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Hello, my name is Rafael Estrella from the US. I lived in Mexico for 6 years and am 100% fluent in Spanish. A native US English speaker.
I spent 6 months in France and can speak it somewhat, although you would have to speak a bit slowly for me to understand.
I am hoping to perfect my French and hopefully learn Russian and Chinese.
Learning
Russian
French
Portuguese
Italian
Chinese (Mandarin)
German
Language Skills
EnglishNative
SpanishNative
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| Attendance rate | 100% | 100% | 100% |
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- When I used to teach my continuous tenses to my students, I always tried to have them think about the present continuous as their normal time frame and the past and future as alternative time frames. In my normal time frame, 2022, I have been running for 4 years. In one of my alternate timelines, 2020, I have been I have been running for 2 years. In my other alternate time frame, 2024, I have been running for 6 years. All three time frames express the same idea. There is a continuous activity that I was involved in up to my corresponding time frame. One is today, another is 2 years ago and the final is 2 years in the future. In referencing my alternate time frames to my current time frame, I distinguish them by them by applying the correct version of "to have" based on whether it takes place in the past or the future. In 2020, I HAD been running for 2 years. (past) Today, I HAVE been running for 4 years. (present) In 2024, I WILL HAVE been running for 6 years. (future) This works in most continuous actions that express a habit, routine, state of being or physical activity. Is is possible to use have in the continuous tense, example: By the time the doctor becomes available, I will have been having these headaches for two weeks. The reason I don't think it works for your example is because we don't use have in the continuous sense unless it is expressing an action or a state of being. For example: I have an apple - implies possession of an apple I am having an apple - implies the action of eating an apple. If I were to use it in a present continuous tense, "I have been having an apple every morning for three years" implies that you've been eating lots of apples for breakfast. But conversely, we can never say, "I am having insurance" Because insurance is an intangible asset that can't be acted upon physically (unlike an apple). I hope this helps clarify things.0 votedNovember 30, 20220
- Haha, I think you answered your own question. The depth of thanks depends on the situation. Someone gives you directions: Thanks. Your boss compliments your performance: Thank you. A fireman saves your cat from a tree: Thank you very much. You are speaking to people that voted for you: I greatly appreciate it. Your boyfriend gave you an amazing massage: Turn off the lights and get into bed!0 votedApril 13, 20192
- Magazines are a collection of stories or articles that usually come with descriptive photos or drawing. GQ, Cosmo, Elle, People. These are all examples of magazines. Journals are either 1) a personal record of thoughts, events and/or actions OR 2) they are a very specific type of magazine or newspaper that deals with specific subjects. A magazine that deals with medicine might be considered a medical journal. A newspaper like the Wall Street Journal deals specifically with economics and finance. Log are a record of events. Usually for legal or business reasons but can also be for personal reasons. A diary or a journal is considered a personal log. A daily record on a shipping vessel is called a ship's log. So, because it has more than one definition, a personal journal is a type of log whereas a professional journal would be considered a type of magazine. Ironically, the word blog comes from web log. In the early days of the internet, web logs were a place to post personal thoughts and events. They were basically online personal journals. But many blogs today have gone beyond personal journals into something more closely resembling magazines. They have new articles and stories not always by the same author.0 votedApril 13, 20190
- Most of these answers are ok, but I will throw my two cents in as well: update; to be up to date means to have the most current information available. You can bring your boss up to date by giving him the latest sales reports, you can bring your spouse up to date by telling her what she missed on the last episode of Game of Thrones. update is a short way of saying "bring up to date". It applies to software because software is basically just information. Updates to software may or may not include improvements but regardless, it tends to work better when it's code is at the most current. upgrade; in this context, grade means level. so, you bring things to a higher level. You can improve something by either adding functions to it or by replacing it altogether. For example, if you have a computer, you can upgrade it by improving its clock speed, by buying more memory, or by replacing the hard drive with a higher capacity drive. Any one of these improvements upgrades your computer. If you replace the computer entirely, this also counts as upgrading, not the computer specifically, but the level of computer you own. Anything that improves the level or grade of something has been "leveled up" or upgraded.0 votedApril 13, 20191
- While I would agree agree as to what indulgent mockery means, I would disagree with whom they are mocking. Indulgent mockery implies a certain self-satisfaction when you are seeing someone make a fool of themselves. When you see your drunk brother-in-law flirt with a girl you happen to know likes only other women, you might break into an indulgent smirk. The indulgent ones in the passage above aim their mockery at other elders who, unlike them, have not come to accept that they are no longer young. They laugh internally at the others' attempts to keep up with the youths in things like fashion, pop culture, social relevance, knowing that eventually, they too will have to accept that they're "getting too old for that shit". So, I guess I would also disagree with the notion that indulgent mockery, as it is used in the passage, is used in the spirit of spite and self-preservation. These people are wise and don't typically resort to mockery. This is why he used the word indulgent, because they felt a little justified in giving in to that form of pettiness. Indulgent is used in the same context as when you don't normally drink but your daughter just got married and offers you a glass of champagne. You will indulge on this occasion because the situation warrants it.0 votedApril 13, 20190
- This an excerpt from the novel Skeleton Crew. Given that Stephen liked to write authors as the protagonist in his books, the narrator (an author) is probably referring to another author's work. A book called Old Yeller. After the dog gets rabies, a boy is forced to shoot him. The boy has a hard time dealing with the dogs death and becomes very despondent. Here, the narrator compares possible reactions to the perceived reversal of fortunes to how the boy in Old Yeller might have reacted. Should the boy have allowed himself to get so depressed about the dog's death that he would be driven to suicide? He's basically saying, hyperbolic reactions to his situation would be unreasonable.0 votedApril 12, 20192
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