Search found 1195 matches

by LarryLatham
Thu Sep 08, 2005 4:48 pm
Forum: Applied Linguistics
Topic: The Alps is/are?
Replies: 27
Views: 11906

Really? Why, Lorikeet?
:)
Larry Latham
by LarryLatham
Thu Sep 08, 2005 6:41 am
Forum: Applied Linguistics
Topic: The Alps is/are?
Replies: 27
Views: 11906

If you mention a particular police department, a following singular copula is pretty common:

The San Diego Police is looking into the discovery this morning of a body found in the trunk of a Mercedes parked at the airport.

Larry Latham
by LarryLatham
Wed Sep 07, 2005 7:11 pm
Forum: Applied Linguistics
Topic: The Alps is/are?
Replies: 27
Views: 11906

JTT wrote:It's always struck me that these unmarked plurals put together make for strange company:cattle, clergy, police, people and vermin . Or in some cases maybe not.
What a lovely--and brilliantly revealing, perhaps--observation! You have my admiration, Mr. JTT.

Larry Latham
by LarryLatham
Wed Sep 07, 2005 5:59 pm
Forum: Applied Linguistics
Topic: The Alps is/are?
Replies: 27
Views: 11906

The police is what we call our "coppers" here in America.

Larry Latham
by LarryLatham
Tue Sep 06, 2005 6:46 pm
Forum: Applied Linguistics
Topic: The Alps is/are?
Replies: 27
Views: 11906

Well done, Stephen!
:)
Larry Latham
by LarryLatham
Tue Sep 06, 2005 6:02 pm
Forum: Applied Linguistics
Topic: The Alps is/are?
Replies: 27
Views: 11906

Quite. But note: the first sentence refers to a (singular) name, while the second refers to a collection of mountains. The same trick works for just about any noun.

"Dogs is the collective name we use for a group of friendly animals with wiggley tails and floppy ears."

Larry Latham
by LarryLatham
Mon Sep 05, 2005 1:45 am
Forum: Applied Linguistics
Topic: Odd sentence?
Replies: 28
Views: 8513

I do think you are quite right, lolwhites . Exactly when would structure not carry meaning? Can there be any question that the precise way in which we put words together, or attach affixes to certain words in certain places has quite a lot to do with the meanings of the expressions thus created? Loo...
by LarryLatham
Sun Sep 04, 2005 6:57 pm
Forum: Applied Linguistics
Topic: Odd sentence?
Replies: 28
Views: 8513

This is just one more example of on occasion where you have to resort to semantics rather than grammar to explain why a sentence doesn't work. When asked "Is this sentence correct", I would ask the student what situation they envisage when saying the sentence. It makes me wonder where syntax ends a...
by LarryLatham
Fri Sep 02, 2005 6:58 am
Forum: Applied Linguistics
Topic: Odd sentence?
Replies: 28
Views: 8513

Yes, there is. But the original sentence is a bit odd too. I hasten to add, however, that (as I'm certain you clearly know) both sentences are possible, which is to say that neither is wrong. Odd because bottles do not usually break by themselves, and out of context these sentences seem to imply tha...
by LarryLatham
Wed Aug 31, 2005 12:27 am
Forum: Applied Linguistics
Topic: Lessening prices?
Replies: 28
Views: 12935

I had a look at the link after I wrote the post above, and see that the statement in question may indeed have been written rather than spoken. I'm not totally sure, but I may have been wrong about that. But my point still stands. Here is a quote from a World Bank report from July, 2002 about housing...
by LarryLatham
Tue Aug 30, 2005 11:58 pm
Forum: Applied Linguistics
Topic: Lessening prices?
Replies: 28
Views: 12935

Sure, Larry, the meaning of "lessening prices" is perfectly clear. Then again, as teachers, how often do we come across mistakes when it's perfectly clear what the student was trying to say. Let me put it another way: If one of your students wrote The shopkeeper decided to lessen his prices. , do y...
by LarryLatham
Tue Aug 23, 2005 9:52 pm
Forum: Applied Linguistics
Topic: Galore
Replies: 20
Views: 5167

Not to mention Chinese 'Pao\ Cha/.' There is quite a ritual to making tea properly the Chinese way. Water temperature is important (not quite boiling, but very close), as is the water's mineral makeup . Then there is the tea itself along with where it is grown and how it is harvested and processed, ...
by LarryLatham
Tue Aug 23, 2005 9:23 pm
Forum: Applied Linguistics
Topic: Galore
Replies: 20
Views: 5167

Thanks for the offer, Sally. Your mom must be truly talented with those crochet thingamabobs. (Needles??) Coffee cozys! Never heard of 'em before. I guess that may be because I've spent most of my life in warm weather country (although I did go to school in Michigan, and worked for 6 years in Wiscon...
by LarryLatham
Sat Aug 20, 2005 9:13 pm
Forum: Adult Education
Topic: Beer and English
Replies: 7
Views: 3022

I guess this is where we have a (show and) tell about what we used to do and where we've been. :) In Taipei, I often taught evening classes (daytimes were normally one-on-one, small groups of 2 or 3, or company sponsored classes) running from about 6:00 to 9:00. Sometimes (maybe once a month), I inv...
by LarryLatham
Sat Aug 20, 2005 6:38 am
Forum: Adult Education
Topic: Beer and English
Replies: 7
Views: 3022

...better have cots in the back room for teachers too--especially those with a full schedule of 8 "hours" a day! 8)

Larry Latham