tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36565160609029209182024-03-08T11:07:13.971+01:00R. Craig - EnglishHere is a blog about the English language, especially seen from the viewpoint of an educated and well-experienced American. If you have trouble posting, simply click on the word 'comments' at the end of a post and you can make comments.R.E. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01156476122810338958noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656516060902920918.post-20488214484012201272009-04-17T16:35:00.000+02:002009-04-17T16:55:47.636+02:00My New DomainI've started a new site, called <a href="http://recraig2.com/">R. E. Craig Jr.</a>. Please check out my domain. It is hosted by IXHosting out of Ohio. I've also started four sites linked in with it. Learning E-Curve, Good Together, I-Write, and Face-to-Face are specialized sites.<br /><br /><h2>R. E. Craig Jr. Sites</h2>Learning E-Curve is a site about blogging and e-commerce.<br />Good Together deals with relationships in general.<br />I-Write assists in writing in English.<br />Face-to-Face addresses more philosophical issues, including both theological and sociological.R.E. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01156476122810338958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656516060902920918.post-76497302896438533582008-07-18T06:28:00.003+02:002009-03-22T07:23:06.413+01:00Americans Willing to Give Up CarsThere is a website that scores U.S. cities based on how good it is to live there without a car! Can you believe it? We Americans are soooo attached to our cars! Yet the price of gas (petrol) has driven us to consider giving them up (at least for a time). Here is the site <a href="http://walkscore.com/">Walk Score</a>.R.E. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01156476122810338958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656516060902920918.post-71487297868798011682008-05-03T22:42:00.004+02:002009-03-22T07:24:33.740+01:00Identity of the individual through languageEnglish drives us to consider our relationship to the past. The individual is related to the act. Consider the differences between<br /><ul><li>I swam</li><li>I was simming<br /></li><li>I have swam<br /></li><li>I had swam</li><li>I used to swim</li><li>I used to go swimming<br /></li><li>I went swimming</li><li>I have gone swimming</li><li>I had gone swimming</li></ul>You have to really think about how you are individually related to the action of swimming in the past that you are trying to communicate. This is an example of how language can try to own us as we are trying to make the language our own.R.E. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01156476122810338958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656516060902920918.post-25979682434497964292008-04-13T07:12:00.007+02:002008-04-13T11:28:28.602+02:00ING, not Chinese!Words that look like verbs, but end in <span style="font-weight: bold;">-ing</span> in English play special roles. Indo-European Languages have words that function in similar positions within them. Here is one of the simplist presentations of the matter from the FSI (Foreign Service Institute - the old name for the Foreign Language Center at the Presidio of Montery) handbook for Swedish. I hope this clears up the Chinese influence in English up for you ;-)<br /><ol><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Gerund</span> - an English verb with an -<span style="font-weight: bold;">ing</span> ending and with the function of a noun.<br />................<span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">Swimming</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"> is my favorite sport.</span><br />................<span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">I'm tired of </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">running</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">.</span></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Participle</span> - English has two participial forms: the present participle which ends in -ing and the past participle which ends in -<span style="font-weight: bold;">ed</span>, or sometimes -<span style="font-weight: bold;">en</span>, -<span style="font-weight: bold;">n</span>, etc. These are used in forming complex verb phrases, such as <span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">I </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">am working</span>; <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">I </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">have worked</span>.<br /><br />Apart from their use in forming complex verb phrases, participles are also used as adjectives.<br />................<span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">A </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">crying</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"> baby</span><br /> ................<span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">A </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">closed</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);"> door</span><br /></li></ol>R.E. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01156476122810338958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656516060902920918.post-27348064794596245132008-04-11T06:31:00.003+02:002008-04-12T17:32:09.969+02:00Th and ThzIf you are not trying to eradicate your 'f' sounding 'th' then you will end up sounding like a child, since English speaking children exhibit this problem universally up to about the age of three or four. Also, you might be grossly misunderstood, even evoking a punch in the face!<br /><br />Consider this common polite phrase, "Thank you!" If your 'th' is still an 'f' then it sounds like "Fank you!" Add the other common problem that vowels in Europe are darker sounding and the 'a' sounds like an 'uh'. Now we have the English speaker hearing "Fuhnk you!" Since the 'n' in European languages tends to have more of a nasal quality than in English, the English speaker may not hear it so well. Finally, just before he hits you in your face, he hears you say, "Fuhk you!" or more properly spelled, "Fuck you!"<br /><br />You see why pronunciation can be critical to your health and good relations with English speakers.R.E. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01156476122810338958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656516060902920918.post-69325898743381531942008-04-02T20:43:00.003+02:002008-04-13T11:30:49.521+02:00English Dialects: American and British - part 3Here is <a href="http://www.universalteacher.org.uk/lang/britishisles.htm#standardenglish">a good site regarding dialects in the British Isles</a>. As the author says, "There is a problem in identifying any dialect as the standard, since this implies that other dialects are inferior or wrong. In the case of spoken English, we have good evidence that such prejudice exists - so there is an exaggerated danger that, in referring to a standard, we will strengthen what is already a tyranny. It may help to note that Standard English, too, is a dialect - albeit one that is no longer found in any one region of Britain." How enlightening! We are teaching a dialect of English that no longer exists as a regional representation. Perhaps this is the ideal situation, and it would be if it were not for the social stratification and oppression that accompanies the domination of RP.<br /><br />Now consider which dialect of English can boast the largest number of native speakers. Without a doubt it is American English. Likewise, in spite of the brink of recession that the US is on, America is the world's largest economy. Britain as a whole comes somewhere near 5th. Consider that RP is really tied to England and then try to place England alone on the list of economies and you get the picture.<br /><br />The opposing argument here in Poland goes something like this. England is closer than the U.S. and visas to work in England are no longer required. What they really mean is that visas to work in Ireland are no longer required, since far more Poles land there than in England. So RP does not really blend with the Irish Catholics' politics and ultimately places you on the outside even more than simply being a foreigner. Whereas, speaking the American dialect of English in Ireland is not nearly as offensive.R.E. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01156476122810338958noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656516060902920918.post-19788335825507516572008-04-02T20:32:00.001+02:002008-04-02T20:35:21.140+02:00English Dialects: American and British - part 2Here in Eastern Poland the middle-aged and older generations speak with quasi-British accents, while the younger generations speak with American accents. This is due mostly to the lowering of the Wall in 1989, before which British forms of English were the most accessible ones. The Cold War with America depprived the people of materials for American English. However, the younger generations, who have grown up since the Wall fell, have been fed steady diets of American music and films.<br /><br />The battle is not over. In fact, it has just begun. Since Poland has joined the E.U. the older teachers have become emboldened to reassert the supremacy of RP British English, suffering the younger generations to relearn the American accent they have already partially developed through natural means. It's <span style="font-style: italic;">HIGH TIME</span> these teachers recognize the possibility of co-existing variations of accents. Of course that would require them to develop new strategies of teaching such subjects as phonetics and pronunciation. If they did, then my students would not bring up the issue of two different systems of pronunciation for the English they are being taught.<br /><br />Certainly an alternative solution is for me to speak with a British accent, but if you heard my imitation of British you would scream for me to stop - it's so terrible. I could teach them in my native accent, Southern American, but I am sparing them the pains of laughing so hard in every class from confusion over such words as <span style="font-style: italic;">tire</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">tar</span> or the ambiguous phrases such as <span style="font-style: italic;">d'ya</span> (meaning <span style="font-style: italic;">did yo</span>u) or <span style="font-style: italic;">Git y'on outa hir!</span> (meaning <span style="font-style: italic;">Get out of here, now!</span>).R.E. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01156476122810338958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656516060902920918.post-78037626790154795922008-04-02T18:59:00.009+02:002008-04-02T20:31:58.143+02:00English Dialects: American and BritishWhy should we list British before American? After all, American starts with an A and British with a B. Just as the lists of countries when filling out forms at websites have changed, so that the most popular countries that were once listed at the top have been put in their places alphabetically, so also should we follow suit here.<br /><br />I often hear students complaining that they are learning British English in one class and American English in mine. So I am providing some sites regarding dialects.<br /><br />First off, here are some resources on British English:<br /><a href="http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/collections/dialects/">Collect Britain</a><br /><a href="http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/sounds/index.html">Learning: Sounds Familiar?</a><br /><br />The Wikipedia (unfortunately not a greatly respectable resource, but usually pretty reliable) informs us regarding English in Britain, "The forms of spoken English, however, vary considerably more than in most other areas of the world where English is spoken and a uniform concept of "British English" is therefore more difficult to apply to the spoken language." Furthermore, we are informed regarding the pronunciation taught to students of English as a foreign language, "The most common form of English used by the British ruling class is that originating from southeast England (the area around the capital, London, and the ancient English university towns of Oxford and Cambridge). This form of the language is known as the 'Received Standard', and its accent is called Received Pronunciation (RP), which is improperly regarded by many people outside the UK as 'the British accent'. Earlier it was held as better than other accents and referred to as the King's (or Queen's) English...Moreover, only approximately two percent of Britons speak RP."<br /><br /><a href="http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/languages/index_en.html">"The official languages of the European Union</a>" indicates English, but not which dialect of English is meant. Regarding differences between British and American English see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_differences">this page on Wikipedia.</a>R.E. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01156476122810338958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656516060902920918.post-60904294328575019402008-03-31T12:31:00.006+02:002008-03-31T13:21:56.341+02:00Star Dictionary and EnglishHere is a link to <a href="http://stardict.sourceforge.net/download.php" target="_blank">Star Dictionary</a>, which runs on Windows, Linux or Mac. Available for Star Dictionary are some good resources for students of English as a foreign language.<br /><br /><a href="http://stardict.sourceforge.net/Dictionaries_dictd-www.dict.org.php" target="_blank">Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English<br />43052 words<br /><br />Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary<br />34153 words<br /><br />Merrian Webster 10th dictionary<br />20517 words<br /><br />The Britannica Concise Encyclopedia<br />24402 words<br /><br />English Thesaurus<br />20003 words<br /><br />CMU American English spelling<br />105626 words<br /><br />The CMU Pronouncing Dictionary<br />127012 words<br /><br />English irregular forms<br />4690 words<br /><br />English Etymology<br />18380 words<br /><br />Oxford English Collocation Dictionary<br />8338 words<br /></a><br /><br />Enjoy!R.E. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01156476122810338958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656516060902920918.post-17739420645769706502008-03-27T06:15:00.004+01:002015-02-13T17:05:52.722+01:00Really? or Really!The placement of the adverb can affect not only the actual meaning, but the mood as well. It can convey important information about the feelings of the speaker or about the relationship between the speaker and someone else. <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Really</span> is one of the most obvious adverbs used like this.<br />
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I don't know whether she really saw it, but...<br />
I don't know whether she saw it really, but...<br />
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In the first instance we are emphasizing the aspect of actuality with regards to the woman seeing it. Furthermore, the speaker is conveying the feeling of uncertainty that he has about whether she did see it herself or possibly only heard about it and passed on the information.<br />
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In the second instance we are emphasizing incredulity. The speaker does not believe the woman saw it. However, there is a feeling of contrast. The speaker is admitting that he had indicated his belief that she had seen it, on some level, and now wants to set things straight. This may be in any degree from outright correction to mere indueno.<br />
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Visit my company at <b><a href="http://usbusinessdev.com/">U.S. Business Development</a></b> in Los Angeles. Let us grow your dream and double your client base, guaranteed. R.E. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01156476122810338958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656516060902920918.post-16985724157443853362008-03-22T20:43:00.007+01:002015-02-13T17:05:41.699+01:00Brand names for proper nouns - American EnglishIn American English we have substituted brand names for many proper nouns. Here is a brief list off the top of my head:<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #999900;">kleenex (tissue)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #999900;">vaseline (petroleum jelly)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #999900;">band-aid (</span><span style="color: #999900;">adhesive bandage</span><span style="color: #999900;"> [plaster in BrE])</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #999900;">kool-aid (a children's sugary fruit juice)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #999900;">q-tips (swabs / cotton buds)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #999900;">cornflakes (There is no other real name to distinguish it from other cold cereals.)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #999900;">coke (cola)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #999900;">jello (gelatin)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #999900;">kitty litter (the gravel used in a cat's litter box that absorbs the odor)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #999900;">muzak (music piped into a store to effect customers' moods)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #999900;">scotch tape (clear, light-weight tape)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #999900;">xerox (a photocopy)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #999900;">crayons (wax pencils, used especially by little children for coloring)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #999900;">saran wrap (plastic food wrap)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #999900;">post-it (the little sticky notes)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #999900;">white-out (liquid mistake eraser)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #999900;">crockpot (an electric cooking vessel)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #999900;">jacuzzi (tub with jets)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #999900;">zip-loc (plastic storage bag that zips closed)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #999900;">chapstick (lip balm in a lipstick shape and dispenser)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #999900;">windex (liquid glass cleaner)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #999900;">aspirin (Bayer came up with the name Aspirin - from the 'A" in acetyl chloride, the "spir" in spiraea ulmaria (the plant they derived the salicylic acid from) and the 'in' was a common suffix for medicines.)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #999900;">frisbee (a plastic disc thrown like a flying saucer for play)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #999900;">thermos (an airtight container to keep liquids hot while at work or traveling)</span></li>
</ul>
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Notice that we capitalize these if they refer to the actual brand or if they stand at the beginning of a sentence, of course. Otherwise, when they refer to the category of item they are decapitalized.<br />
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Visit my company at <b><a href="http://usbusinessdev.com/">U.S. Business Development</a></b> in Los Angeles. Let us grow your dream and double your client base, guaranteed. R.E. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01156476122810338958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656516060902920918.post-85354965849890428582008-03-07T23:18:00.004+01:002008-03-07T23:26:58.891+01:00As Big vs. BiggerA colleague brought to my attention these two sentences:<br /><ul><li>Your house is three times as big as mine.</li><li>Your house is three times bigger than mine.</li></ul>He asked what the difference was and whether one was incorrect or not. I told him that they were both fine, but that the former has a feeling of competition, while the latter anywhere from an objective to a humble feeling.<br /><br />This doesn't work though with other similar constructions. When you say, "Your house is as big as mine" you are making your house the reference and indicating that his house may be the same size, but that there is likely something else inferior. So there is a feeling of pride involved now. Yet, when you say, "Your house is bigger than mine" you are making a different statement altogether and it has the same feelings as it did when the comparison was three times the size.R.E. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01156476122810338958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656516060902920918.post-83490637358651142002008-03-05T20:49:00.003+01:002008-03-05T21:04:11.314+01:00Answer to the 2nd 'Both' quiz<ul><li>It's both of our form of entertainment.</li><li>It's both of our forms of emtertainment.</li></ul><span style="font-style: italic;">Both</span> refers to a pair. So when we say <span style="font-style: italic;">form</span> of entertainment, we mean only <span style="font-weight: bold;">one</span> type. <span style="font-style: italic;">Both </span>cannot refer to the type<span style="font-style: italic;">(s)</span> of entertainment, since there is only one. Therefore, <span style="font-style: italic;">"It's both of our form of entertainment."</span> means that the type of entertainment is what each you and I prefer. <span style="font-style: italic;">Our</span> cannot in this case refer to more than two people, if the sentence is grammatically correct, since <span style="font-style: italic;">both</span> restricts it to two people.<br /><br />The second one, <span style="font-style: italic;">"It's both of our forms of emtertainment</span>," is a mistake. <span style="font-style: italic;">It</span> refers to one thing, whereas, <span style="font-style: italic;">they</span> refers to more than one. While <span style="font-style: italic;">both</span> still may refer to the two of us, <span style="font-style: italic;">forms</span> cannot compliment <span style="font-style: italic;">it</span>. <span style="font-style: italic;">Forms</span> is <span style="font-weight: bold;">plural</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">it</span> is <span style="font-weight: bold;">singular</span>. They cannot refer to the same thing.R.E. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01156476122810338958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656516060902920918.post-15602365912507171012008-03-01T15:46:00.003+01:002008-03-01T15:53:16.892+01:00Oh no! Another quiz!Here is another one of those 'stop-and-think-about-it' comparisons.<br /><ul><li>It's both of our form of entertainment.</li><li>It's both of our forms of emtertainment.</li></ul>When do you use each of these? Is one correct and the other incorrect? Do they refer to singular and multiple forms of entertainment? Do they refer to entertainment for one group as opposed to multiple groups of people? Does <span style="font-style: italic;">both</span> refer to <span style="font-style: italic;">us</span> in the first one and to <span style="font-style: italic;">forms of entertainment</span> in the second (meaning there are only two forms of entertainment in the second)?<br /><br />Make a guess and I'll tell in the next post. ;-)R.E. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01156476122810338958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656516060902920918.post-25625780422140391382008-02-23T12:40:00.004+01:002008-02-23T12:50:35.095+01:00Regarding the Quiz Question: You're Not Nuts!Regarding an earlier post, <a href="http://rcraig2english.blogspot.com/2008/02/quiz-question.html">The Quiz Question</a>, if it drove you nuts to read these phrases: <span style="font-style: italic;">Someone we both don't know</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Someone we don't both know</span>, then you are ok. Don't worry! The first should technically be <span style="font-style: italic;">Someone neither of us knows </span>and the second one <span style="font-style: italic;">Someone only one of us knows</span>. However, in real English, in the real Universe, the other two are possible and likely within a string of conversation. In fact, I was quoting from an argument I had had. The other person, a Pole, had said one of these, but clearly meant the other. We laughed over it, but as we know, an argument with its intense emotions can produce interesting language. Can you imagine what kind of mistakes I would make trying to argue in Polish? :-o My Polish is at such a low level it is probably impossible for me to argue. It's unfair to judge someone for making language errors when arguing in a language that is not their native tongue. Be generous if you are in this situation! :-PR.E. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01156476122810338958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656516060902920918.post-80139591320670873312008-02-23T10:25:00.004+01:002008-02-23T10:39:17.480+01:00The last 's' in terms of a sequenceFrom a song I've been listening to, written and performed by Keith Green, here is a logically loaded construction. <span style="font-style: italic;">I want more than Sundays and Wednesday nights. </span>This is a song criticizing Christians for limiting their dedication to God merely to their meetings at church, which in the Protestant churches is on Sundays and Wednesday nights. It is easy to convey the wrong times though by eliminating the 's' on Sundays. Then it becomes Sunday nights and Wednesday nights, which was not the intention.<br /><ul><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Sunday and Wednesday nights = Sunday nights and Wednesday nights<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Sundays and Wednesday nights = Sundays (sometime during the day or all day long and Wednesday nights)</span></li></ul>Be careful of sequences and the final 's' on the terms!R.E. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01156476122810338958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656516060902920918.post-26587720752655340462008-02-13T23:08:00.002+01:002008-02-13T23:12:07.331+01:00The answer...<ol style="font-family: verdana;"><li><span style="font-size: 85%;"> Someone we both don't know</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 85%;">Someone we don't both know</span></li></ol><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the first case the negative applies to someone, but in the second case it applies to both. So the answer is </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">c. In #1 neither you nor I know the person, in #2 only one of us knows the person.<br /></span></span>R.E. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01156476122810338958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656516060902920918.post-44780745589118865782008-02-09T20:26:00.000+01:002008-02-09T20:31:50.979+01:00Quiz Question<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Here is a quiz question. What is the difference in meaning between these two statements.</span><br /></span> <ol style="font-family: verdana;"><li><span style="font-size:85%;"> Someone we both don't know</span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;">Someone we don't both know</span></li></ol><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">a. In #1 you and I know the person, in #2 neither you nor I know the person.</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">b. In #1 only one of us knows the person, in #2 you and I know the person.</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">c. In #1 neither you nor I know the person, in #2 only one of us knows the person.</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">d. In #1 only one of us knows the person, in #2 neither you nor I know the person.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">This can be tricky! I'll post an answer in the next blog entry.</span></span>R.E. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01156476122810338958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3656516060902920918.post-5856246685209989842008-02-08T19:43:00.000+01:002008-02-08T20:03:43.862+01:00Regionally Embedded Mistakes<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Everywhere you go you find peculiar regional fluctuations in the usage of English. Some of the publishing companies have begun to categorize national versions of English as spoken in countries that are non-native ones. I myself have found some interesting propogations of outright mistakes, but more often bad or antiquated choices of phrases here in eastern Poland. Of course, I have kept in mind that I am not an expert on British English and the older generations have learned this brand and have been pressing it on the younger ones as well. The younger generation speaks mostly American English due to the free access to the Entertainment and Technology industries, which the older generations had been denied.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255); font-weight: bold;">High Time</span></span><br />You want some examples, don't you? If I said, "It's high time I started grading these test." What would be your impression? Maybe I really AM a cowboy actor! ;-) Perhaps I am simply making fun of myself as if I were lazy, when everyone knows I ain't. :-( If you thought this phrase "high time" was a simple expression commonly used in English, then you should reconsider. It is an expression of slight self-ridicule in the face of a reputation for the oppostie behavior.<br /><br />I'll be posting more examples, though not only of regionally embedded mistakes. Stay-tuned! <br /></span></span>R.E. Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01156476122810338958noreply@blogger.com0