WELCOME

Welcome to the English 177-189 Blog. English 177 is English for Academic Purposes; English 189 is English for Business. These courses may be taken separately or as part of the English Language Proficiency Program.The goal is to increase communication between students and instructors, and also provide you with an opportunity to communicate with each other. If you post general questions about the assignments or the course, they will be answered in the blog. If you have detailed questions you want answered, then e-mail your instructor. Note that while some activites are more appropriate to one course or the other.

WELCOME NEW STUDENTS!

A hearty welcome to all the new students joining these courses. We hope you enjoy your studies and have fun participating in this blog.

IMPORTANT: This blog site is open to the public; do not post personal information that could identify you--first name and the initial of your last name are the only personal information you should post. Please watch this video from the Canadian Government explaining privacy issues and social networking. 

Next blog: Friday, November 1 (tentative).

WHAT’S HAPPENING?

Oct. 24^th. United nations Day

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Day

Oct. 26^th. Eid al Adha

Christians and Jews will be familiar with the Bible story of the Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son. Muslims now ritually sacrifice an animal (commonly a goat) to commemorate this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eid_al-Adha

Oct. 31^st. Halloween—originally called All Hallows E’en (evening). Adults now celebrate with costume parties, and children celebrate by dressing up and “trick or treating” from door to door. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween

Nov. 1^st. All Saints Day

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints%27_Day

WHAT’S NEW

Apostrophe disaster!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pondspider/4863410939/in/pool-413045@N24/

Why punctuation is important—beating a parking ticket:

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/aug/04/drawing-a-line-between-law-and-grammar/

http://behindthegrammar.com/2010/07/top-10-made-up-words/

Previous Grammar Question

Peter and me are needing knowing to who to address the letter before its written in it's envelope and than being posted by us too the company in the states.

1. Pronoun: “Peter” is the subject of the verb “are needing” and so is “me”; therefore it should be “I” as “me” is the direct object pronoun.

2. Verb tense: For something that is generally true rather than something that is ongoing, use the simple present tense “need” instead of the present progressive “are needing”.

3. Relative Pronoun: “Who” is the subject pronoun—after “to” the object pronoun “whom” is grammatically correct.

4. Apostrophe “s”: In this sentence, “its” means “it is”; a letter is omitted so use an apostrophe. However, “it’s” is incorrect because this time it is a possessive.

5. Word confusion: Don’t mix up “than” and “then”; “than” is used in comparisons; “then” indicates what happened next. Also don’t confuse “to” the preposition with “too” the adverb.

6. Verb form: “being posted” is a progressive form of the verb; here the passive voice can be confusing as the word is “been”; they sound very similar.

7. Capitalization: Whether it’s the United States, or just the States, it’s a proper noun and requires a capital letter.

8. Punctuation: Elements that are non-essential grammatically to a sentence are set off with commas—use commas around “in its envelope”; this is why items in a series are set off with commas.

GRAMMAR QUESTION

Correct the errors in the following sentence:

Its important that we are on time for todays meeting on affective marketing techniques so please be picking Bryan and I up prompt at 8 am avoiding the trouble with the boss.

Solutions will be posted in the Course Announcement of the next edition of the blog.

PUZZLE

Previous Puzzle Solution:  

Without changing the order of the letters, place the four letter words on the dashes to form eight letter words. 

Veto, Rake, Hilt, Clam, Tile

1. __ um__ __ i __ y = humilty

2. Pro __ __ __ i __ =  proclaim

3. __ err __ b __ __ = terrible

4. __ __ xa __ i __ n = vexation

5. Ove __ t __ __ __ = overtake

New Puzzle:  

Remove the nine letters one by one from the word STARTLING; each letter removed, should leave another word. Example: MATE—remove E and the remaining word is MAT.

IDIOMS

There are three idioms that use the word GREEN:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/theteacher/2009/03/090409_teacher_colour_green.shtml

Watch this VIDEO and then write a sentence of your own that uses one of these three idioms.

ALL CHANGE!

Change the words in the sentence below as indicated. You can only change the exact word in the sequence given; after someone else has posted the next change, then you can post another change. For instance, student 1 writes #1 Subject Noun, and changes the subject noun; Student 2 writes #2 Direct Object Noun, and changes that noun. Each student only makes one change at a time and keeps to the order indicated. If you complete all 7 changes, then start making more changes again from 1 to 7. Each student should build on the changes that the previous students make.

The fussy housewife carefully laid the lace cloth on the rosewood table.

Changes: 

1. subject noun 

2. direct object noun                

3. indirect object noun              

4. adjective(s)  

5. adverb(s)         

6. verb name           

7. verb tense

AFFIXES

The word stem -ortho- (meaning straight or correct) occurs in many words. Add an affix (either a prefix or a suffix) to this stem to make another word. Each student should add a different word to the list.

COMPLETE THE SENTENCE

Use the type of clause, phrase, or grammar indicated to complete the following sentence*; you can add the phrase or clause before or after (not both) to the clause below:

…winter usually starts the week before Halloween in Canada …

1. Use a phrase            2. Use a dependent clause      3. Use an independent clause

* Please write three separate sentences.

NUMBER CHANGE

If the sentences are singular, change them to the plural; if they are plural, change them to the singular.

My daughter is starting school this week. I will take her to a nearby school (one within walking distance of our home). I’m sure she will soon settle in and make a friend. I sometimes think that having a child start school is more traumatic for the mother than for the child.

Each student should write a slightly different answer. 

VOCABULARY

Vocabulary building is important for both reading comprehension and writing. Use the following two words (note the part of speech) in one sentence.

glabrous (adjective) + retrospect (noun)

To further improve your vocabulary, check Word of the Day every day! 

There are also word games and puzzles on this site.

http://dictionary.reference.com/

SYNONYMS

We can describe something that is romantic as being sentimental. Provide a synonym for this word--each student should write a different word.

ACTIVE & PASSIVE

Write two sentences using the word steel. In the first sentence use the verb in the active voice, in the second sentence use it in the passive voice.

TIME CHANGE

I was shopping for school supplies last week, and I was surprised at the number of things I needed to buy. Some items are very specific; for instance, I couldn’t buy just any coloured pencils, they had to be a particular brand of coloured pencils. We didn’t want our child to be different from the others, so we succumbed to the pressure and bought the brand names.

Change the time of this paragraph—you will need to change the verb tense and any time clues. Each student should choose a different time change.

SENTENCE COMBINATION

Learning to combine ideas into more complex sentences is an important skill in writing. There are many ways to do this--many possible bonus points! 

Try to combine the following three sentences.

Sentence 1: Who is the designated driver for the Halloween party tonight?

Sentence 2: I heard that the party is at Sheila's house.

Sentence 3: The designated driver can't be Bill because his car is in the garage.

EXAM PRACTICE

Write a sentence using a dependent clause in the past progressive tense and an independent clause in the simple past.

HWT CHALLENGE

This is an exercise in advanced sentence combining.

Sentence 1: The Chief Financial Officer of the company where I work has a very demanding position

Sentence 2: ABC Engineering, where I am employed, recently hired Ted Schwarz as CFO to take charge of all its financial operations.

Grammar:

1. Use an appositive to combine the sentences.
2. Use an infinitive

LAUGH WITH ENGLISH

In Honour of Stupid People . . .

In case you needed further proof that the human race is doomed through stupidity, here are some actual label instructions on consumer goods ....
On packaging for an iron -- "Do not iron clothes on body."

(but wouldn't this save me time?)

WHAT’S HAPPENING?

Canadians will be celebrating Thanksgiving on Oct. 14^th. What is special about Canadian Thanksgiving?

http://www.cardfountain.com/holiday_info/canadian-thanksgiving.php

There are Thanksgiving celebrations in many parts of the world. Check out some of the festivals (scroll to the bottom for information on Canadian Thanksgiving).

http://www.thanksgivingworld.com/thanksgiving-around-world.html

WHAT’S NEW

http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/capitalize-seasons.aspx

Check your grammar: http://phras.in/

You get to choose between two alternatives that you type in: if one of the alternatives has “no hits” and the other one has more, then you should assume that the answer with more hits is the correct one.

A tongue-in-cheek look at word confusion:

http://www.happyplace.com/9574/grammar-test-keeps-idiots-off-of-the-internet

http://behindthegrammar.com/2010/07/top-10-made-up-words/

Previous Grammar Question

If you shouldn't mind me to ask where you are going when me and my sister’s seen you last week as you had been getting on bus on the Main street.

1. Question form: use “do” as the auxiliary verb to make a negative question (…don’t mind …).

2. Infinitive/Gerund: After the verb “mind” use the gerund (asking) not the infinitive.

3. Verb tense/question form: The questions is about something that happened in the past, so use the past progressive tense instead of the present progressive. Because this is a question and not a statement, the word order needs to reflect that (were you going).

4. Pronoun usage: “me” is an object pronoun, but the verb “see” requires a subject--“I” is the subject pronoun.

5. Verb tense: “Seen” is the past participle; it is used to help make the perfect tense or the passive voice. Here, we need the simple past “saw”.

6. Verb tense: “had been getting on” use the past perfect progressive tense, but there is not reference to another time in the past, so use the past progressive tense (were getting on).

7. Article usage: We need to specify “bus”; here because it is not any specific bus, it is better to “a”. However, we don’t use articles with streets, so omit “the”, but see point 9 for more information

8.  Capitalization: Either use all capitals (Main Street) if that is the name of the street; however, if it’s not the proper name of the street, then you do need the article “the” before “main street”.

9. Punctuation: There are three important situations here: 1) After an “if” clause (conditional clause) use a comma--place after “asking”; 2) This whole sentence is an example of direct speech; as a result quotation marks are needed. 3) The sentence is a question, so use a question mark.

Sample Answer: “If you don’t mind me asking, where were you going when I and my sister saw you last week as you were getting on a bus on Main Street?”

CREATIVE WRITING

ACROSTIC

In an acrostic, you start with a theme word and use each letter of that word to start another word or phrase that describes the theme word. 

The acrostic below is based on the theme word SNOW.

……………S     Slippery

……………N     Numbing

……………O     Obliterating

……………W     Wintery

Write an acrostic based on one of the following “Thanksgiving” themes: 

THANKSGIVING, TURKEY, PUMPKIN, STUFFING, HORN OF PLENTY, or FALL COLOURS.

***

CINQUAIN POEM

A cinquain poem is a five-line poem that is diamond-shaped. 

Start with a theme word (noun) and then use the pattern 1 noun, 2 adjectives, 3 gerunds, 1 full sentence, and finally a synonym for the first noun.

SNOW

.....................Snow.........................

.................Cold, white......................

..........Falling, freezing, numbing..............

..........It chills fingers and toes..............

.....................Ice..........................

Write a cinquain poem based on one of the following “Thanksgiving” themes:

THANKSGIVING, TURKEY, PUMPKIN, STUFFING, HORN OF PLENTY, or FALL COLOURS.

GRAMMAR QUESTION

Correct the errors in the following sentence:

Peter and me are needing knowing to who to address the letter before its written in it's envelope and than being posted by us too the company in the states.

PUZZLE

Suggested answers to previous puzzle: 

original word (a)	original word (b)	new word (a)	new word (b)
burn	bead	bun	bread
rid	tripe	ride	trip
grove	rout	groove	rut
charm	rush	harm	crush
cream	sweep	scream	weep

New Puzzle:  

Without changing the order of the letters, place the four letter words on the dashes to form eight letter words.

Veto, Rake, Hilt, Clam, Tile

1. __ um__ __ i __ y

2. Pro __ __ __ i __

3. __ err __ b __ __

4. __ __ xa __ i __ n

5. Ove __ t __ __ __

IDIOMS

There are three idioms that use the word dog:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/theteacher/2009/03/090311_teacher_animal_dog.shtml

Watch this video and then write a sentence of your own that uses one of these three idioms.

ALL CHANGE!

Change the words in the sentence below as indicated. 

You can only change the exact word in the sequence given; after someone else has posted the next change, then you can post another change. 

For instance, student 1 writes #1 Subject Noun, and changes the subject noun; Student 2 writes #2 Direct Object Noun, and changes that noun. Each student only makes one change at a time and keeps to the order indicated. If you complete all 7 changes, then start making more changes again from 1 to 7. 

Each student should build on the changes that the previous students make

The old man quickly paid the overdue bill to the newly trained bank teller.

Changes:                                                                                                                              

1. subject noun 

2. direct object noun                

3. indirect object noun                       

4. adjective(s)  

5. adverb(s)         

6. verb name          

7. verb tense

AFFIXES

The word stem -mort-(meaning death)--occurs in many words. Add an affix (either a prefix or a suffix) to this stem to make another word. Each student should add a different word to the list.

COMPLETE THE SENTENCE

Use the type of clause, phrase, or grammar indicated to complete the following sentence; you can add the phrase or clause before or after (not both) to the clause below:

  ...I always look forward to the fall...…

1. Use a phrase            2. Use a dependent clause      3. Use an independent clause

NUMBER CHANGE

When my friends went fishing at various lakes these last few months, sometimes they were lucky and actually caught several local varieties of fish, but at other times they just enjoyed the weather, some quiet times, and the views they had of nature.

VOCABULARY

Vocabulary building is important for both reading comprehension and writing. 

Use the following two words (note the part of speech) in one sentence.

Predictability (noun) + biodegradable (adjective

To further improve your vocabulary, check Word of the Day every day! There are also word games and puzzles on this site.

http://dictionary.reference.com/

SYNONYMS

We can describe something that is a mixture or parts as having heterogeneity. 

Provide a synonym for this word--each student should write a different word.

THE PASSIVE

Write two sentences using the word believe. In the first sentence use the verb in the active voice, in the second sentence use it in the passive voice.

TIME CHANGE

When I took my vacation early last month, I toured the mountain parks in Alberta. I started by driving to Waterton Lakes National Park, and then I drove north through Kananaskis Country to Banff National Park, and then I continued north to Jasper National. The weather was good, so I enjoyed hiking in the mountains, and I certainly enjoyed the views.

Change the time of this paragraph—you will need to change the verb tense and any time clues. Each student should choose a different time change.

SENTENCE COMBINATION

Learning to combine ideas into more complex sentences is an important skill in writing. There are many ways to do this--many possible bonus points! Try to combine the following three sentences.

Sentence 1: Because the price of gasoline has increased so much in the past few years, more people are now using public transport.

Sentence 2: Many blame the increase in the cost of gas this week on the upcoming long weekend when many people will be travelling.

Sentence 3: There always seems to be one excuse or another for raising the price of gasoline, and this cost impacts so many other costs.

BUILD-A-SENTENCE

The following question is similar to the one in part 3 of the Engl 140 final exam. 

There are many possible answers. Write a sentence using the vocabulary and grammar indicated.

The  + participial adjective + students   +   drive (passive voice)

HWT CHALLENGE

This exercise is advanced sentence combining; it is designed for students who have completed Lesson 9 in the course.

Sentence 1: Many people have been very upset with what has been happening with gasoline prices this past year.

Sentence 2: As a result, many people, including politicians, are looking at ways to reduce the impact of these increases.

Grammar: 

1 . Use a gerund to combine the sentences.

2. Use a relative pronoun to combine the sentences.

3. Use an appositive to combine the sentences.

LAUGH WITH ENGLISH

In Honour of Stupid People . . .

In case you needed further proof that the human race is doomed through stupidity, here are some actual label instructions on consumer goods ....
On some Swanson frozen dinners -- "Serving suggestion: Defrost."

(but, it's just a suggestion.)