Bassim
VIP Member
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2008
- Member Type
- Student or Learner
- Native Language
- Bosnian
- Home Country
- Bosnia Herzegovina
- Current Location
- Sweden
Would you please correct my mistakes in this dialogue. I wrote it as an exercise, trying to sound natural.
"You’ve changed, son,” Emina said. She sat at the kitchen table watching her son eating a pie.
“Of course, I’ve changed. I’ve become older,” Adnan replied.
“It’s not your age,” she sighed. “You’ve become cold and reserved. I don’t feel any warmth from you.”
“I live in a cold country, mum. The Swedes aren’t like us. I have to behave like them. I don’t want to stick out.”
Emina nodded. “I understand. But I don’t see any sparkle in your eyes. I think you made a great mistake when you married that woman. There’s hundreds of our girls who would be happy to marry you. You could’ve rescued someone from poverty. You see how many jobless people are in our town. Any girl would be grateful to you.”
Adnan swallowed a mouthful. “I can’t import and marry a woman I don’t know. If I did, I’d feel ashamed of myself. Nothing is wrong with my Karin.”
“Can she cook?”
He shook his head. “Not so well.”
“You see. I you had married our girl she’d have cooked you whatever you wanted. Now, you have to wait eleven months to come on holiday to eat a pie. Your Karin will never bother with kneading a dough and making a pie.”
“I can buy them at Lidl, mum.”
“Of course, you can, but they aren’t home-made. A real woman enjoys making a pie to her family because she loves her husband and children. Women in the West say they don’t have time to cook because they have to work. I worked too, how come I always had time for cooking? By the way, where did you meet her? In some disco?”
“We work together in a supermarket. We’re colleagues.”
“How old is she?”
“Three years older than me.”
Emina shook her head. “I don’t know son. I’m worry you’ll face the similar fate as Faruk. After three years of marriage, his Swedish wife asked for divorce. She dumped him like a sack on the street. He has to pay child support for two children. She doesn’t want to work. And why should she when she gets everything for free. He was here last year. I went to his parents for coffee and talked to him. He sat there depressed, drinking brandy and crying like a child. He swore and cursed his ex, but it won't get him anywhere. I don’t want to see you one day crying like him, son.”
“It won’t happen, mum. Karin loves me. She’s straightforward. She always says what she thinks.”
"You never know with those women, son. For them sex is like sport. For me it was sacred. Your father was my first, and I didn’t need other men. Those women are different. They seem to be searching for something they can’t find. Therefore they divorce like mad. It’s an emptiness, son.”
“You’re right mum. Karin was one of them, but she changed to the better. She got me and will never need other man.”
“Let’s hope, son. Take more pie. I’ll make dozens of them before you go back, with cheese, mince, spinach and potatoes. You always liked one with cheese, and your father with potatoes, so I had to make two kinds. Next time you have to bring Karin with you. I’ll teach her how to make a proper pie and other dishes you like.”
"You’ve changed, son,” Emina said. She sat at the kitchen table watching her son eating a pie.
“Of course, I’ve changed. I’ve become older,” Adnan replied.
“It’s not your age,” she sighed. “You’ve become cold and reserved. I don’t feel any warmth from you.”
“I live in a cold country, mum. The Swedes aren’t like us. I have to behave like them. I don’t want to stick out.”
Emina nodded. “I understand. But I don’t see any sparkle in your eyes. I think you made a great mistake when you married that woman. There’s hundreds of our girls who would be happy to marry you. You could’ve rescued someone from poverty. You see how many jobless people are in our town. Any girl would be grateful to you.”
Adnan swallowed a mouthful. “I can’t import and marry a woman I don’t know. If I did, I’d feel ashamed of myself. Nothing is wrong with my Karin.”
“Can she cook?”
He shook his head. “Not so well.”
“You see. I you had married our girl she’d have cooked you whatever you wanted. Now, you have to wait eleven months to come on holiday to eat a pie. Your Karin will never bother with kneading a dough and making a pie.”
“I can buy them at Lidl, mum.”
“Of course, you can, but they aren’t home-made. A real woman enjoys making a pie to her family because she loves her husband and children. Women in the West say they don’t have time to cook because they have to work. I worked too, how come I always had time for cooking? By the way, where did you meet her? In some disco?”
“We work together in a supermarket. We’re colleagues.”
“How old is she?”
“Three years older than me.”
Emina shook her head. “I don’t know son. I’m worry you’ll face the similar fate as Faruk. After three years of marriage, his Swedish wife asked for divorce. She dumped him like a sack on the street. He has to pay child support for two children. She doesn’t want to work. And why should she when she gets everything for free. He was here last year. I went to his parents for coffee and talked to him. He sat there depressed, drinking brandy and crying like a child. He swore and cursed his ex, but it won't get him anywhere. I don’t want to see you one day crying like him, son.”
“It won’t happen, mum. Karin loves me. She’s straightforward. She always says what she thinks.”
"You never know with those women, son. For them sex is like sport. For me it was sacred. Your father was my first, and I didn’t need other men. Those women are different. They seem to be searching for something they can’t find. Therefore they divorce like mad. It’s an emptiness, son.”
“You’re right mum. Karin was one of them, but she changed to the better. She got me and will never need other man.”
“Let’s hope, son. Take more pie. I’ll make dozens of them before you go back, with cheese, mince, spinach and potatoes. You always liked one with cheese, and your father with potatoes, so I had to make two kinds. Next time you have to bring Karin with you. I’ll teach her how to make a proper pie and other dishes you like.”
Last edited:
