147 replies to this topic

[Lovestruck]

This is to hard for me ...
Why does english needs to be my 3rd language.
But I will try to make my english better.

As for me, English is my second language.. And I'm improving of dcw...

I'm trying as well.

[OldJustal]

2nd is better than 3rd

[Lovestruck]

2nd is better than 3rd

What's the big difference? :V

[OldJustal]

Second probably means the second language you learn which you probably know very well.
Example

You live in US you are german, probably German would be your first while 2nd would be english . which means if you are not american/english/irish/etc. only you would automatic have a 2nd language.

while 3rd are most of the time extra languages like spanish/french or other languages you learn at school.

[Lovestruck]

Second probably means the second language you learn which you probably know very well.
Example

You live in US you are german, probably German would be your first while 2nd would be english . which means if you are not american/english/irish/etc. only you would automatic have a 2nd language.

while 3rd are most of the time extra languages like spanish/french or other languages you learn at school.

I see. But I don't live In US.

It's just that being fluent in English is too important for me.

[Amaranth]

I have a question.

My professor said that the sentence "That was her on the phone a while ago" is grammatically wrong and that "her" should be replaced with "she" which is in the nominative case. Well, never in my life have I read or heard such a sentence as "That was she on the phone." Why is that so?

[Mohorovicic]

Why is that so?

It's because we are so used to using the incorrect form, it's now the norm. If you ever read a sentence like that, you'd probably mark it as awkward, since you haven't heard or seen a sentence like that.

[Anti-APTX4869]

I have a question.

My professor said that the sentence "That was her on the phone a while ago" is grammatically wrong and that "her" should be replaced with "she" which is in the nominative case. Well, never in my life have I read or heard such a sentence as "That was she on the phone." Why is that so?

I agree with Mohorovicic.
but if you have read some really old books, their grammar sounds funny, but it's the correct form.

[conankoibito]

waaaaah!!!!!!!!!! it's not true,well maybe 2nd language is hard enough to learn,but you should remember how to use it while 3rd is important too but you should remember how 2nd language was very important.And it seems,how you talk is how you live.

[Kiel95 - Kiyokian]

It's been so long since I've been on and there's been so much grammar that I'm getting confused (and English is my first language)!

I think the real problem is that there are many ways to phrase sentences. The English language has an extensive vocabulary for us to dip into when looking for a word to have a specific meaning. We have a great deal of words which are synonyms, but we also have a great deal of phrases which can be shortened into one word. That's why it becomes so confusing. Sometimes you all mention two sentences and are confused which is correct. It is a complete possibility that both are. I'll write two sentences for example:

1) Timmy was running around and tripped.

2) Because Timmy was running around, he tripped.

Of course they typically are meant for different situations, they can sometimes be substituted out.

Another reason English is so confusing is because of the fact that no one really uses proper grammar.
Proper grammar may seem to formal at times so we feel more comfortable using improper grammar and slang. In books where you'd expect to see proper grammar, there's a good chance you won't. As a writer and an avid reader, it's quite obvious that many books do not follow proper grammatical structures. My stories do not. It's because if they did, the flow would be disrupted, and my style would cease to exist. Most writers have their own style, and that style typically breaks grammatical rules here and there, but that's normal. If we couldn't break the rules it'd be as if we're trying to read older books where the way of speaking is so old and unused, we get confused as to what is actually going on.


ok... after talking for a while i need to stop before i hurt my brain... i can almost guarantee one or two of my sentences are not grammatically correct, but I can't be sure they are... why you may ask? Well for one, when learning english as a second language, you go into more detail about grammar, and that's the way it is when learning any language other than your first... but here in america, though i went to one of the best middle schools, not once did we ever hear words like nominative, genitive, dative, etc. I learned those sorts of words through learning LATIN. There's a distinct difference between learning english as a first language, and learning it as a second. Yes, for being graded in school, learning it as a second language will actually benefit you more, but learning it as a first will enable you to sound more natural.

[Akakata]

English is the most difficult language in the world.

We tend to butcher it a lot.

[Erza Scarlet]

English is the most difficult language in the world.

We tend to butcher it a lot.

I agree. even if a lot of people consider it the "universal language", others still get confused with using English. =/ gotta blame the Tower of Babel. XD

[Annebellification]

I am not sure but I don't think that "better your English" is a correct statement maybe "became better in English" would make more sense.

"better your English" makes perfect sense. The word "better" can also be used as a verb, which would mean "to improve."

[Alcadeias]

I'm ashamed English is my second language and I speak it better than my native tongue. How do you use 'former' and 'latter'?

[Valkyrie]

I'm ashamed English is my second language and I speak it better than my native tongue. How do you use 'former' and 'latter'?

Firstly, you have nothing to be ashamed of. English is my secong language and I speak it better than Malay! But I speaak better English though.

Former means the first while latter means the second. This is very important to know.
You can use 'former' and 'latter' like this:

I like chocolate and yoghurt but I prefer the latter.

Former and latter can be used whenever there are two subjects and you wish to refer to one of them.

[Alcadeias]

I use it like:

Trigonometry is a branch of maths. The former is concerned with right angled triangles.

Is it correct?

[Valkyrie]

I use it like:

Trigonometry is a branch of maths. The former is concerned with right angled triangles.

Is it correct?

Wrong. You are only stating on subject with an explanation. 'Trigonometry' is the subject while 'branch of maths' is the explanation. Your second sentence is wrong as there is no second subject that could be referred to anyway. The tense for 'concerned' is wrong as well. 'Concerned' is past tense.

Your second sentence should be:
It is concerning with right-angle triangles.

[Alcadeias]

Wrong. You are only stating on subject with an explanation. 'Trigonometry' is the subject while 'branch of maths' is the explanation. Your second sentence is wrong as there is no second subject that could be referred to anyway. The tense for 'concerned' is wrong as well. 'Concerned' is past tense.

Your second sentence should be:
It is concerning with right-angle triangles.

The people who write science have terrible grammar.

[Valkyrie]

The people who write science have terrible grammar.

Not true. You are stereotyping again. Din writes Science and he have good grammar. So do I.

[Alcadeias]

Not true. You are stereotyping again. Din writes Science and he have good grammar. So do I.

Oh not that! I meant the people who write the books! science usually ignores grammar rulings. And shouldn't it be "has" instead of "have"? This is confusing