Schindler's List - The song of humanity

I happenned to hear about this film in my Writing class.

It's about the life of the Jews in German-occupied lands and a Nazi party member, Oskar Schindler. I was moved when I watched this film.

Oskar Schindler was a businessman. He had quite a good number of relationships with Nazi high-rank officials. At first Schindler took advantage of the Jews, who had been forced out of their houses after German force defeated Poland, because the wage for them will be cheaper than that for the Poles. Through out the film, he witnessed the massacre of innocent Jews performed by German force. I was shocked when I saw a normal Jewish woman with her daughter being shot by the German when she was walking on the street. The lives of the Jews there were worth nothing to the German. If a Jew could not show that he was a "useful" worker, he would be shot down immediately without mercy, or he would be sent to a train which would bring him to German concentration camps where he would also find no happy ending. The crime done by the German force to the Jews could not be described simply in a few words. It was a crime against human. During World War II, the Nazi killed more than 6 million Jews. In the film, I caught a scene in which German killed 10000 Jews and burned their bodies to ash. The ash from the fire was like snow. And the German just looked at them, laughing wildly. The children of the Jews were separated from the parents and brought to concentration camps where finally they would be packed in large rooms and be gassed to death. I saw the sufferings of the Jews, witnessed the children, at a very young age, tried to find a place to hide from the German force in panic. A lot of kids even had to hide in an excrement-holding place. In the factory of the German, no Jew was allowed to sit still for a while. German killed them whenever they wanted. A Jewish worker would be killed if he could only do 10 things instead of 11 things as ordered. No reason for mistakes could be accepted by the German. The end of the Jews in thoses camps and factories finally was death. But in the factory of Oskar Schindler, no Jew was killed. In fact, Oskar at that time paid little attention to the workers, the only reason his workers were not killed was because Schindler only cared about money, not killing people like many Naziers, but later his accountant, a Jew named Stern, made he change. And when Schindler heard that the Nazi intended to ship his workers to a concentration camp, he used his money to buy their lives. The name of 1100 Jews made up the famous list named "Schindler's List". Thanks to the list, 1100 Jews were rescued from Death. Oskar spent all his money to sustain his workers and during the war time, though his factory was a military one which was supposed to produce weapons, none of his product could be used in the war. And when the war ended, he also went bankrupt. Because Schindler was a Nazi party member, he had to flee. I remembered most his tears when he said farewell to his workers. He said that it was his wasting money in the past that didn't allow him to save more Jews. The film end with the scene of a Soviet soldier guided the Jews to a new place to live and the Jews buildt another life.

While the German out there killed the Jews, Oskar Schindler, a member of the Nazi party, saved people. Although he couldn't help all the Jews, his 1100 workers brought up a whole generation.

This film is really of lesson of humanity.

My dear master

This essay is my submission for a competition. Though I don't know the result, I'm glad I've finished it ^^

-o__o-

Perhaps it’s unarguable that everyone, no matter poor or rich, successful or failed, has at least a teacher. He is the person leading us to the life outside our homes, opening up new horizons for us and showing us how to become a man. Teachers are sometimes viewed as “seed-planters” since the human resource of the society depends on them. I once read an interesting poem describing the teaching career:

“To be a teacher means to be a ferryman

helping others cross large rivers
Is it because the rivers are so big

that rarely do people remember him?”

For most part of his career, a teacher may witness generations after generations grow up, enjoying the happiness of seeing his “seeds” successful or feeling deeply disappointed when one of the “seeds” becomes spoiled. All those conditions and emotions, no one knows when, have become an essential part of a teacher’s life.
My dear teacher, who taught me English from the very beginning of my secondary life, is, perhaps, an embodiment of teaching career.
“Master”, the title I often call him with great respect, is a man of his fifties. His grey hair and the sunburned skin make him look older than he really is. His forehead is full of wrinkles which, perhaps, are the results of his hot temper. And cracks dominate his hands and feet. In fact, it’s easy for a stranger to come to the wrong conclusion that he must be over sixty. His dislike of colorful things explains his habit of wearing only white shirts and black trousers. A lot of people call my master ‘weird’ but for me, he just looks like a man of another previous age.
One thing I have to admit is that my master is quite strict, in which he will get angry if anyone of us comes to class without preparing the lessons well. Many don’t like his way of teaching since they argue that he is only a teacher of good students who always learn and complete all the assignments he gives out but I, as one of his students who were punished by him several times, know that he does so because he want us to have a high level of self-actualization. For most of the time I studied English with him, I saw his efforts in helping us to establish an appropriate study method. Master made us work hard so that we could have a solid and strong foundation for future development in our careers. Surely my master is not a good pretender because although he tried to behave in a strict and serious way, we could see his happiness in his eyes when each of us achieved a higher level.
A memory that I will never forget about master happened a couple of years ago when I was at high-school. In my old school, I was one of the top students in English, so the tests were often quite easy for me, which sometimes caused my ignorance of English. One day, after long hours of playing football, I was so tired that I didn’t care to revise his lesson. As a result, the next day I did one of the worst things in my life, cheating in the test. When master found out, he was extremely angry. Through his eyes, I could feel his deep disappointment. Tears filled my eyes and my lips just had enough strength to let a few words out: “I’m sorry, sir”. My master said nothing but left the room quietly. That afternoon I ate nothing, lying thinking about my mistake. Suddenly the phone rang and from the other end came his voice: “Son, are you alright?” I was so surprised that I could hardly say anything. Master called because he was afraid that something bad would happen to me. He told me that mistakes were a fact of life and that it was the way I respond to errors that counted. That day, though I made my master disappointed, he gave me the most precious lesson I had ever had.
One characteristic of his that I admire most is his ability to work restlessly. Master spends most of his time finding improvements and solutions to his teaching method. His effort reminds me of one saying of Confucius’s: “… study without boredom and teach without rest …” Though he usually tries to hide his exhaustion, we all see his sweat wash his clothes. For me, it is his spirit of working that gives me motivation to work tirelessly so as to achieve new heights. However, because of such a busy work schedule, master’s health is seriously affected. He once told us that sometimes he failed to concentrate on marking tests or that he had several headaches. The latest traffic accident happening to him put a stop to his teaching career at school. Tried hard as he did, master was unable to continue. When I heard the news, I felt a sense of sadness in his voice. Perhaps he was so accustomed to school-life that it was hard for him to leave it. But my master is not a person who would easily sit still in a place, doing nothing, he is now in charge of some evening classes. Although I really admire his love for work, I sincerely hope master can have more time to rest since the last time I visited him, sweat still washed his shirt.

Now we don’t study with master any more, but his lessons still guide us in our ways of life. For each of us, he is not only a teacher but also a father who always cares for our life. What he teaches us is more than English, it’s about how we should live and work to the fullest. His saying still echoes in my ears every day: “As a man, you have a Heart, Love and Industry will give you Strength and Intelligence”. Every year, we gather together in his house one time, recalling the old memories; and master always remembers everything. But the chance for us to meet him seems rarer because of the busy life of each of us. Each year our master is getting older and weaker; our only wish now is that master is healthier and can live with us much and much longer so that we can give him the present he always longs for, our success.

Reading : Doublespeak - my attitude and experience

We are living in an age when avoiding making harsh, unpleasant or distateful statements is necessary. Thus in daily conversations appears doublespeak. In general, doublespeak can be divided into three main kinds: euphemism, jargon and inflated language.

First of all, euphemism is a kind of indirect words or phrases that people often use to refer to something embarrassing or unpleasant, sometimes to make it seem more acceptable than it really is. For example, 'user fees' is a politician's euphemism for taxes. To some extent, euphemism can be used to avoid hurting others' feelings. In other words, it not only protects feelings but also shows our care for them. For instance, it may be said that one is not dying, but 'fading quickly' because 'the end is near'.

The second type of doublespeak is jargon. It is the language that is used by a particular profession or group of people. Its purpose is to help the colleagues or members communicate with each other more efficiently. As a result, not every one can understand the jargon of a job. With jargon, corporations never lose money, they just experience 'negative cashflow', 'deficit enhancement', etc. and banks don't have bad loans or bad debts, they have 'non-performing assets' or 'non-performing credits'.

Finally, talking about doublespeak, we also take a look at inflated language. This kind of doublespeak, as stated in its name, is the language that has been made to be more important or impressive than it really is. Corporations take advantage of doublespeak by using it to explain for their acts of firing workers. For example, they now offer 'vocational relocation', 'career assignment and relocation', a 'career change opportunity', or 'voluntary termination'. These days no one gets fired, and you are never unemployed, you are just in an 'orderly transition betweem career changes'.

To sum up, whereas it may be considered wrong to construct words to disguise meaning, doublespeak is now an accepted and established practice. In fact, we can see that doublespeak is highly strategic and has a wide range of applications. Thus it is the way that we deal with it that counts.

* Thanks to professor William Lutz, I could get those examples to illustrate the essays.

Bye bye Partners ...

Oh, a year passed and we had been along together for such a period of time. There were once a group called "Vegetarian Sharks", in which each of us could feel proud to be call "shark" ^^. And there were once a group called "Viva Vietnam" aiming to the glory. And when I was thinking of another name for the group for this semester, this change came suddenly. We're no longer in one group. No "vegetaran sharks", no "Viva vietnam". This is the end of our group. Oh, to some extent, I really felt the cracks between us several times. Yeah, I once saw the "so-called" largest gap between us ...

So why do I write this entry ? Am I sad or unhappy or angry ? No guys, I'm sure that my "former" partners don't expect me to be sad or unhappy or etc and I'm really not unhappy. Neither do I have any regret. And I know they feel the same. I write this entry to say Goodbye to my "partners". Life is a string of tomorrows, and it's our decisions that create tomorrow...

"And I'll sing you tomorrow

Bless you with love

For the road that you go "

- Sleep song - Secret Garden

Syntax : Chapter VII: Clauses 2 - Part 2 : Dependent Clauses

This chapter deals with other functions of clauses, that is, with clauses at used. In other words, we will now take a look at dependent or subordinate clauses. There are three categories: Nominal clauses, Relative clauses and Adverbial clauses.

First of all, Nominal clauses. They function in the same places as Noun phrases, i.e. subject, object and complement. However, it does not take the adjunct function as a Noun phrase does. Nominal phrases have four types: two finite types (wh-clauses and that clauses) and two non-finite types (infinitive clauses and participle clauses).

About That clauses. They are clauses introduced by 'that' and may function as subject, object or complement. When a 'that' clause functions as subject, a "dummy" 'it' may stay in the subject position and the that clause is extraposed (moved outside of the constituent that contains it). It's English way to put long and 'weighty' elements at the end of a clause.

Wh-clauses are clauses introduced by who, what, when, where, how, whether, if. They may either indirect question or a nominal relative clause. They may function as subject, object, or complement. e.g.

- What I did did not interest her.

- They didn't understand what I said.

- The problem is where all the money has gone.

PS: As that clauses do, wh-clauses also have the case of extraposition when wh-clauses function as subject, e.g. It did not interest her what I did.

The third type of this group, the Infinitive clauses. As usual, it begins with a verb in infinitive form. The verb here may be a to-infinitive or a bare infinitive. The functions an infinitive clause can take are subject, complement and, most common of all, object or part of the object. e.g.

- To live (-> Subject) is to devote (-> object)

- He asked me to bring the book (-> object) (a)

- I want you to do that (-> part of object) (b)

* In example (a), the verb 'ask' can take two objects 'me' and 'to bring the book' as we can question both of them :

'Who did he ask to bring the book ?' (me)

'What did he ask me ?' (to bring the book)

But in example (b), the verb 'want' does not normally take two objects. This can be proven when we question the two "objects":

'Who do I want to do it?' (It's alright)

'What do I want you ?' (This's impossible)

Thus, the clause should be analysed as subject - verb - object. The object here is a complex made up of a Noun phrase and an infinitive clause.

Finally, Participle clauses. They, mainly present participle, may function as both subject and complement. And as infinitive clauses do, they are commonly found in object position, Indeed, without a preposition participle clauses never function as a second object, e.g. :

- Seeing (-> Subject) is believing (-> Object)

- We enjoy going out for lunch ( -> Object)

- I saw him going out with another girl (-> Part of object)

- They accused Tom (object 1) of stealing the bike (Object 2)

The way of analyzing these examples is the same as that of infinitive clauses' examples.

The second type of dependent clauses is Relative clauses. Relative clauses function as post-modifiers in Noun phrases. A Relative pronoun is used to link them to the head of the noun phrase. There are two factors that determine the form of the Relative pronoun.

The first one is whether the head noun is personal or non-personal, which decides the choice between 'who' and 'which'.

The second factor is the syntactic function of the relative pronoun within the Relatice clause. e.g. - Whom has the function object

- Whose has the function genetive

- to/at which has the function prepositional object

'That' is a special case since it can be used with both personal and non-personal antecedents. It's also the only relative pronoun that may be used after 'all, anything, everything' and superlative forms of adjectives.

Whom, where, why, etc. are also used as relative pronouns but only after the appropriate head nouns. And those noun phrases are often reduced by omitting the head noun, thus making them nominal relative clause.

Finally, we come to Adverbial clauses. Adverbial clauses give circumstantial information about an action or event. They are introduced by conjunctions which 'join' the adverbial clause to the main clause.

- Conditional clauses are introduced by 'if' or 'unless'

- 'Than' or 'as' introduces Comparison clauses.

- Reason clauses take 'because' or 'since'

- Contrast clauses use 'though' or 'although'

- Purpose clauses are introduced by 'so that'

- Result clauses take 'so ... that'

Adverbial clauses may be regarded as functioning as adjunct in clause structure. However, if this were always true, the clause would be the highest or largest unit in clause structure, since we could regard one clause as functioning as an element within the other clause if two of them occurred together. Here we have conditional clause as a proof that the theory is not exactly right as it does not give circumstantial information about an action or even but set two actions or events in relationship to each other: one is conditional on the other, and each is represented by a separate clause.

Well, according those in the upper grade, this chapter ends the Syntax subject of Semophore's first semester. Hah, as we finish this chapter, it is recommended that we take a revision for all. The exercises will be tough unless we learn by heart and understand all the units, items, and categories. Good luck !

(The beginning of the Second year is coming , hope to see my classmates soon, I miss you much ^^)

Syntax : Chapter VI: Clauses - Part 1: Structure and Types

I have to admit it that although writing journals about Syntax always makes me exhausted, I love this subject. Today I've just finished one more chapter of the coursebook: Chapter VI.

Syntactic units are usually composed of units directly below them and they function in units directly above them. Thus a phrase is composed of words and functions in a clause. Just as the description of phrases was in term of words and their function in various types of phrase, the description of clauses is in term of phrases and their function in various types of clause.

That's the introduction of the structure of clauses, we now discuss the functions of phrases in a clause.

There are five functions that phrases may fulfil in English clause structure. They are Subject, Verb, Object, Complement and Adjunct.

First of all, about Subject. The subject function is usually filled by a Noun phrase and the noun or pronoun that is head here 'agrees' with the verb in number. In practice, except for 'be', this applies only to the third person singular of the simple present tense. For 'be', there are three forms in the present tense and two in the past tense. In statement clauses in English, the subject usually precedes the verb. Basically English is a subject-verb-object language.

Secondly, Verb. The verb function is always filled by a verb phrase. It is nearly a defining characteristic of a clause that it contains a verb. Clauses without verb do occasionally occur but they may usually be regarded as derivation in some way form further clauses with verb

For example : Dinner over, they went to bed <= When dinner was over, they went to bed.

Most clause contain at least a subject and a verb. Imperative clauses can be considered as an exception but this type of clause is sometimes thought to have a 'you' subject. Non-finite clause is another exception here. e.g. Seeing his girlfriend kiss another man, he ...

Thirdly, Object. The object function may be filled either by a noun phrase or by a prepositional phrase. In the case of prepositional phrases, we have two ways of analyzing this:

+ We may see the clause is composed of a subject (Noun Phrase), verb (verb phrase) and object (Prepositional phrase).

+ Alternatively, the preposition may be regarded as belonging to the verb. Thus, the verb phrase now contains a prepositional verb and the object is now a noun phrase.

However, in case the preposition does not occur next to the verb, it is useful to assign the preposition to the object rather than the verb.
Some clauses often have two objects, here we got the terms 'direct object' and 'indirect object'. The indirect object normally refers to a person, more particularly the person who is recipient or beneficiary.
Ex: Tom gave Jerry a toy => Tom gave a toy to Jerry
Sometimes, it is difficult to draw this distinction. Here the terms 'object 1' and 'object 2' should be used.
Ex: Tom sprayed blue paint on the gate => Tom sprayed the gate with blue paint

Fourthly, Complement. This function may be filled either by a noun phrase or by an adjective phrase. So what is the difference between a compliment and an object? A complement has the same reference as the subject or as the object.
Ex: He has become a distinguished leader.
I found the book quite interesting.
=> A compliment may be either a subject compliment or an object compliment.
Furthermore, a complement may refer either to a state or to a result.
Ex: She seems unhealthy. He has become ill.
There is a limited subclass of verbs that may be associated with complements.
Fifthly, Adjunct. The adjunct function is filled by an adverb phrase, a prepositional phrase, or a noun phrase. It is an optional element in clause structure and gives circumstantial information about the action or event that the clause refers to.
Finally, we'll talk a little bit about the obligation and option of elements. When a subject, verb, object or complement occur in a clause, their presence is necessary to render the clause grammatical or sensible. Thus, subject, verb and complement are mostly obligatory. Objects may sometimes omitted and adjuncts are usually optional.

OK, above is about the functions of a phrase may take in a clause. Now we'll take a look at types of clause.
The recognition of basic clause types may be based on the basis of the functions of phrases occurring in clause structure. In English, there are seven such basic clause types:
1. Subject verb (SV)
2. Subject verb adjunct (SVA)
3. Subject verb complement (SVC)
4. Subject verb object (SVO)
5. Subject verb object adjunct (SVOA)
6. Subject verb object object (SVOO)
7. Subject verb object complement (SVOC)
Type 1 is an intransitive clause type. The action referred by the verb here is carried out by the subject and does not affect anybody or anything else. This group also includes 'impersonal verbs', i.e. the subjects refers to a total environment rather than to some parts of it. Ex: It's raining
Type 2 may be regarded as intransitive, though it is also considered to be similar to Type 3. Here the adjunct is obligatory for the verb, mainly adjuncts of place, either of position or of direction. Sometimes, we find a few verb take adjuncts of time or of manner. e.g. An old man lived in the tent / He weighs seventy kilos.
Type 3 is the intensive clause type. Here the complement and subject are not distinct entities but refer to the same 'thing'. Intensive relation also occurs when two noun phrases are in apposition (the use of a noun phrase immediately after another noun phrase which refers to the same person or thing) e.g Your boots smells badly.
Type 4 is a transitive clause type, 'mono-transitive' is its exact name in order to distinguish it from its 'relative', type 6. This clause type has only one object. It's probably the commonest clause type, both in terms of the number of verbs entering it and in terms of the frequency of occurrence in spoken and written language. e.g. We've found him.
Type 5 is a transitive clause type but here an adjunct is obligatory for the object. Like type 2, the majority of adjuncts are of place, though other kinds are possible. e.g. You must put the shoes on the shelf.
Type 6 is the 'di-transitive' clause type. i.e. having two objects. Sometimes we can distinguish between indirect object and direct object (of course in terms of these kinds of object). The indirect object may come before the direct object and usually refers to an animate 'thing'. We have three kinds of structure here:
+ Subject-verb-indirect object-direct object : I gave him a chance
+ Subject-verb-direct object-to-indirect object: Tom gave the ring to Ann
+ Subject-verb-direct object-for-indirect object: They saved the money for me.
Type 7 is the complex-transitive clause type where only one element will follow the verb, but it is a complex of an object and a complement. Here exists an intensive relation between the object and the complement. e.g We found Jane talented.

...

In conclusion, the elements that are constant in all the clause types are the subject and the verb. What follows the verb is called 'complementation' of the verb and it varies. Not every verb may enter every clause type. Some verbs are restricted to just one clause type, some may enter more. Thus, it is possible to specify verbs for the clause types they may enter, and in more detail still for the categories of phrase that may be associated with them in each clause type.

That's all for chapter VI, one more chapter and we'll finish English Syntax for Somophores hehe. See you next time.

Reading strategies (part 1)

Phew, after nearly 2 weeks busy with the Green Summer Campaign, I finally find a time to write this journal. [Haizz, this Campaign took me a lot of time but the results were not satisfactory. I'm glad it's over]

As good jobs need skills, effective reading also needs strategies. You might have learnt these strategies in Study skills, but as far as I know, we all feel bored with that subject, right ? However, as learning to use strategies is one of the aims of the book ReadSmart3, I think I'll make an outline of those.

Can you guess what kind of strategy will be introduced first ? The answer is SCANNING
In the book, scanning has the definition as a strategy used to 'pick specific information out of the text. Now, how will you 'scan' a text? Here are some suggestions
+ Search for exact terms used in the question being asked.
+ You may also need to look for alternate terms. Alternate terms include signals (indicate a certain kind of information is coming), synonyms (for key terms in the question) and symbols (represent these terms).
So where and when should you scan ? Here is the list of the most commonly 'scanning-used' items :
- a telephone book
- a dictionary
- long and complex readings ( to find key facts)
- supermarket sale flyer
- newspaper editorial
- a complicated recipe
- a class schedule
- an airport departure board
- the list of performer in a play
- a math word problem

That's for scanning, now we'll move to SKIMMING. Skimming is the technique for finding main ideas. Like scanning, you should always look for alternate terms that express the ideas you think you might find. Hah, I now will give you the progress of skimming:
- Move eyes quickly over the text
- Read the titles and the subtitles
- Notice the name and qualifications of the writer
- Read any headings and subheadings
- Read the first and last paragraph of the article
- For more information, read the first and last sentence of each paragraph
- Notice signals indicating main ideas and organizations
- Notice any pictures, charts, or graphs and read the captions
- Notice any italicized or bold words or phrases.
You should use skimming technique in the following situations:
- When you have to memorize a poem
- When you are researching and need to decide if an article contains important information
- When you are reading instructions on how to use your new computer
- When you are going to have a test in 30 minutes and still have 20 pages to read (hey hey, I don't mean that I encourage leaving what you should study until when you take a test)

OK, that's for today +__+ haiz, I'll try to wirte longer next time (T___T poor my writing skill +___T)

Syntax: Chapter V: Adjective Phrase, Adverb Phrase and Prepositional Phrase

[Haizz, this week is extremely busy and It takes me a while to get enough energy to finish this chapter and write this entry. My experience when finishing the exercise of this entry is that you should spend time reviewing all the three chapter III, IV and V before you go further]
This chapter deals with three kinds of phrases : Adjective Phrases, Adverb Phrases and Prepositional Phrases. Let us see what they are.

About Adjective Phrases, like Noun Phrases and Verb Phrases, Adjective Phrases get their names from their heads that are adjectives. An adjective is the minimal form of an adjective phrase and can be both pre-modified and post-modified.
In pre-modification, an adjective may only be pre-modified by an adverb. Usually, the adverb belongs to the limited set of 'intensifying' adverbs like : very, quite, somewhat, rather, extremely, fairly, highly. Other kinds are also allowed.
Post modification is sometimes called the 'complement' of the adjective. There are three kinds of complement occuring in adjective phrases:
- Prepositional Phrase
- An infinitive clause: this is the kind of clause introduced by an infinitive form of verb.
- A that clause : this kind of clause is introduced by the conjunction 'that'.
Adjectives vary in the kinds of complement that are possible after them. Many adjectives do not allow any kind of complement such as : big, blue, astute, sudden, tall. Some adjectives allow only one or two kinds of complement. For most adjectives, post-modification is optional; however, for a few, it is obligatory.
Adjective phrases have two functions: attributive function and predicative function
The attributive function is when adjectives or adjective phrases are found in the pre-modification of a noun phrase. Thus, it can be inferred that a pre-modifying adjective should be regarded as an adjective phrase. When an adjective (phrase) is functioning attributively, it
may not be followed by a complement.
The predicative function is when adjectives occurs after a linking verb (copula) eg. be, seem, sound, feel. Adjective phrase functioning predicatively does not obligatorily contain a complement.
The vast majority of adjectives may function attributively or predicatively. Of course, there are exceptions.

Next, we'll discuss Adverb Phrases.
Adverb Phrases have heads that are adverbs and the head is the minimal form of an adverb phrase. It is usual that an adverb can be pre-modified but no case of post-modification has been found. The pre-modifier can only be another adverb, usually belonging to the set of 'intensifying' adverbs. Other kinds may also function as pre-modifiers. This kind of pre-modifier appears to be either directly or indirectly an expression of personal evaluation.
Adverb phrases have three functions: Adjunct, Conjunct, and Disjunct.
Adjunct function is the main function of adverb phrases, providing circumstantial information about the action, process or event talked about in the clause in which they occur. Circumstantial information includes information about the place, time, manner, etc of the action, process, or event.
Conjunct function is performed by a limited set of adverbs or adverb phrases and the adverbs involved are not modified. Adverb phrases with this function serve to link one clause or sentence to another. They typically come first in a sentence, or at least early on, and in writing, are bounded by commas (besides, therefore, however, yet, moreover, thereupon, indeed).
The set of adverbs or adverb phrases take Disjunct function is also limited in number. Those with this function tends to occur initially in a sentence, as those with conjunct function do. This function refers to the expression of the speaker's opinion or attitude to what he is saying. Disjunct adverb phrases are not really constituents of the clause that they introduce. Adverb phrases functioning as disjuncts may be pre-modified. (frankly, seriously, honestly, candidly, bluntly, generally, personally)

Finally, Prepositional Phrases.
Unlike any of those kinds of phrase discussed, prepositional phrases do not have a head and thus do not have a minimal form consisting of just one word. A prepositional phrase is composed of a preposition and a noun phrase. Both of them are obligatory and neither may substitute for the whole phrase.
Prepositional phrases have a relational role. The most frequently expressed are space and time.
Space may be subdivided into location (in the kitchen) and direction (towards the beach).
Time may be subdivided into point of time (before the exam) and extent of time (for five days).
Other relations are : topic (about the pollution), purpose (the tool for opening the case), similarity (like his friend), instrument (with a pen), accompaniment (with a brown jacket).

Sometimes prepositions are used without specific meaning of this kind, when they are attached to particular verbs, adjectives or nouns. Here the prepositions have a purely syntactic relational function in relating a verb, adjective or noun to a following object or complement. It's almost meaningless, since it cannot be replaced by any other preposition. In fact, the preposition here is considered to be part of the verb and we (and linguists ^^) speak of 'prepositional verb'.
In conclusion, there are two kinds of prepositional phrase. The first kind represents circumstantial information about an action, process or event, indicating time, place, manner, reason, etc. and has a similar semantic and syntactic function to adverbs and adverb phrases (filling adjunct position in clause structure). The second one follows particular verbs and adjectives and occasionally nouns, as objects or complements. In this case, the noun is the kind that requires a specific preposition (eg. anxiety about, desire for, etc) ; rather than the more general post-modification of nouns by a prepositional phrase, eg. the man behind the wall. Nouns requiring specific prepositions and complements are usually derived from verbs.

Phew, this chapter is the last of the series about phrase. Next time, we'll talk about a broader aspect : CLAUSE.

- NHƯ ANH -

Syntax : Chapter IV: Verb phrase

[hehe, this entry should have been written yesterday. Just because the guys from the next room kept asking me to play Empire with them ^^ (how lazy I am ^^), I had to postpone this entry. Anyway, they're going abroad next month, these may be the last times I play with them. One will go to Singapore to take a course in pursuit of a DOCTOR degree (admirable, he's only 25); and one will go to Japan to be the director of a bank (incredible)]

Last time, I had discussed a kind of phrases , Noun Phrase, and yesterday, I finished one of the most interesting kinds of phrases, Verb Phrase. Why is it so interesting to learn about verb phrase? What do you think a beginner may encounter when he starts to learn English ? In my point of view, that is tense. And this lesson has a section for tense, along with other important parts of a verb phrase. Let us see what they are...

In the verb phrase, all the elements are verbs. Two main kinds of verbs contributting to the formation of a verb phrase are Lexical Verb and Auxiliary Verb. A verb phrase contains a lexical verb, which is always the last element in a verb phrase, and may have up to four auxiliary verbs, besides the negative word 'not'.

Talking about Lexical verb, we may be accustommed to the word 'lexical' (^^ it appears many times in the course book of Morphology, remember ?) so we already know what it means, right ? A lexical verb carries the primary reference of the verb phrase, relating to an action, progress or event in reality. It may be composed of more than one word; especially 'phrasal' and 'prepositional' verbs.

Now what is the difference between phrasal verbs and prepositional verb ? Are they composed of a verb and a preposition ? As I researched, I found this:

+ Prepositional verb : the prepostion is the only one possible in the context and it always comes immediately after the verb.

Ex: You have to look after yourself !

+ Phrasal verb: the adverb particle may come either before or after an object which is a noun but if the object is a pronoun, it is obligatorily followed by the particle.

Ex: You may look up the word ( or look the word up ) in a dictionary

Look it up in a dictionary !

One more thing, multi-word verbs also include so-called phrasal-prepositional verbs, which include both an adverb particle and a preposition: Keep up with, put up with, etc.

Auxiliary verb has 2 divisions : Primary auxiliaries like 'be, have, do' and Modal auxiliaries like 'can, may, will, must, etc.' . This kind of verbs serve to realize the grammatical categories associated with the verb phrase, especially tense, aspect and mood.

+ Modal auxiliary may present only one time in a verb phrase. It always comes first and is followed by the infinitive form of the verb (Infinitive verbs). The negative word 'not' would right away follow modal auxiliary if it is present.

+ About Primary auxiliary (haizz, this part is longer), be is followed by the present participle to indicate progressive aspect and is followed by the past participle to indicate passive voice; have is followed by the past participle to indicate perfect or perfective aspect.

When combination of auxiliary verbs occurs, the verb right away following a particular auxiliary will take the verb form required by that auxiliary, whether that verb is a lexical verb or an auxiliary verb. The order among auxiliary verbs is:

modal - have (perfective) - be (progressive) - be (passive)

The forms they require are as following:

modal + infinitive

have + past participle

be + present participle

be + past participle

Ex: he will not have been being interviewed

(modal + negative + have (perfective) + be (progressive) + be (passive))

The first auxiliary in a verb phrase is called 'an operator'. It has some special functions:

- The operator is marked for tense, that is, the distinction between 'past' and 'present'. However, if a verb phrase contains no auxiliary, the lexical itself is marked for tense.

- The operator and the subject of a clause exchange their positions in most questions. In this case, 'who' is an exception.

- The negative word 'not' is placed immediately after the operator and before any other auxiliaries. The contracted (shortened) form of it may be joined to the operator (can't, mightn't, won't, isn't ).

- In a tag question, the operator is repeated. (Note: tag questions are tagged on to a statement clause and request confirmation or disconfirmation of that statement)

- The operator is usually able to take contrastive stress. For example, she IS talking; he HAS finished...

In the case where a clause is a question, or is negated, or has a tag questiom, or in which the verb phrase carries contrastive stress but has no auxiliary like modal, be, have, then the auxiliary verb do must be used. This is the sole use, as an auxiliary, of do. We can infer from this point that primary auxiliaries be, have, do may also be used as lexical verbs.

Above is the structure of a verb phrase, now we'll discuss more in some aspects.

All the verb phrases we've discussed so far are finte verb phrase, that is , they contain a finite form of the verb, showing tense distinction between 'past' and 'present', and being associated with a particular subject. This function is performed by the operator or by the lexical verb if there is no auxiliary.

Non-finite particle and Infinitive verb phrase may also contain auxiliary verbs, but they must also be in a non-finite form (infinitive or participle). Modal verbs, however, do not because they have no non-finite form. The type of the non-finite verb phrase is indicated by the form of the first member. Thus, we could see that a present participle non-finite verb phrase may contain a 'have' auxiliary, as in Having visited France before ; or a 'be - passive' auxiliary, as in Being looked down by all the generals . The infinitive verb may also contain a 'be-passive' or a 'be-progressive'; or a 'have' auxiliary. 'have' and 'be-passive' can together be present in an infinitive verb phrase. For example, he regrets to have been tricked by that woman.

One more thing, if a non-finite verb phrase is negated, the negative word 'not' comes first; as in he regrets not to have ...

Next is an interesting point: Tense. Talking about the grammatical category of tense is talking about real-world time. In English, there is a clear distinction between 'past' and 'present' tense. In fact, it is the past tense that is marked and the present tense is only marked in the third person singular. We'll take a look at each tense:

+ Past tense: The past tense forms of the verb phrase nearly always refer to actions and events in past time.

+ Present tense: Simple present tense may be used for:

- Eternal truths

- Habitual actions

- Present actions in a commentary ( a spoken description of an event that is given while it is happening )

- Future actions

In the case of habitual and future actions, the reference to 'habit' and 'future' is by means of the adverbial expressions (every morning, tomorrow...) but the form of the verb phrase used is present tense. It is arguable that in a few uncommon cases, a present tense verb may refer to an action or event in past time : I hear that you've had an accident. The present progressive form of the verb is usually used to refer to actions going on at the present moment in time.

+ Future: Clearly the future tense is not marked in the verb. In English, it is considered that the future tense is formed by means of the auxiliary 'will/shall' followed by the infinitive of the lexical verb. However, this most frequently used way of referring to future is not the only one. In fact, there are several other ways and this causes the opinion that there is no 'future tense' in English. There are merely a number of ways referring to future time:

- shall/will + infinitive

- present progressive

- be going to + infinitive

- simple present

- be to + infinitive

That's for the Tense.

OK, now is the Aspect. the grammatical category of aspect relates to the way in which the action or event referred to by the lexical verb is regarded, particularly in respect of its extension in time. In English, there are 2 pairs of distinctions to be drawn : progressive / non-progressive and perfective / non-perfective

+ The main meaning of Progressive is to view the action or event as continuing over time or being in progress rather than just taking place. However, some verbs are inherently durative in this sense, like 'sleep', but even then, the progressive can be used and emphasizes the progression or duration of the event.

The past progressive often refers to an action or event that is in progress when something else happens.

The Present progressive is usually used to refer to events taking place at the present moment in time, perhaps because such events are viewed as spanning the present and including immediate past and immediate future. Another meaning of the present progressive is to refer to a 'temporary' action or event in contrast to a 'habitual' one represented by the simple present.

+ Perfective: compared to the Simple past, which refers to an action or event taking place at some point in past time, usually explicitly referred to by a time adverbial or at least implied in the context, the Present Perfect refers to an action or event which began in the past and which either lasted up to the present (moment of speaking) or has relevance for the present. One further meaning of the present perfect is to refer to 'indefinite' past time, when a point in time is not or cannot be specified.

The Past Perfect transfers the meaning of the present perfect into the past, where it refers to an action or event beginning at a point in the past and continuing to another more recent point or event in the past which has to be specified.

Ah, now we'll move to a 'new but not new' field, the Mood. In fact, the mood affects all fields of English, as fas as I'm concerned. But in this chapter, we'll talk about it uses affecting verb phrases.

The grammatical category of mood relates to the attitude of the speaker or of the subject to the action referred to by the verb phrase together which the clause of which it is a part. Meanings associated with mood are realized in the verb phrase by the modal verbs in 2 aspects. On the one hand, modal verbs realize meanings such as 'ability', 'permission', 'volition', 'obligation' and 'prohibition'. On the other hand, modal verbs rea;ize meanings such as 'certainty', 'possibility', 'probability' and their opposites.

The other uses of the term 'mood' relates to clauses or sentences, more than to verb phrases, and refers to the distinction between declarative, interrogative and imperative clauses. These relates in a broad sense to the attitude of the speaker, those perhaps more in regard to his intercutor (the addressee) than to the action or event itself. This can be illustrated by the fact that the terms 'declarative', 'interrogative' and 'imperative' are not synonymous with the term 'statement', 'question' and 'command' separately. For example, it is possible to give a command using any of the moods discussed : Open the window ! (imperative); Would you mind opening the window? (Interrogative); I wonder if you would open the window (declarative).

The choice of mood reflects the relationship (or attitude) of the speaker to the addressee, and they could be regarded as constituting a scale of politeness or directness for commands.

Finally, we'll take a look at Voice : the term Voice relates to the distinction in English between active and passive, a distinction referring not just to the verb phrase but to the whole clause involving a rearrangement of the elements in the clause besides a special form of the verb phrase. In active voice, the subject is called 'actor' or 'agent' and in passive voice, the subject is call 'patient' or 'goal' or 'affected participant'. Further detail about Voice will be discussed in later chapters.

Phew, I'm glad I've finished one of the longest chapter in the book ^^. The more I do research in this subject, the more I love it. See you next chapter ^^.

- NHƯ ANH -

Read Smart 3: Chapter XI: The secret lives of animals

Today is nearly the end of the fourth week in my schedule and as planned, I've just finished another chapter of the book ReadSmart 3: Chapter XI (ha, I've almost finished the book, only one chapter left).

ReadSmart is a book that may be completely different from those Select Readings which we used last 2 semesters. This book is concerned more with the strategies rather than vocabulary and I have to say this, I don't think much of those styles of learning reading by learning strategies. My strategies are those which have been trained since I began learning English. Now when I learn Reading, I expect to improve my vocabulary (ha, because my partner's vocabulary is gigantic). However, as this is the 'course book', I will follow it.

Each chapter in the ReadSmart book contains at least 3 articles although they're not very long. After each article, you'll have to do some activities to test your strategies and your understanding the text. The chapter I've finished talks about the argument of whether animals should be given rights as human do.

For those who advocate animals' rights, they do several experiments with many spieces and show the evidences that animals have emotion like human do. For example, elephant may show their grief by lingering over the bones of long-dead relatives; or ravens can untangle a knotted string to release a tasty prey... They claim that scientists do not accept animals' rights because they fear being 'anthropomorphic', a scientific sin of attributing human emotions to nonhuman life forms.

And as usual, there are still persons who don't agree with this case. I don't like their arguments, frankly, because they seems to have been too emotional when they gave out those conclusions. They point out that those who support animals' rights are based on their compassion and thus, the case is just minimal. In addition, they suggest that before thinking of giving animals rights, some rights should be restricted to human.

That's all for the chapter. Because I'm major in improving my vocabulary, there's not much to say about the authors' writing styles and their methods of persuading (Haizz, I'm glad I didn't have to do this, but I fear I might have to do all one day T__T).

- NHƯ ANH -

Syntax : Chapter III: Noun Phrase

As phrases are often described according to the classes of the words that function in them and also the order in which their components are arranged, Noun phrase get its name from the head word which is a noun.

In English, a noun phrase is composed of 3 main parts: Pre-modification; Central and Post-modification. The Central part, which is also called "the head", is obligatory. The other 2 parts are optional.

About the head, the most common kind of head of a Noun Phrase is a Noun (Obviously ^^). The second one is pronoun, mostly a personal pronoun. Other kinds are : Indefinite Pronoun, Possessive Pronoun and Demonstrative Pronoun. When the head is a Pronoun, it is rarely (or never) preceded by any kind of modification. Post-modification, mostly Relative Clause, can follow it, in this case.

Take a look at the Pre-modification:

Here is the "structure" of a Pre-modification :

Identifier + numeral/quantifier + Adjective + Noun modifier

+ Identifier: This section includes : Articles, Demonstratives and Possessives. They're mutually exclusive in English, which means only one can be present at a time in a context.

+ Numeral/Quantifier: We can insert more than one component, though there are also some limitation. There are several favourite sequences:

Ordinal numeral + Indefinite quantifier

Ordinal numeral + Cardinal numeral

Indefinite quantifier + Cardinal numeral

+ Pre-determiner: this kind of modification is not included in the structure. It appears before the pre-modification. They have a quantifier reference and the most common are 'all', 'both', and 'half' together with fraction numeral.

+ Adjective: Several adjectives, or none at all, may occur in a Noun phrase but when it happens, there appears to be some principle of ordering:

epithet ( most important characteristics) - size - shape - age - colour - origin - substance - present participle - denominal (derived from noun)

+ Noun modifier: Often, there is only one noun modifier present in a Noun phrase. Noun modifier + head noun construction is often the first stage in the formation of compound noun.

+ Noun phrase in the genitive case: this kind is marked by an ('s) added to its final words and often indicate possession. This explains why they are more commonly found with animate nouns as head than inanimate nouns. Also, the NP genitive case may be considered to be substituting for a possessive indentifer in the noun phrase in which it occurs as a pre-deteminer. Thus, NP genitive may in turn be the subject to analysis like any other noun phrase.

Finally, Post-modification:

The post-modification position in a Noun phrase is filled by clauses or phrases rather than by specific wordclasses or subclasses. There are 4 kinds: Relative clause, Non-finite clause, Prepositional phrase and Adjective/Adverb.

+ Adjective and Adverb:

Adjectives usually follow indefinite pronouns as head and do not normally come after a noun. However, there are a few cases (probably ones copied from French),eg. blood royal, heir apparent.

Adverbs are more frequently found and they could be regarded as the reduction of a prepositional phrase. It seems that those can function alternatively as a preposition.

+ Relative clause: A relative clause is a full clause consisting of a relative pronoun as a head which refers back to the head noun of the noun phrase in which it occurs as a post-modifier.

Who and Whom stands for heads that refers to persons while Which is used for non-human things.

Genitive relative pronoun Whose functions like an NP genitive within one of the noun phrases of the relative clause.

Whose => of whom (for human and non-human head nouns)

However, some native speakers may prefer 'of which' for non-human head nouns.

...

OK, I've just explained what we all learnt from secondary and high school ^^. Now what do you think if I say comparison relates to relative clause ? ^^ Let's examine an example:

She buys more clothes in a month than I buy in a year.

In this example, the 'relative clause' is 'than I buy in a year' and the equivalent of relative pronouns is 'that', which refers back to 'more'.

One more thing, a superlative adjective as pre-modifier may be followed by a relative clause introduced by 'that'.

+ Non-finite clause: this kind is a kind of clause without subjects, introduced by a non-finite form of the verb. Commonly, we'll meet 3 kinds: Infinitive clause; Present Participle Clause and Past Participle Clause.

They are often regarded as reductions of relative clauses.

- Present Participle clause relates to an active (often progressive form but not always)

- Past Participle clause is always linked to a passive and thus restricted to transitive verbs.

For Present and Past Participle clauses as post-modifiers in noun phrases the implied subject is the head of the noun phrase. However, for infinitive clauses, this is not always true.

It is also possible to insert a specific subject by means of a 'for phrase'.

+ Prepositional phrase: the full range of preposition is used to introduce post-modifying prepositional phrases. Like non-finite clauses, prepositional phrases may have a relationship with fuller relative clauses, very often with the verb 'be'.

* As I finished this part, I discovered that the difference between these kinds was that they varied in their explicity. From relative clause to non-finite clause and finally prepositional phrase, the explicity increases.

Phew, this chapter is so long, huh ? But it's really interesting when you do research and understand those you were once introduced to without awareness of their 'origins'. isn't it ? My first entry may stop here, hehe

- NHƯ ANH -

Journal - The beginning entry ...

It's a long time since I last wrote an entry in this site. The task was completed. We all know the results now. But in this summer, work is still in queue for me ^^. It seems that I will have to try harder to achieve my goal: TO BE NUMBER ONE . Hey, It's not wrong to dream big, is it ? I'm ambitious because it's the only way I can take to get the goal. Knowing the results of the last semester, I realize there're many things I have to improve, including writing.

I have learnt to write in English since I was at Secondary School, but those I learnt was just a part of the whole Writing Subject and they were all basis. The first time I "touched" the book "Academic Writing", I saw the gigantic size of Writing. My writing skill which I've been improving since the Secondary age is only enough for me to survive through the first two semesters of a freshman. From now on, as a second year one, I'll have to change the way I practice writing. From the experience of those in the previous year, in the next semester, we'll have to be accustommed to a new style of writing: the Journal. ^^ Now I understand why mr Speaking asked us to write journals when we were only freshmen. I'm grateful for his care for us. But I think if he had given us more instructions in writing journals, we could have done better last semester.

What is a journal ?

As I surfed the Internet and found this definition in Wikipedia.org: " In academic use, a journal refers to a serious, scholarly publication, mostly peer-viewed". Ha, those kinds of definitions seems to be too "Academic". I think I still remember what Mr Speaking once said about Journal: " After classes at school, you may surf the Internet to find more information about what you've learnt at school. The Journal is that knowledge that you have reproduced after surfing and written down".

Many of my friends have started this. I read their entries and found an interesting apsiration. So I decided to start writing Journals ^^

- NHƯ ANH -

And the big winners are ... [Journal for Role-play]

Once the tables and chairs had been put back to its usual place and the bell had rung, we now can sit down and take a look back at the role-plays for mid-term test this morning.

-- + F5 + --

F5 made a great beginning with an interesting story full of funny situations. The pronunciation was quite good and clear. However, some members might have forgotten that in such a big room, small sound is equal to "no sound" and that's why we sometimes missed something of the story because they seemed to be whispering at that time. But in general, I believe wholeheartedly that they had prepared well before.

Who made "grandmother" angry ? ^^

-- + Flying Kites + --

Flying Kites, as usual, made us surprised by their imagination and creation and this time was a story about a "foreteller" [guest who was in charge of this character he he ?]. They acted so well and the voice was loud enough for us to follow the story. In addition, their situation was full of good functions. However, it was a pity that sometimes they still kept their habit of using Vietnamese slangs such as "Ấy lộn" "Ấy già ..." . But if I was to make a judgement, I think their skills can transcend the weak points.

[Guest who ? ^^]

-- + Happy Family + --

Happy Family might be remembered for their unity and good pronunciation. However, they seemed to keep standing in a specific position, which made the audience feel bored at the end of the "show" and thus caused a loss of attention from the audience. Eye contact was another weak point of this group, as others have made judgement.

--+ 3 Snakes and 1 Cat + --

About 3 Snakes and 1 Cat, they also made an interesting situation and was good at expressing characters' feelings and characteristics. Ai Linh still kept her great pronunciation.

["Nothing's gonna change my love for you..."]

-- + 1C all for One + --

Next was 1C All for One, this group surprised the whole class for their interesting and amusing story. The voice was loud enough but the pronunciation of some members was not quite good. Again, eye contact seemed to be a problem of some members of this group. Just one more thing about the their situation, we liked it very much.

["Lie down or I'll shoot you ..."]

-- + Born to Shine + --

Born To Shine this time made another lively situation and from this situation, some member who had been considered as "shy students" first time showed "the outside world" how active they were.

-- + Viva Vietnam + --

Finally, our group, Viva Vietnam. We did a good job at the beginning and although mistakes had been made, we could say that we had no regret for them. That may be our group's way to work: "Mistakes are a fact of life, it is the response to them that counts". We did not feel sorry for it but learned from it, like a saying:"To be succesful, sometimes you have to accept failure".

The costs and gains from this role-play ? They're obvious.
In this semester, especially during the project period for Midterm Speaking, we discovered the strength of Unity, Groupwork and personal abilities... This period gave us the most precious chance not only to merely improve our skills by daily practising and researching but also to find out about our partners. And although many times we lost the unity, got into misunderstandings and disagreements, we finally cooperated well for the sake of the group. Maybe this is the first time in my life I have seen such great effort made to achieve the goal. A lot of efforts have been made and a lot of obstacles have been overcome, we now can think of further intentions for the final test, also the preparation. Hope that our classmates keep going on the right track ^^ Cheer ^^.

GAINS AND LOSSES: A brief summary of "summaries"

The presentation has passed and now it's time to look back...
-Rich in contents and varied in presenting. That's the first thing we must say about our show. I'm under the impression that we have just attended a party of colorful templates which showed meticulous preparation that their designers tried to show. Yes, we did do our best and we knew that. That's the first gain.




- It's also blindingly obvious that the show purposefully got us ready for the upcoming exam. It also saved us from sudden onslaughts of lessons, or actually, functions that we were supposed to digest before the exam. At least, this is the main target of this show.




-A host of experience were drawn out as mistakes were unavoidable. We learned a lot about many interesting things not only from the contents of summaries but also about some seemingly trivial things from presenting skills such as designing templates, how to deal with attention span, interaction activities,... to academic points like the pronunciation or the intonation...I'm personally really interested in the work of Flying Kites since it was composed of a lot of unique photos (still in doubt whether my flip-flop can speak or not ^^), some funny sayings( "gian hu than", for example)... The show also reavealed some truths about hidden aspects of my friends' personalities. All of them seemed to possess great sense of humor , which was really a striking fact since some always keep a low profile in the class ^^.



- And loss... We put a lot of effort in our projects and it is undeniable that this was a very time-comsuming project. However the biggest loss is our shyness. We lost our shyness or, in other words, we successfully managed to conquer ourselves and rise over our fears of speaking in front of a large audience and I strongly believe that after this project , our confidence has been more or less built up... So, the biggest loss seems to be the biggest gain, right?

IN BRIEF, THOUGH THE TEACHER DIDN'T SPEAK MUCH IN THIS SHOW, WE REALLY GOT VERY PRODUCTIVE SPEAKING PERIODS. I'M SURE THAT ANYONE WHO PAID ASSIDUOUS ATTENTION IN THOSE PERIODS GAINED EVEN MORE THAN WHAT I HAVE MENTIONED ABOVE. AM I RIGHT?
(Marsu)

These pictures belong to the whole class 1C so I think everyone can use them for useful and good purposes, right ? [Mr Violence]

ABOUT "POSSIBILITY"

Yesterday, when I was digging into piles of books to search for information preparing our project, I came across very interesting functions that I hoped would be useful for you in improving you speaking skill. Take a look at them, will you?

* When you are sure that something won't happen,

-There's not the remotest chance of ...

-Prospects of sth look slim.

- There's no way that ....

- Sth is out of the question.

- It seems unlikely that...

- Sth/ Sb stands no chance of ....

- There's no possibility of
EX:

• There's not the remotest chance of any of them being found alive now.
• There's no possibility of any progress if you still remain so stubborn.
• There's no way that HOANG ANH GIA LAI will defeat DONG TAM LONG AN. (DONG TAM is the best ^^)
• A rise in the class fund is out of the question. ( hope Ms Hien doesn't take amiss ^^)
• It seems unlikely that we can get out of the presentation.
• She stands no chance of being the winner.
• Prospects of an end of th strike look slim.

* But if you are in doubt,

-be still in the balance

- be extremely doubtful

- be on the cards

* When there's an open possibility,

- There's a distinct possibility that

- be anybody's guess.

- It is open to question that...

EX:

• The safety of the hostages is still in the balance.
• After two days of rain, it is extremely doubtful whether we will have little sunshine tomorrow.
• The increased tax in cargos is still on the cards.
• There's a distinct possibility that we will have to learn by heart everything we study for the forthcoming exam. ( Oh, no: Political Economics: NIGHTMARE!!!)
• The next move of the hijackers is anybody's guess. (= They can do anything)
• Whether she will receive the gift is open to question.

* When you seize an air of certainty? Try these ones:

- in all probability

-be sure to

- be bound to

- look as if

EX :

• The train will , in all probability, have left before we arrive.
• She is sure to win the game.
• Waterlover is bound to be a good teacher. (Pleased? ^^)
• It looks as if tomorrow will be a gloomy day.(Lot of projects to do, hik hik...)

HOPE YOU HAVEN'T WASTED YOUR TIME READING THIS ENTRY. ^^

(MARSUPILAMI)

(SOURCE: BOOK "WORDBUIDER")