Emails are usually shorter and more informal than letters and people sometimes use abbreviations and 'smileys' in them. 'Smileys' (also called 'emoticons') are images which look like faces when you see them from the side. They are made using keyboard symbols and are used to express emotions.
Abbreviations
AFAIK as far as I know
BTW by the way
FYI for your information
HTH hope that helps
IMO in my opinion
IOW in other words
TAFN that's all for now
TIA thanks in advance
Smileys
:-) I'm happy
:-( I'm angry/unhappy
>:-( I'm very angry/unhappy
:-O I'm very surprised/shouting loudly
:-@ I'm screaming
:-* I'm sending you a kiss
Now write an email to me and invite me to your birthday party. Try to use some of those abbreviations and smileys. Use an informal writing.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
website of the week
If you would like to improve your grammar here's a very good website to start with.
www.english-grammar-lessons.com
Good luck
www.english-grammar-lessons.com
Good luck
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
A short recount (Our Excursion)
Hello everyone,
I hope that you enjoyed our last excursion to QLD state library and QLD museum. Take a look at the beautiful photos that Lili and Yuki have taken on that day and then write a few short paragraphs about these photos. Your recount should consist of a topic, orientation (who, when, where, how etc), records of events and a coda or reorientation (optional). I'd like you to use at least 5 noun groups (adj+noun), 10 conjunctions and different simple past verbs (regular & irregular) in your recount.
Make sure to check your spelling before posting your comment to me.Good luck
Michael
Friday, October 8, 2010
Word Order
The main way of describing a noun is to use adjectives or words that are like adjectives. You add these words after a, the, my, her etc, before the noun. You can add as many as you want, but you sometimes need to be careful about the order in which you use them.
You have a choice of three kinds of word.
The largest group consists of adjectives.
a lovely day a small round table the best book
You may also use a ‘participle’ before the noun, the “ing” or “ed” form of a verb,
but here used to describe the noun.
a crumbling table her smiling face a cracked window the stolen car
You may also add one noun before another ‑ the first noun is used to describe the second noun, which is the main noun in the phrase.
the school boy a tourist attraction a Brisbane bus
WHICH ORDER?
As soon as you use two or more describing words, you have to decide which order to put them in.
In many cases, there is no rule: you simply say first what comes into your mind first. But many adjectives, and the other kinds of describing word, are typically used in a particular place before the noun.
You should think of these patterns only as a guide to help you, because there are a number of cases which do not follow the rule. But the following patterns are common:
1. Nouns go next to the main noun in the phrase, after any other adjectives.
Examples: a big London bus (NOT) a London big bus
the long country road (NOT) the country long road
2. Words which are closely related to nouns, such as the material something is made of or where something is from, also go next to the main noun.
For example: big leather boots (NOT) leather big boots
a serious social problem (NOT) a social serious problem
3. Participles usually go in front of groups (1) and (2).
a broken garden chair (NOT) a garden broken chair
a smiling American tourist ( NOT) an American smiling tourist
a happy smiling American tourist (NOT) a smiling happy American tourist
4. Adjectives with an ‘intensifying’ meaning, for example entire, whole, same go near the beginning, close to a, the, my, her etc.
the entire local committee (NOT) the local entire committee
the same old battered car (NOT) the old battered same car
5. Other adjectives follow (4) and go before (3). Those with a more general meaning usually come first, and those which describe properties of the noun which can be clearly seen, such as size and shape, usually come last. There are typical patterns here, too, as the table shows.
those lovely red curtains (NOT) those red lovely curtains
a strange triangular table (NOT) a triangular strange table
your opinion about s’th size age shape colour (where s’th is from) material
lovely big old round black American wool
beautiful little young square red French plastic
horrible small new round brown Japanese leather
WORD ORDER AFTER THE NOUN
Some adverbs of time and frequency usually come immediately after the main verb. These include:
always, almost, just, rarely, nearly, already, ever, never, still
She is always complaining. (NOT) Always she is complaining.
They are still working. (NOT) Still they are working.
Always and never are sometimes used at the beginning of a sentence in instructions and warnings, when the verb does not have a subject.
Always keep medicines away from children.
Never look directly at the sun through a telescope.
Adverbs and adverb phrases should not come between the verb and the object.
I like Japanese food very much. (NOT) I like very much Japanese food.
Adverbs and adverb phrases should not come between a main verb and an ‑ing participle, or between a main verb and an infinitive.
Tomorrow we’ll go sightseeing. (NOT) We’ll go tomorrow sightseeing.
In the evenings she likes to watch television. (NOT) She likes in the evenings to watch television.
Adverbs and adverbial phrases should not come between a modal verb (for example can, must, could) and a main verb.
I can speak Spanish quite well. (NOT) I can quite well speak Spanish
You have a choice of three kinds of word.
The largest group consists of adjectives.
a lovely day a small round table the best book
You may also use a ‘participle’ before the noun, the “ing” or “ed” form of a verb,
but here used to describe the noun.
a crumbling table her smiling face a cracked window the stolen car
You may also add one noun before another ‑ the first noun is used to describe the second noun, which is the main noun in the phrase.
the school boy a tourist attraction a Brisbane bus
WHICH ORDER?
As soon as you use two or more describing words, you have to decide which order to put them in.
In many cases, there is no rule: you simply say first what comes into your mind first. But many adjectives, and the other kinds of describing word, are typically used in a particular place before the noun.
You should think of these patterns only as a guide to help you, because there are a number of cases which do not follow the rule. But the following patterns are common:
1. Nouns go next to the main noun in the phrase, after any other adjectives.
Examples: a big London bus (NOT) a London big bus
the long country road (NOT) the country long road
2. Words which are closely related to nouns, such as the material something is made of or where something is from, also go next to the main noun.
For example: big leather boots (NOT) leather big boots
a serious social problem (NOT) a social serious problem
3. Participles usually go in front of groups (1) and (2).
a broken garden chair (NOT) a garden broken chair
a smiling American tourist ( NOT) an American smiling tourist
a happy smiling American tourist (NOT) a smiling happy American tourist
4. Adjectives with an ‘intensifying’ meaning, for example entire, whole, same go near the beginning, close to a, the, my, her etc.
the entire local committee (NOT) the local entire committee
the same old battered car (NOT) the old battered same car
5. Other adjectives follow (4) and go before (3). Those with a more general meaning usually come first, and those which describe properties of the noun which can be clearly seen, such as size and shape, usually come last. There are typical patterns here, too, as the table shows.
those lovely red curtains (NOT) those red lovely curtains
a strange triangular table (NOT) a triangular strange table
your opinion about s’th size age shape colour (where s’th is from) material
lovely big old round black American wool
beautiful little young square red French plastic
horrible small new round brown Japanese leather
WORD ORDER AFTER THE NOUN
Some adverbs of time and frequency usually come immediately after the main verb. These include:
always, almost, just, rarely, nearly, already, ever, never, still
She is always complaining. (NOT) Always she is complaining.
They are still working. (NOT) Still they are working.
Always and never are sometimes used at the beginning of a sentence in instructions and warnings, when the verb does not have a subject.
Always keep medicines away from children.
Never look directly at the sun through a telescope.
Adverbs and adverb phrases should not come between the verb and the object.
I like Japanese food very much. (NOT) I like very much Japanese food.
Adverbs and adverb phrases should not come between a main verb and an ‑ing participle, or between a main verb and an infinitive.
Tomorrow we’ll go sightseeing. (NOT) We’ll go tomorrow sightseeing.
In the evenings she likes to watch television. (NOT) She likes in the evenings to watch television.
Adverbs and adverbial phrases should not come between a modal verb (for example can, must, could) and a main verb.
I can speak Spanish quite well. (NOT) I can quite well speak Spanish
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Direct and indirect objects
Four easy steps to find the direct and indirect objects in a sentence.
1 Find the subject of the sentence. Do this by asking yourself "who" is performing the action or "what" the sentence is about. Jimmy baked Rhonda a pizza. Who baked the pizza? Jimmy.
2 Determine if the sentence contains an action, linking or state of being verb.
Action verbs have the subject doing something (run, jump, skip).
Linking verbs "link" the subject to the rest of the sentence (am, is, are).
State of being verbs show a condition (seem, remain, feel).
In our example sentence we have an action verb (baked).
3 Find the direct object by asking yourself "whom" or "what" is receiving the action. What did Jimmy bake? A pizza. Congrats! You've found the direct object. Now let's locate indirect object.
4 Find the word between the action verb and the direct object that answers one of four questions: "to/for whom" or "to/for what." For whom did Jimmy bake a pizza? For Rhonda. It's as simple as that.
There are some more tips that you need to know about direct/indirect objects:
1. If the indirect object comes before the direct object, there is no preposition.
They gave Harold a new car.
2. If the indirect object comes after the direct object, a preposition must be used.
They gave a new car to Harold.
3. If the direct object is a pronoun (it, this ... ), it comes before the indirect object, which is introduced by a preposition.
I bought it for my sister.
Can you send it to him? (Not: I bought my sister it.) Can you send him it?)
4. If the verbs read and write are only followed by the indirect object, a preposition must be used.
Please, read to me. (Not: Please, read me).
But: Read me the letter. Read the letter to me. Because there are two objects in these sentences.
I'll write to you soon.
But: I'll write you a letter. I'll write a letter to you. (two objects)
5. We can use the verbs promise, show, and tell with the indirect object only, but without a preposition.
I can't promise you. (Or: I can't promise it to you.)
Show him. (Or: Show it to him.)
Can you tell me?
1 Find the subject of the sentence. Do this by asking yourself "who" is performing the action or "what" the sentence is about. Jimmy baked Rhonda a pizza. Who baked the pizza? Jimmy.
2 Determine if the sentence contains an action, linking or state of being verb.
Action verbs have the subject doing something (run, jump, skip).
Linking verbs "link" the subject to the rest of the sentence (am, is, are).
State of being verbs show a condition (seem, remain, feel).
In our example sentence we have an action verb (baked).
3 Find the direct object by asking yourself "whom" or "what" is receiving the action. What did Jimmy bake? A pizza. Congrats! You've found the direct object. Now let's locate indirect object.
4 Find the word between the action verb and the direct object that answers one of four questions: "to/for whom" or "to/for what." For whom did Jimmy bake a pizza? For Rhonda. It's as simple as that.
There are some more tips that you need to know about direct/indirect objects:
1. If the indirect object comes before the direct object, there is no preposition.
They gave Harold a new car.
2. If the indirect object comes after the direct object, a preposition must be used.
They gave a new car to Harold.
3. If the direct object is a pronoun (it, this ... ), it comes before the indirect object, which is introduced by a preposition.
I bought it for my sister.
Can you send it to him? (Not: I bought my sister it.) Can you send him it?)
4. If the verbs read and write are only followed by the indirect object, a preposition must be used.
Please, read to me. (Not: Please, read me).
But: Read me the letter. Read the letter to me. Because there are two objects in these sentences.
I'll write to you soon.
But: I'll write you a letter. I'll write a letter to you. (two objects)
5. We can use the verbs promise, show, and tell with the indirect object only, but without a preposition.
I can't promise you. (Or: I can't promise it to you.)
Show him. (Or: Show it to him.)
Can you tell me?
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Website of the week (taggalexy.de)
This website is really good for your vocabulary as it shows you the images related to the word that you've searched for. Very similar to google images but more fun I think. Have a go.
http://www.taggalaxy.de/
type in the word "indigenous" to see what you get.
good luck
http://www.taggalaxy.de/
type in the word "indigenous" to see what you get.
good luck
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Vocabulary activity
Read the sentences and replace the italic words with a word from the list below
that is frequently used in written English. You may need to change the form of
the word.
vital perception wound abandon resolve symbol tale observe
1 My grandmother and I would spend hours together, and she would tell me some funny stories
about her childhood on the cold and remote farm in the mountains.
2 It is important that more schools are opened in this country for children to be educated.
3 The climbers started their ascent of Everest from the base camp early in the morning, but because of the icy conditions one of the climbers was badly hurt when she slipped on some rocks.
4 She wore a necklace round her neck which had a dove on it. I later found out that this is a sign of peace, which didn’t surprise me, as she was such a special person.
5 The general view is that this area of the coast gets most of its revenue from tourism.
6 The visitors were able to see the stunning décor of the mansion as well as the beautiful surroundings.
7 The problems in this neighbourhood need to be sorted out before things get worse.
8 It’s difficult to understand why some people leave their pet dogs a few months after buying them.
that is frequently used in written English. You may need to change the form of
the word.
vital perception wound abandon resolve symbol tale observe
1 My grandmother and I would spend hours together, and she would tell me some funny stories
about her childhood on the cold and remote farm in the mountains.
2 It is important that more schools are opened in this country for children to be educated.
3 The climbers started their ascent of Everest from the base camp early in the morning, but because of the icy conditions one of the climbers was badly hurt when she slipped on some rocks.
4 She wore a necklace round her neck which had a dove on it. I later found out that this is a sign of peace, which didn’t surprise me, as she was such a special person.
5 The general view is that this area of the coast gets most of its revenue from tourism.
6 The visitors were able to see the stunning décor of the mansion as well as the beautiful surroundings.
7 The problems in this neighbourhood need to be sorted out before things get worse.
8 It’s difficult to understand why some people leave their pet dogs a few months after buying them.
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