Chapter 1 Structure 


There are six kinds of basic sentence structure in English:

1. Basic Sentence
2. Adjective Sentence
3. Noun Clause
4. Adverbial Clause 
5. 1 1/2 Sentence
6. Transitional Sentence

1. Basic Sentence 


What's "sentence"?

Sentence is a group of words that usually contains a subject and a verb, and expresses a complete idea. Sentences written in English begin with a capital letter and usually end with a full stop or a question mark.(from Longman Dictionary)


My mother doesn't like me.


There are thousands of religions in the world today.


Most classrooms in elementary school have a globe.



Note: Sentence is a group of words to convey complete meaning. The followings are not "sentences".

If I had you.
(If i had you, that would be the only thing I've ever need.)

Because I love you.
(Because i love you, it's hard for me to be part with you.)

The structure of "Basic Sentence":
Subject + Verb (+ Object/Complement)

The O./C. can be nouns, present/past participles, adjectives, verbs, or adverbials.

The unexpected accident shattered her dream of being a piano player.

I have trouble sleeping in on Sunday morning.

I have some money put away for the rainy days.

Did you see your mother leave the house?

The project appears impossible.

The newspaper is delivered daily. (Adverbials can appears in the middle of the sentence or at the beginning of the sentence. )

We use adverbials to show the situations, time, and locations. In English, we are accustomed to make them in a sequence:
how-->where-->time

Mr. Robbin worked hard last year.

They performed brilliantly in the national theater last month.

It seems that the basic sentences are simple. However, we are able to use the proper and precise adverbial or adverbial phrase to make good paragraph.

For the past few weeks, the Web has been buzzing about J. K. Rowling's mysterious Pottermore project. All signs are pointing to it being an online game revolving around the Harry Potter universe.

"According to current opinion, Vincent van Gogh never painted his brother Theo," the Van Gogh Museum said in a statement.

2. Adjective Clause

What's "Clause"?
Clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb, but which is usually only part of a sentence. (from Longman Dictionary)

Dependent Clause, or called Subordinate Clause, is a clause in a sentence that gives information related to the main clause, but cannot exist alone.
Independent Clause, or called Main Clause, is a clause which can make a sentence by itself. For example,  'she went home' in the sentence 'She went home because she was tired.'

Analyze the following sentences, marking the "dependent clauses" and "independent clauses".



 

New words and usages form BBC

stunning vicals
conquer million around the world
be nominated for the Grammy Awards
cause controversy
Every song is tailored to me.
Dance beat 快节奏的舞曲
Wrap something up 完成、结束某事

New words and usages form BBC

stunning vicals
conquer million around the world
be nominated for the Grammy Awards
cause controversy
Every song is tailored to me.
Dance beat 快节奏的舞曲
Wrap something up 完成、结束某事

The identity of Vancouver’s famous kissing couple is revealed

In the age of Facebook and Twitter, it was only a matter of(取決於...的情況、問題或事情) time before the world learned the identities of the kissing couple from that now-iconic photo of the Vancouver riots(溫哥華暴動).

About 24 hours after photos of the smooch was passed on through emails, IMs and blog posts, the Toronto Star(多倫多明星報) and the CBC are reporting that the boyfriend and girlfriend in the photograph are Aussie(澳洲人/的) bartender(酒保) Scott Jones and Canadian college student Alex Thomas, who was injured just before the picture was taken.

The papers report that Jones and Thomas have been dating since Jones arrived in Vancouver on a "working holiday." They attended Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, which the hometown Canucks lost 4-0 to theBoston Bruins, and then somehow found themselves between the angry rioters and charging riot police later that night in downtown Vancouver.

The famous aftermath(餘波；後果), as captured by Getty Images photographer Rich Lam:

So how were Jones and Thomas ultimately identified as the unlikely "make love, not war" couple of Vancouver's embarrassing night of injury and destruction?

It probably won't surprise you to learn that Facebook was involved.

Though Scott's sister Hannah first identified her brother to an Australian news network, things really started taking off(休假；脫下) when  Brett Jones, Scott's father, posted the following update on his Facebook profile on Friday morning from the family's home in Perth, Australia.

(Note the funny response from Scott's brother, Ryan.)

Brett Jones now says the couple is being besieged(圍攻；包圍) by media requests from outlets around the world. All, of course, are interested in knowing the circumstances that found the couple smooching(v. 摟抱接吻) as cars were burned and windows were smashed around them.

But despite some of our initial assumptions(初步假設), the kiss seen 'round the world wasn't the product of a riot-fueled(防爆燃料), uncontrollable passion. Brett Jones instead notes that Thomas was injured and his son was coming to her aid. An alternate angle taken from above shows other bystanders later attempting to help Thomas and Jones.

Combine that different angle with Brett Jones' story and it certainly dispels(驅散) the rumors that the couple had intentionally staged(策畫；發動) the photo.

"They were between the riot police and the rioters, and the riot police were actually charging forward, and Alex got knocked by a [police] shield(盾) and fell to the ground," Brett Jones told CBC News. "[Scott] was comforting her and gave her a kiss to say, 'It's going to be OK,' and the photographer just took the shot at that moment."

Jones' mother Marie said she immediately knew it was her son in the picture because "he doesn't have a lot of clothes with him and he always puts on the same thing."

So where do they go from here? The good news is that Jones escaped the incident unhurt and Thomas only suffered a bruised leg. The bad news is that Jones is scheduled to(排定計畫要...) leave Canada soon and head home for Australia after a trip to California. The Jones family says that Thomas plans to visit California with their son but that the couple's future after that is uncertain.

UPDATE: Jones and Thomas spoke with the Toronto Star:

Thomas said this morning that everything happened so fast that there was just massive confusion all around. "I was trying to understand what was going on. The photo was definitely not something we expected to happen," said Thomas.
The couple is leaving in three days on a trip to California, before Scott heads back to Australia. Thomas said the response from her friends and family has been overwhelming.
"When I saw that picture I couldn't believe it and then I looked at it more and realize it's quite artistic and really something beautiful."

ESL: English as a second language
EFL: English as a foreign language

antonym/synonym

When you're learning adjectives, try to remember the antonyms and synonyms.

Vocabulary quizzes (ESL): two antonyms, one unrelated and one answer

speaking skills:
1. explain further more in details
2. give examples and personal touch
3. contrast will define yourself better

anecdotal列舉法: consisting of short stories based on someone's personal experience

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eu-
前綴 pref.
表示"良好","真正","容易"
ant.: dys-

1. European
2. euphonium: a large musical instrument made from brass, that you play by blowing into it
3. euphuism: Euphuism is a peculiar mannered style of English prose. It takes its name from a prose romance by John Lyly. It consists of a preciously ornate and sophisticated style, employing in deliberate excess a wide range of literary devices such as antitheses(對照面), alliterations(頭韻), repetition(重複)s and rhetorical questions. Classical learning and remote knowledge of all kinds are displayed. Euphuism was fashionable in the 1580s, especially in the Elizabethan court, but never previously or subsequently.

eulogy: a speech, piece of writing, poem, etc. containing great praise, especially for someone who recently died or stopped working

memorial service: The term memorial service is often used to describe a secular or non-religious funeral. A funeral is a religious service that is held with or without the body of the deceased present. A memorial service is usually a secular(現世的) service with or without the body present.