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Should I correct a French teacher who teaches English ?


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Yes, "got" does let you off thinking of other words to use instead of it.

Understood:  you've got it?

Received: you got the letter ok?

Solved: I got round that one!

Start:  I got going eventually...

Achieved:  I got the best marks ever!

And so on..........perhaps we should now have a bit of a game to see who can think of the most uses for "got"[:D]

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[quote user="mint"]Yes, "got" does let you off thinking of other words to use instead of it.

Understood:  you've got it?

Received: you got the letter ok?

Solved: I got round that one!

Start:  I got going eventually...

Achieved:  I got the best marks ever!

And so on..........perhaps we should now have a bit of a game to see who can think of the most uses for "got"[:D]

[/quote]

That's probably got a few people thinking ...........

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Anyone interested in how grammar is taught in English primary schools now might like to try this sample test. All eleven-year-olds in Year 6 will take the full tests this month.

https://sats2017.uk/quiz-would-you-pass-sats-english-grammar/
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[quote user="EmilyA"]I think mint will need to change her bottom line to "make the acquaintance of anyone who has a dog". ?[/quote]

But, of course!

It is actually a quote from a Somerset Maugham short story.  I reckon that if it's good enough for him, it's good enough for me[:P]

"Got" short and punchy I guess and sounds more modern and less old-fashioned than your phrase.  "Modern" now that could mean many things (or even lots of things) considering that Maugham was writing in the 1930s.

If you read French books sent in a period a bit further back in time, people said things like je suis très heureux de faire votre connaissance.

So, back on topic........plus ça change...........?

PS:  do you say "lots" instead of "many", "numerous", "abundant", "copious" "piles of" etc?  Own up![;-)]

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[quote user="mint"]Yes, "got" does let you off thinking of other words to use instead of it.


[/quote]

 

Which is precisely why an enlightened teacher of English to foreign students should be encouraging its use IMO.

 

Gradually L'Education Nationale is coming round to the view that the goal of learning a second language is to communicate not to get 20/20 by repeating the professeurs mistakes and becoming too frightened to try and communicate in later life for fear of not being word and grammatically perfect.

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Absolutely Chancer. I have had a lot of students who say, "I was told not to say it unless I knew it was right". I tell them that the opposite is true and the important thing is to communicate, try things out and then correct the language if necessary.

In the teaching of the English language we have far more things to worry about than an old-fashioned view of the use of the word "got".

There are plenty of challenges around there / their / they're, your / you're / yore, bough /rough / cough to keep us occupied. ?
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Hand on heart despite my best efforts as an adult to try and make up for an appalling education this was the first time I had ever heard that the word got should not be used in many cases, I do understand that it is superflous in the examples but does not sound wrong to my ears.

 

ALBF makes many grammatical and spelling errors when he posts on here, I completely get why (oops!) as he has spent a huge proportion of his adult life in France, I see the same in what  write, when I can see it with my old eyes that is, my mind is telling my fingers what to write and what comes on the screen is incorrect, "their" frequently when I know full well it should be "there" many of the errors ALBF makes i make myself but generally edit them out but I am getting to a stage where I either cannot see the errors any more or doubt my own memory of how they should be spelled, as an example I wanted to write spelt, maybe that is the correct way, I have real trouble with ie and ei these days yet before moving to France despite the complete lack of spelling correction or teaching in my education I very rarely made mistakes, I was blessed to share a secretary with the MD for a few years and whilst she would often correct my grammar and add punctuation and patiently explain to me why (lack of education again) it was rare for her to correct my spelling.

 

Luckily at my age embarrassment will not stop me from continuing to communicate in both languages, lucky for me, not for those who have to read my dribble.

 

left school honestly not knowing what a comma, colon or semi-colon was for, I would write a paragraph and then go through and sprinkle it with them like a condiment [:D]

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You should never let worries about accuracy stop you on a forum Chancer - having something interesting to say is the important bit. ?

Do have a look, out of interest, at the link to the grammar test for eleven-year-olds that I posted on the previous page - you will see that it is very different in schools now.
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