Have you found language partners on italki? ... Have you found language partners on italki? What do you do together for practicing your language skills? What goals have you set? (like common preparation for IELTS or so) What difficulties do you face in such cooperation?

Are there any rules which syllables should be written as accented? Are there any rules in Spanish which syllables should be written as accented? I know that "còmo" and "como" are different words (the accent matters). The snag is it's quite difficult to remember it just visually. I need the logic of it. The answer can be also a link to the explanation (English, I can't read Spanish yet).

wanting = desire... is it correct? On some ESL resources I met the expression "Thanks for wanting to be my friend." The last time I came across it here in the glitter (the second comment on the bottom of the page) http://my.englishclub.com/profile/ChristinaYarosh It sounds for me a little bit stange. But I am not a native speaker and can't rely on my feelings. So, please tell me what it is - kind of slang, bad English or just everything is alright with it? P.S. I looked up to dictionaries for this word. Macmillan and Merriam-Webster do not provide such a meaning (wanting=desire). So, I am puzzled and need your help... By the way, can you suggest a few ways how to say the same thing (about friendship) to sound naturally in English. :) Thanks in advance.I admit I got some quite unexpected answers. I will try to ask again. I mean "wanting" in the context... that is in the sentence "Thank you for wanting to be my friend" (social network, nothing about sex or so). Dictionaries provide the meaning just of an adjective "wanting" and, actually, nothing in common with friendship (somewhat like "not as good as something should be"). Needless to say I know the meaning of the verb "to want"... To the extent as I understood, the expression "thanks for wanting" is not used in ordinary conversation, just on the internet. Correct me if I am wrong... = = = What I wanted to make sure about the expression "thanks for wanting" = = = 1) If it is correct gramatically, what is "wanting" here - a noun, a gerund... what? 2) Is it correct in lexical sense? If so, why was it missed in the most popular dictionaries? This circumstance confuses me. 3) Is it correct stylistically? ( would you use this sentence or expressed better yourself in the other way? a- in social network; b- in real conversation) 4) In what cases can the expression "thanks for wanting" be used? Can it be used somewhere else besides the internet? .... Besides, we don't say "I am wanting", do we? • • • Please look up for the meaning of WANTING in these same dictionaries. • • • This circumstance confuses me the most :( The words "to want", "to desire", "to wish" are familiar for me... That's not the case when I can't make the difference between them...

How to make out whether it should be a point after the cut word? I was surprised with not finding a point in the title of the university (the University of St Andrews). Though we shorten a minute into "min." where we put the point. Please help me with the rules which regulate using points in cut words. It might be either an explanation or useful links, working google keys and so on. (Such keywords as "shortened word" or "cut word" don't work; I found nothing relevant.) Thanks in advance.

Is it correct to say the following? >> I'm not as rich as HER Actually, the question is SHE vs. HER, and why. A couple of times I found on the internet the expression wich I wrote in the title. Though I'm used to this version >> I'm not as rich as SHE is. So, is it correct to say the following? >> I'm not as rich as HER Perhaps it might be correct in some way, like a conversational saying... What would you say? Can it can be used and when/where?

Drop-dead. When and How to use the phrase. Drop-dead. When and How to use the phrase. I have a slight idea about the meaning of the phrase from Google dictionary. Though I need to get the feeling of it through the context. So please, give me a few different examples where it would have been used. And if there is any danger while using it, please, provide proper explanations. (I wouldn't like to sound silly). Thanks in advance.

Let me tell you about my trip to Rivne Hi friends! I hope someone of the native speakers becomes interested to chat with me sometimes for I'd like to improve my communicative skills including correct pronunciation. ----- I'd like to tell you about my trip to Rivne. That is the city in the central part of Ukraine. It's famous for its zoo, therefore my friends and me got the point we had to pay a visit there. So we started with checking out correct information how to get there. The kind of transportation we chose was a railcar [*]. Though trains and busses were available, we decided to prefer what was new for us. By the way as it turns out, a railcar is the fastest means to get from Lviv to Rivne. It arrives to Rivne in 2.5 hours instead of 4 as it takes by usual train. I'd add that we, of course, checked out the train schedule and bought one-way railcar tickets for all of us. Our train (actually it's a train, just it looks a bit different) departed in time, that is about 9 in the morning. Hence before the midday we were in Rivne. A passenger who took her aisle seat next to us appeared come from there. She was so kind to us and gave us advice where we could have lunch and how to get to the zoo. Excuse me for such a long story, but I can't omit that we had our lunch in a cafe we had found in a great super-market named "Ecvator". The "Ecvator" was such an impressive place! We found an ice rink inside with many people skating there. And besides there was a colourful children's train riding in super-market's halls =) Ok! Then we went to the zoo and saw lots of interesting animals. Some of the animals' names were so strange I couldn't remember even in Ukrainian ;) At least we happily came home by marshrutka (so we call small local busses) and then by the sleeper train. (The direct transportation in the evening was unavailable). We were so impressed and excited of our trip that I wished so much to share it with you! --- * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railcar or if you check out the ukrainian version of the article, you will see an exact image of our vehicle. And besides it was shot on Lviv railway station, that is in my city. --- P.S. Please check out if I used the articles properly for I stumble at those a lot. Thanks for your attention. And of course, have a nice day! Best, Oksana

How to call the sign of @ in English? How to call the sign of @ in English? And how to pronounce it when reading an email-adress? (and if there is a difference between American and British versions, please point it out) -- Btw both in Russian and Ukrainian it's called and read like 'sobachka' that is a puppy.Additional questions. 1) If to ask "Did you forget to put there an "at" sign?" would it be correct? 2) There are no other versions in English besides "at" to call it (even in slang), right?= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = I'd like to thank you all guys for your participation in the discussion for I got to know even a bit more than I had asked. So, many thanks to you all! I'll stay relying on your support in my further studying. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * And the last. Just have a nice day! =)

Speaking about the Past During my last online lesson, I got to know about correct answering questions when speaking about the Past. The point is that sometimes you can use not neccessary the same Tense as it is in a question you answer. And it usually happens in a real conversation. You might have been asked a question in the Present Perfect. Then you could answer in two different ways that is both in the Present Perfect and in the Past Simple. What does it depend on? The chosen Tense depends on focus you like to make in your answer. So if you like to stress the result or completed action, you chose the Present Perfect. If you like to stress (or it is supposed by your interlocutor despite he doesn't ask you directly) that the action was done in specific time, hence you chose the Past Simple. Here we have some examples. Q in PP: Has she closed the window? A in PS: Yes, she has already closed the window. A in PP: She closed the window about 10 min ago. Q in PP: Have you ever driven this car? A in PS: Yes, I have driven this car. A in PP: I drove this car while it was raining yesterday. Q in PP: Has that driver ever had an accident? A in PS: Yes, that driver has had an accident despite he is quite experienced. A in PP: That driver had an accident recently, even last week, despite he was quite experienced. Q in PP: Has Timmy seen a giraffe? A in PS: Yes, Timmy has already seen a giraffe in our Zoo. A in PP: Timmy saw a funny giraffe last Sunday when he was in Zoo. Q in PP: Have you ever studied the Arts? A in PS: Yes, I have studied the Arts. A in PP: I studied the Arts in Lviv in the late 1980s. But you ought to be attentive in a case you have been asked a question in the Past Simple. Then you must answer it only in in the Past Simple that is in the very same Tense. That for sure means you've been asked about the Past ;) --- Thanks to Alan, my teacher... http://www.italki.com/T006414639.htm