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INTRODUCTION



This attempt is made at meeting the greatest need of those who want to learn English language for speaking purpose in various contexts. This site comprises hundreds of dialogues, explanations of different idiomatic expressions, vocabulary items, pairs of words, contracted forms, linguistics situations etc. As far as possible efforts have been made to make the language easy and understand able for the learners. Consequently the language has tended to be simple and idiomatic. It is hoped that this site will serve the purpose for those who want to obtain communicative ability in the real situations, for the interviewees who want to get speaking confidence in interviews or examinations viva voce, and for those who want to learn English as a second language. For the convenience of the learners pictures, cartoons, diagrams and flow charts have also been included in the site. Language teachers would hopefully find this site a great help and linguistic asset in their
teaching process. Whatever I felt lacking in other sites of this sort during my language teaching process, I have done my level best to include in this site in hand.
Suggestions for the improvement of this site will always be a source of inspiration to me and addition to my knowledge.
Learning any new language is always a long and hard process. But there are little tips and tricks that can help along the way. With a little effort and dedication, learning a new language can become fun and exciting. Here are a few hints that will help a beginner in learning English.
1: Use what you learn. This, more than anything else, is going to help a person learn English quickly and with accuracy. It also helps to learn first those words you can use often. A student should start to notice which words they use most often and learn how to say them in English.
2: Work with others. Learning English by oneself can be a trying ordeal. Learning English with a friend can be fun and exciting. Two friends learning together can remind each other to use what they have learned and correct each other when they make mistakes.
3: Learn songs. If someone were asked to remember what their mother said to them at their childhood bedside, they probably wouldn’t be able to say. However, if someone were asked to sing a song that their mother sang to them at that same bedside, they could sing it back without missing a word. The human brain remembers song a lot better than it remembers straight words. Singing English songs can help with improving accent and remembering how words go together.
4: Write down new words. If a person can put new information into their brain in several different ways, they will remember it better. Writing down new words lets your mind remember the way it looks, the way it feels to write it. Even better, say the word aloud as you write it.
5: Write down what you hear. As a person learns English, he will hear new words every time he talks with someone in English. If these new words are not written down, they will be forgotten by the time the person makes it back to a dictionary where they can look the word up. One of the best investments a new English student can make is to buy a small notebook and pen that they can carry with them everywhere they go. Students are often shy about asking people about some word they just said. The truth is most people are more than happy to help, even spelling out words when asked. Everyone likes to feel like they have been helpful.
6: Read a book. In schools, the smartest kids and quickest learners are those that take the time to read. Reading will supply a student with new vocabulary and lots of valuable practice. For those who are just starting, Dr. Seuss books provide a quick and fun way to absorb basic vocabulary.
As in everything else in life, the true key to success is very simple.




M. Shaheen




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Simple, Compound, Complex Sentences

Experienced writers use a variety of sentences to make their writing interesting and lively. Too many simple sentences, for example, will sound choppy and immature while too many long sentences will be difficult to read and hard to understand.

This page contains definitions of simple, compound, and complex sentences with many simple examples. The purpose of these examples is to help the ESL/EFL learner to identify sentence basics including identification of sentences in the short quizzes that follow. After that, it will be possible to analyze more complex sentences varieties.

SIMPLE SENTENCE

A simple sentence, also called an independent clause, contains a subject and a verb, and it expresses a complete thought. In the following simple sentences, subjects are in yellow, and verbs are in green.


A. Some students like to study in the mornings.
B. Juan and Arturo play football every afternoon.
C. Alicia goes to the library and studies every day.

The three examples above are all simple sentences. Note that sentence B contains a compound subject, and sentence C contains a compound verb. Simple sentences, therefore, contain a subject and verb and express a complete thought, but they can also contain a compound subjects or verbs.

COMPOUND SENTENCE

A compound sentence contains two independent clauses joined by a coordinator. The coordinators are as follows: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. (Helpful hint: The first letter of each of the coordinators spells FANBOYS.) Except for very short sentences, coordinators are always preceded by a comma. In the following compound sentences, subjects are in yellow, verbs are in green, and the coordinators and the commas that precede them are in red.


A. I tried to speak Spanish, and my friend tried to speak English.
B. Alejandro played football, so Maria went shopping.
C. Alejandro played football, for Maria went shopping.

The above three sentences are compound sentences. Each sentence contains two independent clauses, and they are joined by a coordinator with a comma preceding it. Note how the conscious use of coordinators can change the relationship between the clauses. Sentences B and C, for example, are identical except for the coordinators. In sentence B, which action occurred first? Obviously, "Alejandro played football" first, and as a consequence, "Maria went shopping. In sentence C, "Maria went shopping" first. In sentence C, "Alejandro played football" because, possibly, he didn't have anything else to do, for or because "Maria went shopping." How can the use of other coordinators change the relationship between the two clauses? What implications would the use of "yet" or "but" have on the meaning of the sentence?

COMPLEX SENTENCE

A complex sentence has an independent clause joined by one or more dependent clauses. A complex sentence always has a subordinator such as because, since, after, although, or when or a relative pronoun such as that, who, or which. In the following complex sentences, subjects are in yellow, verbs are in green, and the subordinators and their commas (when required) are in red.


A. When he handed in his homework, he forgot to give the teacher the last page.
B. The teacher returned the homework after she noticed the error.
C. The students are studying because they have a test tomorrow.
D. After they finished studying, Juan and Maria went to the movies.
E. Juan and Maria went to the movies after they finished studying.

When a complex sentence begins with a subordinator such as sentences A and D, a comma is required at the end of the dependent clause. When the independent clause begins the sentence with subordinators in the middle as in sentences B, C, and E, no comma is required. If a comma is placed before the subordinators in sentences B, C, and E, it is wrong.

Note that sentences D and E are the same except sentence D begins with the dependent clause which is followed by a comma, and sentence E begins with the independent clause which contains no comma. The comma after the dependent clause in sentence D is required, and experienced listeners of English will often hear a slight pause there. In sentence E, however, there will be no pause when the independent clause begins the sentence.

COMPLEX SENTENCES / ADJECTIVE CLAUSES

Finally, sentences containing adjective clauses (or dependent clauses) are also complex because they contain an independent clause and a dependent clause. The subjects, verbs, and subordinators are marked the same as in the previous sentences, and in these sentences, the independent clauses are also underlined.


A. The woman who(m) my mom talked to sells cosmetics.
B. The book that Jonathan read is on the shelf.
C. The house which AbrahAM Lincoln was born in is still standing.
D. The town where I grew up is in the United States.

Adjective Clauses are studied in this site separately, but for now it is important to know that sentences containing adjective clauses are complex.

CONCLUSION

Are sure you now know the differences between simple, compound, and complex sentences? Click QUICK QUIZ to find out. This quiz is just six sentences. The key is to look for the subjects and verbs first.

Another quiz, this one about Helen Keller contains ten sentences.

These quiz sentences based on the short story, The Americanization of Shadrach Cohen, by Bruno Lessing.
Quick Quiz: Shadrach

After each quiz, click GRADE QUIZ to see your score immediately.

Remember that with the skill to write good simple, compound, and complex sentences, you will have the flexibility to (1) convey your ideas precisely and (2) entertain with sentence variety at the same time! Good luck with these exercises!
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Happy Canada Day! - Here is a little history (article)

Canada on July 1, 1867 a lot like Canada today

Millions of people are gathering all over Canada to celebrate the country's 143rd birthday, but the Canada of today in many ways is similar to the one of July 1, 1867.

People celebrated, world leaders worked toward a global economy, Canadians felt attached to British traditions and a new technology was changing how people communicated.

Queen Elizabeth II is even here with us to celebrate this year.

In 1867, Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth's great-great-grandmother wrote in her proclamation, "We do ordain, declare, and command, that on and after the first day of July one thousand, eight hundred and sixty-seven, the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick shall form and be one Dominion under the name Canada."

With those words Canada became a nation.

(RIC'S NOTE: Way back then, Ontario was known as 'Upper Canada' and Quebec was known as 'Lower Canada', and that is what is meant by 'the provinces of Canada' in the above speech by the queen. Yes, Canada was formed with just 4 provinces!)

To read the rest of this article on Yahoo!, please visit this link now:
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/yahoocanada/canada_on_july1__1867_a_lot_like_canada_today
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Grammarway1 كتاب قواعد اللغة الإنجليزية





Contents
Unit1 Plurals / Countable Nouns - Vocabulary Nouns
Unit2 Subject Personal Pronouns / The Verb "To be"
Unit3 Articles (A/An - The) / This - That - These - Those
Unit4 The Verbs "Have Got" - "Can"
Unit5 Possessives (Possessive case/Possessive adjectives - pronouns)
Unit6 Present Continuous
Unit7 Object Pronouns / The Imperative
Unit8 There Is - Are / Some - Any - No
Unit9 Present
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The A-Z of Correct English كتاب اللغة الإنجليزية الصحيحة


WANT TO CHECK A SPELLING?

Cross-referencing will help you locate words with tricky initialletters.
aquaint  Wrong spelling.See ACQUAINT.

Plural words are given along side singular nouns, with cross-
referencing to relevant rules and patterns.
knife (singular) knives (plural)



abandon 
abandoned,abandoning,abandonment
(not -bb-)

abattoir (not -bb-)
abbreviate          
abbreviated,
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21 Accents

This is entertaining. Good job Amy. I don't agree with your Toronto accent - too fast - but thanks for the laughs!

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