Job Discussion Forums

[johnslat]

Where caution is especially needed is when the gerund/gerund phrase is used as a complement:

His hobby is collecting stamps.

It looks so darn similar to the continuous/progressive tenses.

Regards,
John

[spiral78]

I could ask my students to draw a picture of a 'hobby.'
I personally picture it as a wooden horse on rockers - any other interpretations?



Hmmm. I'm possibly living in a different dimension tonight - or maybe I would just like to be!

[fluffyhamster]

[spiral78]

By the way, one of my colleagues (a reserved Scottish chap) called something 'poxy' in the hearing of a Dutch colleague who also teaches English. Not being familiar with the term, she had the impression that it was a positive adjective - it sounds 'cute,' in fact.

We had to explain the origins of the word.....




but we've decided to officially christen the scruffy street cat that frequents our Language Centre courtyard 'Poxy.'


Sorry, OP, back to CELTA questions (and off of another curious topic, which seems to be English words that are very much open to curious interpretations).

[johnslat]

Dear fluffyhamster,

OK, then - "His hobby is not collecting stamps."

Regards,
John

[fluffyhamster]

Dear John,

My instinct is not to reply (or, to not reply) regarding negation.

But I'm definitely one of those who's counted not collecting stamps among my (non-)hobbies!

[Sashadroogie]

Spiral, are these all cries for help? If so can I recommend the following advice? Убийте ги всички!


PS That's Bulgarian, not Russian, wink wink nod nod.

[johnslat]

Dear Sashadroggie,

Didn't you forget to add this:

Нека Бог я сортирате

Regards,
John

[Sashadroogie]

But I find this to be much more Christian: '...Бог ще разпознае собствената си'.

[johnslat]

Dear Sashadroogie,

Well, it might be more Christian, but there are an awful lot of others who think that THEY are "God's own."

Regards,
John

[BrentBlack]

I recently finished last part of the grammar section. I feel like it is all wrong/I have not put enough in the answers. Any help would be appreciated. This is what I have so far:


(a) I have 25 years.
The part of the sentence that is wrong is HAVE. One should properly use the verb to be and say, �I am 25.�

(b) Borrow me your pen, will you?
The part of the sentence that is wrong is BORROW. One may ask to borrow a pen, but in this case, one would say, �lend me your pen, will you?�

(c) I like my coffee too hot.
The mistake in the sentence is TOO. One would properly say, �I like my coffee very hot,� in order to express their desired temperature.

(d) Can you remember me to go to the bank?
The mistake in the sentence is REMEMBER. It is better to say, �Can you remind me to go to the bank.�

(e) I�ve lived there 5 years ago.
The mistake in the sentence is I�VE. The verb to have is not necessary. One would properly say, �I lived there 5 years ago.�

(f) I am absolutely agree with you.
The mistake in the sentence is AM. The verb to be is not needed, as one would say, �I absolutely agree with you.� One could also change the structure of the sentence entirely and say, �I am in absolute agreement with you.

(g) You must to decide on your destination
The mistake in the sentence is TO DECIDE. The infinitive to decide is not needed. One would drop the to and properly say, �You must decide on your destination.�

(h) She remarked the beautiful scenery.
The mistake in the sentence is REMARKED. One would properly say, �She noticed the beautiful scenery. Another way to correctly say this sentence, which has another meaning all together is, �She remarked upon the beautiful scenery."

(i) It�s not sure it�ll rain today
The mistake in the sentence is SURE. One would properly use the word certain and say, �It�s not certain it�ll rain today.�

(j) I�m boring with this exercise
The mistake in the sentence is BORING. One would change its form to bored and properly say, �I�m bored with this exercise.�

Thanks.

[spiral78]

all together

one word: altogether

Are you only supposed to identify and correct the error? Or say how you would communicate the correction and the 'rule' to a student?


All of these are common errors, though they represent the most common errors of speakers of different language groups. It's stuff you are likely to encounter in teaching.

[Insubordination]

I would add a bit here and there. Some of your explanations could be given by any native speaker but maybe that's the point. Do they want you to explain it to potential students? If so, here's my take on a handful of the errors. Of course, this comes from years of reading too many Headway/Cutting Edge coursebooks.


(b) Borrow me your pen, will you?
The part of the sentence that is wrong is BORROW. One may ask to borrow a pen, but in this case, one would say, �lend me your pen, will you?� I would also contrast the meaning of borrow/lend.

(c) I like my coffee too hot.
The mistake in the sentence is TOO. I might say that too is an adverb and very is an One would properly say, �I like my coffee very hot,� in order to express their desired temperature. I might point out that 'too' has a negative meaning.



(e) I�ve lived there 5 years ago.
The mistake in the sentence is I�VE. The verb to have is not necessary. One would properly say, �I lived there 5 years ago.� 'Ago' could also be wrong. I'd stick to your explanation and add that simple past is used for a finished action.



(g) You must to decide on your destination
The mistake in the sentence is TO DECIDE. The infinitive to decide is not needed. One would drop the to and properly say, �You must decide on your destination.� Would add that modal verbs like 'must' should be followed by the bare infinitive (without 'to').

(h) She remarked the beautiful scenery.
The mistake in the sentence is REMARKED. One would properly say, �She noticed the beautiful scenery. Another way to correctly say this sentence, which has another meaning all together is, �She remarked upon the beautiful scenery." Like your second explanation more verb + preposition (also remark on).


(j) I�m boring with this exercise
The mistake in the sentence is BORING. One would change its form to bored and properly say, �I�m bored with this exercise.� Add that -ed ending should be used when describing how a person feels.

[fluffyhamster]

Just a few thoughts (not sure they are all suitable as answers for a CELTA task though!).

(a) I have 25 years.
We all know what the context is "meant" to be, but I do sometimes wonder if too much "negative evidence" would prevent students even everso slightly from producing somewhat more extensive (and thus acceptable) context-chains like "I have 25 years' experience" or "I have '25 years' as the answer to question 11".

(b) Borrow me your pen, will you?
I'm not sure that even the corrected imperative + tag ('Lend me you pen, will you?') is the best way to express requests - I'd probably prefer to use modals from the start before even contemplating showing how one modal but not really the other might be cut. Anyway, I've added a colon in the following examples to help indicate the objects that are the focus of the requests or imperatives:

Can I borrow: your pen?
[?(Can I) borrow: your pen? (Crazy bonus thought: This can't be interpreted as an imperative because you can't command somebody to borrow their own pen from themselves)].

Can you lend: me your pen?
[(Can you) lend: me your pen?]

By the way, don't (if you were thinking of doing so) stress the 'I borrow' versus 'You lend' here too much because it might make students leery of perfectly acceptable examples such as 'I lent him my car' and 'You borrowed his car?'; the main point is that 'borrow' is monotransitive, and 'lend' usually ditransitive.

(c) I like my coffee too hot.
What if the person were a masochist, mumbling the line through burnt swollen lips? ('You may not like your coffee "too hot", but me, I really like it! <GLUG> Aargh!'). But actually, no, don't burden your students or even your trainers with this one!

(d): This is a bit like (b) above, but with only the 'somebody' a "real" object.
Remember: something.
Remind: somebody: to do something; or: (of) something. (Latter: 'Remind me (that) that letter needs posting').

(e): [Echoing my silly comments at (a) above]: 'I('ve) lived there - five years ago, in fact!'

(h) and (i): There were similar examples in a thread a few years ago, started IIRC by a 'Teejay', and also about CELTA tasks.

I've lost the will to muck around with the rest, and Insubordination's got 'em nicely covered anyhow!