Germany

[Leepipblue]

Hi there, I thought I sent my questions the other day, but can't see any sign of them so I will ask again.
My daughter is English but attends a German school. Firstly she has been told in her new school that the word opposite is pronounced as if the word eye is in the middle and not it as we in England say it. Is this the American way of saying opposite?
She lost points in her test for the following. I am not sure that they are totally wrong and would like your opinion.
She wrote: The book by Paul Zindel is about an old man named Mr Pignati.
She was told it should be "called Mr Pignati"
She wrote: Lorraine is rather shy but John is the total opposite.
She was told it should be "complete opposite"
She wrote: Lorraine and John decide to play the telephone game and through this game they get to know Mr Pignati.
She was told it should be "Because of this game"
I would be grateful for your opinion
Best Wishes Leona

[MikeNewYork]

Hi there, I thought I sent my questions the other day, but can't see any sign of them so I will ask again.
My daughter is English but attends a German school. Firstly she has been told in her new school that the word opposite is pronounced as if the word eye is in the middle and not it as we in England say it. Is this the American way of saying opposite?
She lost points in her test for the following. I am not sure that they are totally wrong and would like your opinion.
She wrote: The book by Paul Zindel is about an old man named Mr Pignati.
She was told it should be "called Mr Pignati"
She wrote: Lorraine is rather shy but John is the total opposite.
She was told it should be "complete opposite"
She wrote: Lorraine and John decide to play the telephone game and through this game they get to know Mr Pignati.
She was told it should be "Because of this game"
I would be grateful for your opinion
Best Wishes Leona

I just bumped the other thread to the top of the forum so you can find it. Its title ends with Hutton.

[boothling]

1) I've never heard "opposite" pronounced "opposeit", even by Americans.

2) Everything your daughter wrote looks fine to me. Perhaps a strict grammarian might take issue with those sentences, but as they all make sense and are in common use it would seem a bit nit-picky.

On second reading, the first point may be correct. I'm not sure that "Mr" is part of the actual name, so perhaps "called Mr Pignati" is better. Still seems a tad pedantic. But maybe they have a higher standard of English teaching in Germany than they do in England.

[andi r]

Hi there, I thought I sent my questions the other day, but can't see any sign of them so I will ask again.
My daughter is English but attends a German school. Firstly she has been told in her new school that the word opposite is pronounced as if the word eye is in the middle and not it as we in England say it. Is this the American way of saying opposite?
She lost points in her test for the following. I am not sure that they are totally wrong and would like your opinion.
She wrote: The book by Paul Zindel is about an old man named Mr Pignati.
She was told it should be "called Mr Pignati"
She wrote: Lorraine is rather shy but John is the total opposite.
She was told it should be "complete opposite"
She wrote: Lorraine and John decide to play the telephone game and through this game they get to know Mr Pignati.
She was told it should be "Because of this game"
I would be grateful for your opinion
Best Wishes Leona

Ok, in my opinion (I am English) called is correct, the total would have been correct if written 'totally', otherwise the teacher is correct, through this game is correct use of English.
Also phonetically opposite is 'opp- oh -zit'
Hope this helps. I often translate german english into english english for my german colleagues, so I understand the changes.
Kind Regards

[Ouisch]

The Pigman was one of my favorite books when I was a youngster.

I think your daughter's teacher is being unnecessarily picky. "Total opposite" and "complete opposite" are both correct and are used interchangeably. I think "through" is just as acceptable as "because of" when referring to the telephone prank being the catalyst of their meeting the Pigman. Boothling has a point, "Mr." is not technically part of the Pigman's name (Angelo Pignati), so I guess if you want to be very pedantic, "called" is better than "named." But everything your daughter wrote would be perfectly acceptable in everyday English conversation.