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Monday 30 June 2008
Conditional Clauses
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
e.g.: short - shorter - shortest
cheap - cheaper - cheapest
fat - fatter - fattest
slim - slimmer - slimmest
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:
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.
Source : Grammar Tutorial
Saturday 28 June 2008
Negation
- 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
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
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
5. Learn commonly misspelled words
6. Learn common English errors
Source : englishclub
Tuesday 24 June 2008
10 Tips How to Learn Speaking and Pronunciation
2. Record your own voice
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.
8. Practise minimal pairs
9. Study word and sentence stress
10. Practice tongue twisters
Source : englishclub
Saturday 21 June 2008
4 Important Interview Strategies
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
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
"Principal" means head or chief (like of a company or school), while "principle" is a basic truth or tenet.
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."
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."
"Capitol" refers to that building in Washington where the legislature meets, while "capital" relates to money or is an uppercase letter.
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
6. Don't be afraid to push yourself a bit - a little bit of pressure can actually show just how good you are!
Source : freeenglishcourse
Saturday 14 June 2008
20 Tips How to Get TOEIC Score More Higher
8. Trust your instincts
Source : englishclub
Thursday 12 June 2008
Study a Balance of the 4 Key Skills (Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing)
INput «««
Listening (in through your ears)
Reading (in through your eyes)
OUTput »»»
Speaking (out through your mouth)
Writing (out through your hand)
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
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
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
Noun
Object
Participle
Part Of Speech
Passive Voice
Phrase
Predicate
Preposition
Pronoun
A word like I, me, you, he, him, it etc. A pronoun replaces a noun.
Sentence
Subject
Tense
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
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.
Friday 6 June 2008
5 Tips How to Learn Listening
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