My English Grammar is a world of fail

[nino_savatte]

Can anyone recommend me a very basic idiot guide to English Grammar.

The reason I ask this is that I'm learning a foreign language and am having to deal with grammatical terms and have realised that I really know fuck all about English grammar. The frightening thing is I used to earn my money from words as I used to write court reports for The Sun so the Sub editors used to correct my grammar.

I'm also having to write my first essays in 15-20 years and they look shite partially becuase my grammar is appalling.

Either an online guide for British english or a very basic book.

Fuck me I'm over forty years old and I'm a remedial English basket case (but at least I can read a fucking temperature scale )

You may also find this site useful if you have to write academic essays
http://www.ioe.ac.uk/caplits/writingcentre/

I would imagine other unis and colleges have something similar.

 

[nino_savatte]

Oh, the past participle is usually preceded by "have". Whereas the imperfect dispenses with this as does the simple past tense.

 

[KeyboardJockey]

You may also find this site useful if you have to write academic essays
http://www.ioe.ac.uk/caplits/writingcentre/

I would imagine mother unis and colleges have something similar.

Cool thats useful stuff there. It makes me realise just where I've been going wrong. When I get the feedback from the essay I just submitted I just KNOW the essay is going to be covered in red ink

 

[nino_savatte]

Cool thats useful stuff there. It makes me realise just where I've been going wrong. When I get the feedback from the essay I just submitted I just KNOW the essay is going to be covered in red ink

Normally a certain amount of latitude is given to people returning to education after a long break. Your college Student Services Department should be able to give you some assistance. That site should help you though.

 

[KeyboardJockey]

Normally a certain amount of latitude is given to people returning to education after a long break. Your college Student Services Department should be able to give you some assistance. That site should help you though.

Not a college although the standards are overseen by a college I believe. I had to hand the essay directly to the Rabbi under whom I'm studying. I've told her that this is the first essay I've written in about 20+ years and the first where I've had to go all out to condense 4000 odd years of history into 5to 8k words.

I think that I'm over nervous because it is the first essay. Pretty certain I'll get told to do a re write due to the approach I've taken. Looking back on it I shouldn't have done a series of drafts I should have mapped the main ideas out first then it wouldn't have looked so wibbly in style. I ran it past someone who has been an educator in this field for the last 20 years and she said it was good but I still didn't look right tome but Ineeded the feedback.

 

[scifisam]

Aha thanks for explaining that. So the past participle is the 'word that describes an action that has past - ie running'? Hey I think I'm getting somewhere.

Nah - the past participle for 'run' would be 'run.'

(Like I explained above. )

That Elohim thing's very interesting - worlds of interpretation possible there.

 

[KeyboardJockey]

Nah - the past participle for 'run' would be 'run.'

(Like I explained above. )

That Elohim thing's very interesting - worlds of interpretation possible there.

Agreed deffo worlds of interpretation.

And you also have the word Shekhina שכינה which is the settling of God in a place or on a person or the spirit that drives prophets. Seen by some as a feminine aspect of God.

Again strange to see this M/f duality in a monotheism. But if God has no gender why shouldn't God have aspects of all. Still I'll leave that for another thread in the beard stroking forum ie Theory and Philosophy

 

[nino_savatte]

Not a college although the standards are overseen by a college I believe. I had to hand the essay directly to the Rabbi under whom I'm studying. I've told her that this is the first essay I've written in about 20+ years and the first where I've had to go all out to condense 4000 odd years of history into 5to 8k words.

I think that I'm over nervous because it is the first essay. Pretty certain I'll get told to do a re write due to the approach I've taken. Looking back on it I shouldn't have done a series of drafts I should have mapped the main ideas out first then it wouldn't have looked so wibbly in style. I ran it past someone who has been an educator in this field for the last 20 years and she said it was good but I still didn't look right tome but Ineeded the feedback.

Rabbinical studies?

 

[Xanadu]

My secondary education started in 1956, and we were obliged to learn Latin, which was really where I started to understand grammatical rules.

Although English Language lessons covered much of the same ground, the process of translating Latin texts really helped clarify things. Of course, we all thought learning Latin was a complete waste of time, and it was later dropped from the curriculum, but, on reflection, it was a really good foundation for understanding any language, including our own.

Learning latin taught me quite a bit about grammar. I'm sad to say that I've forgotten most of it now.

 

[purves grundy]

For all your English grammar needs. On the desk / bedside / cistern of thousands upon thousands of English language teachers worldwide. Extremely well organised, crystal clear explanations, and with a brilliant section on the grammar of swearing for when you get bored of subjunctives and future perfect continuous.

 

[goldenecitrone]

Ahhhh, the holy book.

 

[KeyboardJockey]

Rabbinical studies?

Maybe in the future. One or two people have mentioned I have IRL the sort of community temperament for it

The Rabbi who is overseeing my conversion to Liberal Judaism is someone I respect greatly as a human being, a top notch scholar, years of training, theology degree etc etc. So you can see why I'm a little nervous of how my first essay effort in years is going to be recieved.

Because we are encouraged to examine and question traditional beliefs in areas like sexuality, the environment, theology and religious practice I've had to learn a whole load of stuff that I didn't previously need to about taking ideas apart and examing them and asking 'why'.

Also I've had to get my head round a lot of new religious and cultural concepts, being told to 'go out and argue' with visiting scholars seems weird to me who came froma nominally christian background where where the culture questioning authority was considered anathama.

Anyway this is a derail.

 

[KeyboardJockey]

Ms KBJ got the Usborne for me last night from the library. Fabulous. It covers so much that I seemed to do automatically and so much more I didn't realise I needed to know.

 

[Xanadu]

Maybe in the future. One or two people have mentioned I have IRL the sort of community temperament for it

The Rabbi who is overseeing my conversion to Liberal Judaism is someone I respect greatly as a human being, a top notch scholar, years of training, theology degree etc etc. So you can see why I'm a little nervous of how my first essay effort in years is going to be recieved.

Because we are encouraged to examine and question traditional beliefs in areas like sexuality, the environment, theology and religious practice I've had to learn a whole load of stuff that I didn't previously need to about taking ideas apart and examing them and asking 'why'.

Also I've had to get my head round a lot of new religious and cultural concepts, being told to 'go out and argue' with visiting scholars seems weird to me who came froma nominally christian background where where the culture questioning authority was considered anathama.

Anyway this is a derail.

Is examination and questioning of scientific/logic concepts included?

 

[KeyboardJockey]

Is examination and questioning of scientific/logic concepts included?

No LJ exists quite happily in a background of scientific knowledge unlike the loonspud US christians. Its dodgy ground to take miracles for example in the bible as actual events like some Xtians do more like descriptions of explanations of natural phenomena. Rabbi Stephen Howard said that the world is a wonderful enough place with out adding the supernatural to the mix.

No I don't see any conflict between my acceptance of science and a science based story of creation for example and the idea of the existence of God.

Where it has changed my view is I have less faith in human designed ways of changing the world so I although I call myself a socialist I don't care for any of the ways it has either been tried or many of the theories behind it. Its partially why I see all revolutions as carrying the seeds of their own self defeat.