Day: March 16, 2015

English grammar for forgetful people!

I used to publish on  an American website and somtimes people who were aspiring writers got teased  about their grammar so I wrote this for them and also to remind myself of a few of the rules… so it’s not meant to be condescending,

It’s and its

A cat loves its kitten.It's lovely to see them
A cat loves its kitten.It’s lovely to see them.

Three confusions

I learned grammar at school but when I began writing found I’d forgotten a lot of it .Here are three sets of confusing words

1. Its and it’s….This is the one many of us get wrong.

:”It’s” is usually  short for” it is”. sometimes for “It has” Otherwise there is no apostrophe separating the it and the s. So if you say “The cat took its prey behind the dresser” there is no apostrophe.

But if you say “It’s cold today” there is.

Sometimes “It’s” can be short for “It has” eg “It’s been raining all day”

2.Their and there.

Their coats,their possessions.Usage  is like that of my or your.

“They took off their clothes and fell into their cosy bed”

“There” refers to a place.”I thought I left my keys just there on the desk,but when I came in I found them there on the table.It’s related to “Here”

“Did you leave your coat here or was it out there by the porch?Isn’t it cold? It’s really freezing

tonight.The cat brought its kittens inside by the fire,.I gave the dog a bone and it’s really happy

now,out there.They have their own lives.”

3.Your and you’re

again,like in 1. an apostrophe indicates a missing letter.So” you’re” means”you are”

“You’re crazy if you believe that Hitler was not a dictator”

“You’re late again”

“You’re mine,You’re divine.You’re practically sublime”

“Your” denotes belonging to you.Like “Where is your coat? It’s on the chair with yours”

“What is your dad saying?”

“Your country needs you”

4.Conclusion:Apostrophes are a problem.We see signs in the market “apple’s 20p each”If in doubt,leave it out!

These are the three commonest confusions.Your work will look more professional if you’re well

versed in grammar.Other bloggers will  sometimes like to help you with your work.It’s nothing to be ashamed of  to ask for guidance.Or consult your public library or buy a secondhand English grammar [but they can be too complicated]

Every dog has its day,Every cloud has its silver lining.It’s time for me to go so I’ll end there and let

everyone find their own needs out.

******Words or phrases that sound the same are not always written the same.****************

I hoope this iss a helpful shart articel fur mi reeder’s to larn frum.Iff nott ,kindley iggnore

Photo

Everyone can get their own shopping there
Everyone can get their own shopping there

Life and other terminals

The main purpose of sex is multiple onanisms.
Children are deceived half way through a womans bicycle.
Sex should not cause rubble in bed.
Remember a joke can aid your text life
Married folk can kiss on the Sabbath only and must not work at it
Please do not whore coal in the bath.
Please repress yourself in the kitchen.
Do not split up before dinner.
Do not separate eggs in a bowl.
Please warm the oven before cooking your goose.
Please light the fire before putting Polly on.
Coal is back in fashion.Smoke in comfort,just breathe.
Do you have trouble weeping?
Did your wife leave home with a suitcase?
Better the devil you sow.
After a time,life will be deranged.So bear up
Do you prefer text to sex?You are not alone!
Try to remember all the other people of worth.
If self involved you will save money on dates and raisins.
My whole life flashed by as I fell off the step.Then I fell off a ladder and it flashed by again in colour.Now I’ve had enough and am moving to a bungalow in Holland.
Sex is not bad as things go and being a thing it went
The weals of life are mainly on the interface.
My husband wears rubber pyjamas so I bounce around all night and I’ve lost a stone already.It was in my ureter.Then it wasn’t.
Please get divorced before marriage as a refusal often offends.Two cats

Post sent from my u- phone.
Fly with Whore Airlines cheap and fast.
Also whore multimedia is the best.
Try our new smartbones for the dead.
Swearing a problem?I have a degree in cursing.
Get yours in a month with my free u boat.
Sorry,F”””.. book.Only £7 to pensioners.Free to bankers
Angels needed.Apply with sin
,

Paul Tillich and I: The Courage To Be

Paul Tillich photo

Tillich 1You know this experience, sometimes when you are browsing in a bookshop you come across a book with a wonderful title. This happened to me as  student when I saw a book with this title:

“The courage to be ”

by Paul Tillich

I was going through a hard time and just the title alone helped me as no one I knew had ever said it takes courage to live well.So I bought this book and dipped in. I found it interesting and thoughtful.Sometimes I would just look at the front cover and repeat the title.I had discovered mantra meditation.in a sense.

This morning I was listening to a radio programme  about poetry in England and tidying up. Suddenly my old battered copy fell out of a shelf and into my hand.And I said, thank you. Because I had  lost this companion and now it’s restored to me when I need again to say the words to help me in a personal crisis.

The Courage to Be

And to recognise the power of words on the human mind and thus to take care of  self and others and what we say to them for they too are struggling humans as we ourselves are.

And to discover virtue is not faux piety which suddenly reminded me that Tillich had a weakness for women. He was no plaster saint. I am not saying. I approve.

Had he stayed in Germany he would no doubt have been imprisoned even killed like Dietrich Bonhoeffer.He would not have been silent

Books… they save lives. I was so grateful and still am for education, books, people who talk to me .Had I lived a few years earlier it would have been different.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/595850/Paul-Tillich/7266/Development-of-his-philosophy

Tillich was expelled from Germany in 1933,the first non-Jewish theologian to have this honor bestowed on him.I never saw him but I love him for his writing.

Loneliness expresses the pain of being alone and solitude expresses the glory of being alone.
Paul Tillich
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/p/paul_tillich.html#y15kkZigwdviBd76.99

My toes

I have to go to the gynae oncology
So they can study my ass’s topology.
I can’t see it myself
For love or for wealth.
But I do feel what one might call neurotology

I sleep with a light on my nose
And a flask of gin next to my toes
I dream through the dark
As I sail on my ark.
But where that is, only me knows.

In dreams we can process our lives
without cutting our brains up with knives.
Mind surgery’s free
Or at least it should be.
But who knows what surgeons connive?

He rolled his own eyes and smoked them

He rolled his eyes on the television.Je ne pays pas son license.
She met his eyes down the street en passant and pleasant
His eyes narrowed as they passed through the Thames Barrier;quod errant demons tantrum
His eyes were askew as they sailed in the dinghy down the river bed.Que sera tara
His eyes said,hello babe.Non erat liberace
His eyes roamed about wildly. Kyrie eleison
The cat’s eyes were missing as they drove down the main road. Ite missa pest
His eyes were all over her and she was a full bosomed lady of ample means. Heilige snacked
Her eyes never mated with his although he gave her a large glowering look.Stille nacht.
Your eyes are not sharp enough,the teacher said as I broke the lead in my pencil.Mal a la tete!
His eyes melted the ice round her heart as they caressed her with tender pity.
Oh,mio solo
His eyes spoke volumes but no-one wrote it down so it is lost to posteriority.Amen
Her eyes were as hard as diamonds but in reality she was a soft touch.O mio sho low
My eyes dropped and I looked ashamed of myself.Kyrie illusion
My eyes stammered all down his sweet face. Que sera?
Her eyes ran and so did she…. that seems logical to me.QED
My eyes watered and the plants were rejuvenated.Non tolerante les diables.
Your eyes are too bold,the doctor said.Wear dark glasses and keep away.Niger est superiore
I put my eyes on hold and then forgot!Esta la vista de pleurs
Do eyes count? Numinousity
Are eyes free? Liberare mei
My eyes twinkled when I read his letters.Je l’adore.
My eyes are just stars really.Visible retinae
My eyes are in bed today,Ou est le trouve?
My eye,my eye,my kingdom for an eye….le chat est le mort d’arthur.

Last requiem in pace

acw

‘The joy of losing one’s self

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There are trends in society to encourage us to build our self esteem and to value ourselves… to develop and achieve  a place suited to our talents.. but what is best for me is when I lose myself in something.I was reading an old blog of a friend and was quite absorbed and went into a different state of mind..then I regretted I don’t manage to lose myself enough being  a housewife and having much on my mind and being busy.

Sometimes it can happen when we love a person.Sometimes a wonderful landscape feels like home.. other times a sunset across the Irish sea from the cliffs of the Isle of Man where myriad butterflies swirl and float over flowers and rocks.

Modern life, the News,talk,excitement of the wrong sort seem to lock us into  our self and frighten us so we forget the value of fining something in which to lose ourselves and grow as a result. Sitting by a river  fishing,knitting,sewing,a book, many things can elicit this response  And remember how horror filled was the self consciousness of adolescence and how good to forget one’s self being more comfortable and accepting of appearance and image..How to live like a wild flower for a time… and be happy not to be a rose but just a tiny wild geranium or a moderate  sized  gentle pink flower in a arden

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How even the best writers are affected by bad reviews

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I have mentioned that I very much liked the writer Kenneth Gergen and especially his book,” The saturated society”

http://identitythoughts.wordpress.com/2009/02/11/the-saturated-self-dilemmas-of-identity-in-contemporary-life-kenneth-j-gergen-pt-2/

http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/553/1198e”

I think it’s  beautifully written and explains the bad side of post modernism but also how differently it could be used.He got a very good review on the Washington Post but later got a terrible one in the NYT.In an interview he told how this affected him badly until the man who wrote the review died ten years later,I’ll put a link in here later.http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=SweMLEe6TpgC&pg=PA294&lpg=PA294&dq=kenneth+gergen+the+saturated+self++washington+post+review&source=bl&ots=_lKF4I_lVi&sig=VEbgQl1ZpIwcLgfw3S5M5sI9__U&hl=en&sa=X&ei=JJ_VUtfLEeaP7AaviYHwCA&ved=0CGwQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=kenneth%20gergen%20the%20saturated%20self%20%20washington%20post%20review&f=false.

!He used to wake up at night with thoughts of what he’s like to do to this person.This shows how even someone of high quality can be wounded easily/

Most people who read English novels have heard of Virginia Woolf. She was highly acclaimed yet had breakdowns whilst awaiting reviews .Eventually she committed suicide during WW2.Her husband was Jewish and she was afraid of what would happen if the Germans invaded Britain.

But her mental health was fragile after losing her mother and favourite older sister in her teens and also possibly being sexually assaulted by her half brother.Despite al this she had  much happiness and is one  of the most highly acclaimed women writers of the 20th century…not much good  to her of course

Sylvia Plath a great poet  a generation after Woolf also committed suicide and later became known as one of the best poets of our time

http://www.neatorama.com/2008/03/18/writers-who-suffered-from-the-sylvia-plath-effect/#!scilW

Would you like to be a tormented genius and enter the literary canon or just be an ordinary,moderately happy person? Most of us are not so gifted in any case.

Some of us believe that others with more gifts,more money,more winning personalities are much happier,but it’s not true.Many geniuses are troubled.

On the other hand being troubled ,by itself, will not make you a genius.