I did not intend to reply but figured that I'd feel equally insulted and pissed if I were you. So. Here we go. What sets English and Chinese-English apart is not grammar alone. One can easily come up with sentences that are grammartically correct but would seem awkward in the eyes of a native speaker. For English learners like us, however,these awkwardnesses often fly under our radar. In fact, I would even go so far as to say that they are, more often than not, undetectable to the untrained eyes. Yet it does not mean they do not exist when they cannot be detected. I would suggest that you erase the Chinese part, and ask anyone with a moderate proficiency in English to read the English part and see if he or she can grasp what the author was trying to convey (or better yet, translate the passage back into Chinese). I'd bet you are not convinced yet. At least I wouldn't if I were you - Anyone could come up with the aforementioned and claim that he knows better. So here is my go at your first paragraph. >>I have a girlfriend whom I have dated with for 8 years, >>and when the inevitable in life comes, she is the girl >>I am prepared to throw away my life just to ensure her >>safety. In a clich? fashion of speaking, this is how much I >>think I am in love with her. >>So, it naturally bears a dilemma to me, namely, how come, when >>approaching 30, I haven't asked her to marry me? The topic >>is so profound and serious that no matter how elusively I >>try to delay my being confronted by it like the once-in-life >>chicken pox? I simply couldn't stop it from happening. As grammartically perfect as this sentence is, it leaves the reader with ambiguity. What exactly is ' the inevitable' in life? By reading on one can assume that by 'inevitable' the author meant 'danger',and this 'danger' seems to be an inevitability IN LIFE. Some people go through life without ever being threatened by danger of any kind. While danger or unfortunate events are unpredictable, they are certainly not inevitable. I would phrase it as 'If danger ever goes her way, I would..." xxx As for the second paragraph, I prefer not to say much but to simply point out the word 'happening' does not go well with the earlier subject 'topic' (concerning marriage). >>The topic is so profound..., ...I simply couldn't stop it >>from happening. Topics don't happen. They are raised. We raise a topic. We do not let a topic happen. I could go on and on but this is how far I am willing to go at this point. I apologize if my comments have offended you. Please believe that I meant no harm. --

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