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Old 01-Jun-2005, 12:18
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Steven D Steven D is offline
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Default Re: Pronounciation review - reading

You should know that if anything is going to make you sound like English is not your first language, it's going to be a sentence like this:

Quote:
Almost a decade has passed from that point, and I still seem to be where I was back then; If I was asked to pronounce a single word, I bet I can fool anyone into thinking that I'm a North American native.

Almost a decade has passed from that point, and I still seem to be where I was back then; If I were asked to pronounce a single word, I bet I could fool anyone into thinking that I'm a North American native.

Some would use "was" there, but I suggest "were". Definitely use "could" or "would" with "was" or "were" in the "if" clause. - unreal - imaginary - unlikely - unlikely but possible - completely impossible - Context would tell us which one applies.

Use "am" with "can" or "will". - real conditional - possible - more likely. I find that hypothetical/conditional language is difficult to learn for some ESL/EFL speakers. Grammar exercises can be easy, but when it comes to speaking and writing, it's not always as easy as grammar exercises.


How big is your sound file?
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