My current "mood" has been set at "sane" for the last few days. Of course, I have spent those last few days proving that to be utterly incorrect. I'm not changing it, though, until it's true. Thankfully, the weekend has at last arrived so I'm hoping that with some shopping therapy and a lot of sleep, I will be able to piece my sanity back together.
Dawn and I have adopted, and often use, the term "Igmflie Moment" (That's pronounced ig-mah-flee) to describe those times when you just want to shout "I'm Glad My First Language Is English!" (Thus, IGMFLIE)
Because of my job, I am CONSTANTLY amazed at how language works and how humans learn it.
For instance...if you're looking into a neighborhood and you want to find out about the crime level and the number of schools in the area, what would you say?
"Is there much crime in the area?" and the answer might be "Yeah, there's a little."
but for schools, you would ask
"Are there many schools in the area?" to which the reply could be "Yes, there are a few."
Now...how come it's the same type of question and the same type of response, but for one you use "Is there much" and reply "a little" but the other gets "Are there many" and the answer is "a few."
I'll leave you to ponder, if you don't already know.
The point is, you just...KNOW, right? Did anyone ever sit you down and explain the correct time to use Many vs. Much and the correct quantifiers for each? I doubt it. We just kind of picked it up along the way. Which is pretty freaking crazy.
And as I spent my second week in a row attempting to teach this to my high level students, I couldn't help but think...IGMFLIE.
2 comments:
Then, there are those moments when we just don't know (i.e. further vs. farther, and historic vs. historical). In which case, one must say CTPBMFLIE: that, is "Contrary To Popular Belief, My First Language Is English."
Sane? Did you check that with the sanity meter? >D >D >D
Post a Comment