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Thursday, March 31, 2011

SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT.



ARTICLE
  There are only three articles in English: a, an and the.
  There are two types of articles indefinite 'a' and 'an' or definite 'the'. You also need to know when not to use an article.
Indefinite articles - a and an (DETERMINERS)
  A and an are the indefinite articles. They refer to something not specifically known to the person you are communicating with.
  A and an are used before nouns that introduce something or someone you have not mentioned before:-
EXAMPLE FOR DETERMINERS
For example:
  "I saw an elephant this morning."
"I ate a banana for lunch." A and an are also used when talking about your profession:-
For example:
  "I am an English teacher."
"I am a builder."
Definite Article - the (DETERMINERS)
You use the when you know that the listener knows or can work out what particular person/thing you are talking about.
                For example:
  "The apple you ate was rotten."
"Did you lock the car?"
You should also use the when you have already mentioned the thing you are talking about.
                For example:
  "She's got two children; a girl and a boy. The girl's eight and the boy's fourteen."
We use the to talk about geographical points on the globe.
                For example:
  the North Pole, the equator .
We use the to talk about rivers, oceans and seas
                For example:
  the Nile, the Pacific, the English channel.
We also use the before certain nouns when we know there is only one of a particular thing.
                For example:
  the rain, the sun, the wind, the world, the earth, the White House etc..
However if you want to describe a particular instance of these you should use a/an.
                For example:
  "I could hear the wind." / "There's a cold wind blowing."
  "What are your plans for the future?" / "She has a promising future ahead of her."
The is also used to say that a particular person or thing being mentioned is the best, most famous, etc
NO ARTICLE
       We usually use no article to talk about things in general:-
       For example:
       Inflation is rising.
       People are worried about rising crime.
                 (People generally, so no article)
       Do not use an article when talking about sports.
       My son plays football.
       Tennis is expensive.
Do not use an article before uncountable nouns when talking about  them generally.
For example:
       Information is important to any organisation.
       Coffee is bad for you.
       Do not use an article before the names of countries except where they indicate multiple areas or contain the words (state(s), kindom, republic, union). Kingdom, state, republic and union are nouns, so they need an article.
       For example:
       No article - Italy, Mexico, Bolivia, England
       Use the - the UK (United Kingdom), the USA (United States of America), the Irish Republic





presentation by:
MAIZATUL, RASYIDAH, DIAN AND NUR HAZIRAH..


Subject-Verb Agreement
Agreement
  Present tense verbs in English should agree with the subject of the sentence
  Singular subjects use singular verbs
  Jack robs liquor stores (s on the verb)
  Plural subjects use plural verbs
  Bonnie and Clyde rob banks (no s on the verb)
  Most native speaker do this instinctively
  More complex problems require you to learn a few rules
Identify the Subject
  Ignore words that come between the subject and the verb
  Reduce sentences to their simplest form
  A good set of skis costs / cost hundreds of dollars
  A good set of skis costs / cost hundreds of dollars
  A good set of skis costs  hundreds of dollars
  My boss, as well as her staff, leave / leaves early every Friday
  My boss, as well as her staff, leave / leaves early every Friday
  My boss, as well as her staff, leaves early every Friday
Compound Subjects using “And”
  Most compound subjects joined by “and” are plural
  Bert and Ernie is / are special friends
  Bert and Ernie is / are special friends (plural verb)
  Exception: If the words joined by “and” refer to a single thing, the subject is also singular
  War and Peace is a very thick book (singular)
  My friend and co-worker is waiting to see you (singular)
Compound Subjects using “Or”
  When the subject is joined with “or” or “nor” the verb agrees with the words closest to the verb
  Neither the instructor nor the students has / have any control over the number of 8 o’clock classes
  Neither the instructor nor the students has / have any control over the number of 8 o’clock classes (plural verb)
  Either two credit cards or a membership is / are needed before you can rent movies
  Either two credit cards or a membership is / are needed before you can rent movies (singular verb)
  Note: While the above example is correct, it is usually better to place the plural word closer to the verb
  Either a membership or two credit cards are needed before you can rent movies (plural verb)
Indefinite Pronouns
  Indefinite pronouns are singular
  every, everyone, everybody, each, neither, either, none, one, no one
  Every student has / have a unique student number
  Every student has / have a unique student number
  None of us admit / admits to sending the e-mail message
  None of us admit / admits to sending the e-mail message
  Ignore prepositional phrases coming between the subject and the verb
  Each of the five departments is / are hiring new instructors
  Each of the five departments is / are hiring new instructors
Collective Nouns
  Words such as jury, committee, or herd will be singular when everyone in the group is acting together
  The jury is / are deciding the fate of the accused
  The jury is / are deciding the fate of the accused
  Collective nouns will be plural when the members of the group are not acting together
   The jury is / are undecided on the guilt of the accused
  The jury is / are undecided on the guilt of the accused
Here, There, and It
  When the sentence begins with Here or There, the subject follows the verb and controls whether the verb is plural
  Here are my reasons for quitting (plural)
  There is no need to pay me next week (singular)
  It is always singular
  It was the long hours that bothered me (singular)
  RULES – When the sentences start with “THERE” and “HERE”, the subject will be always be placed after the verb
Words Ending in S
  Words such as economics, AIDS, physics and news are singular
  Economics is fun and exciting
  The news is usually broadcast live
  Words such as scissors, eyeglasses and pants that name things with two parts are plural
  My glasses were broken when I did a face plant

ADJECTIVE





An adjective modifies a noun or a pronoun by describing, identifying, or quantifying words. An adjective usually procedes the noun or the pronoun which it modifies.



ADJECTIVE BEFORE NOUNS

Ø  Adjective describe a noun
Example: Mark went to an expensive restaurant for dinner. 
(Expensive is an adjective, restaurant is noun)

ADJECTIVE PAIRS
Ø  Adjectives ending in -ing, describe a situation or a thing
Example: Malaysia Fest attracted many tourists. The events were exciting.

Ø  Adjectives ending in-ed, describe how a person feels
Example: Sally was excited to receive so many presents on her birthday. 

COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVES
Ø  used when one noun is compared to another noun
Ø  can be form in 2 ways:
·         adding -er to an adjectives (older, younger, taller)
·         adding more in front of an adjectives
      (more expensive, more beautiful)
!! NOTE - DO NOT use -er and more together!!
Example: Erna's watch is more cheaper than mine.
               Erna's watch is cheaper than mine.

SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVES
Ø  used to compare three or more nouns
Ø  can be form in 2 ways :
·         adding -est to an adjectives 
      (longest, eldest, biggest) 
·         adding most in front of an adjectives 
      (most intelligent, most loving, most expensive )
!! NOTE - DO NOT use -est and most together!!
Example: Erna's watch is the most cheapest
               Erna's watch is the cheapest

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

active and passive voice..

Verbs and Voice
  • Voice is the form a verb takes to indicate whether the subject of the verb performs or receives the action.
  • There are two types of voice:  active voice and passive voice.
Active Voice
  • Active Voice – indicates that the subject of the verb is acting
  • Because the subject does or "acts upon" the verb in such sentences, the sentences are said to be in the active voice.
  • These examples show that the subject is  doing the verb's action.
    • The dog jumped onto the boy.
      • The dog (subject) is doing the jumping (verb).
    • Kristy will give a book report to the class.
      • Kristy (subject) is doing the giving (verb).
    • The computer printed my paper.
      • The computer (subject) is doing the printing (verb).
Passive Voice
  • In a passive voice sentence, the subject and object flip-flop. The subject becomes the passive recipient of the action.
  • Because the subject is being "acted upon" (or is passive), such sentences are said to be in the passive voice.
  • These examples show the subject being acted upon by the verb. 
  • The boy was jumped on by the dog.
    • Boy (subject)  was being jumped on (verb)
  • A book report will be given by Kristy to the class.
    • Report (subject) will be given (verb).
  • My paper was printed by the computer.           
    • Paper (subject) was being printed (verb).
REASONS FOR USING THE PASSIVE VOICE
  • Passive voice is used when the agent (doer of an action) is obvious, unknown, or unnecessary.
ú  Oranges are grown in California.
ú  Toyotas are made in Japan.
Her purse was stolen.
  • Passive voice is used when the speaker/writer wants to emphasize a result or emphasize the receiver of the action instead of the performer.
ú  Seven thousand people were killed by the earthquake
  • The earthquake killed 7,000 people.
ú  The professor was hit by three snowballs.
  • Three snowballs hit the professor.
Reasons to Use the Active Voice
  • Most writers prefer to use active voice because it is more direct.
  • Compare
ú  Active: The waiter dropped the tray of food.
ú  Passive: The tray of food was dropped by the waiter.
  • The active voice is less awkward and clearly states relationship between subject and action.
  • Compare
ú  Passive: Your request for funding has been denied by the review committee.
ú  Active: The review committee denied your request for funding.
  • The active voice sentence pattern propels the reader forward through your writing thus avoiding weak prose.
When to Use Passive Voice
  • In general, the passive voice is less direct, less forceful, and less concise than the active voice. 
  • Use the passive voice in the following situations:
ú  Use passive voice when you do not know or do not want to reveal the performer of an action.
ú  Use passive voice when you want to emphasize the receiver of an action.
Form of Passive Voice Verbs
  • The passive voice requires a "double verb" and will always consist of a form of the verb "to be" and the past participle (usually the "en/ed/t" form) of another verb.
  • Example:
                Active:  John baked the bread.
                Passive:  The bread was baked by John.  (Was is a form of the verb “be”.)
  • Writers should be familiar with the forms of "to be" , often called linking verbs, so that they can easily identify the passive voice in their work.
  • Review the forms of "to be":
ú  am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been
  • Note the forms of "to be" in the examples of the verb "to kick" in various forms of the passive voice:
  • is kicked----------------had been kicked
    was kicked-------------is going to be kicked
    is being kicked---------will be kicked
    has been kicked-------can be kicked
    was being kicked------should be kicked
  • Often passive voice sentences will contain a "by" phrase indicting who or what performed the action.
  •  Passive sentences can be easily transformed into active sentences when the object of the preposition "by" is moved to the subject position in the sentence.
  • Examples:
ú  Passive: The cookies were eaten by the children.
ú  Active: The children ate the cookies.
ú  Passive: The tunnels are dug by the gophers.
ú  Active: The gophers dug the tunnels.


Thursday, March 17, 2011

cancel class

We do not have class today. Our class being cancel due to talk delivered by  Pegawai from Pusat i-Learn Bahagian Hal Ehwal Akademik. According to this talk, I got some information that can be share here.


What is i-Learn System ?
*i-Learn is a learning management system for e-learning in UiTM. Relevant to today's technology advancement, i-Learn system acts as a platform that supports the teaching and learning process in UiTM. i-Learn system is developed using Open Source Software which involves PHP progamming languages and MySQL as database. Such programs are considered to be among the most users friendly programs that will make surfing and using the facilities provided to be effortless and easy.

i-Learn BACKGROUND
*This centre was established on the 1st of December 2005 under the Academic Affairs Division (HEA) of UiTM. The main objective is to administer and organise all e-learning activities in UiTM. The centre officially launched UiTM official portal for e-learning (i-Learn V1.0) on 30th December 2005. The launching was officiated by the Vice Chancellor of UiTM.

i-Learn NAME
*i-Learn Centre (i-LeC)
>> i-Learn is the official name for UiTM's learning system


i-Learn PHILOSOPHY
*The belief in the potential of information and communication technology in enhancing the process of teaching and learning.


i-Learn VISION
*To make UiTM a premier university of outstanding scholarship and academic excellence through e-learning.


i-Learn MISSION
*To enhance the quality of professionalism of UiTM academic staff through e-learning.

i-Learn MOTTO
" Knowledge Sharing @ a click "



When we want to access i-Learn, we need have an ID number and password to log in.
http://istudent.uitm.edu.my