Grammar - Tumblr Posts
“This is your daily, friendly reminder to use commas instead of periods during the dialogue of your story,” she said with a smile.
ok is there a toki pona community on here? I need to know
lately I’ve been obsessed but I have found no ways to check my grammar online
and also if there isn’t that is an absolute injustice
The 然's
突然，虽然，忽然. and the other 然's can often get mixed up, so here's a quick explanation of some of the most common ones!
突然 (Túrán): This means suddenly or unexpectedly
居然 (Jūrán): This kind of means suddenly, but more in the sense of "surprisingly" or to suggest disbelief at something that happened.
忽然 (Hūrán): This also means suddenly or unexpectedly, but it has a more stronger connotation.
既然 (Jìrán): This is a conjunction meaning "since" or "now that"
既然the weather is great, let's go out!
既然 you aren't busy, let's go watch a movie.
不然 (Bùrán): This means "otherwise" or "or else";
You should study, 不然 you won't do well on the exam.
虽然 (Suīrán): This means although or even though.
虽然 I'm not good at singing, I still like to go to the karaoke.
当然 (Dāngrán): 当然 means certainly or definitely and can be used as a reply:
Can you help me with A? 当然!
自然 (Zìrán): This can mean nature or naturally.
China's 自然 is very beautiful.
She speaks Chinese 得很自然.
仍然 (Réngrán): This can mean "still" or "yet".
I仍然 haven't read that book.
依然 (Yīrán): Similar to 仍然, this also means still" or "yet" but it's usually used in more formal and literary works, whereas 仍然 is more often used in spoken language.
果然 (Guǒrán): 果然 can be used to mean "indeed" or "as expected"
This movie is 果然 interesting.
竟然 (Jìngrán): This is an adverb used to suggest surprise or something unexpected.
He竟然forgot her birthday.
显然 (Xiǎnrán): This means "clearly" or "obviously".
This soup 显然 hot.
偶然 (Ǒurán): This means "accidentally" or "by chance".
We 偶然 met at the same cafe.
How many other 然's do you know about? Drop a comment!
Yangs (扬) vs Changs (场) vs Tangs (汤)
These can get confusing, so here are some of the most common words that use this radical 昜 explained.
场 (chǎng)
A measure word for sports or leisure activities e.g. 一场足球比赛
A large place such as an open space, a field or a venue e.g. 会场 (a conference hall)
畅 (chàng)
An adjective meaning smooth or at ease or free from worry
A surname
玚 (cháng)
An old word (rarely used nowadays) meaning jade used in sacrificial ceremonies.
肠 (cháng)
Intestines or sausages
汤 (tāng)
Soup
Hot or boiling water
A surname
杨 (yáng)
A willow but it's more close to it's scientific name poplar in meaning
A surname
扬 (yáng)
To raise something e.g. 扬手
To toss or throw something up
A surname
炀 (yáng)
A literary term for smelting or melting something
旸 (yáng)
Sunshine or a rising sun
飏 (yáng)
To soar, fly or float
疡 (yáng)
A medical term for sores or an ulcer
钖 (yáng)
An ornament on a horse's head stall (oddly specific)
The 青 characters
Here's another post explaining the difference between characters with similar radicals, so here's a quick guide to 青!
请 (qǐng) 1. To ask, request 2. To treat (someone to a meal etc.)
清 (qīng) 1. To clean,clear
青 (qīng) 1. Green/blue color 2. An abbreviation for young people 年青人
情 (qíng) 1. A feeling, emotion
晴 (qíng) 1. Fine, clear e.g. Clear weather
静 (jìng) 1. Quiet, peacegul
睛 (jīng) 1. Eye, eyeball
猜 (cāi) 1. To guess, suspect, speculate
精 (jīng) 1. Energy, spirit, essence
靖 (jìng) 1. This also means quiet, peaceful but it's a more older form. 2. A surname
腈 (jīng) 1. Nitrile, acrylic
The 佥 Characters
A quick guide to the different characters using 佥!
脸 (liǎn) 1. Face 2. The front part of something e.g. a shop 3. Self-respect
险 (xiǎn) 1. Insurance e.g. Health insurance, car insurance 2. A place difficult to access
验 (yàn) 1. To check, test or inspect something e.g. a blood test, to check a passport
剑 (jiàn) 1. A sword, dagger or sabre
检 (jiǎn) 1. To check, inspect or examine something
签 (qiān) 1. To sign something e.g. a contract, a document
捡 (jiǎn) 1. To gather or collect something
俭 (jiǎn) 1. This is an adjective meaning frugal
睑 (jiǎn) 1. An eyelid: Upper eyelid - 上睑 Lower eyelid - 下睑
佥 (qiān) 1. This character isn't really used that often, but in classical Chinese it's used to mean together
“This is your daily, friendly reminder to use commas instead of periods during the dialogue of your story,” she said with a smile.
Wouldn’t the proper way to say “what are you up to” be “to what are you up”?
Present Perfect vs. Past Perfect
Past Perfect (had)
To express something that occurred (for a while) BEFORE another action in the PAST; our reference point is the past.
So, it's used to express a timeline like this:
Past Perfect -> Past Simple -> Now
Example: "When Sarah arrived, Paul had left"
Present Perfect (has) - what I use most in SV study
our reference point is the PRESENT.
started in the past and CONTINUES to the present.
Example: "I have lived in this city for six months"
or
an action that happened before now (UNSPECIFIED time - dont say specifically when something happened). Listener is not waiting for more info bc you have caught up to the present with this tense.
Example: "I have been to Japan twice."
If "I had been to Japan twice" was used instead, more info (past and maybe present) would be expected by listener.
Sources:
🇸🇪 Reciprocal Verbs and Abstract Nouns
Reciprocal Verbs
"You can add -s to verbs to give them a so called ”reciprocal meaning”, i.e. meaning ’each other’. So träffa is ”to meet”, whereas träffas is ”to meet each other”. So you are essentially saying ”[it was] nice to meet each other”.
This reciprocal -s is very common in verbs that have to do with fighting of some sort, e.g. boxas (to box), slåss (to fight), retas (to tease), but also kramas (to hug), kyssas (to kiss) etc." - Redditor Coedwig
Abstract (vs. Concrete) Nouns
will study forms like
abstract nouns: noun, singular adj, plural adj, adverb (noun, -lig, -liga, -ligt)
concrete nouns: indef singular (a/an foot), definite singular (the foot), definite plural (the feet, the oranges), indef plural (some feet)
Som vs. att & Relative Pronouns & Så vs. Sån - 🇸🇪
with SV: Jag har sån tur som har träffat dig (from google translate)
Som vs. att
In "Killen som jag väljer", som is a relative pronoun (relating to "killen"). Translated to English it would be "The guy that/which/whom I choose". You never use "att" as a relative pronoun. Both "som" and "att" can be used as conjunctions/subjunctions. "Som" is used for comparisons: Jag säger som det är - I tell it like it is. Så vit som snö - As white as snow. And "att" is used to connect to a following statement. Han sa att han hette Nisse - He said that his name was Nisse. Att is also used as an infinite marker, such as "to be" -"att vara".
-Redditor Ampersand55
Relative Pronouns
the one most relevant to me right now is:
SV: Jag har sån tur som har träffat dig (from google translate) EN: I am so lucky to have met you. lit: I have such luck that [I] have met you. I have such luck + [I] have met you I have such noun + detail added to noun The noun of the piggy bank has the detail of getting broken The noun of luck has the detail of the speaker meeting another
So vs. Such (Så vs. Sån)
so + adj
such + noun phrase
does that mean we can extrapolate (sometimes) to:
så + adj
sån + noun phrase
SV: Jag har sån tur som har träffat dig (from google translate) lit: I have such luck that [I] have met you. I have such + luck ... I have such + noun phrase
Swedish Noun Forms & Nollplural
2024.04.03 - There are 5 total conjugations/declensions for Swedish nouns here, but this screenshot helps clear up some confusion to start.
Another note:
2 genders: common (utrum) [en] and neuter (neutrum) [ett]
Noun gender is largely arbitrary and must be memorized;
however, ~3/4 nouns are common gender [en]. Living beings are often common nouns, like in en katt "a cat", en häst "a horse", en fluga "a fly", etc
just memorize indefinites and the definites naturally follow. example: en stol -> stolen, stolar -> stolarna.
Nollplural form from -are suffix
example:
en jägare = a hunter, jägare = some hunters
(jägaren = the hunter, jägarna = the hunters)
"If added to a a-final stem, the two adjacent a:s merge into one single a. The nouns get the common gender and have what in Swedish is called "nollplural"; when the plural form is the same as the singular form." - WordSense
Edit: ett nouns also often don't change their plural form (from their singular form)
Summary:
when 아/어/여 is used in the middle of a sentence, it is actually short for 아/어/여서
this shortened form is used with "because..." and "then..." meanings
CANNOT be shorted with the meaning "by [means of~]"
see: 나도 해 보고 싶었는데 발이 논에 푹푹 빠져(서) 걷기도 힘들었다
Haber vs. Estar vs. Ser / Hay vs. Está vs. Es
2024.04.04 Hour 2 🇲🇽 - Usborne Easy Spanish
Spanish - 50 min, 21 terms, 1 Osborne chapter w/ dad (+ 1hr uncounted to do the grammar research here)
!cuidado! el/la before names; no un/una before career; some feminine nouns starting with a- or ha- still start with el
confusions:
hay vs. está = there is/are vs. (it) is
Y tambien hay una ciudad = Yes, and also there's a city!
Sí, ahí hay los puentes.. = Yes, there are the bridges..
!ahí está el aeropuerto! = There is the airport
Y aquí está la casa Salchicha = And here is the house of Salchicha
Here's the differentiation from ThoughtCo:
Haber = to indicate the mere existence of the person or thing; when a word is used more generically
Estar = to indicate the location of the person or thing; is used when a specific person or thing is referred to, so nouns with [el, la, los, las], [ese, esta], or [mi, tu] normally would be used with estar. Here are more examples:
está vs. es = (it) is vs. it is
Estar (está) is used to talk about HOW something is, so we use it for conditions, locations, emotions, and actions (temporary states).
Ser (es) is used in a simple way, to talk about WHAT something is (permanent states), to describe characteristics that are an essential part of the thing we’re talking about.
Conditions, locations: !ahí está el aeropuerto! = There is the airport Y aquí está la casa Salchicha = And here is the house of Salchicha
Essential characteristics: (of "that" or "it") Eso es la costa = That is the coast Es un puerto = It is a port Mira! Es Villatorres! = Look! It's Villatorres! ?Qué es eso, Carmen? = What is that, Carmen? Es el mapa = It is the map
2024.04.06 Hour 13.5 🇸🇪 - Coffee Break Swedish
1.04 Notes:
long vowels and swedish - pretend there are two of the vowels written there
if you start part of a sentence with a time or place (e.g. "just nu"), then the verb and subject of sentence need to switch places
Göteborg = Gothenburg = (the one town pronounced differently in english)
den/det = it (and use "det" for the dummy "it")
de (pronounced "dom") = they
ni = you plural
du = thou, dig = you; du-reformen in 1960s
Helsingfors (rs ≈"sh") = Helsinki
1.05 Notes:
Det här är ... min vän, min pojkvän, min särbo
särbo / sambo
flycka + van = flyckvän / pojke + vän = pojkvän
en (common) vs. ett (neuter); en is used 75-80% of the time.
ett barn, mitt barn
mitt -> notice that double t makes the i a short vowel; if it were mit then i vowel would be long (mit = "meet")
double consonant at the end shortens the vowel
jag ser fram i mot det = i look forward to it
jag med = me too
1.06 Notes:
det låter bra / det låter utmärkt
ett syscon / mitt syscon / jag har inte syscon.
fredagsmys: Friday cozy time - tv och snacks, e.g. idål och läsk
att mysa = to cuddle
lordagsgodis: Sweets saturday
when it comes to family, most plurals are irregular: en bror, två bröder / en syster, två systrar / en son två söner / en dotter, två döttrar
very often "ett" plural nouns don't change form: ett barn, jag har två barn / ett syscon, jag har tre syscon
"y" pronunciation tip = "ee" in sheep with rounded lips
en förälder / mina föräldrar = a parent / my parents
mina = for all (mitt or min) plurals
noll (0), ett, två, tre, fyra, fem, sex, sju, åtta, nio ("nia), tio ("tia")
+0.5hr x 3 & watched 2 episodes of Young Royals last night + last episode idag
Echo Method / Echoic Memory / Deep Listening
Found this video again. Her echo technique for improving pronunciation has stuck in my head. Thought it would be good to add it here.
START: Find an audio file with a written transcription and choose a short section from it. Read it carefully, and Google all the words, phrases and cultural allusions you don’t know, making sure you thoroughly understand everything in the whole section.
When you're ready to practice, press "play" and listen to three or four words, then press "pause".
Take a moment to listen to the "echo" in your head.
Then, after you've heard the words echo in your head, repeat them out loud.
Then, repeat directly after the original.
Then, finally, say it at the same time.
You must "overlearn", you must overdo it in order to remember it.
Practicing daily like this, you will learn, not just pronunciation, but also vocabulary and grammar at the same time.
10 minutes is in fact enough, but you need to do it every day.
Mexican Spanish Greetings
Probably good to start with: buenos días (good morning) until noon, buenas tardes (good afternoon) between noon and sunset and buenas noches (good night) after sunset.
Then:
¿Cómo está? How are you?
Muy bien, ¿y usted? Very well, and you?
¡Que tenga un buen día! Have a great day!
Mucho gusto en conocerlo / conocerla. Nice to meet you. (male / female acquaintances)
Igualmente. Likewise.
Que le vaya bien. Have a nice day!
¡Adiós! Goodbye!
¿Cómo estás? = 'How are you' (spoken to a friend, equal, child, etc.)
¿Cómo está? or ¿Cómo está usted? = 'How are you' (spoken to a teacher, cop, older person, other folks who deserve respect).
The dividing line between these two versions depends on where you live. For example in Spain there is hardly anyone with whom you can't use the informal estás form.
Qué tal? - Formal or Informal?, etc.
PSA FOR THE COMMUNITY
Apostrophes are used to form possessives of nouns, to indicate the omission of letters, and occasionally to form plurals of lowercase letters. Does this make sense to you? Let’s go into more detail:
POSSESSIVES:
“the man’s hat” is the hat of the man.
“James’ hat” is the hat of James. Note that “James” ends in “s”, so the additional s can be excluded or included.
For joint posession, such as “Kylie and Jacob’s game”, only the final noun has an apostrophe.
OMISSIONS:
Commonly known as contractions, this category is one of the most frequently misused. Let’s (let us) look at some examples.
“don’t” do not
“who’s” who is (although, depending on context, you may want to use “whose” instead)
“could’ve” could have - this is frequently misheard “could of”, which is gramatically incorrect
Decades of the 1900s are also commonly shortened “the ‘60s”, “the ‘80s”, and so on.
And most importantly,
“it’s” means “it is”, AND IS NOT THE SAME AS “ITS”. “Its” is a possessive pronoun meaning “belonging to it”, as in “The Council has made its decision.”
Possessive pronouns such as “theirs” and “its” do not need apostrophes to show that they are possessive. If you’re using indefinite pronouns such as “anyone” or “nobody”, then apostrophes ARE used to indicate possession, as in “It’s everybody’s dream.”
Let’s try some examples:
“___ a wonderful life” - it’s
“(examining a computer) ___ hard drive is dead.” - its
“___ no biggie.” - it’s
“This meeting will attempt to address some prior concerns of ___ members.” - its
Does this make sense? I know, English sucks.
One other thing:
APOSTROPHES SHOULD NEVER BE USED FOR PLURALIZATION OF ANYTHING THAT ISN’T A SINGLE LETTER.
If you want to refer to, say, how many instances of the letter “s” occur in a text, you might want to say something like “There are 67 s’s in the text.” This indicates the single letter’s separation from the plural. Compare it to its counterpart, without the apostrophe - “67 ss in the text” is harder to read.
Apostrophes should not be used in pluralization of anything else. If you say “I spent hours’ waiting in the rain”, then you are not only a wet fool, but gramatically incorrect. “Hours” is already a full, pluralized word - you don’t need to add anything.
Please, please share this information. Check your work. DON’T count on your teachers to find and correct these mistakes - even English teachers get this wrong. Please do your part to make the world a better place.
Sincerely, a grammar nerd who gets a migrane every time she sees “it’s” in place of “its”
Shirley Jackson’s Sublime First Graf in ‘Hill House’, Annotated
We’ve noticed that Random House copy chief Benjamin Dreyer can work into almost any conversation, no matter the topic, his affection for the first paragraph of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House, and we were finally moved to ask him if he could explain and justify that affection. [x]
“No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality;[*] even larks and katydids[†] are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane,[‡] stood by itself against the hills,[§] holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily[**] against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there,[††] walked alone.”
[*] First, let’s hear it for that semicolon, the first of three in this paragraph. Any number of celebrated writers who ought to know better—I’ll name no names—have said any number of foolish, disparaging things about semicolons. Jackson uses them, beautifully, to hold her sentences tightly together. Commas, semicolons, periods: This is how the prose breathes.
[†] I wonder how many combinations of fauna Jackson experimented with before she landed on “larks and katydids.” The two k’s are a particularly nice touch. You are reading this paragraph aloud, are you not? You ought.
[‡] I love the contrast of the deferential “by some” and the blunt “not sane.” The paragraph marches along in stately fashion, but Jackson’s beginning to tilt you off-balance. Hold on.
[§] If there’s any bit of the paragraph I’m not 100 percent sold on, it’s the Hill/hills repetition right here. It just doesn’t sing to me. Had I been SJ’s Hill House copy editor, I might have asked her whether she’d consider deleting “against the hills.” (And I’ll bet she’d have declined to do so.)
[**] SJ’s marvelous with adverbs, don’t you think? (Don’t let anyone poison your mind against adverbs. Adverbs are great.) “Neatly,” “sensibly,” “steadily”: It’s all so civil and civilized. Until…
[††] This may well be my favorite comma in all of literature. It’s not grammatically necessary; you might, if you were so inclined (I’m not), argue that it’s incorrect. But here it is, the last breath of the paragraph, and I like to think that it’s SJ’s way of saying, “This is your last chance to set this book down and go do something else, like work in your garden or stroll down the street for an ice cream cone. Because from this point on it’s just you, and me, and whatever it is that walks, and walks alone, in Hill House.”
I don’t think that anyone’s going anywhere. Right?