Do the Americans speak English better than the British?

Niamh   Wed Dec 19, 2007 6:54 pm GMT
It may be grammatically correct but the context does not make a lot of sense, which means that it is incorrect. "Americans" should be capitalized and the inclusion of "a" appears awkward. It is painfully obvious to me that the sentence was cobbled together by a non-native speaker.
Niamh   Wed Dec 19, 2007 7:00 pm GMT
3)Darling, I hope a mothertongue can speak his own language better than a person who aquired it, otherwise you'd be really idiot


A "mothertongue" is the language itself and not the person who speaks it.

You misspelled "acquired."

It should also be "otherwise you'd be really AN idiot. "


You are obviously not qualified to pass any judgement if you are going to make such mistakes.
Guest   Wed Dec 19, 2007 7:07 pm GMT
A "mothertongue" is the language itself and not the person who speaks it.

who cares?

You misspelled "acquired."

who cares?

It should also be "otherwise you'd be really AN idiot. "

who cares?


You are obviously not qualified to pass any judgement if you are going to make such mistakes.


I am obviously qualified to express any judgement I like because we are not talking about grammar mistakes here, when we talk about grammar then I'll call you. This is not the point, but obviously you like to chenage the subject.
By the way, I speak whenever I want, evidently in your country you are not accustomed to that.
Guest   Wed Dec 19, 2007 7:15 pm GMT
<<I speak whenever I want, evidently in your country you are not accustomed to that<<
Where are you from?
Niamh   Wed Dec 19, 2007 7:16 pm GMT
People in my country are welcome to their opinions; and I am becoming increasingly accustomed to unqualified gobshites who feel it's important "to speak whenever they want." Thank you very much.
Guest   Wed Dec 19, 2007 7:18 pm GMT
<<People in my country are welcome to their opinions<<
Where are YOU from?
Guest   Wed Dec 19, 2007 7:20 pm GMT
"Americans" should be capitalized and the inclusion of "a" appears awkward

AHHAHAH!!! pathetic!
Niamh   Wed Dec 19, 2007 7:20 pm GMT
I'm from Ireland if matters.

Where are YOU from?
XXX   Wed Dec 19, 2007 11:19 pm GMT
''My teacher taught me americans are very ignorant ''

My teacher TAUGHT me Americans WERE very ignorant.

Shifting of the tenses.
wintereis   Sat Dec 29, 2007 4:25 am GMT
Seriously, the rest of the world does itself a great disservice by claiming that Americans are stupid. If that is true, what does that make the rest of you? In a matter of one hundred and twenty years we became a superpower and one of the wealthiest nations on the planet. Some cultures that have existed for several hundred years, despite their efforts, have not managed such success. Add to this the fact that people come from all over the world to attend our Universities and the number of innovations and inventions we've managed to put out in the last 241 years, and I would say that the evidence is against any such claim.

It is true that we have our share of idiots, but I would say that they are not in the majority. And I can think of no country on this planet that has managed to irradiate ignorance. Also, it is made obvious--just by having to make such a defense--prejudice remains rampant throughout the world. Perhaps before you simply accept such a broad generalization about a people, you should question the motives behind that statement. I've found this method to be quite useful in most situations. It’s strange that an American should have to teach such a simple concept to such a “superior intellect”.
Statian   Sat Dec 29, 2007 6:29 am GMT
<<''My teacher taught me americans are very ignorant ''

My teacher TAUGHT me Americans WERE very ignorant.

Shifting of the tenses. >>

I think the tenses are better in the original, at least in GAE. The use of WERE implies that we're no longer ignorant -- I don't think this is the meaning the poster was trying to get across.

I know for a fact that I suffer from the stereotypical American geographical ignorance. In a recent online geography quiz, I couldn't point out Benin on an unlabeled world map, and missed some island chain (Marquesas) by thousands of kilometers.
Guest   Sat Dec 29, 2007 6:43 am GMT
Who cares about insignificant countries like those? It's better not to where they are. That way you have less useless information clogging your brain.
Guest   Sat Dec 29, 2007 9:00 am GMT
the number of innovations and inventions we've managed to put out in the last 241 years

I's 231 years Stupid
wintereis   Sat Dec 29, 2007 3:52 pm GMT
so it is. You need a comma before your stupid, stupid.
wintereis   Sat Dec 29, 2007 4:07 pm GMT
Unless you consider the beginning to coincide with the end of the war--224 years. But you are correct, I'm stupid simply because I didn't check my math like you did. A mistake I wont make here again. Yet, you still have not managed to prove your original thesis. And you certainly haven't shown that I can't speak my own language.