some Ddeaf/Hhoh with grammar english problems

Yep, it does. Another idiom comes to mind: I'm at the end of my rope. Here's a variation: Hang in there!

Here's FDR's ad-lib: When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.
 
deafskeptic said:
Yep, it does. Another idiom comes to mind: I'm at the end of my rope. Here's a variation: Hang in there!

Here's FDR's ad-lib: When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.
Click to expand...

Those are a few good uses of idiom.
Though some of my favorite quotes are by Epictetus (they are not really idioms but still)

"Be careful to leave your sons well instructed rather than rich, for the hopes of the instructed are better than the wealth of the ignorant."

"First learn the meaning of what you say, and then speak."

"If virtue promises happiness, prosperity and peace, then progress in virtue is progress in each of these for to whatever point the perfection of anything brings us, progress is always an approach toward it. "

"If you wish to be a writer, write."

"It is impossible to begin to learn that which one thinks one already knows."

"No greater thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen. "
 
jenni-m said:
I highly doubt that is the reason.

Just FYI:
It helps to know what the exact problem is when trying to help someone.

Edited to clarify:
"I can't write well" is not enough. It would be helpful to know WHY.
Punctuation? Tenses? Grammatical order? What is confusing? What is the actual problem?
Click to expand...
I agree.

What a lot of tutors (including me) face when working with deaf students at NTID was that those students never pointed out their problems. They simply said, "I can't do it. Help me!"

In the computer lab, they have tables where tutors sit at for a couple hours and wait for any student to come in and ask for help. What some students will do is come in, sit down, and say... "Here! Help me!" They will hand the tutor a handout that the teacher gave them. "Help with what?" "That!" "What part?" "All of it!" "Did you read it?" "What for? You're my tutor, help me!" "Well, I can't help you until you show me what your problem is." "You're holding it. That's my problem!"
 
Hello Everyone,


When I saw this, I apologize for cause problem with this topic.

This is what happened to me and other deaf student or any other at college or school.

I tried to work so hard on my grammar english. At least my best. I'm not perfect.
 
MeYag2CAL said:
Hello Everyone,


When I saw this, I apologize for cause problem with this topic.

This is what happened to me and other deaf student or any other at college or school.

I tried to work so hard on my grammar english. At least my best. I'm not perfect.
Click to expand...

You haven't caused a problem at all. No need to aplologize.
 
MeYag2CAL said:
Hello Everyone,


When I saw this, I apologize for cause problem with this topic.

This is what happened to me and other deaf student or any other at college or school.

I tried to work so hard on my grammar english. At least my best. I'm not perfect.
Click to expand...

You spell perfectly. It is easy to get your meaning. :ty:
 
shel90 said:
Hey, don't apologize!

My grammar is good but my style of writing is so simple. It is not creative and I struggle to apply a variety of vocabulary words in my writing. When I read books with big and fancy words, I understand them but I cant transfer those kinds of words into my writing. Like Chase and Jillo...they are very creative with their writing. That level of writing is what I would like to achieve but it has been a struggle for me. I think it is because I did not have full access to language during my younger years and grew up learning language in a rigid style therefore making my style of writing rigid.
Click to expand...

I can relate to this as well. I read and understand the vocabulary words, but I can not transfer those kinds of words into my writing either due to my language acquisition issues during my youth years. I slowly acquire some more and transfer a little bit of words into my writing. It is not easy for me.
 
Oddball said:
I can relate to this as well. I read and understand the vocabulary words, but I can not transfer those kinds of words into my writing either due to my language acquisition issues during my youth years. I slowly acquire some more and transfer a little bit of words into my writing. It is not easy for me.
Click to expand...

I'm the same way with idioms and some words and I won't use them unless I'm sure how to to use it properly. The Southern idiom "I declare" that I picked up from Lee Smith's Saving Grace is one such example. Hardly anyone uses it any more.

I think it may means Wow, I hadn't known that but I'm not certain. I think a proper use of this idiom would be, Well, I declare I had no idea that was what was going on.

Another Southern idiom that I didn't learn the meaning of till I was 20 though I heard it many times before: Why are you so ugly to to others? It means being mean to others.
 
next time you're in a bookstore, or even better, a college bookstore, look for the spiral-bound writing handbooks. not only do they have tons of information about grammar, spelling, punctuation, syntax, etc, some of them have whole chapters specifically for those learning english as a non-native language.

here's the one we use at work:
Amazon.com: Writer's Reference 6e & MLA Quick Reference Card: Diana Hacker, Barbara Fister: Books

lol, i didn't know they were so expensive. we have about 7 copies of it. plus many more copies of the earlier editions. but it's probably worth it. these handbooks teach you how to write, they're like a one-stop shop.
 
August said:
next time you're in a bookstore, or even better, a college bookstore, look for the spiral-bound writing handbooks. not only do they have tons of information about grammar, spelling, punctuation, syntax, etc, some of them have whole chapters specifically for those learning english as a non-native language.

here's the one we use at work:
Amazon.com: Writer's Reference 6e & MLA Quick Reference Card: Diana Hacker, Barbara Fister: Books

lol, i didn't know they were so expensive. we have about 7 copies of it. plus many more copies of the earlier editions. but it's probably worth it. these handbooks teach you how to write, they're like a one-stop shop.
Click to expand...

The Diana Hacker book is an excellent reference.
 
deafskeptic said:
I'm the same way with idioms and some words and I won't use them unless I'm sure how to to use it properly. The Southern idiom "I declare" that I picked up from Lee Smith's Saving Grace is one such example. Hardly anyone uses it any more.

I think it may means Wow, I hadn't known that but I'm not certain. I think a proper use of this idiom would be, Well, I declare I had no idea that was what was going on.

Another Southern idiom that I didn't learn the meaning of till I was 20 though I heard it many times before: Why are you so ugly to to others? It means being mean to others.
Click to expand...

LOL....when I lived in the South for awhile, I never did figure out if "over yonder way" was North, South, East or West. And the one that always puzzled me was "I'm fixin' to (do this or that).
 
jillio said:
The Diana Hacker book is an excellent reference.
Click to expand...

word up. she's practically the only author my teachers use.

i also encourage anyone interesting in improving their English (even me) to get this book:
Amazon.com: The Elements of Style: William Strunk, E. B. White, Roger Angell: Books
it's cheap, too.

and i just searched for "grammar ESL" and found some books that look promising, and cheap as well:
Amazon.com: Basic American Grammar and Usage: An ESL/EFL Handbook (Esl/Efl Handbook): Marcel Danesi Ph.D.: Books

Amazon.com: ESL Intermediate/Advanced Grammar (Rea's Language): Mary Ellen Munoz Page, Steven Michael Gras: Books

a 400 page grammar book for $14 is a hell of a deal.
 
LOL! I am usually good at picking up idioms but I was totally wrong about the meaning of "Hog Heaven". I always thought Hog Heaven was a convention of pig farmers meeting together to swap info on recipes and stuff. Reason why I never thought it might refer to a BBQ is because most Virginians unlike Tar Heels are big on ham - not BBQ.

It wasn't until I met someone who was into Harleys that I found out what it really meant.
 
August said:
word up. she's practically the only author my teachers use.

i also encourage anyone interesting in improving their English (even me) to get this book:
Amazon.com: The Elements of Style: William Strunk, E. B. White, Roger Angell: Books
it's cheap, too.

and i just searched for "grammar ESL" and found some books that look promising, and cheap as well:
Amazon.com: Basic American Grammar and Usage: An ESL/EFL Handbook (Esl/Efl Handbook): Marcel Danesi Ph.D.: Books

Amazon.com: ESL Intermediate/Advanced Grammar (Rea's Language): Mary Ellen Munoz Page, Steven Michael Gras: Books

a 400 page grammar book for $14 is a hell of a deal.
Click to expand...

That is a good deal! Interpretator ought to have some recommedations. She teaches writing to deaf students using ESL principles.
 
jillio said:
LOL....when I lived in the South for awhile, I never did figure out if "over yonder way" was North, South, East or West. And the one that always puzzled me was "I'm fixin' to (do this or that).
Click to expand...

Well, "yonder" is a word, (from Middle English) usually indicated by pointing to a distant location but usually within sight, it is further than "there" or "here" but not very far away.
 
jenni-m said:
Well, "yonder" is a word, (from Middle English) usually indicated by pointing to a distant location but usually within sight, it is further than "there" or "here" but not very far away.
Click to expand...

Specific location is designated through the addition of a gesture indicating which way one is referring to. In Tennessee, they do not use the accompanying gesture, but simply reply to the question, "Where is the shoe strore?" and other such didrectional questions with "Why darling, it's just right over younder way." I never claimed that "yonde" was not a word, but that its colloquial use in the particualr area of the Southern United States where I lived for 22 years was distorted and confusing.
 
August said:
next time you're in a bookstore, or even better, a college bookstore, look for the spiral-bound writing handbooks. not only do they have tons of information about grammar, spelling, punctuation, syntax, etc, some of them have whole chapters specifically for those learning english as a non-native language.

here's the one we use at work:
Amazon.com: Writer's Reference 6e & MLA Quick Reference Card: Diana Hacker, Barbara Fister: Books

lol, i didn't know they were so expensive. we have about 7 copies of it. plus many more copies of the earlier editions. but it's probably worth it. these handbooks teach you how to write, they're like a one-stop shop.
Click to expand...
Some college provide free references. :)

At RIT, they provide free information on citations. :)
 
VamPyroX said:
Some college provide free references. :)

At RIT, they provide free information on citations. :)
Click to expand...

Foramtting for MLA, APA, and Chicago style papers can also be found free of charge on the Internet.
 
jillio said:
Foramtting for MLA, APA, and Chicago style papers can also be found free of charge on the Internet.
Click to expand...
Right. I was just pointing out that some colleges do provide their own.

I used to rely online, but some websites change and bookmarks didn't always work. So, I just bookmarked RIT's site... never changes. :)
 
Back
Top