A lack of english Knowledge III

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Well it's that time when I feel I desesperatly need to understand sheakspare's tongue. And to my great surprise last two post wasn't responded by mockery, since my question was kind of basic. Anyway I again ask for your help you are fluent in english! Oh, if it's too hard for you could you explain it or make it in (taluntain forbid) french? Or rather explain it french by Private message?

Well here ya go

First: I can't just get the difference betwen who and whom Sorry I just can't...

Second (Warning! First grade question)

Well, it's not that I don't understand, it's that something I get kind of confused betwen is and his

So in the sentece

This topic is is or his ?

Third: It's about the 's I know it mean ¨of¨ but I still get confused sometimes. So in the senteces

This topic is ofelix's or ofelix ?

Anyway thanks in advances!

 

Who vs Whom

His basically means belonging to a man. Is is completely different.

Ofelix's is correct; it means that it is yours. Without the 's, it would mean that the sentence is you, rather than belonging to you.

 

No matter what you see on the internet, you always put an apostrophe and an s in Saxon genitive - 's.

In plural, when it ends in s or x, you put just an apostrophe there without an s.

Example: Ofelix's house, but parents' house.

Who is nominative and vocative. Whom is all other cases. In practice, this means that who is the proper subject form and whom is the proper object form.

When you build those lame sentences ending in a preposition, you can only use who. Example:

Who are you waiting for?

and not Whom are you waiting for?

While the proper way is: For whom are you waiting?

Also, Chevalier is the guy whom all girls love, but She is one of legions of girls who love chevalier.

If we're already at "it" and "'s", it won't do any harm if I mention that:

"It's" stands for "it is". Possession is indicated by "its".

Example: It's a dragon. Its breath is almost as bad as my cat's.

The reason why you confuse his with is might be that people typically pronounce both the same way. It is especially common in connected speech. However, in proper pronunciation, the h in his is not mute.

 

Also, notice the clever use of mis-direction in the above sentence, using "guy" instead of "goober", and "legions" instead of "lesions".

 

Maudit Quebecois... ... ....j/k

Best tip I can give you, is to not spell things as you (probably) pronounce them...

That could be a reason why you're having trouble with "his" and "is" (which are in fact, completely different words with very different uses).

And a little tag to add onto chev's post: remember when you're using 's to indicate possession; when dealing with a name or noun that ends with the letter S (this includes plural forms), the apostrophe comes *after* the S.

Examples:
- Bess' car is very slow.
- The bus' route will take you near the prison.
- The soldiers' swords are very sharp.

 

So that would be:
The prince's horse'
The princes' horses
The princess' horse,
The princesses' horses,
The princes' horses' tails?
Please correct me if wrong....

But what if 'Matthew's is filthy' (Matthew's residence is filthy) is shortened to Matthew's is filthy? Or is that simply impossible?

And what's the difference between the following examples?
I am arrested (sitting in jail now?, for the Dutch: Ik ben gearresteerd)
I was arrested (sat in jail somewhere in the past? Dutch: Ik was gearresteerd)
I am being arrested (the cops tell me my rights at the moment? Dutch: Ik word gearresteerd)
I was being arrested (The cops told me my rights somewhere in the past? Dutch: Ik werd gearresteerd)
I have been arrested. (Can't describe...)

[ May 11, 2004, 16:20: Message edited by: Master of Nuhn ]

 

Soldiers' swords, but bus's route

 

That is the correct use of "is". It is is and not it his is. Therefore, I think you manage the verb to be very well. I think if abbreviations confuse you, leave them be. Always write the auxillary verbs out.

For example: Always it is yours instead of it's yours. He is instead of he's. I think if you do like that for a while, your problem should be solved in nearly no time... that is after a while... a short one...

And if you come to a written it's, always try to spell it out -> it is. And if it is does not make sense, it is its and not it is. Simple it is, is not it ?

And if the possessive bothers you, say it like in French -> le problème d'ofelix -> the problem of Ofelix -> Ofelix's problem. The topic of Ofelix -> Ofelix's topic.

Not that I add anything new that has not been said before... but when do I ever... spam for the spamming's sake... or spamming's sake and the the drops ?... or is it is dropped... is being dropped... has being dropped ... being his dropped

 

Best way i know to learn (mind, not study ) english is to hang around here a long time
I must say this forum gave me the grand majority of my "advanced" stage of learning english. Though this "advanced" stage of mine is surely way below the level of many other participants in this forum. The first stage being playing BG
Though, for school this is more than enough. The latest feat i'm quite proud of... I finished the english test in 15 minutes(meant for 45), catched the train home and got 4(=second best grade). Of course tenses still beat my score down. *shrugs*

Ofelix, you might also want to try talking to yourself in english. I do it all the time, though not aloud. Sanity might be questioned
Sure helps keeping your speech fluent. I think so at least

 

Spam a lot and you'll be fine

 

@Master of Nuhn (or was that Jack of Ahltraids?)

"I am arrested"
You might consider "I am incarcerated," or even "I am under arrest" instead of "I am arrested" here. Being arrested refers to the exact moment of being caught by the police (where they tell me "you are under arrest"). Immediately after that moment, as the cops are handcuffing me and reading me my rights, I might think to myself: "Oh ****, I've been arrested," or "Oh no, I'm under arrest." When I get my first call, I might say "I was arrested," or "I have been arrested," refering to that moment of being arrested in the past. I could, however, say as I'm sitting in jail that "I am incarcerated," or that "I am under arrest." Somehow, saying "I am arrested" seems awkward, almost like in Shakespeare where a character says "I am slain!" immediately after being stabbed, and before commensing with the monologue that will end with him finally expiring.

"I was arrested" simply means that I was arrested in the past; I may or may not be incarcerated when I say that. I might say, for example, that "I was arrested for posting too much on SP and neglecting my work." "I was incarcerated" refers to a situation in the past when I was in jail. If I was in jail for two years, I would say "I was incarcerated for two years," but I would never say "I was arrested for two years," as this would make no sense. "I was under arrest" refers to a situation where one had just been arrested, probably prior to being booked at the station.

Perhaps if I were on my cell phone at the very moment of my arrest, I might say "Oh no, the cops have me surrounding, I think I am being arrested."

If I were recounting the tale of my arrest, and wanted to describe what was happening at the moment of my arrest, I might say "So, as I was being arrested, this cop came up to me and confiscated my doughnut."

If "I was arrested" always refers to a specific event in the past, "I have been arrested" may either refer to one specific event, or to a more general condition. For example, during my first phone call after my arrest, I might say either "I was arrested, and now I am in jail," or "I've been arrested, and now I am in jail." However, while I might say the next day that "I was arrested yesterday," I wouldn't say "I have been arrested yesterday," as this would suggest that I could have potentially been arrested multiple times yesterday. "I was arrested for posting on SP" would mean I was arrested a single time, while "I have been arrested for posting on SP" suggests that I have been arrested at least once, though possibly more times, for posting on SP.

Hope this helps...