Describing Your Favorite Book
2022-06-24
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1In a recent Everyday Grammar story, we asked our listeners and online fans to tell us about their favorite books.
2We received many wonderful messages from our audience around the world.
3Thanks to all for the great exchange.
4In today's report, we will take a close look at one of these notes.
5Orhan described an important day and an important book in his life.
6He wrote:
7I am Orhan from Iran.
8When I was 20 years old, I was visiting my father's family in Tabriz that I saw my cousin was reading a book in Turkish.
9We suggest removing "that" and breaking the sentence into two shorter statements.
10The sentence could also use the simple past - "visited" instead of "was visiting."
11The updated sentence could be something like this:
12When I was 20 years old, I visited my father's family in Tabriz and saw my cousin reading a book in Turkish.
13Orhan's next line gives more details about why the Turkish book interested him:
14Despite being millions of Turkish speaking people in Iran , our mother language , Turkish , is not formal and there is not schools that teach in Turkish so I didn't see a Turkish book until that day.
15We suggest breaking the sentence into shorter individual sentences and then re-ordering the ideas.
16Let's put the sentence, "I had never seen a Turkish book before that day," first.
17It flows well from the sentence just before, "... and saw my cousin reading a book in Turkish."
18There are a few grammatical changes we might make as well. For example, "...there is not schools..." should be "there are no schools...."
19We also suggest replacing "despite" with "although."
20The updated sentences might go like this:
21I had never seen a Turkish book before that day.
22Although there are millions of Turkish speakers in Iran, Turkish is not an official language.
23There are no schools that teach in Turkish.
24Orhan then wrote:
25Based on my request my cousin gave me that Turkish book.
26The sentence could be simplified to the following:
27My cousin gave me that Turkish book.
28Then Orhan explained the effect the book had on his life.
29I learned grammar of Turkish by reading that book and interested in Turkish literature so I went Turkey to study Turkish literature.
30We suggest using "Turkish grammar" instead of "grammar of Turkish."
31The updated sentences might go like this:
32I learned Turkish grammar by reading that book.
33I became interested in Turkish literature, so I went to Turkey to study the subject.
34Orhan ends his piece with:
35That thin book is my favourite book and changed my whole life.
36The ending words - "changed my whole life" - are the most important.
37They could stand as their own sentence, as in:
38That thin book is my favorite book. It changed my whole life.
39Here is Orhan's message with our suggested changes:
40I am Orhan from Iran.
41When I was 20 years old, I visited my father's family in Tabriz and saw my cousin reading a book in Turkish.
42I had never seen a Turkish book before that day.
43Although there are millions of Turkish speakers in Iran, Turkish is not an official language.
44There are no schools that teach in Turkish.
45My cousin gave me that Turkish book.
46I learned Turkish grammar by reading it.
47I became interested in Turkish literature, so I went to Turkey to study the subject.
48That thin book is my favorite book. It changed my whole life.
49We thank Orhan for his message and wish him continued success in his teaching and in his English studies.
50If you would like to receive writing advice, write us a short message of 4-6 sentences.
51Talk about your favorite movie - when you saw it, what it means to you.
52Maybe your message will be chosen for our next exploration of writing on Everyday Grammar.
53I'm John Russell.
1In a recent Everyday Grammar story, we asked our listeners and online fans to tell us about their favorite books. We received many wonderful messages from our audience around the world. Thanks to all for the great exchange. 2In today's report, we will take a close look at one of these notes. Language teacher Orhan wrote to us from Iran, where he teaches Turkish. 3Orhan described an important day and an important book in his life. 4Orhan's message 5He wrote: 6I am Orhan from Iran. 7When I was 20 years old, I was visiting my father's family in Tabriz that I saw my cousin was reading a book in Turkish. 8We suggest removing "that" and breaking the sentence into two shorter statements. The sentence could also use the simple past - "visited" instead of "was visiting." 9The updated sentence could be something like this: 10When I was 20 years old, I visited my father's family in Tabriz and saw my cousin reading a book in Turkish. 11Orhan's next line gives more details about why the Turkish book interested him: 12Despite being millions of Turkish speaking people in Iran , our mother language , Turkish , is not formal and there is not schools that teach in Turkish so I didn't see a Turkish book until that day. 13We suggest breaking the sentence into shorter individual sentences and then re-ordering the ideas. Let's put the sentence, "I had never seen a Turkish book before that day," first. It flows well from the sentence just before, "... and saw my cousin reading a book in Turkish." 14There are a few grammatical changes we might make as well. For example, "...there is not schools..." should be "there are no schools...." 15We also suggest replacing "despite" with "although." 16The updated sentences might go like this: 17I had never seen a Turkish book before that day. 18Although there are millions of Turkish speakers in Iran, Turkish is not an official language. There are no schools that teach in Turkish. 19Orhan then wrote: 20Based on my request my cousin gave me that Turkish book. 21The sentence could be simplified to the following: 22My cousin gave me that Turkish book. 23Then Orhan explained the effect the book had on his life. 24I learned grammar of Turkish by reading that book and interested in Turkish literature so I went Turkey to study Turkish literature. 25We suggest using "Turkish grammar" instead of "grammar of Turkish." The updated sentences might go like this: 26I learned Turkish grammar by reading that book. I became interested in Turkish literature, so I went to Turkey to study the subject. 27Orhan ends his piece with: 28That thin book is my favourite book and changed my whole life. 29The ending words - "changed my whole life" - are the most important. They could stand as their own sentence, as in: 30That thin book is my favorite book. It changed my whole life. 31Closing thoughts 32Here is Orhan's message with our suggested changes: 33I am Orhan from Iran. 34When I was 20 years old, I visited my father's family in Tabriz and saw my cousin reading a book in Turkish. I had never seen a Turkish book before that day. 35Although there are millions of Turkish speakers in Iran, Turkish is not an official language. There are no schools that teach in Turkish. 36My cousin gave me that Turkish book. I learned Turkish grammar by reading it. I became interested in Turkish literature, so I went to Turkey to study the subject. 37That thin book is my favorite book. It changed my whole life. 38We thank Orhan for his message and wish him continued success in his teaching and in his English studies. 39If you would like to receive writing advice, write us a short message of 4-6 sentences. Talk about your favorite movie - when you saw it, what it means to you. Maybe your message will be chosen for our next exploration of writing on Everyday Grammar. 40I'm John Russell. 41John Russell wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 42________________________________________________________________________ 43Words in This Story 44update - v. to change (something) by including the most recent information 45grammar - n. the whole system and structure of a language 46cousin - n. a child of a person's uncle or aunt 47despite - prep. in spite of 48formal - adj. following established form, custom, or rule