Practice your English. Help and advice.

AdlerTS · Messaggio da **AdlerTS** » sab 2 dic 2006, 22:10

Dear friends

Can I get any example of the right use of "friends of mine"?

PeterG · Messaggio da **PeterG** » sab 2 dic 2006, 22:41

AdlerTS ha scritto:Can I get any example of the right use of "friends of mine"?

The phrase simply means miei amici, and is practically synonymous with my friends. It can be used in innumerable instances, for example:

You are all, I hope, friends of mine.

Ron, Frank, and Tom are friends of mine.

Some friends of mine came to dinner.

... and so on, of mine simply means belonging to or associated with me, and can be applied to almost anything.

Peter

AdlerTS · Messaggio da **AdlerTS** » sab 2 dic 2006, 22:46

Well

so Ron, Frank, and Tom are friends of mine is the same as Ron, Frank, and Tom are my friends ? and Some friends of mine came to dinner is good as Some of my friends came to dinner ?

PeterG · Messaggio da **PeterG** » sab 2 dic 2006, 23:14

Yes, I shouldn't worry too much. Yours, mine, etc, are grammatically known as absolute possessives. The form of mine is a double possessive and established idiom.

I met a friend of yours means ho incontrato uno dei tuoi amici or ... un amico tuo but I met your friend means ho incontrato il tuo amico.

Peter

refolo · Messaggio da **refolo** » dom 3 dic 2006, 3:45

Dear SIR, Peter G.

My humble apologize, I beg your pardon, and I will stand up when you
enter the classroom.

I Maria A.Z. aka Refolo I have called Peter-Ron-Tom (what's happen to him???) my dear friends of mine, not offences.

I live in a Suburb, which 70% are Scottish-Irish- and Sorry POMS!( we are allowed to call them that.......CRICKET ARE ALIVE in this country you know?) they accent are out of this sky, but we do understand each other with history, War, jokes, music, and food.......I had a BBQ last Sunday...marvellous.

We can be in a class pretending, learning, and make a funny jokes, In Down Under we call our friends MATES, like yours under the Army.

""G'DAY"" is everyday welcome. Of course I do not call people like that,
My upbringing was a lot different from today. SIR-MADAM- and other bull... nowadays, no one are polite as far as English version of your language concerned, there is something to desire.

Called Americanises? Here we are worst. Italians? with computers are
Lazzy, every words are shorted by the minute. - + % # ^
Betta gives me the answer, when she said"WHAT ABOUT MY DEAR FRIEND?"

I think this is what I meant, we do write Italian as we speak, your is back to front. Not offences, but I described the logic.
I appreciated every help from you, I feel dorry that I didn't know you before, so you could have been my Editor.

Keep teaching us, we do want the best out of the bad.

ciao Maria aka Refolo

PeterG · Messaggio da **PeterG** » dom 3 dic 2006, 17:39

My Dear Madam

I wouldn't dream of allowing you to stand up for me, pray let's both be seated.

As a matter of fact, Maria, I have learnt quite a lot from you. Recently, Ron asked me to translate an article you had written in Triestin about funeral practices in Trieste. There is much in that article that I didn't know, here it is:

In Triestin dialect, an account of famous funerals in Trieste

FUNERAL CEREMONIES

The famous funerals ... yes! Alas, one was born and died at home, and sad though it may be, this too is all part of Trieste's history.

Only rarely was one born in hospital or died there, perhaps due to less money, less doctors, less bother for the government, but always with the support of the parish for the funeral rites ... then a quick dash on the hearse to the cemetery.

Until the mid 1800s, as I was always given to understand by my elders, coffins were carried on shoulders and the men who did that were called 'pizzigamorti' [lit 'bodypinchers'] .. even the name evokes a shiver, sending a drop of sweat down one's back...

But, alas, that's life .. or, rather, death! If someone breathed his last, it was the custom and legal requirement that a member of the deceased's family should go to church and report the matter, and to the verger, who's duty it was to toll the bell:

4 times for a woman

5 for a convict

6 for a common man

7 for a person in holy orders, such as a priest, etc.

thus people died at home and, instead of collapsing with floods of tears, it all ended in merriment. In the evening all gathered at the defunct's house and with the excuse of offering condolences [and now a fine play on words with 'scampava un bicierin', 'scampava' alludes to 'surviving' and 'to go for an outing', 'bicierin' (Italian 'bicchierino') is a 'little glass of something', but implying several, like the Scot's 'Och, he's fond of a wee dram'], which has become famous the world over. During the night of the wake, they all stuffed themselves like pigs, except of course for the widow, who's duty it was to serve them and not touch a thing herself.

If a child dies things were different, the women cried and lamented that an angel had gone to heaven, but all ate pancakes with white wine.

On seeing a funeral from a distance, all could tell, by tradition, whether the deceased was a man or a woman ...

If a woman, all the women were directly behind the coffin.
If a man, on the contrary, all the women came last.

At the cemetery, after the grave was filled (..with tears), all took part in the burial rites and, on finding themselves outside the cemetery, all would dash, perhaps with the excuse that it was cold (if in winter) to the nearest pub .. singing

'Whoever dies leaves the world
and the living press on ...'

Around 1875 the first funeral parlour was opened in Trieste named Zimolo, all first class and with plumed horses. After this all the newspapers reported outstanding funerals, like that of Count Revoltella, with his faithful Chinese servant, but before this there was:

The funeral procession of Maximillian of Austria whose body arrived on the battleship Novara. Impressive too was the funeral of the performing acrobat H. Thoure, the famous human-fly, who was 'sfracelà' [no equivalent in English, it means 'smashed to pieces', 'broke every bone in his body', 'completely shattered] at the famous Mauronier theatre.

Then there were the famous horses of Felice Venezian which drew the hearse carrying the body of the Infanta of Spain, Maria Theresa of Bourbon-Braganza, from the house in Via Lazzaretto to the church of San Giusto.

But the most sumptuous funeral procession was that of the Hereditary Prince and of his wife, assassinated at Sarajevo, where I was told they were taken from the ship Virus-Unitis and placed on their special hearses drawn by six horses, the Prince's decorated in gold, and that of the Princess in silver. (1914)

Maria Zanier (lacangrueta)

The original is here

http://www.tuttotrieste.net/varie/maria/zimolo.htm

Peter

macondo · Messaggio da **macondo** » dom 3 dic 2006, 19:47

Lovely, Peter. A very fine translation!!

AdlerTS · Messaggio da **AdlerTS** » dom 3 dic 2006, 20:24

Viribus unitis, not virus unitis, please

PeterG · Messaggio da **PeterG** » dom 3 dic 2006, 20:31

LOL Yes, of course. A slip of the fingers. Some virus!

Whilst I'm at it, the line If a child dies things were different sholud read If a child died things were different

Peter

refolo · Messaggio da **refolo** » dom 3 dic 2006, 20:50

Watch! dear Peter....

you not allowed to make any mistake, even, if, for some she was a VIRUS!

Maria aka Refolo

refolo · Messaggio da **refolo** » sab 16 dic 2006, 22:57

DEAR ENGLISH TEACHER?

where are you?????????????

Maria aka refolo

PeterG · Messaggio da **PeterG** » dom 17 dic 2006, 16:14

Maria

Er .... do you mean me

Which seems an opportune moment

to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Peter

nanaia · Messaggio da **nanaia** » dom 24 dic 2006, 14:07

Yes, Peter, you are the one

Merry Christmas and a Happy 2007 from the deep of my heart to you and Ron
Nanaia

PeterG · Messaggio da **PeterG** » dom 24 dic 2006, 15:03

I'm the one? I'm taking legal advice

Meanwhile, a very Merry Christmas to you all and a very Happy New Year. Keep smiling.

Peter

Nona Picia · Messaggio da **Nona Picia** » dom 24 dic 2006, 15:09

Merry Christmas a tutti voi che parlate inglese! :36_15_1:

PeterG · Messaggio da **PeterG** » dom 24 dic 2006, 15:12

Can I have a translation please? This is an English language forum.

Peter

PeterG · Messaggio da **PeterG** » dom 24 dic 2006, 15:14

Nona Picia

I am so sorry

I read your lovely message quickly and thought it was from Ron. The tease was meant fot him not you.

Peter

PeterG · Messaggio da **PeterG** » dom 24 dic 2006, 15:18

fot = for

I'm going to have an Asprin and lie down in a darkened room.

Peter

Nona Picia · Messaggio da **Nona Picia** » dom 24 dic 2006, 19:31

PeterG ha scritto:Nona Picia

I am so sorry

I read your lovely message quickly and thought it was from Ron. The tease was meant fot him not you.

Peter

Please! Nanaia mi ha chiarito tutto!
Ancora Merry Christmas! E senza aspirine!

PeterG · Messaggio da **PeterG** » dom 24 dic 2006, 20:21

Best wishes to you, Nona Picia, and to your lovely interpreter Nanaia, for a very Happy Christmas.

Peter

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