нужен редакторский совет

[Монги]

"Personal communication facilitates solution of many burning issues of the day and helps to understand each other better"

Что не так в этой фразе? Я не совсем понимаю:(

[gogolesque]

Personal communication facilitates solutions to/for many of today's burning and, help for the better understanding of each other

this seems better, but do you have the original?

[Arwen]

A перед "and" где глагол? Или после "and" его уберите.

[суслик]

helps understand - sounds better

personal - change for interpersonal

[Монги]

No original - sorry.

This phrase was returned to me as "completely erroneous in terms of grammar and style". I'm positive there could be stylistically better variants but "completely erroneous"??? And I don't see a single grammar mistake!

[суслик]

and what is meant by "burning issues"???

[Монги]

burning issues of the day - насущные проблемы, no?

[суслик]

no grammar, still vey few stylistic mistakes - they just haven't read it properly.

[суслик]

i don't think so - probably vital problems/ probs. of vital importance???

[Little Mo]

Монги, completely erroneous я бы ни в жисть не обозвала, но первое, что бросилось в глаза - это отсутствие the перед solution, которое я бы в любом случае заменила на resolution

Щас - отбегу на планёрку, через неск. мин. допишу

[Монги]

Well, it seems Kazakhstan editors are the most strict ones CIS-wide:)

[Miff]

consider, может это им больше понравится (естественно, по контексту поправьте, может от вас хотели больше конкретики):

Personal communication is a key to solving a great majority of current burning issues, as well as a way towards more cooperative understanding.

Разумеется напридумывал, так что надеюсь что-то из этой кучи может пригодиться.

[gogolesque]

суслик:
in English "helps understand" does not exist in this sense. help cannot be plural.
you can only use it in the sense of a verb - something helps one to understand something.
but here i think they want the noun.... but again, i think the original is needed if there is one.

as for burning issues - it is the same as hot issues/topics or most important and relevant issues

[Монги]

Had to give the original back:( Security rules and such...

[gogolesque]

Then I would say:
Personal communication is the key to solving many of today's burning issues and helps us to better understand one another.

(a little inspiration from Miff and
Суслик: looks like they wanted the verb afterall :))

[SergC]

I've never heard of "burning issues" either.
Apple-solutely!!
Better use Hot Issues

[суслик]

Gogolesque - i searched google for "helps understand" matches. it is ok there. http://www.google.ru/search?hl=ru&q=helps+understand&lr=

Some examples: Computer simulation helps understand DNA transcription process, Research helps understand how the malaria parasite disguises ... /sorry for pessimistic approach/

Is it plural here????

I may be mistaken though.

[суслик]

Gogolesque - u r our inspirer)))))

[INkJet]

Personal communication solves a lot of outstanding problems and facilitates cooperation

может пригод-ся

[gogolesque]

суслик:
it is a verb in the examples you gave and is when i admitted previously you can use it.

read my last post... you get points! :)
(and i am no one's inspirer - that is too much responsibility for me :))

[суслик]

Gogolesque, sorry, i don't get it. Isn't it a verb in the Mongi's sentence?

As for being the inspirer, it would be pleasure for us, definitely:)))

[gogolesque]

суслик

in his sentence it is a verb. the first time i looked at it, i thought the noun was needed, but i was mistaken.

[суслик]

ok, sorry.

[суслик]

By the way, is it correct to say:

Well, it seems Kazakhstan editors are the most strict ones CIS-wide?

Isn't it better to use

either K. editors seem to be

or it seems THAT Kazakhstan editors are the most strict ones CIS-wide?

[gogolesque]

суслик
dont be sorry, i am always happy to explain what i am babbling about when people do not understand :)

and you can say:
it appears that K. editors are the strictest CIS-wide (most srict does not exist)OR
K. editors seem to be the strictest CIS-wide

[суслик]

tnx

[Монги]

OMG, I've mistakes in everything I say and write! I'm hopeless...

thnx guys

[gogolesque]

MONGI:
if you are hopeless with English - I am BEYOND hopeless when writing in Russian! :)
(you will be fine!!!)

[d.]

hey guys, i think it's quite clear with "help" - "to" can be omitted before the verb in "help+verb" phrases in less formal writing; however, it should better be kept if the register is rather formal

[Анатолий Д]

to gogolesque
strictest vs. most strict - note taken.

what about
fairer vs. more/most fair ?
evener vs. more/most even ?

any comments on this issue?
US/UK?

[SergC]

I ain't gogolesque but I'll try to answer

fair, fairer, fairest
even, evener, evenest
http://www.wordwebonline.com/en/EVEN

what's the problem? or where's the catch? or you're just kidding Анатолий?

[Анатолий Д]

It's not a big problem, just curiosity. But no kidding.
When I saw her comment that 'strictest' was correct and 'most strict' was not, I knew that that was consistent with what school grammar prescribes. However, I recalled that a well-educated U.S. native speaker advised me to avoid 'evener' and 'fairer' though they exist in dictionaries. Accoring to him, the U.S. usage would stick to 'more' and 'most' for these two. I never met such a recommendation in textbooks, and 'fair' is actually a one-syllable adjective, i.e. nothing can be more fair than 'fairer' in school grammar. I want to know gogolesque's opinion as to what the real usage is.

[SergC]

Анатолий Д

Ah, got it. Sorry for being suspecious:-) Don't know why, but I had a hunch that there were the catch.

[gogolesque]

Анатолий Д:

fair, fairer, fairest
even, more even, most even

This is very even, but..
This is more even that before, but...
This is the most even I have ever seen this! Good work!

These lines are even, but these are more even and these are the most even. (Even is one of the acceptions to the rules as I understand)

help?

[gogolesque]

ack! correction to last post:
this is more even THAN before, but....

[Анатолий Д]

Yea, even is surely an exception. 'Evener' sounds unusual for me as well.
Thank you

[gogolesque]

Анатолий Д

if you want, send me an EMAIL to remind me to find my table with the rules for adjectives, comparatives and superlatives from when i was a teacher, and i will somehow scan it and send it to you.
if you think this would be of use to you, just let me know! [e-mail]