Hi everybody, this is Misterduncan in England. How are you today? Are you OK? I hope so! Are you happy? I hope so! Welcome to another edition of 'Ask Misterduncan'. Once again I have a small selection of your e-mail questions to answer. Sent in to me by you! So without any further ado, let's have our first question for today.
A nice letter. I have received a nice e-mail from a viewer named Raphael Santos, who comes from Brazil, but is now working in Angola - Africa. He writes to tell me how much my video lessons have helped him. Up until 2006, he did not speak any English at all, but after using the internet and following my English videos for three years, he now has a good grasp of the language and has just won a placement on a work course, which will allow him to visit England this summer. Congratulations Raphael and thank you for all of the kind words you wrote. It just goes to show… if you really want it, you can do it.
I have just watched Lesson 55, where is lesson 56? This question comes from Valentina in Greece. Up to now, there are fifty five full lessons on my main YouTube Channel. You will also find some other short lessons and videos there too. Some have subtitles, while other do not. Right now I'm making Lesson 56 and there will be many more new lessons coming during 2010, so my advice is to keep checking back, or better still, subscribe! There will be regular updates (posted) on the channel too. Of course you also have a new episode of 'Ask Misterduncan' to watch every week too! Thank you Valentina for your question.
Which pronoun must we use, when we do not know a person's gender? This question comes from Ray in Russia. It is normally viewed as polite to address someone in the third person sense by their name or gender, but if you are unsure of either, then we normally use 'their' or 'them'. For example… 'Their letter (is) was very interesting.' 'I would like to write back to them.' We can also use the possessive 'whose'. Occasionally I find myself using this word whilst reading out a letter or (an) e-mail. Now and again I find that I'm unsure as to whether the correspondent is male or female. I hope my answer helps you Ray and thanks for asking.
How must we use the word 'upon'? This question came from Ricardo Paez, who works in Mexico as an Ophthalmologist. In other words, an eye doctor. The word 'upon' normally relates to an action, where something is placed on a surface (or flat object). The word describes the motion. 'He placed his hands upon the table.' So we not only have the action, but how the action was carried out. Its definition is described as a formal version of 'on'. You may sometimes see (read) the sentence 'Once upon a time' written at the beginning (start) of a fairy tale or fable (old story). This usually refers to the past, be it real or imagined (imaginary/fictional).
Oh look at my poor handsome face! Before I pack my bags and wonder on my merry way, I would like to send a special hello to… George, Nacho, and Ike in Caracas - Venezuela, who watch my English videos each and every Friday. A big hello to all of you. Emma in China, who is now studying English by herself and shares my own opinion about how much fun the world of English is. Hamed Panjeh in Iran, who writes to tell me how enjoyable my English video lessons are. Keep on watching Hamed, there are many more new lessons still to come. And we have one more hello… there it is. Nehaal Ubaidi in Saudi Arabia, who personally spoke to me last week on facebook and asked me to say a big hello! Hello! There it is!
That is all from me for today… Thank you for asking me, I will see you all again next week for 'Ask Misterduncan 14'. This is Misterduncan in England saying thank you for asking me all of your questions, and of course… ta-ta for now.