Friday, January 28, 2011

A NEW YEAR, NEW FACES, AND NEW STORIES TO SHARE



Welcome to my blog, dear students!

As we start 2011 and a new semester, I want to say how much I am looking forward to getting to know you all through our blogs. I do read every blog entry, sometimes one at a time and other times a few at once. I usually leave comments of varying lengths depending on time restraints. I like to share my interests in literature, cats, genealogy, and baking with you, and I enjoy learning about each of you.

My life began in Brooklyn, where I was born the first grandchild on both sides of my family. My parents named me Jacqueline Marion. My first name was out of the blue, but my middle name was my paternal grandmother's name. I went to Lutheran school for kindergarten and a public school for first grade, and then we moved to Massapequa, where I attended public school. Early on I took an interest in foreign language, starting German in 7th grade and Russian in 9th. I kept both languages throughout high school, and though I entered college as an English major, American Literature of the 1950s and 1960s (my 1st English course in college) left me cold, so I changed my major to Russian and German, and never looked back.

I graduated from SUNY Oswego with a BA in Russian and German (double major), and I received a Teaching Fellowship and Scholarship from Vanderbilt University in Nashville. I received an MA in Russian there and minored in German, but I made the rather controversial decision of not staying on for my doctorate, a decision which I have sometimes regretted. However, I left the doctoral program to take a job in the Soviet Union with the US Information Agency and later jobs using Russian with Keston College in Kent (England) and the Russian Orthodox Church (NYC), all jobs that I loved.

I came to TESOL through teaching Russian in NJ. I got my MS TESOL at Molloy while I was working in the Writing Center, and in 2006 I switched to Grad Ed, though I am still an adjunct in the English Dept., where I teach Modern Russian Literature in translation. You can see my favorite books list elsewhere on my blog, but I'll mention just a few of the Russian ones: Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky, Doctor Zhivago by Pasternak, and Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.

I have two cats, Paws and Sassy, a son, a stepdaughter, and a mom to take care of. I'll upload a few photos to give you a peek at my life. Please tell me about yourselves.

Above center is the picture of me at the linguistics conference in Vancouver this summer with new friends from Puebla, Leonor and Teresa. On the right are all the Nenchin children with me and my ex-husband. The two little ones are his, not mine. It was at Christopher's graduation from high school.

More next time ....

Vocabulary
time restraints -- (noun) (2-part compound noun) limited amount of time
out of the blue -- (idiom) random, without planning or reason, surprising
left me cold -- (idiom) (verb left, past tense of leave) did not get my interest
changed my major -- (phrase) started a different course of study, chose a different specialization
controversial -- (adjective) causing an argument or disagreement
regretted --(verb, past tense of regret) felt sad about when looking back in time

1. I was unable to finish the project because of the __________________ . I was too busy with my dissertation.
2. Paws _____________ killing the mouse because then he did not have anything to play with.
3. First, English was my main subject, but then I ________________ to Russian and German.
4. Sassy didn't see the car coming because it seemed to appear _________________.
5. He always liked to discuss ________________ topics on politics because he loved a good argument.
6. The novels of John Updike and Saul Burrows were not interesting to me; they just ____________________.

Grammar Point:
In the fourth paragraph, I use the past, present, and future tenses. Can you find the verbs in these tenses? Why would I change from one tense to the other? Explain.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Can v. Could

Subject: Can vs could

I received this question from a former student in a recent email:

How could I explain the difference between the verb "can" and "could"?
Does "could" involve with one's willingness to do something and "can"
is talking about one's ability?


Here's my answer:

I can understand your confusion. There is more than one meaning for "can" and "could."


"Can" generally refers to ability ("to be able to do something")

I can walk a mile in twelve minutes. = ability
I can speak Cantonese. + ability

"Could" = past ability
When I was 16, I could walk a mile in 8 minutes.
At one time I could speak Cantonese, but now I have forgotten how.


Sometimes "can" is used to ask permission, though some strict grammarians say this is wrong.
Can I go to the bathroom? = May I go to the bathroom?
A strict grammarian would say here that "can" is wrong and makes the request about ability instead of permission. HOwever, "can" is NOW widely used in the US to ask permission. I would argue that language is a living thing, and although it may be wrong to some people, most are using it that way.


"Can" and "could" are sometimes used to make a polite request:
Can you help me?
Could you help me?
Would you help me?
The last two are considered more polite than the first by some.




________________________________________