Hello! I again want to take up some English with you guys. Today’s issue is rather short due to a heavy load of my personal commitments at the moment. Today’s word “covet” is used as a verb meaning “want, wish, etc”.

For a start, however, let’s recall the material on “sheer” from the past issue. First, many thanks for your feedbacks. In particular, a huge thank-you goes to Belyakova Ekaterina. With her kind permission, I am publishing her message in full. My reply follows it immediately.

Hello Andrey. I am a subscriber to your "Advanced English" maillist. Thank you for going on with it. I'd like to say that the way you've done the last issue is the most interesting (compared to other ways where you give exercises and such). That's just my personal opinion given ad hoc, not being the purpose of my writing to you. You've asked us subscribers to consult our teachers on the possibility of using the word "sheerly". I have no teachers at hand to consult but there's a very good source of information of this kind - a Unilang community. In case you don't know about it I'd like to share the information with you. That's a virtual community of people from all over the world whose focus is studying languages. You can find it here http://home.unilang.org/main/index2.php. The most useful Unilang resource for me was (and is) the forum. In the English department, for example, you can ask about anything and get the whole range of answers - from Americans, Englishmen, Australians and just those who consider their level of English sufficient to answer. The good thing is, you almost always know which kind of English uses the person who answers your question.. Hope you'll find this information useful. Regards, Kate.

Hi Kate and thanks for your feedback. Yes, I suggested to consult your teachers on using "sheerly" but I only wanted to provide a good topic for a possible discussion. I used to argue with my teachers myself and I believe this is a very natural way to improve your level of English. The problem is that many dictionaries, Lingvo 9 included, keep themselves silent on "sheerly". Consequently, it may be wrongly concluded that there is no way to use "sheerly". I demonstrated that "sheerly" was at least usable. I think your link would be useful for many of the subscribers. Would you mind if I copy your message to me in full in the next issue? Do you want me to put your full name? In any case, thanks for your interest to our newsletter. Best wishes, Andrey.

Second, we are indebted to Rostislav Sokolov who kindly sent in his collections of usable English proverbs and words whose spelling is identical but which sound differently. This material is indeed helpful for the project and I encourage others to act similarly. In return, we will share it with others with time.

Third, Taranko Nadezhda found some examples on how “sheer” is used in poetry.

Veni Creator, by Bliss Carman (b. 1861)

Lord of the blade and leaf,
Lord of the bloom,
Sheer Overlord of grief,
Master of doom.

Here: Sheer Overlord – сущий, абсолютный владыка

A Creature Catechism, by Bliss Carman (b. 1861)

When sheering down to the Line
Come polar tides from the North,
Thy silver folk of the brine
Must glimmer and forth.

Here: sheering down – спускаясь вниз.

She also provided some extra information about the word “sheer” from “The Columbia Guide to Standard American English, 1993”, by Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). sheer (adv., adj., v., n.) The verb means “to veer or turn away”: The destroyer sheered off to the east. The adjective can mean “see-through or transparent” (She wore sheer pantyhose), “utter” or “wholly obvious, pure, clear, total, undiluted” (His idea was sheer folly), and “steep or perpendicular” (There was a sheer drop from the headland to the beach). Sheer ice is probably a relic idiom. Sheer also infrequently appears as a flat adverb: The cliff falls away sheer. As a noun, sheer means “a sharp turn” and “the curve of a ship’s hull that makes bow and stern higher than the midship portion.”


Well, this is enough to recall the past. Now, let’s move on to today’s word, namely “to covet”, and its derivations. The verb “covet” means “to desire greatly; to wish, long or crave for something”. It is mostly used when speaking about a thing belonging to another person.
Covetous (of something) is an adjective meaning “coveting or grasping; jealously eager for the possession of something (esp. the property of another person) – жадный до ч.л., алчущий ч.л.”.
Words “covetousness” and “covetously” are a noun and an adverb with similar meanings respectively. Examples of usage follow:

Ned Land looked eagerly. His eyes shone with covetousness at the sight of the animal. His hand seemed ready to harpoon it. One would have thought he was awaiting the moment to throw himself into the sea and attack it in its element. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne.

I leave anyone to imagine the covetousness of the Canadian at the sight of this savoury game, and whether he did not regret having no gun. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne.

"Nought to wager!" cried the soldier. "Why, you have that which I covet above all things. It is that big body of thine that I am after. The White Company, by Arthur Conan Doyle.

The sharp eyes in the child's head, wandering round the room, lighted on the table where the remnants of the dinner were. "Give me some of that!" he said, covetously. The Haunted Man and The Ghost's Bargain, by Charles Dickens.

"It will be enough for many to say that I had passed a night with a maniac. What other term, it will be said, could be applied to such a being? A man who reminds himself that he is married by pretending not to be married! A man who tries to covet his own goods instead of his neighbor's! On this I have but one word to say, and I feel it of my honour to say it, though no one understands. Manalive, by G. K. Chesterton.

I mentioned the place, and told him the jewels and money were buried there; but that they might easily be recovered if I myself went back for them. All this I told him, in dread lest my beauty and not his own covetousness should influence him. Don Quixote, by Miqeul de Cervantes.

I looked upon them with covetous eyes and with thoughts that any old cow-puncher may well imagine I might entertain after having hoofed it for weeks; but they were wary, scarce permitting me to approach within bow-and-arrow range, much less within roping-distance; yet I still had hopes which I never discarded. The People That Time Forgot, by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Their markings were almost identical, indicating a purity of strain that might have persisted since long ages ago. If I had coveted one of the little ponies of the Kro-lu country, imagine my state of mind when I came upon these magnificent creatures! No sooner had I espied them than I determined to possess one of them; nor did it take me long to select a beautiful young stallion--a four-year-old, I guessed him. The People That Time Forgot, by Edgar Rice Burroughs.


That brings us to the end of the issue. I would appreciate error reports that spot mistakes and inaccuracies left in this issue. Please use thankssomuch@mail15.com for this purpose.
I welcome helpful and relevant contributions to this newsletter and am looking for people who love English. Please write in English.

Regards,
Andrey Kostenko

Архив рассылки находится здесь: АРХИВ