Language / Mixed English Grammar Thread [233]

I believe in selfless altruism, Maaarysia. Sometimes I wish for rewards but my wife thinks differently/has other plans ;) ;) ;)

Please, ask away as I love helping others. It's such a noble trait, IMHO.

Wrocław is spot on here, btw. I give his improvements the thumbs up, AS

Language / Mixed English Grammar Thread [233]

OK, the past perfect continuous tense is one of the three tenses in the duration form. The present and future perfect continuous being the other two. They refer to the time of an action although the time need not be expressly stated using numbers, e.g I have been working as an English teacher for quite some time. I will have been typing on PF for 10 hours come 9pm today :)

Past perfect simple, as I said, is when there are 2 actions in the past and one is before the other. Something comes before the past action to which we are referring. It's like a sort of background :)

Past simple we use to list activities in sequence, e.g I went to the toilet, drained my lizard/weasel, returned to the garden, took a sip of beer, asked where my feckin parówka was, started complaining, got my parówka at last, relished every bite etc etc.

The past continuous has three main uses. ING ING, i.e 2 simultaneous actions. I was watching the tv whilst my wife was reading a book. The second? I was listening to music when sb (sorry, Mods) knocked on the door :) Thirdly, just ING, i.e I was sitting on the bench :) :)

What more can I tell you?

Language / Mixed English Grammar Thread [233]

AS, sometimes it's sensible to keep sth in the same register. I taught a lesson on past perfect continuous Vs past simple Vs past continuous yesterday and it went down well. Do you want a synopsis on the key points?

Language / Mixed English Grammar Thread [233]

Strzyga, let me try and address your queries.

Contracted forms are seen as less formal so 'aren't I?', while legitimate, takes second place to 'am I not?'. Imagine Data of Star Trek:TNG speaking :) :) He'd say 'am I not?' :) I remember having this discussion in Izumo, Japan, and my drinking partners were a lovely Welsh woman and top English bloke. The English guy altered his position when we started giving him more sentences with 'amn't I?. It just rolls off the tongue better and sounds less pompous than the other 2 options. Yeah, it depends on the level of formality.

AS, are you speaking about use or grammatical correctness? Natives tend not to use the past perfect simple tense but it it used to signify when there are 2 actions in the past and one is before the other, e.g I had eaten breakfast before I went to work. However, as I said, few would use this so it is largely redundant unless used precisely.

Language / Mixed English Grammar Thread [233]

Not times but tenses :) :)

You maintained consistency, AS, and pf saw that :) Please be specific. Where do you feel you could improve?

Language / Mixed English Grammar Thread [233]

Nah, proofreader offers up some good advice here. I'd roll with that :)

Language / Mixed English Grammar Thread [233]

WOW, a super narrative. You should ask yourself those questions as I see a cracking narrative. Where are your doubts?

History / Old communist leaders still buried in Merit Cemetery in Powązki [20]

Certainly not me :)

UK, Ireland / Poles in the UK, you know were the door is [105]

I'm talking about PIFL, not EU Law here.

Anyway, let's stay on track. Secure people can usually hold down a job but others who are less secure take hacks at others.

Love / What strange/unnerving/funny things do your Polish wives do? [153]

It might yet happen, BritinPoland.

Guest, she uses a lot but tends not to replace it without a reminder to do so.

UK, Ireland / Poles in the UK, you know were the door is [105]

What absolute drivel! You clearly haven't studied much private international family law, Meow.

Anyway, please stick to the thread. I believe in giving people a good crack of the whip but a further economic crisis will negate that possibility for many.

Love / What strange/unnerving/funny things do your Polish wives do? [153]

I see where pawian is coming from here. My wife always takes an interest in what I am preparing and almost always wants some of it. Just last night, I had just pulled a pizza from the microwave and she was there like a hawk to see what it was. Needless to say, she ate half of it.

Another thing? Well, she always lets the toilet paper run down to zero. That's sth I monitor closely and, if I were not to intervene, I shudder to think what she'd use instead.

News / Another Polish city honors President Reagan [49]

They are called people here, PP. They neither move nor smile ;)

Reagan had his skeletons in the closet, his clothes too.

News / Another Polish city honors President Reagan [49]

It was all a big act! He was a politician so what did you expect? Roses, carnations and hugs? ;)

News / Another Polish city honors President Reagan [49]

They are conservative in attitude, delph. You should know, being Scottish, that the term has a broader ambit than one meaning. Some gits are looking for publicity here, methinks. Yes, Reagan had his plus points but why raise them now? Why not back then in 2004 when he died? Political opportunism :( :(

UK, Ireland / Poles in the UK, you know were the door is [105]

The Poles have certainly got being 'sprytny' down to a fine tee :) Still, they use it to further their own objectives and it wouldn't interfere with the lives of the British. Many Brits are thankful for the hard work of the Poles. The door is there for some of their lazier own people.

UK, Ireland / Poles in the UK, you know were the door is [105]

Aha, ok :) :)

You know, I do see the frustration of Joe Public in GB who cannot get a job because of the mass influx of immigrants. However, life is competitive and people have to earn, often by fair means or foul. What I don't like is when they are put out of a job by underhand means. They should file a lawsuit for unfair dismissal then.

Don't blame the Pole, blame the system!

UK, Ireland / Poles in the UK, you know were the door is [105]

Wrocław, the point is they were trying to show the Poles the door but it backfired :) :) Didn't you hear about it?

Poles don't get in the way of the English doing their thing so why the call for the door?

UK, Ireland / Poles in the UK, you know were the door is [105]

Isn't it funny that the BNP actually used a Spitfire to glorify Britain, using it as a poster for their campaign, only to discover that the Spitfire in question was used by the Polish 303 Squadron? :) :) They had to find another poster, LOL

What culture are Poles supposed to be trampling on in England anyway? Binge drinking? Laziness? Chavism? Cheap sluts? Britain in general is highly stagnant. Give a Pole sufficient incentive and impetus and you will see them sail past many Angols :)

UK, Ireland / Poles in the UK, you know were the door is [105]

Quite a few English folk just can't accept that Poles have made London a big thing. Not only London, of course. The British government opened the door and now the offer has been graciously accepted. The door is there when they have saved up enough money ;) ;) ;)

UK, Ireland / Poles in the UK, you know were the door is [105]

Tell it as it is, PolskiMoc :) We are much more similar in the ways that you said. As a generalisation which I think holds some weight, the English turn their noses up more at Poles. Us Scots tend to be more down to earth and rugged in the same way as Poles.

UK, Ireland / Poles in the UK, you know were the door is [105]

Scotland created much of the modern world :) England colonised folks and spread smarminess.

I'm not surprised that Poles want to get away from England and back here.

UK, Ireland / Poles in the UK, you know were the door is [105]

Scotland doesn't have its own culture? That's one of the most absurd things I've ever heard, Meowmeow!!!

UK, Ireland / Poles in the UK, you know were the door is [105]

Pawian, no disrespect but you have likely tried the stereotypical foods, many of which aren't even British anyway. Scottish soups (the 2nd best in the world IMHO, maybe even the best), Aberdeen Angus beef, Moray Firth haddock and scampi would not disappoint you. There is so much good food in Scotland. I'll let English people put their culinary delights forward but Scotland has amazing pub meals.

Poles, you know where the door is? Being overly harsh is not going to win you favours, right enough. However, I have not enough experience to really make a comment here. I can only say that I can imagine such griping and disgruntled types but you get those everywhere.

Food / Polish Pizza !! The best in the world? [330]

Crow, yes, you are right. It sounds very similar to drink (picia). I thought sb was offering me sth for a vagina when they were just offering me sth to drink.

Anyway, Polish pizza is pretty good. I'm a fan of it but the Italians and Americans will always do it a little better. I can't eat much pizza due to summer quickly approaching.

What are Polish known brands? I tend to find that, as is the case with many Polish producers, that they are produced by some obscure, local maker.

Food / What do non-Poles think about eating the following Polish foods? [1450]

When your toilet is a throne..... ;)

Do you eat 'buchty' in the States, Penn?

Food / What do non-Poles think about eating the following Polish foods? [1450]

And what do you think about cheese and mushroom combinations? Poles like both but I don't see them eaten together. It smacks more of macaroni with a sauce formed from powder in a sachet.

Food / What do non-Poles think about eating the following Polish foods? [1450]

PP, some good ideas there :) Versatility is one of the beauties of mushrooms :)

Penn, diced beef would be tasty with mushrooms, right enough! How about with ribs (żeberki)? In almost 7 years of having lived in Poland and near a milk bar that serves them, I haven't even tried them yet. A bit silly but there we go. Ribs are good with a sweet and sour sauce but I imagine a mushroom sauce to be decent with them too.

Food / What do non-Poles think about eating the following Polish foods? [1450]

Most go down a treat :) :) As I said above, Poles tend to eat them with quality meat or game birds. What would you pair them with in America?

Funny you mention that, Penn. There is a scandal brewing here whereby produce is not washed well enough after spraying them with fertilisers. That's for another thread, though.

Oh, do you get łazanki across in the States?

Food / What do non-Poles think about eating the following Polish foods? [1450]

Have you tried maślaki mushrooms, Penn? Porcelino ones are the favourite of well-to-do folks but the range is pretty impressive here. I say that as a Scot and we have some good ones too :)

What I like about those options is, as you said, the richness of flavour. Don't get me wrong, standard Polish food can have a distinctive enough flavour but, in relative terms, is on the bland side without salt. A rich meal is a good treat once in a while.