own

[Matthew Wai]

'Own' is a determiner

Which dictionary says this?

Not a teacher.

 

[tedmc]

Which dictionary says this?

Not a teacher.

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/own

 

[oldbei]

Not a teacher.

So I took advice from English native speakers when I am learning English.

In my example, I am looking at the native English answers to learn English, none of them told me it is wrong or never use "own ...", so I taking as it is ok to use it.

Nobody here is against your effort to get advice from native speakers. When they say they don't understand your expression or it sounds strange, they have already given you enough advice in my opinion.

Seeing that you dwelled upon whether your expressions being correct, I have been trying to make you see a technically "correct" expression may be actually "wrong" or at least not desirable. A lot of Chinglish expressions can belong to this category. They are not "wrong" but they sound strange or make little sense to native English speakers.

 

[Tarheel]

May I give you some advice?

I am not trying to be smart, and that is why I followed native English speakers' advice.



In your example, when someone is learning Chinese, a native Chinese speaker can point out the mistakes better than non native Chinese speakers. That is what I think too. So I take advice from English native speakers when I am learning English.

In my example, I am looking to the native English answers to learn English None of them told me it is wrong or never use "own ...", so I am taking as [STRIKE]it is[/STRIKE] ok to use it.

Why don't you want to be smart?

;-)

 

[Matthew Wai]

A lot of Chinglish expressions can belong to this category.

If the OP was thinking about “自己的” while writing "own note", it could fall into this category.
I advise the OP to forget his/her native language while learning English, although oldbei vehemently opposes it.

Not a teacher.

 

[goodstudent]

May I give you some advice?



Why don't you want to be smart?

;-)

I mean I wanted say I am not trying to act smart, I am not smart in English, and that is why I followed native English speakers' advice.

 

[Matthew Wai]

Originally Posted by goodstudent
so I am taking as [STRIKE] it is[/STRIKE] ok to use it.

'OK' should be capitalized.

Not a teacher.

 

[Tarheel]

You try for humor, but it doesn't always work.

;-)

 

[goodstudent]

You try for humor, but it doesn't always work.

;-)

Not sure where is the humor part in this thread, I mean my English is not good, I do not act smart that I know English well. So I am following native English speakers advice.

My English is not very good, maybe I have accidentally created humor that I did not know.

 

[tedmc]

I think there is a bit of a misunderstanding here.
What goodstudent means is that he is not trying to be a smart alec.

Not a teacher

 

[oldbei]

If the OP was thinking about “自己的” while writing "own note", it could fall into this category.
I advise the OP to forget his/her native language while learning English, although oldbei vehemently opposes it.

Not a teacher.

Exactly. Comparing two languages is one way to learn. If you find wherever the two work the same, you can happily transfer what you knew about the old to the new there. Otherwise, you can take note and guard yourself against potential negative transfer. My obersavation is that those who often commit the sin of speaking Chinglish are the very ones who are ignorant of the differences between English and Chinese because they never or seldom compare the 2 languages. Let's face it: if you are an ESL learner, you already knew the first language by definition. Simply pretending that you didn't may not be as productive as you think.

 

[goodstudent]

I think that 'my' is needed before 'own' for it to be correct. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Not a teacher.

There are a few definitions of what could be "correct." All of the locutions, "own note", "own folder"... are fragments, and incomplete. I understand why they were called incorrect or strange. But all are very brief phrases some native speakers might use in some circumstances, for brevity. They are not correct sentences. They are natural fragments.

Is "my own note" considered fragments or completely correct English?

 

[Rover_KE]

It's a fragment.

 

[goodstudent]

Is "my note" considered a fragment or completely correct English?

 

[Rover_KE]

It's a fragment.

It can't be completely correct English without a verb, a capital letter and a concluding puncuation mark.

 

[Tarheel]

I think there is a bit of a misunderstanding here.
What goodstudent means is that he is not trying to be a smart alec.

Yes, I know that. (It wouldn't have been a joke if I had meant it literally.)

I guess you could say I was trying to be a smart alec myself. (They give us the winky faces (;-)) to post to indicate that we are not entirely serious.)