THIS is a comment on a blog. What does the phrase in bold mean?

I’ve also seen specific examples where they’ve done cheap knockoffs of artists’ handiwork without attribution or compensation. Or apologies, when they’re called on it. (Non-apology apologies, i.e. “I’m sorry you feel that way”, don’t count.) So not only are they culturally insensitive, they’re thieves. Lovely bunch of jerks. – sm

It looks like what the commentor means by “non-apology apologies” are apologies which do not express true contrition and are not accompanied by compensatory action. They therefore sound false.

In the example given of people producing cheap imitations (=“knockoffs”) “of artists’ handiwork without attribution or compensation”, I agree with the commentor that saying “I’m sorry you feel that way.” is not a true apology. First of all, the apology is made only when it is asked for. Also, it seems to me to shift the blame from the cheap imitator onto the artist, for reacting as he does.

And of course, the apology is not accompanied by an offer to withdraw the imitation products from the market and/or pay compensation to the original artist.

Past or present tense?

In this sentence, “I want to know whether she loves me now.” can I say “I would ask her whether she loved me now” or “I would ... loves ...”?

In this sentence, “I want to know whether she loved me last year.” what tense should I use for this case? It should be the past tense, shouldn’t it?

I use past tense “would” to talk about the result of an event that I imagine and to show I’m not likely to ask her. – Ahmad

What you want to do is NOT talk about the result of an imaginary or unlikely event, but talk about your desire to do something which you are unlikely to do, i.e. your wanting to ask her whether she loves you now and whether she loved you last year.

I suggest you use the following sentences:

“I wish I could ask her whether she loves me now.” and

“I wish I could ask her whether she loved me last year.”

You can then express both your desire to know her feelings, as well as your realisation that you are unlikely to ask her about them. The meaning of “wish” here is “to want something to happen ... even though it is unlikely ...” (Online Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary)

The verb in the clause after “I wish” in each case is in the past tense (“could ask”) because the wish is unlikely to be fulfilled. But the verb in the last clause is in the present tense when it refers to the present (i.e. “loves”) and in the past tense when it refers to the past (i.e. “loved”).

Help with sentences

These sentences appeared in a the “Views” section of The Star (Dec 14) with the heading, “Pick the best to teach English”.

1. The responsibility of an English teacher in this country is heavy, especially in the modern world. If we take a tour into the scenario 30 years back, we find people then spoke better English than we do now.

Why are present verb forms used in both the if-clause and the main clause?

2. And the sad part is, when they are already a teacher, and if they had chosen the profession for all the wrong reasons, they won’t care about their students. 

a. In terms of sentence structure, is “When they are already a teacher” correct?

b. Is it correct to use the past perfect in the if-conditional clause and present tense in the main clause? – sunbm

1. I assume the sentence you are referring to is: “If we take a tour into the scenario 30 years back, we find people then spoke better English than we do now.”

The present tense verbs “take” and “find” should not be used in the sentence, Since it is unlikely that anyone can go back to the past, the simple past tense should be used in the if-clause, and the verb “would find” used in the main clause. This type of conditional sentence is often referred to as a second conditional sentence.

The if-clause should also be rephrased, since the word “scenario” is wrongly used there. “Scenario” means “a description of how things might happen in the future”, not a real situation in the past (online Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary).

I suggest that the sentence be changed to the following:

“If we went back to the Malaysia of 30 years ago, we would find that people then spoke better English than we do now.”

However the sentence could be more concisely phrased without an if-clause, to read:

“Thirty years ago, Malaysians spoke better English than we do now.”

2. a. Without looking at the earlier paragraphs in the letter, it is difficult to decide who the pronoun “they” refers to. Let me write the two short paragraphs before the sentence you quote, as well as that sentence:

Sometimes, even a person who can’t speak a proper sentence is chosen to become an English teacher.

If so, is choosing an English teacher simply about filling up the quota for the course in the specific varsity?

And the sad part is, when they are already a teacher, and if they had chosen the profession for all the wrong reasons, they won’t care about their students. 

The nearest person/people that “they” can refer to is “a person who can’t speak a proper sentence who is chosen to become an English teacher.” In current usage, “they” can refer not only to more than one person, but also to “a person whose sex is not mentioned or not known” (online OALD, second definition of “they”). In other words, “they” can be a singular pronoun as well, and used instead of “he or she”. So, it is all right to say “when they are already a teacher”. Let me give you some examples of similar usage from the Internet:

“Thus, for example, the typical student in such a class may have difficulty associating course content with what they might actually be doing sometime in the future when they become a teacher.” (from a University of Oregon web page)

“As a parent you’re bound to have lots of questions about the Air Cadet Organisation and what your child will be doing when they become a member.

b. No, it is not correct. The two clauses referred to in the sentence are:

“... if they had chosen the profession for all the wrong reasons, they won’t care about their students.”

where the if-clause uses the past perfect tense, and the main clause uses not the present tense, but a negative verb with “will” (“won’t care”=“will not care”). What should be used in the if-clause is a present perfect tense verb, so that the two clauses will read:

“... if they have chosen the profession for all the wrong reasons, they won’t care about their students.”

which is still a first conditional structure describing a possible situation.

In or on the street

Which is correct?

a. I met Jack in/on the street.

b. You have to be over/above 18 to see this film.

c. Talia, Amy and Tony know each other/one another from work.

(Can “each other” be used for more than two persons?) – Yu Siong

a. British English usually uses “in the street” while US English usually uses “on the street”.

b. “Over” is more often used than “above” immediately before a number denoting age. So a sentence like “You have to be over 18 to see this film.” is more commonly heard/seen than one using “above”. When we use “above” with age, we usually say “above the age of 18” for instance, or “18 years of age or above”.

c. You can use either expression. “Each other” has the same meaning as “one another”. The online Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines “one another” as “each other”, and defines “each other” as “used to show that each person in a group of two or more people does something to the others”. So, “each other” can be used for more than two people.

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