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  • Kerin

    Administrator
    February 8, 2021 at 2:36 pm in reply to: English mania

    @altedua , you definitely have an advanced English level – your writing is very strong; rich vocabulary and solid structures and you don’t seem to have any major issues with grammar. What a pleasure to read. 👏

    Here’s some feedback for you:

    > to fanatise (wrong word) its citizens – to radicalise

    > Who speaks English most definitely... to sound more natural: WHOEVER speaks English most definitely … (WHOEVER pronoun: the person or people who and used for emphasis instead of ‘who’ in questions)

    > …since Chinese students don’t choose learning❌ English WILLINGLY but RATHER because they are obliged to do so

    ⚠️ Can you try to correct the point above with the ❌?

    > To raise an English speaker nation seems an essencial factor for China to win the race over the other super powers. > To raise an English SPEAKING nation seems an essenTial factor for China to win the race AGAINST the other super powers.

    Let me know if you need clarification on anything 👍

  • Kerin

    Administrator
    February 5, 2021 at 10:03 am in reply to: How to talk about books | Vocabulary

    Agree, I like mysteries that have a bit of humour in there too. Although I’m quite addicted to nordic noir at the moment 🤔 … not much to laugh about there! It’s the bleak Scottish DNA inside me I think!

    I want to give you a nice expression you can use here:

    > sometimes, especially during summer (lying on the beach), it happens I read detective stories.

    > sometimes, especially during summer (lying on the beach), I have been known to read detective stories.

    This expression should work like this >

    These are the main reasons his novels always keep me on my toes!

    👍

  • Kerin

    Administrator
    February 2, 2021 at 9:34 am in reply to: How we perceive accents

    Yes, I agree. The important thing is to make a distinction between pronunciation and accent (Have a look at numbers 11- 14 on this post – I think you’ll like it:

    https://hub.englishdigitalacademy.com/improve-your-advanced-english-speaking-skills/)

    Let’s have a look at this phrase: In general, being confident on ❌ pronunciation helps you avoiding❌ taking a beamer, (great!✅) (NEW SENTENCE) On the contrary, not being confident can make you shy away from express❌ yourself.

    Can you try and fix these for me?

    I absolutely agree with what you say: the risk is that people are more concentrated on the way you’re saying things rather than their content and sometimes they don’t even take you so seriously.

    I am quite conflicted by the example you’ve given (and I think it’s something that’s worth discussing!) On the one hand, Renzi doesn’t help himself – he can come off as ridiculous and as you say, we are more concentrated on HOW he is saying things instead of WHAT he is actually saying.

    However, I respect anyone who tries to express themselves in a foreign language. I think it is incredibly brave (I would die if I had to give an interview in Italian!). Furthermore, if you asked any politician in the UK to do an interview in a foreign language, I would bet good money that the majority would not be able to. Our knowledge of foreign languages is embarrassingly poor. So, when I get memes and videos of Renzi sent to me by friends (which happens quite a lot😂), I always feel a bit awkward. 😳😂

    What do you think?

  • Kerin

    Administrator
    February 2, 2021 at 9:13 am in reply to: British vs American English

    Ahaha! I love this! Plastic glasses, cookers and burners! 😂

    (and also pre-Covid life! Che bello!😂)

    I think that was harsh of your advisor though … in Britain we usually accept American spelling and grammar (as long as it is consistent!)

    A few notes:

    >we would throw a party that night, wonderful pre-covid experiences: would is not correct here, because it implies that you would have done something, but it didn’t happen. You can use this: > we were throwing a party that night or we were having a party that night

    > … two minutes before to ❌ understand what I was asking forbefore and after needs to be followed by a gerund: two minutes before understanding what I was asking for

    Can you try and correct this?:

    In my school years I have only studied (TENSE) British English, so when I went in (preposition) Chicago last year there were a lot of errors and misunderstandings by (preposition) my side!

  • Kerin

    Administrator
    January 26, 2021 at 12:21 pm in reply to: The Made in Italy

    Thanks @sabri good writing 👍

    There are a few things to correct:

    In the Forbe’s articles IT is reported that the Italian industry regarding (wrong word: marked) branded ✅ clothes from the most famous Italian companies maintains their pole position in the Luxury market ( at world level the most important seems to be the Chinese luxury market). Nevertheless, the Italian bureaucracy, the emerging low industry from THE Asian market can reduce this supremacy. The bureaucracy , for example, has banned the possibility of (wrong word:marking) labelling ✅ with “made in Italy” the items produced by an Italian company but established abroad.

    A solution for the luxury (wrong word: marks) brands ✅ could be TO use inside the national boundaries Chinese low payed ❌ – paid ✅ workers instead of the more qualified Italian ones. The most important Italian company is Gucci followed from Prada, Bottega Veneto etc..

  • Kerin

    Administrator
    January 26, 2021 at 12:13 pm in reply to: MISUNDERSTANDINGS (correct version)

    @Paolo you should be extremely proud of this story – I just love it. You’ve really got the slang spot on (faff! Ace!) 👏 Great job.

    I’m sending you these corrections. Please review them and let me know if you have any doubts about anything, ok?

    “Any road” said the man with the skirt. After two hours passed driving through the heath and the fog, Marc was asking himself if he picked the wrong one or if the gentleman was mocking him. (Take a new sentence here) He heard it is common with foreigners like him.

    He was heading to a little town where he (would have – if you use this tense, it means that he was going to, but he didn’t. Use this instead:) he was going to spend the night. He was the only one in his office that could speak a little bit of English, so his boss sent him for a “quick job” in that bloody village difficult to find even on maps. He caught the plane overnight and that wouldn’t have been a problem, if a damned snowstorm HADN’T occurred and delayed his arrival by five hours. Finally, the airport was chock-a-block with people, so even renting a car was a faff. By the time he reached his destination, it was already going to be dark.

    It was foggy and the village seemed completely DESERTED, making that place really dodgy. Suddenly, he saw a man walking ON the side of the street with, Marc was counting, at least ten dogs.

    “Evening sir” approached Mark, “I’m looking for the Holiday Inn, is this the right direction?”

    “Bloody right” answered quickly the man “Mr. Kovaski? I’m Ethan the owner of the Inn, which is right behind the corner, I was waiting for you. I’ve just come out to take my pals here to piss. What TOOK you so long?”

    To Marc, the man looked (❌ like: to look like + a noun) dowdy and sinister.

    “A series of unfortunate events, at last, ambiguous indication that I’ve received. It took two hours from the airport” he replied.

    “Bloody hell, are you taking the piss out of me here?”

    Really strange question, thought Mark.

    “I mean, I had a long journey, but I can still wait to reach the hotel, thanks”

    The man first looked questioningly at Marc, then turned TO Marc’s car looking for some alcohol, maybe the guy was a little drunk, it happens when you’re at a loose end, he thought.

    “Are you already pissed?” HE SAID to Marc.

    “Of course not, sir!” Marc couldn’t believe he was having this conversation. Who did he think he was talking to, a child?

    “Cool down, pal, I was only asking. By the way, you seem knackered, would you fancy SOME cheeky grub?”

    “Grub? I’m only craving for something warm to eat, please.”

    The man NODDED but in his mind, he was sure Marc had taken a nip.

    The Inn, without (delete: Mark) surprise, was AS dowdy as the owner. It was THE sort of (delete: a) pub where time seemed to have (STOOD STILL.) All the surfaces, from tables to the bar counter, looked like as sticky as the floor where Marc was walking. The air was also suffocating and tasted like wet dog, in fact all the ten (or more?) dogs were making themselves at home everywhere.

    It came out that the Inn had only one room available and that Marc had to share it with another foreigner that “went out for a walk and hasn’t come back yet”.

    Marc had the chills, thinking about it.

    “Cold?” asked the owner “I have just cooked the one for you and it will cost you only a tenner. Have a seat AT one of those tables”.

    Ethan came out of the kitchen after few minutes carrying a steaming bowl.

    The dish was far from eye-catching, it consisted of two big meatballs drowned in a strange dense soup.

    “What am I eating?” asked dispirited Marc.

    The owner put a grin on his face, revealing a lot of missing teeth, and replied proudly:

    “Oh… these are the Dog’s Bollocks!”

    Marc suddenly turned pale. He thought of his never-ending day, he had been awake for more than 24 hours, he hadn’t had dinner, breakfast nor lunch, he got lost in the heath and he was craving for some sleep. Proudly, he remembered that he wasn’t a type that whines, so he bravely crossed the owner’s eyes and said: “Bon appétit”.

  • Kerin

    Administrator
    January 19, 2021 at 5:51 pm in reply to: A Typical English Saturday

    Good stuff here @giuditta_lojacono

    Just watch out here:

    Para 1 > My pal and I were very gutted /

    Para 3 > she got very knackered

    > Adjectives like knackered and gutted are what we call ‘Absolute Adjectives’. This means that is generally not capable of being intensified or compared. Therefore we don’t use ‘very’ with these kinds of adjective.

    You might find this interesting: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/course/eiam/unit-1/session-47

    👍

  • Kerin

    Administrator
    January 18, 2021 at 11:00 am in reply to: SLANG

    Thanks for this @Wanda – I like this idea: it’s the addition of the “cultural note”

    By the end of this month, I promise that you will be able to use AT LEAST 5 new slang terms 🙌 woopah!

  • Kerin

    Administrator
    January 18, 2021 at 10:53 am in reply to: A typical “Irish” Saturday?

    Loving this!!!! (made me think of an episode of Derry Girls!)

    (we say ‘ride’ in Scotland too 😂😂😂 )

    A few notes:

    > My mate John is a jammy – My mate John is jammy (adj.)

    > She was a fine thing but an absolute thick either She was a fine thing but an absolute thicko or She was a fine thing but absolutely thick

    > John and my other mates started taking the piss on Pete. watch this double preposition John and my other mates started taking the piss OUT OF Pete.

    👍


  • Kerin

    Administrator
    January 13, 2021 at 5:26 pm in reply to: To slang or not to slang

    @olatz did you swallow an English pill? 😂 This is AMAZING – it is practically perfect.

    (The only thing I would correct is a preposition: aside of > aside from)

    Once you start using slang yourself, you know you’ve made that big step from being a good English speaker to a proficient one – it’s a terrific feeling. Also regarding the point about the generational aspect, it is so true. In fact, I started watching the show ‘Younger’ and this is often a topic.

    Well done @olatz – am over the moon for you about how much your English is improving …. perhaps we all need to move to Ireland!!!

  • Kerin

    Administrator
    January 12, 2021 at 10:05 am in reply to: The World’s English Mania

    An excellent example of an opinion essay @Wanda

    Watch out for this:

    >As Walker, English means opportunity to me should be Like Walker, English means opportunity to me

    As and like are prepositions or conjunctions and are often confused. The prepositions as and like have different meanings.

    As + noun means ‘in the role of’,

    like + noun means ‘similar to’ or ‘in the same way as’.

    Compare

    As your teacher, I’ll help you as much as I can (means the speaker is the teacher)

    Like your teacher, I’ll help you as much as I can (means the speaker is not your teacher but wants to act in a similar way to the teacher)

  • Kerin

    Administrator
    February 3, 2021 at 10:22 am in reply to: British vs American English

    Two out of three!

    misunderstandings on my side is correct. You can also say ‘on my part’ which is probably more common 👍

  • Kerin

    Administrator
    January 28, 2021 at 4:09 pm in reply to: How we perceive accents

    Oh I’m sorry that happened to you at high school, what a pity. I hope we can help you get over your shyness!

    (ps. I’ve been TO Scotland 👍 )

  • Kerin

    Administrator
    January 18, 2021 at 10:47 am in reply to: To slang or not to slang

    I love your spirit – if there was an ‘italian’ pill, I’d take it in a heartbeat!

    I’m a huge advocate of reading and more so of learn-by-doing – you’re obviously doing it right!

    (I don’t know the Bridgerton series! 😳 )

    @victorpereira – you live in Ireland too, right? You might want to check out Olatz’s suggestion!

  • Kerin

    Administrator
    January 12, 2021 at 10:09 am in reply to: How I suddenly care about fashion

    Nice job @victorpereira 👍

    > Did someone throw some fireworks AT or THROUGH your window?

    > Ok, let me grab my grub before so I can listen to you. ✅

    > pleasantly visually ✅

    > wearing expensive clothes ✅

    > dressed wrongly – worn instead of dressed

    > look at outfits ✅

    > on my phone ✅

    > be patient ✅

    > wear it ✅

    > they hadn’t noticed me ✅

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