Musicians and money
Hi Cheikh,
Your postings just get more and more interesting. You've really opened my eyes to a brand new (yet very old), culture. Thanks!
You've hit the nail on the head when you talk about how each of us often thinks that it's everyone else's culture that's strange, never our own. A lot of people think, 'Whatever I do makes perfect sense. But what you do is so weird!'
I'm fascinated by the people who can march into your house, and by virtue of being able to play a musical instrument, demand to be paid. I can play a few chords on the guitar. How would I do in Mauritania?
I was thinking of you while I was out at lunchtime today. I was in Covent Garden, a busy shopping area in the middle of London (just a 5 minute walk from Bush House, where the BBC Learning English office is). It's popular with tourists so there are often street performers putting on acts for the visitors. Today I saw some musicians playing and they had a little green basket on the ground in front of them. People who'd enjoyed their music were encouraged, by the buskers, to drop a few pennies into the basket. I thought, if they were in your neck of the woods, they might not ever need the basket!
Looking at your last two postings, I thought we'd concentrate on agreement today. In English, verb forms change depending on whether the subject is singular or plural. For example,
The bus was late. (singular noun, singular verb)
The trains were full. (plural noun, plural verb)
That's easy enough, the tricky bit is to remember to keep your subjects and verbs singular throughout your sentence – from beginning to end.
You also need to keep a similar subject throughout your sentence. For example, if you start a sentence talking about they, you can't finish the sentence talking about him.
Here are a few examples from your writing where you start off OK but as your sentence progresses you change from singular to plural or vice versa.
There are a few words in bold in the first two sentences below to highlight the words that need to agree. In the final two sentences I haven't bolded anything, just to make your task a bit harder!
… but your comments which I really appreciate and will soon reply to – spurs me to carry on.
Some of us also ask the dead for help and believe that their ancestors still have a great role to play in their own lives; they watch them and protect them from evil.
…who must be a religious scholars.
It (slavery) is till a hot debate over here, whether it exist or not.
Here are a few more words that should be one word, not two:
any one
some one
And here a a couple of vocabulary items to consider too:
All is used to talk about more than 2 things.
Both is used to talk about 2 things (though if we use both, we don't need the word two in the sentence as well). How could you improve this one?
I read all your 2 blogs.
A more usual word than incriminate is outlaw + verb+ing (For example, They outlawed begging last year.), or make it a crime to do something. (The government made it a crime to discriminate against older people)
So your final task is to improve this sentence. You've got a few things to think about here. It starts in the past and then goes into the present tense. There are two words that should be one. And the word incriminates isn't correct.
We passed a law that incriminates to call some one a slave.
Hope you have a good weekend.
All the best,
Nuala
Vocabulary
You've hit the nail on the head – (idiom) You've described exactly what the situation is
makes perfect sense – is very logical
weird – (informal) very unusual
march – walk in a very determined way
by virtue of being – because they are
chords – when you put your fingers on an instrument (here, a guitar) and play notes together in harmony
putting on acts – showing off their talents (singing, playing a musical instrument, doing a card trick, etc.)
buskers - people who play musical instruments in public for money
a few pennies – one or two coins, a small amount of money
your neck of the woods – (informal) near where you live (or work)
progresses – goes on, continues
vice versa – the same is true in the opposite order (here, I said your writing changes from singular to plural. But I also meant it sometimes changes from plural to singular)
Wearing a kilt isn't just for Halloween
Hello and welcome Cheikh!
What a lovely first posting. It's so nice to learn about you, your country and some of your customs. I'm sure I'm not the only person who hadn't heard of your capital city till I read it in your blog. And I'm sure I'm not alone in really looking forward to learning more about you and your culture too.
Your national dress – Boboo – sounds interesting and just right for a Halloween costume because it's sounds like you're trying to give someone a fright. (In English, we think that frightening ghosts say 'Boo!') :)
I'm sure you know that the Scottish national dress is a kilt. But in case you don't, here's the actor Hamish Clark wearing one:
He's wearing a kilt, which looks like a skirt and is made of tartan. On the front of his kilt, he's got a sporran – that's a Scottish word – a small leather bag where he can keep his money safe!
I'm not long back from the US and I know what you mean about how seriously they take Halloween there. I was there in the middle of October but already there were plenty of decorations on the houses and shops even though the actual holiday wasn't until the last day of the month.
Before we move on to look at some ways of improving your writing, I'd first just like to say how good I think it is, especially for someone who is self-taught. You should be very proud of the standard of your English, Cheikh.
Today I thought we would look at a couple of areas – countable and uncountable nouns and vocabulary.
First, countable and uncountable nouns. There are some nouns in English which we say we can count (chairs, boats, cats) and some that we can't count, but measure instead (music, love, accommodation). Countable nouns can be made plural by adding s (chair – chairs, boat – boats, cat – cats) but uncountable nouns are never made plural with an s. (The equivalent of plurals for uncountables are, for example, some music, a lot of love, plenty of accommodation). Advice and information are two examples from your posting that are uncountable nouns. Can you see how you could improve these two sentences? In the first one you have to look at the noun (advices) and in the second the noun is OK but the word these isn't right:
get some advices
all these information
Second, let's look at some of your vocabulary. These words should be one word, not two:
my self
a lone
And these words aren't quite right:
handling me this opportunity (Handling means moving with your hands. For example, The porter is handling the luggage. The word you need here is handing, which means giving)
I am getting ridiculed into addressing a bunch of people (I'm not quite sure what you mean here. Do you mean forced or not given a choice?)
We speak Arabic-French, our former colony language (Colony is a noun. You need the adjective colonial here.)
radically stick up for their point of view (Radically means acting in a very extreme way. If you mean they believe very strongly in their point of view, you could say Vehemently (or Passionately stick up for their point of view.)
That's all for now. Thanks again for such an interesting first posting. Looking forward to learning more about the Sahara desert.
Nuala
Vocabulary
costume - a set of clothes worn in order to look like someone or something else
to give someone a fright – to scare of frighten someone
ghosts – spirits of dead people who came back to earth to frighten people (or give them advice or warn them about something)
tartan - cloth with a pattern of different coloured straight lines crossing each other at 90 degree angles (see the photo in the blog for an example of tartan. He man is wearing a tartan kilt)
I'm not long back from – I have recently returned from
Another city, another tale
Hi Jin Lu,
Thanks for your lovely posting and for sharing all those beautiful pictures of Nanjing with us. I suppose almost every city, town or village has a story behind it but it's always so nice to learn of a new place and its legend.
There are lots of tales about Glasgow, my home city, but one of the best known is reflected in our coat of arms which shows a bird, a tree, a bell and a fish. All of these things have a connection with the patron saint of Glasgow (St. Mungo), a holy man who arrived in Glasgow about the year 540.
My favourite part has always been about the fish. The story goes like this: Queen Langeoreth was in love with a knight and gave him her golden ring as a token of her love.
One evening, unbeknownst to the knight, the king took the ring off the knight's finger and threw it in the river.
The next day the king demanded that the queen show him the golden ring he had given her. She said she couldn't find it. He gave here three days to come up with it, or else.
The queen hurried to the knight, told him about her dilemma and asked for her ring back. He said he was sorry, he didn't have the ring anymore; he'd lost it and didn't know where it was. The queen didn't know what to do. She was completely distraught.
So the knight decided to ask Saint Mungo for help. The saint told the knight to go to the river and catch a salmon.
The knight did as he was told – caught a fish - and gave it to the queen.
When the queen presented the salmon to her husband, the king was amazed to find the fish holding the golden ring in its mouth.
To this day, you can see Saint Mungo, the bird, the tree, the bell and the fish (with a ring) all over Glasgow. Our coat of arms is on buildings, lampposts, posters and signs. Here's a photo my brother Michael took this morning in Glasgow of our coat of arms on the side of a rubbish bin:
The coat of arms (and the city's motto: Let Glasgow Flourish) was featured in a song in the late 80s, called Mother Glasgow. This video has a few city shots, as well as a sight anyone from Glasgow instantly recognises – the massive cranes that are a part of the Glasgow skyline. Glasgow, used to be a famous ship-building city. And though the ship-building has gone, the cranes remain.
It's almost time for me to say goodbye to you Lin Ju. But before I do, let's have a look at your posting. As ever, your writing is fluid and very evocative. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels I've actually visited Nanjing, just from reading your great descriptions of it.
Turning to the language aspects of your posting, I'd like to concentrate on your word choices, collocations and word order.
1. A few word choices first. Let's look at this one:
declared himself as the new emperor
You can use declare or another expression with as (set himself up as, for example) but you can't use declare and as together.
So you could say:
set himself up as the new emperor
or
was declared the new emperor
Next let's look at this sentence:
…he suddenly halted at one fatal issue
First, crucial question is probably a better word choice than fatal issue. Second, halt is usually used to mean cause to stop moving or doing something or happening. People don't usually halt themselves – something or someone makes them stop. For example:
Production has halted at the factory because the staff have gone on strike.
Police halted the demonstrators and told them they could go no further.
So stop might be a better - simpler, but better - word to use here. You might even want to go for a couple of punchy sentences, like this:
… he stopped. There was one crucial question: where should the new capital be?
otherwise you get into an unnecessary passive:
… he was stopped by one crucial question …
2. Next, let's look at word order. We'll focus on the word all here:
Unfortunately, Nanjing all failed them.
The word all after Nanjing makes it seem like there are a lot of Nanjings. But actually I think you mean there were a lot of people affected by Nanjing. Can you see where you should move the all to to create the sentence you want?
3. Finally, let's look at a fixed expression in this sentence:
He would just walk and walk and write poems after poems.
This expression, something after something, which means to do the same thing many times, is always a singular (rather than a plural) expression. So can you see how to fix your sentence?
That's all from me just now. It's been lovely blogging with you and I wish you all the best for your studies in Germany!
Take care,
Nuala
Vocabulary
legend – very old story that may or may not be true that people tell about a famous person or event
reflected – shown or expressed
coat of arms - special shield or shield-shaped pattern which is the sign of a city (you can also have a family, school or university coat of arms)
patron saint – Christian saint or holy person who lived or is associated with a city
knight – a noble soldier (in the past)
a token – an object that you give to someone to express your feelings
unbeknownst to the knight – (unbeknownst is an old fashioned word, often used in fairy tales or legends) – the knight didn't know about it
come up with – show or produce
or else – (used as a threat) to say that something bad or painful will happen but not say exactly what it will be
dilemma – situation when you have to make a difficult choice between two different things you could do
completely distraught – very upset
all over – everywhere
motto - short, memorable sentence or phrase that expresses a belief or purpose
flourish – grow, develop and prosper or do well
shots – pictures, photos or here, still photos from a film
cranes - tall metal structure used to lift and move heavy objects
What have you got to lose?
Hi Jin Lu,
What a great posting about the power of positive thinking!
You'll have to let us know soon if you've got the lead (or even a walk-on part as a maid) in the next Agatha Christie production. We'll all have our fingers crossed for you.
Your homework is very good. Well done!
1. You can hardly judge if it's still autumn --> You can hardly tell if it’s still autumn.
Nuala – great.
2. I have several intimate friends --> I have several close friends
Nuala – good
3, I have been offered a perfect chance --> I have been offered an ideal chance… (I think “ideal opportunity” is also right but not as good as “chance”, right?)
Nuala – Ideal opportunity actually collocates better. With chance, I'd go for good.
4. I… have turned out a faithful soul --> I have turned into a faithful soul.
Nuala - perfect
5. Jin Lu sounded too wrong to be a baby name --> Jin Lu would sound awkward as a baby name.
Nuala – much better
6. It’s now reasonable to assume that his parents might have called him “Ming Ming” when he was a little boy – the kind of cute baby-name I wanted but could never get because apparently, Jing Jing, as an official name, also possessed all the essential features of a baby name.
--> His parents might have called him “Ming Ming” when he was little. I wanted a cute baby-name like that too, but could never get one. Because Jing Jing, as an official name, could also be used as a baby name.
Nuala – This is now much easier to understand.
7. But they have been, in a quiet way, very important and indispensible. The time and situations they appeared never allow a baby name.
--> But they are already part of me now. There was never a right time for a baby name, but maybe I just never needed one.
Nuala – Great, much improved!
You asked about what happened when I brought my report card home with the comment Nuala should work more and talk less on it. I don't remember much of the detail. The main reason I remember what the teacher wrote at all was that we had a kind of report card book that each teacher filled in each year. So for the whole seven years I was at primary school that report from primary 1 followed me around like a bad smell. It's still my belief that my primary 2 teacher looked at what my primary 1 teacher wrote and just copied it. And so on and so for the rest of my primary school days. So I ended up with this terrible reputation as a chatter-box that was completely unfounded (honest)!
What I do remember of the day I brought home that first report card home was my dad sitting me up on the kitchen table so that he could look me in the eye. I knew right then that I was in terrible trouble. He wagged his finger at me and said 'This is very serious young lady. School isn't for playing. School is for working. Do you understand?'
I think I turned over a new leaf for about a day. And then I was back to my naughty ways again.
Sounds like you were a saint Jin Lu or did that all change once you got to primary school too?
Let's take a look in detail at a few aspects of your last post:
1. There are a few times you haven't kept your structures parallel. For example:
This Monday I did something I had never done before: going to an audition
It would be better to keep both verbs in the past simple (did and went)
Can you see how to improve this sentence (I made one little change for you – I added an as and changed like to as)?
One day I met my Korean friends, and they looked happy as a child when they ate their food
2. Here are a couple of places where your vocabulary isn't quite right:
They were recruiting for the cast.
We recruit for staff but audition for a cast.
The verb here (accompany) is a bit too formal. Can you think of a way of making it more informal (I cut out a couple of words – to tour - here to tighten it up a bit)?
He asked if I could accompany him around Beijing
3. A couple of times your meaning isn't very clear.
It was a decision I took a long five seconds to make. It should’ve taken no time at all.
Five seconds doesn't seem long to me at all. In fact five seconds seems like no time at all. I know that sometimes even a short time can seem very long so maybe that's what you were getting at here. But I'm not quite sure.
I was nearly drowned when younger
Again, I'm not sure what you wanted to say here but I suspect (though I could be wrong) that someone didn't hold your head under water and try to kill you. That's what I was nearly drowned means. If someone didn't really try to kill you, do you know what you should have written instead?
4. Finally, a few of article problems cropped up. Can you figure our the 3 places where articles (a, an or the) need to go in or come out in these two sentences?
The drama group of English department of University of Heidelberg.
… I hid in the backstage and voiced-acted for the Juliet (in Romeo and Juliet).
Once again, I'd just like to say how good your writing is. And also say what a great turn of phrase you have. These, for example, are really lovely:
What could be more magical than giving life to the silent words?
I give them light, and wait for their blooming
And your lighthouse painting and calligraphy at the end of your piece was beautiful too.
Talk to you again soon,
Nuala
positive thinking – imaging and thinking of things in a positive, happy, successful way
the lead – the main actor in a film or play
a walk-on part – a very small part in a play where the actors has no lines to say
It's still my belief – I continue to believe
a chatter-box – someone who talks a lot about things that are not serious or important
completely unfounded – 100% without evidence or proof
I was in terrible trouble – My father was very angry with me and was going to giving a telling off
turned over a new leaf – changed my behaviour form being bad to being good
you were a saint – you were very good, very well-behaved
turn of phrase - the ability to express yourself well
calligraphy - the art of producing beautiful writing, often created with a special pen or brush
Why did you call me that?
Hi Jin Lu,
Thanks so much for teaching us some 'easy' Chinese! I'm very proud that I can read these two incredibly complicated Chinese characters already.
It's interesting how much you longed for a different name when you were young. I did too! I think lots of people do. Maybe there's a book in that - Why did you call me that?!
My name's an Irish one. You can find out more about my first name, Nuala here.
My family name's O'Sullivan (which is Irish too). O in an Irish surname, is like Mac in Scottish ones. It means son of (those patriarchal systems get everywhere, don't they?). So if you meet someone called MacDonald or McGregor they're probably Scottish or of Scottish descent. If they're called O'Reilly or O'Neill, they either live in Ireland or somewhere in the past, their ancestors did.
When I was young I wanted an easier name. Nuala was just too difficult for everyone! Because it's an Irish name, not many people in Scotland knew how to pronounce it. So every time people saw my name written down (every new school year, when a new teacher took the register) they'd say, 'Oh! That's an unusual name, Noo-a-la.' And I'd have to say, 'Well, no, actually, it's Noo-la'. All I ever wanted was a simple, straightforward name that caused no confusion. I wanted a name that was young and lovely and trendy, but most of all I wanted a nice Scottish name. I wanted to be called ... Felicity Campbell. There, now you know one of my deepest desires!
But you know that old saying… be careful what you wish for? I'm just so glad now I didn't get my wish. I love my name, and like you, Jin Lu, feel I've grown into it and can't now imagine being called anything else.
Turing to your posting, I'd just like to say again how smooth your writing style is and how easy your blog is to understand. Your writing flows well and your word choice and word combination are very sophisticated.
In terms of tweaking it a little bit, let's look at this sentence:
In my hometown dialect, there is nearly no distinction.
In English we don’t say nearly no. Instead we use expressions like hardly any, very little or almost no. With distinction the usual collocation is very little.
... there's very little distinction
You made a similar kind of slip here:
Jin Lu sounded too wrong to be a baby name
Wrong is an absolute in English. That's one of those words that's either one thing or the other; there's no in-between. For example, something is either true or it's false. It can't be a bit false. So in your sentence, either your name was right or wrong for a baby. Can you think of a way to make your sentence right?
And finally, although in general your writing is easy to understand, I have to say I was a bit confused a couple of times in your last posting. In this first example below, I think the main reason for the confusion is simply because the sentence is so long. (It comes in at a whopping 50 words!) I think if you broke your writing into smaller chunks, the meaning would be much clearer for your readers.
It’s now reasonable to assume that his parents might have called him “Ming Ming” when he was a little boy – the kind of cute baby-name I wanted but could never get because apparently, Jing Jing, as an official name, also possessed all the essential features of a baby name.
A good tip for sentence length in English is to try and say it in one breath (without first filling your lungs to maximum capacity!). When you run out of breath, it's time to put a full stop in your writing. Try reading your sentence above out loud and see how you do.
The other example where I think you could have simplified your writing is here:
But they have been, in a quiet way, very important and indispensible. The time and situations they appeared never allow a baby name.
I think I know what you mean but it seems like a very long and complicated way of saying it. And I think the final sentence there also seems quite formal (especially for an informal blog).
Anyway, that's all from me this week. Have a great weekend and I'll talk to you again soon.
All the best,
Nuala
Vocabulary
longed for – wished for, wanted
patriarchal systems - ways of doing things that are ruled or controlled by men
descent - being related to a particular person or group of people who lived in the past
ancestors – people related to you who lived before you
took the register – called each pupil's name to check if he or she was in class that day (the register is a list of all the pupils in the class)
trendy – fashionable
desires – wants or wishes
combination – mixture you get when two or more things (here, words) are put together
sophisticated - clever
tweaking – changing very slightly
comes in at – totals
whopping – very big
chunks – parts
breath - air that goes into and out of your lungs
lungs - the two organs in the chest with you use to breathe
maximum capacity – the most that you can put in something (here, your lungs)
Books, fate and the weather
Hi Jin Lu,
Hello again. I'm back from Baltimore safe and sound and ready for some more blogging.
I've caught up with your posts and all the comments you've been getting about literature, fate and weather!
So here's my tuppence worth on those topics too, with a Maryland twist.
Literature – as some of you might have heard, the city of Baltimore gave the American writer Edgar Allan Poe a second funeral 160 years after his death.
I didn't make it to the funeral (too busy eating the best seafood I've had in ages with Vernon, the oyster shucker, at Nick's in Cross Street Market).
But I did find an interesting Baltimore/literature story. You know how mayors and city officials are always trying to think of memorable slogans for their cities? I don't know if anyone has ever managed to top the New York one,
but the poor officials keep trying. Apparently each mayor of Baltimore has tried to come up with a winner but none of their attempts has ever really stuck. The one that I liked the best was – Baltimore - the city that reads!
Fate – A while ago in a bookshop in London. I picked up a book (The Help by Kathryn Stockett). I thought it looked interesting but didn't decide to buy it. Who knows why? I already had a couple of books under my arm, I hadn't heard anything about the book. I don't know why; I just didn't buy it.
Then, when I was in Baltimore, I picked up a book in a bookshop (you've guessed it – The Help by Kathryn Stockett). But since I'm terrible at remembering book titles and authors, and the one in Baltimore had a different cover, I didn't recognise it initially as the same book.
While I was reading a bit about it from the back cover and the penny was just beginning to drop, a customer said, "Do you really like reading?" I nodded my head. Well, she promised the book I was holding was a fabulous read. The best one she'd read in ages, in fact. So call it fate, call it a lucky hunch but I thought, "a recommendation from a woman in the city that reads? You can't do better than that, can you?" So I bought the book there and then – only a couple of days ago – and am already half way through it and completely riveted.
And weather? We had it all. Sunny days and blue skies, heavy rains and howling winds. I didn't know if I was coming or going!. Here's a picture I took of a sailing ship in Baltimore harbour on one of the colder days!
I'd like to look at a few collocations (words that go together) from your latest posting Jin Lu. Collocations, as I'm sure you know, are words that go together. There's no real reason why they go together, they just do! For example, we say Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas but never Merry Birthday.
Do you know what the right collocations are here?
1. You can hardly judge if it's still autumn
a) hardly tell
b) often judge
2. I have several intimate friends
a) intimate sexual partners
b) close friends
3, I have been offered a perfect chance
a) an ideal chance
b) an ideal opportunity
4. I … have turned out a faithful soul
a) turned into
b) become out
That's all for now. Hope you're well. All the best,
Nuala
safe and sound – (fixed expression) safe
my tuppence worth – my opinion
twist – particular way of looking at something (here, Lin Ju's blog topics)
shucker – if you shuck something you take the outer skin or covering off it. You can shuck corn or oysters. A shucker is a person who shucks.
memorable slogans – catchy phrases that people remember (for example, New York – the city that never sleeps)
to top – to beat or be better than
stuck – continued to be used
initially – at first
the penny was just beginning to drop – (fixed expression) – just beginning to realise or understand something
hunch – idea which is based on feeling, rather than on scientific proof or fact
riveted –not be able to stop looking at (or here, reading) something because it is so interesting
I didn't know if I was coming or going – I was confused
What makes a house a home?
Hi Jin Lu,
What makes a house a home? For me, a roaring fire works every time!
This picture also shows a typical British hobby – doing your house up! We Brits do love our DIY. You can see the plaster isn't dry and the painting isn't finished on the walls - sure signs of DIY activity!
Your story of the moon was really interesting. Thanks for sharing that with us. I'll be sure to look out for the girl and the bunny the next there's a full moon.
Now though, let's look at a couple of things from your text – prepositions and tenses.
First, prepositions. In the first of your examples you need a different preposition, in the second, you didn't use a preposition but you needed one and in the third one, you used a preposition but you didn't need it. Can you see how you should change these to make them correct?
People use two types of calendar in the same time
Mid-Autumn Festival (is) in China the 15th day of the eighth month
The latter originated from thousands of years ago.
Secondly, let's look at some of your tenses. But before we do, a bit of background.
There are quite a few times where you make your language unnecessarily complicated, Jin Lu. I've met a lot of students who think that a long word or a more complex sentence makes their writing or speaking seem more advanced. But it doesn't work that way in English. My understanding of the Chinese education system is that you're actively encouraged to use more sophisticated language to show how widely read you are. Is that right?
Here in Britain, we often use very simple sentence constructions and choose short, simple words over more complicated ones. Why? Well, one reason is where the English language comes from. The Anglo-Saxon language (used in Britain more than 1500 years ago) was filled with short, punchy words. The legacy of that language is still evident in good speech and writing today.
We often think of Sir Winston Churchill as one of the most effective public speakers this country has ever produced.
Have a look at a part of his famous 'We will fight them on the beaches' speech. Can you find even one word here that has more than one syllable?
We shall fight in the fields. We shall fight in the hills. We shall go on to the end.
Sometimes simple really is best.
So… back to your tenses. Can you spot how you could simplify (and correct) your grammar in these examples?
You may have known that in China people use two types of calendar
I believe I had seen it a couple of times
Now I would think of my grandmother more
And just to complicate matters. This one needs to be more complex than just the present simple:
She lives there with her bunny for many centuries now
That's all from me for now. I'm off to Baltimore tomorrow!
Thanks for your suggestion Cheikh Vall but I'm afraid I won't be blogging while I'm on holiday. I hope not to switch on the computer the whole time I'm away! But I promise, I'll have some photos to share with you all when I come back.
Best wishes,
Nuala
Vocabulary
doing your house up – improving and redecorating your house
DIY – short for do it yourself (rather than making someone – a painter, a plumber etc. – to do it for you
how widely read you are – that you have read and understood a lot of books
punchy – expressing something effectively
legacy – what is left after something dies out or someone dies
evident – obvious, you can see it easily
syllable – separate sound of a word (for example, furniture has three syllables, uncomfortable has five)
A trip down memory lane
Hi Jin Lu,
Hello and welcome!
Your first entry has certainly captured everyone’s imagination here. You’ve got a really interesting and evocative writing style, Jin Lu. I think Pilar might be onto something when she commented that writing mystery novels could be your calling.
The story of your first journey away from home is something that lots of us can relate to, I’m sure.
One of my first trips abroad was when I was at university too. Although I’d been to foreign countries before, I’d pretty much always gone with someone from my family, if not my whole family. But this trip was just me and a student pal, going to a debating competition in Princeton, USA. As the plane took off I remember feeling so far away (in both senses of the word) from almost everyone I knew. And I found that both incredibly liberating and unbelievably frightening at the same time. Did you feel that on your first trip and/or do you still feel it, even now?
Because you have such a poetic turn of phrase it’s quite difficult for me to give you precise feedback. What to me (or others) might seem like an ill-chosen word or a wrongly worded sentence, might be the exact way you planned to write the sentence in order to evoke particular feelings in your readers. However, I’ll mention just a couple of things I think you might find useful. First let’s look at this sentence:
Far on the horizon vaguely appeared some colours of lightness.
I know exactly what you mean but I think we can improve the sentence structure while keeping your interesting imagery intact.
The issue with the way you wrote the original sentence is the vaguely appeared part. Something either appears or it doesn’t. You could use vague to describe the quality of the light or the colour (nouns, not actions). Even then, another word like indistinct would be better because vague is usually used to describe thoughts or language. You could change your sentence one of these ways if you like:
Far on the horizon some colours appeared indistinctly
Far on the horizon some soft colours appeared
Some colours appeared on the horizon
Far on the horizon I saw some indistinct colours and lights
Faint colours appeared on the horizon
Next, let’s look at the word moving:
I had never seen such a moving picture before
I’m sure you know moving has two meanings:
1. going from one place to another
2. emotional
I think you were after the second meaning but, because you were talking about a train (which moves), the picture you were looking at outside your window was actually moving! Am I right in thinking you really wanted to tell us about how you felt as you looked out of the train window? If I am, instead of moving perhaps touching or evocative might fit the bill better. What do you think?
That’s all for now. Thanks again for your interesting posts. Looking forward to reading more.
All the best,
Nuala
PS I should also mention that I’m going away on holiday for part of October (to the States again. I wonder how I’ll be feeling on the plane this time!) While I’m gone, some of the other Learning English team will be blogging with you.
Vocabulary
captured everyone’s imagination - everyone thinks it’s very interesting or it has captivated everyone
evocative - making you remember, imagine or think about something pleasant
be onto something - know something or be correct about something
your calling - your vocation, the job that you are meant to do or that is very suitable for you
relate to - connect or empathise with or understand
far away (in both senses of the word) - far away has two meanings – remote in physical distance and remote in emotional distance. If you say something in both senses of the word you want to use both meanings of a word. Here, because I was high up in a plane on my way to America, I was physically far away from my family but because I was travelling without my parents, brothers or sisters, I felt emotionally far away from my family too
a debating competition - a contest where people argue for and against particular topics or subjects for a set period of time
incredibly liberating - very freeing, able to act or behave in a way that you want to, without restrictions
turn of phrase - way of saying or writing things
ill-chosen word - wrong word or not the best word
intact - complete
issue - problem
were after - wanted
fit the bill better - be more suitable, be better suited
Til we meet again
Hi Shirley,
Your final post is really impressive. Your pictures of Indonesia show it off in its full glory – from the beautifully serene monuments of Borobudur, to the bustling, glittering Jakarta skyline. Glad to see my favourite Ubud too up there in your top three Indonesian spots. BTY, we say 'as one of the Seven Wonders of the World' rather than 'as Seven Wonders of the World'.
I've really enjoyed my first month as the teacher blogger and that's in no small way because of you, Shirley. You've posted often, raised lots of interesting questions, pointed us in the direction of some great ads and shared some really lovely photos with us.
Before I sign off, let me tell you about melting pot. It means a place where people of different nationalities and races come together and live peacefully. I think the idea is that all the people go into the pot (a county, city or place) and are stirred together like a big pot of soup and become perfectly blended together (like a harmonious society).
I found a few references to its origin online. Apparently, the Jewish playwright, Israel Zangwill, made the phrase popular with his 1908 play 'The Melting Pot'.
So it's 'Sampai jumpa' from me too Shirley, and a big thanks to all of you who've left comments.
See you next month, when we'll meet our new blogger for October.
All the very best,
Nuala
Vocabulary
show it off – boast about something or show something you're proud of
in its full glory – highlighting all the good aspects of something
serene - peaceful
bustling – very busy
glittering – filled with shining or sparkling lights
skyline – the shape or pattern made against the sky, especially by very tall buildings
BTY- Short for by the way
in no small way – mainly, in large part
sign off – finish a letter or email (or blogg) by signing your name
harmonious – friendly and peaceful
Holiday memories
Hi Shirley,
Your holiday in Bali sounds very romantic (congrats on your anniversary!). And your pictures looked great too! They also brought back lots of happy memories for me. When I lived in Bandung, I often nipped over to Bali and remember with great fondness the beaches of Candidasa and the lovely villages in and around Ubud.
Unfortunately, all my holidays there were in the old days before digital cameras so I don't have any snaps I can share with you. But I do have a couple of more recent (digital) holiday pictures that might make you smile.
I don't know if you listened to a recent 6 minute about Chinglish. I captured my own example of this variety of English on film when I was in China (in Tianjin) a couple of years ago. To get the joke, you have to know that a tick is a very small insect which attaches itself to other animals or humans and drinks their blood.
Not perhaps something you really want to queue up for and buy!
And here's one from Budapest, which shows just how fantastic I think I am!
Who says I'm big-headed?
It's hard to say what my favourite holiday has been so far. Now that I'm working all the time and only have five weeks' holiday a year (which I know is a lot compared to some other people), I do look back fondly on my school days when we had weeks and weeks and weeks of holidays. I can't believe I ever had the nerve to moan when I was young, 'I'm bored mum There's nothing to do!' Oh, to have nothing to do now!
And now, from holidays to work …shall we take a look at a few examples from your writing where your meaning could be clearer Shirley?
1. In this one you've mixed up a couple of expressions:
We stayed in one hotel to another
Instead, you could choose from one of these:
a. We went from one hotel to another
b. We stayed in one hotel after another
2. This next example made me smile, unless of course you and your boyfriend have an enormous car, or you're both incredibly vertically challenged!
My friend and I got lost inside the car
3. A temple is a building. It can't pray. People pray. Can you think of a better adjective to describe the temple?
You can see the praying temple
4. This next sentence has a few issues – sparing, directions and for. Sparing is a good word but it's not quite right here. It's also a very formal word, so not quite what you want to use in a friendly, informal blog. Also when you mean 'instructions that you give or get to find a particular place', the word directions is always plural. Finally, you ask directions from someone. It's true you ask for directions but you still have to ask for directions from someone. So let's look at your sentence:
… sparing us nobody to ask for direction
Usually we'd use spare like this:
The solders killed all the men in the village but spared the children
The hurricane destroyed our house but luckily we were spared
You could rework your sentence like this:
Apart from us there was nobody to ask directions from
But if you're lost you wouldn't ask yourselves for directions, so the apart form us is actually redundant. You could reword your original sentence in lots of ways. Here are a few suggestions to get you started:
a. There was nobody to ask directions from
b. There was nobody around to ask directions from
c. There was nobody around we could ask directions from
or, more formally, d. There was nobody from whom we could ask directions
Finally, I don't know what the abbreviation GWK stands for. Can you let us know?
All the best,
Nuala
Vocabulary
congrats - short for congratulations
nipped over – went
snaps – photographs
Chinglish – the incorrect use of English on some Chinese written signs
captured – caught (or here, took)
on film – with a camera
get the joke – understand what makes the punchline (the final part) of a joke funny
queue up – stand in a line behind other people, waiting for something
big-headed – having a very high opinion of yourself, thinking that you are very good or very clever (the joke here is that the picture makes me look like I have a big head, so that makes me look big-headed)
look back fondly – remember with good feelings, with fondness
nerve – the rudeness of doing something that you know will annoy or upset someone
moan – talk negatively or complain about something
enormous – very big
incredibly vertically challenged – humorous way to say that someone is very small
redundant – unnecessary because it is more than is needed
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