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quarta-feira, 22 de setembro de 2010
Short story, meet bartleby
http://www.voanews.com/learningenglish/home/arts-entertainment/Bartleby-by-Herman-Melville-100626059.html
segunda-feira, 20 de setembro de 2010
Double meaning verbs (causative verbs)
Let / Make / Have / Get
Let
FORM [let + person + verb]
USE
This construction means "to allow someone to do something."
Examples:
• John let me drive his new car.
• Will your parents let you go to the party?
• I don't know if my boss will let me take the day off.
Make
FORM [make + person + verb]
USE
This construction means "to force someone to do something."
Examples:
• My teacher made me apologize for what I had said.
• Did somebody make you wear that ugly hat?
• She made her children do their homework.
Have
FORM [have + person + verb]
USE
This construction means "to give someone the responsibility to do something."
Examples:
• Dr. Smith had his nurse take the patient's temperature.
• Please have your secretary fax me the information.
• I had the mechanic check the brakes.
Get
FORM [get + person + to + verb]
USE
This construction usually means "to convince to do something" or "to trick someone into doing something."
Examples:
• Susie got her son to take the medicine even though it tasted terrible.
• How can parents get their children to read more?
• The government TV commercials are trying to get people to stop smoking.
• Get vs. Have
Sometimes "get someone to do something" is interchangeable with "have someone do something," but these expressions do not mean exactly the same thing.
Examples:
• I got the mechanic to check my brakes.
AT FIRST THE MECHANIC DIDN'T THINK IT WAS NECESSARY, BUT I CONVINCED HIM TO CHECK THE BRAKES.
• I had the mechanic check my brakes.
I ASKED THE MECHANIC TO CHECK THE BRAKES.
I hope i've helped... by Fabio.
Let
FORM [let + person + verb]
USE
This construction means "to allow someone to do something."
Examples:
• John let me drive his new car.
• Will your parents let you go to the party?
• I don't know if my boss will let me take the day off.
Make
FORM [make + person + verb]
USE
This construction means "to force someone to do something."
Examples:
• My teacher made me apologize for what I had said.
• Did somebody make you wear that ugly hat?
• She made her children do their homework.
Have
FORM [have + person + verb]
USE
This construction means "to give someone the responsibility to do something."
Examples:
• Dr. Smith had his nurse take the patient's temperature.
• Please have your secretary fax me the information.
• I had the mechanic check the brakes.
Get
FORM [get + person + to + verb]
USE
This construction usually means "to convince to do something" or "to trick someone into doing something."
Examples:
• Susie got her son to take the medicine even though it tasted terrible.
• How can parents get their children to read more?
• The government TV commercials are trying to get people to stop smoking.
• Get vs. Have
Sometimes "get someone to do something" is interchangeable with "have someone do something," but these expressions do not mean exactly the same thing.
Examples:
• I got the mechanic to check my brakes.
AT FIRST THE MECHANIC DIDN'T THINK IT WAS NECESSARY, BUT I CONVINCED HIM TO CHECK THE BRAKES.
• I had the mechanic check my brakes.
I ASKED THE MECHANIC TO CHECK THE BRAKES.
I hope i've helped... by Fabio.
Active Voice, Passive Voice
There are two special forms for verbs called voice:
Active voice
Passive voice
The active voice is the "normal" voice. This is the voice that we use most of the time. You are probably already familiar with the active voice. In the active voice, the object receives the action of the verb:
active subject verb object
Cats eat fish.
The passive voice is less usual. In the passive voice, the subject receives the action of the verb:
passive subject verb object
Fish are eaten by cats.
The object of the active verb becomes the subject of the passive verb:
subject verb object
active Everybody drinks water.
passive Water is drunk by everybody.
Passive Voice
The passive voice is less usual than the active voice. The active voice is the "normal" voice. But sometimes we need the passive voice. In this lesson we look at how to construct the passive voice, when to use it and how to conjugate it.
Construction of the Passive Voice
The structure of the passive voice is very simple:
subject + auxiliary verb (be) + main verb (past participle)
The main verb is always in its past participle form.
Look at these examples:
subject auxiliary verb (to be) main verb (past participle)
Water is drunk by everyone.
100 people are employed by this company.
I am paid in euro.
We are not paid in dollars.
Are they paid in yen?
Use of the Passive Voice
We use the passive when:
we want to make the active object more important
we do not know the active subject
subject verb object
give importance to active object (President Kennedy) President Kennedy was killed by Lee Harvey Oswald.
active subject unknown My wallet has been stolen. ?
Note that we always use by to introduce the passive object (Fish are eaten by cats).
Look at this sentence:
He was killed with a gun.
Normally we use by to introduce the passive object. But the gun is not the active subject. The gun did not kill him. He was killed by somebody with a gun. In the active voice, it would be: Somebody killed him with a gun. The gun is the instrument. Somebody is the "agent" or "doer".
Conjugation for the Passive Voice
We can form the passive in any tense. In fact, conjugation of verbs in the passive tense is rather easy, as the main verb is always in past participle form and the auxiliary verb is always be. To form the required tense, we conjugate the auxiliary verb. So, for example:
present simple: It is made
present continuous: It is being made
present perfect: It has been made
Here are some examples with most of the possible tenses:
infinitive - to be washed
simple present - It is washed.
past - It was washed.
future - It will be washed.
conditional - It would be washed.
continuous
present - It is being washed.
past -It was being washed.
future -It will be being washed.
conditional -It would be being washed.
perfect
simple present - It has been washed.
past -It had been washed.
future - It will have been washed.
conditional -It would have been washed.
perfect continuous
present - It has been being washed.
past - It had been being washed.
future - It will have been being washed.
conditional -It would have been being washed.
I hope that helps!! By Fabio.
There are two special forms for verbs called voice:
Active voice
Passive voice
The active voice is the "normal" voice. This is the voice that we use most of the time. You are probably already familiar with the active voice. In the active voice, the object receives the action of the verb:
active subject verb object
Cats eat fish.
The passive voice is less usual. In the passive voice, the subject receives the action of the verb:
passive subject verb object
Fish are eaten by cats.
The object of the active verb becomes the subject of the passive verb:
subject verb object
active Everybody drinks water.
passive Water is drunk by everybody.
Passive Voice
The passive voice is less usual than the active voice. The active voice is the "normal" voice. But sometimes we need the passive voice. In this lesson we look at how to construct the passive voice, when to use it and how to conjugate it.
Construction of the Passive Voice
The structure of the passive voice is very simple:
subject + auxiliary verb (be) + main verb (past participle)
The main verb is always in its past participle form.
Look at these examples:
subject auxiliary verb (to be) main verb (past participle)
Water is drunk by everyone.
100 people are employed by this company.
I am paid in euro.
We are not paid in dollars.
Are they paid in yen?
Use of the Passive Voice
We use the passive when:
we want to make the active object more important
we do not know the active subject
subject verb object
give importance to active object (President Kennedy) President Kennedy was killed by Lee Harvey Oswald.
active subject unknown My wallet has been stolen. ?
Note that we always use by to introduce the passive object (Fish are eaten by cats).
Look at this sentence:
He was killed with a gun.
Normally we use by to introduce the passive object. But the gun is not the active subject. The gun did not kill him. He was killed by somebody with a gun. In the active voice, it would be: Somebody killed him with a gun. The gun is the instrument. Somebody is the "agent" or "doer".
Conjugation for the Passive Voice
We can form the passive in any tense. In fact, conjugation of verbs in the passive tense is rather easy, as the main verb is always in past participle form and the auxiliary verb is always be. To form the required tense, we conjugate the auxiliary verb. So, for example:
present simple: It is made
present continuous: It is being made
present perfect: It has been made
Here are some examples with most of the possible tenses:
infinitive - to be washed
simple present - It is washed.
past - It was washed.
future - It will be washed.
conditional - It would be washed.
continuous
present - It is being washed.
past -It was being washed.
future -It will be being washed.
conditional -It would be being washed.
perfect
simple present - It has been washed.
past -It had been washed.
future - It will have been washed.
conditional -It would have been washed.
perfect continuous
present - It has been being washed.
past - It had been being washed.
future - It will have been being washed.
conditional -It would have been being washed.
I hope that helps!! By Fabio.
segunda-feira, 13 de setembro de 2010
Gerund...
As folks always get confused with it, there we go...
Etymology
The word 'gerund' in English comes form the Latin term gerundium, of the same meaning. Gerundium itself comes from the gerundive of the Latin verb gero, gerundus, meaning "to be carried out".
Gerunds in English
In English, the gerund is identical in form to the present participle (ending in -ing) and can behave as a verb within a clause (so that it may be modified by an adverb or have an object), but the clause as a whole (sometimes consisting of only one word, the gerund itself) acts as a noun within the larger sentence. For example: Eating this cake is easy.
In "Eating this cake is easy," "eating this cake," although traditionally known as a phrase, is referred to as a non-finite clause in modern linguistics. "Eating" is the verb in the clause, while "this cake" is the object of the verb. "Eating this cake" acts as a noun phrase within the sentence as a whole, though; it is the subject of the verb "is."
Other examples of the gerund:
I like swimming. (direct object)
Swimming is fun. (subject)
Some use "gerund" to refer to all nouns ending in -ing, but in more careful use, not all nouns ending in -ing are gerunds. The formal distinction is that a gerund is a verbal noun – a noun derived from a verb that retains verb characteristics, that functions simultaneously as a noun and a verb, while other nouns ending in -ing are deverbal nouns, which function as common nouns, not as verbs at all. Compare:
I like fencing. (gerund, an activity, could be replaced with "to fence")
The white fencing adds to the character of the neighborhood. (deverbal, could be replaced with an object such as "bench")
Double nature of the gerund
As the result of its origin and development the gerund has nominal and verbal properties. The nominal characteristics of the gerund are as follows:
The gerund can perform the function of subject, object and predicative:
Smoking endangers your health. (subject)
I like making people happy. (object)
The gerund can be preceded by a preposition:
I'm tired of arguing.
Like a noun the gerund can be modified by a noun in the possessive case, a possessive adjective, or an adjective:
I wonder at John's keeping calm.
Is there any objection to my seeing her?
Brisk walking relieves stress.
The verbal characteristics of the gerund include the following:
The gerund of transitive verbs can take a direct object:
I've made good progress in speaking English.
The gerund can be modified by an adverb:
Breathing deeply helps you to calm down.
The gerund has the distinctions of aspect and voice.
Having read the book once before makes me more prepared.
Being deceived can make someone feel angry.
I hope i've helped y'all,
By Fabio
Etymology
The word 'gerund' in English comes form the Latin term gerundium, of the same meaning. Gerundium itself comes from the gerundive of the Latin verb gero, gerundus, meaning "to be carried out".
Gerunds in English
In English, the gerund is identical in form to the present participle (ending in -ing) and can behave as a verb within a clause (so that it may be modified by an adverb or have an object), but the clause as a whole (sometimes consisting of only one word, the gerund itself) acts as a noun within the larger sentence. For example: Eating this cake is easy.
In "Eating this cake is easy," "eating this cake," although traditionally known as a phrase, is referred to as a non-finite clause in modern linguistics. "Eating" is the verb in the clause, while "this cake" is the object of the verb. "Eating this cake" acts as a noun phrase within the sentence as a whole, though; it is the subject of the verb "is."
Other examples of the gerund:
I like swimming. (direct object)
Swimming is fun. (subject)
Some use "gerund" to refer to all nouns ending in -ing, but in more careful use, not all nouns ending in -ing are gerunds. The formal distinction is that a gerund is a verbal noun – a noun derived from a verb that retains verb characteristics, that functions simultaneously as a noun and a verb, while other nouns ending in -ing are deverbal nouns, which function as common nouns, not as verbs at all. Compare:
I like fencing. (gerund, an activity, could be replaced with "to fence")
The white fencing adds to the character of the neighborhood. (deverbal, could be replaced with an object such as "bench")
Double nature of the gerund
As the result of its origin and development the gerund has nominal and verbal properties. The nominal characteristics of the gerund are as follows:
The gerund can perform the function of subject, object and predicative:
Smoking endangers your health. (subject)
I like making people happy. (object)
The gerund can be preceded by a preposition:
I'm tired of arguing.
Like a noun the gerund can be modified by a noun in the possessive case, a possessive adjective, or an adjective:
I wonder at John's keeping calm.
Is there any objection to my seeing her?
Brisk walking relieves stress.
The verbal characteristics of the gerund include the following:
The gerund of transitive verbs can take a direct object:
I've made good progress in speaking English.
The gerund can be modified by an adverb:
Breathing deeply helps you to calm down.
The gerund has the distinctions of aspect and voice.
Having read the book once before makes me more prepared.
Being deceived can make someone feel angry.
I hope i've helped y'all,
By Fabio
quinta-feira, 9 de setembro de 2010
Blond jokes...
I knew a blonde that...
* she called me to get my phone number.
* she spent 20 minutes looking at the orange juice box because it said "concentrate."
* she put lipstick on her forehead because she wanted to make up her mind.
*she tried to put M&M's in alphabetical order.
*she sent me a fax with a stamp on it.
*she tried to drown a fish.
*she got locked in a grocery store and starved to death.
*she tripped over a cordless phone.
*she took a ruler to bed to see how long she slept.
*she asked for a price check at the Dollar Store.
*she studied for a blood test.
*when she heard that 90% of all crimes occur around the home, she moved.
*when she missed the 44 bus, she took the 22 bus twice instead.
*when she took you to the airport and saw a sign that said "Airport Left" she turned around and went home
Please laugh.... By Fabioo
* she called me to get my phone number.
* she spent 20 minutes looking at the orange juice box because it said "concentrate."
* she put lipstick on her forehead because she wanted to make up her mind.
*she tried to put M&M's in alphabetical order.
*she sent me a fax with a stamp on it.
*she tried to drown a fish.
*she got locked in a grocery store and starved to death.
*she tripped over a cordless phone.
*she took a ruler to bed to see how long she slept.
*she asked for a price check at the Dollar Store.
*she studied for a blood test.
*when she heard that 90% of all crimes occur around the home, she moved.
*when she missed the 44 bus, she took the 22 bus twice instead.
*when she took you to the airport and saw a sign that said "Airport Left" she turned around and went home
Please laugh.... By Fabioo
quarta-feira, 1 de setembro de 2010
MP7, for sale! The greatest phone! A brand new NOKIA!!!
I got the newest version of a NOKIA mobile phone which features mp3 player, camera (movie and pictures), card slot with a 512 mb card and bluetooth. See the picture below and get in contact in case you are interested on it! Great deal! Don't waste your time!! call now!!
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