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about Engish grammer

 
 
Reply Mon 7 Mar, 2016 09:26 pm
Can i use the sentence 'long time no see' the same as the sentence "hi,how are you ?"when i meet my old friend?
is it grammatically right? if not,will anyone use it in normal life orally?
 
Abby1213
 
  2  
Reply Mon 2 May, 2016 02:58 am
@Kathycsp,
You'd better not use this sentence'long time no see'.It is very strange.You can say 'What's up' when you encounter an acquaintance.Or 'What's going on?''Sup dawg?'That will be fine.
0 Replies
 
Setanta
 
  2  
Reply Mon 2 May, 2016 03:21 am
@Kathycsp,
Yes, you can use that expression. It is somewhat dated, but i still hear native speakers use the expression. "Hi" is, i believe, used only in North America. It would not be unusual to hear and American or a Canadian say: "Hi, how are you? Long time, no see."

Abby 1213 is giving bad advice, and is not a native speaker, i suspect. "What's up" is a common enough greeting--i doubt that many native speakers would use "What's going on" as an initial greeting. "Sup dawg" is hilarious--that's the slang of a younger generation of Americans of African descent, and it, too has become dated. I advise you not to use that expression as a greeting.
Kathycsp
 
  1  
Reply Mon 2 May, 2016 04:18 am
@Setanta,
ah,i thought it just an informal way of greeting to somebody in China. i didn't thought that people in North America would use it usually.Because there is a scentence- 好久不见 in China whose meaning is the same as the scentence i said. So, i can use it orally andi'd better not to use it when i am writing letters,right?
Setanta
 
  1  
Reply Mon 2 May, 2016 04:30 am
@Kathycsp,
No, you would not want to use that in a letter. "Hi, how are you? Long time no see." is perfectly acceptable in conversation.
0 Replies
 
Abby1213
 
  2  
Reply Mon 2 May, 2016 04:56 am
@Setanta,
Hi.You are right.I'm not a native speaker and Kathy is my friend actually.I'm glad to see your comment.To tell you the truth,I learnt those sentences from a Talk Show in China.The host is an American.He usually uses the slang.What do you think of the slang.I'm very confused wheather I should use slang.
0 Replies
 
Setanta
 
  1  
Reply Mon 2 May, 2016 05:06 am
Slang is acceptable in conversation. It should not be used in written English, unless you are writing a novel or a short story in which the characters speak that way. Without wishing to offend, I don't think your English is good enough for writing stories or novels. I also think that you need to have a much better command of the language to use slang in the same way that a native speaker would use slang.

Another point about written English: you should leave a space after using a comma, and two spaces after the end of a sentence.
Abby1213
 
  2  
Reply Mon 2 May, 2016 05:31 am
@Setanta,
Oh, thank you. You are very nice.
0 Replies
 
Nikitaaaaaaaa
 
  2  
Reply Wed 4 May, 2016 02:00 am
@Kathycsp,
In my opinion,some famous English grammarians have put this phrase into the English dictionary,so i think you can use it. Besides,i think in our daily spoken English,we don't need to be so strict with this.
0 Replies
 
Kathycsp
 
  2  
Reply Mon 16 May, 2016 09:13 pm
But why ?
0 Replies
 
Roberta
 
  5  
Reply Mon 16 May, 2016 09:33 pm
@Setanta,
Setanta wrote:


Another point about written English: you should leave a space after using a comma, and two spaces after the end of a sentence.


It's no longer common usage in the United States to put two spaces after a period. One is fine.
Setanta
 
  0  
Reply Tue 17 May, 2016 01:08 am
@Roberta,
I disagree, which is my privilege. Furthermore, even with the new technology, there are still compositors, and they leave a greater space after the end of a sentence in printed works.
Roberta
 
  5  
Reply Tue 17 May, 2016 03:02 am
@Setanta,
Absolutely your privilege, set.

Here's what the Chicago Manual of Style has to say on the matter. (This is the source I'm required to use for my work.)

Published work these days rarely features two spaces after a period. In the era when type was set by hand, it was common to use extra space (sometimes quite a bit of it) after periods, a practice that continued into the first half of the twentieth century. And many people were taught to use that extra space in typing class. But introducing two spaces after a sentence-ending period—and only after those periods—causes problems. Absolute consistency is easy to monitor when double spaces are never allowed, but less easy when some spaces after periods are double and others single (such as those at the ends of abbreviations and initialisms in running text). Since there is no proof that an extra space actually improves readability—as your comment suggests, it’s probably just a matter of familiarity—CMOS follows the industry standard of one space after a period.
0 Replies
 
Setanta
 
  0  
Reply Tue 17 May, 2016 03:06 am
I did not say that two spaces are required after a period. I said after the end of a sentence--it would apply to a sentence ending with a question mark or an exclamation point as well. As i pointed out, compositors still leave a larger space after the end of a sentence than that which is left between words.

You think your way, and i'll think mine.
Roberta
 
  2  
Reply Wed 18 May, 2016 02:46 am
@Setanta,
You're right. Any punctuation at the end of a sentence. However, I don't see where compositors are relevant to the situation. The OP seemed to be referring to personal communication.

I'll continue to think my way, and you continue to think yours. Fact is, this is a matter of preference.
0 Replies
 
Setanta
 
  0  
Reply Wed 18 May, 2016 02:51 am
Certainly it's a matter of style.
0 Replies
 
izzythepush
 
  2  
Reply Wed 18 May, 2016 03:27 am
@Setanta,
Both 'Hi,' and 'Long time no see,' are used in the UK, and have been for as long as I can remember.
Setanta
 
  0  
Reply Wed 18 May, 2016 03:32 am
@izzythepush,
I didn't know that "Hi" was used there, so i didn't want to claim to know what i did not know.
0 Replies
 
Setanta
 
  0  
Reply Wed 18 May, 2016 03:34 am
By the way, i did not claim that "long time, no see" was used only in North America. So, you know, got try to take the piss with someone else.
izzythepush
 
  0  
Reply Wed 18 May, 2016 03:46 am
@Setanta,
This is what you said.
Quote:
"Hi" is, i believe, used only in North America.


I was pointing out a fact, but if you insist on seeing that as taking the piss there's nothing I can do. You said something that was wrong, and unless the truth is pointed out the OP is going to believe your nonsense. That hardly puts A2K in a good light now does it?

The sooner you realise you're not the fountain of all knowledge the happier you'll be.
 

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