English Reference Sites

Below is a list of useful websites that will not only help boost your English knowledge but also give you lots of fun-filled experience.

The Free Dictionary provides word meaning, thesaurus, idioms, word of the day, quote of the day, etc.

Daily Grammar covers parts of speech, nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, tense, punctuation, lessons and quizzes, etc.

Daily Writing Tips is a treasure of many articles that will help you improve your writing skills.

Brainy Quote is a collection of quotes from various authors, humorists, presidents, playwrights, etc.

Visu Words is a flash-based graphical dictionary that lets you look up words to find their meanings and associations with other words and concepts.

Acronym Finder is home to a million of definitions, abbreviations, and acronyms.

Google Translate can help you see how it is done and better understand translations between two or more languages.

Wordsteps makes it easy for students to build their own vocabulary collection.

Culturally Authentic Pictorial Lexicon offers images demonstrating the true meaning of the word, making it easier for English language learners to understand.

BBC Learning English helps students understand grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation, with plenty of references to current events.

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Lesson 10: Introduce Yourself

When we meet a new person, we exchange some information about ourselves – basically we share a few introductory questions and answers.  For that reason, we must always be ready with some sentences that tell about ourselves.  Keeping a few sentences about yourself in mind will not only help you speak better but also make you confident enough to befriend with anyone you meet for the first time.

Learn the sentences given below.  In the underlined words, put relevant information like your name, age, etc.

My name is Tom Hanks.  I am 22 years old.  I work at Dolby Construction Company as an assistant manager.  My father’s name is John Hanks.  He is a librarian and works at a government school.  My mother’s name is Sheila Hanks.  She is a homemaker.  I have 3 brothers and 2 sisters.  We stay in New Orleans.  My hobbies are photography and traveling to new places.  My favorite food is Chinese chicken fried rice.  I like wearing blue jeans and T-shirt.

Learning English language is not very tough as it seems.  You can just write a paragraph by simply saying a few sentences about yourself, as shown above.  When you meet a new person, you also need to ask him or her some questions so that the conversation can continue and you also get to know that person well.  Given below are some questions that you can ask.  If you notice carefully, you will see that the sentences in the above paragraph are the answers to the following questions.

What is your name?  How old are you?  Where do you work?  What is your father’s name?  What does he do?  What is your mother’s name?  What does she do?  How many brothers and sisters do you have?  Where do you stay?  What are your hobbies?  What is your favorite food?  What do you like to wear?

We discussed above about introducing ourselves when we meet a new person.  But when you go for an interview, oftentimes you will be asked by the HR manger to tell about yourself and you should always be ready to cater to this request fluently and confidently.  Keep the following sentences in mind and speak as fluently and smoothly as you can.

Good morning sir/ma’am.  It is my pleasure to explain about myself.  I am Jim Johnson.  I was born and brought up in New Orleans.  My father is a librarian and mother is a homemaker.  I have 2 brothers and 2 sisters.  As far as my educational background is concerned, I passed class 12th from Benjamin Franklin High School and scored 82.21%.  Then, I completed my diploma in electronics engineering with first class and got 72.76% marks.  My hobbies are listening to music, making new friends and chat with them in social networking sites, playing football, and traveling and I traveled to London, Miami, New York, and Costa Rica with my father.  Now about my strengths – my strengths are working under pressure.  I like working and I am very sincere in my work.  I always like to learn new things and I like challenges and I keep on working upon until I succeed.  When I was studying, I participated in various AIDS awareness programs, blood donation camps, etc.  My goal is to get placed in well reputed company where I can utilise my knowledge properly.  As a fresher, I don't have any work experience, but I will prove once the opportunity comes. That's all about me.

QUOTES

Live and behave as though the next generation is watching you. – Nikhail Svetlov

Unless a person is happy, he cannot bestow happiness on others. – Ramana Maharshi

Actions may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action.  -- Disraeli

LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE

A judge asked a culprit-

Judge:  Don’t you feel ashamed for coming to this court again and again?

Culprit:  Your honor, I come once or twice in a year, but you come here every day.

Teacher:  “I killed a person.”  Convert this sentence into future tense.
Student:  The future tense is, “You will go to jail.”

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Lesson 9: May, might

May is used to express (a) permission and (b) possibility.

(a) Permission:

You may go now.

May I come in sir?

May I help you?

May I sit here?

(b) Possibility:

It may rain.

You may pass.

He may have committed the crime.

He may recover soon.

Might is the past form of may.  Might is used to express the following:

(a) Mild form of request:

Might I do it now?

(b) Future possibility:

He might recover soon.

It might rain tomorrow.

(c) Unfulfilled condition:

He might have succeeded if he had the support of the people.

I might become an engineer when I grow up, but I doubt it.

Learn the list of the words given below and then read the paragraph following it.

Flame	Fire
Escape	Flee, run away
Vast	Huge
Calm	Peaceful, quiet
Repulse	Drive back, unpleasant
Bitter	Sour
Ill will	Animosity, hostility

There was never an occasion when Buddha flamed in anger, never an incident when an unkind word escaped from his lips.  He had vast tolerance for his kind.  He met opposition with calm and confidence.  On one of his rounds, he was repulsed by a householder with bitter words of abuse.  He replied, “Friend, if a householder sets food before a beggar and the beggar refuses to accept the food, to whom does the food then belong?”  The man replied, “Why, to the householder, of course.”  Buddha said, “Then if I refuse to accept your abuse and ill will, it returns to you, does it not?  But I must go poorer, because I have lost a friend.”

DID YOU KNOW

The reason honey is so easy to digest is that it has already been digested by a bee.

Mary Stuart became the Queen of Scotland when she was six years old.

A man named Charles Osborne had the hiccups for 69 years.

The world’s longest human nose was 7.5 inches long.

LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE

Teacher:  What will happen if a third world war breaks out?

Student:  We will have a new chapter in our history book, sir.

Customer:  Waiter, there is a fly in my soup.

Waiter:  Don’t worry sir, the spider on the bread will take care of it.

Hotel Owner (to the new waiter):  You have been here less than a week and you have already broken more dishes than the total of your three weeks’ salary.  How can you handle this problem in the future?

Waiter:  Well, sir, you could give me a raise in salary!

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Lesson 8: Can, could

Can is used to denote mainly (a) ability and (b) permission.

(a)  Ability:

He can speak English well.

I can run faster.

We can play football.

Mary can cook well.

(b) Permission:

You can do it.

You can go now.

Can also means a vessel, e.g., a Pepsi can.

Could is the past form of Can.  Could is mainly used to (a) talk about past ability in general and (b) to make polite requests.

(a)  Talk about past ability:

He tried hard to pass the exam but could not.

She did all that she could to maintain peace and harmony in the society.

(b) Make polite requests:

Could you tell me the time?

Could you come here tomorrow?

Could I have your pen, please?

Could you lend me the book?

Learn the list of the words given below and then read the paragraph following it.

Adage	Proverb, saying
Irrelevant	Unrelated, inappropriate
Out of place	Inappropriate
Apt	Appropriate, suitable
Reliance	Dependence
Detrimental	Harmful, injurious
Complacent	Satisfied, content
Lethargic	Sluggish, lazy
Forge ahead	Make progress
Hark	Listen
Introspection	Self-examination

Yesterday is important, but today is more important:

This adage teaches us not to live in the past, but work in the present and look forward to the future.  Past is not totally irrelevant and out of place; it has its own lessons in that we must not repeat the mistakes of the past if we are to lead a comfortable present.  History repeats itself is an apt reminder in this respect.  But too much reliance on the past memories and faded glory is detrimental to our present; it retards our progress and makes us complacent and lethargic.  For us, today should be more important.  In fact, we should make full use of our present in order to forge ahead to realize our ambitions and goals.  We must exploit all the available opportunities to attain our cherished dreams.  This can happen only if we concentrate on the present, instead of harking back to the past for what might or might not have happened if we had followed a particular course of action.  Introspection may be good at times, but it can be damaging to our present in the long-run.

DID YOU KNOW

Fear of reptiles – ophidiphobia is the fear of reptiles.

The moon is slowly going back from earth, appearing ever smaller.  In a few billion years, total solar eclipse will not be seen anymore!

The animal which is bigger than all others when fully grown is the blue whale.  When baby blue whales are first born, they weigh over 3,000 kg, about the same weight as a fully grown hippopotamus.  Once born, a baby blue whale takes two years to reach a weight of 26,000 kg.  No other living creature grows so quickly.

LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE

Patient:  Before testing my eyes, you say that spectacles are necessary for me.  How is that doctor?

Doctor:  Because you have entered this room through the window, instead of the wide open door there!

Teacher:  Children, tell me who has a better eyesight, a man or a bird?

Pupil:  Sir, a bird.

Teacher:  Why?

Pupil:  Sir, have you ever seen a bird wearing spectacles?

Mother:  How are you getting on at school, John?

John:  Fine.  But I wish we had a smarter teacher.  Today I drew a horse on the board and she did not know what it was.

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Lesson 7: Conversation with a Friend

Yesterday, I called up my friend, Chandra, who stays in Bangalore, after a long hiatus.  We talked for quite a while.  I have typed out the conversation below so as to give you a brief idea about how conversation in English mainly takes place.  Hope you will find it helpful.

I dialed Chandra’s number.  After a few rings, I heard his voice saying “Hello.”

Me:  (I said in a soft voice).  Hi Chandra, how are you?

(He at once recognized my voice and said...)

Chandra:  Hey Aziz, what a pleasant surprise!  Where were you these days man?

Me:  I’m fine here buddy.  I am still in Guwahati and have not shifted to Bangalore yet.  And, how about you?

Chandra:  I’m fine too.  Today is Saturday, so just enjoying the weekend with my family.

Me:  Oh, that’s nice!  Having a gala time, I guess.

Chandra:  Yea, but tired.  I had a lot of work in the office today.

Me:  That’s normal.  No matter how hard you try, you still can’t escape from your workload.  Well, too much of work can make you abnormal and irritable, ha ha.....

Chandra:  Yes, that’s the boring part.  And tell me about you.  What are you doing over there?

Me:  Just passing time.  Actually, the plan to shift to Bangalore got changed.  Thinking of opening a coaching center over here.  For the time being, actually got some students and am teaching them English, spoken English, Science, and social studies as well as computers.

Chandra:  That’s good.  I know you can do it and that’s a pretty good idea.... I’m really liking it really.  Moreover, your coaching center won’t be affected by any recession or American economy.. ha ha..

Me:  Ha ha.. really?  Why do you think so?

Chandra:  Well, whenever I approach my boss for some salary hike, he says that the company is not progressing well, very difficult to get jobs from US, your productivity is declining, and finally pushes everything to American economy.  And when the company is actually improving, he says it’s true that we got some new contracts but also lost some of old ones, so the company is at the same level..., again blame goes to American economy...

Me:  Oh, that’s really true and same is the case everywhere.  I too faced it a lot.

Chandra:  Well, that’s how it’s everywhere.

Me:  That’s true.  I just wanna work out my stuff and have peace of mind.

Chandra:  And what else?  Anything new?

Me:  Nothing especial.  Oh... I just wanted to ask you... do you still have the photographs of our trip to Ajanta and Ellora?

Chandra:  Actually I don’t have those, but Ganga might have as he is the one who took the snaps.

Me:  Oh yes... now I remember.  But are you sure he will be having those, as that trip was almost 7-8 years back?

Chandra:  You are right.  I’ll have to check with him.  He should have those, as I don’t think he will delete such lovely photos.  Even Mahesh might be having some of the photos of some of the trips that we had.

Me:  Anyway, you just check with them and let me know as soon as possible.

Chandra:  Sure, I will.  And how about your blogs?  I didn’t see any updates on them lately.

Me:  I just finished writing about my trip to Kaziranga National Park.  You can check that.

Chandra:  That’s cool.  I will surely check.

Me:  I also want to write about our trip to Ajanta and Ellora and that’s why I needed those pictures.

Chandra:  Sure, I will try my best to collect those.

Me:  Thanx, that would be a great help.

Chandra:  Aziz, I’ll take a leave now.  My wife is calling me to join them.

Me:  Sure, have fun... and it was really nice to talk to you after such a long time.

Chandra:  In fact, it was really nice.  Keep in touch.  Bye.

Me:  Bye, take care.

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Lesson 6: Used to

Today we will discuss about using ‘used to’ in a sentence.  We use ‘used to’ for something that happened regularly in the past but no longer happens now.

Examples:

He used to come here once a week.

I used to go to school by bus.

When I was young, I used to tease him a lot because of his funny looking sunglasses.

I used to smoke when I was in college, but quit after joining military.

She used to be a sweet girl when we were in college, but she changed a lot after getting into a bad relationship.

Learn the list of the words given below and then read the paragraph following it.

Invade	Attack, occupy
Cruelly (cruel)	Unkindly, brutally
Enemy	Opponent, foe
Eager	Very much interested in something
Task	Work, chore
Hid (past of hide)	To put out of sight, conceal
Conquer	Defeat, overcome
Brave	Courageous
Revenge	To punish in return, vengeance

Tanya was a Russian girl of 18.  She was the daughter of a school teacher. The Germans invaded Russia in 1941.  Tanya heard how cruelly the enemies were treating her countrymen.  She was eager to fight the Germans, but as she was girl, she could not become a soldier.  She was, however, given other works to do.  It was difficult, but she made up her mind to fulfill her task.  She hid among the Germans in one of the conquered villages.  She cut off their telephone lines and set fire to their stores.  One day she came upon a place where horses were kept, and thought of burning it down.  But just as she was going to do it, she was caught by a German soldier.  He took her to their leader.  They tried to make her say where she had come from and show many there were like her.  But as much as they beat this brave girl, she did not tell them anything.  In the end, she was put to death.  She died bravely, saying, “You are killing me, but my countrymen are sure to take revenge on you.”

QUOTES

Friends are like antiques.  The longer you have them, the more valuable they become.

People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges. – Joseph F. Newton

If you want to put the world right, start with yourself.

He who seeks peace must look for it within himself. – M. K. Gandhi

That which does not begin with God ends in failure.

LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE

Doctor:  Please lie down, I need to check you.

Female:  Okay but call the nurse too.

Doctor:  Why, you don't have trust in me?

Female:  I do, but my husband, who is outside, doesn't have trust in me.

A man walks into a shop and sees a cute little dog.

He asks the shopkeeper, "Does your dog bite?"

The shopkeeper says, "No, my dog does not bite."

The man tries to pet the dog and the dog bites him.

"Ouch," he says, "I thought you said your dog does not bite!"

The shopkeeper replies, "That is not my dog."

What did zero say to eight?

Nice belt!

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