Saturday, January 14, 2012

The Pilcrow and My Cousin.

While I was typing the research paper of my cousin, I run into a paragraph mark called a pilcrow ((). I remembered this mark as an indication that a one paragraph should be split into two or more separate paragraphs. Sometimes, it is inserted at  which a new paragraph should begin. 

You Really Have To Wait For Love

Love, love, love. What does it really mean for a person? Does it help or worsen a person's life? Is it a matter of life and death if someone is single? I personally think that love plays a vital role in our loves. Love is not only the concept of having a partner but is also evident when we have our God, family and friends backing up. We should never feel alone in this world for God is always there to love us and He has plans for us. Love could inspire and make a person grow maturely, but we should take into consideration that too much of it could lead to disappointment and sometimes failure.

I just thought of posting something about love even though it's not related to our subject; I hope Ma'am Alfelor would understand me. :)

Laugh while we learn

Hi classmates! :)) To tell you the truth, I really don't know what to post. So I looked up for this site to help you reduce your burden in studying English. You won't even cram any grammar rules or vocabulary words into your head. Instead, you will be absorbing bits and pieces of the language almost without realizing it. So let's laugh while we learn! :)))

http://www.kinglishschool.com/fun.htm

I Was Left Because Everbody Else Already Left

Are you confused yet? In the title, the first "left" means "to remain" while the second "left" means "to have gone". The word "left" seems to contradict itself. How could a word mean "to remain" and "to have gone" at the same time? Interestingly enough, there are a lot more words that contradict their own meaning. These words are called antagonyms, also known as contronyms or auto-antonyms.
Here are some examples:
1. Fast: Moving rapidly (running fast) vs. Unable to move (stuck fast to the ground)
2. Cut: Get in (cut in) vs. Get out (cut class)
3. Overlook: To pay attention to (overlook a project) vs. To ignore (overlook an error)
4. Resign: To quit a contract vs. To sign a contract again [hyphenated as re-sign]

PS. This reminds me of an embarrassing moment. When I was a kid, a lot of people wanted Former President Erap to resign. At that time, I thought they liked Erap, and wanted Erap to sign the contract again. I felt stupid when I learned otherwise. Why does "resign" mean "to quit of a contract" anyway? It makes little sense! Sigh...
Anyway, I hope you found the topic fun. You can find a list of antagonyms here:

Facebook



I found these on the social networking site - Facebook. The first picture has an error in the usage of apostrophe. The words "servers" and "thanks" don't need an apostrophe. The second picture has an error in capitalization. The two independent clauses were connected with a use of semi-colon and these were still considered as one sentence; hence, the first word of the second independent clause should not be capitalized.

Interjections

Hello. I made some research about a topic which is also included in our first exam. It is about interjections. Interjections are words that can be added in a sentence and can be used to express an emotion. However, they are not grammatically related to any other part of the sentence. Here's a list that I found that may help you to know more about them and their meaning. Enjoy reading.

An OKAY Post :)

The word “Okay” seems to be a universal term. It is widely used around the world but have you ever wondered where this word came from? Even though we use it almost everyday, I’m pretty sure that most of us are not familiar with its origin. Who knew that there are actually various theories regarding the etymology of this word? I hope that it’s OKAY to you to check this site.
:)


http://www.miketodd.net/encyc/okay.htm

Same spelling but different meaning.

Good day classmates! I posted some examples of homonyms here. Homonyms are words that have the same spelling, same pronunciation but have different meanings. This post can also help us in choosing the right words whenever we want to say something. We must always remember that choosing the wrong word can make a big difference in what we really mean. Take note of these words. :))



The bandage was wound around the wound.

wound - (rhymes with 'tuned' and means an injury as from a knife or bullet) "The soldier received a serious wound in the battle."wound (rhymes with 'sound' and is Past Tense of 'wind' meaning to twist or turn as with a watch spring) "The clock spring broke when the boy wound it too tightly."

The farm was used to produce produce.x

produce - pronounced PROduce: fruits, vegetables and other goods from a farm. This is a noun. "During the summer, many farmers sell their produce from roadside stands."produce - pronounced proDUCE: a verb meaning to make or manufacture."American factories produce top-quality machinery for the world market."

xA bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

bass - rhymes with 'pass', a type of fresh-water fish. "The boy was very excited when he caught a five-pound bass on his first fishing trip."bass - rhymes with 'base', meaning lower in musical pitch; also a common name for a bass guitar , a bass viola or a bass drum. "The skinny man with the long neck sang bass in the church choir."

I did not object to the object placed on my desk.

object - pronounced OBject. A noun, a thing, something you can see and touch. "The doctor carefully removed the small, sharp object from the patient's eye."object - pronounced obJECT. A verb meaning to voice an opinion in opposition to a proposal; to oppose the current situation or matter. "The kind woman tried to object to the way her neighbor was treating his dog."

They were too close to the door to close it.

close - Pronounced with a Long O and an S sound. It means near. "I worried when my friend stood very close to the lion's cage."close - Pronounced with a Long O and a Z sound, as in 'nose'. It means to shut, to finish or bring to an end. A verb. "Don't forget to close the door when you leave."

Upon seeing the tear in the painting, I shed a tear.

tear - Rhymes with tare, with Long A sound, meaning to rip or pull apart."The old man used duct tape to repair the tear in his screen door."tear - Rhymes with 'beer' and means the liquid that seeps from one's eyes at times of extreme happiness or sadness - a product of crying. "The girl felt one tear slowly slide down her cheek as her best friend recited her wedding vows."

Parts of Speech

Since we have discussed, I want to share a link where we can find a table that discussed the functions of each part of speech and gave example. I hope this would help us understand more the different parts of speech. I also posted a link where you can practice it.

Links:
http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/parts-of-speech_1.htm
http://a4esl.org/q/f/z/zz30fna.htm


KYLE PASCUAL

It's time to do a business letter!

When the time comes for us to work, we will most probably be doing a lot of business letters. I searched for some tips on writing a good business letter and I found some tips I never heard before. 

One of those is the difference between the use of "Yours faithfully" and "Yours sincerely".
When the recipient name is unknown, we use "Yours faithfully" while we use "Yours sincerely" when we know the recipient's name. 

For other interesting tips with regards to writing a business letter, visit this site http://speakspeak.com/resources/general-english-vocabulary/business-letter-writing-phrases



    

Dangling participles

In academic writing, dangling participles can cause serious misunderstandings. Consider the following sentence: "After winning the Peloponnesian war, Athens was ruled briefly by the Spartans." By juxtaposing "winning" and "Athens," the sentence implies that Athens won the Peloponnesian War, which is wrong. The Spartans won the war. The sentence should be rephrased so that the participle is closer to the Spartans than to Athens: "After winning the Peloponnesian War, the Spartans ruled Athens briefly." Or, you can just rewrite the sentence and not use a participle: "After the Spartans won the Peloponnesian War, Athens was briefly in their control." Remember that precision is at a premium when writing history!"

Friday, January 13, 2012





Yesterday was Friday the 13th. Is it a fact or a superstition? I looked up on it and found its origin and folklore on why it is unlucky. There is also called paraskevidekatriaphobia or the fear of Friday the 13th. Try to read more of it at: http://urbanlegends.about.com/cs/historical/a/friday_the_13th.htm


Reference:
Emery, D. (2012, January 13). Why Friday the 13th Is Unlucky. Retrieved January 14, 2012 from the World Wide Web: http://urbanlegends.about.com/cs/historical/a/friday_the_13th.htm

-one vs. -body



Everybody vs. Everyone
and
Nobody vs. No one

These pronouns - everybody and everyone, nobody and no one - have the same meaning unless of comes after them.

Example:
No one of these men knows it.
Every one of us knows about it.

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxph9synct1qbolbn.jpg
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/pronouns/indefinite-pronouns