English Lessons

[eisfuchs]

My company is giving our team the opportunity to learn and improve our English skills, and I'm quite thrilled about it! Today was the second lesson and the learning curve is already becoming steeper. I love the English language, and thus I hate every single mistake I make while using it. I ordered the guiding book we're using for the class on

Comments

[footpad]

Heh. Hehhehheh. *rubs paws together*

... but until now, the material has not been delivered.

This implies that the material has now been delivered. 'X until Y' strongly implies that X stops when Y happens. "I had scurvy until I took vitamin C"-the scurvy stopped when I took the vitamin. "I do not have any books until now"-the not-having-books has stopped, now.

Instead, say "but so far, the material has not been delivered."

As of now, I'm still waiting...

This isn't incorrect, but the "as of now" is superfluous (it's already implied by the present tense of "I'm still waiting") and it's a clumsy construction. I only use it in formal contexts, such as, advising someone of a change of address. ("As of 15th January, my new postal address is...")

The part that gives me the most headache:

'Headache' is normally used as a countable noun: I have a headache, I suffer from headaches. (It can be used as an uncountable noun, but mostly only in formal-ish medical contexts: "symptoms include nausea, headache, exploding eyeballs...")

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[kralle_lion]

Good boy *nuzz* :)

[eisfuchs]

Thanks a lot for the corrections! I greatly appreciate the time you spent on my posting :) *wolfiehugs* And Germans aren't any better when it comes to grammar ... We tend to butcher our language pretty badly, too.

[wolfekko]

Yes, you will find that Internet English is even further from the officially-recognized grammatical standard than spoken English, but I wish you much luck, and am always willing to converse if you want to practice. I do my best to write in proper form, even on the internet. I'd love to talk to you a little about a couple of our shared interests, anyway.

Best wishes,
~Susi

[eisfuchs]

Yes, I remember you sent me a mail about it and I still didn't answer :( I'm sorry for that.

[wolfekko]

It's all right; I'm sure you're a busy fox. I'm patient. :)

[mystifur]

Will I be having had cheezburger ?

*SCNR*

[eisfuchs]

You no can haz cheezeburger coz' them'z me!

[nifelan]

That actually sounds quite interesting. I've been trying to get into the "Technical English" lecture but since there are only something around 15 people that can take that lecture each semester I don't see myself taking it in the near future (not when there are a few hundred people interested in the same lecture).

Hmm... makes me think of my days back at school. Tenses somehow come naturally to me (but then again they were preached over and over again ;)

Have fun!