Study English or buy a grave, that's the question! I just read an article on language learning, and, by the end, it dawned on me how dark my humor is. There was an ilustrative sentence of how we must

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Henrique Costa

Study English or buy a grave, that's the question! I just read an article on language learning, and, by the end, it dawned on me how dark my humor is. There was an ilustrative sentence of how we must replace negative thoughts by positive ones, that went like “studing English isn’t a waste of time, because I'm sixteen years old, and most of the people in my language class are over forty, and they'll be dead soon”. I wasn’t able to hold on my own laughs! Maybe I must stop learning the English and dedicate myself to other activities, like buy a grave to rest my dead body soon. After all, I am 41 years old and, in the words of the article, I can die anytime.

Corrections · 5

Should I study English or start shopping for my gravestone? That's the question!

I just read an article on language learning and by the time I had finished it, it had dawned on me how dark my humor is. There was an illustrative sentence suggesting we must replace any/our negative thoughts with positive ones, that went something like “studying English isn’t a waste of time, because I'm sixteen years old, and most of the people in my language class are over forty, and they'll be dead soon”. I was barely/hardly able to contain my own laughter! Maybe I should just give up on learning the English language/English and dedicate myself to other activities, like shopping for a coffin to rest my dead body in. After all, I am 41 years old and, in the words of the article, I could die anytime.

Please don't be disheartened Henrique Costa, there is plenty of time for all the language learning you could ever want. If you do decide to go shopping for a gravestone however, make sure you get the epitaph in English so you at least get some writing practice! ;)

Notes:

*When asking for advice, begin your question 'Should I...?' e.g. Should I buy a house now or wait a little longer?

*Use 'could' rather than 'can' when talking about hypothetical possibility. 'Can' is for real possibility existing in the present.

*We don't use an article with 'English' when referring to 'the English language'.

*You could have used the phrase 'to be over the hill'. If you are 'over the hill', it means you are past your peak in life. Just a suggestion! Hope this helps

Study English or Buy a Grave, That's the Question!

I just read an article on language learning, and, by the end, it dawned on me how dark my humor is. There was an ilustrative sentence of how we must replace negative thoughts by with positive ones, that went something* like: “studying English isn’t a waste of time, because I'm sixteen years old, and most of the people in my language class are over forty, and they'll be dead soon”. I wasn’t able to hold on control my own laughter! Maybe I must should stop learning the English and dedicate myself to other activities, like buying a grave to rest my dead body soon. After all, I am 41 years old and, in the words of the article, I can die anytime.

*It sounds a little off to me not to say "something like xx", but there's not really a grammar rule I can point to. It's just sounds more idiomatic.

Great job!

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