Tense Changes

I LOVE Welsh! I love how when you change tense, the verbs don’t change but the pronouns do (except in past tense). I have never come across this in any language before. Very interesting.

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Sorry, I’ve always thought that these are not pronouns that change, but the verb “to be” - bod, which is (as in every Celtic language, I think) put before the pronoun so it actually looks a bit like a pronoun to those of us who are used to the Subject Verb Object word order.

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OK, it’s still an amazing way of doing it.

Yes, very unusual:) Actually, I keep thinking they are pronouns, in Welsh and in Irish Gaelic. And have to remind myself they’re not:)

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Konechna :smiley: I think it will probably help me to see them as pronouns for the time being. In truth, I try to avoid giving my students metalanguage if avoidable, why do they need to know that you is a pronoun if they are quite comfortable saying how are you? As for me, if I can say dw i’n canu and canais i etc then what the respective itty bitty things are called can wait :smiley:

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Incidentally, dwi ddim yn canu :wink:

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And it’s hard to forget the I past of the verb to sing, canais i - as it is like saying can I sing? :smiley:

Oh, I see:) We just follow two different approaches here, I’m quite nerdy about grammar, in teaching and in learning myself. It fascinates me. But there are as many ways to learn as there are learners, which is wonderful.

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I learned Kazakh without any grammar reference, but Italian with a heavy focus on grammar. I was fluent in both within a month. Don’t mean to boast, sorry, just backing you up on the idea that there are so many ways to do it. For me, the secret is to see yourself as somebody who speaks that language, not somebody who is learning it. Not easy when all you can say is hello, but it takes away some of the fear.

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I don’t think you’re boasting, though I’m quite interested in what you define as fluent:) Don’t think, please, that I’m trying to be unpleasant here, because I’m not - it’s just that as a language teacher I’m very interested in what people mean when they say fluent, because it can be so many things, and it’s all relevant when deciding on the best approach to use with them.

A very good approach, I think:)

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There is no definable level at which that word triggers, I guess, so you are right to ask.

I would say, equivalent to Band Score 6.5 on the IELTS speaking exam would be fluent, although this obviously does not mean fluent at all times and across all subjects.

I tell my students who have finished Intermediate that they should consider themselves fluent in English. This is not because they all are, but because I want them to see themselves as that good. Do you speak English? It feels a lot better to answer that question with a YES, rather than an A LITTLE, or a SO SO.

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I’m familiar with the IELTS criteria, I have a student who’s planning to take the exam next year - so, wow, I fail to imagine how one can get from a zero to 6.5 on the IELTS score:)

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By which I mean - how an average adult with average abilities who doesn’t live in the country of the target language can be fluent in a month:)

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I’m a freak :wink:

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Got to go now, before I close the page, check out my school link…

There’s an interview with me in Kazakh with Russian subtitles near the bottom too, if this is of interest, although I won’t be offended if not.

And a few posts down I include a series of language learning tip posts.

Have a nice day/night.

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Not at all:) When I lived in Italy I arrived with no language at all, went to an Italian school for natives and then after 5 months took three exams (Italian, Maths and something else) together with native children and got to a Liceo Classico, where I did all the subjects in Italian only.
It just means full-immersion does wonders, and such stories normally make my Belarus-based adults very sad, as they expect the same speed from themselves, though they have little or no exposure to the language.

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Thank you, it’s very interesting! Have a nice evening:)

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It seems to me that you are very much in tune with the SSi philosophy! Da iawn.

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