English Lessons for Jayki

[zil]

Just now, JayKi said:

What is Twas ?

"It was" - without the "I" - the apostrophe - ' - indicates one or more letters is missing - like "it's" or "can't".

[Vort]

6 minutes ago, JayKi said:

English has strange grammar, is not as well define I think. Yesterday my tutor told me is correct to say he caught me unawares and incorrect to say he caught me unaware. I never knew that adjective change in English. 

This is an example of an idiomatic usage. It is actually grammatically correct; "unawares" is an adverb, not an adjective -- it tells how he caught me -- so is appropriate in this case.

[Vort]

7 minutes ago, JayKi said:

When is of used? Is it just a way to say something you rule, like The Duke of York of Duchess of Cambridge

"Of" is a preposition that is more or less identical in meaning to the Spanish de.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, JayKi said:

English has strange grammar, is not as well define I think. Yesterday my tutor told me is correct to say he caught me unawares and incorrect to say he caught me unaware. I never knew that adjective change in English. 

This is a rare exception.  And he was only half right.  It could be proper either way depending on the meaning.  But most likely "aware" would be correct.

If you're saying YOU were unware when HE caught you, then it is "unaware" (no "s") because it is describing you (adjective).  See more on "linking verb" below.

If you're saying HE was unaware when he caught you, then it is "unawares" because the method by which he caught you was in an unaware manner (adverb).

HOWEVER, if you consider the usage of a linking verb, educated people will debate with you about this because there are two schools of thought on this.  Your tutor is apparently of the other school of thought.  The implied verb is that YOU "were" unaware at the time. 

Quote

He caught me, while I was unaware.

The verb "was" is a form of "to be", which is a linking verb.  As a linking verb, another school of thought says it's ok to use the adjective instead of the adverb.

[Vort]

6 minutes ago, JayKi said:

What is Twas ?

An old, no-longer-used contraction of "it was". The contraction of "it is" used to be 'tis; these days, people use it's (note the apostrophe).

[Guest]

Linking verb: The most common linking verb is "To Be".  In Spanish, one would always use an adverb with the subject.  But in English, some say it is proper to use the adjective.

Quote

I am well. (Correct).

I am good. (Also Correct -- but may be ambiguous).

Yo estoy bien. (correcto)

Yo estoy bueno. (no es correcto).

So, for this, you can go ahead and use the adverb and it would be fine.

But consider:

Quote

Yo soy bien/bueno. (which one is correct in Spanish?)

Edited May 8, 2018 by Guest

[JayKi]

9 minutes ago, Vort said:

This is an example of an idiomatic usage. It is actually grammatically correct; "unawares" is an adverb, not an adjective -- it tells how he caught me -- so is appropriate in this case.

I think adverb describe verb and end in ly . 

[JayKi]

18 minutes ago, zil said:

"It was" - without the "I" - the apostrophe - ' - indicates one or more letters is missing - like "it's" or "can't".

Is this correct? 

Or is one or more letters are missing correct ? 

 

When do you use is and when do you use are ?

[Vort]

9 minutes ago, JayKi said:

I think adverb describe verb and end in ly . 

An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, just like in Spanish. Many English adverbs -- but certainly not all -- end in "-ly".

[NeuroTypical]

36 minutes ago, JayKi said:

I want to speak like native speaker. 

Commendable!  Part of that is having some access to popular culture.   Here is an invaluable resource when people say things you don't understand:

https://www.urbandictionary.com/

This resource is less valuable for finding things to say.  It will explain slang used by other people, but if you try to read some of this and work it into a conversation, it probably will not go well.  

Other resources:

https://www.etymonline.com/

https://www.wiktionary.org/

[zil]

29 minutes ago, JayKi said:

Is this correct?

Are you asking if the use of an apostrophe in English to replace left-out letters is correct?  If so, then yes.  Here are several examples:

I'd = I would (or I had - you'll have to use context to figure that out)

you'll = you will

isn't = is not

can't = cannot (can not, but the space is not correct - in this case, it's cannot)

won't = will not

wouldn't, couldn't, shouldn't = would not, could not, should not

...as you can see, it's very common to combine "not" with another word.  However, as that sentence demonstrates, it's also used to replace the second "i" in "it is".  (Just to make life difficult, we use "its" when "it" owns something - "The store canceled its sale."  And to make it eve more difficult, in all other cases I can think of, apostrophe "s" is used to indicate possession - "Jayki's command of English is good." or "The car's front tire came off.")

The version without the apostrophe is more formal and will probably sound strange in speech unless you are giving emphasis to the word which is otherwise shortened.  For example:

"I won't." is normal.  "I will not!" emphasizes the "not" (imagine someone stomping their foot as they say that ).

It's not uncommon for written English to be more formal and use the version without an apostrophe.

If you're (you are) asking if 'twas is correct - it's archaic.  We mostly use it for fun or to quote this poem.

29 minutes ago, JayKi said:

When do you use is and when do you use are ? 

"Is" is singular - "he is"; "are" is plural - "they are".  (This is tricky because "you" can be either singular or plural, but it's always "you are", not "you is" (unless you're deliberately doing it wrong to make fun of doing it wrong, or, in the case of an author, to indicate a character who uses incorrect grammar).)

Edited May 7, 2018 by zil

[zil]

1 minute ago, zil said:

However, as that sentence demonstrates, it's also used to replace the second "i" in "it is".  (Just to make life difficult, we use "its" when "it" owns something - "The store canceled its sale."  And to make it eve more difficult, in all other cases I can think of, apostrophe "s" is used to indicate possession - "Jayki's command of English is good." or "The car's front tire came off.")

Hmm.  I take it back.  You can also say: "The car's over there." meaning "The car is over there."  Perhaps you should give up now and try Finnish instead.

[Guest]

43 minutes ago, JayKi said:

When do you use is and when do you use are ?

"is" = "es" or "esta"

"are" = "son/somos" or "estan/estamos"

The verb conjugations of nosotros,  ustedes, ellos/ellas are all the same in English.

We don't use vosotros or tu in English anymore.  It is considered ancient language. We'll see it in the Bible and when reading Shakespeare.  But not in modern English.

Edited May 7, 2018 by Guest

[Guest]

53 minutes ago, JayKi said:

I think adverb describe verb and end in ly . 

Most of the time they end in -ly.  But MANY do not end in -ly.

The most common one is "well" instead of "good".  "Well" is an adverb.  "Good" is an adjective.  However there is a word that is hardly used anymore "goodly" which is actually an adjective.  But it is used in different contexts than "good".  But we don't use it anymore.  It appears in scriptures a few dozen times.

[JayKi]

23 minutes ago, zil said:

Hmm.  I take it back.  You can also say: "The car's over there." meaning "The car is over there."  Perhaps you should give up now and try Finnish instead.

I know apostrophe is for omission or possession 

[Guest]

3 hours ago, zil said:

If you're (you are) asking if 'twas is correct - it's archaic.  We mostly use it for fun or to quote this poem.

And we use 'tis to quote this.

Edited May 8, 2018 by Guest

[JayKi]

Please can explain to me when to use bit, bite and bitten please. 

[lostinwater]

8 minutes ago, JayKi said:

Please can explain to me when to use bit, bite and bitten please. 

i apologize in advance for the convoluted mess that English Verb conjugation appears to be.   

http://conjugator.reverso.net/conjugation-english-verb-bite.html

Also, there is an extension in Chrome called Grammarly.  It seemed to catch most of the errors i introduced (not all).  Might be good to practice with.

 

[JayKi]

Please when to use Come and Came ?

[Guest]

1 hour ago, JayKi said:

Please when to use Come and Came ?

Come - Present tense: I come here every day.

However, present tense is not often used for this verb.  Instead, the present progressive is used. I am coming over right now.  

Came - Past tense (both preterit and imperfect):  I came over there yesterday. / I came to the school everyday.

Come - Present perfect: I have come to give you glad tidings of great joy.

Come - Past perfect: I had come to tell you that before he did.

Edited June 6, 2018 by Guest

[Guest]

@JayKi,

Much of what you're asking about is verb conjugation.  The actual word used for which tense is found in any English verb book.  So, use that as your primary resource for that sort of thing.

But knowing the difference between them is what you really need a live person to explain.  You need to know what the various verb tenses and moods are and how they relate to Spanish. 

PRESENT TENSE: Most of the time, English speakers do not use the present tense except in exposition (explaining some not so obvious information) such as the sentence I just wrote. Instead we use present progressive.

PRESENT PROGRESSIVE: This is indicative of an action that you are doing as a process rather than an instant event or series of instant events.  Every other language I know uses the present tense to indicate the present, as well as present progressive.  Many also have a present progressive.  But they don't use it nearly as often as English speakers.

Spanish: Yo leo ahora. -- This can be used for both present and present progressive in Spanish.

............Estoy leyendo -- This means something slightly different in Spanish.  But the present tense is also perfectly acceptable.  Not in English.

English: I read now. -- This doesn't sound right.  I can't even think of a context where this would this be correct.

English: I'm reading now -- This is most often the correct usage.

OVERUSE: Often some non-English speakers will be told about our usage of the progressive and use it TOO often.

I am not understanding.  This would not be correct.

I don't understand.  This is correct.

Also note that in Spanish the verb conjugation gives away the subject pronoun.  So, Spanish speakers often drop the pronoun (Yo estoy leyendo; Estoy leyendo).  In English, you can't do that.  The verb conjugations for virtually all verbs only have two variations for any given tense.  So, you HAVE to use the pronoun.

PAST TENSE: In English, we often use the past tense for both preterit and past imperfect.  We do this so much that most English speakers never even consider that there is a difference.

HELPER VERBS: The verbs to be (estar) and to have (haber) are most often used as helper verbs.  To be is most often used for progressive tenses.  Past progressive, present progressive, and future progressive. To have is used for almost everything else, usually for a perfect tense (Past perfect, present perfect, future perfect).  The verbs used with this helper verb are usually a "past participle".  But most of the time the past participle is the same as the past tense verb.

That's all that comes to mind. But it is really very similar to Spanish in this regard.  There are plenty of parallels.  It's not so bad as you may think.

Edited June 6, 2018 by Guest