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Monday 30 June 2008

Conditional Clauses

0. Talking about general truth:
if clause = present
main clause = present

Example :
If you break the law you are an offender.
There is not really a condition linked to this statement. It is true for everyone.

If they lose weight during the medical therapy, they regain it afterwards.

General statement based on experience.

1. Expressing possibility:
if clause = present
main clause = will future

Example :
If the weather is as sunny tomorrow as it was today, we will go surfing.
Talking about things which may possibly happen in the future.

I will call you if I need any help.
Referring to a possible future event.


2. Expressing unlikability:
if clause = past
main clause = conditional I

Example :
If I had any money I would lend it to you.
Talking about things that are unlikely to happen.

They wouldn't believe me if I told them the truth.
Expressing personal doubts.

If I were you I wouldn't do this.
Mind : "were" is often used instead of "was" esp. after "I".

3. Expressing impossibility:
if clause = past perfect
main clause = conditional II

Example :

If I had seen the car earlier, I wouldn't have stepped onto the road.
Talking about things in the past that could have happened, but that didn't actually happen.

If I had seen the car earlier, I wouldn't have stepped onto the road.
Talking about things in the past that could have happened, but that didn't actually happen.

I would have called him if I had known he was so depressed.
Impossible to change because over.





Source : Grammar Tutorial



Comparatives

Comparing people, things....

1. For the following groups of words the comparative and superlative are formed by adding an -er or -est

a. monosyllabic words - words consisting of one syllable - short words:

e.g.: short - shorter - shortest

cheap - cheaper - cheapest

....mind the spelling!


fat - fatter - fattest

slim - slimmer - slimmest

late - later – latest (if the words ends in vowel and consonant -> consonant is doubled)

large - larger – largest (if an adjective ends in e ->the e gets lost


b. adjectives ending in -y:

e.g.: happy - happier - happiest

easy - easier - easiest

bei quiet, simple, narrow, shallow, clever ... both are possible


2. All other adjectives form their comparatives using more and most:

e.g.: interesting - more interesting - most interesting

beautiful - more beautiful - most beautiful


3. Irregular forms:

good - better - best

bad - worse - worst

many – more – most

much – more - most


4. How to make comparisons:

if they are of the same size, quality,...we use: ...as...as...

Johnny is as tall as Greg.

I'm as old as Rick.

if there is a difference between two: not as......as, (=not so.....as), than.

Greg is not as old as Mary.

My sister is older than I am.


5. The superlative:

He's the tallest.

This is the fastest car we have




Source : Grammar Tutorial


Saturday 28 June 2008

Negation

1. Forms of "to be":

- I am tired.
==> I am not tired. (I'm not)
- You are happy. ==> You are not going to be late. (aren"t)

- We were happy. ==> We were not happy. (weren't)
- Tom was waiting. ==> Tom was not waiting. (wasn't)


2. Modals/conditionals:

- They will come. ==> They will not come. (won't come)
- Bob can read. ==> Bob cannot read. (can't read)
- We could help. ==> We could not help. (couldn't help)
- You may go now. ==> You may not go now.


3. Present simple:

- I love reading.==> I do not love reading. (don't)
- Sue drives a Mini. ==> Sue does not drive a Mini. (doesn't)
- He reads a lot. ==> He does not read a lot. (doesn't)
- They do their work. ==> They do not do their work. (don't)


4. Past simple:

- He lived on an island. ==>He did not live on an island. (didn't)
- I knew the answer. ==> I did not know the answer. (didn't)
- She did the washing-up. ==> She did not do the washing-up. (didn't)
- We had pasta for lunch. ==> We did not have pasta for lunch. (didn't)


5. Present perfect:

- He has finished eating. ==> He has not finished eating. (hasn't)
- They have called. ==> They have not called. (haven't)
- I have been waiting long. ==> I have not been waiting long. (haven't)
- They have received it. ==> They have not received it. (haven't)


6. Past perfect:

- They had closed. ==> They had not closed. (hadn't)
- It had begun. ==> It had not begun. (hadn't)
- He had been studying. ==> He had not been studying. (hadn't)
- We had worked. ==> We had not worked. (hadn't)


NOTE: have vs. have got:

I have a red car. ==> I don't have a red car.
I have got a red car. ==> I haven't got a red car.

He has a sister. ==> He doesn't have a sister.

He has got a sister. ==> He hasn't got a sister.




Source : Grammar Tutorial




Thursday 26 June 2008

The Plural

1. add an "s" to the noun:

apple apples
book books
chair chairs

2. after –s, -sh, -ch, -x, -z: add "es":

bus buses
bush bushes
watch watches
box boxes

3. if a "y" is preceded by a consonant: change "y" to "ie" + s:

baby babies
city cities
lady ladies

4. if a "y" is preceded by a vowel: just add an "s":

boy boys
day days

5. change "f" to "v":

wife wives
knife knives
shelf shelves
wolf wolves
life lives
calf calves
loaf loaves
leaf leaves
thief thieves

exceptions:
roof roofs
chief chiefs
cliff cliffs

6. irregular forms:

man men
woman women
child children
mouse mice
foot feet
tooth teeth
goose geese
louse lice
ox oxen

7. note:

tomato tomatoes
potato potatoes

but:
piano pianos
photo photos
Eskimo Eskimos

8. these words only take the plural form:

trousers
jeans
pants
tights
scissors
glasses (optical glasses; sunglasses)

9. these words only take the singular form:

fish
sheep
deer





Source : Grammar Tutorial Practice makes perfect



6 Tips How to Learn Writing and Spelling

1. Keep a diary/journal
Don't always pay attention to grammar. Free-writing can be very useful. It can show you that writing is fun. Have fun with the language.

2. Write emails in English
Stay in contact with teachers or other students.

3. Rewrite your local news in English
This is another exercise that can be done on a daily basis. Remember that regular activities are the best ones.

4. Learn important spelling rules
Remember, you won't always have a dictionary or a spell-checker handy, especially when you are writing a test. Even native English speakers need to review the spelling rules from time to time.

5. Learn commonly misspelled words

6. Learn common English errors





Source : englishclub




Tuesday 24 June 2008

10 Tips How to Learn Speaking and Pronunciation

1. Talk to yourself
Talk about anything and everything. Do it in the privacy of your own home. If you can't do this at first, try reading out loud until you feel comfortable hearing your own voice in English.

2. Record your own voice
This might feel very uncomfortable, but it will help you find your weak pronunciation points. Listen to yourself a few days later. Which sounds do you have difficulty hearing?

3. Use the telephone

4. Participate in class


5. Learn common idioms

6. Understand the sounds that your language doesn't have
For example, many languages don't have the "r" sound. These sounds require extra practice.

7. Recognize that teachers are trained to understand you
When you get out into the real world, average people will have a more difficult time understanding you unless you practise speaking slowly and with proper pronunciation.

8. Practise minimal pairs

9. Study word and sentence stress

10. Practice tongue twisters





Source : englishclub




Saturday 21 June 2008

4 Important Interview Strategies

Everyone is nervous in interviews. If you simply allow yourself to feel nervous, you'll do much better. Remember also that it's difficult for the interviewer as well. There are 4 important interview strategies to solve this problem.

1. Think before you answer. A pause to collect your thoughts is a hallmark of a thoughtful person.

2. Practice being more optimistic. For example, as an exercise in your daily life, try putting a positive spin on events and situations you would normally regard as negative. This is not meant to turn you into a Pollyanna, but to sharpen your selling skills. The best salespeople, as well as the best-liked interview candidates, come off as being naturally optimistic, “can do" people. You will dramatically raise your level of attractiveness by daily practicing to be more optimistic.

3. be honest, never lie.

4. Keep an interview diary. Right after each interview, note what you did right, what could have gone a little better, and what steps you should take next with this contact. Then take those steps. Don't be like the 95% of humanity who say they will follow up on something but never do.





Source : Phoenix Executive Group





7 Tips (Top Secret) for Learning English

1. Learn about word Stress

Word Stress is golden key number one for speaking and understanding English. Word Stress is *very important*.
You can try to learn about Word Stress. This is one of the *best* ways for you to understand spoken English - especially English spoken fast.

What is Word Stress?

Take 3 words: photograph, photographer and photographic, for example. Do they sound the same when spoken? No!
They sound different, because *one* syllable in each word is "stressed" (stronger than the others).

PHOtograph

phoTOgrapher

photoGRAPHic

This happens in ALL words with 2 or more syllables:
TEACHer, JaPAN, CHINa, aBOVE, converSAtion, INteresting, imPORtant, deMAND, etCETera, etCETera, etCETera

The syllables that are not stressed are 'weak' or 'small' or 'quiet'. Native speakers of English listen for the stressed syllables, not the weak syllables. If you use Word Stress in your speech, you will instantly and automatically improve your pronunciation and your comprehension.

If you have an English teacher, ask her to help you understand Word Stress. Try to hear the stress in words each time you listen to English - on the radio, or in films for example. Your first step is to *hear* and recognize it. After that, you can *use* it!


2. Sentence Stress

Sentence Stress is golden key number two for speaking and understanding English. With Sentence Stress, some
*words* in a sentence are "stressed" (loud) and other words are weak (quiet). Look at the following sentence:

We want to go.

Do we say every word with the same stress or force? No!
We make the important words *big* and the unimportant words small. What are the important words in this sentence? Yes, you're right: WANT and GO.

We WANT to GO.

We WANT to GO to WORK.

We DON'T WANT to GO to WORK.

We DON'T WANT to GO to WORK at NIGHT.

It's impossible to explain everything about Sentence Stress in this email. The important thing for you is that you know it exists and try to learn about it.
Sentence Stress is *very important*!


3. Listen! Listen! Listen!

Students sometimes say: 'I don't listen to the BBC news on the radio because it's too fast for me and I can't understand it.' That's a pity! When it's too fast for you, when you can't understand it, that is exactly when you NEED to listen to it!!!

How can you improve if you don't listen and practice?

When you were a baby, did you understand your own language? When you were 3 weeks old, or 2 months, or 1 year, did you understand everything? Of course not! But you *learned* to understand by *listening*. Think about it. You learned to understand your own language by listening, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. After that, you learned to speak. Then you learned to read. And then you learned to write. *But listening came first!*


4. Don't Listen


In the last secret I said LISTEN! LISTEN! LISTEN!
Now I say DON'T LISTEN! What do I mean?!

Do you know the difference between the verbs TO LISTEN and TO HEAR? TO LISTEN is active. TO HEAR is passive.
Sometimes you can LISTEN too hard. Sometimes you can TRY too hard. Sometimes it is better only to HEAR. Let the radio play. Let the cassette play. But DON'T listen.
Just HEAR. Your subconscious will listen for you. And you will still learn. If you listen and try to understand, you may block on one word and get frustrated. Don't worry! Just HEAR! Believe me, you will still be learning. The important thing is to let the radio or cassette or television or record PLAY. Let it play. And you - you do nothing. Your brain will HEAR, your subconscious will LISTEN and you will LEARN!

5. Prove Your Vocabulary With 5 Words Today

Vocabulary is easy! How many days in a year are there?
365, normally (on Earth).

If you learn only 5 new words a day, you will learn 5 x
365 = 1,825 new words in a year. ONE THOUSAND, EIGHT HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE WORDS. That is a lot of new words. And we are not counting all the other words you will learn in other ways - reading, conversation etc.
Buy a notebook and write in 5 new words EACH day, EVERY day. Learn them! You will soon have an excellent vocabulary.

6. 30 Minutes a Day Better Than 3.5 Hours a Week

In fact, 30 minutes of English study once a day is better than 5 *hours* once a week! Study regularly.
Study often.

LITTLE + OFTEN is better than LOT + SOMETIMES.

It's easier, too. You can easily find 30 minutes each day. How? You can get up 30 minutes earlier. Or have a shorter lunch break. Fix a particular time every day - and keep it!

7. Revise! Revise! Revise

If you revise, you'll improve your learning by 100%.

What does "to revise" mean? It means "to read again".
You should be systematic about this. When you learn something, you should note it. Then you should *look at it again*, 3 times:
- after 1 day
- after 1 week
- after 1 month

Each time you revise, test yourself.

Learn, revise, test.
Revise, test.
Revise, test.

NOTE:
revise (BrE): read again to improve one's knowledge revise (BrE & AmE): read and correct; update





Source : englishclub





Thursday 19 June 2008

5 Pairs of Words Often Confused

1. "Principal" and "principle."
"Principal" means head or chief (like of a company or school), while "principle" is a basic truth or tenet.

2. "Complement" and "compliment."
Unless you're giving away free stuff or telling someone how nice she looks today, you probably mean the first one, which is defined as "to complete."

3. "Fewer" and "less."
The supermarket checkouts should say "10 items or fewer" because "fewer" means a smaller number of units. "Less," on the other hand, means a smaller quantity. In other words, if you can't count it, use "less."

4. "Capitol" and "capital."
"Capitol" refers to that building in Washington where the legislature meets, while "capital" relates to money or is an uppercase letter.

5. "Bi-monthly" and "semi-monthly."
WHY magazine is published bi-monthly, or every two months. Semi-monthly means twice a month.




Source : freeenglishcourse







12 Quick Tips to Improve Self Confidence

Here are some quick tips to improve your Self Confidence. If we are committed to have a healthy self confidence there are many things you can do every day to boost your self confidence, each small steps that will help you to reach your goal. The good news is that self-esteem is not fixed and can be improved, try some of the steps below to boost your confidence and self-esteem.

1. Identify your successes. Everyone is good at something, so discover the things at which you excel, then focus on your talents. Give yourself permission to take pride in them. Give yourself credit for your successes. Inferiority is a state of mind in which you've declared yourself a victim. Do not allow yourself to be victimized.

2. Look in the mirror and smile. Studies surrounding what's called the "facial feedback theory" suggest that the expressions on your face can actually encourage your brain to register certain emotions. So by looking in the mirror and smiling every day, you might feel happier with yourself and more confident in the long run.

3. Exercise and eat healthy. Exercise raises adrenaline and makes one feel happier and healthier. It is certainly an easy and effective way to boost your self-confidence.

4. Turn feelings of envy or jealousy into a desire to achieve. Stop wanting what others have just because they have it; seek things simply because you want them, whether anybody else has them or not.

5. When you're feeling superbly insecure, write down a list of things that are good about you. Then read the list back. You'd be surprised at what you can come up with.

6. Don't be afraid to push yourself a bit - a little bit of pressure can actually show just how good you are!

7. You can try taking a martial arts or fitness class/course (or both). This will help build confidence and strength.

8. Invest in some new clothing and donate some of your old clothing to send a message to yourself that you both look sharp and feel sharp.

9. Try to make yourself talk positively at all times. When you hear yourself saying you can't do something, stop and say you can. Unless you try, you will never know whether you are able to or not.

10. Don't get wrapped up in your mistakes and dwell on bad points; they can contrast your good points or even give you something to improve. There's no feeling like being good at something you were really bad at.

11. Don't confuse what you have with who you are. People degrade their self worth when comparing possessions.

12. Surround yourself with nurturing friends, not overly critical individuals who make you feel inadequate or insecure. This could do great harm and damage to your self confidence.







Source : freeenglishcourse




Saturday 14 June 2008

20 Tips How to Get TOEIC Score More Higher

1. Set a goal
So, you've decided to take the TOEIC test. Congratulations! The first thing you should do is set a goal. If you are taking the test in order to apply for a job, find out what proficiency level is required. Most entry level positions require a minimum score of 600. Management positions may require a higher score, such as 800.
Choose a goal that is achievable. If you aim too high, you will be disappointed. Remember, you can take the test as often as you want if you don't mind paying the fee.

2. Understand the test
Before you start studying for the test, make sure you understand the format of each section. You will be tested on your listening and reading comprehension skills. By doing model or practice tests, you will become very familiar with the TOEIC. The test should become "second nature" to you before you attempt the real thing.

3. Make a study plan
Procrastination is one of the key reasons students fail the TOEIC test. You may book your TOEIC test months in advance. However, the day you decide to take the TOEIC test should be the day you start to study.
You will have to decide whether or not you are going to teach yourself the TOEIC with reliable resources or whether you are going to take a TOEIC preparation class. In order to get the best results, you should do both. If you cannot afford to take a TOEIC class, make sure to choose a TOEIC textbook that has explanatory answers. You will also want to have a teacher or tutor that you can go to from time to time with questions.
If you choose a TOEIC class, make sure that you trust your teacher and feel comfortable in his or her class. Take a class with a friend and make a commitment to study together in and outside of class.Studying at the same time every day is a great way to improve your score. Write down your study plan and sign it!

4. Divide study time appropriately
The TOEIC is divided into seven sections. Each section is worth a certain amount of points. Don't spend too much time studying one section. Many students make the mistake of studying the section that they enjoy the most. This is the section you should spend the least amount of time on.
You might want to divide your study week by focusing on a certain section each day. Remember, if Sunday is your day to practice Part VII (40 questions on the test), you might have to study twice as long as you would on Monday when you focus on Part I (20 questions on the test).

5. Build a strong vocabulary
Another reason students fail the TOEIC test is that they have a very limited vocabulary. The day you decide to take the TOEIC test you should make yourself a blank dictionary. Use a notebook (an address book works great because it is divided into letters) and keep track of all of the new words you learn along the way. It is not useful to study vocabulary lists. You will only remember words that you have seen in context. For each entry, write the word and use it in a sentence. At the end of each week you should write a short letter or composition using as many of the words as you can.
This might also be the time to stop using your translation dictionary. Electric dictionaries make things too simple! You will not remember the word if it doesn't take any effort to understand it.
Keep in mind that the TOEIC test has a business theme. You should study vocabulary from topics such as travel, banking, health, restaurants, offices, etc. You will also want to learn everyday idiomatic expressions.

6. Isolate your weak points
After you have been studying the TOEIC for a while, you will find out which parts give you the most trouble. You might want to change how you divide your time. There are certain grammar points that many students have trouble with. If you are taking a TOEIC class, ask your teacher to bring in extra homework help on problems like these. If you are studying by yourself, find a good reference book in the library and look up your question. There may also be help on the Internet. For example, type "gerunds" into a search engine and you will probably find a useful exercise.

7. Eliminate distractors
In every TOEIC question, there are at least two distractors (wrong answers that the test writer uses to trick you). It is much easier to choose the correct answer when you have only two to choose from. (The third choice is often impossible and easy to spot.) There are many types of distractors such as, similar sounds, homonyms, repeated words, etc. As you study, make yourself a list of distractors. When you come across them you will be able to eliminate them more easily.

8. Trust your instincts
Sometimes an answer will jump out at you as either correct or incorrect. If you have been studying hard, chances are that your brain is telling you which choice to pick. Don't change your answers after following your instinct. If you do decide to change an answer, make sure that you erase very carefully. A machine will be marking your test. Be sure to use a pencil and fill in your circle choice completely.
Bring extra pencils, erasers, and a pencil sharpener!

9. Don't try to translate
Translating vocabulary and sentences wastes a lot of time. It is very rare that students have extra time during the TOEIC test. If you don't know a word, look at the context of the sentence and the words around it. You will not be allowed to use a dictionary when you take the test.

10. Guess as a last resort
On test day, if you don't know the answer, and you have eliminated all of the distractors you can, don't leave the space blank. There is a good chance you will not have time to go back to this question. You still have a 25% chance of getting the answer right if you guess. If you are sure that one or two of the answers are incorrect, your guess is even more likely to be correct!

11. Be aware of time management
When you are doing practice tests, you should always be aware of the time. Never allow yourself an open ended study session. You will have to learn to work efficiently.
On test day, you should be especially careful in the Reading section. You will have 75 minutes to complete Parts V, VI and VII. Many students spend too long on section V or VI because they find these the most difficult. Don't spend more than 30 minutes on the first two parts. Part VII will take you at least 40 minutes, and it is worth a lot of points, especially if you find it an easier section.

12. Listen quickly
When you are studying for the TOEIC test, do not get in the habit of rewinding the tape. On test day you won't have any control over the speed of the listening section. You will not even have time to think for very long between questions. Make sure that you do not get behind during the real test. If you do not know the answer, take your best guess. Then continue to follow along. Don't look back at questions when you are waiting for another question to start.

13. Practise reading aloud
Reading out loud will help your listening and reading comprehension skills. In order to comprehend English more quickly, it is important that you understand the rhythm of the language. Read from textbooks, pamphlets, newspapers, and even children's novels. You might want to tape yourself and listen to how you sound.

14. Use mass media
One of the best ways to prepare for the TOEIC test is to study real English. Watch television, listen to radio reports, and read newspapers and magazines. Pay special attention to ads, letters, weather and traffic reports, coupons, and special announcements. Do this with a friend, and write out questions for each other to answer. This is a great way to practice your wh-questions. It is also a great way to learn common idiomatic expressions.

15. Use free web sites
There are many web sites that offer free model tests and samples. Type TOEIC into your search engine and start practising! Surfing the web is a great way to practise your reading and listening. If you are interested in a certain topic, such as snowboarding, type that into a search engine. You might want to reserve an hour a day for Internet studying. Just make sure to study English and don't get caught wasting hours playing games!

16. Teach a native English speaker your language
If you can't afford a tutor, you might know a native English speaker who would be interested in learning your first language. Tell him you will teach him for free for one hour a week! You will have to use English to teach him, and you will learn many new English words and expressions at each session. Forcing yourself to teach someone a language will help you to understand English grammatical rules as well. Do anything you can to speak with native English speakers.

17. Keep an English journal
Keeping a journal doesn't have to be an account of your daily activities. You can write anything in a journal, such as how your studying is coming along, what your new favourite word is and why, or which teacher you admire. If you are studying TOEIC with a friend, make a list of writing topics for each other. You might decide to write a paragraph three times a week. Get your friend to try to find your mistakes. Finding your partner's writing errors is great practice for Part V and VI.

18. Ask questions
Never hesitate to ask lots of questions. In a TOEIC class, all of the students will benefit from your question. If you don't understand something, such as conditionals, you may lose ten points on a TOEIC exam. A teacher is not always available, but students are everywhere! Sometimes other students can help you with a grammar problem even better than a teacher.

19. Manage your stress
If you are feeling stressed about taking the TOEIC you may be studying too hard or expecting too much of yourself. Like everything else in life, balance is the key. Remind yourself that you will try to do your best. Before the test, take deep breaths and remember that you can always improve your score in a few months time. In between the listening and reading section, take a few deep breaths again to get focused.

20. Don't cram
ou should never cram (study extremely hard in a short period of time) the night or even week before the TOEIC test. There is so much to learn when you study the TOEIC. The last week should be for reviewing and practising rather than learning new things. Make sure to get plenty of sleep the night before the test. On the day of the test, have a good meal and relax for a few hours before going to the testing centre. Plan to reward yourself when the test is over!





Source : englishclub




Thursday 12 June 2008

Study a Balance of the 4 Key Skills (Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing)

Most students want to communicate better in English. If this is one of your goals, it is important to study a balance of the four major skills. Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing are the main (macro) skills you need to communicate in any language. Being very good at only one of these skills will not help you to communicate. For example you need to be able to read well before you can write well. You also need to be able to listen before you can speak. It helps to think of these communicative skills in two groups.

INput «««
Listening (in through your ears)
Reading (in through your eyes)

OUTput »»»
Speaking (out through your mouth)
Writing (out through your hand)

It's simple. Think of it this way. First you have input. Next you have output. First you listen to someone ask you a question. Second you speak and give them your answer. First you read a letter from someone. After that you write back to them. These are examples of communicating.

Input and output don't necessarily go in a specific order. Sometimes you speak first and then you listen. Sometimes you write about something you hear. During communication, the person you are communicating with uses one of the opposite skills. Therefore, in order to understand each other, everyone must be skillful in all four areas.

Some students want to know which skill is the most important. Since all of the skills rely on each other, they are all important. However, to communicate we do use some skills more often than others. For example, about 40% of the time that we spend communicating we are simply listening. We speak for about 35% of the time. Approximately 16% of communication comes from reading, and about 9% from writing. These statistics are for an average communicator in English. Depending on someone's job or situation, these numbers may vary.

Each of these main skills have micro skills within them. For example, pronunciation is a type of speaking skill that must be practised in order to improve communication. Spelling is a skill that makes understanding the written word easier. Grammar and vocabulary are other micro skills. Micro doesn't mean they are unimportant. Macro skills such as listening are very general, while micro skills are more specific.

For the best results, create an agenda that combines all four areas of study. Allow one type of studying to lead into another. For example, read a story and then talk about it with a friend. Watch a movie and then write about it. This is what teachers in an English class would have you do, right? EnglishClub.com has lessons in all 4 key skills (and all minor skills), as well as many outside links to help you study further.





Source : englishclub



Glossary of English Grammar Terms

Active Voice
In the active voice, the subject of the verb does the action (eg They killed the President). See also Passive Voice.
Adjective
A word like big, red, easy, French etc. An adjective describes a noun or pronoun.

Adverb
A word like slowly, quietly, well, often etc. An adverb modifies a verb.

Article
The "indefinite" articles are a and an. The "definite article" is the.

Auxiliary Verb
A verb that is used with a main verb. Be, do and have are auxiliary verbs. Can, may, must etc are modal auxiliary verbs.

Clause
A group of words containing a subject and its verb (for example: It was late when he arrived).

Conjunction
A word used to connect words, phrases and clauses (for example: and, but, if).

Infinitive
The basic form of a verb as in to work or work.

Interjection
An exclamation inserted into an utterance without grammatical connection (for example: oh!, ah!, ouch!, well!).

Modal Verb
An auxiliary verb like can, may, must etc that modifies the main verb and expresses possibility, probability etc. It is also called "modal auxiliary verb".

Noun
A word like table, dog, teacher, America etc. A noun is the name of an object, concept, person or place. A "concrete noun" is something you can see or touch like a person or car. An "abstract noun" is something that you cannot see or touch like a decision or happiness. A "countable noun" is something that you can count (for example: bottle, song, dollar). An "uncountable noun" is something that you cannot count (for example: water, music, money).

Object
In the active voice, a noun or its equivalent that receives the action of the verb. In the passive voice, a noun or its equivalent that does the action of the verb.

Participle
The -ing and -ed forms of verbs. The -ing form is called the "present participle". The -ed form is called the "past participle" (for irregular verbs, this is column 3).

Part Of Speech
One of the eight classes of word in English - noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun, preposition, conjunction and interjection.

Passive Voice
In the passive voice, the subject receives the action of the verb (eg The President was killed). See also Active Voice.

Phrase
A group of words not containing a subject and its verb (eg on the table, the girl in a red dress).

Predicate
Each sentence contains (or implies) two parts: a subject and a predicate. The predicate is what is said about the subject.

Preposition
A word like at, to, in, over etc. Prepositions usually come before a noun and give information about things like time, place and direction.

Pronoun
A word like I, me, you, he, him, it etc. A pronoun replaces a noun.

Sentence
A group of words that express a thought. A sentence conveys a statement, question, exclamation or command. A sentence contains or implies a subject and a predicate. In simple terms, a sentence must contain a verb and (usually) a subject. A sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop (.), question mark (?) or exclamation mark (!).

Subject
Every sentence contains (or implies) two parts: a subject and a predicate. The subject is the main noun (or equivalent) in a sentence about which something is said.

Tense
The form of a verb that shows us when the action or state happens (past, present or future). Note that the name of a tense is not always a guide to when the action happens. The "present continuous tense", for example, can be used to talk about the present or the future.

Verb
A word like (to) work, (to) love, (to) begin. A verb describes an action or state.



Source : englishclub

Wednesday 11 June 2008

5 Tips How to Pronunciation

Pronunciation, honestly, is not as simple as we think. there are two dialects should be considered: American and BritishAmerican dialect may be more familiar among us than the British, because we usually hear American dialect more often by Hollywood movies.For your information, if you have seen "Harry Potter the movies" (any series), that is British accent. Beautiful but bloody hard to understand. But do not worry about that, as long as you practice your pronunciation and hear the correct pronunciation every day the problem will be solved. The ways I practice my pronunciation:

1. Go to www.m-w.com/dictionary
2. Type the word that you want to pronounce.
3. Click the speaker symbol and hear it, again and again.
4. try to pronounce it or the best way is recorded your pronunciation.
5. Compare it with m-w dictionary.

m-w dictionary provides two dialects -British and American- if the sounds of that word are different, usually, there are two symbols of speaker (first symbol is for American and the second one is for British accent, in order).

There is no such a way to mastering English instantly, keep practice every day and you will improve your English gradually or step by step. that is better than you learn many things at once but you "mess it up" at the end.

I hope my tips are helpful, i will be happy to share another tips next time because English is not as difficult as it likes if you learn it on the right track.





Friday 6 June 2008

5 Tips How to Learn Listening

1. Listen to the radio
Don't always have a pen in hand. Sometimes it helps to just listen. Choose radio program that you would enjoy. For example you can choose BBC radio if you want to hear news.


2. Watch English TV
Choose TV program that you would enjoy, for example Children's programming is very useful for beginner or you can watch movie program at TV that you would enjoy in your own language.



3. Call Automated Answering Machine recordings
You can find these numbers at the front of telephone books in many English-speaking countries. Before you dial, make sure that you are calling the free numbers.


4. Watch movies
You can watch video movies from TV or you can watch movies with play the DVD/VCD players.



5. Use Internet listening resources
Every day there are more and more places to listen to english program. You can talk to others from internet






Source : englishclub