Ask the English Teacher

More from Luiz

Luiz writes again:
Thanks for your time to answer my first question. As you were so kind, I am willing to make a second one. I need to fill in my curriculum with straight words (less talking, more impact). I am a bit pressed for space, though, and I cannot write the whole phrase as you've suggested.

So, is that "listen" grammatically okay if I only write :

English : listen (advanced); spoken, written (intermediate)?

In a résumé or curriculum vitae, we can use words and phrases instead of complete sentences, and we should try to keep those phrases parallel where possible. So you might summarize your English skills like this:

English levels
Speaking and writing: Intermediate. Listening: Advanced.

Swooping

Sara writes:
I am reading a book and there is a sentence that I don't understand:"And I wish you'd swoop off and live on it."

Would you please tell me the meaning of it?

"Swoop" means to drop or descend suddenly, like a hawk or owl diving to seize a mouse. We have an expression "one fell swoop," meaning "one cruel seizing" of something: The eagle took the fish in one fell swoop. ("Fell" comes from Old French, and is also the origin of the word "felon," meaning a dangerous criminal.)

In the sentence you quote, the speaker seems to be saying "I wish you'd just go away to somewhere else."

Use of Commas

Steve writes:
My daughter in 4th grade is studying the use of commas in sentences. One sentence has proven to be a sore spot with me, her teacher and several people where I work. Could you please correctly punctuate the following sentence and bring peace to my family?

Collecting things such as coins cards and butterflies can be an enjoyable hobby.

I assume the arguments are about how many commas you need. Some authorities say you don't need a comma before the "and" that concludes the list:

coins, cards and butterflies

I don't mind that usage, but I prefer to put in the comma:

coins, cards, and butterflies

The extra comma makes the reader treat each item separately. Without it, we tend to rush through the last two items: coins, cardsandbutterflies!

Whether you put the last comma in, or keep it out, try to be consistent. But it's even more important to use commas and other punctuation to set the pace at which the reader moves through the sentence.

Parallel terms

Luiz writes:
Usually we write "I have intermediate level of spoken and written English". However, how would you include "listen skills"?

In the example, does the word "listen" suit best?
English: listen (advanced); spoken, written (intermediate).

Very interesting! We could express this idea several ways:

I speak and write English at the intermediate level, and listen at the advanced level.
My spoken and written English is at the intermediate level, and at the advanced level in listening.
I have scored at the intermediate level in speaking and writing English, and at the advanced level in listening.

Notice that all these versions use "parallelism"—similar phrases and parts of speech:
I speak and write...and listen...
at the intermediate level, and at the advanced level...
I have scored at...in speaking and writing...and at...in listening

Using these parallel forms makes it easier to understand related ideas.