Ehm sounds like a stupid question, but when do you use either, and when do you use neither? I keep mixing those two up, so I thought: why not ask all those friendly people of canadiancontent.net? :wink:
(N)Either
- Thread starter Rick van Opbergen
- Start date
It's one of those things with the English language, Rick. You certainly aren't the only one to have trouble with it.
True. Although I do consider English to be the easiest language to learn, but than again, Dutch is very related to English, which makes it easier to learn anyway.
Have you learned any of the Romance languages, Rick?
I did...or at least I tried...to learn Italian when I was in my 50s. My male friend is Italian and we were taking our second trip to Italy in the near future. I signed up with Berlitz for 12 intensive lessons in Conversational Italian and realized I was not a natural at this. I only speak English, so had never even heard about masculine and feminine words, how the words have different endings depending on whether they're masculine or feminine, how our "s" is not used for plurals--it was very difficult for me. I was speaking decent, if slow, Italian by the end of it though and thought I'd do pretty good at keeping up my end in conversations there. Not! They speak so quickly and often in dialect that I was as ignorant about what they were saying as I was the first trip, when I sat there like a dummy while everyone around me laughed and talked in dialect and I felt completely left out.
Oh well, I tried...
English must be as difficult for those who don't speak a Germanic language as their mother tongue as a Romance language was for me. You yourself have a very good grip on the English language.
I did...or at least I tried...to learn Italian when I was in my 50s. My male friend is Italian and we were taking our second trip to Italy in the near future. I signed up with Berlitz for 12 intensive lessons in Conversational Italian and realized I was not a natural at this. I only speak English, so had never even heard about masculine and feminine words, how the words have different endings depending on whether they're masculine or feminine, how our "s" is not used for plurals--it was very difficult for me. I was speaking decent, if slow, Italian by the end of it though and thought I'd do pretty good at keeping up my end in conversations there. Not! They speak so quickly and often in dialect that I was as ignorant about what they were saying as I was the first trip, when I sat there like a dummy while everyone around me laughed and talked in dialect and I felt completely left out.
Oh well, I tried...
English must be as difficult for those who don't speak a Germanic language as their mother tongue as a Romance language was for me. You yourself have a very good grip on the English language.
Hmmmm.. I grew up with Italian & Spanish cause I have some family living in Italy and Spain 
Rick, Tis idd intressant dat je da vraagt, maar okeej, als je de voorbeelden snapt dan.. kan je het wel
I don't like chocolate.
I don't like it either.
loooll I think..
Rick, Tis idd intressant dat je da vraagt, maar okeej, als je de voorbeelden snapt dan.. kan je het wel
I don't like chocolate.
I don't like it either.
loooll I think..
Well, I got French at school - every pupil gets French at school here - and it's relatively hard yes. As you point out with Italian - the fact that that language has masculine and female words -, the same accounts for Dutch - we don't have masculine and female words either, like the case is with English, so those languages are tricky for us too. I think that is also one of the reasons why I'm not really fond of Romance languages - not because they aren't beautiful languages, but it is relatively difficult to learn (not the vocabulary though).Omega said:
omega said,
My male friend is Italian and we were taking our second trip to Italy in the near future. You go girl
My male friend is a lumberjack and we are taking a kayak trip next weekend. And he either pulls his weight or neither of us will be happy He is phoenix, I am pegasus, and neither of us wear leopard capris's. We feel the quiet energy of the living world, no seperate from the energy living through us
8)
My male friend is Italian and we were taking our second trip to Italy in the near future. You go girl
My male friend is a lumberjack
and we are taking a kayak trip next weekend. And he either pulls his weight or neither of us will be happy He is phoenix, I am pegasus, and neither of us wear leopard capris's. We feel the quiet energy of the living world, no seperate from the energy living through us8)
Heh, heh. When my father was in University he had to take a language. Since he'd been speaking Ukranian all of his life he thought he'd take that. He damn near failed the course. He had to go get his grandmother, who had been educated in the Ukraine, to tutor him.
Seems Ukranian is a very difficult language. There are, for example, sixteen different ways of saying "you" depending on age, sex, social stature, and the relationship between the speaker and the one being spoken too/about.
It's not exactly the same language he learned as a boy on the farm.
Seems Ukranian is a very difficult language. There are, for example, sixteen different ways of saying "you" depending on age, sex, social stature, and the relationship between the speaker and the one being spoken too/about.
It's not exactly the same language he learned as a boy on the farm.
this one is for for you rev
The Beer Drinkers Anthem
DOUGH... the stuff, that buys me beer
RAY..... the guy that sells me beer
ME...... the one, who drinks the beer
FAR..... a long way to the beer
SO...... I'll have another beer
LA...... La la la la la beer
TEA...... no thanks, I'm drinking beer
That will leave me with no DOUGH.....
The Beer Drinkers Anthem
DOUGH... the stuff, that buys me beer
RAY..... the guy that sells me beer
ME...... the one, who drinks the beer
FAR..... a long way to the beer
SO...... I'll have another beer
LA...... La la la la la beer
TEA...... no thanks, I'm drinking beer
That will leave me with no DOUGH.....
Yes there are. A lot of people came here from that part of the world (not just Ukraine) in the early 1900s. The area where my father grew up is almost totally Ukranian people...he never learned English until he went to school. There are similar areas with German, Polish and Hungarian people as well.
I have a framed version of The Beer Prayer on the wall beside my desk, Peapod. It's a beautiful thing.
Oh, I can see there are many Dutch people here... well, at least 2 - Hoe gaat het met jullie?
Greetz from your neighbour country Germany
-Pemmican
Greetz from your neighbour country Germany
-Pemmican
Hey, you speak Dutch , somehow that makes me proud haha. Well, I guess the total number of Dutch people here is two, yeah, me, and JDream; she's from Nijmegen (near the border with Germany), I'm from Eindhoven (you might know it, not so near the border with Germany, but not as far from the border as Amsterdam 8) ).
, somehow that makes me proud haha. Well, I guess the total number of Dutch people here is two, yeah, me, and JDream; she's from Nijmegen (near the border with Germany), I'm from Eindhoven (you might know it, not so near the border with Germany, but not as far from the border as Amsterdam 8) ).Re: RE: (N)Either
Hey, nice meeting you
Yes, I know both Nijmegen and Eindhoven (haven't been there yet though); Ik was in Groningen dit jaar voor koninginnedag, it was amazing!! 8)
Mijn Nederlands is slechter dan mijn Engels dus laat maar beter Engels praten *lol*
Rick van Opbergen said:Hey, you speak Dutch
Hey, nice meeting you
Yes, I know both Nijmegen and Eindhoven (haven't been there yet though); Ik was in Groningen dit jaar voor koninginnedag, it was amazing!! 8)
Mijn Nederlands is slechter dan mijn Engels dus laat maar beter Engels praten *lol*
OK, haha, you may also speak German though, I'm not really good at writing or speaking it, but I can understand most of it. And, what is your opinion of your neighbors (the Dutch)? Be honest , I can take it.
, I can take it.