Teacher Discussion Forums

A quick one

As native speakers do you accept this sentence:I read always.


Thank you

José

I'd prefer something like I'm always reading (something or other) - I love books!, if I'm understanding "the" context correctly.

Hello Fluffy


It's a literal translation from Portuguese into English, we say eu leio sempre.

And I saw this sentence in a book at the school I'm working with. I thought about I read a lot to convey this idea in English.

José

Hi José! Hmm, my Portuguese as you probably know is non-existent, so you'll be far more able than I to determine which translation is best, and your I read a lot sounds good generally. All I can really add therefore is that you or your students might like to consider expanding upon what it is exactly, i.e. what type of stuff it is, that you read a lot of: for example, I read a lot of horror (=horror fiction).

I always read when I eat. (My husband finds that funny, as he once left a container for corn plasters on the table, and noted that my son and I had read it several times without even thinking.) And no, "I read always" doesn't sound good to me, although I could probably think of a rare occurence where, with emphasis, it might work.

Metamorfose, your question on " i read always" could open to additional lessons on grammar and context.

i read always, for the most part has been interpreted to mean: I am always reading, or I read a lot, but as you have listed, if the item to be read was in English text, pictograms, or braille, and your student could read each variety, i read always would probably be grammatically and contextually correct.

Not to sound facetious with this, but that phrasing is a teaching opportunity for your students. Native English would probably follow along with fluffyhamster,