Native english speakers, help (1 Viewer)

[planetarium]

I'm not a native speaker but my American teacher always got angry at me for using the "-ing + noun" form too much. She always said that I should always say, for example, "a girl that walks" rather than "a walking girl". She also told that non-natives tend to say that a lot and that it sounds funny. I never really understood though whether it's WRONG to say so or if it's just a bit unnatural?

 

[iAbad]

Most probably, it’s “I couldn’t care less” you want to say and not “I could care less.” :pepecheer:

 

[Mayday]

Can you pleaseee give me tips and idk, things that not native english speakers may non know/don't understand? Or common mistakes you've seen /heard

I find that many non-native speaks typically get the words could, would, and should confused. It's understandable, as the words all mean something that is a possibility or potential.

Could- A possibility that may or may not have happened. Not specific the chances. Past tense of can.
Ex.- I could have gone to the mall yesterday, but I decided to stay home.

In this sentence, it is used to differentiate options. Going to the mall was a possibility.

Should- Used to assert a better option, or used to show what may or what was supposed to happened. Past tense of shall.
Ex.- You should have stayed at my house yesterday.
Ex.- He should have already come back by now.

These sentences show the two main different ways to use the word. Again, it is using mainly what the expected outcome was, or may have been.

Would- A possibility of a consequence, or what could have happened. Past tense of will.
Ex.- If she hadn't moved out of the way, she would have died! (Note: Would can often be replaced with could)

This word can easily be replaced with could, as used in the sentence above.


All of these words can be used to form a question as well. These words are easily interchangeable. The most important thing to remember when using these words is that they are past tenses, and what they are past tenses for.

Ex.- If she hadn't moved out of the way, she could have died!
Ex.- (Insert scenario) ...he would have already come back by now.
Ex.- I would have gone to the mall yesterday, but (insert excuse or situation).

If you have any questions, feel free to ask~

 

[Suzy]

> Make sure when you're writing, you're not changing the tense. So don't start off by writing in past tense only to end it in present or future tense. Stay consistent.
> Make sure you know the difference between there, their and they're. This is such a huge pet peeve for me but maybe it's not as big of a deal as I make it out to be.
> "Brang" is not a word. Brought is the correct past tense form of "bring". So it's not "I brang the keys", it's "I brought the keys".
> And just make sure you know that although a lot of words sound the same, their spelling (and meaning) isn't the same: Night vs. knight / to, too vs. two / mail vs male / here and here etc.. I always see people make these mistakes even though we're taught it since primary school so I'll tell you as well just in case.

Mischievous is not pronounced "mis-chee-vee-us." There's no "i" after the v so it's just "mis-che-vus."

That one fucked me up for so long. Unless you already know it then you're a better English speaker than me.

Is that according to the American pronunciation? Here we do pronounce it mis-chee-vee-us.