Cultural Accents--Why Everybody Wants a Fork

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Every time I speak English in my class, I get differing opinions on the way I speak in English. To some, the way I speak is 'cool,' because of my American accent. Some detest the manner, because, naturally, most people will be hostile to anything that is not familiar to many (in this case, the way I speak). Some raised questions as to why I have to speak in such a manner.

I do not consider my accent as American, rather, it is neutral. A neutral accent is a manner in speaking which could be understood globally: by all people 

who speaks English.

On the contrary, a cultural accent is a manner of speaking influenced by the speaker's mother tongue. Every country has its own cultural accent--even the native speakers--and must be neutered. In the Philippines, the number of cultural accent equates the number of dialects we have. In Japan, they have such a stressed way of speaking, and turn the letter 'l,' to 'r.'

In the United States, the people of California has a different way of speaking from the New Yorkers. The people of Mississippi has such a heavy, stressed, southern accent. In the United Kingdom, the Britons have  a distinguished way of speaking.

Why, then, should we bother neutralizing our accents when everybody else has a different way of speaking? There is nothing wrong with cultural accent, really, sometimes it's cute when used for aesthetic purposes. It's just that most of the time, cultural accents cause miscommunication. Such a problem must be avoided, as it creates a catastrophe. Don't believe me? Learn from our Italian friend (see vid below.)

S-V Agreement: Making Subjects and Verbs Stop Arguing

Do your subjects and verbs argue as if they are attorneys in a court or law? Can they not agree who is supposed to be singular or plural? They don’t have to sue each other to make a good sentence!S-V Agreement is easy as your ABC’s.

First of all, if the subject is singular, the verb has to be singular as well. If the subject is plural, the verb has to be plural as well. Consider first and foremost the subject before writing your verb.

You were saying?             He thinks of us.

I say, hey!                           She tells me everything.

Different items joined by and or both is always plural:

Ham and cheese are ingredients for a wonderful sandwich.

…unless ‘and’ is joining two words of the same item.

Ham and cheese is my favorite sandwich.

Hot and spicy sounds exciting.

When two subjects are joined together by ‘or,’ ‘nor,’ ‘neither…nor,’ or by ‘either…or,’ the verb must agree with the nearest subject.

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Either he or she is liable for the damage.Neither she nor they are going to the beach.

Mass nouns are always singular…

The sugar is spicy.

…unless a quantifier is used.

Two cups of sugar are enough.

Okay, so I've to admit: I, too, have difficulties with S-V Agreement. More than many of us have difficulties with subject and verb agreement. Then again, practice makes perfect!

Do you have any questions you would like us to answer? Drop us an email at youweresayin@yahoo.com.

Angry Verbs Part 1: Past, Present, and Future Tenses

Let’s review a bit. Verbs are action-packed words that represent an action or a state, or both. Verbs also represent the time the action happened. This action could be in the past, in the present, or in the future. These different forms are called tenses.

A verb in the past tense is something that has happened before. They usually end in –ed. The present tense is something…in the present. Like, right now at this time. The future tense illustrates something that is yet to happen. Let’s have an example:

Luke, I am your father. (The verb ‘am’ is in the present tense)

Luke, I was your father. (The word ‘was’ is in the past tense. He disowned him.)

Luke, I will be your father. (‘will be’ is future tense. I guess he’s planning to adopt him?)

When writing in the present tense, you must make the verb agree with the subject. So consider whether the subject is singular or plural:

They laugh. (Plural)

He laughs. (Singular)

Add –ed to verbs in the past tense:

He laughed like crazy.

Note that not all verbs in the past tense end in –ed. These are called irregular verbs:

He drove me crazy.

I lost my mind.

For the future tense, just add will to the normal form of the verb.

He will laugh like crazy.

Are verbs driving you nuts? Don’t worry—mastery comes with practice.

Angry Verbs: an Introduction to Action-Packed Words

Always remember: a sentence is as good as its verb. The verb is perhaps the most important part of the sentence. Nothing can fail more than a misused verb. It may also be the most confusing element of grammar. Imagine: it has 12 tenses. Apart from having a dozen tenses, verbs are extremely eccentric. We have auxiliary, main, linking, transitive, intransitive, regular, irregular, finite, and infinite verbs. Let’s add more confusion: verbs are commonly mistaken as gerunds.

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Let us take the word ‘drive,’ for example. One little word can be so flexible:

Drives; am/is/are driving; has/have driven; has/have been driven; drove; was/were driving; had driven; had been driven; will/shall drive; will be driving; will have driven; will have been driven. There’s the infinitive to drive and the gerund driving.

Don’t let verbs ruin you! With much study and application, you can master the intuitive use of verbs. By practicing, you can command the verbs to agree with their subjects. Worry not, friend, some of the next posts under grammar will be about verbs!

Grammar Gremlins

There are good reasons why you should avoid these gremlins like the little devils they are. They’re annoying and they make sure your grammar is in a mess. Now read on and avoid these 13 Gremlins of Grammar.

The Thirteen Gremlins of Grammar

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By Graham King (1930-1999)

1.)    Correct speling is essential.

2.)    Don’t use no double negatives.

3.)    Verbs has got to agree with their subjects.

4.)    Don’t write run-on sentences they are hard to read.

5.)    About them sentence fragments.

6.)    Don’t use commas, that aren’t necessary.

7.)    A preposition is not a good word to end a sentence with.

8.)    Remember not to ever split infinitives.

9.)    Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.

10.)  Alway’s use apostrophe’s correctly.

11.) Make each singular pronoun agree with their antecedents.

12.)  Join clauses good, like a conjunction should.

13.) Proofread your writing to make sure you don’t words out.

And, above all, avoid clichés like the Plague.

the 5 People You Meet in Heaven: Count or Mass Noun?

The Five People You Meet in Heaven is one of my favorite novellas of all time; because of that, it is our subject for today's topic, count & mass nouns.

Photo from the January Magazine

Count nouns are nouns which are...you guessed it, countable! Some examples are ring (5 rings), bird (4 birds), hen (3 hens), and so on. And because they are countable, you can use numbers along them.

Mass nouns are the opposite. You can't count them. Examples are sugar, coffee, sand. Note that they are always singular, unless you use quantifiers with them.

A cup of coffee.

Two cups of coffee.

So is the word 'people' a count noun, or a mass noun? Is it singular or is it plural?

The word 'people' is confusing as what it represents. People is singular in writing but plural in meaning. The singular form of people is person.

These people are annoying.

People don't know how to see beauty.

People can become a mass noun (which means it becomes singular) when used with a collective noun.

A group of people goes to church. [group is singular, hence the singular verb]

Groups of people attack them. [group here is plural.]

Yet, people may be used as a count noun, too--after all it is plural in meaning.

10 people are procrastinating.

So what is wrong with 'the Five People You Meet in Heaven'? Let's take Strunk and White's approach:

The word people is best not used with words of number, in place of persons.

You've met four people in heaven already. How many people are you to meet yet? One people.

BUT! Note that the title of the novella is protected by artistic licence, which means the title is actually free from the rules of grammar. Well, we had fun with the lesson, right? :D

---

William Strunk JR., and E.B. White are authors of the book the Elements of Style.

Active Listening: Techniques for Listening Effectively

You want to pass that math subject, you really do. It’s just that every time the math professor open her lips, lullabies come out of her mouth. The notes come near you, whispering to your ear. In no time you fall asleep.

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Cheer up, you don’t have to cut your forearms and squeeze dayapi.

The solution to your problem is active listening. It’s listening with effort. The formula to this solution is called TQLR. The TQLR method can be used in any situation, whether you’re just listening to music, to a public speaker, or to your math professor.

APPLYING TQLR for Active Listening

TQLR stands for Tune-in, Question, Listen, and Review.

Tuning-in requires clearing the channel and reducing the noise. To tune-in means avoiding anything that can distract listening and shifting your focus on the listener. So eliminate that noisy seatmate of yours and focus on your professor.

Question is a step where think of questions. The process of good listening does not start with listening itself, but rather with thinking. Preparing questions will make you more focused on the discussion because you are trying to find out answers to your question.

As soon as the speaker starts, listen. When you did tuning-in and questioning well, you will notice that sometimes you can think ahead of what the speaker might say next. Remember to think along as you listen.

The end-step of the method is to review. After listening, review in your mind what was discussed. Also, it will be more effective to jot down notes as you listen.

You will notice that when you’re interested in something, you apply TQLR without much effort (and without even thinking about it). TQLR may be used in any situation even if you’re not at all interested in what is being discussed. Applying TQLR will make your active listening more efficient, and makes the discussion more interesting.

Quick Tips on Learning English

Trust me: English is as easy as the native language you’re speaking. You might had a hard time trying to learn the basics, but now that you’re past that, the road has become better.

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Aside from careful study of the said language, there are ways you can be proficient in the use of it. By doing these three quick tips on a regular basis, you’ll improve your accent and your vocabulary in no time.

1.)    Watch films.

This way you can actually pick up the actors’ way of speaking. You’ll get their accent and how they construct their sentences. You also can pick what accent to pick up. If you want a Californian accent, grab a movie set in Cali. If you want a New Yorker’s accent, watch You’ve Got Mail. If you want British, grab Harry Potter.

Word of advice: don’t watch much action movies as the characters there scream more than they speak.

2.)    Think in English.

My professor once told me, Think in English. Always. Do everything in English. Speak in English. Eat in English. Take a bath in English. Sleep in English. When you do so, you will get to construct sentences faster and avoid a major-major mistake.

3.)    Read.

Read any materials written in English. This way, you will get to enhance your vocabulary (grab a dictionary, too) and your style of speaking!

Doing these things will make yourself adapt to the language. Perhaps a week of exposure to doing these things can make studying a lot easier.  Just remember, practice makes perfect; Patience is a virtue; try until you succeed.

Comma: Rules of Usage to Avoid Comatose

A panda, hungry for breakfast, comes in a restaurant.

 He orders everything in the menu, takes his seat, and proceeds to eat. After he finishes his food, he immediately pays. As he stands up, he takes a gun out of his pocket, shoots the ceiling, and then leaves.

 As the furry creature is walking to the door, the waiter asks, sir, why did yo do such a thing? The panda produced a dictionary, turned the pages, and gives it to the waiter.

Panda, noun, a large bear native in China. Eats, shoots, and leaves.

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Pandas are awesome! But this one ain't. If he eats in my restaurant, I'm gonna make him pay for the damaged ceiling. But why did such a thing happen? One word: miscommunication. See how one little mistake (or in this case three mistakes) can cause a lot of trouble. If the panda shot the waiter, he could be in a state of comatose.

To avoid such trouble, here are some rules with using the comma.

Rule of thumb: the comma is to separate or contain stuff.

1.) Use the comma to separate words or group of words. The mistake of the dictionary the panda was carrying is that it separated the words as if enumerating directions.  Separate words only in a series of three or more. For instance:

The salad had apples, dragon fruits, watermelon, and oranges.

2.) Use the comma to separate two adjectives. Using 'and' between two adjectives sounds...weird. Compare the two:

She is a smart, young lady.

She is a smart and young lady.

The second sentence violates the rule of style while the first one is short and sweet.

3.) Use a comma when a '-ly' adjective is used along with another adjective. 

She was a friendly, jolly person.

 4.) Use commas to contain appositives. Appositives are dependent clauses which stand next to nouns or pronouns. Their function is to identify, portray, or rename the noun or pronoun it follows.

He, being the top of the class, delivered a speech.

5.) Use a comma after a dependent clause that opens the sentence. As a rule of style: do not use dependent clauses to open a sentence for a stronger effect.


 Being the top of the class, he delivered a speech.


So that's it for now. Got any questions? Drop a message at comments. 

Sweet Talk 101

So, it’s Valentine’s Day aka Single Awareness Day. The color of love is in the air. Don’t you just love love, or love being in love? Or at least imagining someone’s in love with you? Love, the feeling, is actually a hormonal reaction caused by an organ called…the hypothalamus. So no, it’s politically incorrect to use the heart as a symbol of love, because it doesn’t actually do anything than pump blood. It should be the hypothalamus.

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Anyway, you don’t wanna use ‘I love you from the bottom of my hypothalamus,’ as a love message for this day. As I’ve always said, words are powerful as actions, so better coat your lips with chocolate to get the hypothalamus of your date functioning in your favor.

What is Sweet Talk?

The Meriam-Webster dictionary defines sweet talk as a form of flattery. To me, it is the artistic way of applying communication in order to get your slice of cake and eat it. Not only can you apply this to your stubborn boyfriend to get you a bouquet of roses, or to appease your girlfriend, but you can also use this on your boss, or on a friend. Or when you’re single and you want a date.

Dirty, I know, but we realize that communication is persuasion.

Applying Sweet Talk

Be appreciative.

Believe it or not, sweet talk is only 40% of the job. In order to make other people return you a favor, you should be…well, favorable. Start by giving your attention 100%. Give your girlfriend verbal and eye cues that she’s special and one of a kind. Smile, becauseit will let the other party know their opinion and company are more than appreciated. Doing these things will erase the noise in your channel of communication. The other party will definitely decode your message to your favor. Set a light mood.

Ever heard of the expression, ‘when you smile, the whole world smiles at you’? Use this to your advantage. Smile, and be humorous. When the other party is in a light mood, they are more likely to lay down barriers that can dampen your communication. If you’re thinking of telling a joke, though, it’s best to be careful; you want to avoid an awful faux pasthat will ruin the evening. Or the relationship.

Handle the ego with kid-gloves

Handling one’s ego means complimenting them. Praise is a good tool. Picture a kid who draws his mother a flower for valentine’s. She doesn’t say ‘What’s that!? Hey kid, don’t quit your day job,’ but she says ‘this flower is so beautiful!’ the kid thinks he’s Leonardo da Vinci and paints more pictures. Praising and complimenting also decreases the resistance rate of the other party.

When praising, be sincere. Men like being praised for their intelligence and strength, whilst women like being praised for their beauty and grace.Keep your cards close to your chest Getting caught that you’re sweet talking to get something will ruin it! Some people, especially lovers, however find it humorous to catch their partners sweet talking them. But for some people, they feel deceived.Don’t ask for the favor directly, for a safer ground.

Sweet talk every day.

Actually, this form of communication is an everyday ingredient to happier, healthier relationships, especially in the context of marriage. Having a light mood, smiling, being appreciative, being sincere and understanding are water and fertilizer to communication. It avoids conflict and it encourages the hypothalamus to release those feel-good hormones to your favor. You will know you’re successful when you already have the favor even before you ask for it.