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Easter Clark
Joined: 18 Nov 2007
Location: Hiding from Yie Eun-woong
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 Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 6:34 pm Post subject: Crazy Korean English Test Question |
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Some students just asked me for the answer, and I told them I honestly didn't know! I guessed it was #3 because "it" can also be used to refer to "understanding" What do you think, grammar gurus?
"Let's ask ourselves if our understanding of culture is good enough."
Which use of "if" has the same meaning as the sentence above?
1. If I were a bird I could fly to you.
2. I will stay home if it rains tomorrow.
3. I wonder if it is possible.
4. I'll call you if you want me to do it.
5. I could buy this car if I had more money. |
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Yu_Bum_suk
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 7:26 pm Post subject: Re: Crazy Korean English Test Question |
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| Easter Clark wrote: |
Some students just asked me for the answer, and I told them I honestly didn't know! I guessed it was #3 because "it" can also be used to refer to "understanding" What do you think, grammar gurus?
"Let's ask ourselves if our understanding of culture is good enough."
Which use of "if" has the same meaning as the sentence above?
1. If I were a bird I could fly to you.
2. I will stay home if it rains tomorrow.
3. I wonder if it is possible.
4. I'll call you if you want me to do it.
5. I could buy this car if I had more money. |
Number 3 is the only sentence where it's used in the same tense and voice, and also used to mean 'whether' to proceed an apodosis that offers alternatives.
But what a stupid test quesion. This is for your *vocational* students??? |
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Easter Clark
Joined: 18 Nov 2007
Location: Hiding from Yie Eun-woong
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| Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 10:56 pm Post subject: |
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| Yep. Grade 1 vocational students. I wonder when knowing that will come in handy? Oh yeah, when they take their English exam for university. Oh, wait, most of them aren't planning to go to university. Oh well. |
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aloysha
Joined: 18 Sep 2005
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| Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2008 7:04 pm Post subject: |
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A student asked me to help her identify the correct sentence. The question was on one of her tests.
1) Her bake him cake.
2) Her bake cake to him.
3) Her bake cake for him.
Needless to say, my answer wasn't appreciated by the offending
English teacher.
Beat that ! |
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Smee
Joined: 24 Dec 2004
Location: Jeollanam-do
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| Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2008 7:14 pm Post subject: |
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| Yep, I proofread the Grade 1 English exam and found mistakes in 1/3 of the problems. But I was told that the English teacher was sensitive to criticism so they couldn't change them. Stupid. Why do something only to do it wrongly? |
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Cornfed
Joined: 14 Mar 2008
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| Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2008 8:01 pm Post subject: Re: Crazy Korean English Test Question |
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| Easter Clark wrote: |
Some students just asked me for the answer, and I told them I honestly didn't know! I guessed it was #3 because "it" can also be used to refer to "understanding" What do you think, grammar gurus?
"Let's ask ourselves if our understanding of culture is good enough."
Which use of "if" has the same meaning as the sentence above?
1. If I were a bird I could fly to you.
2. I will stay home if it rains tomorrow.
3. I wonder if it is possible.
4. I'll call you if you want me to do it.
5. I could buy this car if I had more money. |
This actually seems like a reasonable question to me. Obviously 3 is the answer. |
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gangpae
Joined: 03 Sep 2007
Location: Busan
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| Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2008 8:51 pm Post subject: |
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| More importantly if I ever heard a Korean person over the age of 12 use a sentence remotely similar to the above examples I would probably sh*t my pants. |
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Been There, Taught That
Joined: 10 Apr 2007
Location: Mungyeong: not a village, not yet a metroplex.
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| Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2008 9:32 pm Post subject: Re: Crazy Korean English Test Question |
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| Easter Clark wrote: |
Some students just asked me for the answer, and I told them I honestly didn't know! I guessed it was #3 because "it" can also be used to refer to "understanding" What do you think, grammar gurus?
"Let's ask ourselves if our understanding of culture is good enough."
Which use of "if" has the same meaning as the sentence above?
1. If I were a bird I could fly to you.
2. I will stay home if it rains tomorrow.
3. I wonder if it is possible.
4. I'll call you if you want me to do it.
5. I could buy this car if I had more money. |
Personally, I think this grammar question sentence gets a little philosophical, a little. . . self-deprecating? Anyways, I think the tone of that sentence is conclusive: 'we admittedly lean toward believing that our understanding is not good enough'; whereas #3 is open to speculation. So, I could see even the advanced student of English having problems using any of these as a 'correct' analog. Not that #3 isn't the closest, or that using the test extension 'or not' wouldn't help in an algebraic identity sort of way, but do questions for a test need to be that involved? |
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yawarakaijin
Joined: 08 Aug 2006
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| Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2008 9:44 pm Post subject: |
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Having a complete blank on the meta language but will give you my thoughts anyway.
| Quote: |
Let's ask ourselves if our understanding of culture is good enough."
Which use of "if" has the same meaning as the sentence above?
1. If I were a bird I could fly to you.
2. I will stay home if it rains tomorrow.
3. I wonder if it is possible.
4. I'll call you if you want me to do it.
5. I could buy this car if I had more money. |
The example, although using if, is not a Conditional. The IF clause is acting as if it were an object. LET'S ASK OURSELVES==SOMETHING. Would this be a noun clause? Examples 1,2,4,5 are all straight conditionals. IF something were possible, I would/could do something.
#3 Follows the same pattern as the example. I WONDER===SOMETHING.
I dont know exactly what you call an IF phrase that functions as a noun/object but I'm pretty sure that that is what is happening there. |
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Yu_Bum_suk
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2008 9:47 pm Post subject: |
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| yawarakaijin wrote: |
Having a complete blank on the meta language but will give you my thoughts anyway.
| Quote: |
Let's ask ourselves if our understanding of culture is good enough."
Which use of "if" has the same meaning as the sentence above?
1. If I were a bird I could fly to you.
2. I will stay home if it rains tomorrow.
3. I wonder if it is possible.
4. I'll call you if you want me to do it.
5. I could buy this car if I had more money. |
The example, although using if, is not a Conditional. The IF clause is acting as if it were an object. LET'S ASK OURSELVES==SOMETHING. Would this be a noun clause? Examples 1,2,4,5 are all straight conditionals. IF something were possible, I would/could do something.
#3 Follows the same pattern as the example. I WONDER===SOMETHING.
I dont know exactly what you call an IF phrase that functions as a noun/object but I'm pretty sure that that is what is happening there. |
It's much less complicated than that. In the example and in number 3, 'if' means 'whether'. It doesn't in the other four choices. |
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yawarakaijin
Joined: 08 Aug 2006
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| Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2008 9:49 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, thats what I said.  |
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koldijk
Joined: 24 Sep 2003
Location: ULSAN
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| Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 8:55 am Post subject: |
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It seems like they are mixing two grammar concepts; it's a weird question for sure.
The only thing that I can think of with respect to an "if" question are: conditionals:
www.geocities.com/koldijk/conditionals.pdf
This is all that I know about it... |
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Hanson
Joined: 20 Oct 2004
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| Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 6:56 am Post subject: |
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| Yu_Bum_suk wrote: |
| yawarakaijin wrote: |
Having a complete blank on the meta language but will give you my thoughts anyway.
| Quote: |
Let's ask ourselves if our understanding of culture is good enough."
Which use of "if" has the same meaning as the sentence above?
1. If I were a bird I could fly to you.
2. I will stay home if it rains tomorrow.
3. I wonder if it is possible.
4. I'll call you if you want me to do it.
5. I could buy this car if I had more money. |
The example, although using if, is not a Conditional. The IF clause is acting as if it were an object. LET'S ASK OURSELVES==SOMETHING. Would this be a noun clause? Examples 1,2,4,5 are all straight conditionals. IF something were possible, I would/could do something.
#3 Follows the same pattern as the example. I WONDER===SOMETHING.
I dont know exactly what you call an IF phrase that functions as a noun/object but I'm pretty sure that that is what is happening there. |
It's much less complicated than that. In the example and in number 3, 'if' means 'whether'. It doesn't in the other four choices. |
Ding, ding, ding - we have a winner. |
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