Internet English Resources by Grammarly.com

There's no way to approach anything in an objective way. We're completely subjective; our view of the world is completely controlled by who we are as human beings, as men or women, by our age, our history, our profession, by the state of the world.
Charlie Kaufman

gerardM a écrit:

gerardM a écrit:

NB: "Y" is a consonant.

MurielB a écrit:

gerardM a écrit:

NB: "Y" is a consonant.

I am amazed about that. It is ? really ?

- (Oxford Dictionary) http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/vowel
Grammar
A word with two meanings: In writing, the five letters  a  e  i  o  u In speech, sounds made with the mouth open and the airway unobstructed (by contrast with consonants, where the flow of air is briefly obstructed in some way). The exact number of vowels depends on regional accent, but there are more than twenty English vowels.

- (About.com) http://grammar.about.com/od/tz/g/vowelterm.htm
Definition:
A letter of the alphabet (a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y) that represents a speech sound created by the relatively free passage of breath through the larynx and oral cavity.

•"Written English has five proper vowel letters, A, E, I, O, and U (Y may substitute for I). Yet spoken English has some 20 shades of vowel sounds. Accordingly, our vowel letters are kept busy, each one symbolizing multiple sounds on any written page. Our letters get some help from rules of spelling, which, for example, can specify the long A of 'rate' versus the short A of 'rat.'"
(David Sacks, Letter Perfect. Broadway Books, 2004)

•"In written English, . . . the 26 letters of the alphabet comprise 5 vowels and 21 consonants. In spoken English, there are 20 vowels and 24 consonants. It is this discrepancy, of course, which underlies the complexity of English spelling."
(David Crystal, How Language Works. Overlook Press, 2006)

Note 1: The letter Y

The letter Y can function as a vowel or as a consonant. As a vowel, Y has the vowel sounds [i], [ai]. As a consonant, Y has the consonant sound [y] (i.e., a semivowel sound), usually at the beginning of the word and only in the syllable before a vowel.

[i]: any, city, carry, funny, mystery, synonym;

[ai]: my, cry, rely, signify, nylon, type;

[y]: yard, year, yes, yet, yield, you.

- (Wikipedia) http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vowel
These letters are vowels in English:
A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y
The letter Y can be a vowel (as in the word "cry" or "candy"), or it can be a consonant (as in "yellow").

These five or six letters stand for about 20 vowel sounds in most English accents.[1] This important fact helps to explain why pronunciation can be difficult for both native speakers and learners of English.
The rest of the letters of the alphabet are consonants:
B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y (sometimes), and Z

Is the letter Y a vowel or a consonant?
The letter Y can be regarded as both a vowel and a consonant. In terms of sound, a vowel is 'a speech sound which is produced by comparatively open configuration of the vocal tract, with vibration of the vocal cords but without audible friction...', while a consonant is 'a basic speech sound in which the breath is at least partly obstructed'. The letter Y can be used to represent different sounds in different words, and can therefore fit either definition.

•"In written English, . . . the 26 letters of the alphabet comprise 5 vowels and 21 consonants. In spoken English, there are 20 vowels and 24 consonants. It is this discrepancy, of course, which underlies the complexity of English spelling."
(David Crystal, How Language Works. Overlook Press, 2006)

gerardM a écrit:Hi Muriel,

I do like these words (copied and pasted here above:

•"In written English, . . . the 26 letters of the alphabet comprise 5 vowels and 21 consonants. In spoken English, there are 20 vowels and 24 consonants. It is this discrepancy, of course, which underlies the complexity of English spelling."
(David Crystal, How Language Works. Overlook Press, 2006)

The 5 vowels provide 20 sounds.

Several months ago, I wrote texts of my own stating an English vowel could have up to 8 sounds.
I think I'm not far from the truth as the same sounds are written with different vowels: consider sun, cow, book, weather, far from their original letter.
To the 20 sounds, I guess we must add the diphtongs.

NB: I posted "ough" had 8 different sounds.

gerardM a écrit:Hi Muriel,

I do like these words (copied and pasted here above:

•"In written English, . . . the 26 letters of the alphabet comprise 5 vowels and 21 consonants. In spoken English, there are 20 vowels and 24 consonants. It is this discrepancy, of course, which underlies the complexity of English spelling."
(David Crystal, How Language Works. Overlook Press, 2006)

The 5 vowels provide 20 sounds.

Several months ago, I wrote texts of my own stating an English vowel could have up to 8 sounds.
I think I'm not far from the truth as the same sounds are written with different vowels: consider sun, cow, book, weather, far from their original letter.
To the 20 sounds, I guess we must add the diphtongs.

NB: I posted "ough" had 8 different sounds.

MurielB a écrit:

gerardM a écrit:... I understand why English spelling is so difficult.

I don't know if we can say English spelling is difficult or at least if this is the Englishmen's fault:
- grammar/speeling is nothing, (vocal) language is the most important
- we French, cannot hear all of the English sounds and especcially the differences in the pronunciation of "homophones"
- there are a few rules (oh not many) that the French don't even know (for example, that the "i" (French i) sound implies a double consonant when in the middle of a word
- I read in a history of English that at the time of Scandinavian invasions, English had other letters than the current ones. Later the letters were simplified so that grammarians had to find a new way to write the sounds and their solution was to use kinda diphtongs, hence the "ough" which was used for many issues.
That's why I wrote "this is the Englishmen's fault" and "language is the most important".

gerardM a écrit:

I've got a question:
Grammarwise, what's the difference b/w somebody and anybody?
Are they perfect synonyms?
Can we use somebody for all forms: affirmative, interrogative, negative?

Tx for your answers.

MurielB a écrit:

gerardM a écrit:I've got a question:
Grammarwise, what's the difference b/w somebody and anybody?
Are they perfect synonyms?
Can we use somebody for all forms: affirmative, interrogative, negative?

Tx for your answers.

Hi Gérard
The word somebody is used in affirmative clauses, whereas the word anybody is used in negative and interrogative sentences
Read more at http://www.englishpractice.com/grammar/somebody-someone-anybody-anyone-etc/#vh2pypjy8SsAxvSF.99

gerardM a écrit:

Grammarly

PSA: You should now only use one space after a period. Why? The most popular reasoning goes as follows.

The habit of using two spaces comes from a time when most typewriters used monospaced fonts, which were easier to read with two spaces at the end of a sentence. Nowadays, most fonts on computers are proportional and the extra space doesn’t improve readability. Instead it makes it seem that your text is pocked with holes.

If you want to read more into the debate, check out this blog post “Why two spaces after a period isn’t wrong (or, the lies typographers tell about history),” http://bit.ly/1iH3Qoe

Easiest way to learn a language
•Make your own language flashcards and carry them with you. I have a box of several thousand words and phrases.
•Download audio mp3s and use them. There are many places to go, such as the gutenburg.org. I am starting a free site with audio mp3s for language learning www.mp3languagelearning.com – If you send me files I can use them on the site.
•If you religious read the entire Bible in your target language. By the time you finish you will speak the language
•Buy a grammar book and do every exercises in the book and outline the rules
•Practice with native speakers, that alone will help, if you are somewhere in the middle of Kansas try Internet chats.