Regarding the COVID-19 Pandemic

David, Moderator posted:

Although we may not know each other personally, we all know that there is much more to us than the English grammar issues we discuss here.

This post is devoted to the dimensions of you and your lives that I know nothing about. I celebrate all of you and wish you something far greater than improved English grammar knowledge at this time.

Your post above was really very nice, David. I think the sentences I quoted are particularly good to depict this forum: we are a community of people from all over the world that now shares, apart from our interest in English grammar, our wish to overcome this universal plight as soon as possible. For us to get to know each other better and perhaps feel a bit closer, I suggest that we add a short post to this thread saying where we are from and, perhaps, what we do and how we are currently getting on.

I am currently working for my company from my home and will be teaching through a virtual environment until we can resume our normal lessons at university. We have been in social isolation for 15 days and still have another 15 days to go. Best wishes from Argentina!

Hi, David and Gustavo,

David, you are really such a nice and thoughtful man! I do wish everybody here to stay safe and healthy. One feels really worried when one reads about the number of the daily victims of this terrible infection. In addition, COVID-19 is just a terrible name to mention. Now, all programs have just one message "Stay home. Stay safe." All gatherings are forbidden. All prayers are at home. All shops are closed from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. and they aren't allowed to open on Fridays or Saturdays. The only exceptions are pharmacies and supermarkets. There is a curfew from 7 to 7. All kinds of work are affected, but safety comes in the first place.

Now, I communicate with my students via some applications like 'What's up' and 'Telegram'. I know this isn't enough, but this is the best I can do for them right now.

A kind gesture and highly appreciated, David. 🤝

Truly, The whole world is living at an exceptional time and almost has become a closed box, however, there are some reasons for optimism; it's the first time that the whole world has cooperated to fight ONLY one foe, and all political quarrels and differences have been ceased for the sake of combating that contemporary international scourge. Hoping that the danger would fade and our cooperation endure. 

The only thing we have to do is to raise our palms and pray sincerely to our God for protection.

Presently, As Mr. Ahmed_btm mentioned, We, as well as most of the Egyptian teachers, are communicating online with our students throughout some apps.

Hope all the moderators and members good health and stay safe! from Hong Kong.

My words are crippled to express my appreciation! 
Thanks so much, David!
Wish all the members safety and prosperity!

Thank you David and thank you Gustavo,

I just saw this thread. It was very thoughtful of you to start it, David. It is always good to be reminded that one is not alone. We are all together, although some of us are living in confinement. On this forum, we all knew already that we shared an interest in English grammar. Now I think we all feel deeply how much more we share with each other and with everyone else on this planet. We share our fears and our hopes. 

Best wishes to everyone.

Navi

How’s DocV, our guest contributor? I saw his last visit here was some time in March 2020.  Hope he and his family are ok!  I remember he is from the U.S., isn’t he?

Thank you. I am from Nepal. 

@terry posted:

How’s DocV, our guest contributor? I saw his last visit here was some time in March 2020.  Hope he and his family are ok!  I remember he is from the U.S., isn’t he?

Terry,

Thank you for thinking of me in these bleak times.  I have been having to deal with some personal issues and look forward to resuming my usual presence on the forum as soon as possible.

I join you and the rest in wishing the best for all of our community and their families.

Deus uobiscum,

DocV
Santa Cruz, California, US

Thank you David for your encouraging words. 

Thank you. I am from Thailand 

Thank you for your kind words 

Thank you.

On Fri, Aug 28, 2020 at 2:36 PM The Grammar Exchange <alerts@crowdstack.com>
wrote:

Thank you for your kind words and for considering others.  The world is in a unique situation at the moment and I hope for a return to more 'normal' times as soon as possible. 

Thank you so much. I am sure brighter days will come.

Thanks a lot!

And best wishes from South Korea.

I just became a member. Thank you.

Encouraging words. Thank you.

This topic was posted on 30 March 2020.

The last year has gone by so fast!  Some of us may have lost our jobs, friends and families. Hope that all of us can continue to be brave in such a difficult situation. As a Hongkonger, I am experiencing an unpleasant change in Hong Kong, which makes life miserable for me and many other fiends in Hong Kong...

All the best!  Separately, hope that Doc-V is doing fine.

Praying for everyone’s safety.

God Bless you. 🙏🏻

Yes. It hit hard!

Hi David and Gustavo,

I am new here ...  as of minutes ago.  I discovered this website when I was searching for the correct verb to use in a sentence to be included in a cover letter for a job application.  I know this last sentence can be written much more eloquently!

Thank you for your messages and I already have a feeling this group (or users of this website) is a caring community, brought together by curiosity in grammar or the need for advice, but now we all also share experiencing the pandemic!  Thankfully everyone in my family is vaccinated and we have been healthy and safe.  I have a feeling this is not quite correct ...  before "and", the subject is "my family", singular.  However after "and", I had the subject "we" which is plural.

I am in California and between jobs at the moment.  I was a part-time administrator but had to leave that job a few months ago because the last two years of doing everything virtually have substantially worsen my carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms.  I may resort to surgery in the next few months as I have tried many other possible remedies to no avail thus far.  I have been searching for jobs whose description is not primarily computer work.

Thank you again!!!

PS .. I would also appreciate learning if the above bold words were correctly used!  English was a second language to me (many years ago) and I have always enjoyed learning more about English!

Hello, Nina WD, and welcome to the Grammar Exchange.

Thank you for your nice words. This thread was originally only intended as a message to our members in these Covid times and, while you responded to it, you asked a couple of grammar questions which are somehow connected with the topic. Although it would have been better to start a new thread, I will answer them here:

@Nina WD posted:

Thankfully everyone in my family is vaccinated and we have been healthy and safe.  I have a feeling this is not quite correct ...  before "and", the subject is "my family", singular.  However after "and", I had the subject "we" which is plural.

The head of the noun phrase "everyone in my family" is "everyone," which is singular. Your sentence above is understandable but could be improved to:

- Thankfully, everyone in my family is vaccinated and has been healthy and safe.

@Nina WD posted:

I was a part-time administrator but had to leave that job a few months ago because the last two years of doing everything virtually have substantially worsened my carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms.  I may resort to surgery in the next few months as I have tried many other possible remedies to no avail thus far.  I have been searching for jobs whose description is not primarily computer work.

The words in bold were correctly used. Some might argue that "whose" does not apply to things, in which case you should say:

- I have been searching for jobs which do not primarily consist of/involve computer work.

Stay safe and healthy!

Hi Gustavo,

Thank you very much for your advise and guidance!!!!  I sincerely appreciate it!

~Nina~

The abundance of interesting articles on your site amazes me! Good luck to the author and new interesting posts! Thank you David!