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I have been working with a poetry class and have found myself trying to figure out if the usage of "I AM" within a sentence is correct when one is denoting ones self with in a sentence. Such as, “I am trying to understand the connotations of this particular usage of the English language.”
If I were to check my computers grammar checker it says that it is wrong, yet if I speak with different people they inform me that it is correct.
So here is my question, is it a correct usage of the English language to say “I am”?
Rev. Alimae
Rev. Alimae
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Whatever might your grammar checker say it should be?
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I'm quite sure it might be. 
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Hard to say. What's the sentence? And what's the suggested correction? The verb to be has a lot of functions in English some of which are grammatical.
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I don't see what is wrong with that sentence at all Alimae. It's a shame your grammar-checker doesn't give you the reason it says it is wrong. That might enlighten us a bit.
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My grammar checker says that when using the sentence, “I am trying to understand the connotations of this particular usage of the English language.” That I should Check to see if you are missing a linking verb. (change “as you probably aware” to “as you are probably aware.”)
It says this when ever I employ the usage of “I” and “am” next to each other, no matter what the connotations of the sentence used.
Rev. Alimae
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Well, you're right, there is no help there.
I'll let our linguistic experts handle this one because I can't spot the error at all.
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I think the error lie in your tools and any reliance on them. Is it MS Word by any chance?
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I have MS Word. I plugged the sentence in and it came out fine. No grammar call-outs at all.
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As a matter of fact it is Microsoft WordPerfect 9 that I have been using.
Rev. Alimae
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Firstly, there is no such thing as Microsoft WordPerfect9. WordPerfect9 was produced by Corel Corporation. Secondly, if I paste the phrase,
“I am trying to understand the connotations of this particular usage of the English language.”, into my copy of WordPerfect, and run both the spell checker and the grammar checker, the sentence passes without a single error being flagged. Perhaps you could give the exact phrase that is being flagged by your software?
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I am positive that Microsoft doesn't sell a product called "WordPerfect".
EDIT - I am a looser... Hi, juan!
EDIT# 2 - Join the club, jheem
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It used to be sold by Corel.
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>It used to be sold by Corel.
Having in my possession WordPerfect versions 9, 10, 11, and 12, I can repeat that WordPerfect is still a product of Corel.
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Then please, by all means, go ahead and do so.
[darting down the alley-e]
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Sorry, sjmaxq, didn't mean to impune your word processor. Is WordPerfect 9 still being sold by Corel? 
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>. Is WordPerfect 9 still being sold by Corel? No. Only 11 and pre-orders for 12. The only place I know of still selling WP9 is ebay, although I would be happy to accept offers for mine. 
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I do apologize, you are correct it is Corel not Microsoft.
As for the sentence “I am trying to understand the connotations of this particular usage of the English language.” the grammar check says what I posted earlier. It also says the same thing when I use any sentence with “I am” with in it.
The sentence that spurred me into asking my question here at AWAD was, “As I stated earlier, if I am incorrect in this it is understandable for I am the student and you are the teacher.
It does not matter what the sentence is that I employ the usage of “I am” within, I am given this exact same message.
Thus I was curious as to the correct connotations surrounding the proper usage of the words and as to wether or not they should be placed next to each other or if it was a phoepah (sp?) .
Rev. Alimae
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Just remembered the correct spelling, it is Fau Paux, I do apologise for that mis-spell.
Rev. Alimae
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Just a guess, but is your WordPerfect using an English dictionary and/or grammar checker? I believe the phrase you're looking for is faux pas French for mistep (literally 'false step').
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Jheem,
Yes, that is the word I am looking for. It looks as if my memory is faulty today along with my typing. Lol, makes thing interesting to say the least.
Rev. Alimae
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As far as I know of my WordPerfect uses an English Dictionary, I am not to sure as to wether or not it uses an english grammer checker though. For all I know, it does.
Rev. Alimae
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I just tried, " As I stated earlier, if I am incorrect in this it is understandable for I am the student and you are the teacher. in WordPerfect and again received no error or warning messages from either the spell checker or the Grammatik. I think jheem's suggestion is one that bears investigating. Check the language settings for your WordPerfect, to make sure that the correct dictionaries and grammar tools are being used. I would also recommend checking in at http://www.wpuniverse.com, a help forum for users of WordPerfect, in case there is a glitch in your copy. Clearly, there is nothing wrong with the sentence as you have posted it here.
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Sjmaxq,
I sincerely appreciate your assistance in my little dilemma. I shall follow up on your suggestions in the hopes of discovering the problem with my system.
Thank you.
Rev. Alimae
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I wish to thank all of you who have assisted me in my little problem and helping me to understand that “I” and “am” can be placed next to each other without there being a grammatical error. I would also, in closing, like to say that I am honored to have so many people willing to lend a helping hand, as well as to be allowed the opportunity of being a part of such an informative online community.
Thank you,
Rev. Alimae
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>EDIT - I am a looser...
>EDIT# 2 - Join the club, jheem
yes indeed, musick; only a looser would "impune" jheem's previously unsullied reputation in advantia. what are you, some kind of clairvoyant?
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Joke's lost on me, china. Mind giving me the punch line, and I'll work backwards from there.
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tsuwm. Sorry, I don't get it. Have I done something to upset you and musick?
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jheem,
1. you didn't mean to "impune" max's word processor. impune (unpunished) was listed as "rare" by Webster in 1913. the word wanted is "impugn".
b. musick's comment about joining the club came *before this faw-paw, which was most prescient.
iii. china?!
-ron (not very) obvious
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Tsuwm and Musick,
I did not mean to start a post that was going to cause any internal problems. For this I do appologise.
Rev. Alimae
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a. Just too much Latin: nemo me impune lacessit. Sorry for the misspelling.
b. Cockney rhyming slang: china plate rhymes with mate: friend. First heard it in an Eno song.
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thanks for clearing all that up, guys. I can relax now...
formerly known as etaoin...
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Tsuwm, in another forum, an idiot sauvage of our mutual acquaintance was moved to say, "subtlety is wasted on the Web." Maybe he got that one right.
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Pooh-Bah
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You don't usually just say "china" when you mean "mate". The normal usage is "me old china", as in "Just off down the pub. Fancy a pint, me old china?"
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a post that was going to cause any internal problems.
Don't worry about it, Alimae. We have a core of fast friends who know when to poke each others mickey (not to mention taking the borax). Jheem, despite his old-handedness, is a relative newbie, but he seems to be catching on. Just don't take things too seriously and you'll fit right in.
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Thanks for the clarification, Capfka.
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tsuwm - I'll have to put a time stamps on my edits in the future... and maybe not get "called away in an emergency" (or was that an emergent sea) whilst in the middle of time traveling.
Fear not dearest AlimaeHP, Faldage has explained it clearly (ahem) as has our buddy sjmaxq: the "idiot sauvage" strikes again!
Maybe, at this juncture, someone should explain the difference between a "yart", a "mantle" and "clairvoyance". Disappearing into the future
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No problem, jheem. Like a lot of colloquialisms, there's roolz an' there's roolz. You might refer to some absent person as "me china", as in "I saw me china the other day", although these days I think that's probably taking Cockneyism to extremes. But calling someone "me old china" is still seen as "normal", although the tone of voice determines whether the addressee is really your mate or someone you're about to give a bit'uv GBH to. "Me old china" seems to have successfully made the perilous transition from being an expression of pure cockney rhyming slang to an everyday role in Estuary English. I hear it used a lot, and not necessarily by people from the London area.
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The really interesting thing about Cockney rhyming slang is that the part of the phrase (in this instance "china plate") that rhymes and could give you a clue about the meaning is left off. Ex: "old china [plate]" == mate; "potatoes [in the mould]" == cold; etc.
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Pooh-Bah
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Yup, that's the whole idea, of course. But even that's not consistent. For instance, "dog and bone" for "phone" is a pure rhyme. "Richard" for turd is not. Why isn't "dog and bone" also abbreviated to "dog"? The nature of the beast, I suppose! Anyhow, it's living and breathing. If you're interested, look at http://www.aldertons.com/english-.htm
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Yup, that's the whole idea, of course.
to elucidate a little on Pfranz's excellent summary of rhyming slang. It grew up in C19 London (although it's roots are probably at least C18, possibly earlier) after the formation of the Metropolitan Police force in 1829 (I think the date's right - I haven't checked, but I'm not more nor a coupla yrs out, at worst!)
Many of the activities of the Cockneys were outside the law and it was necessary to use a cant so that important conversations were not understood by outsiders who happened to over hear.
In this respect, it is a bit like pidgin, only in reverse - pidgin was invented so that orders could be given to servants in a language that was not sophisticated enough to enable them to understand English as spoken by the Imperial Rulers of the pink bits of the world.
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