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- Sam's answer is not 100% accurate, because [t] and [d] are articulated at the same place in the mouth anyway (the only difference is that the vocal chords vibrate during [d]). Technically the sound that you're hearing is not [t] or [d], but [ɾ] (which sounds more like [d]). The rule in General American dialects such as my own is that both /t/ and /d/ become [ɾ] between vowels and in a couple of other places, like next to an /r/ (so, in words like "thirty"). It's not really a matter of laziness, at least for my dialect; every instance of /t/ and /d/ in those circumstances is pronounced [ɾ], even if I'm speaking formally (the only exception is enunciating very clearly, like if I'm repeating something over a staticky phone line).0 votedFebruary 25, 20131
I can sympathize, because I have the same urges when I read French, but I've found some success in putting aside the dictionary and just trying to struggle through using context for the words I don't know. It's not easy, and if there are too many unknown words it can be downright impossible, but it can make a difference; I have a decently large vocabulary as a native speaker, and I picked up a lot of the more esoteric stuff just through reading. Of course it's not exactly the same, but the biggest difference for you is that you just don't know as many words. The more you puzzle out words for yourself, the easier it becomes.
(This is not to disparage the dictionary, which is a great tool. I just know from personal experience that it can be easy to get a bit overdependent.)
0 votedFebruary 24, 20130- The phrase "new to" is always followed by the gerund (-ing form) of a verb rather than the bare infinitive, so "I'm new to helping" rather than *"I'm new to help", or "I'm new to eating" rather than *"I'm new to eat". "New to" can also be followed by other nouns, so you can say something like "I'm new to airplanes" (maybe you've never flown before) or "I'm new to guitars" (maybe you're buying your first one), but I would say that "new to" + gerund is a bit more common.0 votedFebruary 24, 20130
First notebook entry: Introducing myself
I am learning English, because I want to study abroad.
My native language is Chinese, and I grew up in China.
I enjoy like <em>(or, even better, "am a fan of")</em> the NBA. / I enjoy [watching] basketball.<em>(Good job! "I enjoy the NBA" would be correct, but it sounds strange to me. Better to say "I like the NBA", or, if you're just talking about watching basketball, "I enjoy [watching] basketball" works best of all.)</em>
0 votedFebruary 24, 20130- Yep, the sentence becomes incorrect without the "in". The "it" is also unnecessary, and the comma adds an unnatural pause, so: "The position you left him in with his head like that cut off his oxygen supply." A little awkward with the prepositional phrase in the middle, but totally grammatical.0 votedFebruary 24, 20132
- Mon introduction Salut! J'apprends le français parce que j'habitais en France quand j'étais petit (bien que je ne me souviennes pas du tout de comment parler français) et parce que je veux lire la littérature française. Ma langue maternelle est l'anglais, et maintenant c'est la seule langue que je connais, mais j'espère d'en apprendre plusieurs. Je voudrais parler avec des personnes francophones, et j'ai hâte d'aider d'autres à parler anglais N'hésitez pas à me corriger!February 24, 201331
