LEARN ENGLISH IN ENGLISH BY YOURASS EDUCATION !

NO 1 , MAY 2010

THE EDUCATOR
NOBODY’S PERFECT...
MISTAKES THAT MAKE
Polish learners don’t comprehend present perfect because there
TEACHERS WANT TO
isn’t any in their native tongue. Or perhaps, there should be one... CHANGE THEIR JOB
Some mistakes made by Polish
learners will forever remain a
mystery. They happen in most
levels, with a different frequency,
o f c o u r s e . S o m e t i m e s s i l l y,
sometimes impossible for their
cause to be explained, but always
n o t s o u n d i n g to o n i ce a n d
terribly recurrent...

1. He like football
Okay, so this is the last time I’m telling you! I like
When I explain the intricacies of You use Polish past. You think football, you like football, but he, she and it _ _
present perfect to students, they about changes that took place in _ _ _ football.

seem to believe that such tense is
unnecessary in conversation and
rarely used by native speakers.
God, please kill me! Perfect is a
fundamental element of real-time
conversation! The problem is that
all we ve got is przeszly dokonany
and niedokonany. But do we always
use Polish past tenses to talk about
the past? Let s consider such an
example:
After a long time you come back to
a city, and you notice it s completely Why? To put it simple, English has
the past. But can you actually
specify the exact moment when
London got so different? Not
really... And also, is this statement
really about the past? After all,
you re actually commenting on the
current situation! Which is why
sentence (1) is translated into:
(2)London has changed !
and NOT:
(3)London changed !
2. I go on Sunday shopping
This is a perfectly fine sentence, the problem is it
is not what the speaker often wants to say. no
2 does not mean: “chadzam w niedziele na
zakupy”, but: “chadzam na niedzielne zakupy”.
Order is a crucial thing in English grammar, and
the closer the object to the verb, the better!
3. I want buy...
Of course, it is “want to buy”. But why would I
b o t h e r ? B e c a u s e s u c h p h r a s e s o u n d s
dangerously close to “I won’t buy”, which means
exactly the opposite!
4. We need ten potato
One potato, two potatoes, three potatoes
four...
So remember, if you need 1 potato, then it is

different. Naturally, you will think: two ways of seeing past events: fine, but if you need 2 or 200, then babe, you
need some DAMN POTATOES :)
[TO BE CONTINUED ON P. 2]
(1) Londyn sie zmienil!

We are happy to announce that Nintendo Wii gaming system -

no later than in two weeks I mean, everybody needs to
time we will have prepared a relax once in a while, right?
new classroom, where we are See yo u on our ski jum p
planning to install a TV and a championship!

! PAGE 1
 LEARN ENGLISH IN ENGLISH BY YOURASS EDUCATION ! NO 1 , MAY 2010

THE EDUCATOR

NOBODY’S PERFECT...
Polish does not differentiate between these two
continued "om page 1 aspects - we make it clear from the situational
context.
a. specifically located in the past, that
happened and finished in a time that no
longer has any influence on us. Also,
these events are unimportant for the
current situation (sentence 3 ). For
example: London Changed a#er the war.
There was no sanitation and drinking water
for more than a year!
b. located somewhere in the past, it
is hard to point where exactly, but the
event or its result is important for the
current picture of the situation
(sentence 2). For example: London has
changed dramatica$y, man! I cannot even
recognize my own neighborhood!

present perfect or a perfect present?

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF OVERUSED WORDS

important
So boring! If I got 25 cents every
time I heard this word from
students, I would be a
millionaire! Let’s try something
fresher an more sophisticated:
SIGNIFICANT - it is related to the
word “sign”. Sign is a basic element which
has some meaning. This is why we could
understand it as :”meaningful” (PL.
znaczacy, istotny)
CRUCIAL - it comes from the word
“crux” (Latin for “cross”). The word is
rather formal and means: critical for or
absolutely deciding about some event’s
success or failure. According to some
specialist, it is a metaphor of a fingerpost
at crossroads (picture below)
for example:
Crucial decisions have enormous
consequences. It is crucial for passengers‘
safety to perform routine checks of airplanes.
KEY - also known as an opening device,
as an adjective it means: one without
which an action or event is impossible.
Originally, KEY is a metaphor of the piece
that allows you to open up the door to
the matter and explore it. (PL. kluczowy)
ESSENTIAL - obviously derived from
essence, brings an image of something
without which getting to the essence is
impossible.
VITAL - connected with life (vita), it
represents things that are active,
functioning and because of that -
important to remember as something that
is supposed to take place

JOIN THE EDUCATOR!

If you have something interesting to share or to write about, do not hesitate to contact
me by email: meczyfaja@gmail.com or by mobile phone: 728934033. I’m sure there are
lots of things people should be more educated about!

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