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zondag 20 februari 2011

Wir fahren mit der Luftbahn...

... well I will be when I fly to Berlin a week on Freitag. Can't wait!


It's a great feeling knowing that I'm going to visit a city that I've been dying to see for a few years now. I'm almost certain I won't be disappointed - I've thoroughly enjoyed every trip to Germany I have made in the past. I can't wait to see Catherine, as well as Lukas and various other people whom I know live there for one reason or another.

Did I use 'whom' correctly? I've been reading Stephen Fry and he has prompted me to call into question my use of that particular dative pronoun. I must investigate further...

Anywho, things are going well in the airport. I will be joining the US Airways group at work, which I am fine with, but I was hoping to work for Iberia so I could use my Spanish. It makes more sense for me to work with US, being Engelstalig/anglophone and all so I should start training for that some time in April and being earning some better money.

I'm back teaching tomorrow after a week off for various reasons. I'm not really arsed about it, the only thing that is making me do it is the need for money. The two guys I'm tutoring at the moment are not making me want to teach them at all - they are a little lazy and impatient, and don't pay me enough (or rather I fell too soft when they asked for a cheaper price. My own fault, I guess).  I think if and when I make it back to the UK and take up teaching, I will enjoying teaching children and young adults much more, rather than adult learners who think they're going to be fluent after 2 weeks. Young people don't have that same expectation of school, as they know they're only meant to go as fast as their teachers teach them. I'm sure there are of course exceptions to this assumption. If I'm honest, I'm just trying to justify my boredom at trying to teach my language to these particular learners.

Talking of language learning, it occured to me to try and teach myself a bit of German for work. I'm encountering increasing numbers of Germans who don't speak English, French or Dutch. Normally of the older generation, they are just happening to cross my path and it would be nice if I had an adequate vocabulary and knowledge of basic grammar to string a few sentences together. Ahl keep tha posted.

Today, whilst boarding a Lufthansa flight and then a Swiss flight I had two nice conversations in English with two colleagues, who wanted to know why I lived here, spoke Dutch and French etc. blah blah blah. The second was happy as I could do the call outs for him in "perfect" English (I enjoyed hearing the sound of Bradford echoing and filling the whole of Terminal A).

The A/Schengen Terminal - the nice one.

One speaks to me in English anyway as he seems to like it, but the other switched to English after he asked me where I was from. Then he asked me if I spoke Dutch, then realising we had already spoken in Dutch, excused himself citing the stereotype of English people not speaking languages etc. so he just thought it better to speak English - not sure how that makes sense, but I was more than happy to remain in my native language, as I can get a little confused when swapping between French, Dutch and English (and whatever else) all day. Love it.

2 opmerkingen:

  1. I don't think you did. The verb "to know" has an accusative object- you know something. So then it would be "who".
    Also, in that sentence it sounds like you're saying you know they live there for one reason or another, but you're not sure of their reasons, rather than "I know various people in Berlin. They do different things there".
    Either way, I believe it would be who.

    "Who is used most of the time in spoken English. It functions as both direct and indirect object.
    The less-used form "whom" is used in the following cases:
    - in the formal register
    - when a question-word is preceded by a preposition (such as to, for, with)"
    I borrowed a grammar book from school. It has helped me more than I thought it would.

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  2. I imagine I will have to familiarise myself with this grammar point, as I said I would explain it to one of my students at some stage.

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