English as a second language

...Verbs

easl — Sat, 24 May 2008 07:31:18 GMT

The Moods of Verbs

The word mood comes from a Latin word which means manner. When we apply the term mood to verbs, we mean the manner in which the verb expresses the action or state of being.

There are three moods in English, the indicative mood, the imperative mood, and the subjunctive mood.

1. The indicative mood is used to make statement and ask questions. Most of the verbs that you commonly use are in the indicative mood.

The secretary typed the letter (statement of fact)
Did you hear the boy's cry of help? (question)

2. The imperative mood is used to express a command or a request. The imperative mood is found only in the present tense, second person. The subject is always the pronoun you, which is seldom expressed.

Come here at once! (command)
Freeze! (command)
Close the door. (request)
Please come in and sit down? (request)

3. The subjunctive mood is used to express a wish, doubt, uncertainty or a condition which is contrary to fact. By contrary to fact we mean something that is not true. A contrary to fact condition is usually introduced by the word if or as if. Some times careful writers and speakers also use the subjunctive in making a suggestion, in making a demand, or expressing a need.

If he were here, I would give him the keys. (He is not here)
I wish I were in San Francisco. (expresses a wish)
He talked as if I was not there. (I am there)
If this plan fails, we shall give up the project. (condition of uncertainty)
It is important that the play begin at once. (a necessity)
I don't know if we can succeed. (doubt)

The subjunctive and indicative moods do not present any problems in English. The verb has the same form to express a statement or to ask a question. You can identify the subjunctive mood easily because the subject is you, which is usually understood. The imperative mood always expresses a command or a request.

The subjunctive is used in certain parliamentary expressions, such as the following:

I move that the nominations be closed.
He moved that the report of the committee be accepted.

!!...Goodbye

easl — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 07:21:18 GMT

..Goodbye in over 450 languages..

Arabic (North Africa, Middle East) Ma as-salaamah
Dutch (Netherlands) Tot ziens
English (United States, New Zealand) [inf] See ya
English (America) See you later
Farsi (Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan) Khoda hafaz
French (France, Quebec) Salut
German (Central Europe) Auf Wiedersehen
.

!!...factorid

easl — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 23:58:46 GMT

How come tears come out of our eyes when we cry?

Tears flow from our eyes when we cry because they contain chemicals and hormones produced by our bodies.

When we become upset, our brains and bodies overreact and work overtime by producing chemicals and hormones.

Crying helps eliminate these extra chemicals that we don't need.

The chemicals and hormones disappear from our body through the form of tears. As our tears flow, they sooth our sadness or distress by withdrawing these chemical agents.

That is why many people feel calmer or more refreshed after crying--because the tears get rid of these hormones that are produced when we are sad, happy, or distressed.

!!...more laughs

easl — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 06:53:18 GMT

A wife was making a breakfast of fried eggs for her husband.

Suddenly, her husband burst into the kitchen.

"Careful," he said, "CAREFUL! Put in some more butter!
Oh my GOD! You're cooking too many at once.
TOO MANY! Turn them! TURN THEM NOW!
We need more butter. Oh my GOD!
WHERE are we going to get MORE BUTTER?
They're going to STICK! Careful . CAREFUL!
I said be CAREFUL!
You NEVER listen to me when you're cooking! Never!
Turn them! Hurry up! Are you CRAZY?
Have you LOST your mind?
Don't forget to salt them. You know you always forget to salt them. Use the salt. USE THE SALT! THE SALT!"

The wife stared at him. "What in the world is wrong with you? You think I don't know how to fry a couple of eggs?"

The husband calmly replied, "I just wanted to show you what it feels like when I'm driving."

A Sunday school teacher was giving her class the assignment for the next week.
"Next Sunday," she said, "we are going to talk about liars, and in preparation for our lesson I want you all to read the Seventeenth Chapter of Mark."

The following week, at the beginning of the class meeting, the teacher said, "Now then, all of you who have prepared for the lesson by reading the Seventeenth Chapter of Mark, please step to the front of the room."
About half the class rose and came forward.

"The rest of you may leave," said the teacher, "these students are the ones I want to talk to. There is no Seventeenth Chapter in the Book of Mark."

!!...Beautiful Thought

easl — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 10:23:18 GMT

5 Important lessons to learn from a humble pencil.

1. It tells you that everything you do will always leave a Mark .

2. You can always correct the mistake you make ..

3. The important thing in life is what you are from inside and not from out side .

4. In life you will undergo painful sharpening which will make you better in whatever you do .

5. Finally, to be the best you can be, you must allow yourself to be held and guided by the hand that holds you.

!!...English Riddles

easl — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 09:22:18 GMT

زبان آموزان عزیز میتوانند پاسخ سوالات را در قالب پست الکترونیک(ایمیل) ارسال کنند

1- A blind beggar had a brother. The brother drowned but the man who drowned had no brother. What relation was the blind begger to the man who drowned?

2- What gets bigger the more you throw away of it?

3- What is a room that you cannot enter?

4- What star can you see during the day but not at night?

5- What can't be stolen and makes you brave?

!!!...What your residence teaches

easl — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 12:52:18 GMT

Seven secrets of success...

I found the answers in my room:

Roof said: aim high.

Fan said: be cool.

Clock said: every minute is precious.

Mirror said: reflect before you act.

Window said: see the world.

Calender said: be up-to-date.

Door said: push hard to achieve your goals.

!!!...Definitions

easl — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 10:23:18 GMT

Doctor:

A person who kills your ills by pills, and kills you with his bills!!!

Yawn:

The only time some married men ever got to open their mouth!!!

Boss:

someone who is early when you are late, and late when you are early!!!

?Did you know

easl — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 09:59:18 GMT

The word "dollar"

has its origins in the Roman Empire...

A mining hole in the mountains of Bohemia produced so much silver it became the official source of coinage for the entire Holy Roman Empire. The mine was in a valley called Joachimsthal, and the coins came to have the same name: "Joachimstalers." Over time this became shortened to "Talers" and over more time, the American pronunciation of the word became the name for the currency that you would like to have in your pocket.

The $ sign was designed in 1788 by Oliver Pollock, a New Orleans businessman, using a combination of Spanish money symbols.

The $ sign is used in many countries other than the United States, including the use for the Argentine peso, Brazilian real, Cape Verde escudo, Chilean peso, Colombian peso, Cuban peso, Dominican peso, Mexican peso, Tongan pa'anga and Uruguayan peso. Other countries that trade in their currency as dollars are Australia, Bahamas, Canada, Liberia and others...

If you stack one million US$1 bills, it would be 110m (361 ft) high and weight exactly 1 ton. A million dollars' worth of $100 bills weighs only 10 kg (22 lb). One million dollars' worth of once-cent coins (100 million coins) weigh 246 tons.

Talers
(front and flipside)

This is the silver coin first struck as a "Guldiner" in 1486 in Tyrol. The name "Taler" was first given to the silver coin of the same size struck in Joachimstal in Bohemia.

It's called

easl — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 06:31:18 GMT

What is it called?

The working section of a piano is called the action.

The plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called aglets.

People who chase after rare birds are called twitchers.

The fleshy projection above the bill on a turkey is called a snood.

People that study fish are called ichthyologists.

The white part of your fingernail is called the lunula.

*English as a second language *