Speaking a Language

Spoken language is a wonderfully complex mystery. Human’s can’t seem to live without it, yet the majority of us cannot speak to each other with 100% accuracy. Even within a language and even within a dialect, people are so lazy and sloppy with their words that misunderstandings are more the rule than the exception.

Pangrams

Good day classmates! I am searching of something to post a while ago. Luckily, I came across with this weird word called pangrams. According to rinkwords.com, pangram is a sentence that contains all letters of the alphabet. Amazing, right?

Here are some examples:

1. The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.

2. The public was amazed to view the quickness and dexterity of the juggler.

3. A mad boxer shot a quick, gloved jab to the jaw of his dizzy opponent.

More examples and explanations about pangrams:

http://www.rinkworks.com/words/pangrams.shtml

Marriage :)

Marriage, also known as the Sacrament of Matrimony, is a very crucial stage in our life. A person should be stable, willing, faithful, and ready for all sorts of responsibilities, so that he or she could be qualified to get married. Yes, it is a fact that anybody can get married to whoever they want to, but they should be aware of the consequences of their decisions. Married life is not as simple as it may look like. It is like riding a roller coaster for the rest of your life.

Let us not hurry ourselves to be committed. Let us all enjoy life and just go with the flow. Let us be faithful to God that He will not let us fall into the wrong place.

Bouillabaisse--What the heck, right?

Sitting on a chair, you're reading and suddenly you wonder, "What in the world does that word mean?" Bouillabaisse: I got this word from a novel, and the author used context clues (“Lots of shrimp and crab legs…”) to help readers understand it. What would you use to identify bouillabaisse?

gong hee fot choy!

Since Chinese New Year is near, I want to share a site that contains a lot of Chinese traditions and beliefs like Chinese zodiac, etc. (on side links). When did Chinese New Year started? There is a folklore about the monster Nian that was associated with the celebration of Chinese New Year. 

The Western Zhou Dynasty, Han Dynasty and Song Dynasty had different forms of celebrating Chinese New Year.

Reference:

When is Chinese New Year 2012?. (n.d.). Retrieved January 21, 2012 from the World Wide Web: http://www.123chinesenewyear.com/2012.html

Clause vs Phrase

Phrase and clause are quite confusing because they are somehow related to each other. Phrase is group of words that has either no subject or no predicate while clause is group of words that has subject and predicate.

To have more knowledge about phrase and clause, you can visit this link:
http://www.sonnerct.com/English_Rules/LR06_Clauses.htm
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/phrases.htm

KYLE PASCUAL

If versus Whether

I found these entertaining pictures on a social networking site about if and whether. They have their differences and similarities. I hope you will enjoy reading.

"If" is used in conditional constructions.

Example: Tell me if you're going to use the laptop tomorrow.

"Whether" is used in expressing an alternative or possibility.

Example" Tell me whether you're going to use the laptop tomorrow.

3. Whether is preferred when a question-word clause is a subject or complement.

Example: Whether we can eat this cake is another option. (Subject)

The question is whether he will do his homework. (Complement)

"Whether" and "if" can be used to introduce indirect questions and yes/no questions.

http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/if-versus-whether.aspx