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Before the evaluations can begin, you must complete a self-assessment of your performance by June 13. Doing this prior to the discussion ____ better results in the last evaluation. All performance evaluations need to be completed by July 1. A. produced B. to produce C. produces D. will produce *A member in some Facebook group raised the question above and couldn't understand why the correct answer was stated as 'A'. I believe the answer is obviously 'D' because the overall message is asking the recipient to comply with some requirements before July 1, assuming it to be sometime in the future. Someone else pointed out that the tricky part in the question lies in "in the last evaluation", arguing companies usually have quarterly or semiannual evaluations, and the “last evaluation” must have already occured in the past. Therefore, this justifies the use of the past tense, making the correct answer 'A'. Which answer is correct and why?

31 gennaio 2024

"thuh ocean" or "thee ocean" or both? I know the article "the" in the phrase "the ice cream cone" sounds like "thee." But how about the article in the phrase "the ocean"? Is it also pronounced as "thee"? My 6-year old daughter is a big fan of Dora the Explorer. She corrected my English today referring to one episode of Dora the Explorer. I thought she was mistaken so I asked her to show me where in the video she had heard it. It turned out that she was right. In the episode Dora says repeatedly "thuh ocean" instead of "thee ocean." Here are my questions: Is this an exception where the quick rule of thumb "AEIOU" does not apply? If so, is it also common for people to say "thee ocean"? Thanks!

28 gennaio 2020

A question about Queen Elizabeth II I saw the following sentence on Wikipedia today. Wouldn’t the sentence imply that UK, Canada, and Australia in fact were and still are the same country under one person? Why would UK, Canada, and Australia have the same queen but remain separate countries? “Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; born 21 April 1926) is, and has been since her accession in 1952, Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and Head of the Commonwealth.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_II

13 luglio 2016

Gender of a ping-pong ball Here is an excerpt of a letter to an advice columnist: “The past several years of my life have been filled with some incredible ups and downs and I’m feeling worn out. I’m writing you because I feel like a ping-pong ball who has has no control over her life. I do believe that control is largely an illusion anyway, but that thought doesn’t bring me much comfort and I need something to comfort me now.” Judging from the context: 1. Do you think that ping-pong ball is appropriately given a gender? 2. Is gender even an issue when you read the text, I mean, did it give you a pause? 3. Is it something that writers of English sometimes do to afford the writing a warmer, personal touch?

17 marzo 2016

Update to/on/of something? What preposition would you use? Update to/on/of something? What prepositions would you use? If more than one preposition is possible, how are they used? Can you comment on the following examples, are they correct? If they are not correct, would you please point out the errors? Thanks! Here is an update to the report that I send you last week. Here is an update on the issue that I brought up last week. Here is an update of the report for your reference.

22 febbraio 2016

To Inhibit or to Suppress Here is an example I found online: “Thyme oil can inhibit COX2 and suppress inflammation.” Would the general meaning of the sentence would be significantly altered if “inhibit” and “inflammation” are swapped? Note: In practice, I sometimes treat “inhibit” and “suppress” more or less synonyms and us them interchangeably. Is that how native speakers think of them too?)Sorry, I meant, if "suppress " and "inhibit" we're swapped ...

20 febbraio 2016

Excuse Me, Do You Happen to Have Two Cents to Spare?

“Yes, Chinese society has changed a lot, in many aspects much more than Western society. However there is still a lot of pressure, especially when it comes down to get married and give an heir to your parents. It comes down from Confucianism. It will probably change in future, but it will still take time.”
http://www.saporedicina.com/english/the-singles-market-of-people-square-shanghai/

This is an excerpt of an article I found on the web. Would you please comment on the grammar or the style of speech used in the passage? Does the author use standard grammar/use grammar in a natural way? Do you think English is likely his native language? Was he just being casual (or relaxed) when he writes his articles? I mean, do you spot any obvious mistakes that should have been corrected? Your comments will be very helpful to me as I am trying to decide if I should continue reading (and studying) articles written by this particular writer. Thanks!

16 febbraio 2016

How do/did you learn your SAT words?

Have you studied /are you currently studying SAT words? Did you use flashcards? Besides using flashcards with mnemonic devices to expand your vocabulary, what else did/do you do to retain the newly acquired words? I’ve heard one good way to truly grasp the new words is to read them in books; the context in which the words appear can help learners internalize them better. Are there types of writing/publications that are typically filled with SAT words? Any tips that work/worked for you?

5 febbraio 2016

Where Is My Next Book on China

Dear iTalki-ers,

Anyone happens to have read a good book on China (written in my target language: English) and would like to recommend?

P.S.: Just to give you an idea, I really had a good time reading the following super awesome books.

Peter Hessler: Strange Stone, Orachle Bones, River Town, Country Driving

Evan Osnos: Age of Ambition

Thank you so very much!!

23 gennaio 2016

Heard about reddit?

Lately I became aware of a website reddit. It is an interactive website for news where members can start threads and up-vote/down-vote other people’s posts the way we would on italki.
I am just wondering if anybody has used reddit for language purposes, if so, do you think it is in any way helpful?

Note: This is not an advertisement. My impression of this website is that it is a generic tool that functions somewhat like google. To me, it feels like some sort of an interactive achieve for information. If you think this post is inappropriate, feel free to flag it down.

19 gennaio 2016

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