dropping the e

Yolina

hieveryone wrote: »

the fact that our language really is bl00dy complicated.

Eh? Seriously? English isn't my first language but it was certainly easier than some other languages I've been learning over the years. I'm currently considering giving Russian a go for no other reason that it will probably be quite a challenge :rotfl:

OP: you could try what we say back home in these situations (I'm French): "it's the exception that confirms the rule" certainly heard that a lot in school...

Lieja

chickenpants wrote: »

Long and short vowel sounds - it's the sound of them in the word. Eg. Book - the double oo actually makes a short sound

Not up my way it doesn't!

I had a fab vocabulary and spelling ability at school, and found that the 'logic' of the English language came quite naturally. Obviously it won't be natural to all, but I definitely put it down to the mountain of books I read all through my childhood. I honestly think the only way to teach a complex language is to read it and write it, creatively without focusing too much on learning, until they 'get used to' the rules and all their exceptions!

margaretclare

Lieja wrote: »

Not up my way it doesn't!

I had a fab vocabulary and spelling ability at school, and found that the 'logic' of the English language came quite naturally. Obviously it won't be natural to all, but I definitely put it down to the mountain of books I read all through my childhood. I honestly think the only way to teach a complex language is to read it and write it, creatively without focusing too much on learning, until they 'get used to' the rules and all their exceptions!

I agree. This was the way I learned my own language, by reading very widely from a very young age, reading anything that came my way. I learned OE (Anglo-Saxon) comparatively recently, several decades after childhood!

maman

I'm surprised that LO's school doesn't teach any spelling rules or tips to help. The vast majority of words do follow rules so it's really only the exceptions that have to be learned.


For words like the ones in this week's list he just needs to remember the little rhyme 'remember to drop the final e before you add the i-n-g'.

theoretica

What sort of an explanation does he want? You could tell him that the ing replaces the e but keeps the e's magic because we know the e is there on the root word?

whodathunkit

double_mummy wrote: »

doing some spelling with the little man

we are dropping the e and adding ing

bake to baking
rake to raking
care to caring

now my son is saying to me why isnt it car - ing becuase its the magic e that made the a sound in care

how i do explain this to him that he is right but that english language doesnt really care about being logical?

It's not the e that makes the vowel "say its name", it's the fact that the second consonant is followed by a vowel.

I'm surprised his teachers haven't taught him that as it has many other applications, particularly when words with a double consonant come into it.

princeofpounds

I'm currently considering giving Russian a go for no other reason that it will probably be quite a challenge

Actually Russian is not complicated in all respects. The great thing about it is that it obeys its own rules most of the time.

The annoying thing is that the vocab is very alien, so there are relatively few words you can identify with english equivalents, unlike many of the European languages.

In particular, the tenses are very simple in terms of grammar but quite complicated in terms of vocab.

onomatopoeia99

hieveryone wrote: »

This is where spelling teaching in schools really falls down. Add the fact that our language really is bl00dy complicated, and it just gets a mess.

In pronunciation English is all over the place. See cough, plough, slough through.

In terms of grammar things like irregular verbs, not so much. Italian (which I am learning) is the complete opposite, the pronunciation is very consistent but there are a ton of irregular verbs, and even the regular verbs are incredibly compilcated with all the different tenses and endings.

Bean83

If you want to prove just how illogical the English language can be, try reading this poem:


http://m.tickld.com/x/90-of-people-cant-pronounce-this-whole-poem

Yolina

princeofpounds wrote: »

Actually Russian is not complicated in all respects. The great thing about it is that it obeys its own rules most of the time.

The annoying thing is that the vocab is very alien, so there are relatively few words you can identify with english equivalents, unlike many of the European languages.

In particular, the tenses are very simple in terms of grammar but quite complicated in terms of vocab.

Doesn't sound too bad then :rotfl: New neighbours have moved in a few months ago, they're nice and one of them is Russian so at least I'd have someone to annoy practice with once I have some basics. I did some Latin at school, my mother tongue is French, my Spanish and Italian are ok - but all Latin-based languages so I guess none of that will help with Russian. I did a couple of years of Japanese too a long time ago, should have kept that up really it was quite interesting.

Oh and apologies to the OP for the off- topic above.
I concur with the other people who've said reading, reading and reading. It certainly helps a lot - spelling, grammar and vocabulary all rolled into one - and the best bit is that it doesn't really feel like you're working at it