hi, i want to improve my english, please help me

[questionmaster]

Hi, I left school at 16 with no qualifications

im not stupid, just lack english skills

i want to learn, so i can help me lovely dd when shes older

if i can improve my spellings and grammar
i can then improve my overall education

i hate not being able to spell, dont want dd to feel this way when shes older

im 30 so i have 35 years left to work!

my 1st question is whats a colon ?and a semi colon

: is a colon
; is a semi colon

This looks a good page - answers your first question perfectly!

the semi colon is used for sentences that need a longer pause or break than a comma but not as long as a full stop.
I only use a colon for making faces

A colon is used when the second clause explains the first, or before a list, eg

He had 4 wives: Flopsy, Mopsy, Connie and Bonnie.

This is what I want to do on holiday: get brown.

For spelling, go to www.realspelling.com where you will find my former tutor. He believes, and I agree, that spelling is linked to the meaning of a word, more than the sound of it. And also use a dictionary when you're not sure of a spelling.

thankyou very much. I do not even own a dictionary.
I will look for one on ebay now!

thanks for the link hh ill take a good look at that tomorrow

my second question is what is a noun?
also is thankyou one word?
and is thanks thanks
ok thats my 3rd and 4th question

thankyou jura,that was a very clear and easy to understand explaination.

if any one else is about.

my 5th question
is a proper noun a pronoun?

No.

A proper noun is the name of something and has a capital letter, for example Susan and London in jura's post above.

A pronoun is a word which stands for a noun. It takes the place of, or stands in for, a noun. There are several types.
Examples are;

1. I, you, he, she, it we, they
2. myself, yourself, himself, theirselves
3. my, mine, her, hers
4. each other, one another
5. who, whom, whose, which, what
6. everybody, something
7. all of, none, few, neither of

I'd suggest buying or borrowing a simple grammar book, but do look through a few before you choose. Some of them are way too complicated and plunge into confusing detail.

Um, THEMselves, surely! No such words as theirselves.

My, your, his etc are adjectives.

Whose is a relative adjective.

You see, pedants can disagree with each other.

My, his, yours etc are possessive adjectives, actually

Elasticwoman - yep, sorry, it was very early and I meant themselves, themselves, themselves obviously.

And to both of you, my grammar book has my, your and his as possessive pronouns and whose as a relative pronoun.

Over to you, because I'm clearly not up to this task.

Poor questionamster.....

Aaargh. I meant questionmaster....

Corners, they are also known as possessive pronouns

Don't worry, we are all just trying to out-pedant one another.

I am obv. the winner, however, as pedantry is how I earn my living

bbc skillwise google that have a go.

questionmaster - well done you - your attitude alone will serve your dd well . there is a brilliant ladybird grammar book here which explains all the basics. I really recommend it. and if you're really keen why not look into doing a GCSE at night school?

Sheik - is there money in pedantry? How does that work?

questionmaster - that must have felt like walking into the lions' cage! Although your OP is clearer than most of mine
Have you looked into LearnDirect (or similar) courses?

link

Questionmaster - there is a big drive at the moment to offer adults help with literacy. Have you thought about trying to find some local courses?

LearnDirect offer lots of courses, and you could ask at your local higher education college and library if they know what's on offer. Many are free at basic levels and you can do more courses as you get more confident, working up to GCSEs!

Have fun, learning can be so enjoyable

It might be worth getting hold of a copy of Eats, Shoots and Leaves, which is very readable and covers all of the basics of punctuation.

We've just given Eats Shoots and Leaves to all of our staff at work some of whom left school at 16, others of whom went to Oxbridge. They could all do with a little help so you are definitely not alone.

Even if not all of the book is helpful, it will make you notice some things in English that you might not have noticed before and starting to be aware is the first step.

Also agree that a course would really help to build your confidence and knowledge.

No, no money in pedantry, I'm afraid.

I'm a proof-reader, btw

E,S&L is very good for helping with a basic grasp of the rules of the English language (which, quite frankly, perplex everybody at some point)

It's accessible too - not all text-booky.

You'll be a fully fledged member of the Pedants' Corner in no time, QM