Homework: Proofreading and Revision
by Eric Paul Monroe on May.12, 2008, under Homework
Here I proofread my students’ homework, highlighting grammar, syntax, orthographic, and punctuation errors in addition to stylistic concerns. Students should revise and proofread their work before ultimate submission.
October 15th, 2008 on 20:05
Topic: Describe a recent situation which demonstrates attributes you can contribute to our team.
During July-August 2008, I attended a three-week summer seminar in international marketing and management organized by ASEA-UNINET network. Indeed, the participation in the seminar presented me with a significant chance to evince my competence.
Prior to this occasion, learning from a number of senior students about the intensive academic course, which is held once a year and taught entirely in English, I had become tempted to seize this unique opportunity. As rarely is information in regard to such valuable occasions widely announced to students, I had repeatedly dropped by my faculty’s office to inquire about the summer course. Eventually, when the application for the academic seminar was launched, owing to thorough preparation, I was promptly picked as the sole student of the faculty to partake in the course by outperforming other candidates in a selection process in English.
Only upon officially getting engaged in the summer seminar with Austrian students, did I realize how taxing the course-load was. During the three weeks, we were supposed to fully attend lectures and come up with three exacting reports apart from two presentations. Furthermore, the course participants were also required to hold a culture-exchange evening, whose agenda consisted of a diverse array of activities and performances by both Vietnamese and Austrian learners. As the best English speaker of the Vietnamese team, I also assumed the responsibility of a moderator for the event. Thus, the workload for the three-week occasion proved unduly strenuous. To cope with this challenge, I gathered personal schedules of other Vietnamese course-mates, factoring in the seminar’s syllabus to set out a common schedule for the whole group with activities expressly and systematically specified so that all the jobs would be properly handled. Then, as the leader of the Vietnamese side, I assigned each Vietnamese student with duties consonant with their strong points. Subsequently, despite a raft of laborious tasks, thanks to the well-organized plan, the Vietnamese members fulfilled their duties with fruitful results and delivered a fantastic culture-exchange session while still managed to keep up with academic activities.
Another daunting challenge that I was forced to deal with was the core project of the summer course. Working in a team with three people from a different culture was manifestly less than simple due to a multitude of stark dissimilarities in thinking and lifestyles. Worse, two Austrian girls of the group seemed to adopt a negative attitude towards Vietnamese people, considering the local students “the weaker ones”. Hence, I was determined to dispel these learners’ false perception of Vietnamese’s capability. Though language was a formidable obstacle to most of the Vietnamese students, my previous preparation for the TOEFL enabled me to successfully perform in that English-speaking academic setting. Employing insights gained from my higher education and information garnered from my regular reading of English periodicals, I managed to demonstrate my academic understanding and international orientation by actively contributing significant opinions to discussions and debates, which actually impressed Austrian professors lecturing the course. My critical ideas that formed the backbone of the group’s pivotal project, my academic writing that made up a considerable component of the reports and my speaking skills indicated during the presentations all renovated the two girls’ preconceptions over the Vietnamese. Besides, I always embraced a friendly and open-minded approach in dealing with the teammates, enthusiastically supporting them during field surveys. As a result, after the seminar, we already became intimate friends with frequent contact maintained until now.
The summer course actually makes substantial sense to me. The seminar not only allowed me to immerse myself into an English intensive academic environment but also facilitated my practice of a host of such essential skills as planning, leadership and time management. Thanks to the occasion, my self-confidence and competence were remarkably reinforced.
(This piece of writing is an answer in my internship application form. As I attempted to include all necessary qualities required for an intern in professional services, I am worried that the writing might be too long vis-à-vis an answer for an employment application form. Should I try to shorten the essay much more? I still have another similar question though)
Seems that your response is adequate, Quan. Your mention of discrimination should be accompanied by cultural ignorance along with supporting details.
October 16th, 2008 on 04:52
In July-August 2008, I attended a three-week summer seminar in international marketing and management organized by ASEA-UNINET network. Indeed, the participation in the seminar presented me with a significant chance to evince my competence.
During the course, we clarify were supposed to fully attend lectures, come up with three exacting reports apart from two presentations and hold a culture-exchange session. Thus, the workload for the occasion proved unduly strenuous. As the leader of the Vietnamese side, to cope with this challenge, I gathered personal schedules of other Vietnamese course-mates, factoring in the seminar’s syllabus to set out a common schedule for the whole group with activities expressly and systematically specified. Then, I assigned each Vietnamese student with duties consonant with their strong points. Subsequently, the Vietnamese members fulfilled their duties with fruitful results and delivered a fantastic culture-exchange session while still managing to keep up with academic activities.
Furthermore, working in a team with three people from a different culture was far from simple due to a multitude of stark dissimilarities in thinking and lifestyles. Worse, two Austrian girls of the group seemed to adopt a negative attitude towards Vietnamese people, considering the local students “the weaker ones”. Hence, I was determined to dispel these learners’ false perception of Vietnamese’s capability. Employing insights gained from my higher education and information garnered from my regular reading of English periodicals, I managed to demonstrate my academic understanding and international orientation by actively contributing opinions to discussions. My critical ideas that helped form the backbone of the group’s pivotal project, my academic writing that made up a considerable component of the reports and my speaking skills indicated during the presentations renovated the two girls’ preconceptions over the Vietnamese. Besides, I always embraced a friendly and open-minded approach in dealing with the teammates, enthusiastically supporting them during field surveys. After the seminar, as a result, we already became intimate friends with contact maintained until now.
The summer course actually makes temporal concordance substantial sense to me. Thanks to the occasion, my self-confidence and competence were remarkably reinforced.
(This is the condensed version of the above writing. Hopefully the answer is concise enough now)
Great improvement.
October 17th, 2008 on 06:32
Topic: Describe a recent situation which demonstrates attributes you can contribute to our team.
In July-August 2008, I attended a three-week summer seminar in international marketing and management organized by ASEA-UNINET network. Indeed, the participation in the seminar presented me with a significant chance to evince my abilities.
Only upon officially getting engaged in the summer seminar with Austrian students, did I realize how taxing the course-load was. During the course, we were supposed to fully attend lectures, come up with three exacting reports apart from two presentations and hold a culture-exchange session. Thus, the workload for the occasion proved unduly strenuous. As the leader of the Vietnamese side, to cope with this challenge, I gathered personal schedules of other Vietnamese course-mates, factoring in the seminar’s syllabus to set out a common schedule for the whole group with activities expressly and systematically specified. Then, I assigned each Vietnamese student with duties consonant with their strong points. Subsequently, the Vietnamese members fulfilled their duties with fruitful results and delivered a fantastic culture-exchange session while still managing to keep up with academic activities.
Another daunting challenge that I was forced to deal with was the core project of the summer course. Furthermore, working in a team with three people from a different culture was far from simple due to a multitude of stark dissimilarities in thinking and lifestyles. Worse, two Austrian girls of the group seemed to adopt a negative attitude towards Vietnamese people, considering the local students “the weaker ones”. Hence, I was determined to dispel these learners’ false perception of Vietnamese’s capability. Employing insights gained from my higher education and information garnered from my regular reading of English periodicals, I managed to demonstrate my academic understanding and international orientation by actively contributing opinions to discussions. My critical ideas that helped form the backbone of the group’s pivotal project, my academic writing that made up a considerable component of the reports and my speaking skills indicated during the presentations renovated the two girls’ preconceptions over the Vietnamese. Besides, I always embraced a friendly and open-minded approach in dealing with the teammates, enthusiastically supporting them during field surveys. After the seminar, as a result, we already became intimate friends with contact maintained until now.
The summer course actually makes substantial sense to me. The seminar not just allowed me to immerse myself in an intensive English academic setting but also sharpened my pragmatic skills. Thereby, my self-confidence and competence were remarkably reinforced thanks to the occasion.
Dramatic improvement.
October 17th, 2008 on 06:32
What has led you to choose a career in professional services? Why do you think you are suited to this career?
Employment occupies a far-reaching position for life. However, most Vietnamese soon-to-be graduates or fresh graduates are currently confronted with a thorny puzzle vis-à-vis which jobs these people ought to pursue upon leaving institutions of higher education. Unlike those individuals, I have decided that a career in professional services would unequivocally be my optimal option.
Significant boons offered by the job as a professional services specialist prove the very first impetus that prompts me to opt for this career. Working in such a professional services giant as PricewaterhouseCoopers, I would undoubtedly have ample opportunities to further my practical thinking and understanding via intensive interaction and communication with people from various countries, cultures and walks of life. Besides, as a specialist in professional services, through dealing with clients in varied areas with their daunting challenges, I am certain to find myself in an ideal position to not just expand multi-sectoral specialized knowledge but also hone essential pragmatic skills.
Merely the interest seems inadequate for an individual to embark on a career in. professional services. In fact, my personal qualities afford me the confidence that a professional services specialist would be a congruous career for me. To tackle clients’ issues, teamwork and problem-solving skills prove crucial. My penchant for working in collaborative groups and my critical approach which always leads me to scrutinize pros and cons of situations would certainly enable me to perform well in this job. What is more, as professional services involve working with international co-workers and clients, my proficiency in English is sure to facilitate my performance in professional services. Moreover, my unfailing ardency to work and learn in this area would definitely allow me to cope with formidable pressure and fare well in the position of a professional serviced specialist.
Both the possible enormous benefits that I would be able to derive as a professional services specialist and my personal suitability for the career inspire me to apply for the internship position. I am firmly convinced that my performance in this profession is bound to bear fruit.
Time to work on improving your usage of transition, Quan.
October 31st, 2008 on 15:07
Would you like to know what is that and what does it mean?
Okay…let us start by what is that?
Simply this is a sample text for one of the very oldest languages of the world. It was spoken from about 4,000 BC until the 11th century AD and has almost 5000 more years of recorded history than any other human language. This language is hieroglyphics or the ancient Egyptian language.
Hieroglyph, the root word for hieroglyphics, comes from the Greek language. “Hieros” means sacred and “gluphein” means engraved. So in the Greek language hieroglyphics means sacred engraving.The Egyptians designated their language by two signs: one a piece of cloth attached to a pole that is floating in the wind, and the other a stick. When the two characters are put together they mean “mdwt ntr” or “God’s words”.
Hieroglyphics is a form of writing in which picture symbols represent ideas and sounds. There are three different forms of hieroglyphic writing: hieroglyphic, hieratic, and demotic.
Hieroglyphic was the earliest script form of Egyptian. It was a recognizable form used to represent a person, an object, or an idea. They could be combined with a different signs to spell out the words of the spoken language. However, the hieroglyphic indicates consonants only, hieroglyphic was used for formal inscriptions on the walls of temples and tombs, and mainly found carved into stone, wood, and other materials.
Hieratic was a more simplified style of writing. It was adapted from hieroglyphic script for a quicker record of non-monumental context. The early hieratic has a more fluent form than hieroglyphs, and the individual signs had become more abbreviated by the time. Hieratic was the script for administration and business use that to record the literature, scientific, and religious documents. The hieratic inscriptions were usually written in black ink with a brush made of reed.
Demotic was another more simplified script that generally used for business and social purposes.
Hieroglyphics can be written from right to left and left to right. The later forms of hieroglyphics, (Hieratic and Demotic), can only be written form right to left. Hieroglyphics and early hieratic could be written in lines or columns. There is great variation in word order and several ways of writing a single and simple object.
To find the beginning of a hieroglyphic piece, you must locate the signs that represent people or animals. Their characters will face toward the beginning of the passage.
There are several hundred picture signs in the Egyptian hieroglyphics writing system (about 7oo).
These signs are either phonograms or ideograms. Phonograms were used to write the sound of the Egyptian words using only consonants, since vowels were not normally written. Ideograms also called pictograms were pictures of the actual object or some ideas close to the object were used. Most words were written using both a phonogram and an ideogram.
The glyphs (or words) have both semantic and phonetic values. For example, the glyph for crocodile is a picture of a crocodile and also represents the sound “msh”. When writing the word for crocodile, the Ancient Egyptians combined a picture of a crocodile with the glyphs which spell out “msh”. Similarly the hieroglyphs for cat, miw, combine the glyphs for m, i and w with a picture of a cat.
Hieroglyphs representing single consonants:
These glyphs alone could be used to write Ancient Egyptian and represent the first alphabet ever known.
Determinatives:
Determinatives are non-phonetic glyphs which give extra information about the meanings of words, distinguish homophones and serve as word dividers.
Numerals:
By combining the following glyphs, any number could be constructed. The higher value signs were always written in front of the lower value ones.
let us get back to our sample text and here its meaning:
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
P.S.
BC: Is an abbreviation for “Before Christ”.
AD: Is an abbreviation for a Latin word “Anno Domini” which means in the year of the Lord.
P.S.S.
Egyptian doesn’t use space between the words, and doesn’t write vowels. This writing would have been very ambiguous, If it hadn’t used determinatives.
Interesting work, Berry. Please elaborate.
November 8th, 2008 on 19:08
Sound Imitators.
A number of linguists have argued that language is a unique human behavior and that animal communication falls short of human language.
Although imitating sound is not a simple matter as some people believe, some birds are able to mimic human speech with great clarity.
This talent to imitate, which observed in some bird species, is not an ability that can be acquired by coincidence.
For a bird to reproduce a sound (a word or a melody) it has heard, it requires:
1- Excellent hearing organs.
2- High level of consciousness in terms of tone, stress, and expression.
3- Good memory to be able to remember and repeat the sounds it has heard.
4- Strong power of observation.
For example, definite article Lyre bird is able to mimic the sounds of: camera plurality needed for generalizations…, camera shutters, rifle shots, and car alarms. W punctuationhich proves that this bird is intelligent and does have not a simple or a primitive clear and concise brain and that is a article usage clear evidence of the article usage great learning ability.
Just correct your minor errors, Berry.
November 19th, 2008 on 07:52
Sound Imitators.
A number of linguists have argued that language is a unique human behavior and that animal communication falls short of human language.
Although imitating sound is not a simple matter as some people believe, some birds are able to mimic human speech with great clarity.
This talent to imitate, which observed in some bird species, is not an ability that can be acquired by coincidence.
For a bird to reproduce a sound (a word or a melody) it has heard, it requires:
1- Excellent hearing auditory organs.
2- High level of consciousness in terms of tone, stress, and expression.
3- Good memory to be able to remember and repeat the sounds it has heard.
4- Strong powers of observation.
For example, the Lyre bird is able to mimic the sounds of: camers, camera shutters, rifle shots, and car alarms.
This talent makes him one of the world’s best imitators, and also proves that this bird is intelligent and does have not a primitive brain as people may think.
Much better, Berry. Don’t be lazy and pay attention to detail. Proofread your work before submission.
November 19th, 2008 on 08:04
Camouflage In Nature.
Suppose you are a little creature and you live in the wild. You do have not long sharp claws, or even great speed to save you from being eaten by predators.
Even when you wait until dark to go out to hunt for food, your color still makes you stand out against the color or pattern of the place where you live. Any wild animal can easily see you and swoop down to make you his dinner.
You might think an animal like this has no chance to survive, but nature always comes up with a solution.
Animals use color to blend in with their habitat so they’re almost invisible. This is what we called: camouflage or the art of concealment.
The term camouflage comes from the French word “camoufler” meaning “to blind or veil.”
Camouflage, also called protective concealment, means to disguise an object, in plain sight, in order to conceal it from something or someone.
There are many ways for animals to camouflage or blend in with their environment. Some of these ways appear clearly in the attached presentation. Don’t tell me that you are going to tell me something.
Enjoy it…
Also enjoy, Berry.
November 19th, 2008 on 08:48
Sound Imitators.
A number of linguists have argued that language is a unique human behavior and that animal communication falls short of human language.
Although imitating sound is not a simple matter as some people believe, some birds are able to mimic human speech with great clarity.
This talent to imitate, which observed in some bird species, is not an ability that can be acquired by coincidence.
I am not lazy…
For a bird to reproduce a sound (a word or a melody) it has heard, it requires:
1- Excellent auditory organs.
2- High level of consciousness in terms of tone, stress, and expression.
3- Good memory to be able to remember and repeat the sounds it has heard.
4- Strong powerplurality needed for generalisms… of observation.
For example, the Lyre bird is able to mimic the sounds of: cameras, camera shutters, rifle shots, and car alarms.
This talent makes him one of the world’s best imitators, and also proves that this bird is intelligent and does have not a primitive brain as people may think.
Outstanding, Berry.
November 21st, 2008 on 14:27
Sound Imitators.A number of linguists have argued that language is a unique human behavior and that animal communication falls short of human language.Although imitating sound is not a simple matter as some people believe, some birds are able to mimic human speech with great clarity.
This talent to imitate, which observed in some lexical development bird species, is not an ability that can be acquired by coincidence.
For a bird to reproduce a sound (a word or a melody) just state directly: clear and concise… it has heard, it requires:
1- Excellent auditory organs.
2- High level of consciousness in terms of tone, stress, and expression.
3- Good memory to be able to remember and repeat the sounds it has clear and concise heard.
4- Strong powers of observation.
For example, the Lyre bird is able to mimic the sounds of: cameras, camera shutters, rifle shots, and car alarms.
This talent makes him one of the world’s best imitators, and also proves that this bird is intelligent and does have not a primitive brain as people may have thought think.
Good job, Berry. Work on eliminating unnecessary verbiage.
November 21st, 2008 on 14:52
Camouflage In Nature.Suppose you are a little creature and you live in the wild. You do have not long sharp claws or even great speed to save you from being eaten lexical development by predators.Even when you wait until dark to go out to hunt for food, your color still makes you stand out against the color or pattern of the place where you live. A wild animal can easily see you and swoop down to make you his dinner lexical development.
You might think an animal like this has no chance to survive, but nature always comes up with a solution.
Animals use color to blend in with their habitat to became almost invisible. This is what we call: camouflage or the art of concealment.
The term camouflage comes from the French word “camoufler” meaning “to blind or veil.”
Camouflage, also known as a kind of protective concealment, means to disguise an object, in plain sight, in order to conceal it from something or someone.
There are various ways for animals to camouflage or blend in with their environment.
Enjoy it…
You could elaborate on this interesting subject, Berry. Work on improving your vocabulary by using a thesaurus.
December 3rd, 2008 on 03:07
“Learning to speak another’s language means taking one’s place in the human community. It means reaching out to others across cultural and linguistic boundaries. Language is far more than a system to be explained. It is our most important link to the world around us. Language is culture in motion. Good point, Berry. It is people interacting with people.”
Sandra Savignon Reword your sentence so that one knows that it is a quote beforehand.
Learning a new language is an interesting experiment. It Berry, do not write “it” again: this only shows a weak vocabulary level on your part. is one of the best ways that could remove the boundaries between us Speak in general. and also to introduce us to a new world of knowledge. But learning is a skill and it can be improved. All you need is a bit of determination.
For instance, English is a worldwide syntax, word choice language and there are different ways to learn and improve your English. Here I will try to mention some of those ways that I tried myself:
First of all, you should have passion for your target language, because there is a difference between doing something because you have to do it and doing it because you like it.
Second, you need to determine how advanced you are, and which activities you need to get you to the top.
In order to better yourself, you have to motivate yourself by setting achievable goals. You could start by improving your vocabulary, by exposing yourself to as much English as possible. One of the excellent ways for doing that is regular reading. To make it more useful for you choose something you are interested in to read about. Of course it wouldn’t be easy at first, you may not be able to understand the whole article, don’t translate, only use a dictionary to help you. Avoid run-on sentences.
Another great source is watching movies that would help you to improve all aspects of your English. Try to watch them in English, if you find that hard, you could use it with subtitles.
Try to think in English and to write a meaningful sentences and don’t worry about mistakes, get your mistakes corrected and count it as a learning experience.
You also have to let your ears get used to the sound of English by many ways like; listening to radio, music, or by practicing with a native English speaker (this way would also improve your pronunciation). Even if you couldn’t find anyone to practice with, you could imagine situations and talk to yourself (but please don’t try to do that in public unless you would like others to think that you are crazy)…
Anyway, whenever you have a chance to talk or test yourself don’t waste it, because usage is the best language teacher.
Also learning from a professional teacher would be much better, but you have to remember that teacher just open the door, but you have to enter yourself which means in all cases you have to work hard.
Finally, remember that learning a language takes time. So be patient and have confidence in yourself and enjoy learning…
Fantastic article, Berry. Work on lexical development and avoid contractions.
December 3rd, 2008 on 05:27
The differences between restaurants in the US and Japan
When you went abroad, going to the local restaurants is a good opportunity to eat local food and feel local atmosphere. When I stayed small American local town, I was afraid of going to restaurants right after I got there for I didn’t know anything about American restaurants and their manners. Sometimes, I couldn’t understand local people’s accent at cafeteria. Language was a big problem, actually.
Anyway, I noticed some differences between restaurants in the US and Japan. For instance, their attitude, system, payment, amount of food, taste, ingredients and seasoning style.
I also tell about the color of food, sweets and beverages in the US and Japan for further discussion. I tell you about these differences in this essay.
System and Attitude differences:
In some restaurants in Japan, shop owners or servers would say or shout ““Welcome to this shop” immediately after customers enter the restaurant and all staff members in the restaurant take care of every customers and tables. But in American restaurants, waiters, waitresses or servers would approach to the customers to say hi or hello. After that, they take charge that customers or a table, while waiters and waitress in Japanese restaurants take care of every table when they are free.
Payment differences: I think that this is the most annoying difference for most Japanese customers in American restaurants because Japanese don’t get used to paying tips. Many Japanese don’t know even how many percents of tips are proper. When I ask about tips to an American, he said that 15－20percents of tips are appropriate and costumers can decide how many percents is proper. It is up to the service of servers. That is why waiters and waitresses often ask customers about their service and costumer’s satisfaction. Since many Japanese don’t get accustom with paying tips, calculating tips is annoying and some of them forget to pay the tips. However , I’ve heard of not paying tips is the big no-no in the US because servers in the US is not well paid, to take percentage from customers tips can be the important income for them. However, tips or service fees are included in Japanese restaurant’s bills beforehand.
In Japanese restaurants, customers have to contact a stuff to pay their bill at a cash register or handing over staffs at table or the bar in a shop. On the other hand, in American restaurants, customers leave their cash and tip on the table and they can just leave the restaurant without any contact to clerks. I presume that many Japanese will be surprise at this way of payment in American restaurants.
The amount of food: another surprising thing for ordinary Japanese in American restaurants is the amount of food on a dish. I think that ordinary American restaurants’ amount of food on a dish is 2-3times higher than Japanese one. In a tacos shop, accompaniment chips were a whole one bag of chips. A plastic cup was L size and to drink as much you want style. When I ordered a bowl of miso or soybean paste soup as a side dish in an Asian food restaurant, the size of a bowl was big like a ramen noodle bowl size bowl and soba or buckwheat noodle was in the miso soup, so I had not needed to order a main dish. Naturally, I couldn’t eat them all, and then I asked a waitress to bring a doggy bag. The custom of preparing doggy bags used to be common among Japanese restaurants but asking doggy bag is rare both among Japanese restaurants’ staff and customers, nowadays.
Taste and ingredients:
Since the US is an immigrant nation, a lot of kinds of foods are available in the US restaurants, however, these multicultural taste has being arranged to American people’s preference. In my impression, ordinary American restaurants’ food is oilier and sweeter than Japanese restaurants’ food. I think that oil and milk are widely used in American food. And meat is much more eaten than in Japan. I think that American chefs try to season the dishes by their ingredients’ combination and broth of meat and vegetables. Compare with that, Japanese traditional food is based on fish, vegetables, salt, soybean paste and soy source. Consequently, Japanese traditional food chefs try to season the dishes by the combination of such ingredients and broth from fish and vegetables.
Sweets:
American sweets are much sweeter than Japanese sweets. Since I am familiar with less sugary cakes and sweets, I didn’t eat so many cakes in the US. However, cheese cake and donuts’ taste was similar to Japanese one. And when I drunk cherry coke, I felt that it would be good if I could drink this in Japan as well.
The color of food and beverage:
the colors of most sports drinks are colorless in Japan. I believe that the impression of light or translucence color make people believe the drink is artificial colorant free. However, I found the shocking pink or shocking blue colored isotonic drinks in the US. And cereals are much more colorful than Japanese one. I think these too bright colors food began to less appeal to recent Japanese consumers but I believe that smoothies can appeal to Japanese for their healthy image and tasty harmony of their ingredients.
In this essay, I pointed out some differences between American restaurants and Japanese restaurants for their attitude, system, payment, amount of food, taste, ingredients, seasoning style, the color, sweets and beverages. And then I mentioned to food and drink color differences. I believe that to know the cultural differences make us more accessible to other cultures and the society.
Text needed
Great job, aka_ken!
December 29th, 2008 on 14:00
Article system in English language is so complex and is difficult to master for those who are learning English as a second/foreign language. To be able to use articles properly, we have to learn the rules that govern article usage, but first we need to understand some terms like: countable and uncountable nouns.
Countable nouns:
Refer to people, places, or things that can be counted which means there can be more than one of them.
For example: one apple/three apples.
These nouns can be used in the plural, usually by adding (s) or some other variation of the plural ending.
For example: book/books, country/countries, child/children.
A few words are the same in the singular and plural forms.
For example: deer, sheep.
Uncountable nouns (also called non-count or mass nouns):
Refer to things that can not be counted.
For example: sand, water.
These nouns aren’t usually used in the plural.
For example: temperature, money, news, advice.
Some uncountable nouns can be made countable by using a count frame in front of them.
For example: Three gallons of milk.
Uncountable nouns fall into several categories:
•Abstractions: laughter, information, beauty, love, work, knowledge.
•Fields of study: biology, medicine, history, civics, politics.
•Recreational activities: football, camping, soccer, dancing.
•Natural phenomena: weather, rain, sunshine, fog, snow (but events are countable: a hurricane, a blizzard, a tornado).
•Whole groups of similar/identical objects: furniture, luggage, food, money, cash, clothes.
•Liquids, gases, solids, and minerals: water, air, gasoline, coffee, wood, iron, lead, boric acid.
•Powders and granules: rice, sand, dust, calcium carbonate.
•Diseases: cancer, diabetes, schizophrenia (but traumas are countable: a stroke, a heart attack, etc.)
Nouns that are both countable and uncountable:
Some nouns can be countable in one meaning and uncountable in another. When they are countable, they can be made plural. When they are uncountable, they can’t be made plural.
For example: light, coffee
a- The light of the sun (uncountable)/turn on the lights (countable).
b- A jar of coffee (uncountable)/ three coffees, please (countable).
Now, we are ready to talk about articles.
Articles belong to a group of words which are known as determiners. Determiners are used in front of nouns to indicate whether you are referring to something specific or something of a particular type.
English language has two types of articles: indefinite and definite articles.
The indefinite articles (a, an):
(a) Is used in front of singular nouns that begin with a consonant or a vowel but it have a consonantal sound.
For example: a- a man, a book, a rock.
b- A European man, a useful idea, a university, a uranium isotope.
(an) Is used in front of singular nouns that begin with a pure vowel or a consonant but it have a vowel sound semiconsonant.
For example: a- an umbrella, an old custom.
b- An honest person, an heir to the throne, an hour-long lecture.
That means using a/an depends on pronunciation not spelling.
When to use a/an?
In certain situations, we always use “a” or “an.” These situations include:
1- In front of a countable noun that is being mentioned for the first time. But for each subsequent reference for that noun we use (the).
For example: she has two children: a boy and a girl. The boy is nine and the girl is seven.
2- In front of professions.
For example: He is an architect and she is a teacher.
3- It can also be used instead of per to give the rate of something.
For example: a- He earns $200 a week.
b- He drove at 60 mile an hour.
4- In front of “little” and “few” to give a positive meaning.
For example: The teacher gave a few good examples. (Indicates the presence of good examples) while: the teacher gave few good examples (shows the lack of good examples).
The definite article (the):
It is used to restrict the meaning of a noun to make it refer to something that is known by both of you and the person you are communicating with.
For example: Did you get the visa you applied for?
When to use (the)?
In certain situations, we always use “the” because the noun or the context makes it clear that what we’re talking about. Examples of these situations include:
1-Second mention with explicit first mention.
For example: You can get a giant ice cream cone downtown. If you can eat the cone in five seconds, you get another one free.
2-When the existence of something is common knowledge because of the context in which it is mentioned.
For example: Dr. Smith performed a complicated surgery. He said the patient is recovering nicely.
3-Shared knowledge (both participants know what’s being referred to, so it’s not necessary to specify with any more details).
For example: The boss asked about the report.
4-Unique nouns.
For examples: The earth, the moon, the sun, the environment, etc.
5-Ordinals numbers and superlatives (first, next, primary, most, best, least, etc.)
For example: a- Today is the best day of my life.
b- He was the first man to set foot on the moon.
6-In front of countable nouns to represent a whole class or category.
For example: a- The computer is a marvelous invention.
b- We have to look after the old.
7-In front of oceans, seas, rivers, island and mountain chains, deserts, countries with plural names, and with geographical areas.
For example: The Pacific Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the Nile river, the Himalayas, the Sahara, the United States, and the Middle East.
8-In hotel names.
For example: The Hilton hotel.
9-For newspapers.
For example: The New York Times.
10-With the names of the musical instruments.
For example: He plays the piano.
11-Before the holy books.
For example: The Quran, the Bible.
12-To refer to different forms of entertainment except television (as a medium).
For example: a- the opera, the cinema, the radio, the theatre, and the circus.
b- In the evening I like to watch television.
13-For organizations and institutions except those you can read as whole words).
For example: The United Nations (the UN), the Commonwealth, the World Health Organization (the WHO). But we said NATO and OPEC without using “the”.
14-With some proper names consisting of nouns or adjective + noun.
For example: The Empire State Building, the British Museum, the White House.
There are some cases in which we don’t need to use any article at all (called zero articles) and these cases are:
1- When using the abstract nouns in a general sense.
For example: a- Money makes the world go around.
b- Volcanoes are formed by pressure under the earth’s surface.
2- With single mountains.
3- In front of most roads, streets, parks, squares or bridges.
For example: Stadium Road, Oxford Street, Central Park, Times Square, and Tower Bridge.
4- In front of company names.
For example: Microsoft.
5- For most places consisting of just the name of a person, or the name of a person/place followed by a noun.
For example: McDonald’s, Kennedy Airport, Buckingham palace.
6- With (school, college, university, hospital, prison, court, bed) when used for their primary purpose. If they are used for any other purpose, then “the” is required.
7- With the names of meals, unless it is a formal occasion.
8- With names of games or sports.
9- In the titles of books, movies, music and other works of art.
10- In headlines to save space.
To summarize, we have three basic rules that help using articles correctly:
Rule #1:
Every time we mention a noun, we are referring to:
1-Generalizations; all of them everywhere (also called general reference).
2-Indefinite reference (one of many).
3-Definite reference (this one exactly).
Rule # 2:
Every kind of reference has a choice of articles:
1-Generalizations………(No article, a/an, or the).
2-Indefinite reference……(No article, or a/an).
3-Definite reference……(No article, or the).
Rule # 3:
The choice of article depends upon the noun and the context.
Hope it was useful…
Absolutely fantastic, Berry!
January 1st, 2009 on 00:02
Wishing that your new year is full of the most beautiful fragrances that life has to offer.
Happy New Year.
January 10th, 2009 on 00:35
Sound Imitators.A number of linguists have argued that language is a unique human behavior and that animal communication falls short of human language.
Although imitating sound is not a simple matter as some people believe, some birds are able to mimic human speech with great clarity.
This talent to imitate, which observed in a number of bird species, is not an ability that can be acquired by coincidence.
For a bird, reproducing a sound requires:
1- Excellent auditory organs.
2- High level of consciousness in terms of tone, stress, and expression.
3- Good memory to be able to remember and repeat sounds.
4- Strong powers of observation.
For example, the lyre bird is able to mimic the sounds of: cameras, camera shutters, rifle shots, and car alarms.
This talent makes him one of the world’s best imitators, and also proves that this bird is intelligent and does have not a primitive brain as people may think.
Outstanding!
January 10th, 2009 on 01:03
Camouflage In Nature.
Suppose you are a small creature and you live in the wild. You do have not long sharp claws or even high speed to save you from being attacked by predators.Even when you wait until dark to go out to search for food, your color still makes you stand out against the color or pattern of the place where you live. A wild animal can easily see you and swoop down to make you his dinner.
You might think an animal like this has no chance to survive, but nature always have a solution.
Animals use color to blend in with their habitat to became almost invisible. This is what we call: camouflage or the art of concealment.
The term camouflage comes from the French word “camoufler” meaning “to blind or veil.”
Camouflage, also known as a kind of protective concealment, means to disguise an object, in plain sight, in order to conceal it from something or someone.
There are various ways for animals to camouflage or blend in with their environment.
Good improvement, Berry.
January 10th, 2009 on 02:00
Sandra Savignon said:
“Learning to speak another language means taking one’s place in the human community by reaching out to others across cultural and linguistic boundaries. Language is far more than a system to be explained.
Language is our important link to the world around us. Language is culture in motion. It is people interacting with people.”
Learning a new language is an interesting experiment and considered as one of the best ways that could remove the boundaries between people through introducing them to a new world of knowledge. But learning is a skill and it can be improved. All you need is determination.
For instance, English language. There are different ways to learn and improve your English. Here I will try to mention some of those ways that I try myself:
First of all, you should have passion for target language, because there is a difference between learning because you just have to and learning because you like to learn.
Second, you need to determine how advanced you are, and which activities you need to get you to the top.
In order to better yourself, you have to motivate yourself by setting achievable goals. You could start by improving your vocabulary, by exposing yourself to as much English as possible and the best way for doing that is regular reading. To make it more useful, choose subjects that you are interested in to learn about. Of course it will not be easy at first, but using dictionary will help.
Another great source is watching movies that will help you to improve all aspects of your English. Try to watch them in English, if you find that hard, you can use it with subtitles.
Try to think in English and to write meaningful sentences without worrying about mistakes. Get your mistakes corrected and count it as a learning experience.
You also have to let your ears get used to the sound of English by many ways like; listening to radio, music, or by practicing with a native English speaker (this way would also improve your pronunciation). Even if you couldn’t find anyone to practice with, you could imagine situations and talk to yourself (but please try not to do that in public unless you would like others to think that you are crazy)…
Anyway, whenever you have a chance to talk or test yourself never waste it, because usage is the best language teacher.
Also learning from a professional teacher will be much better, but you have to remember that teacher just open the door, but you have to enter yourself which means in all cases you have to work hard.
Finally, remember that learning a language takes time. So be patient and have confidence in yourself and enjoy learning…
I wish that all of my students would heed your advice.
January 24th, 2009 on 19:23
Sandra Savignon said:
“Learning to speak another language means taking one’s place in the human community by reaching out to others across cultural and linguistic boundaries. Language is far more than a system to be explained. Language is our important link to the world around us. Language is culture in motion. It is people interacting with people.”
Learning a new language is an interesting experiment and considers as one of the best ways that could remove the boundaries between people through introducing them to a new world of knowledge. But learning is a skill and it can be improved. All you need is determination.
For instance, English language. There are different ways to learn and improve your English. Here I will try to mention some of those ways that I try myself:
First of all, you should have passion for the target language. Needless to say, there is a difference between learning because you just have to do and learning because you like to learn.
Second, you need to determine how advanced you are, and which activities you need to get you to the top.
In order to better yourself, you have to motivate yourself by setting achievable goals. You could start by improving your vocabulary, by exposing yourself to as much English as possible and the best way for doing that is regular reading. To make it more useful, choose subjects that you are interested in to learn about. Of course it will not be easy at first, but using a dictionary will sure help.
Another great source is watching movies that will help you to improve all aspects of your English. Try to watch them in English, if you find that hard, you can use it with subtitles.
Try to think in English and to write meaningful sentences without worrying about mistakes. Get your mistakes corrected and count it as a learning experience.
You also have to let your ears get used to the sound of English by many ways like; listening to radio, music, or by practicing with a native English speaker (this way would also improve your pronunciation). Even if you couldn’t find anyone to practice with, you could imagine situations and talk to yourself (but please try not to do that in public unless you would like others to think that you are crazy)…
Anyway, whenever you have a chance to talk or test yourself never waste it, because usage is the best language teacher.
Also learning from a professional teacher will be much better, but you have to remember that teacher just opens the door, but you have to enter yourself which means in all cases you have to work hard.
Finally, remember that learning a language takes time. So be patient and have confidence in yourself and enjoy learning…
Gradual improvement.
March 13th, 2009 on 15:02
Sunday, January 18, 2009 was the date in which I decided to travel to Cairo to take some photos of the Pyramids and the Sphinx. Everything went well, since I reached there easily and the weather was great.
Although I visited the Pyramids before, I felt the same strange feelings as if it was really my first time. It was a mix of amazement, fear, and greatness. You will never know what I am talking about till you have the chance to experience those feelings yourself.
Egypt contains a large number of pyramids (about ninety), but the most known ones are the Great Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx.
The first one is the Pyramid of Khufu or Cheops which is the only remaining monuments of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
It is also the largest pyramid ever built (2.3 million stone blocks, weighing an average of 2.5 to 15 tons each). This pyramid built around 2550 B.C. Its original height was 147 meters, but it is 137 meters now.
The Great Pyramid was covered by casing stones that formed a smooth outer surface, but what is seen today is the underlying core structure.
The pyramid of Khufu contains three burial chambers; the fist one is under ground, the second one is above ground and called the queen’s chamber, and the third one is the king’s chamber which still contains the Khufu’s sarcophagus almost exactly at the center of the pyramid.
This Great Pyramid was the centerpiece of an elaborate complex, which included three small pyramids, five boat pits, a mortuary temple, a causeway, a valley temple, and many flat roofed tombs for officials and some members of the royal family.
The second pyramid or Khafre built around 2520 B.C. It is shorter than the first one where its height is 144 meters. But it surrounded with a more elaborate complex.
Outside this pyramid all the typical elements of a pharaonic mortuary temple are seen in one place for the first time: entrance hall, colonnaded courtyard, niches for royal statuary, storage chambers, and interior sanctuary.
The third pyramid or Menkaure’s pyramid built about 2490 B.C. It is the smallest one where its height is 65 meters. His mortuary temple was much elaborated than the one at the Khufu’s temple.
The Sphinx is the largest and oldest statue in the world. It is a human-headed lion, wearing the headdress of the Pharaohs. This great statue is the embodiment of Khafre. It faces east and has a small temple between its paws.
Ancient Egyptians called this place “Kher neter” which means the necropolis, and also imentet which means the west since they believed that: East is the symbol of life while West is the symbol of death, taking the Sun in their consideration where it always born in the east and die in the west.
Some legends claim that the Great Pyramid has a hidden chamber which holds the key to realizing the full secrets of knowledge and also to the mystery of life and its creation.
For me, I do not believe this story for a minute, rather than I believe that the Ancient people left us a message, but it was too simple to be recognized and this message is: the human brain is capable of much greater potential than we ever imagined. It possesses amazing power that can create the greatest things we can possibly dream of.
But we always find a great pleasure in searching for the unknown, forgetting that what we are looking for may be really closer than we think just as St. Augustine said:
“People travel to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses or rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars, and they pass by themselves without ever wondering.”
Hope you liked it…
Fantastic! Now, correct and add an interactive presentation.
May 12th, 2009 on 22:22
Ancient Egyptians knew the magic power of the written words, so they made great efforts – more than any other nation – to document and portray the whole activities of their life, to transport it to the next generations. But to form a realistic picture, we have to look to the normal people away from the royal and noble classes.
From the paintings that have been found, letters that were left from grieved widowers to their deceased mates, and from statues from all periods of ancient Egyptian history, we can say that marriage and a close family were the core of the Egyptian society and many of the gods were even arranged into such groupings.Although religion played an important role in ancient Egyptian life, there was one place it had no role at all: the Egyptian marriage. There wasn’t even a civil ceremony. Rather, marriage simply took place when two young people decided to move in together and start a common household. But that doesn’t mean marriage was not taken seriously.
Once a young man was about 16 to 20 years of age, it was appropriate for him to seek a partner and begin his own family. Females were probably thought to be ready for marriage when they were about 14 or 15 years old. The ancient Egyptians were encouraged to marry young, considering that the life span at this time was relatively short.
“Take a wife while you are young,
that she may make a son for you
while you are youthful…” (Instructions of Ani)
Many marriages were arranged with parental consent needed, as they have been in all societies, especially among the upper classes. But the abundance of love poetry between young people suggests that many couples did fall in love and choose each other as mates. This may be surprising, because many people tend to assume that all the Egyptian writing was religious. Here is an example of this kind of poetry to show a part of the emotional side of the Egyptian daily life:
“Let my love love me best and I shall ordain
Her hands full of lotus blossoms and flowers
Full of buds and perfumes, strong ale
And beer of every brewable kind
Then she’ll give me, her love, a day to remember
Make me drink down this day to its last shadow”
From the Turin Papyrus, in the Ramesside period circa 1100 BCE, Egypt.
Early Egyptian wedding rings were simple circular bands, crudely crafted from indigenous materials such as hemp and reeds. In ancient times, wedding rings was worn on the fourth finger of the left hand. The Ancient Egyptians believed that there was a vein that ran from this finger directly to the heart, and wearing a wedding ring there would connect the couple in love and destiny.
The groom often gave the bride’s family a gift, and he also gave his wife presents. Legal texts indicate that each spouse maintained control of the property that they brought to the marriage, while other property acquired during the union was jointly held.
It wasn’t necessary, but most marriages had a contract drawn up between the parties. The poorer classes probably did not do this because they probably had few possessions to consider and also the cost of a scribe would have been prohibitive.
Marriage settlements were drawn up between a woman’s father and her prospective husband, although many times the woman herself was part of the contract. The sole purpose of the contract was to establish the rights of both parties to maintenance and possessions during the marriage and after divorce if it should occur, very similar to today’s prenuptial agreements. What is really fascinating is the equality women held with men in their rights to own, manage, and receive property.
If the marriage ended in divorce, the rights of the wife were equally protected. Generally, she was entitled to support from her husband, especially if she was rejected by him through no fault of her own. The amount might equal one third of the settlement or even more. If the bride ended up committing adultery, she still had certain rights to maintenance from her former husband.
Here’s a standard marriage contract that was found among the numerous records left by the ancient Egyptians. It contained:
•The date (the year of the reign of the ruling monarch)
•The contractors (future husband and wife)
•The names of both sets of parents
•Husband’s profession (wife’s rarely mentioned)
•The scribe who drew up the contract
•The names of the witnesses
Then the details of the settlement followed. Here is the beginning of a marriage contract from 219 BC:
“The Blemmyann, born in Egypt, son of Horpais,
whose mother is Wenis, has said to the woman
Tais, daughter of the Khahor, whose mother is
Tairerdjeret: I have made you a married woman.
As your woman’s portion, I give you two pieces of
silver…If I dismiss you as wife and dislike you and
prefer another woman to you as wife, I will give you
two pieces of silver in addition to the two pieces of
silver mentioned above… and I will give you one third
of each and everything that will accrue to you and me.”
The finished document was given to a third party for safekeeping or kept among the records of the local temple.
One of the expectations of the ancient Egyptian marriage was the bringing forth of children. Sometimes there would be a trial marriage for a year to see if pregnancy would occur. This was all stipulated in the marriage contract.
In some parts of ancient Egyptian society, men were permitted to have concubines. But concubines did not have the same protective status as wives.
Interestingly, one of the most affectionate titles one could call their love was “brother” or “sister” in ancient Egypt. As in this part of a love poem written by a young ancient Egyptian woman:
“My brother torments my heart with his voice,
He makes sickness take hold of me;
He is neighbor to my mother’s house.
And I cannot go to him”
(Second Stanza, from Papyrus Chester Beatty I)
This had nothing to do with sibling relations, but led many archaeologists and scholars to wrongly assume that most ancient Egyptians married their siblings.
Actually, this usually occurred only among royalty, and was not a common occurrence otherwise. Where the principal wives of Kings were almost always of royal blood and were often either the full or half sister of the king. These incestuous marriages had several practical benefits to the crown ruler; they kept outsiders away from the royal family, and produced at least a limited number of royal children eligible to inherit the thrown. Furthermore, they also ensured that a suitably trained princess would be placed in the most important role available to an Egyptian woman: that of queen.
Also monogamy, except for people of nobility and royalty, seemed to be the rule for most ancient Egyptian couples.
The day of the marriage was really quite simple. The bride merely moved her belongings into the home of her husband. He might be living alone or with his parents.
In this special day, the bride wore a long dress or tunic made of linen, which may have been covered from head to toe with bead-net. If she owned any gold, silver or lapis, she probably adorned herself with those, too.
Even though there was no official ceremony, knowing how much the ancient Egyptians loved music, dance and food, there was bound to be family celebrations in honor of the uniting couple.
If it didn’t work out, divorce was as easily initiated as marriage and it could be brought about by either party. It was a private matter and the government took no interest in it.
The most common reasons for a husband to divorce his wife included the inability to bear children, the desire to marry someone else, or that she simply stopped pleasing him. A woman could divorce her husband for mental or physical cruelty or adultery. In some cases, if the woman chose to divorce, she forfeited her right to communal property.
Once divorced, both men and women could remarry as soon as they wished.
It’s also apparent that the ancient Egyptian bride, with the ease of marriage, divorce, and the financial protection she generally received, had a better time of it than some brides in modern times.
Fantastic content, Berry. Now, get to work.
May 23rd, 2009 on 21:37
Ancient Egyptians knew the magic power of written words, so they made great efforts - more than any other nation - to document and portray the activities of their life to transport it to the next generations. But to form a realistic picture, we have to consider the way of life of the ordinary people not that one of the royal and noble classes.From the paintings that have been found, letters were left from grieved widowers to their deceased mates, and from statues from all periods of ancient Egyptian history, it is obvious that marriage and a close family were the core of the Egyptian society and many of the gods were even arranged into such groupings.
Although the great influence on ancient Egyptian life, there was one place where religion had no role at all: the Egyptian marriage. There wasn’t even a civil ceremony. Rather, marriage simply took place when two young people decided to move in together and start a common household. But that doesn’t mean marriage was not taken seriously.
Once a young man was about sixteen to twenty years of age, it was appropriate for him to seek a partner and begin his own family. Females were probably thought to be ready for marriage when they were about fourteen or fifteen years old. The ancient Egyptians were encouraged to marry young, considering that the life span at this time was relatively short.
“Take a wife while you are young, that she may make
a son for you while you are youthful…”
(Instructions of Ani)
Marriages were arranged with parental consent needed, as they have been in all societies, especially among the upper classes. But the abundance of love poetry between young people suggests that many couples did fall in love and choose each other as mates. This may be surprising, because many people tend to assume that all the Egyptian writing was religious. Here is an example of poetry to show a part of the emotional side of Egyptian daily life:
“Let my love love me best and I shall ordain
Her hands full of lotus blossoms and flowers
Full of buds and perfumes, strong ale
And beer of every brewable kind
Then she’ll give me, her love, a day to remember
Make me drink down this day to its last shadow”
From the Turin Papyrus, in the Ramesside period circa 1100 BC, Egypt.
Early Egyptian wedding rings were simple circular bands, crudely crafted from indigenous materials such as hemp and reeds. In ancient times, wedding rings worn on the fourth finger of the left hand. The Ancient Egyptians believed that there was a vein that ran from this finger directly to the heart, and wearing a wedding ring there would connect the couple in love and destiny.
The groom often gave the bride’s family a gift and he also gave his wife presents. Legal texts indicate that each spouse maintained control of the property that they brought to the marriage, while other property acquired during the union was jointly held.
Most marriages had a contract drawn up between the parties. The poorer classes probably did not do that because their possessions were probably few to consider and also the cost of a scribe would have been prohibitive.
Marriage settlements were drawn up between a woman’s father and her prospective husband, although most times the woman herself was part of the contract. The sole purpose of the contract was to establish the rights of both parties to maintenance and possessions during the marriage and after divorce if divorce should occur, just like today’s prenuptial agreement. What is really fascinating is the equality women held with men in their rights to own, manage, and receive property.
If the marriage ended in divorce, the rights of the wife were equally protected. Generally, she was entitled to support from her husband, especially if she was rejected by him through no fault of her own. The amount might equal one third of the settlement or even more. If the bride ended up committing adultery, she still had certain rights to maintenance from her former husband.
Here’s a standard marriage contract that was found among the numerous records left by the ancient Egyptians. The contract contains:
•The date (the year of the reign of the ruling monarch)
•The contractors (future husband and wife)
•The names of both sets of parents
•Husband’s profession (wife’s rarely mentioned)
•The scribe who drew up the contract
•The names of the witnesses
Then the details of the settlement followed. Here is the beginning of a marriage contract from 219 BC:
“The Blemmyann, born in Egypt, son of Horpais,
whose mother is Wenis, has said to the woman
Tais, daughter of the Khahor, whose mother is
Tairerdjeret: I have made you a married woman.
As your woman’s portion, I give you two pieces of
silver…If I dismiss you as wife and dislike you and
prefer another woman to you as wife, I will give you
two pieces of silver in addition to the two pieces of
silver mentioned above… and I will give you one third
of each and everything that will accrue to you and me.”
The finished document was given to a third party for safekeeping or kept among the records of the local temple.
One of the expectations of the ancient Egyptian marriage was the bringing forth of children. In few cases there would be a trial marriage for a year to see if pregnancy would occur. This was all stipulated in the marriage contract.
In some parts of ancient Egyptian society, men were permitted to have concubines. But concubines did not have the same protective status as wives.
Interestingly, one of the most affectionate titles one could call their love was “brother” or “sister” in ancient Egypt. As in the following love poem written by a young ancient Egyptian woman:
“My brother torments my heart with his voice,
He makes sickness take hold of me;
He is neighbor to my mother’s house.
And I cannot go to him”
(Second Stanza, from Papyrus Chester Beatty I)
Using such titles had nothing to do with sibling relations, but led many archaeologists and scholars to wrongly assume that most ancient Egyptians married their siblings.
Actually, this usually occurred only among royalty, and was not a common occurrence otherwise. Where the principal wives of Kings were almost always of royal blood and were often either the full or half sister of the king. Such incestuous marriages had several practical benefits to the crown ruler;
First of all, kept outsiders away from the royal family, and produced at least a limited number of royal children eligible to inherit the thrown. Furthermore, ensured that a suitably trained princess would be placed in the most important role available to an Egyptian woman: that of queen.
Also monogamy, except for people of nobility and royalty, seemed to be the rule for most ancient Egyptian couples.
The day of the marriage was really quite simple. The bride merely moved her belongings into the home of her husband. He might be living alone or with his parents.
On this special day, the bride wore a long dress or tunic made of linen, which may have been covered from head to toe with bead-net. If she owned any gold, or silver, she probably adorned herself with too.
Even though there was no official ceremony, knowing how much the ancient Egyptians loved music, dance and food, there was bound to be speculation family celebrations in honor of the uniting couple.
If marriage didn’t work out, divorce was as easily initiated as marriage and it could be brought about by either party. Divorce was a private matter and the government took no interest in it.
The most common reasons for a husband to divorce his wife included the inability to bear children, the desire to marry someone else, or that she simply stopped pleasing him. A woman could divorce her husband for mental or physical cruelty or adultery.
In few cases, if the woman chose to divorce, she forfeited her right to communal property.
Once divorced, both men and women could remarry as soon as they wished.
Needless to say, the ancient Egyptian bride, with the ease of marriage, divorce, and the financial protection she generally received, had a better time of it than some brides in modern times.
What do you think about it now?
Better, but you still need to do some polishing, Berry.
June 13th, 2009 on 18:35
Ancient Egyptians knew the magic power of written words.
They made great efforts more than any other nation to document and portray the activities of their life to transport it to the following generations. But to form a realistic picture, you have to consider the way of life of ordinary people not that life of royal and noble classes.
From the paintings that have been found, letters were left from grieved widowers to their deceased mates and from statues from all periods of ancient Egyptian history it is obvious that marriage and a close family were the core of the Egyptian society and many of the gods were even arranged into such groupings.
Although its great influence on ancient Egyptian life, there was one place where religion had no role at all: the Egyptian marriage. There wasn’t even a civil ceremony. Rather, marriage simply took place when two young people decided to move in together and start a common household. But that doesn’t mean marriage was not taken seriously.
Once a young man was about sixteen to twenty years of age, the norm for him was to seek a partner and begin his own family. Females were probably thought to be ready for marriage when they were about fourteen or fifteen years old. The ancient Egyptians were encouraged to marry young, considering that the life span at that time was relatively short.
“Take a wife while you are young, that she may make
a son for you while you are youthful…”
(Instructions of Ani)
Marriages were arranged with parental consent needed, as they have been in most societies, especially among the upper classes. But the abundance of love poetry suggests that many couples did fall in love and choose each other as mates. That may be surprising, because most people tend to assume that the Egyptian writing was religious. Here is an example of poetry to show a part of the emotional side of Egyptian daily life:
“Let my love love me best and I shall ordain
Her hands full of lotus blossoms and flowers
Full of buds and perfumes, strong ale
And beer of every brewable kind
Then she’ll give me, her love, a day to remember
Make me drink down this day to its last shadow”
From the Turin Papyrus, in the Ramesside period circa 1100 BC, Egypt.
Early Egyptian wedding rings were simple circular bands, crudely crafted from indigenous materials such as hemp and reeds. In ancient times, wedding rings used to be worn on the fourth finger of the left hand. Ancient Egyptians believed that there was a vein that ran from this finger directly to the heart, and wearing a wedding ring there would connect the couple in love and destiny.
The groom often gave the bride’s family a gift and he also gave his wife presents. Legal texts indicate that each spouse maintained control of the property that they brought to the marriage, while other property acquired during the union was jointly held.
Most marriages had a contract drawn up between the parties. The poorer classes probably did not do that because possessions were probably few to consider and also the cost of a scribe would have been prohibitive.
Marriage settlements were drawn up between a woman’s father and her prospective husband, although most times the woman herself was part of the contract. The sole purpose of the contract was to establish the rights of both parties to maintenance and possessions during the marriage and after divorce if divorce should occur, just like today’s prenuptial agreement. What is really fascinating is the equality women held with men in their rights to own, manage, and receive property.
Clear and concise, Berry. In the event of divorce… Only discuss it once.
If the marriage ended in divorce, the rights of the wife were equally protected. Generally, she was entitled to support from her husband, especially if she was rejected by him through no fault of her own. The amount might equal one third of the settlement or even more. If the bride ended up committing adultery, she still had certain rights to maintenance from her former husband.
Here’s a standard marriage contract that was found among the numerous records left by the ancient Egyptians. The contract contains:
•The date (the year of the reign of the ruling monarch)
•The contractors (future husband and wife)
•The names of both sets of parents
•Husband’s profession (wife’s rarely mentioned)
•The scribe who drew up the contract
•The names of the witnesses
Then the details of the settlement followed. Here is the beginning of a marriage contract from 219 BC:
“The Blemmyann, born in Egypt, son of Horpais,
whose mother is Wenis, has said to the woman
Tais, daughter of the Khahor, whose mother is
Tairerdjeret: I have made you a married woman.
As your woman’s portion, I give you two pieces of
silver…If I dismiss you as wife and dislike you and
prefer another woman to you as wife, I will give you
two pieces of silver in addition to the two pieces of
silver mentioned above… and I will give you one third
of each and everything that will accrue to you and me.”
The finished document was given to a third party for safekeeping or kept among the records of the local temple.
In a few cases there would be a trial marriage for a year to see if pregnancy could occur. All was stipulated in the marriage contract.
In parts of ancient Egyptian society, men were permitted to have concubines, whose did not have the same protective status as wives.
Interestingly, one of the most affectionate titles one could call their love was “brother” or “sister” in ancient Egypt. Here’s love poem written by a young ancient Egyptian woman:
“My brother torments my heart with his voice,
He makes sickness take hold of me;
He is neighbor to my mother’s house.
And I cannot go to him”
(Second Stanza, from Papyrus Chester Beatty I)
Using such titles had nothing to do with sibling relations, but led many archaeologists and scholars to wrongly assume that most ancient Egyptians married their siblings.
Actually, Incestuous marriage usually occurred only among royalty, and was not a common occurrence otherwise. Where the principal wives of Kings were almost always of royal blood and were often either the full or half sister of the king. Such incestuous marriages had several practical benefits to the crown ruler;
First of all, kept outsiders away from the royal family, and produced at least a limited number of royal children eligible to inherit the thrown. Furthermore, ensured that a suitably trained princess would be placed in the most important role available to an Egyptian woman: that of queen.
Also monogamy, except for people of nobility and royalty, seemed to be the rule for most ancient Egyptian couples.
The day of the marriage was really quite simple. The bride merely moved her belongings into the home of her husband. He might be living alone or with his parents.
On this special day, the bride wore a long dress or tunic made of linen, which may have been covered from head to toe with bead-net. If she owned any gold, or silver, she probably adorned herself with them too.
Even though there was no official ceremony, knowing how much the ancient Egyptians loved music, dance and food, there was a family celebrations in honor of the uniting couple.
If the marriage didn’t work out, divorce was as easily initiated as marriage and could be brought about by either party. Since it was a private matter, the government took no interest in divorce. Relocate to where you were previously discussing divorce.
The most common reasons for a husband to divorce his wife included the inability to bear children, the desire to marry someone else, or that she simply stopped pleasing him. A woman could divorce her husband for mental or physical cruelty or adultery.
In few cases, if the woman chose to divorce, she forfeited her right to communal property.
Once divorced, both men and women could remarry as soon as they wished.
Needless to say, the ancient Egyptian bride, with the ease of marriage, divorce, and the financial protection she generally received, had a better time than other brides in modern times.
Rewrite. Focus on paraphrasing pronouns and demonstrative pronouns in addition to all non-specific terms.