YOYO-ISG 100808 The Speech, "I have a dream."

[Michael-liu]

Finally, King brought up his dream that people from difference ( a typo) races could be treated equally, and would live together in peace, harmony and brotherhood. Such a faith would sustain him and his followers. King believed that someday freedom would ring everywhere over the land of America and they would all be free from injustice and tribulations.[/quote]

Hi, Sherry

I learn a usage from your composition. Your writing is really excellent

Sustain

give strength : formal to make someone feel strong and hopeful:

The thought of seeing her again was all that sustained me.

Michael

[Kooper]

In stark contrast to their prosperous white counterparts, a vast majority of black Americans wound up in slums or ghettoes and lived straitened circumstances.

I think it's "...lived in straitened circumstances". Right?

Yes you're right. Thanks for correcting it.

By the end of the speech, King outlined his vision for future, where the brotherhood between white and black Americans was there to stay.

I guess it should be "... his vision of the future".

"Vision" could be followed by either "of" or "for.

[Kooper]

Black citizens, in Martin Luther King’s words, hadn’t been genuinely freed from their ancestors’ slavish states. .

Kooper, I think past perfect tense should go along with a past tense.
I think I understand the whole context is paste tense.
So I will put it like, "Black citizens, in Martin Luther King’s words, hadn’t been genuinely freed from their ancestors’ slavish state before the whole world was aware the issue of racism including the civil rights movement in South Africa. “
What do you think?

The suggested sentence sounds a bit redundant to me. It's also a bit confusing, since the speech didn't mention any events in South Africa.

Correct me if I am wrong... I don't think it's a must that a past perfect tense always be accompanied by a past tense in a sentence. If the context is past tense, I think it's OK to put a sentence with the past perfect tense only.

especially when the whole article is about the year of 1963 (It should be evident I think, but did I really make it clear? Maybe not... ), a specific point in the past.

[Michael-liu]

Dear All

以前我的托福文法老師說過"過去完成式是一種高級寫作, 通常只用在小說當中"

So, when we read newspapers or magazines, we hardly see past perfect tense. As far as I know, past perfect tense seems to always go along with past tense.

I am not sure la.....We can discuss more and find more examples

Michael

[Kooper]

Martin Luther King delivered a speech to the public in a demonstration for freedom. In the speech he indicated that, about one hundred years ago, the Emancipation Proclamation issued in the United States declared the freedom of slaves; however, after a century the black people were still not free. They were still prosecuted by racial segregation and discrimination, and were economically and socially disadvantaged.

King further showed his empathy to those who had suffered from persecution and brutality due to the pursuit of justice and freedom. He inspired them to soldier on and gave them the hope that they would finally meet with success.

Here are two expressions that particularly impressed me.