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Mondays I Have My Writing Class.

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Apr 06th 2012 15:42
If somebody says,"Mondays I have my wrting class."

Does that mean that guy is a student or lecturer?


I think this statement is ambiguous.

How do you say to make it clear if you're a student? and how about in case of a lecturer?

Brandon
Apr 06th 2012 16:11
Most people would think that it means that the guy is a student, but he could also be the lecturer. To make it clearer that the man is the lecturer, you could say something like "On Mondays, I teach my writing class."
Apr 06th 2012 19:28 Min9
Thank you for reply.
You really helped me a lot. :)

Tom
Apr 06th 2012 23:51
  • Mondays I Have My Writing Class.

  • Mondays, I Have My Writing Class. In this sentence the comma is needed.

 
  • Does that mean that guy is a student or lecturer?

  • Does that mean that guy is a student or lecturer?

    Could be either. It depends upon the context -- which you would know in a face-to-face conversation.

 
  • I think this statement is ambiguous.

  • I think this statement is ambiguous.

    You're right. There is a lot of ambiguity in English. Native speakers make certain assumptions about thing which eliminates the ambiguities.

    If only students were talking together, the sentence would clearly indicate the person will attend his/her writing class as a student.

    If the speaker were a professor or lecturer, it would obviously mean he/she will teach on Mondays.

    It becomes confusing when written, which shows how important it is to consider your reader when writing. You really can't write effectively if you write the same was you speak.

 
  • How do you say to make it clear if you're a student?

  • How do you say to make it clear if you're a student?

    You could say something like, "Mondays I attend writing class."

 
  • and how about in case of a lecturer?

  • and how about in case of a lecturer?

    You'd say, "I teach writing class on Mondays."

 
You discovered one of the long-lost secrets of the English language. I study Danish, which has special words to identify persons so there's no ambiguity like you see here. Other languages probably treat the issue the same.

But not English. Native speakers "understand" the "setting" of the phrase, so it isn't ambiguous to them. But writing is far different. You really need to "lay the foundation" of the context so you readers will understand.

This is not unlike a trial. Before an attorney can ask a question of a witness he/she must "lay the foundation," so the witness knows what is being asked. Failure to lay the foundation means the question and its answer will be thrown out.
Apr 07th 2012 14:28 Min9
I totally agree with you.
It is need to lay the foundation to understand the meaning clearly.
In this case, if the speaker was a professor, the professor can attend a writing class. Why not? On the other hand, if the speaker was even a student, the student might teach a writing class.

Because I'm not a native English speaker and not used to get the 'English lingual habits(I'm not sure this is right word what I mean here)' I was wondering if there is certain way of speech ditinguish 'teach' and 'learn'.

When I think about the word 'attend' as
"I attend a writing class"
I'll probably accept that the speaker is a student
though 'to attend' can be understood 'teach' and 'learn'.
What do you think?


I feel sometimes helpless especially when I encounter wrong use of expressions that I use it from a dictionary, it can't teach me the actual use of speech.

Without your comments on my question I can't get a clue.
Thanks to you I'm getting used to it better.

Thank you for your insight.


Apr 07th 2012 23:51 Tom
You're quite right -- a professor can attend a writing class, and he/she could say "On Mondays I attend writing class."

If one is writing a story, one might say something like, "he goes to XY School, and on Mondays attends a writing class." That way it will be clear the subject is a student. Contrast: "He is a professor at AB University, but on Mondays attends a writing class."

I know what you mean about dictionaries. I have several for my Danish studies, but find myself looking up a word on the English side, and confirming its use/context on the Danish side from among the several words shown.

It's a good thing I use Lang-8, since the Danes who correct my entries offer help on how to use certain words.
Apr 08th 2012 12:09 Min9
That's what I do here, when I study something I just to confirm the right use of the expressions from native speakers.

I'll keep trying.
Thank you. :)
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If somebody says,"Mondays I have my wrting class." Does that mean that guy is a student or lecturer? I think this statement is ambiguous. How do you say to make it clear if you're a student? and how about in case of a lecturer?


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