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Hi, my name's Alex and I live in a small village near Oxford in the UK. For a living I work on a Power Station. I love to talk to people and have conversations about the things that I am passionate about (technology, gaming, films... I am a bit of a nerd!) and I love to learn new things. I hope that I can use italki to develop my speaking skills, and I am happy to talk to anyone! If you message me, please accept my apologies if I am slow to reply or fail to reply at all, I work an unusual shift pattern so I get lots of free time for a week or two and then none for the next three! It's nothing personal, I'd love to talk to all of you :)! If any of you are looking for skype partners and don't mind me not always being able to be around, then send me a message and I'll see what I can do!
Learning
Italian
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EnglishNative
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Marcello
Italian
Aug 3, 2019
Sei un tesoro, grazie. :)
Marcello
Italian
Jul 28, 2019
Thank you so much, it's always a pleasure to talk to you. :)
Marcello
Italian
May 7, 2019
Sei sempre gentilissimo, grazie mille. :)
Activities
  • Corrected

    Hi, please help me by correcting my entry, thanks a lot!)

    1. I'll explain it for so you to can understand.
    2. I just want to remind for you not to forget it.
    3. I just want to remind you, lest you forget it. (This is quite old fashioned!)
    4. I did it for you to feel to make you comfortable.
    5. I didnt give you money for you to spend it on this.
    6. I gave money lest you spend on this. (See below)
    7. I don't remember where she lives, I'm gonna get lost (on the way) there. 
    8. Did she get mugged on the subway? Perfect :) 
    9. She didn't get muggded on the subway.
    10. If she knows, she will get stressed out. Perfect, maybe use a comment after knows :)
    11. Did she get stressed out? Perfect :) 
    12 He told her that lest she get stressed out. (Makes sense, but see note below)
    13. He told her that so that she doesn't get stressed out.
    14. Have a coffee lest you fall  asleep. (Again, makes sense but see note below)
    15. Have a coffee so that you don't fall asleep.
    16. He bought this book lest you forget your mother language tongue. (What you wrote is understandable, but the phrase used in English is Mother Tongue)


    When you use 'Lest' it is a very old fashioned way of saying 'to avoid the risk of' or 'in order not to'. So while you are right in most of your applications, it would be very unnatural to hear those phrases in modern spoken English. You might see it in fantasy/historical fiction, and in traditional ceremonies (in the UK the phrase 'Lest We Forget' is used during Remembrance Day and on War Memorials, and gives an air of solemnity to them). 

    0 voted
    January 23, 2019
    1
  • Answered
    Bounce in this context is very colloquial, so the way it's phrased is not 'normal' English. But there are similar phrases which have the same format and similar meaning in English, such as 'Their Dad ran out on them.' (Their Dad left/abandoned them), 'I skipped town on them.' (I left the town they were in), 'My Mum snuck out on us to go to a party!' (My Mum left without telling us to go to a Party) The implication here is that the person leaving has made a choice, but the people he/she has left are passive, because they are being left behind. If I had to guess at exactly why ON is used in these phrases, I'd say it's because when something is Over/On/Above etc. something that usually implies height, or superiority, so by doing certain things ON someone, rather than TO/AT someone it makes the subject of the sentence seem more powerful than the objects, rather than equal.
    0 voted
    January 23, 2019
    1
  • Answered
    You're close, but it's a bit more negative generally. 'That's great and all, but...' is a way of saying (at least in the UK): 'what you just said sounds like it's good, but it actually isn't that good to me'. So you're acknowledging that it is reasonable, but then pointing out why you don't like/want it etc. In UK English we also use 'that's all well and good, but...' and I've heard 'that's all fine and dandy, but...' and they all mean the same thing in these contexts. Here are some sentences in context which will hopefully make it clearer: A: Here's my homework! - B: That's all well and good, but it was due yesterday! A: Have you seen my new phone? It's got two cameras! - B: That's great and all, but Tom's phone has three. A: The trains aren't working, so you can have a bus ticket instead. - B: That's all well and good, but if I'd wanted a bus ticket I would have bought one! Hopefully that clears it up a bit :)
    0 voted
    January 23, 2019
    1
  • Answered
    John's answer is completely correct, in that this is a reference to the romantic term 'sweep someone off their feet'. For context though, the references to 'most velour tracksuit' and 'an apartment shared by only four families' is meant to tell the reader that this woman/girl is very poor. In England there is a stereotype that people who wear Tracksuits (outside the Gym/Sports) are not very wealthy and so 'the most velour' tracksuit would make this man/boy a richer poor person. The fact she is romanticising an apartment with ONLY(!) four families also implies she's currently living with more than four, so she'd have to be very poor herself. In short a lot of the text is making sure you know that she is as poor as she can be, but still romantic (sort of) and hopeful that something will change her circumstances.
    0 voted
    January 23, 2019
    0
  • Answered
    As a UK English speaker 'as' sounds better on it's own than 'Like' in the first sentences. Although if you're comparing Brazil and another country I would use 'This is very much like HOW we do IT in Brazil' for clarity. As for the second one I would personally say 'This is just like we do in Brazil' because to me it's much more normal nowadays to use just like, than just as, except for certain phrases (like: just as I thought/suspected/planned... which makes you sound like a detective!). Also, just for fun, in UK English 'As you do.', is often said in a slightly sarcastic way to express surprise and to make a joke at the same time when someone tells you about something very out of character they've done or are going to do. For example: 'I bought a new car this morning before work.' - 'As you do!'. 'So I was talking to Amy and we've decided to move to Austria.' - 'As you do!' This is normally followed by A LOT of questions!
    0 voted
    January 23, 2019
    0
  • Corrected
    0 voted
    January 23, 2019
    0
  • Answered
    In football usually a cut is a little step with the ball, so in this context it means he pretended to cross then stepped the other way and passed the ball back to Eriksen. The second one, 'fizz' in this context is onomatopoeia, if you're not familiar with that term, in English it's used to mean 'a word that is named for the sound it describes' so in this case 'fizz' implies it was fast, or flaming. Something more like a firework or a missile than a football. So it was used to really emphasise the power of the shot. 'Clatter' in English usually means a lot of noise. But in this case it's again being used to emphasise that the volley in this case was so strong that the commentator/reporter wanted to make sure you know that he didn't JUST volley the ball, he CLATTERED it! Hope that helps :)
    0 voted
    January 23, 2019
    0
  • Answered
    It means that the 'something white and feathery' was getting in the way of the blue sky that she could see through the window. Across is just used here to show that there is movement in front of the sky :)
    0 voted
    November 15, 2018
    1
  • Answered
    Do you mean 'It can broaden her views' is a valid sentence? If so then yes, it's fine :)
    0 voted
    November 15, 2018
    1
  • Answered
    It means to have a vested interest, or more simply, having a really good reason to be interested in or care about something. In this case the good reason is money! For example, if you had bet money on a sports match, you'd be interested/care about the outcome, so you could be described as 'having skin in the game' in that context! Hope that helps :)
    0 voted
    November 14, 2018
    1