Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[student teacher]

Hi teachers,


Immigrants from Ireland, Sweden, Germany, indentured surfs from England, political refugees from everywhere and of course ex-slaves.

What is the "indentured surfs" in above sentenses?
Doesn't "surfs" mean "wave", because it has �s� ?

With regards,

[CP]

No. A surf (noun) is a slave. The surf (noun) also refers to ocean waves, which surfers (noun) surf (verb) on, using surfboards (noun).

Indentured servants were people who paid off their debts with service to others. Sometimes people who went from the Old World (Europe) to the New World (the Americas) 300-400 years ago paid for their trip by being indentured servants.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[Philo Kevetch]

serf....Philo

[CP]

Oh, yes, of course. It is serf, not surf, that is a slave. The surf is the ocean waves, as I mentioned. Duh!

What a blunder! Thanks, Philo K.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[Philo Kevetch]

Dear CP - Over a thousand excellent posts offering valuable assistance.....

one small lapse?? Only wish I could do as well!! Philo

[student teacher]

Thank you Mr./Ms. CP and Mr./Ms.Philo Kevetch,

And, is "surfs" a mistake?
Does "serf" correct in this sentence?

It is so difficult for me to see whether the word is correct or not.
I wish I were a native English speaker...

Thanks a lot.

Truly Yours.

[CP]

If you change "indentured surfs" to "indentured serfs" it will be correct, although I would use "indentured servants" instead, as that is the more usual term.

But what you have is not a sentence. It is a list of nouns and noun phrases, perhaps the subject or object of a sentence.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb