Would You Invest in English Grammar Lessons?

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Originally Posted by elbandelero

Remember, after every part of a sentence, insert a comma.

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Umm...no. Remind me to get you a workbook. You DO NOT use a comma after every part of a sentence. You use a comma for a variation of reasons:

Interjections
Some Conjunctions (joining two independent phrases)
The beginnings of some sentences (eg. meanwhile, tomorrow,)
Lists

There can be over-usage of commas. What you are talking about (the natural pauses?) is called a caesura, which comes from Caeser, who was a great speech giver. Caesura means the pauses we naturally include when speaking. While it's a pretty good rule-of-thumb to insert a comma when one pauses, that is not always the case...

Also I sent you a PM and a visitor message to ask you what the heck you wanted to talk to me about but honestly tourism doesn't interest me.

@Bogart

I will be selling the intermediate-expert levels of lessons. The beginner lessons will be free and hopefully draw in traffic. Thank you for your comments.

I would, English is really important if you want to earn online, English isn't my first language btw

I think a lot of people would be interested in affordable workbooks or short courses. If they aren't, they probably should be.

English is not my native language, nor is it my second. I still find it difficult to articulate my thoughts in English. This is exacerbated by the fact that my English language skills are still somewhat limited. It's one of the reasons I outsource so much of my content.

I still find workbook and grammar sites to be quite useful. English still confuses the hell out of me.

I'd recommend you pursue it if you're seeing a reasonable demand for it.

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Originally Posted by m42

I think a lot of people would be interested in affordable workbooks or short courses. If they aren't, they probably should be.

English is not my native language, nor is it my second. I still find it difficult to articulate my thoughts in English. This is exacerbated by the fact that my English language skills are still somewhat limited. It's one of the reasons I outsource so much of my content.

I still find workbook and grammar sites to be quite useful. English still confuses the hell out of me.

I'd recommend you pursue it if you're seeing a reasonable demand for it.

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I'm seeing more demand for it than I originally thought. :thumbsup: I'm going to go for making a beginner workbook and make it downloadable when the re-launch of my blog is complete.

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Originally Posted by CoreyFreeman

Umm...no. Remind me to get you a workbook.

Also I sent you a PM and a visitor message to ask you what the heck you wanted to talk to me about but honestly tourism doesn't interest me.

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Perhaps it is better if we don't communicate, I'm sorry to say your comments here are a tad on the obnoxious side. I seem to recall replying to your PM, though I can't find it in the sent mails, so perhaps a glitch in the system prevented you receiving it.

As for a comma, they can be used in a variety of contexts, and as you correctly state, they can be used in lists, pairs, to differentiate subordination, amongst adverbial clauses, or when quoting direct speech.

However, it goes without saying that many second language students, and a fair few native language speakers don't separate the parts of a sentence well enough, and a GOOD rule of thumb is to insert a comma where a pause would be expected. This is advice that helps students. As you teach more students you will find that breaking grammar rules down into small chunks to be learned makes a huge difference to the student.

Your attempt to ridicule me is noted. However, I'd suggest you research the changes that are occurring in the English language before making statements about correct English. The fact is that over 2 billion people on this planet now speak English, and only 450-500 million of them are native speakers.

This means that non-native speakers are now driving the development of our language, and obscure rules that satisfy university professors and purists are being thrown out. The caesura is already common within Europe, and is taught by Cambridge as a grammar rule, and has been recognized by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. In addition, the caesura is appearing more frequently in the Collins Bank of English, which is the largest corpus of English.

@elbandelero

I was neither being obnoxious nor trying to ridicule you. If that is how you perceived it then there is little I can do about that. Thank you for the three paragraph explanation about the development of modern English and commas.

For those interested, I have compiled a more complex content distribution plan for this project:

Writer_Seven_Business_Plan.pdf - File Shared from Box.net - Free Online File Storage

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Originally Posted by CoreyFreeman

@elbandelero
Thank you for the three paragraph explanation about the development of modern English and commas.

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Sigh, Corey this is a forum, anything more than three paragraphs would be overkill.

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Originally Posted by CoreyFreeman

For those interested, I have compiled a more complex content distribution plan for this project:

Writer_Seven_Business_Plan.pdf - File Shared from Box.net - Free Online File Storage

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I've taken a quick look at your plan, it seems well though out, and I've no doubt this will be a lot of work, yet very rewarding professionally and financially. You asked for criticism, so despite our earlier comments, please accept the following in the spirit of offering genuine support.

Under primary objective;
writers (to is not needed) drastically

Under beginner 99c workbooks
(They're should be Their) value
master (the not needed) writing style

Good luck, Andy

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Originally Posted by CoreyFreeman

I kind of want to be a stickler and pick apart your first sentence. "quite decent enough" is excessive so you can just say "quite decent" or "decent enough" or even just "decent."

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That's decently decent.:punk:

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Originally Posted by elbandelero

Corey, perhaps we should talk, even if you are too busy to take on additional writing assignments. I own an English academy here in Spain, currently employing 4 teachers with students ranging from beginner to advanced, and will soon be producing course work for tourism and retail.

We may be able to help each other.

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I am involved in both industries.

I think the majority problem with a lot of tourism courses is that they are rehashed material from the 1950s and they are largely written by people who have never been abroad...or for that matter...on a broad.:D

More realistic phrases would be along the lines of:


(bang on the wall with your fist and scream) Turn down the damn TV set!

Hello...front desk? Do you have a can of bug spray?

I'd like that with lettuce and tomato...hold the roaches.

Honestly, officer, I thought those were Christmas lights.

How much do you charge by the hour?

What is the legal minimum age here?:cheerleader:

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Originally Posted by m42

English is not my native language, nor is it my second. I still find it difficult to articulate my thoughts in English. This is exacerbated by the fact that my English language skills are still somewhat limited. It's one of the reasons I outsource so much of my content.

I still find workbook and grammar sites to be quite useful. English still confuses the hell out of me.

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Huh? You're kidding?

You write well for someone...who is confused by English?

On forums, there are a lot of lazy native English speakers...trying to understand their posts is a test in and of itself.

That's an idea...a phrasebook for understanding Lazy English.:D

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Originally Posted by Menard

That's an idea...a phrasebook for understanding Lazy English.:D

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*shudder* *cringe*

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Originally Posted by elbandelero

Sigh, Corey this is a forum, anything more than three paragraphs would be overkill.



I've taken a quick look at your plan, it seems well though out, and I've no doubt this will be a lot of work, yet very rewarding professionally and financially. You asked for criticism, so despite our earlier comments, please accept the following in the spirit of offering genuine support.

Under primary objective;
writers (to is not needed) drastically

Under beginner 99c workbooks
(They're should be Their) value
master (the not needed) writing style

Good luck, Andy

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I honestly was not trying to "ridicule" you earlier, I was just poking fun. :( I apologize if you were offended, as that was not my intention. I try not to disrespect people and I understand that sometimes my joking can sound like mocking. It's just kind of the way I speak at times. :angel:

Thanks for the criticism. Seriously. :thumbsup: