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Photographer in rural Iowa, looking to make a connection to my Latvian heritage. No experience with Latvian at all. I'm looking for someone to give me even a rudimentary introduction to the language, and in exchange, I can provide guidance on the trickier parts of English to an intermediate student. =)
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Latvian
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EnglishNative
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- The above answers are both completely correct. Less than a hundred years ago, phrasing the sentence that way was considered completely incorrect, and many older people in the English-speaking world will still correct people on this. I grew up with my grandmother (who was an English teacher) scolding me for "ending a sentence with a preposition." Today, however, it would be very rare to have someone correct you in speaking, and relatively uncommon to have them correct you in writing. The most likely to correct this "mistake" are people over the age of about 50 and teachers, especially picky college professors. XD0 votedSeptember 28, 20141
- "It's up to you" = It's your choice. You are free to choose whatever you wish. "It depends on you" = What is chosen depends on what you want. It's an "if... then..." situation. EXAMPLE: Employer: You're in serious trouble for what you did. Employee: I'm sorry. What happens next? Employer: It depends on you. If you want to continue working here, then you'll need to issue an apology. If you'd rather leave, then we'll need to get your forwarding address, in case we need to contact you again about what happened. In other words, the person "being depended on" is not making the decision themselves, but just providing information that allows the decision to be made. However, it's not uncommon to use "it depends on you" interchangeably with "it's up to you." EXAMPLE: Wife: What's for dinner? Husband: It depends on you. Wife: I feel like having Chinese. Husband: Okay! We'll go out to eat Chinese!0 votedSeptember 28, 20140
- As you might've read above, it's widely understood in the US, if not widely used. And it's about demographics: Older people use it frequently. Among younger people, it tends to indicate a certain personality—a little offbeat or nerdy, or maybe just generally reserved. I also suspect it's more common in rural areas, because I've grown up hearing this phrase frequently, and I'm in the Midwest. Extra note: I think most younger people (under 40 years old or so) who use the phrase do so specifically to indicate a slight revulsion to the thing while still being polite. If a certain food makes them nauseous, for example, they might say it's not their cup of tea, to sound polite.0 votedSeptember 28, 20141
- The above answer is correct, but I'd like to confuse you a little bit more by offering an alternative. Although "I saw him going" sounds wrong by itself, and would normally need a specified place, "I saw him leaving" is completely correct. AND "I saw him leave" is also correct. Then it becomes a question of slightly-different meanings. "I saw him leaving" implies you saw him in the act of leaving, but you don't necessarily know if it was completed. Maybe you saw him working his way toward the door and putting on his coat at a party, but you never saw him walk out the door. "I saw him leave" is definitive; you saw him walk out the door and close it behind him.0 votedSeptember 28, 20140
- I'm an American, I actually have said "at the foot of the driveway" before. But that's because the house I grew up in had a long, sloped driveway, and "at the foot of the hill" IS a commonly used phrase. I think most people would understand what you meant, but "end of the driveway" is SIGNIFICANTLY more common.0 votedSeptember 28, 20140
- As an American, I can tell you that proper British pronunciation (what they teach in language books) is always understood by American speakers, so there's not much to worry about. To most Americans, the oddest thing about other English accents is often how they pronounce the letter R. Most Americans pronounce the R very noticeably. In other English-speaking areas—Britain, Australia, and even the Southern United States—the R tends to be more subtle, barely there at all. THAT's what most Americans hear when they hear an accent.0 votedSeptember 28, 20141
- This is a touchy subject. Phil's got the most correct answer, Ben's got a practical answer, and I have a problem with Peachey's answer. This kind of construction does happen, even though it's not proper, so Phil's correct there. Ben provides the practical advice that language is diverse and choices like this just affect which segment of the population you sound like. And although Peachey's right that you should probably avoid it, I take issue with the "poor education" comment. Although it's informal, I think very few people would assume someone was poorly educated if they said "Why you..." or "You eat yet?" in *informal* settings. Of course, don't write reports or present a speech that way. But if you're with friends or family, it doesn't sound like poor education. Phrases like "ain't" and "He don't" sound even more informal, and *may* come across as poorly educated, but sometimes they're appropriate. I am a well-educated, native English speaker who prides himself on his proper usage of the language compared to those around me, but even I will sometimes use these constructions in casual situations, specifically to sound more casual. Sometimes, using the absolute correct forms comes across as stuffy or clunky, especially in rural areas, like the one I live in. We change our language all the time to the situation we're in, so if you're surrounded by poorly educated people (or, at least, people who *sound* poorly educated), it might be appropriate to match their style. Just remember to use proper language when it's called for, such as in a job interview! Just be aware that language changes depending on your surroundings. Definitely learn the rules. But once you've learned them, don't be afraid to break them... appropriately.0 votedSeptember 28, 20143

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