I never learned English in the school

[lupicatulum]

Something is bugging me... If I say that I never learned English in the school, does that mean that I had Englsih in the school, but I was to stupid to learn it, or it means that I did not have English classes in the school at all, but maybe German, or Russian (which was usual in our country)?

 

[teechar]

Something is bugging me. If I say that I never learned English in the school, does that mean that I had English in the school, but I was too stupid to learn it,

If you're talking about a specific school, use "in the/that school"; otherwise, use "at school."
No, I would take it to mean that you did not study English.

or does it mean that I did not have English classes in the school at all, but maybe German, or Russian (which was usual in our country)?

It says nothing about studying other languages.

 

[lupicatulum]

If you're talking about a specific school, use "in the/that school"; otherwise, use "at school."
No, I would take it to mean that you did not study English.

At school. Good to know. Thank you.

It says nothing about studying other languages.

I know, but does that mean that I didn't have English at school? Or is it left to the reader to wonder?

 

[lupicatulum]

Actually, I see now that study is underlined. So I guess my sentence does not cover everything I want to say.

So, all the people from my past thinks I'm a failure. Shhhhame!

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Something is bugging me: If I say that I never learned English in school, does that mean that I had English in school but I was too stupid to learn it, or does it mean that I did not have English classes in school at all, but maybe German, or Russian (which was usual in our country)?

It means what it says: You didn't learn English in school. Maybe you learned it somewhere else. Maybe you flunked your courses. Maybe you never studied it. Maybe you grew up in an English-speaking country and already knew the language when you started school. All we know is that you didn't learn it in school.

 

[Tdol]

If you want to say that your lessons were a waste of time, you could say that you never learned anything in your English classes in school.

 

[lupicatulum]

If you want to say that your lessons were a waste of time, you could say that you never learned anything in your English classes in school.

I could say that about German classes. :-D

The point is that you cannot learn a foreign languge just by having 2 x 45 minutes of classes per week. It really is a vaste of time. If you don't have an oportunitiy to listen, talk, write and practice the language at least two hours a day, it's just like having a gym class 2 x 45 minutes per week. Waste of time. You do learn something, but...

And I don't mean to listen, talk, write and practice by your self in your study room. I mean with native speakers of that languge.

 

[lupicatulum]

It means what it says: You didn't learn English in school. Maybe you learned it somewhere else. Maybe you flunked your courses. Maybe you never studied it. Maybe you grew up in an English-speaking country and already knew the language when you started school. All we know is that you didn't learn it in school.

My question now might sound stupid or ignorant but I have to ask it. When I say "learned", that is finished form of the verb, and if I'd want to use unfinished form of the verb (I'm not sure is "un/finished" corect terminology), then I'd use "have been learning". Is this correct so far? Now, in my language, if I use finished verb in this sentence (like I did in the title of the thread), that would mean that for SOME reason I got out of the school without learning English. If this is correct, then I have been using the wrong sentence all the time. If I'd want to say that I had no English classes at school at all, then the best sentence might be "I have never been learning English at school". In my language. Does that sentence has the same meaning in English?

 

[teechar]

I have been using the wrong sentence all the time. If I want to say that I had no English classes at school at all, then the best sentence might be "I have never been learning English at school".

No. Try:
I did not study/take English at school.
lupicatulum, slow down a little! It's much better if you write shorter posts and focus on one point at a time. Wait for some responses, and see if you understand what we're saying.

By the way, it's "waste" not "vaste" in post #7 above. "Vaste" is not a word in English; "vast" is a word, but that means a completely different thing.

 

[lupicatulum]

No. Try:
I did not study/take English at school.
lupicatulum, slow down a little! It's much better if you write shorter posts and focus on one point at a time. Wait for some responses, and see if you understand what we're saying.

Ok, I'll slow down... But just a bit! ;-)

By the way, it's "waste" not "vaste" in post #7 above. "Vaste" is not a word in English; "vast" is a word, but that means a completely different thing.

Thank you. I know that, but it's not yet in my finger mucle memory.

 

[emsr2d2]

[STRIKE]Ok[/STRIKE] OK/Okay, I'll slow down ... but just a bit! ;-)


Thank you. I know that, but it's not yet in my finger muscle memory.

See above.
You can write "OK" or "Okay" (the latter can only be used at the start of a sentence, otherwise it's "okay"), but not "Ok" or "ok". We put a space either side of an ellipsis and the first letter after the ellipsis should be a capital only if it's a proper noun.
Note the correct spelling of "muscle".

 

[lupicatulum]

See above.
You can write "OK" or "Okay" (the latter can only be used at the start of a sentence, otherwise it's "okay"), but not "Ok" or "ok". We put a space either side of an ellipsis and the first letter after the ellipsis should be a capital only if it's a proper noun.
Note the correct spelling of "muscle".

Both, OK and muscle, are familiar spellings to me, but again, not in my finger muscle memory. I just type too fast and the spell checker doesn't work. In my browser, as well as in my head. And later, when I read it again, I just don't catch misspellings. I had dactilography at school and when I was about 18, I had an inteview at UN that was stationed in my country. The woman looked at me in wonder, why would I take a women's job? So she sat me down infront of a computer and gave me some English text to transcribe. I transcribed 60 words in 60 seconds without any errors. I remember just as it was today, her jaws were down to the table. :shock: However, I did not get the job.

Regarding the ellipsis ... the spaces come only in the sentence like this and the one above, or do I need a space when ending the sentence with ellipsis as well?

 

[lupicatulum]

Oh, and just to be clear, it DOES NOT mean that I do not appreciate your corrections! On the contrary, even if I knew correct spelling, if I don't know that I'm making (and repeating) the same mistake while I'm typing, I won't be able to calibrate my head-to-finger spell checker. So, again, thank you all for correcting me.

 

[Tdol]

I just type too fast

You're not alone, and many of us have problems with devices with small keys, which don't fit our fingers.

 

[GoesStation]

I got an excellent grounding from second- and third-year French at Pali High (mentioned in another thread). The class met five days a week for about forty minutes.

 

[emsr2d2]

Both (no comma here) OK and muscle (no comma here) are familiar spellings to me (no comma here) but, again, not in my finger muscle memory. I just type too fast and the spell checker doesn't work in my browser (no comma here) [strike]as well as[/strike] or in my head. And later, when I read it again, I just don't catch misspellings. I [STRIKE]had[/STRIKE] took/studied dactylography at school and when I was about 18, I had an interview at a UN office [STRIKE]that was stationed[/STRIKE] in my country. The woman looked at me, [STRIKE]in wonder,[/STRIKE] wondering why [STRIKE]would[/STRIKE] I would take a woman's job. So she sat me down [STRIKE]infront[/STRIKE] in front of a computer and gave me some English text to transcribe. I transcribed 60 words in 60 seconds without any errors. I remember it [STRIKE]just[/STRIKE] as if it [STRIKE]was[/STRIKE] were today; her [STRIKE]jaws[/STRIKE] jaw [STRIKE]were down[/STRIKE] dropped to the [STRIKE]table[/STRIKE] floor. However, I did not get the job.

Regarding the ellipsis ... do the spaces come only in the sentence like this and the one above, or do I need a space when ending the sentence with ellipsis as well?

See my changes above. Yes, you need a space before an ellipsis even when it ends a sentence.

Oh, and just to be clear, it DOES NOT mean that I do not appreciate your corrections! On the contrary, even if I knew the correct spelling, if I don't know that I'm making (and repeating) the same mistake while I'm typing, I won't be able to calibrate my head-to-finger spell checker. So, again, thank you all for correcting me.

You're welcome. We correct errors for the benefit of both the poster and the other learners who will read posts.

 

[lupicatulum]

You're not alone, and many of us have problems with devices with small keys, which don't fit our fingers.

I agree Tdol, but you are a native speaker plus English teacher, so you're just making typos and I'm making (beside typos and lack of knowledge) another type of typing errors. We write as we speak. We don't have surplus letters in our language and we don't pronounce the same letter in a zillion different ways, depending of the word. So when I'm making a thought and writing it down, sometimes I just write what I hear in my head. Like in the post #7, where I used the word "waste" two times, but one time I wrote "vaste". Similar mistakes would be "wejste", or "wast". It's not a typo, and it's not a lack of knowledge. I call it "not having that word in my finger muscle memory".

Of course, you as a teacher cannot know why do we make errors, and error is error anyway.

 

[Tdol]

I'm also a learner and am currently learning a language where the same vowel can have a number of different ways of writing it depending on obscure rules about its position, etc, and consonants can have more than one form according to the tone. I do know about struggling with spelling from a learner's perspective too. :up: