started talking/started to talk/starting to talk

Alles zur englischen Grammatik.
How to deal with English grammar.
tiorthan
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Re: started talking/started to talk/starting to talk

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Adrox98 hat geschrieben:Do you use the tenses subconsciously yet?
Yes, although learned English through immersion first and learned the theory behind tenses later.
You're never too old to learn something stupid.
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Adrox98
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Re: started talking/started to talk/starting to talk

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Could you estimate my English skills by regarding my last posts, how good am I?

tiorthan
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Re: started talking/started to talk/starting to talk

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No idea. I'd have to talk to you in person to get an idea how good you really are. Grammar and vocabulary are only one side of the coin, the other side are things like how easy it is to cope with new situations and how flexible you are in your use of the language and of course how fast you are.
You're never too old to learn something stupid.
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Adrox98
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Re: started talking/started to talk/starting to talk

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3 months ago I was in Slovakia and I was only able to speak with the people in English. I'd say that I spoke sometimes fluently and sometimes I had to think how I could speak further

I'm looking forward to the day where I'll speak English fluently without thinking about it but I already use many things in English automatically

I wish I can speak always fast but that will take time

tiorthan
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Re: started talking/started to talk/starting to talk

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Adrox98 hat geschrieben:I was only able to speak with the people in English.
Eventhough this isn't wrong there are couple of things I would change here.

I would have said "I could only speak English with the people there".

"Be able to" is actually used a lot less than "can" and "could" because your ability is usually not the problem. And I do find "be able to" a bit weird in this sentence mainly because you were, in fact able to speak another language, only nobody would have been able to understand you.

I sometimes spoke fluently
You got the word order wrong here. If this is unclear, I can explain it a bit more in depth.

how I could speak further
This feels weird, I wouldn't use "further" in this sentence. I would have said something like "how to continue" instead.

I'm looking forward to the day when I'll speak English fluently
This is more of a preference than a real rule. Both "where" and "when" can be used for points in time, but "where" seems a bit archaic at times.

I wish I could always speak fast but that will take time
After "I wish" you have to use the subjunctive form of the verb which is identical to the past form for all verbs but "be".
Again, you got the adverb position wrong. Do you need an explanation for that?
You're never too old to learn something stupid.
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Adrox98
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Re: started talking/started to talk/starting to talk

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1. Ohh, I didn't know that. You said that it wasn't wrong but I must still get used to how I can say some things in English.
2. Ohh, yes... "sometimes" is an adverb which determines the frequency and these words are before a verb except "to be"
3. Do you mean: "how I could speak how to continue".?
4. Ok, in German it's normal but English isn't German. It's the same "mistake" as at point 1.
5. Must I use the subjunctive form after things like "I thought" or "I think" as well?
I know it due to the adverb. I did the same mistake as at point 2. It happend accidentally

tiorthan
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Re: started talking/started to talk/starting to talk

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Adrox98 hat geschrieben:I must still get used to how I can say some things in English.
You must? Are you being forced?
3. Do you mean: "how I could speak how to continue".?
No that wouldn't be grammatical, just "how to continue" without the rest in front of it.
5. Do I have to use the subjunctive form after things like "I thought" or "I think" as well?
The subjunctive is used to express "unreality" in things like wishes, conditions, or hypotheticals and so on. I can't think of any situation in which you would actually use a subjunctive after "I think", but after "I thought" the subjunctive is pretty common for example:

I thought you were taller. - Ich hatte erwartet, dass du größer bist.
I made the same mistake as in point 2.
In English you make mistake you don't do them.
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Adrox98
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Re: started talking/started to talk/starting to talk

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1. No, I ain't being forced. What can I use instead and why?
2. That would have wondered me
3. Why I have to use "have to" and not "must"

Adrox98
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Re: started talking/started to talk/starting to talk

Beitrag von Adrox98 »

Adrox98 hat geschrieben:1. No, I ain't being forced. What can I use instead and why?
2. That would have wondered me
3. Why did I have to use "have to" and not "must"
Self correction

tiorthan
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Re: started talking/started to talk/starting to talk

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Adrox98 hat geschrieben:2. That would have wondered me
That's not how you use "wonder" in English. You could have said "That would have surprised me".
"Must" expresses an obligation out of personal necessity. I wouldn't have used in in the first sentence because it's not something you really must do but something you want to do. And in the second sentence the obligation does not originate from yourself, it is imposed upon you from an external source.
You're never too old to learn something stupid.
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Adrox98
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Re: started talking/started to talk/starting to talk

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When can I use "wonder"?

I know that "must" expresses an obligation out of personal necessity and that "have to" is used from an obligation originating from an external source or it is necessary because I have to use a tense which can't have "must" but I thought because I want to learn it, it is an obligation originating from myself

tiorthan
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Re: started talking/started to talk/starting to talk

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Adrox98 hat geschrieben:it is an obligation originating from myself
The point is that it isn't an obligation it's a resolution. You want to learn. That's a big difference.
When can I use "wonder"?
The question is not when, it's how.

First of all, you can't say "It wonders someone". That would require "to wonder" to be done to someone which is not how the verb works in English. Wonder is something a person does which is why you can say "someone wonders"

Secondly, "wonder" is used for quite a lot of different things in English. Some examples:

I wonder about the sense of life. = Ich spekuliere über den Sinn des Lebens.
I wonder at a tree. = Ich bestaune einen Baum.
I wonder if he will come. = Ich frage mich ob er kommen wird.
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Adrox98
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Re: started talking/started to talk/starting to talk

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I have two questions:

1. Does it mean that "to wonder" is a false friend?
2. The word "actually" means "eigentlich/tatsächlich/wirklich" and is a filler and this word is an adverb. Can I use it as an adverb of manner or as an adverb of frequency?

tiorthan
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Re: started talking/started to talk/starting to talk

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Adrox98 hat geschrieben: 1. Does it mean that "to wonder" is a false friend?
Yes.
2. The word "actually" means "eigentlich/tatsächlich/wirklich" and is a filler and this word is an adverb. Can I use it as an adverb of manner or as an adverb of frequency?
Das mache ich mal auf Deutsch.

Wenn wir auf Englisch "adverb" lesen, dann werden damit oft zwei verschiedene Dinge gemeint, nämlich Adverb und Adverbiale. Ein Adverb is eine Wortart. Ein Adverb kann ein Verb, ein Adjektiv oder ein anderes Adverb in der Bedeutung modifizieren. Das Adverb steht dabei im Englischen immer vor dem Wort, dass es modifizieren soll.

Adverbiale sind aber keine Wortart sondern sie sind Satzbestandteile (sogenannte Konstituenten), welche die Kernaussage eines Satzes modifizieren. Die natürliche Position einer Adverbiale in einem englischen Satz ist das Satzende und wenn wir über die Reihenfolge von manner, place, time usw. sprechen, dann meinen wir damit immer die Reihenfolge der Adverbiale.

Da man die meisten Adverben auch einfach als Adverbiale benutzen kann, unterscheiden viele Erklärungen diese beiden Dinge nicht. Für "actually" muss man das aber tun. Actually ist ein Adverb, aber es wird nichts für sich alleine als Adverbiale benutzt sondern es steht immer vor dem Verb...

... außer wenn es das nicht tut. English erlaubt es nämlich Teile eines Satzes zu verschieben um bestimmte Hervorhebungen zu erreichen. Man kann Satzbestandteile nach vorn stellen (fronting). Zum Beispiel:

I bought a new car yesterday.

A new car was what I bought yesterday.
Yesterday, I bought a new car.

Man kann Satzbestandteile aber auch ans Ende hängen, und das geht bei Adverben besonders gut:

I quietly waited at the corner for two hours.
I waited at the corner for two hours, quietly.

Quietly ist übrigens auch ein Adverb, dass als Adverbiale (manner) im Satz eingesetzt werden kann, das sieht dann so aus:

I waited quietly at the corner for two hours.

"Actually" kann, wie gesagt, nicht alleine als Adverbiale benutzt werden sondern es ist immer ein Adverb. Das heißt ein Satz mit "actually" kann nur drei Varianten haben:

I actually waited at the corner for two hours.
Actually, I waited at the corner for two hours.
I waited at the corner for two hours, actually.
You're never too old to learn something stupid.
MistakeSuggestionYou sure that's right?

Adrox98
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Re: started talking/started to talk/starting to talk

Beitrag von Adrox98 »

Thanks for this explanation. If you had written the text in English you wouldn't have been able to clarify the difference between "Adverb" and "Adverbiale" because it's the same translation (I wrote this sentence to practise if-clauses) :)

If you had been worried about it that I wouldn't have understood the text I can say that I would have understood it


Is this right?

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