the popularity of his book,” he explained. “To put it as simply as possible, the man cares, and we need people who care right now.”

      I believe that the main reason why Benjamin Dreyer's Dreyer's English: an Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style is so well-read, is that he's funny.

      The humor is dry as a paper board, for example:

      The NSA may be reading your emails and texts, but I’m not. If you prefer “Hi John” to “Hi, John,” you go right ahead.

      and:

      For the sake of clarity, we use hyphens to helpfully link up a pair or passel of words preceding and modifying a noun, as in: first-rate movie fifth-floor apartment middle-class morality nasty-looking restaurant all-you-can-eat buffet However, convention (a.k.a. tradition, a.k.a. consensus, a.k.a. it’s simply how it’s done, so don’t argue with it) allows for exceptions in some cases in which a misreading is unlikely, as in, say: real estate agent high school students And though you may, now that you’re staring at these constructions, wonder worryingly about the reality of that estate agent or the sobriety of those school students, I’d urge you to stop staring and move on. (Staring at words is always a bad idea. Stare at the word “the” for more than ten seconds and reality begins to recede.)

      Another thing, Dreyer is both funny and witty. Here's a bonus example of this:

      As a lexicographer friend once confided over sushi, the dictionary takes its cues from use: If writers don’t change things, the dictionary doesn’t change things. If you want your best-seller to be a bestseller, you have to help make that happen. If you want to play videogames rather than video games, go for it. I hope that makes you feel powerful. It should.

  18. Jan 2019
  19. Nov 2016
    1. Today English is the most commonly used, i.e. spoken, written and listened language, making it extremely popular all around the world. In many countries, it has become the second official language, as they have understood the importance of it in the modern context. http://blog.selectmytutor.co.uk/top-10-books-on-english-language/

  20. Apr 2016
    1. seemeth

      This is an archaic use of the -eth suffix for third-person indicative. This faded from usage during the Middle and Early Modern English periods.