@ Robert
“but I’d like to emphasize that despite the fact that I’ve been working as a simultaneous interpreter for many years, I still make mistakes in all my working languages. I’m very much mortal and certainly far from being perfect”
You’re not trying to untie any bears over there are you?
ad Colin: (…) You’re not trying to untie any bears over there are you? (…)
100 Punkte und ein Gummipferd für den, der verstanden hat, was du meinst ;-). Ich darf natürlich nicht mitraten, weil ich quasi einen Heimvorteil habe, nachdem wir schon einmal darüber gesprochen haben.
Ich hab’s mit Bären nicht so, außer, sie sind aus Gummi und lösen sich auf “geschmackvolle Weise” im Mund auf.
As for the mortal thing, well, I guess in case I should turn out to be immortal after all, I need to have a serious talk with the guys who make me pay the premiums for my life insurance. On second thought, I could just come back and haunt them 
“You’re not trying to untie any bears over there are you?”
The way you´re using German idioms, while writing in English, as a native speaker messes with my brain, Colin. I can´t even explain it…it just feels weird…as if my brain doesn´t know which language to think in all of sudden.
Die hundred Punkte take ich gerne on, bei the Weg!
‘bei the Weg’
I have wet dreams of German being spoken in this way. After learning German, I now realise that ‘the’ is by far the most beautiful word in the English language.
ad Paul: (…) …Die hundred Punkte take ich gerne on, bei the Weg! (…)
Na servus, du bist jo no ärga ois da Colin 
The 100 points are all yours, but I’m afraid I have run out of “rubber horses”
Verwendet ihr diesen Spruch übrigens auch in Deutschland? Ich meine den Spruch: “100 Punkte und ein Gummipferd für den Sieger”. It is just a fun way of saying that you have no reward to offer to someone who’s going to answer your question or to the winner in a game.
ad Colin: (…) …I have wet dreams (…)
When I went to school, they called that “pollution”;-). In German one of the official scientific terms is “Pollution”.
Zuerst dachten wir, es ginge um “Pollen”, dann um Umweltverschmutzung…and then we …well, I’ll leave that up to your imagination
@Colin
Indeed. “The” is a beautiful word. Learning it´s pronounciation took me about a decade, but it´s still a good word.^^
English used to have genders though, amirite? How did they disappear?
@Robert
Nein, aber ich finde den Spruch ziemlich selbsterklärend.^^
They didn’t disappear.
"I have wet dreams (…)
When I went to school, they called that “pollution”
I used to think that “feuchter Traum” is another word for bed-wetting…
“They didn´t disappear”
r u sure m8?
@Colin
I think that Benny bears to his onhangers the whole time ties. Moreover think I that he them indeed better untie should…
(Just think: if those pesky Normans 1066 not in-marched were, wouldst thou on this wise always speak must!)
ad Jay: (…)…Moreover think I that he them indeed better untie should… (…)
Now, that is not only hilarious but also witty
Sometimes speaks my friend with me so shortly before a conference (when he me plant wants). Then scold I with him, because me this way to speak totally confuses. But what shall it, so is the life (and him makes it naturally hellish fun me sometimes on this way on the palm tree to bring).
Ich höre jetzt lieber auf, sonst fang ich wirklich noch an, so im Englischen zu sprechen. I’ll stop butchering the English language now or I’ll end up talking like this for real
You should try speaking like that sometime - if nothing else it’d wake up those folks half-asleep in the back row!
(Also when it you the job true-shiningly cost would…)
@ Paule
“r u sure m8?”
I guess it depends a bit on definition and we shouldn’t argue semantics. English still has noun genders, but the system is completely different. So I guess the noun genders didn’t disappear, but the old system did.
@Paule
Deed-sakely have we gender in English - none would to byplay a ship “he” call…
(Hmm…I guess this word order joke is wearing a little thin!? :-0)
ad Jay:
“he” is not an article but a personal pronoun. OK, I’m being a smart a.se now
MY MISTAKE, you were talking about genders and not articles.
I can’t delete that stupid post…shame on me
Why can’t I delete that post? I keep getting an “internal error” message. But the system lets me add sentences…I guess Jay did that to punish me for my cheekiness…
In any case, “ship” is probably a rather odd example. In most cases it is only male or female persons or animals that would be thought of as having a gender in modern English, I think.
(I just wish we still spoke the modern descendent of Anglo-Saxon in these Islands - I really do.)
“In most cases it is only male or female persons or animals that would be thought of as having a gender in modern English, I think.”
Is neuter not a gender? There are some clubs in Vienna where you can find a lot of people who would not take kindly to this suggestion.
That’s a very good question. If you take something like Afrikaans (where the Dutch “de” and “het” have been universally replaced with “die”) it is an open question whether gender is still an issue? In a way, you could say everything has become neuter, but arguably the concept of gender just doesn’t apply to the language any more…
In German we talk about three genders: männlich, weiblich and sächlich, so we definitely consider “neuter” a gender too.
(…) …There are some clubs in Vienna where you can find a lot of people who would not take kindly to this suggestion.(…)
I’m curious to know what kind of club that would be. If you are referring to what I think you are, I don’t think they would consider themselves to be “neuter”, but I might be wrong (at least not in the way we think of it in German, like “sächlich”).
Why not consider neuter as a gender? It affects our use of the third person singular pronouns.
Anyway, this will answer all our questions about grammar.