Korean Job Discussion Forums

[murmanjake]

hmmm...

I think so, but you're right that maybe I was thinking of exempt.

except as a verb can mean: to object, or to leave out or exclude

I think it functions correctly in the example I gave but you're right that it's awkward.

Why oh why did I start a thread like this???

What is that online resource that allows you to search through many different publications in order to check word frequency and usage.

For some reason I can never remember the damn word, and it's such a useful tool for these kinds of questions. Really need to bookmark the link.

[Slowmotion]

Common mistake I always see from students is: "I went TO home." Just curious, what makes 'home' special in that it doesn't need 'to'?

[Reise-ohne-Ende]

Hmm I think in this case, 'home' is functioning as an adverb, like 'away' or 'inside'. The directionality is already implied. It's a different word from 'home' the noun, which needs an article (like 'I'm going to her home,' although that sounds a little awkward I think).

[mimi belle]

Not sure of the answer but it's hard to explain, isn't it?
I went home.
I went to school.
I went to the office.

I went to school vs I went to the school
Both can be correct. In general, I think non-native speakers have problems with articles.

**
Common mistakes for native English speakers on this forum.
It seems like most of the ones listed are for sound-alike words so here are a few more.

two/too/to:
two shoes (the number 2)
I am going too. (Me too.)
I am going TO the store.

For some reason, it really sticks out when someone uses "to" incorrectly at the end of a sentence. Usually when they mean "too" and write "to". For ex, I like those shoes to. It's a double mistake because it's a dangling preposition + the wrong spelling.

could've/would've/should've
Some people mistakenly write could of.
I could of gone. *This is incorrect.
I could have gone. *This is the correct.
I could've gone. *The above sentence with a contraction.

[HagwonKanobi77]

This was a good thread idea. I graduated with a degree in journalism, so there are a lot of grammar rules that I learned that I've since forgotten. So I've become something like an 'absent-minded' professor when teaching writing. I need to get a Writer's Handbook for the classroom, for when I'm unsure of things. Anyone know of a FREE Writer's Handbook App for an Iphone or Ipod Touch? That would be great to have. But again, great thread!

[murmanjake]

[blackjack]

[Privateer]

A common mistake on this forum is 'loose' when 'lose' is meant. It astonishes me that anyone can confuse two words which are neither spelt, nor sound, nor mean anything alike, but there you go. (If anyone wants to pick on me for misuse of 'neither...nor' back there, go ahead. I just have a feeling it's ok).

One common mistake by Koreans is the use of 'there' and 'here' as pronouns. E.g. 'I went to there', or 'Let's keep here clean'. These words do not function as pronouns, i.e. they do not stand for 'that place' or 'this place'; rather, they function as adverbs, and stand for 'to that place' or 'in this place' etc.

There is an exception to this: the phrase 'in there' where 'there' is a small enclosed space, like a box. I believe this may be related to the use of 'here' and 'there' as demonstrative pronouns (as in 'Here you are', or 'There it is', where you are verbally pointing at something). As a general rule, however, 'there' and 'here' cannot be subject or object pronouns.

'Here is nice!' X
'This place is nice!' O
'It is nice here!' O