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  1. Harel

    Harel New Member

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    Mastering English

    Discussion in 'The Lounge' started by Harel, Mar 15, 2019.

    Hello everyone,

    I'm at the very start of doing creative writing. English is not my native language and I would like to master it.
    Do you have any recommendations for any online English courses? Any other suggestions will be welcome.
    Goodbye.
     
  2. Alan Aspie

    Alan Aspie Banned Contributor

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    As another who's native language is something else...

    Read a lot. Write a lot.

    Boards like this are good for practicing.
     
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  3. Fallow

    Fallow Banned

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    Reading, especially more challenging material, is going to have the greatest impact. I would recommend classics from the 19th century as the sentence structure can be more challenging to parse than more modern writing.
     
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  4. Harel

    Harel New Member

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    I'm especially looking for improving my grammar. I don't feel like just reading a lot, in general, would help much. But do correct me if I'm wrong.
     
  5. Fallow

    Fallow Banned

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    Unlike spelling, grammar comes somewhat naturally if you develop an ear for what something properly written sounds like. And the fastest way to get that experience is reading because of the number of words you can read per hour compared to anything else.

    I don't think writing is going to do it if you just are reinforcing mistakes. But an exercise that might help is proof reading (informally) other people's amateur writing with an eye to find every error you can.
     
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  6. Some Guy

    Some Guy Manguage Langler Supporter Contributor

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    Then you can compare against a grammar app to see if you are correct. Be sure to investigate why or why not.
     
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  7. exweedfarmer

    exweedfarmer Banned Contributor

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    Hats off to anyone who is trying to do as you are. I am a native (American) speaker and I haven't mastered it.
     
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  8. Zombie Among Us

    Zombie Among Us Active Member

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    I'm learning Japanese on an app/website called Duolingo. You can purchase things on there, but you can use it perfectly fine without spending a dime. They have English classes you might find useful. There's also a browser extension (I think that's what it is) called Grammarly. You can do relatively basic spelling and grammar on it for free, or pay for more. Personally, I've never tried it.

    One tip I will give is I noticed you started a sentence with the word "but" in your second post. That's fine when writing informally, but frowned upon in formal writing.

    Try looking for some YouTube videos. I was searching and I found this playlist on grammar: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZbwPn7vIwQxHpimtU43wN-xsL55ZBpa2

    You might be looking for something a little more advanced, though. I took a test at https://creativemarket.com/blog/quiz-can-you-ace-this-extremely-difficult-grammar-quiz and I agree with it. However, I wouldn't worry about #7 when it tells you to use "whom" instead of "who," because basically every English speaker breaks that rule.

    Good luck!

    Ps, I love your profile picture.
     
  9. Quanta

    Quanta Senior Member

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    Mastering sounds daunting, but I'm always looking to improve my written English. I'm going through the Oxford Practice Grammar, Intermediate (about $32 on amazon.com). It has over 400 pages of practice and tests, and I'm finding it quite helpful.
     

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