English Grammar: The Subjunctive.[1]
Source: www.engvid.com
Source: www.engvid.com
Showing posts with label English Grammar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label English Grammar. Show all posts
Thursday 6 September 2012
Word Of The Day
26/4/13
Word of the day: missle
Mizzle is a term used in Devon and Cornwall for a combination of fine drenching drizzle or extremely fine rain and thick, heavy saturating.
Source: www.weatheronline.co.uk
26/2/13
Word of the day: hurtle
verb
Meaning: to rush violently; move with great speed
Example: The car hurtled down the highway.
Source: www.dictionary.com
16/01/13
Word of the day: inkling
noun
Meaning: a slight hint or suspicion
Example: He had an inkling that something bad was about to happen
--Camille Pisarro
Source: www.searchquotes.com
Word of the day: Fuddy-duddy
Meaning: a person who is stuffy, old-fashioned, and conservative.
Note: adjective or noun
Source: www.dictionary.com
16/11/12
Word of the day: bird-dog
1. To follow, watch carefully, or investigate.
2. In slang, to steal or attempt to steal another person's date.
Date: 31/10/12
Word of the day: lily-livered
lily-livered \LIL-ee-LIV-erd\ , noun:
Weak or lacking in courage; cowardly; pusillanimous.
But surely, for your own sake, you will not be so lily-livered as to fall into this trap which he has baited for you and let him take the very bread out of your mouth without a struggle.
-- Anthony Trollope, Barchester Towers
He had skin as white as a lily, but he was not lily-livered; he was as strong as a champion at the Shrovetide games.
-- Geoffrey Chaucer and Peter Ackroyd, Canterbury Tales
Source: www.dictionary.com
26/10/12
Word of the day: Supernormal
supernormal \soo-per-NAWR-muhl\ , adjective:
1. In excess of the normal or average: supernormal faculties; supernormal production.
2. Lying beyond normal or natural powers of comprehension: supernormal intimations.
On the other hand, the voyager may also feel that he possesses supernormalpowers of perception and movement, that he can perform miracles, extraordinary feats of bodily control, etc …
-- Timothy Leary, Ralph Metzner, Richard Alpert, The Psychedelic Experience
The limbs twitched, the eyes gleamed, the blood-pressure appeared heightened, and there was a supernormal pinkness in the epidermis of the cheek.
-- P. G. Wodehouse, Summer Lightning
Source: www.dictionary.com
25/10/12
Word of the Day - uncanny:
uncanny \uhn-KAN-ee\ , adjective:
1. Having or seeming to have a supernatural or inexplicable basis; beyond the ordinary or normal; extraordinary: uncanny accuracy; an uncanny knack of foreseeing trouble.
2. Mysterious; arousing superstitious fear or dread; uncomfortably strange: Uncanny sounds filled the house.
Again the mood is uncanny, with strange perturbations in the atmosphere, the abstruse word choice purposely jarring: “suzerain,” “diacritic,” “acephalous,” “zebu,” “argute.”
-- Charles Bukowski, introduction by David Stephen Calonne, Absence of the Hero
She saw him put his hand on the shoulder of their mother's chair, touch the fringe on a lampshade, as if to confirm for himself that the uncanny persistence of half-forgotten objects, all in their old places, was not some trick of the mind.
-- Marilynne Robinson, Home
Source: www.dictionary.com
17/10/12
Word of the day: Fulgurant
fulgurant \FUHL-gyer-uhnt\ , adjective:
Flashing like lightning.[1]
Now, as died the fulgurant rage that had supported her, and her normal strength being exhausted, a sudden weakness intervened, and she couldn't but allow Mike to lead her to a seat.
-- George Moore, Mike Fletcher: A Novel
Source: www.dictionary.com
Longest word in a major English dictionary:
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Noun
Word of the day: missle
Mizzle is a term used in Devon and Cornwall for a combination of fine drenching drizzle or extremely fine rain and thick, heavy saturating.
Source: www.weatheronline.co.uk
26/2/13
Word of the day: hurtle
verb
Meaning: to rush violently; move with great speed
Example: The car hurtled down the highway.
Source: www.dictionary.com
16/01/13
Word of the day: inkling
noun
Meaning: a slight hint or suspicion
Example: He had an inkling that something bad was about to happen
"I remember that, although I was full of fervour, I didn't have the slightest inkling, even at forty, of the deeper side to the movement we were pursuing by instinct. It was in the air!"
|
Source: www.searchquotes.com
Word of the day: Fuddy-duddy
Meaning: a person who is stuffy, old-fashioned, and conservative.
Note: adjective or noun
Source: www.dictionary.com
16/11/12
Word of the day: bird-dog
bird-dog \BURD-dawg\ , verb:
1. To follow, watch carefully, or investigate.
2. In slang, to steal or attempt to steal another person's date.
noun:
1. One of various breeds of dogs trained to hunt or retrieve birds.
2. A person hired to locate special items or people, especially a talent scout who seeks out promising athletes.
1. One of various breeds of dogs trained to hunt or retrieve birds.
2. A person hired to locate special items or people, especially a talent scout who seeks out promising athletes.
“Connors thinks my department is so incompetent that he's sending someone tobird-dog my investigation?
-- Judith A. Jance, Partner in Crime
-- Judith A. Jance, Partner in Crime
Smart organizations will assign an employee to bird-dog the consultant from the start and learn everything there is to know about a service or application.
-- Dan Tynan, Escaping Services Addiction, Infoworld, August, 2006.
-- Dan Tynan, Escaping Services Addiction, Infoworld, August, 2006.
Source: www.dictionary.com
Date: 31/10/12
Word of the day: lily-livered
lily-livered \LIL-ee-LIV-erd\ , noun:
Weak or lacking in courage; cowardly; pusillanimous.
But surely, for your own sake, you will not be so lily-livered as to fall into this trap which he has baited for you and let him take the very bread out of your mouth without a struggle.
-- Anthony Trollope, Barchester Towers
He had skin as white as a lily, but he was not lily-livered; he was as strong as a champion at the Shrovetide games.
-- Geoffrey Chaucer and Peter Ackroyd, Canterbury Tales
Source: www.dictionary.com
26/10/12
Word of the day: Supernormal
supernormal \soo-per-NAWR-muhl\ , adjective:
1. In excess of the normal or average: supernormal faculties; supernormal production.
2. Lying beyond normal or natural powers of comprehension: supernormal intimations.
On the other hand, the voyager may also feel that he possesses supernormalpowers of perception and movement, that he can perform miracles, extraordinary feats of bodily control, etc …
-- Timothy Leary, Ralph Metzner, Richard Alpert, The Psychedelic Experience
The limbs twitched, the eyes gleamed, the blood-pressure appeared heightened, and there was a supernormal pinkness in the epidermis of the cheek.
-- P. G. Wodehouse, Summer Lightning
Source: www.dictionary.com
25/10/12
Word of the Day - uncanny:
uncanny \uhn-KAN-ee\ , adjective:
1. Having or seeming to have a supernatural or inexplicable basis; beyond the ordinary or normal; extraordinary: uncanny accuracy; an uncanny knack of foreseeing trouble.
2. Mysterious; arousing superstitious fear or dread; uncomfortably strange: Uncanny sounds filled the house.
Again the mood is uncanny, with strange perturbations in the atmosphere, the abstruse word choice purposely jarring: “suzerain,” “diacritic,” “acephalous,” “zebu,” “argute.”
-- Charles Bukowski, introduction by David Stephen Calonne, Absence of the Hero
She saw him put his hand on the shoulder of their mother's chair, touch the fringe on a lampshade, as if to confirm for himself that the uncanny persistence of half-forgotten objects, all in their old places, was not some trick of the mind.
-- Marilynne Robinson, Home
Source: www.dictionary.com
17/10/12
Word of the day: Fulgurant
fulgurant \FUHL-gyer-uhnt\ , adjective:
Flashing like lightning.[1]
Now, as died the fulgurant rage that had supported her, and her normal strength being exhausted, a sudden weakness intervened, and she couldn't but allow Mike to lead her to a seat.
-- George Moore, Mike Fletcher: A Novel
Source: www.dictionary.com
Longest word in a major English dictionary:
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Noun
an obscure term ostensibly referring to a lung disease caused by silicadust, sometimes cited as one of the longest words in the English language.
Wednesday 5 September 2012
Prepositions
Date: 1/11/12
Lab post 30
Common errors in the use of prepositions:
Some verbs are directly followed by direct objects without prepositions. Examples are:
discuss, enter, marry, lack, resemble and approach.
Incorrect: My father loves with me.
Correct: My father loves me.
Incorrect: We reached at the airport.
Correct: We reached the airport.
Incorrect: He ordered for my dismissal.
Correct: He ordered my dismissal.
Incorrect: John married with his cousin.
Correct: John married his cousin.
Incorrect: Jane entered into the room.
Correct: Jane entered the room.
Prepositions are not used in expressions of time beginning next, last, this, one, each, every, some, any and all.
Incorrect: See you on next Monday.
Correct: See you next Monday.
Incorrect: I will be rich on someday.
Correct: I will be rich someday.
Incorrect: We met on one Friday in February.
Correct: We met one Friday in February.
Prepositions are not used directly before the conjunction that.
Incorrect: I knew about that she had decided to quit.
Correct: I knew that she had decided to quit. OR I knew about her decision to quit.
Incorrect: I had no idea of that she had problems.
Correct: I had no idea that she had problems. OR I had no idea of her problems.
Prepositions are not normally used before infinitives in English.
Incorrect: I am thinking of to write a novel.
Correct: I am thinking of writing a novel.
Incorrect: I don’t like the idea of to get old.
Correct: I don’t like the idea of getting old.
Incorrect: She is very good at to cook.
Correct: She is very good at cooking.
source: www.englishpractice.com
Prepositions of time:
Source: www.falibo.com
Lab post 30
Common errors in the use of prepositions:
Some verbs are directly followed by direct objects without prepositions. Examples are:
discuss, enter, marry, lack, resemble and approach.
Incorrect: My father loves with me.
Correct: My father loves me.
Incorrect: We reached at the airport.
Correct: We reached the airport.
Incorrect: He ordered for my dismissal.
Correct: He ordered my dismissal.
Incorrect: John married with his cousin.
Correct: John married his cousin.
Incorrect: Jane entered into the room.
Correct: Jane entered the room.
Prepositions are not used in expressions of time beginning next, last, this, one, each, every, some, any and all.
Incorrect: See you on next Monday.
Correct: See you next Monday.
Incorrect: I will be rich on someday.
Correct: I will be rich someday.
Incorrect: We met on one Friday in February.
Correct: We met one Friday in February.
Prepositions are not used directly before the conjunction that.
Incorrect: I knew about that she had decided to quit.
Correct: I knew that she had decided to quit. OR I knew about her decision to quit.
Incorrect: I had no idea of that she had problems.
Correct: I had no idea that she had problems. OR I had no idea of her problems.
Prepositions are not normally used before infinitives in English.
Incorrect: I am thinking of to write a novel.
Correct: I am thinking of writing a novel.
Incorrect: I don’t like the idea of to get old.
Correct: I don’t like the idea of getting old.
Incorrect: She is very good at to cook.
Correct: She is very good at cooking.
source: www.englishpractice.com
Prepositions of time:
Source: www.falibo.com
Tuesday 4 September 2012
Weather
Click here to return to the Language Lab home page
29/10/12
Words used to describe cold weather
cold
adjective
used about the weather
crisp
adjective
crisp weather is pleasant because it is cold and dry
brisk
adjective
if it is brisk, the weather is fairly cold and a fairly strong wind is blowing
fresh
adjective
if the weather is fresh, it is fairly cold and the wind is blowing
harsh
adjective
harsh weather is extremely cold and unpleasant
bleak
adjective
bleak weather is very cold and grey
biting
adjective
biting wind or cold is so cold that it makes you feel very uncomfortable
frosty
adjective
cold enough to produce frost
raw
adjective
raw weather is cold and unpleasant
hard
adjective
a hard winter is a very cold winter
Source: http://www.macmillandictionary.com
29/10/12
Words used to describe cold weather
cold
adjective
used about the weather
crisp
adjective
crisp weather is pleasant because it is cold and dry
brisk
adjective
if it is brisk, the weather is fairly cold and a fairly strong wind is blowing
fresh
adjective
if the weather is fresh, it is fairly cold and the wind is blowing
harsh
adjective
harsh weather is extremely cold and unpleasant
bleak
adjective
bleak weather is very cold and grey
biting
adjective
biting wind or cold is so cold that it makes you feel very uncomfortable
frosty
adjective
cold enough to produce frost
raw
adjective
raw weather is cold and unpleasant
hard
adjective
a hard winter is a very cold winter
Source: http://www.macmillandictionary.com
British Vs. American Vocabulary
British vs American vocabulary
Many people learn English from watching American films and TV shows and pick up words that we don't use in Britain. Take a look at the 10 words below to see what we would say instead:
British American
Biscuit = Cookie
Chips = Fries
Sweets = Candy
Film = Movie
Petrol = Gas
Lift = Elevator
Post = Mail
Rubbish = Trash/garbage
Torch = Flashlight
Trousers = Pants
Click here to return to the Language Lab home page
Many people learn English from watching American films and TV shows and pick up words that we don't use in Britain. Take a look at the 10 words below to see what we would say instead:
British American
Biscuit = Cookie
Chips = Fries
Sweets = Candy
Film = Movie
Petrol = Gas
Lift = Elevator
Post = Mail
Rubbish = Trash/garbage
Torch = Flashlight
Trousers = Pants
Click here to return to the Language Lab home page
Monday 3 September 2012
Adverb / Adjective + Enough
That's enough!
Why does enough sometimes come before and other times after the word it is describing?
Adjective / Adverb + Enough
I can't play the violin well enough to join the orchestra.
Enough + Noun
When enough modifies a noun, place enough before the noun:
Examples:
He has enough money to buy a ticket.
I don't have enough time to go to the supermarket!
Why does enough sometimes come before and other times after the word it is describing?
Adjective / Adverb + Enough
When enough modifies an adjective or an adverb, place enough after the adjective / adverb:
Examples:
Do you think he is strong enough to lift that weight?
Enough + Noun
When enough modifies a noun, place enough before the noun:
Examples:
He has enough money to buy a ticket.
I don't have enough time to go to the supermarket!
Once you think you've mastered the use of enough, click here to test your knowledge!
Source: www.esl.about.com
Body Parts
Click here to return to the Language Lab home page
Body Parts
Source: www.iswearenglish.com
Body Parts
Verbs with the mouth
Source: www.iswearenglish.com
Saturday 18 August 2012
Pronouncing the 'th' sound (as in 'the')
Pronouncing the 'th' sound (as in 'the')
This is a sound that many students find challenging to pronounce in English and yet occurs very frequently in words such as 'this', 'that', 'other', 'worthy' and 'bathe'. Brush up on your pronunciation with this helpful tutorial:
Source: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish
How do you pronounce the word 'the'?
There are two pronunciations: 'The' sometimes sounds like 'thee'. Sometimes it sounds like 'thaaa'.
I think because 'the' is such a common word in English - it is in fact the most common word both in writing and in speech - we often tend to overlook it.
It has two pronunciations. One pronunciation - the one that most learners will know - is 'the' with a vowel that we call a schwa - a very common vowel. So we talk about 'the sound' ; 'the word' ; 'the number'. This pronunciation appears before consonants. The other pronunciation 'the' comes before a vowel. So you will notice that I said 'the other pronunciation'.
One warning though - there are words that look as if they begin with a vowel, but they actually begin with a consonant. One example is the word 'university'. It starts with a /j/ sound, which is a consonant. So we say, 'the university'. Another example is the word 'one' - 'the one that most learners will know'. So remember that these words are consonants, not vowels.
The other place you would use 'the' is when you are stressing the word and adding extra emphasis to the noun coming after it. So you talk about restaurant that you like and say, ' It's THE best restaurant in town'; or 'It's THE restaurant in town'. Very useful for expressing your enthusiasm about anything.
Source: www. bbc.co.uk/worldservice
This is a sound that many students find challenging to pronounce in English and yet occurs very frequently in words such as 'this', 'that', 'other', 'worthy' and 'bathe'. Brush up on your pronunciation with this helpful tutorial:
Source: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish
How do you pronounce the word 'the'?
There are two pronunciations: 'The' sometimes sounds like 'thee'. Sometimes it sounds like 'thaaa'.
I think because 'the' is such a common word in English - it is in fact the most common word both in writing and in speech - we often tend to overlook it.
It has two pronunciations. One pronunciation - the one that most learners will know - is 'the' with a vowel that we call a schwa - a very common vowel. So we talk about 'the sound' ; 'the word' ; 'the number'. This pronunciation appears before consonants. The other pronunciation 'the' comes before a vowel. So you will notice that I said 'the other pronunciation'.
One warning though - there are words that look as if they begin with a vowel, but they actually begin with a consonant. One example is the word 'university'. It starts with a /j/ sound, which is a consonant. So we say, 'the university'. Another example is the word 'one' - 'the one that most learners will know'. So remember that these words are consonants, not vowels.
The other place you would use 'the' is when you are stressing the word and adding extra emphasis to the noun coming after it. So you talk about restaurant that you like and say, ' It's THE best restaurant in town'; or 'It's THE restaurant in town'. Very useful for expressing your enthusiasm about anything.
Source: www. bbc.co.uk/worldservice
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