Kudos to you - one of the best forums

[spacecadet]

I met a Venezuelan at a dinner party who explained that English was "quite easy to learn but very difficult to dominate". He couldn't work out when to use the Anglo-Saxon instead of the Romance. I should have referred him to a certain Prime Minister and Nobel laureate.

[Betty LaRue]

 

 

 

Some of the Belgian and Dutch members seem to take part only to practice their English.All the content can simply been ignored.

Feel free to correct our mistakes though!

 

OK, will do...

"practise", not "practice". "Practice" is a noun.

But hey, most English people don't know the difference these days

Alan

In America, where English has been the predominant language since shortly after the death of Shakespeare, 'practice' is both the noun and verb.

Outside the U.S., the "s" becomes a "c" in the derivative adjective practicable, where practicable means capable of being put into practice. C is likewise used in the much rarer adjective practiceable (ignore spell check on this one, Wim), which means capable of being practiced (i.e., such as a piano song or a football maneuver). Practisable used to appear for this latter sense, but we find almost no examples of its use from after the early 20th century. In the main varieties of English from outside North America, practice is the noun, and practise is the verb, as Alan already mentioned. For instance, we would say that a doctor with a private practice practises privately. There is no such distinction in American English, where practice is both a noun and a verb, and practise is not used at all. Canadian English also favors practise as the verb, but practice appears with relative frequency as a verb (about a third as often as practise). Yes, Allan B. I hear you thinking (you're not wearing your tin foil hat) "How does this little Belgian knows all that?" ............... because Grammarist is my friend   Cheers,Philippe

Right on! I often practice telling jokes to my hubby before performing in a crowd.

 

Have you heard the one about the old guy who talked his wife into golfing with him for the first time? Well, on the 9th hole she.....

Oh, I'll shut up. I know you all don't like jokes.

[hdh]

 

I dont post here very often, but actively read and browse these forums.

And I must say that this forum is one of the best ( if not THE best) in terms of members being cordial, civil and even downright helpful in their discussions.

So many other agency forums or general ms forums often get rude, sarcastic and disrespectful very quickly when others post either looking for guidance, or just posting something in general.

 

Just a shout- out to all here.

 

Some of the Belgian and Dutch members seem to take part only to practice their English.

All the content can simply been ignored.

Feel free to correct our mistakes though!

;-)

 

wim

 

please add the German(s) to that list  

 

Also I hated English lessons at school and was in the bottom 10% with my marks. 

Soon after University I was thrown into an international project and that was learning English the hard way. 

 

I prefer *real* English - which for me is British and probably needless to say

[hdh]

Perceiving something as rude is very much dependent on the culture you are used to or grew up into. 

What is rude in one may be perfectly normal and acceptable in another culture. 

Take holding open a door for people behind you when entering a shopping center. 

If you are used to British politeness, you expect this to happen and find it rude if somebody slams shut the door in front of you. 

On the other hand, if you grew up in Germany, this is quite normal and you anticipate the door shutting, finding nothing special about this. 

 

When it comes to pushing and forcing ones way into public transport, I recommend the experience in the Moscow Metro between roughly 7:30  and 9:30 on a normal business day and outside of any school holidays. 

(best experience one of the circle line (5) stations or any other station with more than two lines where people change between lines) 

 

Exaggerating the experience; You can probably call it a good ride if you survive it without any bruises. 

[Gennadii Rybalov]

 

 

Outside the U.S., the "s" becomes a "c" in the derivative adjective practicable, where practicable means capable of being put into practice. C is likewise used in the much rarer adjective practiceable (ignore spell check on this one, Wim), which means capable of being practiced (i.e., such as a piano song or a football maneuver). Practisable used to appear for this latter sense, but we find almost no examples of its use from after the early 20th century.

 

In the main varieties of English from outside North America, practice is the noun, and practise is the verb, as Alan already mentioned. For instance, we would say that a doctor with a private practice practises privately. There is no such distinction in American English, where practice is both a noun and a verb, and practise is not used at all. Canadian English also favors practise as the verb, but practice appears with relative frequency as a verb (about a third as often as practise).

 

Yes, Allan B. I hear you thinking (you're not wearing your tin foil hat) "How does this little Belgian knows all that?" ............... because Grammarist is my friend   

 

Cheers,

Philippe

 

 

 

I hated English lessons at school. All those verbs, nouns, conjunctivitis   , etc, etc.

 

So as soon as someone asks me to read a mini thesis on it my mind blanks out. You should have known that Philippe as I did not have my tin foil hat on.

 

Allan B

 

 

Wim, Olivier, where are you? Allan thinks English conjugations are difficult 

My friend, have you ever tried Dutch verbs? Or even worse ...... French?  Those are nightmares 

 

Cheers,

PhilippeI read it all and smile!

I read it all and smile!

You would all have to try to cope with the Russian language, this is where you can be at an impasse. We can say a word the whole sentence, and most importantly with a completely different meaning.  

[Betty LaRue]

 

 

I dont post here very often, but actively read and browse these forums.

And I must say that this forum is one of the best ( if not THE best) in terms of members being cordial, civil and even downright helpful in their discussions.

So many other agency forums or general ms forums often get rude, sarcastic and disrespectful very quickly when others post either looking for guidance, or just posting something in general.

Just a shout- out to all here.

 

 

Some of the Belgian and Dutch members seem to take part only to practice their English.

All the content can simply been ignored.

Feel free to correct our mistakes though!

;-)

 

wim

please add the German(s) to that list  

 

Also I hated English lessons at school and was in the bottom 10% with my marks. 

Soon after University I was thrown into an international project and that was learning English the hard way. 

 

I prefer *real* English - which for me is British and probably needless to say

I take exception to that remark.

I practice real English every day since it is no hill for a stepper. I go for the correct word like the crow flies. Bad words? I kick 'em to the curb. Or street.

[spacecadet]

Now now, Betty, kerb your enthusiasm.

[Betty LaRue]

Now now, Betty, kerb your enthusiasm.