You, ones who speak english, answer me this

[AntiAnto]

I've got this recondite phonic problem with the pronounciation of i and y in english speeches.

When are i and y pronounced in a word as an "e" and when are they pronounced as an "i" or an "y".

It may seem obvious to you, but for me it's something that I've been wondering for age.

 

[Fishlore]

Whenever you see a word end with "ly", like friendly, slowly, carefully, etc. you can think of it like:

friend - lee
slow - lee
careful - lee

words like style, pyre, etc. have the "i" sound.

I'm trying to think one single rule and there are all sorts of exceptions. Usually at the end of the word though "y" sounds like "e" and in the middle of words the "y" sounds like an "i".

The letter "i" in the middle sounds like an "i" most of the time while "i" at the end sometimes does and sometimes doesn't sounds like an "e".

 

[Remus]

So the idea is that there is no fixed rule right?

 

[Dan]

Grade5 spelling class to the rescue: The short i sound is the i sound like relic or tick, or picnic. It's usually an I followed by a consonant. The long i sound is the one that sounds like "eye" it usually means that there is a silent e after the I, like pie, or file, or mile. And then there's all the exceptions like the word pi, liar, receive, albeit, feint, fettucini, xi.

 

[$kelet0r]

rules in the English language - are you quite mad?

 

[Dan]

Here's an unrelated English... thing. Count how many F's there are in the sentence below. Don't cheat, just read it once and post your answer.

FINISHED FILES ARE THE RE-
SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIF-
IC STUDY COMBINED WITH
THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS

 

[$kelet0r]

3
unless I'm an idiot and missed something

 

[AntiAnto]

I counted 6.

 

[Greatgat]

Six?

 

[dream431ca]

English Sucks. Other languages like italian and french are much easier.

 

[Teta_Bonita]

English Sucks. Other languages like italian and french are much easier.

Hey, don't blame it on English- it's the French's fault our spelling is so bad. :upstare:


BTW I counted five f's in that sentance the first time, even though there are six and I knew about that "of" trick. D:

 

[Ennui]

I'm quite good at english, grammar is completely natural to me, never get anything but straight A's in those advanced courses, but I couldn't tell you the rules of it for the life of me.

 

[dream431ca]

I'm quite good at english, grammar is completely natural to me, never get anything but straight A's in those advanced courses, but I couldn't tell you the rules of it for the life of me.

Your good at english? Sure you are. Then answer this:

Why do people change "e" with "I" or "p" with "Q" or "C" with "D" when the word ice cream is not really a real word? And why are "?" ":" "{" "<" or \][=- in the language anyway? answer me that and you get a cookie...or an ice cream sundae, your choice

 

[xcellerate]

Six?

yea, six. It's a really old...thing.

FINISHED FILES ARE THE RE-
SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIF-
IC STUDY COMBINED WITH
THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS

And some people say english is the hardest langauge, i don't agree. You don't even need to know past tense for english because you can just say 'did'. I did swim. I did go to the store. I did eat my food. And our verbs break down so much easier, i mean freakin look at english and spanish for 'to walk':

Presente
yo camino
tú caminas
él camina
nosotros caminamos
vosotros camináis
ellos caminan

Pretérito imperfecto
yo caminaba
tú caminabas
él caminaba
nosotros caminábamos
vosotros caminabais
ellos caminaban

Pretérito perfecto simple
yo caminé
tú caminaste
él caminó
nosotros caminamos
vosotros caminasteis
ellos caminaron

Futuro
yo caminaré
tú caminarás
él caminará
nosotros caminaremos
vosotros caminaréis
ellos caminarán

as opposed to:
Present
I walk
you walk
he walks
we walk
you walk
they walk

Past
I walked
you walked
he walked
we walked
you walked
they walked

Future
I will walk
you will walk
he will walk
we will walk
you will walk
they will walk

Now somebody chim in and tell me how wrong i am.

 

[Ennui]

Your good at english? Sure you are. Then answer this:

Why do people change "e" with "I" or "p" with "Q" or "C" with "D" when the word ice cream is not really a real word? And why are "?" ":" "{" "<" or \][=- in the language anyway? answer me that and you get a cookie...or an ice cream sundae, your choice

my brain just exited my ear at a high velocity

 

[dream431ca]

my brain just exited my ear at a high velocity

LOL. you want that sundae now?

 

[Qonfused]

English is ****ed up.

 

[Dan]

Now somebody chim in and tell me how wrong i am.

PAST CONTINUOUS
I was walking
You were walking
He/She was walking
We were walking
You were walking
They were walking

PRESENT CONTINUOUS
I am walking
You are walking
He/She is walking
We are walking
You are walking
They are walking

PAST PERFECT
I had walked
You had walked
He/She had walked
We had walked
You had walked
They had walked

PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
I had been walking
You had been walking
He/She had been walking
We had been walking
You had been walking
They had been walking

CONDITIONAL
I would walk
You would walk
He/She would walk
We would walk
You would walk
They would walk

CONDITIONAL PERFECT
I would have walked
You would have walked
He/She would have walked
We would have walked
You would have walked
They would have walked

PRESENT PERFECT
I have walked
You have walked
He/She has walked
We have walked
You have walked
They have walked

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS
I have been walking
You have been walking
He/She has been walking
We have been walking
You have been walking
They have been walking

 

[Dan]

And there's some more than I'm not sure the name for:

I might walk
I might have walked
I might be walking
I could walk
I could have walked
I could be walking
I will have walked

 

[AntiAnto]

And there's some more than I'm not sure the name for:

I might walk
I might have walked
I might be walking
I could walk
I could have walked
I could be walking
I will have walked

They are modal auxiliaries, I think.

Anyway, english grammar has been really easy for me to learn. It is really the spelling that is difficult for me since I've been speaking french for all my life.

 

[Remus]

I can write and talk in English and I suck at grammar:cheese: .

 

[Greatgat]

Yeah, we know.

 

[AmishSlayer]

English is also a confusing language for some simply because of word repitition (through pronunciation as well) with various meanings and contexts.

I was flying in a plane over a plain looking plain while contemplating the physical plane that we occupy and I noticed a snowmobile planing on open water whose level is almost a perfect plane.

Tell me THAT wouldn't be confusing to somebody that doesnt know english.

 

[AntiAnto]

English is also a confusing language for some simply because of word repitition (through pronunciation as well) with various meanings and contexts.

I was flying in a plane over a plain looking plain while contemplating the physical plane that we occupy and I noticed a snowmobile planing on open water whose level is almost a perfect plane.

Tell me THAT wouldn't be confusing to somebody that doesnt know english.

Someone found in this situation who could say that is what would confuse me the most.

 

[Dan]

While I was play'n on my x-box

 

[AmishSlayer]

Someone found in this situation who could say that is what would confuse me the most.

It's just an example. "plane" and "plain" is just one example of the way the english language could be confusing to somebody that hasn't mastered the language.

 

[Qonfused]

While I was play'n on my x-box

Win.

 

[xcellerate]

And in dan's post, the only differences in all those statements is pretty much the first word (i, you, he/she, etc).

and yea, the plane statement, i like that. There's also the stupid things we say, i don't know any in other languages. But if somebody says, it's the bomb, it's the jam, oh snap!, fo' shizzle?, that car is so gay, etc. I could see how those could become confusing.

My favorite was in spanish class actually, when a korean student had to leave the class for a track meet, the conversation went like this:
[korean student stands up]
teacher: Where are you off too Mr. Song?
student: I have to leave early for a track meet.
teacher: oh, when
student: [looks at clock] In about 35 minutes
teacher: no, when.
student: [pause] at 3:00 we start
teacher: No. When!! [shakes hands above head]
[class laughes when they all realize she was saying 'win']

I also ran cross country with the same guy, and after i finished a race one time, i asked him, 'whadga run?' and got a blank stare, apparently 'whadga' isn't a word, so i used 'what did you' instead.

 

[Dan]

And in dan's post, the only differences in all those statements is pretty much the first word (i, you, he/she, etc).

I was just copying the same format that you used

 

[Raeven0]

And there's some more than I'm not sure the name for:

I might walk
I might have walked
I might be walking
I could walk
I could have walked
I could be walking
I will have walked

"Tal vez" is a good word for "perhaps". There's also the subjunctive mood. "Puedo" means "I can" ("puedo andar"=="I can/could walk"), and the other two most likely just need a conditional modifier in front of them. The last is future perfect: "haberé andado".

But that's just what I think. My Spanish isn't perfect.

 

[Bob_Marley]

The problem with English is that it is a mongrel tounge. It's core is old German, with bits nicked off just about every other major language and some that's just made up. So, I blame everyone else for making english so confusing.

 

[Anthraxxx]

I <3 Japanese.

 

[Sparda]

I find the English language bloody retarded, but any way...

 

[theotherguy]

English is easy in some ways and very hard in others

I hate, for example, how german words have gender, and that there are multiple words for "a" and "the" depending on case and gender

for instance, these are all the German words for "a" and "the" that I can think of:
ein
eine
einer
einen
eines

der
die
das
den
dem
des

and for English its just
a
an

the

so much simpler!
But I think german is easier with capitilization and conjunctions, as well as some other things

All German Nouns are capitalized, including formal Nouns and informal Nouns.
"The Dog went to the Store to buy a Cup of Soda for Jim, my Neighbor. He works for the I,R,S"

But in English, only special nouns are capitalized and nouns that have a particular meaning in a certain situation.
"The dog went to the store to buy a cup of soda for Jim, my neighbor. He works for the I.R.S"

 

[Hazar]

the english language has just about the most irregularities of any language

 

[Azner]

I find the English language bloody retarded, but any way...

Because of ur race?????
IM CALLING MY TEACHEr FERNANDEZ