Questions to ask English experts from Chinese learners (Round 22)

warren0353

It depends on the card, most of the ones I have only start charging interest on a purchase if not paid off in 90 days.

pignut

American humor is spelled differently from British humour :-)
American humor tends to be kinder than British humour. British humour can be cruel. British humour often seems to feature nonsense and surrealism: Edward Lear, Lewis Carrol, Spike Milligan, Vic Reeves etc. Even ancient British folktales like Cullwych and Olwen feature surreal humour

Daveofse3

canadian45 Posted On 2014-10-9 01:31:53
Thank every member who answered readers' questions last time. Chinese English learners from Wechat a...

A colon can be used because it precedes a list.  

Alamaomao

I want to ask a question. In the writing english, should I use Comma or Colon behind say.
For example, Mr li said:  "xx" or Mr li said, "xx". which one is right?

mbursian

Alamaomao Post time: 2016-3-2 10:51
I want to ask a question. In the writing english, should I use Comma or Colon behind say.
For exampl ...

Using a comma is correct.

- John said, "Good morning, Mrs. Li."
- "Good morning to you, too", Mrs. Li replied.
- "What a beautiful day!", Zhang exclaimed excitedly.

A colon means "that is to say" or "here's what I mean."  You typically use a colon when you introduce a list of items.

- You may be required to bring: warm clothing, rain gear, climbing shoes, and your passport.
- We need the following items: butter, milk, eggs, sugar, and coffee.
- I need an assistant who can do the following: input data, write reports, and complete tax forms.

Avoid using a colon before a list when it directly follows a verb or preposition that would ordinarily need no punctuation in that sentence.

- We need: butter, milk, eggs, sugar, and coffee. [NO]
- We need butter, milk, eggs, sugar, and coffee. [RECOMMENDED]

ocpaul20

I find that people learning English often forget that real English people in the street do not really care if your English is perfect. As long as you can be understood, it probably doesn't matter that much.

In fact many English people do not know or have forgotten many of the technical aspects of the English language. I cannot even remember being taught these technical aspects in school but I am sure I was once. English teachers probably know them of course, but how many English teachers are there in a group of English people - not many. It is mainly for foreigners English exams that these are needed. In my opinion, as long as you have enough to survive everyday life, address an envelope and write a letter, not much else is necessary - in real life.