Additional Language Exercises

a

Tomorrow is another day.

q

It has to get worse, before it gets better.

b

The first will be the last.

r

Everything is vanity.

c

Time will tell.

s

There is no comfort in the truth.

d

The waiting is the hardest part.

t

The road to success is always under construction.

e

Pain is nature's way of telling you that you are still alive.

u

Life is not hard, it only needs some positive thinking.

f

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

v

If you can't enjoy your company, how could anyone else?

g

Truth is relative.

w

Popularity (admiration) is not love.

h

The one who makes no mistakes does none of the work.

x

When you are not strong, you must be smart.

I

When in doubt, consult your inner child.

y

Goodbye is not an easy word to say.

j

If it doesn't come naturally, leave it.

z

No guts, no glory.

k

If nothing else, I can always serve as a bad example.

aa

One lost, ten found.

l

Hurry when you have time, then you'll have time when you are in a hurry.

ab

The sun in your eyes made some of the lies worth believing.

m

It is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all.

ac

Poor planning on your part does not create an emergency on my part.

n

When God gives you lemons, make lemonade.

ad

Better feeling pain than feeling nothing at all.

o

We are all alone.

ae

You can't tell a book by its outside cover.

p

You are a loser only when you fail to try.

af

It's only fear that makes you run.

Example 1

The philosopher uses hisreason to guide him.

Example 2

The department chair must submit hisbudget by March 1st.

Example 3

If the writer plans ahead, hewill save a lot of effort.

Example 4

Take seriously what your Dean says about falling enrolments. Heknows about current demographic trends.

Example 5

As someone grows older, hegrows more reflective.

Example 6

Students are different: one may be assertive in hisinterpersonal relations, while another may be timid inhisapproach to the world.

Example 7

Consider what the ordinary (common) manthinks about justice.

Example 8

Reason is what distinguishes manfrom other animals.

Example 9

the brotherhoodofman, feelings ofbrotherhoodorfraternity, the FoundingFathers

the Fatherof relativity theory

Example 10

Salutations in Business Letters - DearSir,Gentlemen(to an unknown person); DearMrs.Green (when a female's marital status is unknown)

Example 11

Congressman,Congresswoman,poetess,stewardess,fireman,lady lawyer,male nurse,woman doctor

Example 12

Choice of Adjective - cautious menandtimid women,ambitious menandaggressive women

Non-Sexist Language

by Carolyn Jacobson, English Department,

University of Pennsylvania

The practice of assigning masculine gender to neutral terms comes from the fact that every language reflects the prejudices of the society in which it evolved, and English evolved through most of its history in a male-centered, patriarchal society.

Solving the Pronoun Problem

They as a Singular– Most people, when writing and speaking informally, rely on singular they as a matter of course: "If you love someone, set them free" (Sting). "It's enough to drive anyone out of their senses" (George Bernard Shaw). "I shouldn't like to punish anyone, even if they'd done me wrong" (George Eliot).

Against the Theory of "Sexist Language"

From Christina Hoff Sommers

The word "sex" has been replaced by the pale and neutral "gender," and the words "man" and "he" -- now avoided as if they were worse than obscenities – have been replaced by the neuter "person" and by grammatically confusing, cumbersome, or offensive variants of "he/she".

Since it was never even remotely in doubt that when used as a general referent, the male pronoun included females, this change was never designed to prevent confusion.

Some people are annoyed by the incorrect grammar that this solution necessitates, but this construction is used more and more frequently. He or She– Despite the charge of clumsiness, double-pronoun constructions have made a comeback: "To be black in this country is simply too pervasive an experience for any writer to omit from her or his work,"wrote Samuel R. Delany. Overuse of this solution can be awkward, however.

Pluralizing– A writer can often recast material in the plural. For instance, instead of "As he advances in his program, the medical student has increasing opportunities for clinical work," try "As they advance in their program, medical students have increasing opportunities for clinical work."

Eliminating Pronouns– Avoid having to use pronouns at all; instead of "a first grader can feed and dress himself," you could write, "a first grader can eat and get dressed without assistance."

Further Alternatives – he/she or s/he, using one instead of he.

The Practical Side

This is not about freedom of speech. There is no rule insisting on gender-neutral language. This is an issue of audience and awareness. Gender-neutral language has gained support from most major textbook publishers, and from professional and academic groups such as the American Psychological Association and the Associated Press. Newspapers like the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal avoid such language. Many law journals, psychology journals, and literature journals do not print articles or papers that use gender-inclusive language. If you anticipate working within any of these contexts, you will need to be able to express yourself according to their guidelines, and if you wish to write or speak convincingly to people who are influenced by the conventions of these contexts, you need to be conscious of their expectations.

The change has, on the contrary, often created confusion. Its purpose is solely ideological.

It is common today in public discussion, whether the context is academic, political, or even legal, to take it for granted that using the word "man," in isolation or as a suffix, to refer to all of humanity, or using the pronoun "he" where any person, male or female, may be referred to, is to engage in "sexist language," i.e. language that embodies, affirms, or reinforces discrimination against women or the patriarchal subordination of women to men.

Not everyone agrees with this view. The ideology that there is "sexist language" in ordinary words and in the ordinary use of English gender rarely comes under sustained criticism. Instead, the inquiry is usually strongly inhibited by quick charges of "sexism" and by the other intimidating tactics of political correctness.

Those who traditionally have wanted to control linguistic usage for one reason or another, and who believe that it can be controlled, are always ultimately frustrated. Real spoken language goes off on its own merry way, exuberantly evolving new meanings, words, usages, and even new languages, always to the chagrin of the priests, scholars, and traditionalists.