Woeful ignorance of the grammar and
spelling of their mother tongue afflicts many of the youngsters I
teach or whose exam papers I mark. I spent some time trying to work
out what was meant by "undersheet"
which occured several times in one batch of exam scripts where the
students are allowed to use the dictionary (which is giving them rope
with which to hang themselves in my considered opinion). The subject
was "dress codes in the workplace" and the candidates wrote
things like « one is more undersheet in casual clothes".
I'll post the answer tomorrow if you haven't worked it out by
then....
An "alèze" (also spelt "alaise" or "alèse") is a protective sheet, generally placed under the sheets on which people lie to protect the mattress. It should not be confused with the adverbial expression "à l'aise" which means "at ease": workers are more at ease (comfortable) when they wear casual clothes.
RépondreSupprimerIncidentally these are also homophones with the word "allaise" which is a type of sandbank found in rivers.