Last week’s options were

I especially like Indian summer. (7 votes)
I like especially Indian summer. (0 votes)

All votes were correct – so my students weren’t voting .  Adverb placement is one of the trickiest issues in English grammar. As a rule of thumb, place them before the verb, but after an auxiliary verb [...]

grammar guru | No Comments »

to care for someone/ something
to take care of someone/ something
to care about someone/ something
to provide care to someone
to be careful with
to be caring
caretaker
caregiver
a careworn face
not to have a care in the world…
… hopefully

other | No Comments »

Washington, D.C. is where I was born. My hometown. A most beautiful city. Warm from April through October. Hot and sticky in the summer. Lush, aromatic gardens, permeated by the song of the cicadas all night. People have this special walk in DC, an elegant, gliding thing. It’s funny to hear my brother Larry say [...]

other | 3 Comments »

The traditional “Frankie and Johnny” may have been inspired by several murders. One of these took place in St. Louis, Missouri, on October 15, 1899, when Frankie Baker, a 22-year-old dancer, stabbed (or shot) her 17-year-old lover Al Britt, who was having a relationship with a woman named Alice Pryor. Britt died of his wounds [...]

songs | No Comments »

I woke up this morning thinking about the debate on this blog on Westerwelle. It seems to me that this is an interesting case of a person losing face in public because he is being forced to speak English. BTW, I think the discussion has showed that both sides lost face: Westerwelle was most obviously [...]

language, teaching | 8 Comments »

Gertrud Berninger (written ca. 1943-5)
Das Kinderzimmer gelb und blau,
der Mann im Mond, die Nebelfrau
und rosenrote Tapeten;
zubettegehn beim Angelus
den jeder Christ beten muß,
den frühen und den späten.
Den frühen und den späten:
er ruft nicht einen Jeden,
das haben wir gelernt.
Die Nacht war mit Kometen,
mit Glanz und Glück besternt -
wer kann da Ave beten!
Die Nacht ist prasselnd ausgebrannt
zu Morgengraun [...]

poetry | 3 Comments »

Last week the Grammar Guru question was: Which two are correct?

Many emails are written needlessly. (100%, 9 Votes) = correct
Many emails are needless. (67%, 6 Votes) = correct
Many emails are written needless. (0%, 0 Votes) = incorrect
Many emails are needlessly. (0%, 0 Votes) = incorrect

Why didn’t everybody choose “Many emails are [...]

grammar guru, language | No Comments »