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January 6

January 3, 2022 / / 0 Comments

The year 2021 engraved the date January 6 into the American psyche.

This date, two weeks before the inauguration of Joseph R Biden as 46th President of the United States, drove a wedge into the story of American pride in its ability to have peaceful transitions of power from one president to another.

On January 6, 2021, although Donald Trump had lost the election, an angry mob of his supporters who refused to accept the results of the recent Presidential election was attempting to thrust its way into the House of Representatives. Their goal was to stop the peaceful and traditional counting of Electoral College certificates from the 50 States. While staffers were rushing to rescue the ballots, others were ushering Vice President Pence and many United States Senators and Representatives into a safe haven in the House basement. Police outside and in the halls of the House fought the angry mob in an effort to stop them from attacking and harming the congressman, and the valuable Electoral College certificates.

Americans, and people around the world, were glued to their television sets. watching in bewilderment. “Is this for real?” “Is this really happening?? “How can this be happening, here?” Americans asked.

While power did have its transition, it was not peaceful. Hundreds have been arrested from across the United States and charged with insurrection and a variety of other charges of violence. Americans struggle with the future of democracy.

The House of Representatives’ Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol is asking questions. They are asking, “‘What was Trump’s exact role in the assault on Congress in the insurrection?’” They are asking other questions, too.

This year January 6 occurs on a Thursday. World leaders ask, “Is America going to be all right?” “What about democracy in America?”

President Biden presides over a world that looks to America for its highest principles, and a population that has yet to be united.

“Got Milk?” Another Example of Bad Grammar

June 26, 2020 / / 0 Comments

This phrase “Got milk?” s trademarked by the California Milk Processor Board and for advertising purposes, it’s protected. But it’s not good English.

But what’s wrong with the ubiquitous “Got milk?” 

Does it mean “Do you have any milk (in your refrigerator or lunch bag, etc.)?” Or does it mean “Have you had milk (yet)?” Somebody could also be wondering “Did you get milk (when you went to the store)?”

This phrase is not only an example of BAD GRAMMAR but it’s also not clear what it means. Is the main verb from “to have” or is from “to get”?

Let’s look at this verb by verb, beginning with the verb “(to) have”.

  • The simple present tense of this verb is have.
  • The present perfect tense of this verb would be have had.

One question for simple present tense could be “Do you have milk?” The second question for present perfect tense would be “Have you had milk?”

Let’s look at the verb “(to) get”.

  • The simple present tense of this verb is get.
  • The simple past tense is got.
  • The present perfect tense is have gotten.

The simple present tense question is “Do you get milk (delivered to your door every day)?” The simple past tense question with got would have to be something like “Who got the chocolate milk yesterday?”

It’s catchy. In the advertisements, the question asked by the actor would likely be “Do you have any milk?”

One of our readers pointed out that advertisers cannot trademark a phrase that’s in common use. Therefore, they devise something that’s not grammatically correct and therefore not commonly used.

Some don’t like the slogan because they think milk is not so good for you. Others, like me, like milk – though low-fat. I drink it every day. It has calcium and it’s also the base for my yogurt and the probiotics that I have every day. Whichever side of that fence you are on is for another blog.

Either way, milk and yogurt lover or not, don’t rely on the milk lobby for your grammar needs!

Where Are You From? Isn’t It Still Okay to Ask?

November 26, 2019 / / 0 Comments

As a teacher of English, some of the best parts of teaching are asking students where they are from. This is one of the reasons why ESL teachers love being ESL teachers. We love to meet people from all around the globe, and we love when they share their stories with us. Often the stories include bravery. We all learn from each other:  https://onbeing.org/blog/omid-safi-the-problem-with-asking-where-are-you-from/

Yet these days there is trepidation in asking this question. Some see it as a veiled attempt for somebody who is hostile to immigrants to find out if somebody is an immigrant or not. I understand that; it can be used in this negative way. But not everybody is hostile to immigrants, and an immigrant’s story is one of the beautiful things about the U.S.A.

Another version of that is to know what language somebody is speaking. I hear languages all the times that I do not recognize, languages from Africa, Baltic languages, Asian languages, and I’d like to know what language it is I’m hearing. I think it’s amazing that there are so many languages in the world, many of which are very beautiful to hear. Who doesn’t love hearing, for example, French being spoken?

Even within the United States, I hear different accents and I wonder where people hail from, or even try to guess. I have fun when I pick out a Philadelphia or South Jersey accent, for example.

I realize that tone of voice is important, and it’s important to ask the question with a smile. I think that people really like sharing their stories of coming to the U.S., to study, to visit, or sharing their stories of coming here with the intention of living here permanently. We understand others, and we understand better the world we live in.

What your thoughts are on this?

Chapter One. What Is a Noun? Part Two

August 8, 2019 / / 0 Comments

This lesson is dedicated to anybody who is an immigrant to the USA, to anybody who is the child of an immigrant, and to anybody who is an ancestor of an immigrant, and that probably includes most of us.

Islands, Oceans, and Walls

Nouns and Pronouns: Part Two

Each noun and each pronoun has inflection; this means that it is either singular or plural. This is reflected in the noun or pronoun’s form, which indicates that there is either one (singular) or two or more (plural) of that item.

Nouns   The noun course in the sentence “Then I started building a golf course” is singular, whereas the noun courses in the sentence “Then I started building golf courses” is plural.

Pronouns   The pronouns he, she and it are singular, whereas we and they are plural. The pronoun you can be either singular or plural, depending on its context.

1-1

For Starters 2 Beneath each noun in the sentences below, write N and beneath each pronoun write P. If the noun is singular, write S and if it is plural, write #.
A lot of my friends are gardeners. I never understood it. Then I started
building golf courses—it’s gardening on a big scale.

The oranges of the investigation

Countable Nouns

We can categorize nouns into two types: countable and noncountable. A countable noun is a noun that can be counted. Most common nouns are countable. For example, the word hotel is countable because you can count one hotel, two hotels, three hotels, and so on. You can see that countable nouns have a singular form (for example, hotel) and a plural form (for example, hotels).

Use the singular form when you are referring to one of that item. Use the plural form whether you are referring to two units of that item or to billions and billions of units.

1-2

Singular Countable Nouns

In each example below, the noun is countable and the writer is referring to one unit so the noun form must be singular. Notice that each singular countable noun has an article (a, an, the) preceding it in the noun determiner position.

·         This is an island sitting in the middle of an ocean.

·         It’s a big ocean.

·         The wall will happen very soon.

·         I’m not a globalist. I’m a nationalist.

The Oranges of the Investigation

What Is a Noun? Part One

July 29, 2019 / / 0 Comments

This lesson is dedicated to anyone who is an immigrant to the United States, to anyone who is a child of an immigrant, and to anybody who is a descendant of an immigrant. That probably includes all of us.

What Is a Noun? Part One

A noun is a word that is the name of a person, a place, a thing, a quality, or even an idea or an action.

There are common nouns and proper nouns. Some common nouns are road, bridge, tunnel, airport, news, and non-disclosure agreement. Other common nouns are campaign, promise, tax, and return. Some proper nouns are the United States of America, the White House, Abraham Lincoln, and Konstantin V. Kilimnik The online persona Guccifer 2.0 is also a proper noun.

A pronoun is a word that represents or substitutes for a noun. Some common pronouns are I, him, everybody and nobody.

For Starters: Beneath each noun below write N and beneath each pronoun write P. (Noun phrases are italicized.)
I met her at a very big party in New York. And she was there along with other supermodels, and I greeted all of them, and I said: “That’s the one that’s the most beautiful.” Donald Trump

Name some other common common and proper nouns!!

Same or Different?

March 22, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Here’s a new reading comprehension activity for you.

We will present two quotes by Donald Trump, and you decide if the meaning of the two quotes is the same or different. The first – the a quote – was spoken or written earlier than the b quote.

Are you ready?

1a) “I don’t want teachers to have guns.”

1b) “But you could have concealed (weapons) on teachers.”

Same or different? These two quotes were spoken on the same day.

2a) “Well, you’ve got David Duke just joined (the Reform Party) — a bigot, a racist, a problem. I mean, this is not exactly the people you want in your party.”

2b) “Well, just so you understand, I don’t know anything about David Duke. Okay? I don’t know anything about what you’re even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists. So, I don’t know.

Same or different?

3a) “If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously. Just knock the hell – – I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees. I promise. I promise.”

3b) “I don’t condone violence. I never said I was going to pay for fees.”

Same or different?

4a) “I wanted to do this for myself. … I had to do it for myself.”

4b) “I don’t want it for myself. I don’t need it for myself.”

Same or different?

5a) “I’m totally pro-choice.”

5b) “I am very, very proud to say that I’m pro-life.” 

Same or different?

6a) “I think my positions are going to be what the people in this room come up with. If they come to me with things I’m not in love with, I’m going to do it because I respect them. . . “I’ll take the heat off both the Democrats and the Republicans.”

6b) “(T)here can be no DACA without the desperately needed WALL at the Southern Border and an END to the horrible Chain Migration & ridiculous Lottery System of Immigration etc.”

Same or different?

7a) “The WALL, which is already under construction in the form of new renovation of old and existing fences and walls, will continue to be built,” he tweeted early Thursday.”

7b) “The wall will come later.”

Same or different?

8a) “If I run for office, I’ll produce my tax returns, absolutely.”

8b) “I would release my tax returns when audit is complete, not after election!”

Same or different?

Tell us what you think!

Donald Trump Models English Adverbs of Time -or – Promises Promises Promises

October 3, 2017 / / 0 Comments

Donald Trump promises many things. He promises many more things than he actually delivers on. But people love promises, and his prolific use of future time expressions makes an English lesson on talking about the future very bountiful.

Let’s follow just a few of Donald Trump’s promises since he took office and pay close attention to his adverbs of time.

“Donald Trump: “And the clock starts ticking. But here you have two people calling saying, “Can we negotiate?” I say yes and I have to wait for a hundred days. I don’t know what a hundred days is going to be like. What’s it going to be like?. . .”

SOON:
(The hyperlinks go to audio of the speech.)

Beginning construction of a great, great wall soon  7 months ago

The wall will get built soon  5 months ago

The wall will happen very soon  19 days ago

We’re going to have the final choices about the border wall done soon  11 days ago

Announcing very, very big infrastructure projects soon  6 months ago

A very big infrastructure plan is going to come soon  6 months ago

We’ll be making big investments in repairing our badly depleted infrastructure soon  5 months ago

Announcing very, very big infrastructure projects soon   6 months ago

The U.S. Navy will have the finest equipment in the world soon   7 months ago

American workers will be respected again soon   6 months ago

America will be back soon 6 months ago

The U.S. will be stronger than it has ever been soon 6 months ago

NATO will be fair to the U.S. soon  4 months ago

Crucial legislation will be considered soon   3 months ago

Our country will come together as one soon   1 month ago

ADVERB + SOON

American workers will have a level playing field very soon   5 months ago

Steel companies will be great very soon   5 months ago

You will be saying Merry Christmas again very soon   2 months ago

Starting negotiations with Mexico about who will pay for the wall relatively soon  8 months ago

We’re going to start building the wall very soon  7 months ago

We’re going to be doing tax policies very soon  8 months ago

We’re going to have tax reform at some point very soon  5 months ago

We’re going to be announcing a tax plan very soon  5 months ago

The New York Times will be online-only pretty soon   5 months ago

Men and women in uniform will have the latest and most cutting edge systems in their arsenal very, very soon   7 months ago

A commitment to rebuilding the depleted infrastructure of the United States very soon   2 months ago

Announcing a signature infrastructure project beyond roads and bridges very soon  6 months ago

We will start building the wall soon, very soon  7 months ago

MS-13 will be gone from America’s streets very soon   4 months ago

We’ll have the electrical grid problem solved relatively soon   8 months ago

An infrastructure plan will come a hundred percent very soon  5 months ago

Announcing a signature infrastructure project beyond roads and bridges very soon   6 months ago

The menace of rising crime and the threat of deadly terror will get better very soon   7 months ago

We’ll have the electrical grid problem solved relatively soon  8 months ago

AS SOON AS

Construction begins on the wall as soon as we can; as soon as we can physically do it  8 months ago

We’re going to be doing some trade deals as soon as we get the health care finished   6 months ago

 

SOON/SOONER/SOONEST

The administration will file an infrastructure plan over the next two or three weeks, maybe sooner  5 months ago

EVENTUALLY

The wall will be brand new eventually  19 days ago

We’re going to repeal and replace Obamacare eventually   11 days ago

We will win on health care reform eventually   9 days ago

Eventually, we’ll win on health care reform, whether it’s now or later   9 days ago

 

LATER

The wall will come later   19 days ago

 

AHEAD OF SCHEDULE and WAY AHEAD OF SCHEDULE

We’re going to have a wall ahead of schedule  7 months ago

The wall is way ahead of schedule   6 months ago

 

OTHER

We’re going to be submitting a tax bill in the very near future   2 months ago

We’re going to go get into great detail on tax reform over the next two weeks   27 days ago

We’ll be submitting an infrastructure bill in the not-very-distant future   2 months ago

Very interesting items will come to the forefront about alleged wiretapping of Trump Tower over the next two weeks   6 months ago

He will release his tax returns at some point   4 months ago

The North Korean problem will be solved at some point   4 months ago

The Senate is going to be forced to make a deal on Obamacare repeal at some point   13 days ago

Planning is starting on the wall immediately   8 months ago

We have to take care of the American people immediately   8 months ago

American workers will have the training to lead us into the future immediately   1 month ago

We’re going to be making a decision about the Paris Accord over the next two weeks   5 months ago

 

And my personal favorite:

“Eventually, we’ll win, whether it’s now or later…”
Which is your personal favorite?

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How Well Can You Identify Spam with a Dangerous Link? Example #2

February 5, 2017 / / 0 Comments

SPAM

 

Scams are flooding our telephone lines.

Spammers and hackers are flooding our internet connections and getting viruses, worms, and phishing emails into our computers and email.

Obviously these scammers and hackers have enough success that they are encouraged to scam and hack even more.

How are they so successful?

Can you recognize an attempt to hack into your computer or elicit sensitive information from you when one such email enters your inbox? How well can you PROTECT YOURSELF?

Below is second in our series on how to identify these, what to look for, so that you’re not the victim of a cyber-attack.

The spam message below is easily identifiable as a hacking attempt to infect our computers in so many ways. Being that Apple is so ubiquitous, users can easily think that this message is intended for them.

I’ve broken the hack link, of course.

See how many identifiers you can find.

See below:

Dear (Your email address here),

Please note that your account will expire in less than 48h .
It is imperative to conduct an audit of your information is present, otherwise your account will be destroyed.
Update Your Apple ID
We invite you to act fast, if you need any help you can contact our online support.

Regards,
Apple

I’m able to identify up to ten different obvious identifiers.

Enter your ideas into the “COMMENT” box below.

Let’s see how well you do. Let’s see how safe you are from spammers and scammers!!

Scams and Hackers: Can You Recognize Them?

January 31, 2017 / / 0 Comments

Scams are flooding our telephone lines.

Spammers and hackers are flooding our internet connections and getting viruses, worms, and phishing emails into our computers and email.

Obviously these scammers and hackers have enough success that they are encouraged to scam and hack even more.

How are they so successful?

Can you recognize an attempt to hack into your computer or elicit sensitive information from you when one such email enters your inbox?

We will begin a series on how to identify these, what to look for, so that you’re not the victim of a cyber-attack.

Below is one spam message that we received the other day.  It is easily identifiable as a hacking attempt to infect our computers in so many ways. I’ve omitted including the hack link, of course.

See how many identifiers you can find.

See below:
___________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Joey,

Your item has arrived at the USPS Post Office at January 23, but the courier was unable to deliver parcel to you.

Download postal receipt attached to e-mail!

 

Kind thoughts,

 

Freddie Horne,

 

USPS Support Agent.
___________________________________________________________________________________

 

 I identified at least ELEVEN errors that immediately stood out to me as an obvious attempt to infiltrate my computer.
What are they?

And the 12th obvious indication?

Please add your responses to the COMMENT box below. Let’s see if we can get all twelve.

Fix That Sign: Lost * Found

December 13, 2012 / / 2 Comments

Many native speakers of English also don’t have a good sense of what it is exactly they’re saying.  The sign below, that I saw recently at our local gym and sports club, displays a good example of this.  It shows what happens when somebody writes what he thinks he’s hearing. If this can happen to native speakers, it can happen all the more so to learners of English.

Find the big error.  Then look below the image.

lost in found

Have you ever LOST something? And have you ever then FOUND it?   The expression is “lost AND found”, not lost “in” found.

Because “and” often sounds like n –> lost and found sounds like lost n found, somebody then thinks the expression is “lost in found”. But that belies the logic of the expression: lost, and then hopefully found.

If you ever lose something, ask, “Do you have a lost and found here?”

Send us other examples of expressions that you think have been misrepresented in writing. They’re out there, just waiting for you!

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