在线英语听力室

VOA名师答疑2022--Proper Adjectives, Part 2

时间:2023-01-04 06:52:42

搜索关注在线英语听力室公众号:tingroom,领取免费英语资料大礼包。

(单词翻译)

Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we will continue to answer a question from Gustavo in Brazil about describing his teacher using the linking verb "be" and other adjectives2.

Question:

Hello, my name is Gustavo, from Brazil.

I have been learning3 English with you for many years. Thank you for all of the stories!

I have a question. I want to say, "my Spanish teacher" meaning "my teacher from Spain". Then I realized that it could also mean "my teacher that teaches Spanish language classes."

So, which is it? Does it mean both?

Thank you very much for reading my message!

Gustavo

Answer:

Thanks once again, Gustavo, for the question.

Last week we looked at two ways to describe your teacher. The first way was with proper adjectives. We use the proper adjective1 of a language, like "Spanish," to describe teachers or students of a language. The second way we can describe your teacher is to talk about where they are from, using the preposition4 "from." This can be useful if you want to be exact about where they were born or are "from."

So, if your teacher does not teach Spanish, then using "from" is a better choice. You can say,

My teacher is from Spain.

We also have two other ways we can describe your teacher in a bit more detail.

The linking verb "be"

We can also use the linking verb "be." For example,

My teacher is Spanish.

Here we use the linking verb "be" and the proper adjective of "Spanish" after the verb. This means that the teacher is of Spanish heritage5 or culture. But, be careful. This does not always mean that the teacher is "from" Spain. They could have been born somewhere else but have Spanish parents. Heritage and culture are not always the same as a person's nationality or where they were born.

In the US, we commonly use this kind of expression when we talk about where our families or ancestors come from since many Americans consider their heritage to be from other parts of the world. For example,

My friend Pedro is Puerto Rican.

Lena's family is Polish, but she is American.

Using other adjectives

We can use an additional6 adjective to describe what kind of teacher you have if they do not teach a language. We can then combine this with the linking verb "be" and say where they are from. For example,

My economics7 teacher is from India.

Their French teacher is from Canada.

Remember, it is sometimes small details that ensure your meaning is understood and mistakes are avoided.

Please let us know if these new explanations and examples this week have helped you, Gustavo!

What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at [email protected]

And that's Ask a Teacher.

Words in This Story

realize – v. to understand or become aware of something

heritage – n. the traditions, beliefs, and important things that were done that are part of the history of a group or nation


分享到:


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 adjective UJpyR     
n.形容词;adj.形容词的,用作形容词的
参考例句:
  • Don't apply that adjective to me.不要用那个字眼来形容我。
  • The adjective loose has several senses. 形容词loose有几个义项。
2 adjectives 3e63e25a20ab7d8ada2ada3ea2ad0366     
n.形容词( adjective的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • We can form nouns from adjectives. 我们可以用形容词来构成名词。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Attributive adjectives precede the noun. 定语形容词位于名词前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 learning wpSzFe     
n.学问,学识,学习;动词learn的现在分词
参考例句:
  • When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时,常会从车上掉下来。
  • Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。
4 preposition LQmxx     
n.介词
参考例句:
  • You should cancel this preposition in the sentence.你应该删去句子中的这个介词。
  • We use different preposition to talk about time,days,months and seasons.我们用不动的介词来谈论时间,日,月和季节等。
5 heritage odmx3     
n.传统,遗产,继承物
参考例句:
  • The ancient buildings are part of the national heritage.这些古建筑是民族遗产的一部分。
  • We Chinese have a great cultural heritage.我们中国人有伟大的文化遗产。
6 additional rJTyM     
adj.添加的,额外的,另外的
参考例句:
  • It is necessary to set down these additional rules.有必要制定这些补充规则。
  • I think we can fit in an additional room.我想我们可以再加建一间房子。
7 economics grzxZ     
n.经济学,经济情况
参考例句:
  • He is studying economics,which subject is very important.他正在学习经济学,该学科是很重要的。
  • One can't separate politics from economics.不能把政治与经济割裂开来。

本文本内容来源于互联网抓取和网友提交,仅供参考,部分栏目没有内容,如果您有更合适的内容,欢迎 点击提交 分享给大家。