Month: December 2017

2.1 The history of the English verb.

During the Old English period, the system of the English verbs as well as the systems of all the rest Germanic languages possessed five main categories[2]:

1) the category of number. Here we can distinguish two types of number – singular (e.g. cat, school, way) and plural (cats, schools, ways).

2) the category of person. The structure of this category remained unchanged, though we can notice some development of the expression of the category. Since the ancient times there are three persons in the system of the verbs (first, second and third – in singular and plural forms).

3) the category of mood. Three moods were developed in Old English – indicative, imperative and conjunctive. The categories of tense and aspect are mostly used in indicative mood.

4) the category of tense. In Old English the tenses were divided into two large groups – past and present (non-past). The present tense could function as the future tense in special conditions (with the adverbs, which indicate the future). The separate form of the future tense and other complex forms expressing the time reference started to develop in the end of Old English period.

5) the category that stands apart from finite forms. There are three impersonal forms of the verb: infinitive, gerund and participle.  Infinitive is the basic form of the verbs that possesses no information about mood, number, tense or person of the verb but is able to show its lexical meaning. It can be used either with or without the particle ‘to’. Gerung is a non-finite verb form that is used to create a verb phrase. We can recognize it by the -ing inflection. Participle serves to modify a noun or noun phrase; it has the -ed inflection.

During the Old English period Germanic languages including English itself had one more peculiarity: they were divided into two groups according to the usage of different grammatical means that compose various forms of the past tense: so-called strong verbs, which possessed the alternation of the root vowel, and weak verbs that were modified with the help of affixation (-d or -t inflection). During the process of development of the system of verbs, weak verbs became regular, and strong verbs – irregular verbs. Regular/weak verbs are characterized by invariability of their root morphemes. Irregular/strong verbs form the past participle with the help of alteration of their roots.

Strong verbs are more ancient than weak ones. Their existence is considered to have begun in the era of Proto Indo-European language. The proof of this theory may be found in the similarity of Old English and Latin form, whose common ancestor was Proto Indo-European. For example:

Old English	Latin	Modern English
etan	edo	to eat
sittan	sedeo	to sit
beran	fero	to bear

Strong verbs were divided into seven main groups:

Group	Infinitive	Past tense		Participle II	Modern form
		Singular	Plural
I (i-class)	*i + i =  ī wrītan	*a + i = *ai > ā wrāt	0 + i = i writon	0 + i = i writen	to write
II (u-class)	*i + u = iu > ēo cēosan	*a + u = *au > ēa cēas	0 + u = u curon	0 + u = u > o coren	to choose
III	*e(i) + sonorant + consonant swimman	*a + sonorant + consonant swamm	u + sonorant + consonant swummon	u + sonorant + consonant swummen	to swim
IV	e + l (r) stelan	æ + l (r) stæl	āē + l (r) stāēlon	o+ l (r) stolen	to steal
V	e + noise consonant sprecan	æ + noise consonant spræc	āē + noise consonant sprāēcon	e + noise consonant sprecen	to speak
VI	a scacan	ō scōc	ō scōcon	a scacen	to shake
VII	alternation of long diphthongs blōwan	alternation of long diphthongs blēow	alternation of long diphthongs blēowon	alternation of long diphthongs blōwen	to blow

As we can see, in Proto Germanic and Old English the choice of vowels in the past forms of the verbs depended on the sounds that followed the root vowels. The group VII had different vowel alterations, but diphthongs stood in for all of them in the past simple tense and past participle form.

Weak verbs are typical only for Germanic languages – they didn’t exist in Proto Indo-European. The verbs that accept affixation originated from the strong verbs or ancient roots. The choice of inflections didn’t depend on root vowels, so the affixation simplified greatly the process of forming the past tenses. That is why the weak verbs became the main and basic type of verb morphogenesis in English nowadays. All the new verbs that appear in English accept the affixational type of conjugation.

 In Old English, the weak verb formed its past participle in the following way:

past tense affix -d- or -t-

root morpheme

base-forming affix -i-

personal inflection

 

According to the type of base-forming affix, the weak verbs could be classified into three groups. The first group had the base-forming affix -i- (after consonants) or -į- (after vowels). Later this affix acquired the form -e-. For instance, the verb dōmian
(to judge) acquired the past form dōmida (I judged), which later became the form dēm(e)de. Past participle form of this verb was dēm(e)d.

If the stem of the verb ended in voiced consonant, then it acquired the past tense affix -d-. If the stem of the verb ended in voiceless consonant, then it acquired the past tense affix -t-. For example, the verb cept (voiceless “p” + voiceless “t”), which meant “saved”, and the verb hāēld (voiced “l” + voiced “d”) that meant “healed”.

The second group of weak verbs possessed the base-forming affix -ōi-. During the process of development of English, this affix disported into two different affixes: -i- and -o-. The second affix was commonly used with the past forms of the verbs. For example, luf-o-d-e
(scheme root+ base-forming affix+past tense affix+personal inflection) meant “I loved”. We can notice that this Old English form is still recognizable and is close to the modern form. The main difference is the absence of personal inflection in nowadays English, except the inflection of third person in the Present Simple tense ( -s / -es ). This inflection was based on Old English personal inflection “-þ” (this sign is called “thorn”; later it was replaced by the combination of the letters “th”) that was pronounced as [Ө].

In all the Germanic languages there was a special group of verbs called Praeterio praesentia (lat. “Past of the present”). These verbs expressed the result of the previous action, which is recognized as the present. These were the verbs like to know, to need, to have, to present, to understand, to can, etc. There were only twelve verbs in Old English that fit this category. Most of them had no past participle form because they did not need to express it.

One more group of verbs was so-called suppletive verbs. These verbs could generate their different grammatical forms from different roots. In Old English there were two of these verbs: to be – bēon and to go – ʒān. We should notice that these verbs are still suppletive not only in Modern English, but in Modern Russian as well.

The forms of suppletive verbs in English are the following:

Tense		Person and number	Old English	Modern English
Present	Singular, I person		eom / bēo ʒā	am go
	Singular, II person		eart / bist ʒāēst	are go
	Singular, III person		is / biþ ʒāēþ	is goes
	Plural, I person		sint / sindon / bēoþ ʒāþ	are go
	Plural, II person
	Plural, III person
Past		Singular, I person	was ʒā	was went
		Singular, II person	wāēr ʒā	were went
		Singular, III person	wæs ʒā	was went
		Plural, I person	wāēron ʒān	were went
		Plural, II person
		Plural, III person

At the end of the Old English period, analytical forms of verbal tenses began to appear. It was also the beginning of individualization of the future tense forms. Some main verbs lost their lexical meaning and became the auxiliary verbs for creating different tenses. For instance, the verb willen (to want) became the expression of the future form (modern form – will).

The verb bēon was used in Old English to express the state in the present: ic eom cumen – “I am in the state of coming” (“I have come”). This structure became a source of the perfect forms. The verb habban – “to have” was the other source of the perfect forms.

At the same time, the passive forms were also developing in Old English. And again their base was the verb bēon – “to be”. During the Middle English period the passive constructions accepted their modern form.

Global warming is a trend increase in the average temperature on Earth over the past 100 years. It is calculated according to the data of meteorological stations around the world, in Europe, these stations have been around for about 150 years. But in General, around the world we have data for the last 100 years, and this calculation shows that the temperature increases, and increases the trend, then there is a significant trend and not just fluctuations around some long-run average values of temperature. And finally, we will answer a question: “what can each one of us do to avert global warming?”.

What is global warming in simple words

At the same time, it should be noted that this temperature is not rising smoothly and growing so-called “steps” and sometimes goes on a “plateau”. For example, in the last 30 years have seen a very noticeable increase in temperature, particularly strong rise occurred in 90 years, and since 2000 this process has slowed down. This happened before, that is to say that the temperature is rising “steps”.

Today the world is dominated by the theory that the main cause of global warming are greenhouse gas emissions. In this respect, in the scientific community there is an unprecedented consensus: 97% of publications on the topic of climate change has supported the theory that global warming due to emissions of greenhouse gases, primarily CO2, industry. In principle, CO2 emissions are small compared to emissions from natural sources. As the land and ocean are suppliers of carbon dioxide, but they eat it: in the ocean it makes plankton and land plants. If we sum these flows, the flows of greenhouse gases from fuel combustion are very small compared to natural fluxes, they represent about 4-5% of the natural flows.

Causes of global warming. Diagram

So the mystery is: why are these 4-5% of the “excess” CO2 can’t be absorbed by vegetation or the ocean? Moreover, in the experimental conditions observed the effect of fertilization by elevated carbon dioxide level: if the plant cover cap and start to pump back CO2, the plant will start to grow faster. Also the experiment was conducted on wheat field: the portion of the field supplied CO2 special hose, and place the wheat grows faster. But in vivo this effect of fertilization was not observed, instead there is an accumulation of anthropogenic CO2 in the atmosphere, which for some reason is not absorbed by the vegetation.

Of these 33 degrees 30 degrees we can attributed to water vapor and only 3 degrees at the expense of all other greenhouse gases, among which are artificial substances, such as CFC contained in refrigeration. Why are talking about CO2? The fact that CO2 is a gas, which is directly associated with anthropogenic activities. There are, for example, methane, relevant to our country, in the permafrost zone may receive a large amount of methane, which can also contribute to global warming. But at present, CO2 is in the focus of attention of scientists.

Relevance of global warming

First and foremost, you need to calculate how much will eventually warm up the Earth. It should be understood that we all have adapted to existing climatic conditions. Of course, from year to year, they vary, but in General is very much tied to the existing system of atmospheric circulation. As an example: our country is characterised by large seasonal fluctuations in the winter accumulated snow, followed by spring flood, and then comes summer. But in recent years we see a trend that the snow cover does not accumulate, because too often in the winter comes the thaw, and no peaks of floods. But all our reservoirs are adapted under the conditions that existed earlier, in the spring they just not getting enough water, and for the second consecutive year in the Volga basin had enough water. But these things can be adapted.

On the other hand, there are calculations that the problem can be much more serious, because we live in a particular air circulation system for our latitude is, for example, westerly flow from the Atlantic, and in addition, there is the Siberian anticyclone. But if the warming of the Earth continues, subject to change and the air circulation system, and some signs of this are already visible.

In Europe, winters have become unpredictable: suddenly begins to blame the snow for several days, and airports simply can’t handle the snow. Primarily this is due to the weakening of the Western migration. It is necessary to consider many other factors, such as the melting of ice in the Arctic they are annual, not perennial, the result is a pole of heat, because the water is warmer than ice, and such things will immediately affect the air circulation there is a rapid change of weather. And this alteration of the system can be very dangerous and will require an overhaul of the entire industry and not only. In any case, we would expect greater challenges.

Remedies of global warming

There are two main methods of fight against global warming: drastic reduction of emissions and geoengineering methods. To date, it is unclear what is more real to do: reduce emissions or accelerate the development of bioengineering methods, although at the moment there is no one successful method of their application. In this way a drastic reduction in emissions has already proven unrealistic.

Signed in 1997 the Kyoto Protocol was based on different scenarios. But at the moment we have already exceeded the most pessimistic of the scenarios. Primarily, this is due to the accelerated development of third world countries and especially of China. If in 1990 years, the economic development of the PRC were in line with the scenario of the Kyoto Protocol, in 2000 years the pace of China’s economic development has increased dramatically. China needed additional energy resources that they were able to find only in a private corner.

Precautions of global warming

And coal is the major supplier of CO2 per unit of production, so we are unable to be kept within defined scenarios. Now, when the Kyoto Protocol was a fiasco, we were at a loss: it turned out that we can’t agree among themselves. At the moment is the Kyoto Protocol only exists in the Copenhagen accord, that is, voluntary commitments of the countries to control emissions, but this document is not even accepted at the official level, and, even if these commitments are adhered to, it still does not fundamentally change the situation.

The second way is bioengineering techniques. One of these methods is injection of CO2 into the mine. Such installations have already been established, but so far none of them worked. In 2009 was carried out another experiment an attempt was made to increase the bioproductivity of the ocean so that phytoplankton absorbed the “extra” carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Was found the area in the ocean with reduced productivity because of a shortage of dissolved iron, where an experiment was conducted. However, he failed: after it was added dissolved iron, began the rapid development of phytoplankton; according to scientists, plankton had to go to the bottom, but that didn’t happen, instead it went through the food chains and the effect was zero. There are also exotic methods, such as the increased reflectivity of the stratosphere with special aerosols.

Causes and consequences of global warming

Calculations of temperature increase maintained until the end of this century. Near the threshold is exceeded 450 ppm CO2 particles in the atmosphere. At the moment CO2 concentration is about 400 ppm of the particles (the first time this figure was recorded in February of 2015). At 450 million, we will have exceeded a threshold temperature of 2 degrees. It is believed that up to this point, we live in their world, then there will be a change in the circulation system. It is expected that this will happen in 2040, and by 2100 could occur in excess of 4 or 5 degrees, which would actually change the entire climate system of the Earth. During the ice age the average temperature was 11 degrees, today it is +15, that is, the difference is only 4 degrees. So, if we “warm up” at 4 degrees, this may mean a restructuring of the system of atmospheric circulation, the change of the whole biosphere of the Earth, which of course will lead to unpredictable political and economic changes around the world.

Academic writing demands a formal tone characterized by careful language choices to convey ideas to readers as precisely and unambiguously as possible. Colloquial language, defined as language that is “normally restricted to informal (especially spoken) English” (Burchfield, 2004), does not satisfy this need for exactness of expression.

Instead, as Pam Peters (2007) says of colloquialisms, they “undermine the serious effect you want to have on the reader. Your writing should not appear casual, imprecise or gloss over details.” Therefore, to create the best impression when writing academically, it is recommended to find formal equivalents for any colloquialisms you may otherwise be tempted to use.

What to Avoid

Some types of colloquial language are obviously inappropriate for use in academic writing, such as slang (e.g. “till” instead of “until”) or vulgar expressions. However, less obviously, you should also avoid the following.

Clichés

For example: “time will tell” and “as luck would have it”.

These expressions are commonly used in speech, but for formal writing, they lack both the specificity of meaning required to lend accuracy to your writing, and the originality to make your writing more interesting.

Idioms

For example: “a drop in the ocean” and “cut to the chase”.

These expressions are extremely common in speech, but they pose important problems in academic writing. First, as with clichés, these expressions lack specificity of meaning. Second, and even more problematically, because idioms cannot be understood literally, using them risks misinterpretation of your meaning by readers without the necessary language skills.

Fillers

For example, “very”, “so” and “even”.

It is common to use filler words to add emphasis and rhythm in speech. However, such words are unnecessary in academic writing and detract from its effectiveness.

Finding Formal Equivalents

Between using Google search and consulting a good dictionary, a suitable formal equivalent to any colloquial expression will always be to hand. For example, to find a formal equivalent of “to hand”, a simple search of Google search for “define to hand” produces the definition of “within easy reach”. Likewise, using the online Macquarie Dictionary (available through an annual paid subscription), a search for “hand” returns a result with a list of idioms that use the word hand. Number 95 in the list gives the definition of “to hand” as “within reach”.

Note that a Google search for a definition will return results from several online dictionaries, some of which are better than others. Try to use only respected online dictionaries, such as Merriam Webster, the Oxford Dictionary, the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, the MacMillan Dictionary, the Collins Dictionary or the Cambridge Dictionary.

Why do we need school uniforms? Research papers will clarify that. The debate about positive and negative aspects of uniformity in the clothes of schoolchildren in our country is just beginning, whereas in Europe and America they have been going on for decades. On this subject, written thousands of articles and conducted hundreds of scientific research. Summarized, the main of them, so you can form your own opinion.

School uniform. Essay introduction

In 1998, a scientific study was conducted which showed that students from schools that have established form, learn a little better than those whose schools are allowed to go to anything. Experts believe: the fact that children are not distracted by the discussion of clothing, the form gets them in more serious behavior in school and reduces the amount of time the child spends to decide what to do today for class. And of course, the experts think, spend this saved time to do homework.

Should students have to wear uniforms? Essay is trying to figure it out

Other experts laugh at these arguments and believe that the data about the so-called the performance improvement is so small that it is comparable with the statistical error. Besides, it is impossible to compare grades in two state schools only on the grounds that one typed form, and not in another. Academic performance is influenced by hundreds of factors (first and foremost the quality of teachers), so to understand how it helps the students form, is impossible. And the time saved in not needing to choose what to wear, the child will rather spend on computer games, not lessons, not to mention the fact that the choice of the toilet takes no more than 10-15 minutes a day. In our persuasive essay on school uniform we frequently raise this topic.

Opponents of the first note of the fact that even the authors of that study admit that the national average (USA) improve behavior among students dressed in identical is quite low, and wealthy parents bought for their offspring tailoring the form of more expensive fabrics. Even the children find other ways to show their exclusivity (expensive backpacks, expensive stationery, etc.) that completely devalues the argument that school uniforms equalizes.

In addition, the form limits so necessary for the adolescent children the opportunity to stand out from the crowd.

But most importantly, teachers in schools with mandatory form of spending huge amounts of time to monitor the wearing of this form. All of this translates into minutes and hours of constant comments, quibbles and debates about the length of socks, the right shoes and the degree of shirts that could be spent on something to learn something useful from algebra.

So it turns out that with the increase of time on maintaining discipline reduces the time of direct study. Not to mention the fact that endless debates with teachers about the form (if a child is wearing does not love her) become one more field upon which he tries to resist the system, struggling with it, which ultimately degrades the overall discipline rather than improve it.

As for the sense of community with other students, it is a positive factor turns negative as soon as the child comes out of school: street children from other schools may determine what school he went to, and begin to bully.

Arguments against school uniforms

Do not agree with many experts who also give reasonable arguments. First, the set of school uniform does not cover all the needs of your child. You will still be buying him regular clothes, and therefore, the school uniform becomes a source of additional cost, i.e. does not reduce the problems of poor families, but rather increases them.

Second, zealous statists, who advocate for school uniforms, forget one small fact: children actually grow.

If form in September, baby in size, and not hanging on this bag, by the middle of the year he will grow out of it and he will need to buy a new set. Not to mention the fact that even children in school uniform, is running around, tearing his pants and put blots on the shirt and it still needs to be changed, and not for anything, but only to the same prescribed form and value.

Finally, if the school is not elite, installed in her form, as a rule, very poor quality and wears out much faster than regular clothes, which means that it again need to change and spend the extra money.

Which is the best thesis statement for an essay on school uniforms?

But the parents of the girls, as, indeed, themselves schoolgirl, much more likely to protest against that argument. First, we live in the XXI century, and the modern active and not wanting anything to keep up with the boys the girl is simply very inconvenient for every day to wear a skirt (most schools do not allow girls to wear pants).

Secondly, the climate most of the year will not allow any parent, who, in his mind, to send the girl to school in a skirt, when the thermometer minus. And why she must change into school?

The third, and strongest, argument that parents of girls school uniforms has become a part of erotic culture. Girls in the form have become objects of sexual desire. Walk the streets like this at times unsafe. And the last form, no matter how well it was cut (and cut, she is often very bad, let’s be realistic), sits perfectly on the children with one type of shape and horrible on the kids with the other.

It turns out that girls who have been unlucky “fit” for the chosen school type skirts, look ugly and needs to suffer. And in the end, school uniforms, tailored from the best materials, mostly just uncomfortable. Why your beloved child should be 11 years old to walk in uncomfortable clothes?

This next instalment in our “Commonly Confused Words” series aims to demystify “affect” and “effect”. Often used interchangeably, “affect” and “effect” are widely misunderstood and misused.

As always, we will provide definitions and helpful examples to clarify these terms. For our definitions, we use the Macquarie Dictionary — the authority on Australian English spelling.

“Affect”

“Affect” is a verb. It means “to act on” or to “produce an effect or a change in”. Here are some examples:

• Long periods of starvation affected the children’s development.
• Pollen in the spring affects my breathing.
• The humidity affected Joy’s hair.

“Affect” can also mean “to impress” or “move in mind or feelings”. For example, “His rendition of ‘We Are the World’ profoundly affected me”.

Remember, “affect” is a verb — it’s an action. Grammar Girl recommends this trick for remembering: verbs are actions, and the word “actions” starts with “a” — like “affect”.

In addition, if you are using “affect” correctly as a verb, another verb such as “hurt”, could be substituted.

“Effect”

“Effect” is a noun. It means “that it is produced by some agency or cause”. More simply, it is “a result” or “consequence”. You should be able to substitute these synonyms (“result” and “consequence”) to check that you have used “effect” correctly. Here are some examples:

• The effect of her late arrival at work was a late departure.
• A metaphor’s effect can be powerful.
• The movie’s sound effects were spectacular.
• His rendition of “We Are the World” had no effect on me.

Nouns can take an article before them. Articles are words like “a”, “an” or “the”. Mark Treddinick explains that some other determiners can act like articles (e.g., “each”, “all”, “several”, “many”, “no”, and “any”). You can check that you have used “effect” correctly by seeing if an article would fit before “effect”. I have underlined the articles in my previous examples:

• The effect of her late arrival at work was a late departure.
• A metaphor’s effect can be powerful.
• The movie’s sound effects were spectacular.
• His rendition of “We Are the World” had no effect on me.

This will work most of the time, but may be less clear when “effect” is used as part of a phrase. For example, “The law came into effect in September”. This check will not work when you use “affect”, because “affect” is a verb.

The Exceptions

However, there are some exceptions.

Sometimes “effect” can be used as a verb that means “to bring about” or “to make happen”. You might have seen it in the phrase “to effect change”, as in “Selina hoped to effect change”.

Sometimes “affect” can be used as a noun in the field of psychology as a synonym for mood or feeling. For example, “The subject demonstrated a jubilant affect”.

We hope this article has been helpful. Please feel free to suggest any words you get confused in the comments below and we will add them to our series.

Today in the United States murders with a firearm are the second cause of death among young people under the age of 19 years and the first cause among black youth. Every day from firearms killed 13 children. Therefore, the reduction in the number of crimes committed with the use of this weapon, is one of the urgent problems of the United States. So, should more gun control laws be enacted?

Stricter gun laws pros and cons

The more people have guns, the higher the crime rate. Gun ownership increases the risk of being killed. Removing firearms from the hands of criminals prevents serious crimes.

Removing weapons from the hands of criminals – a tempting target and attractive propaganda slogan. But no one knows how even to approach this goal. For example, the latest initiative of law enforcement bodies of some States who have decided to pay money for each unit surrendered to the police illegal weapons, failed miserably. First, it was delivered ridiculously small arms and, second, the delivered weapons were not usable.

Severe restrictions or even a ban on the possession of arms is not reflected on the possibility of illegal access. By the way, in this case, the checks of those who gets not required.

Pro gun control speech

The results show that States that have stricter restrictions on the acquisition of weapons and their carry concealed, the crime rate is higher. It was also found that prohibitions on the possession of assault rifles is virtually no impact on crime rates.

The results of the research Brand of Gaius are consistent with a similar study by John Lott and David Mustard from the University of Chicago (1977).

Washington, DC, is famous for its very stringent rules on acquisition of weapons. The city leads in the number of refusals for applications to purchase pistols and rifles. Supporters of strict measures for the purchase of weapons give Washington as an example of the correctness of their policies. But they are silent on how these brutal rule affected the change in the level of crime.

In the annual for 2014 report of the organization Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence provides examples of how anyone in new Jersey can purchase for a few minutes the guns on the black market. This man doesn’t need to fill out a mountain of paperwork and wait several months for their checks. Many of buying guns on the black market, don’t even know about the existence of the limitations existing in the state.

How gun control kills

How they work, or rather don’t work stricter rules for obtaining a license for possession of arms, clearly visible in such “illustrious” crime centers like new York and Chicago.

In new York, was about 70 thousand units of firearms. According to the police in the hands of people with no less than 750 thousand pistols and rifles. Thus, more than 90% of the weapons purchased illegally. So why do we need strict rules?

In Chicago, a law was passed for compulsory registration of firearms. Checked only those who had it legally. The same picture is observed in new Jersey.

Mandatory gun registration is a completely meaningless act. After all, when buying weapons does the registration of the buyer and acquired weapons. What to expect the authors of these laws? That after its adoption the people illegally owning weapons, run to the nearest police station to register it. In my opinion, the authors of such laws are in captivity blatant naivety or stupidity is boundless.

Among liberals, one of the most popular ways of dealing with crime is the announcement of territories of schools and public places (restaurants, cinemas, etc.) zones, free from weapons. In such areas no one has the right to bear arms, and especially apply it. And since there are no weapons, there will be no crimes.

This naive idea liberals facilitates attempts to commit crimes. Declaring certain areas free zones, liberals openly inform offenders about where they can feel safe. In the free zones unarmed people will not be able to resist the armed criminals.

To fight off the slightest desire of the perpetrator to attack the school, in front of the entrance on its territory is often ads appear, such as before school Argyle ISD in Texas: “Please keep in mind that the school staff is armed and may use all necessary means to protect our students.”

In conclusion, this essay about gun control do not cover all topic. An effective measure to reduce the level of crime is a permit to carry concealed weapons outside the home to those who are entitled to its possession.

We recently started a series, ‘Commonly Confused Words’. This series aims to explain the difference between a few of the most misused or misunderstood words in academic writing.

In addition to providing definitions and examples, we will share tricks for remembering the difference between these words. You can follow this link to find our previous article, ‘Commonly Confused Words: “Practice” and “Practice”’.

For my definitions, I use the Macquarie Dictionary: the authority on Australian English spelling.

Their

The Macquarie Dictionary defines ‘their’ as an adjective that indicates possession. It is a plural possessive pronoun, but is also often used in the singular instead of ‘his’ or ‘her’ to avoid these gender-specific pronouns when writing generally. For example, ‘Someone left their coat in the auditorium’.

To check that you have used ‘their’ correctly, you should be able to substitute ‘their’ for another possessive term such as ‘his’, ‘her’ or ‘our’.

They’re

‘They’re’ is a contraction of ‘they are’. You can check that you have used ‘they’re’ correctly by substituting it for ‘they are’. In the example, ‘They’re waiting for the train’, you could substitute ‘they’re’ for ‘they are’ and the sentence retains its meaning.

In the following example, ‘they’re’ is used incorrectly. We know this because when ‘they’re’ is substituted with ‘they are’ the sentence does not make sense: ‘We are waiting over they’re’.

There

Finally, ‘there’ is an adverb, adjective, pronoun or interjection, depending on its context.

When it has used as an adverb, ‘there’ means ‘in or at that place’ and directs our attention to a location or a particular matter. For example, ‘Let’s go over there’ or ‘If you look there you will find the answer’.

Similarly, ‘there’ could also be used as a pronoun for ‘that place’. For example, ‘You’re going to Port Douglas tomorrow. We will meet you there’.

We do not often use ‘there’ as an adjective because it is too colloquial in written contexts. The Macquarie Dictionary gives the example of ‘that there man’. This is an example of syntax (word order) that is not common in usage these days. Instead, we would reverse the word order and state ‘that man there’.

‘There’ can also be used as a colloquial interjection: ‘There! You see, I was right all along’. The Macquarie Dictionary also gives the example, ‘There, there, don’t cry’, as another example of ‘there’ used as an interjection.

To ensure you have used it correctly, ask yourself if you are trying to direct your reader’s attention to a place or a particular matter (this is the most common use of ‘there’). Additionally, if the sentence does not work with the possessive ‘their’ or the contraction ‘they’re’, it is likely you mean ‘there’.

There! We hope you feel more confident about your usage of ‘their’, ‘they’re’ and ‘there’. They are easy to get the hang of once you understand their purpose in a sentence.

Social Utopias of Reformation Epoch – Part 1

Social Utopias of Reformation Epoch – Part 2

Social Utopias of Reformation Epoch – Part 3

 

Reception

Utopia was begun while More was an envoy in Flanders in May 1515. More started by writing the introduction and the description of the society which would become the second half of the work and on his return to England he wrote the “dialogue of counsel”, completing the work in 1516. In the same year, it was printed in Leuven under Erasmus’s editorship and after revisions by More it was printed in Basle in November 1518. It was not until 1551, sixteen years after More’s execution, that it was first published in England as an English translation by Ralph Robinson. Gilbert Burnet’s translation of 1684 is probably the most commonly cited version.

The work seems to have been popular, if misunderstood: the introduction of More’s Epigrams of 1518 mentions a man who did not regard More as a good writer.

The word Utopia overtook More’s short work and has been used ever since to describe this kind of imaginary society with many unusual ideas being contemplated. Although he may not have founded the genre of Utopian and dystopian fiction, More certainly popularized it and some of the early works which owe something to Utopia include The City of the Sun by Tommaso Campanella, Description of the Republic of Christianopolis by Johannes Valentinus Andreae, New Atlantis by Francis Bacon and Candide by Voltaire.

The politics of Utopia have been seen as influential to the ideas of Anabaptism and Communism. While utopian socialism was used to describe the first concepts of socialism later Marxist theorists tended to see the ideas as too simplistic and not grounded on realistic principles. The religious message in the work and its uncertain, possibly satiric, tone has also alienated some theorists from the work.

An applied example of More’s utopia can be seen in Vasco de Quiroga’s implemented society in Michoacán, Mexico, which was directly taken and adapted from More’s work.

Conclusion

Turning to the analysis of the ethical dimension of “Utopia”:

• Important in utopic ethics – this is the problem of happiness. Utopians believed that happiness lies in the honest and noble pleasure and enjoyment.
• In the basis is Greek philosophy, in particular writings of Plato and Aristotle.
• The concept of “fun” ethic Utopians defines as “any movement and the state of body and soul, dwelling in which, under the guidance of nature, a person enjoys.”
• Utopians believed his ethics the most reasonable, primarily because it is useful to society as a whole and for each member of society in isolation, since the principles of ethics, in their view, best meets the very essence of human nature, which manifests itself in the pursuit of happiness a person.
• Common to religions Utopians was that they necessarily requires all citizens of the adherence to sound and useful for society moral standards, as well as the established political order, i.e. instead of that, morally, humanist, it was of universal value: philanthropy, a combination of personal interests with the public good, as well as avoiding religious strife.
• More originality as a thinker of the Renaissance – that he is looking for the perfect way to ethics in a radical reconstruction of society on the principles of social justice, equality and fraternity.
• All that is contrary to good majority, declared immoral.
• Only state where private property is destroyed, we should recognize not only the best, but «only what can rightfully claim to be called the State»
• The basic economic unit of Utopia is the family. On closer examination the same, however, is that the family of Utopians unusual and it is formed not only on the basis of kinship. The major symptom utopic family lies in its professional affiliation to a certain type of craft.
• Family relationships are strictly patriarchal, headed farm is the oldest.
• Utopia common ancestor worship.

In my opinion: Thus, according to Moore, Utopia is a classless society consisting of free from exploitation of the majority. However, designing a fair society, Moore was not consistent enough, assuming the existence of slaves in Utopia. Slaves on the island – disenfranchised populations, burdened with heavy labor service. They are “chained” in the chain and “always ” busy. The presence of slaves in Utopia to a large extent, apparently, was caused by low levels of modern production techniques Mor. Slaves Need Utopians to save citizens from most of the heavy and dirty work. This, of course, manifested a weakness utopian concept of Mor.