55) “Learn” and “Teach” – It’s important to make this distinction:
Learning is what the student does, and teaching is what the teacher does. “Can you learn me English?” is a question asked only by a person who desperately needs to be taught more English!
So remember this:
It's the teacher who teaches and the student who learns.
Earlier posts:
42) Gender for cities, etc. – always “it”, sometimes “she”, but never “he”!
It sounds very odd to a native English speaker when you refer to a city or a country or a bridge, etc., as “he”. English grammar of course doesn't apply gender rules according to noun endings, but in English, cities and countries and bridges and so forth are always referred to as “it” – and sometimes, “she”, but never as “he”!
“Look at the Golden Gate Bridge – isn't she a beauty?”
“Paris – it’s the most beautiful city in the world.”
49) “Make” and “Take” – In a few instances where ESL students would say make, the verb in English is take. The most common instance is when talking about photographing someone or something:
Wrong: “Can I make a photo of you?”
Right: “Can I take a photo of you?”
Right: “Can I take your picture?”
This confusion also often happens when talking about taking an exam:
Wrong: “Tomorrow I have to make a math exam.”
Right: “Tomorrow I have to take a math exam.”
Comments