Forum newsfeeds
Forum Newsfeeds


Sites for Teachers

Sites for Teachers




Go Back   UsingEnglish.com ESL Forum > Learning English > Ask a Teacher

Notices

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1 (permalink)  
Old 09-Dec-2004, 11:47
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Country: Kuching, Malaysia
Posts: 46
Current Location: KL
First Language: English
Member Type: Student or Learner
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Kenneth
Default Mistakes?

Dear teachers,

Would you help me check if the sentences below have any grammatical mistakes or not?

1. “Daydream about your girl, huh?” he mocked at Lionel first thing in his usually nastiest way.
2. “Looks like your girl got snatched by someone else,” said Tham from behind. (Is 'snatched' a suitable word?)

Thanks so much!

Regards,
Kenneth
Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
  #2 (permalink)  
Old 09-Dec-2004, 14:23
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 727
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
twostep
Default Re: Mistakes?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kenneth
Dear teachers,

Would you help me check if the sentences below have any grammatical mistakes or not?

1. “Daydream about your girl, huh?” he mocked at Lionel first thing in his usually nastiest way.
2. “Looks like your girl got snatched by someone else,” said Tham from behind. (Is 'snatched' a suitable word?)

Thanks so much!

Regards,
Kenneth
I am not a teacher.

1. Daydreaming about your girl.....he was mocked by..........
2. Looks like your girl is with someone else.......
Reply With Quote
  #3 (permalink)  
Old 09-Dec-2004, 19:15
AintFoolin
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: Mistakes?

snatched is fine
Reply With Quote
  #4 (permalink)  
Old 09-Dec-2004, 20:05
Nahualli
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: Mistakes?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kenneth

1. “Daydream about your girl, huh?” he mocked at Lionel first thing in his usually nastiest way.
Huh? "he mocked at Lionel first thing in his usually nastiest way..."

first thing... what? Where's that superlative coming from? Nastiest? Where are the less-nasty cousins?

-Nah-
Reply With Quote
  #5 (permalink)  
Old 09-Dec-2004, 20:25
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 727
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
twostep
Default Re: Mistakes?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nahualli
Huh? "he mocked at Lionel first thing in his usually nastiest way..."

first thing... what? Where's that superlative coming from? Nastiest? Where are the less-nasty cousins?

-Nah-
Sharing information, comparing ideas, suggesting more appropriate ways of expression has to the best of my knowledge been a focus in this forum. This includes considering questions as very serious even those our own level of experience may deem unneccesary. A friend does not use his superiority but shares freely.

Back to the original question - it is easier to make corrections when the context is given. You may want to say - he teased Lionel in his usual nasty way.
Reply With Quote
  #6 (permalink)  
Old 09-Dec-2004, 20:31
Nahualli
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: Mistakes?

Quote:
Originally Posted by twostep
Sharing information, comparing ideas, suggesting more appropriate ways of expression has to the best of my knowledge been a focus in this forum. This includes considering questions as very serious even those our own level of experience may deem unneccesary. A friend does not use his superiority but shares freely.
If you look at both our replies, they say basically the same thing. You indicated missing context, whereas I demonstrated it.

-Nah-

Last edited by Casiopea; 10-Dec-2004 at 12:26. Reason: Does not contribute to the original poster's question.
Reply With Quote
  #7 (permalink)  
Old 09-Dec-2004, 20:33
Red5's Avatar
Webmaster, UsingEnglish.com
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Country: England
Posts: 2,784
Current Location: London
First Language: British English
Member Type: Other
Thanks: 2
Thanked 68 Times in 34 Posts
Red5 has disabled reputation
Default Re: Mistakes?

In my view, the more opinions expressed here the better - even if they don't agree.
Reply With Quote
  #8 (permalink)  
Old 10-Dec-2004, 11:24
Casiopea's Avatar
VIP Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Country: Canada
Posts: 12,997
Current Location: China
First Language: English
Member Type: Other
Thanks: 0
Thanked 60 Times in 57 Posts
Casiopea will become famous soon enough
Default Re: Mistakes?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kenneth
Dear teachers,

Would you help me check if the sentences below have any grammatical mistakes or not?

1. “Daydream about your girl, huh?” he mocked at Lionel first thing in his usually nastiest way.
2. “Looks like your girl got snatched by someone else,” said Tham from behind. (Is 'snatched' a suitable word?)

Thanks so much!

Regards,
Kenneth
In addition, with regards to sentence 1., have you thought about altering the word order?

1. He mocked Lionel, first thing, in his usual nasty way, "Daydream about your girl, huh?"

Either "Daydream" or "Daydreaming", as twostep suggests, works. "Daydream" is short for "You will daydream about your girl, huh?"

As for the phrase 'usually nastiest way', it's rather odd, as Nahualli points out. What about?

his usual nasty way
his usual nastiest of ways
Reply With Quote
  #9 (permalink)  
Old 10-Dec-2004, 11:59
Casiopea's Avatar
VIP Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Country: Canada
Posts: 12,997
Current Location: China
First Language: English
Member Type: Other
Thanks: 0
Thanked 60 Times in 57 Posts
Casiopea will become famous soon enough
Default Re: Mistakes?

Quote:
Originally Posted by twostep
..., suggesting more appropriate ways of expression has to the best of my knowledge been a focus in this forum.
Agreed, and yet in looking back at the thread, I believe Nahualli has done exactly that. In response to the grammaticallity of sentence 1., both you and Nahualli provided the following responses, respectively:

Twostep: Daydreaming about your girl.....he was mocked by..........
Nahualli: Where's that superlative coming from? Nastiest? Where are the less-nasty cousins?

From where I stand, I see that Nahualli's response address the superlative "nastiest", which your post does not. So in all fairness, Nahualli has indeed complied with the rules of this forum by "suggesting [a] more appropriate [way] of express[ing] the original poster's sentence 1.

Quote:
Originally Posted by twostep
Back to the original question - it is easier to make corrections when the context is given. You may want to say - he teased Lionel in his usual nasty way.
But ... the context, albeit word-order tangled, was provided. It's just that it happened to be worded in an odd way. That is, one can indeed mock someone in a nasty way or one's usual nasty way, and even in one's usual nastiest of ways, wherein the plural noun 'ways' houses the comparative referent for the superlative.
Reply With Quote
  #10 (permalink)  
Old 10-Dec-2004, 12:17
Casiopea's Avatar
VIP Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Country: Canada
Posts: 12,997
Current Location: China
First Language: English
Member Type: Other
Thanks: 0
Thanked 60 Times in 57 Posts
Casiopea will become famous soon enough
Default Re: Mistakes?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nahualli
Huh? "he mocked at Lionel first thing in his usually nastiest way..."

first thing... what? Where's that superlative coming from? Nastiest? Where are the less-nasty cousins?

-Nah-
That's an excellent question, and an explanation would be very helpful.

Please remember that if a poster asks a question, the assumption is that s/he's not just looking for an answer, but that s/he's also looking for an explanation. I understand you are fabulous with explanations, so please, if you will, dazzle us, but keep in mind that not all of us are, sort to speak, "in the know" about why such and such is awkward or unacceptable, so you'll have to explain it to us in a way that everyone can understand.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Tags
mistakes

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Correct mistakes in passage Wai_Wai Editing & Writing Topics 2 27-Mar-2008 07:27
questions - have to/must, article, mistakes Lenka Ask a Teacher 6 25-Sep-2004 06:32
15 common capitalization mistakes Anonymous Ask a Teacher 1 23-Sep-2004 12:48
English mistakes ? whl626 Ask a Teacher 5 29-Feb-2004 19:49
common mistakes in syntax when learning foreign languages Anonymous Ask a Teacher 2 05-Oct-2003 21:18


New To Site? Need Help?

All times are GMT. The time now is 05:28.


vBulletin, Copyright ©2000 - 2009, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.2.0
Copyright © 2002 - 2008 UsingEnglish.com