Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Ed Provencher]

I've informed my classes that they may not use the words 'And, But, So, Because' at the beginning of a sentence when they write their essays for me.

It is grammatically correct to use 'And, But, So, Because' at the beginning of a sentence if the word is followed by a complete sentence, however it doesn't sound natural to me when these words are used at the beginning of 50% or more of the sentences. In Korean, writers may use these kinds of connective words frequently at the beginning of sentences and sound natural, so I understand why they want to do it in English.

I suggested that my students use different connective words such as: However, Although, Furthermore, Additionally, Nevertheless, On the one hand, On the other hand, etc.

I also suggested that they proof read their essay and when they find the words 'And, But, So, Because' at the beginning of a sentence, they should consider combining it with the previous sentence like this: blah blah, but blah blah.

I told them that every instance of using 'And, But, So, Because' will reduce their overall grade by 10%. That got their attention. The result thus far has been incredible.

Have you noticed any particularly common mistakes that Korean students make? Have you developed any useful techniques for correcting them?

[Mr. Pink]

I think it depends on the level of student writing the essay.

Teaching them how to use Because properly might be a first step. Yes, a lot of them misuse it, but if you teach them that something like:

I went shopping because we needed food.
Because we needed food, we went shopping.

They should pick up how to do it properly, at least when I taught this to high school students they picked it up.

I always keep the rule of no sentences with And, as it is hard to explain how to use that properly, even for native speakers.

As for So and But, typically I try to teach their use as connectors and encourage students not to start a sentence with it. IMO using something like Therefore or Furthermore or Thus etc. is more effective in good essay writing.

[articulate_ink]

It's a language transfer error. In Korean (as far as I can tell; people who are more fluent can explain it better), it's grammatically and stylistically correct to begin sentences in this way, so Koreans do it in English too. In classes with more advanced writing students, I explain that in English, we only start sentences with coordinating conjunctions for emphasis. It's not really bad form in English if a writer is judicious, but it quickly becomes overkill. Think of it like salt: a little is often necessary to make a dish more savory but if you pour the whole shaker over your food it's inedible.

[jkelly80]

I thought beginning with a conjunction was grammatically correct, but stylistically frowned upon? (Like ending with a preposition.)

[Ed Provencher]

By the way, when I need to research a piece of English grammar, I just haphazardly surf the net. Do you all have a favorite website to get answers for difficult English grammar questions?

[Zaria32]

This isn't written English but spoken...I think every person in Korea is
taught that the word "an" is pronounced "uhn."

If you speak rapidly, it comes out as "uhn," as in "I'm going to have uhn ice cream."

But when someone says "uhn idea" or "uhn historic..." I want to scream!

[Ed Provencher]

Here's another common mistake that I've encountered. I've heard my Korean co-workers say 'finisheed' instead of 'finisht' many times. It took me a couple months to figure out what was going on.

Koreans tend to pronounce the past tense 'ed' in its full form no matter what word it is attached to.

I use this method to explain proper pronunciation of the past form with 'ed'. This is not including irregular forms.

If the word ends in a 'd' sound or a 't' sound, then the 'ed' is pronounced just like the name Ed.

~t/d = ed

examples:

landed, loaded, handed, intended
rented, resulted, recanted, halted

If the word ends in any other sound, the 'ed' is pronounced as 't' or 'd' sound.

~sh/s

finished [finisht], washed [washt], crashed [crasht], released [releast]

As far as I can tell, '~sh/s' is the only final sound where the 'ed' is changed to a 't' sound. The remaining final sounds change to 'd' sound.

~n/m

loaned [loand], moaned [moand], roamed [roamd], summed [sumd]

~ize

realized [realize-d], resized [resize-d], maximized [maximize-d]

~ole

rolled [rolld], mulled [mulld],


Please let me know if I have missed some exceptions or if you can add some forms that I forgot.

[Ed Provencher]

Okay, I'm on a roll. Here is another common mistake I come across.

I often hear my students say 'he' when talking about a 'she' and vice versa.

Why do Korean students often confuse 'he' and 'she'? Do they sound too similar for Korean students to remember the distinction? Even my high level Korean co-teacher makes this mistake.

[rhinocharge64]

Although pronons do exist in the Korean language they don't use them. They refer to friends, chingoo, older brother, hyong nim, younger brother, dong seng etc. We on the other hand use he/she/his/hers lots.

[WoBW]

[ytuque]

I have read a number of books on writing, and the best explanation for using a conjunction to start a sentence was actually in a movie.

Check out 'Finding Forrester' with Sean Connery where he plays a reclusive writer mentoring an inner-city kid. They have this discussion which covers this topic perfectly, at least in my opinion.

I think putting because in the same category as and, but, or, nor, yet, so, for, is probably a mistake since you can form a perfectly good dependent clause starting with because. It is perfectly acceptable to have a dependent clause start a sentence, neglecting repetitive use of course.

I think your idea of banning sentences starting with conjunctions (other than because) for lower level writers is a good idea. Unfortunately, a couple of textbooks that I use are loaded with examples.

Flame away!

[Thiuda]

[TOMODACHI-KID]

My ego deleted...

[jkelly80]

What's better than pedantry? Condescension! ^^ Dave's has it all!

[ytuque]