English Conversation Partner Wanted - Chinese Student Preparing for TOEFL

[GreenApple]

I am Chinese student seeking people who I can talk to in English.
It is really important to me,since I am gona' take the TOEFL test in a year or half.
You guys wana' help me?Can you leave me your Skype name or MSN email so that I can touch you later?

By the way,I am not a boring guy

 

[mattmns]

Hey dude, there is no way I am letting you touch me, OK?

You should say something like: "[...] so that I can contact you later" or "[...] so that we can keep in touch."

Also, you should say, "I am a Chinese student [...]" Not, "I am Chinese student [...]"

 

[arildno]

Flirtation Alert![/size]

 

[marlon]

so that I can touch you later?

Yes, this is a bit dangerous no ? Don't worry, i am just kiddin'

Like mattmns told you, you should have said somethin' else here.

By the way,I am not a boring guy

I am sure you are not.

marlon

 

[Evo]

I am Chinese student seeking people who I can talk to in English.
It is really important to me,since I am gona' take the TOEFL test in a year or half.
You guys wana' help me?Can you leave me your Skype name or MSN email so that I can touch you later?

By the way,I am not a boring guy

Hi Greenapple, welcome to PF! You will find MANY people willing to correct your English here. First, "real" English speaking people don't type "u", they spell out "you". "gona" is not a word, it is "going to". "wana" is not a word, it is "want to". Also "seeking people who I can talk to" is not gramatically correct, it should be "seeking people with whom I can speak".

Actually, you are doing quite well

 

[George Jones]

so that I can touch you later?

Now look what you've gone and done!

Flirtation Alert![/size]

Welcome to Physics Forums. Hope you enjoy it here!

 

[Mk]

Some people from other countries never put spaces after their commas or periods. *cough cough Gokul* I don't think Green Apple is doing it on purpose though.

 

[JasonRox]

Some people from other countries never put spaces after their commas or periods. *cough cough Gokul* I don't think Green Apple is doing it on purpose though.

He does that? I never noticed!

 

[Mk]

He very recently stopped I think.

 

[GreenApple]

I really appreciate you funny guys to have corrected me

Is the title a correct expression?
I really love this forum, because it has always been providing me what I wanted.
I've been studing English for so many years. But I find what I learned a little far from the daly life of English-speaking people.
We watch Friends at English classes and I fail to understand many expressions. And I think I need to put English into daly-use to improve on it.

And the 'gonna' 'wanna' things are what I have known from friends recently.

Again, I am glad and open for any corrections.

By the way, we had I a one-week-long holiday from the National Day which is on October 1st. During that time, I watched God Father ,all three. I like it so much, of cause not for the sake of those murdering scenes - I am not that bored. What I like it most is that it tells a story how a fine, freedom-seeking young man give way to responsibility and love to the family, which, by the way is very important to Chinese too, and betray his whole life, doing what he hates to do and wathcing the value he seted out to seek getting farer and farer to reach. That reminds me a saying by Sartre - the hell is other people

Keep in touch!

 

[scott1]

Leet(1337) is the official language of PF and the internet.

 

[Tojen]

...it should be "seeking people with whom I can speak".

"That is precisely the kind of language up with which I will not put."

--Winston Churchill

 

[Yonoz]

Welcome, GreenApple. If you'd like to practice your English, perhaps you could tell us a bit about life in China?

 

[Mk]

Yonoz! You silly. That's like asking "how is life in Isreal?" You could probably come up with a few things, but it is so open-ended and unspecific that you really don't know what to say.

By the way, how is life in Isreal?

See, now you have to prove me wrong, while I don't have to come up with specific questions.

 

[Yonoz]

Yonoz! You silly. That's like asking "how is life in Isreal?" You could probably come up with a few things, but it is so open-ended and unspecific that you really don't know what to say.

By the way, how is life in Isreal?

See, now you have to prove me wrong, while I don't have to come up with specific questions.

I thought this was GA's thread, but what the heck.
Life in Israel is pretty much like other western countries, with a little bit of action and financial hardship thrown in. We finish school, do our compulsory service and start our lives. Most of us middle-classers go on a post-service trip somewhere exotic, and then try to gain some kind of higher education. Life can be very competitive sometimes, and a lot of us have a hard time financially, but we somehow manage - I guess you better appreciate consumer items when you pay sometimes more than twice their price in other countries. People here are very warm and outspoken, with a penchant for arguing.
Have I proved you wrong?

 

[Mk]

Yes, you have. That was very good.

 

[fuzzyfelt]

Hi GreenApple. If you would like a more specific question about China, I have one. Why do people in China flash their car head-lights?
The reason I ask is that I've been driving in China for three weeks in a car with a problematic indicator stick, randomly flashing people, and wondering what message I'm inadvertantly sending.

 

[GreenApple]

Ok, I will answer your question.
You said people flashed their car head-light. I am telling you that it only happens at night and only when their cars are coming to the car you are driving. They might just be thinking that your car's headlight is too strong for them to see the road and what else in front of them, so they fleshed you to let you know that your light is blinding them and try to persuade you to turn the headlight down a bit. And you can turn it up back when they have passed you.
That is what I have heard from others.

I think that is a question all over the world. What would people have done in your country?

 

[Gelsamel Epsilon]

The same thing, or to warn you of Police Cameras/Breath Tests. Or if a part of your car is broken (say your tail lights).

 

[fuzzyfelt]

Ok, I will answer your question.
You said people flashed their car head-light. I am telling you that it only happens at night and only when their cars are coming to the car you are driving. They might just be thinking that your car's headlight is too strong for them to see the road and what else in front of them, so they fleshed you to let you know that your light is blinding them and try to persuade you to turn the headlight down a bit. And you can turn it up back when they have passed you.
That is what I have heard from others.

I think that is a question all over the world. What would people have done in your country?

Happy Golden Week, for last week. We enjoyed the mid-autumn festival, and saw the rabbit in the moon.
Thanks, but I have seen a bus flash the lights in the day. I don’t know why it did. I don’t think the cars in front of it, nor the cars coming toward it, were at fault.
Head light flashing is generally a warning but does seem to mean slightly different things in different countries.
In Australia, as Gelsamel Epsilon says, it mostly means that there are police around. In Italy it means, ‘Get out of my way’, and in England it means, ‘Please be my guest, and move in front of me’, and ‘Thank you’. I don't think the bus flashed for any of these reasons, but I could be wrong.

 

[Mk]

In the United States it is a cop warning. Hehe. I always think it is kind of funny.

 

[GreenApple]

The same thing, or to warn you of Police Cameras/Breath Tests. Or if a part of your car is broken (say your tail lights).

Yeah, that is a sweet warning.

Like the police is our common enemy
I'm kiding, of cause.

I know that, in US, there are police cars everywhere, but in China, there barely are any. I think that is a reason why the traffic on the road is bad in China. I mean many people do not follow traffic rules, say, not slow down when passing a school, which I hate so much.
But there is being more and more police cameras in China, which I take a good signal for the better.

 

[GreenApple]

syntax question

Would you say " a school" or "schools" ?

 

[Gelsamel Epsilon]

Would you say " a school" or "schools" ?

I think both are fine, but I'm no expert at English.

 

[rhuthwaite]

It really depends if you are talking about one school or multiple schools as to which one you use. What time is this website set too?

 

[Gelsamel Epsilon]

It really depends if you are talking about one school or multiple schools as to which one you use. What time is this website set too?

The sentence he used "a school" in means the exact same thing with either "a school" or "schools" at least to me.. but as I said I never was the best at English.

Edit:
<----- Shiney 200 posts >:D

 

[MeJennifer]

你的英语很好

 

[GreenApple]

你的英语很好

Thanks. And I am glad I have come across someone who can speak Chinese.

I have a question here: under what circumstance do you say "there you go" to someone?

 

[Gelsamel Epsilon]

I looked up a site because I knew I would explain it badly. Here is the extract. From "http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/28/messages/157.html"

There you go" is informal. It's said by a person fulfilling another's request for something. A: "Pass the salt, please." B, handing salt: "There you go." The phrase connotes closure or satisfaction for the listener; for example, A, who wanted salt, now has it.

"There you go" may be descended historically from "There you are," which would also fit the salt-passing scene and is a little more formal.

It can also be used as a way of remarking that someone's desire for something intangible is or will be fulfilled. A: "I don't know how to dress for the costume party. The guests were told to come as somebody famous." B: "Well, who comes to mind?" A: "Oh, maybe Shakespeare." B: "THERE you go!" B means that Shakespeare meets the requirement; dressing as Shakespeare will do.

Orderlies turning over a patient might say "There we go" in line with the practice of medical personnel who use "we" instead of "you" when addressing a patient, or their "we" might refer to their group. In the latter case, they'd be noting that the group has successfully completed its task.

There's another "There you go," not to be confused with the one you asked about. A: "Can you make a phone call for me?" B, who is angry: "There you go" (or "There you go again"), "expecting me to do you a favor."

 

[GreenApple]

Thanks, I think I got it. :)

 

[MeJennifer]

Thanks. And I am glad I have come across someone who can speak Chinese.

Well I am just a beginning student in writing and speaking Mandarin.

 

[GreenApple]

Well, you can ask me any question about it.
I am glad to help :)

 

[GreenApple]

I have some other questions.
What is the difference between the tow sentences "She is pretty, isn't she? " and "She isn't pretty, is she? "?

 

[DaveC426913]

I have some other questions.
What is the difference between the tow sentences "She is pretty, isn't she? " and "She isn't pretty, is she? "?

Both are really two sentences mashed together.

She is pretty. Isn't she pretty?
She isn't pretty. Is she pretty?

In both cases, the first sentence states your opinion on the matter (She is pretty / she is not pretty), while the second sentence asks for someone else's opinion as to whether your opinion is wrong.

 

[GreenApple]

Another question:
What am I suppose to say when someone say "whould mind opening the door?" ?
Sould I say "sure, no problem" or "no, of cause not" ,provided I want to do the favour?

 

[LURCH]

Now there's a question even English-speaking people can't allways answer! Truthfully, either of those responses would be fine. The important thing is that you don't just say "yes" or "no", as either of these answers would still leave your meaning unclear. "Yes" could mean "yes, I'll open the door" or "yes, I would mind". "No" could mean either, "No, I don't mind", or "No, I won't open the door".

By the way, the question needs a subject, "Would you mind...". Sometimes in English the word "you" is not needed because it is strongly implied (called an "understood you"), but this sentence is not one of those times.

May I say, you're doing great so far. In your shorter posts, I would not have known that English was not your first language if you hadn't told us.

 

[GreenApple]

I am always gratefull for all your help.

I got this sentence from a dictionary:
Clarke says his team could have lasted another 15 days before fatigue would have begun to take a toll.
I am just wondering why it was not this sentence :
Clarke says his team could last another 15 days before fatigue would begin to take a toll.

 

[z-component]

The two sentences talk about an event at different time periods. The first sentence says "could have lasted" and "would have begun," showing that the event happened in the past and is no longer occurring.

If you were to say "could last" and "would begin," there is the idea that the event is still occurring.