Dear ppl,
I've subscribed to a vocabulary improving e-mail newsletter at a language school's website. Today this sentence was sent to me as an example. Please help me: does it make sense at all? Because I cannot make anything out of it. Probably it's due to my poor English...
2007-03-22 23:46:06 · 3 answers · asked by Tom F 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
That is poor English. If this is an example of the stuff they are sending out, then I would cancel that subscription immediately, as it contains very bad grammar. I would say, "They have greatly inconvenienced themselves in order to help us."
What exactly were you supposed to learn from that mess?
This is a language school putting out that trash?
You are not PAYING for this, are you? Your English seems to me far better than that sample sentence they have given you, as you have correctly used various verb tenses and contractions, as well as colloquial expressions. Your spelling is also excellent. I would have never suspected that your English was poor. Demand your money back if this is a paid subscription - they should be paying you for the time it took you to read that garbage.
2007-03-23 00:03:54 · answer #1 · answered by Jeannie 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The people who sent this to you are either very bad typesetters or very bad linguists. If the sentence read: "They have been to great inconvenience..." or "They have been at great pains...." then it would be fine. As it is, the sentence is bad English. I think that it would be dangerous for your linguistic development to continue to subscribe to this newsletter. Ask for your money back!
2007-03-23 07:27:46 · answer #2 · answered by Doethineb 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree with Jennie. It seems to be a raw translation (a calque the linguists call it) from another language, maybe an Asian language. I wouldn't trust that school...
2007-03-23 07:27:36 · answer #3 · answered by Cristian Mocanu 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋