Hi, All!

"When I was 20 I lifted a weight 300 kilograms!"
"That's impossible, even a world record-holder didn't do it!"
"But I lifted. Although I hadn't lifted it."

:)

Bye, All!
Alexander Koryagin

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* Origin: nntp://news.fidonet.fi (2:221/6.0)

Alexander Koryagin:

"When I was 20 I lifted a weight 300 kilograms!"
"That's impossible, even a world record-holder didn't do it!"
"But I lifted. Although I hadn't lifted it."

I see that you hid your question in the subject, forgetting
that it is the extreme summary of the body, rather than an
opening sentence:

A joke. Is it understandable in English?

Yes, I think that joke can be rendered in English:

-- When I was twenty I was lifting 200 kg!
-- Impossible! Even the world record is below that.
-- Yes I was lifting that weight, although I never lifted it.

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* Origin: nntp://news.fidonet.fi (2:221/6.0)

Hi, Anton Shepelev!
I read your message from 13.05.2022 17:24


AK>> "When I was 20 I lifted a weight 300 kilograms!" "That's
AK>> impossible, even a world record-holder didn't do it!" "But I
AK>> lifted. Although I hadn't lifted it."

AS> I see that you hid your question in the subject, forgetting that it
AS> is the extreme summary of the body, rather than an opening
AS> sentence:

AS> A joke. Is it understandable in English?

AS> Yes, I think that joke can be rendered in English:

AS> -- When I was twenty I was lifting 200 kg!
AS> -- Impossible! Even the world record is below that.
AS> -- Yes I was lifting that weight, although I never lifted it.

I doubt about the Present Continuous in the first sentence. You should
point the exact time when you do it, IMHO. If you say about a one year
period you should use the Simple Past. Besides, nobody said that he
lifted the weight one time only. :)


Bye, Anton!
Alexander Koryagin
fido.english_tutor,local.cc.ak 2022
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I wrote:

-- When I was twenty I was lifting 200 kg!
-- Impossible! Even the world record is below that.
-- Yes I was lifting that weight, although I never lifted it.

Yes should be Yet. To emphasize the perfect aspect, could
one conclude with:

...although I never did lift it.

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* Origin: nntp://news.fidonet.fi (2:221/6.0)

I wrote:

-- When I was twenty I was lifting 200 kg!
-- Impossible! Even the world record is below that.
-- Yes I was lifting that weight, although I never lifted it.

Yes should be Yet. To emphasize the perfect aspect, could
one conclude with:

...although I never did lift it.

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* Origin: nntp://news.fidonet.fi (2:221/6.0)

Alexander Koryagin to Anton Shepelev:

-- When I was twenty I was lifting 200 kg!

I doubt about the Present Continuous in the first
sentence. You should point the exact time when you do
it, IMHO. If you say about a one year period you should
use the Simple Past. Besides, nobody said that he lifted
the weight one time only. :)

You interpret Present Perfect as denoting an on-going
process, whereas I think it can also express a state, e.g.
the ability to lift a certain weight.

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* Origin: nntp://news.fidonet.fi (2:221/6.0)

Hi, Alexander! Recently you wrote in a message to All:

"When I was 20 I lifted a weight 300 kilograms!"
"That's impossible, even a world record-holder didn't do it!"
"But I lifted. Although I hadn't lifted it."

This joke has potential... but initially I found it confusing because you say you lifted something, then tell us you didn't lift it. While the first sentence misleads the audience... as it was probably designed to do... a bit of rewording might more easily lead to the "Why didn't I think of that?" you want.

A total of xxx kilograms in a year is not difficult to achieve... for young & able-bodied folk. At 629 grams per mug of home made tea or coffee, I'd pass this test with flying colours even if I did nothing beyond feeding myself. But when you say "I lifted a weight (of) 300 kilograms" the implication appears to be that you were lifting barbells in a gym & did it within seconds. That is what the audience makes of the claim in your example, which I guess is what you were hoping. If you say you "lifted xxx kilograms" without specifying how long it took &/or what you actually did this story might be more effective. I'm not suggesting you change the initial claim except by leaving out a few words. The audience may still jump to conclusions. If they do, it's not your fault... you can smile sweetly & add "I never said I'd lifted this weight all at once". :-Q




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
* Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)

Ardith Hinton:

A total of xxx kilograms in a year is not difficult to
achieve... for young & able-bodied folk. At 629 grams
per mug of home made tea or coffee, I'd pass this test
with flying colours even if I did nothing beyond feeding
myself.

I think Alexander's joke is not what you think it is. I
perceive it based upon the difference between the perfect
and imperfect aspects of the verb `to lift', which is more
prominent in Russian than in English. It is the same
difference as the one between walking on a road and
traveling the entire length of it, or doing something and
having done it.

629 grams of coffee? You strange Americans! 140 grams is
my daily portion. I buy freshly roasted coffee beens, grind
them myself immediately before brewing, and make my coffee
in an electronically-contolled jezwe. I had used a normal
jezve over an alcohol burner until the office technian made
my face burn with an harangue about fire-safety :-)

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* Origin: nntp://news.fidonet.fi (2:221/6.0)

Hi, Anton Shepelev!
I read your message from 19.05.2022 15:46

AS> 629 grams of coffee? You strange Americans! 140 grams is
AS> my daily portion. I buy freshly roasted coffee beens, grind
AS> ??them myself immediately before brewing, and make my coffee
AS> in an electronically-contolled jezwe. I had used a normal
AS> jezve over an alcohol burner until the office technian made

A jezve is a pot to make coffee on fire. Do you think it can be electronically-contolled? It would a coffee machine probably.

AS> my face burn with an harangue about fire-safety :-)

When I was at school me used alcohol burners(spirit lamps) on our
Chemical lessons. ;-) The firemen were less crazy. Today they paranoidly prohibit everything that with fire. Recently I read an instruction from
them how citizens should prepare shashlik using a brazier. Believe me or
not they wrote that a brazier must be make of non-inflammable material.
;-) The world became more and more mentally retarded.

Bye, Anton!
Alexander Koryagin
fido.english_tutor 2022
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Alexander Koryagin:

A jezve is a pot to make coffee on fire. Do you think it
can be electronically-contolled? It would a coffee
machine probably.

I do not believe in coffee machines. The Jezwe is the
simplest and oldest method of making coffee, and thefore the
most perfect. I use this one at the office:

https://www.timecup.ru/

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* Origin: nntp://news.fidonet.fi (2:221/6.0)

Hi, Anton! Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:

A total of xxx kilograms in a year is not difficult to
achieve... for young & able-bodied folk. At 629 grams
per mug of home made tea or coffee, I'd pass this test
with flying colours even if I did nothing beyond feeding
myself.

I think Alexander's joke is not what you think it is. I
perceive it based upon the difference between the perfect
and imperfect aspects of the verb `to lift', which is more
prominent in Russian than in English.

I suspected the use of these tenses might be different in Russian... but my understanding of Russian is very limited & he told the joke in English, where an abverb or some equivalent thereof may be used in lieu of changing the verb tense from the simple past to the past imperfect.


As a university student I often carried a heavy briecase on weekdays ... while as a waitress I was often required to carry a tray loaded with dirty dishes &/or fetch large containers from a store room on other days. This went on for some time, and I could have used the past imperfect tense. I chose not to because IMHO the adverb "often" makes the meaning clear in such cases. But Alexander's wording leaves the time frame more open to question. Because he's telling a joke, I imagine this is probably the effect he wanted.


Charles M. Schulz used a similar strategy in a 1989 PEANUTS cartoon:

Linus: I hear your grandfather has taken up golf.
Charlie: He's been playing for about a year..
Lucy: That's a long time to be out on the course..

It is the same difference as the one between walking on
a road and traveling the entire length of it, or doing
something and having done it.

As I was walking along Main Street years ago, I noticed [blah blah]. The action had not yet been completed because I was en route to the equivalent of today's dollar store... and I can assure you I've yet to traverse the whole length of Vancouver's Main Street on foot. I still walk down this street from time to time because, while I no longer live there, I know where to shop. :-)

629 grams of coffee? You strange Americans!

1) I'm Canadian, actually, but I realize that to many folks from the other side of the pond everything in the western hemisphere is "American". :-Q

2) I didn't specify the weight of the coffee. I specified "a mug of home made coffee" because I wanted you to understand that I wasn't referring to a flimsy plastic or paper cup. The example I chose weighs 370 grams when it is empty, and 629 grams when it's filled with tap water. I suppose it might weigh a bit more when filled with coffee & whatever a person might prefer to add. My point was that such items often weigh more than we consciously realize.... :-)

140 grams is my daily portion.

In wet or dry measurements? If you mean the former, that's about the same amount I usually drink in a day... but (as with my briefcase) I don't lift it & put it down just once. The preparation alone involves a bit of lifting... I take my time over anything containing alcohol or caffeine... and on occasions when I have a second cup within 24 hours I'll drink a smaller amount.

As a teacher I worked with someone from the Netherlands who obviously preferred stronger coffee. When it was her turn to make coffee, I would dilute it 50/50 with boiling water before drinking it. I've heard the same applies in other European countries but don't know what the average Russian would do. :-)

I buy freshly roasted coffee beens, grind them myself
immediately before brewing, and make my coffee in an
electronically-contolled jezwe.

My mother used a coffee percolator, which works with a campfire or an oil/wood/electric/gas stove or whatever other source of heat is available. I'm not sure what a "jezwe" is. But nowadays I generally prefer the Melitta filter system, which requires little of me except to add a cup of boiling water to the pre-ground beans & wait 60 seconds when I'm making coffee just for myself. :-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
* Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)

Hi, Ardith Hinton! -> Anton Shepelev
I read your message from 17.06.2022 01:48

Alexander's wording leaves the time frame more open to question.
Because he's telling a joke, I imagine this is probably the effect
he wanted.

Charles M. Schulz used a similar strategy in a 1989 PEANUTS
cartoon:

Linus: I hear your grandfather has taken up golf.
Charlie: He's been playing for about a year..
Lucy: That's a long time to be out on the course..

;-)

<skipped>

140 grams is my daily portion.

In wet or dry measurements? If you mean the former, that's about
the same amount I usually drink in a day... but (as with my
briefcase) I don't lift it & put it down just once. The preparation
alone involves a bit of lifting... I take my time over anything
containing alcohol or caffeine... and on occasions when I have a
second cup within 24 hours I'll drink a smaller amount.

As a teacher I worked with someone from the Netherlands who
obviously preferred stronger coffee. When it was her turn to make
coffee, I would dilute it 50/50 with boiling water before drinking
it. I've heard the same applies in other European countries but
don't know what the average Russian would do. :-)

The size of a coffee cap in Russia depends on what you are going to eat with your coffee. ;)

I buy freshly roasted coffee beens, grind them myself immediately
before brewing, and make my coffee in an electronically-contolled
jezwe.

My mother used a coffee percolator, which works with a campfire or
an oil/wood/electric/gas stove or whatever other source of heat is available. I'm not sure what a "jezwe" is. But nowadays I generally
prefer the Melitta filter system, which requires little of me
except to add a cup of boiling water to the pre-ground beans & wait
60 seconds when I'm making coffee just for myself. :-)

I tried several times to make coffee from ground roasted coffee beans, but could not make anything worth with my cezve. Have you seen a video in the Internet how to prepare a really good coffee?

Bye, Ardith!
Alexander Koryagin
english_tutor 2022

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Hello, Alexander Koryagin - Ardith Hinton.
On 21/06/2022 08:20 you wrote:

I tried several times to make coffee from ground roasted
coffee beans, but could not make anything worth with my
cezve. Have you seen a video in the Internet how to prepare
a really good coffee?

Of course. I find these quite good:

https://youtu.be/h3TzDLH7ecg
https://youtu.be/KYAMJkllAKc
https://youtu.be/HJ3s7AusE4Y

--
Still testing the Hotdoged client for Android.

---
* Origin: nntp://news.fidonet.fi (2:221/6.0)

Hello, Ardith Hinton - Anton Shepelev.
On 17/06/2022 01:48 you wrote:

629 grams of coffee? You strange Americans! 1) I'm

Canadian, actually, but I realize that to many folks from
the other side of the pond everything in the western
hemisphere is "American". :-Q

Your coffee habits sounded so American that I plum(b) forgot the
location if Wits' End (-:

2) I didn't specify the weight of the coffee. I specified
"a mug of home made coffee" because I wanted you to
understand that I wasn't referring to a flimsy plastic or
paper cup. The example I chose weighs 370 grams when it is
empty, and 629 grams when it's filled with tap water. I
suppose it might weigh a bit more when filled with coffee &
whatever a person might prefer to add. My point was that
such items often weigh more than we consciously realize....
:-)

They sure do, so your serving is just 259 grams, whereas should
expect a mug to accomodate at least 400 grams of water or 400
milliliters of empty space.

140 grams is my daily portion. In wet or dry

measurements? If you mean the former, that's about the same
amount I usually drink in a day... but (as with my
briefcase) I don't lift it & put it down just once. The
preparation alone involves a bit of lifting... I take my
time over anything containing alcohol or caffeine... and on
occasions when I have a second cup within 24 hours I'll
drink a smaller amount.

140 grams of dry coffee? No! I rather mean 140 grams of the
prepared beverage. It contains about 13 grams of coffee beans.

As a teacher I worked with someone from the Netherlands who
obviously preferred stronger coffee. When it was her turn
to make coffee, I would dilute it 50/50 with boiling water
before drinking it. I've heard the same applies in other
European countries but don't know what the average Russian
would do. :-) AS> I buy freshly roasted coffee beens,
grind them myself AS> immediately before brewing, and make
my coffee in an AS> electronically-contolled jezwe. My
mother used a coffee percolator, which works with a campfire
or an oil/wood/electric/gas stove or whatever other source
of heat is available.

As far as I understand, the percolator tends to overheat and
overextract coffee, and is therefore uncapable of brewing a
sweet cup. I have never tried one, though...

I'm not sure what a "jezwe" is

It is the traditional vessel for brewing coffee, made of a
material with high heat conductance and low heat capacity (for
finer control), slightly tapering towards a neck at the top,
which helps form a coffee "tablet"--a method of visual
temperature control.

The Jezwe is the oldest, simplest, and IMHO best method of
brewing coffee.

. But nowadays I generally prefer the Melitta filter
system, which requires little of me except to add a cup of
boiling water to the pre-ground beans & wait 60 seconds when
I'm making coffee just for myself. :-)

Sounds like the Vietnameese brewing method, whereby ground
coffee is deposited in a special vessel with a filter at bottom,
hot water is poured over the coffee, and the brew drips slowly
into the cup below.

--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+ * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver
CANADA (1:153/716)

--
Still testing the Hotdoged client for Android.

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