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Basic Tenses: Irregular Verb | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This page shows the basic tenses with the irregular verb sing. It includes the affirmative or positive form (+), the negative form (-) and the interrogative or question form (?). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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These are the forms of the main verb that we use to construct the tenses: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Verb tenses
How to learn vocabulary
Introduction
Learning vocabulary is a very important part of learning a language. The more words you know, the more you will be able to understand what you hear and read; and the better you will be able to say what you want to when speaking or writing.
Which words to learn
Every day you hear or read many new English words. You also find them in your dictionary when you are translating from your own language. You can’t possibly learn all these new words, so your first problem is to decide which ones to concentrate on. Here are some suggestions:
- learn the words that are important to the subjects you are studying
- learn the words that you read or hear again and again
- learn the words that you know you will often want to use yourself
- do not learn words that are rare or not useful (your teacher can help you with this)
How to learn words
Once you have chosen which words to learn, you next have to decide how you are going to learn them. Here are a few ideas:
- write the words in a notebook (with their translations or definitions)
- write the words and definitions on small cards
(advice on how to do this) - say the words many times (if you have an electronic dictionary you can hear how the word is pronounced)
- put the words into different groups (you could use a graphic organiser)
- write them in a file for use with a computer program
- make associations (in pictures or with other words)
- ask someone to test you
- use the words in your own speaking or writing
Some students put a tick or cross in their dictionary next to every word they look up. The next time they turn to a page with a marked word, they quickly check to see if they remember the meaning of that word.
In all of the above ways, you are doing something with the words. It’s usually not enough to just read through a list of words with their definitions or translations and try to remember them. Most students find that they memorise words better if they do something with them. Even better is to try and learn the word in a typical combination with other words. Learning that to apologize means to say sorry is a good start, but it's much better to learn a whole expression containing the word, e.g. He apologized for being late. Not only is this often easier to remember, but you are also learning some very important information on how the word is used.
Learning vocabulary by reading
The way you learned very many of the words in your own language was by meeting them in the books and magazines you read. The context of a new word in a sentence or story was often enough for you to guess the meaning. Meeting the word again and again in your reading helped you learn it for use in your own speaking and writing. Doing lots of extra reading for pleasure - both fiction and non-fiction - is an excellent way to learn new English words, too. But choose books that you find quite easy to read. Difficult stories or texts that you struggle to understand will not help you to develop your vocabulary the natural way. But remember: to learn new words from reading you have to read A LOT!
More on the importance of reading.
More information about learning words
The vocabulary you know can be divided into two groups - passive vocabulary and active vocabulary. Passive vocabulary contains all the words that you understand when you read or listen, but which you do not use (or cannot remember) in your own writing and speaking. Active vocabulary is all the words you understand, plus all the words that you can use yourself. Your active vocabulary, in English and your own language, is probably much smaller than your passive vocabulary.
The more you work on learning a word, as suggested above, the more likely it is that it will become part of your active vocabulary.
Things to know about the words you learn
Usually the first things you learn about a new English word are what it means and its translation in your own language. But there are other things you need to find out before you can say that you know a word like a native speaker does. For example, you have to learn:
- how it is spelled
- how it is pronounced
- how it is inflected (i.e. how it changes if it is a verb, noun or adjective)
- other grammar information about it
- how it collocates (i.e. what other words are often used with it)
More on collocation - if it has a particular style or register
Native speakers learn these things about words by hearing them and reading them again and again. This is the best way for you to learn them, too.
Answer the questions. /Ойр зуур ярихад хэрэг болох асуултууд /
I. Your region or town:
1. Where are you from? Where were you born?
2. What's it like living there?
3. Have you always lived there?
4. Are there any interesting places to visit in your area?
5.Would you like to live anywhere else?
II. Home and Family:
1. Do you live in a house or an apartment?
2. Have you got any brothers and sisters?
III. Hobbies and interests:
1. Do you have any hobbies?
2. What do you like doing in your spare time?
3. What kinf of music do you like?
IV. Works and studies:
1. Are you working or studying at the moment?
2. Do you enjoy your work?
3. Do you need any special qualifications to do that?
V. Reasons for learning English:
1. Why are you learning English?
2. What other languages would you like to learn?
VI. Short term and long term future plans:
1. Are you doing anything special this summer?
2. What do you think you will be doing 5 years from now?
"How to be a good student?"
Have you ever faced with these problems?
- Although I know that doing my lessons is necessary for me but I can`t do anymore
- Although I open my book but I can`t read and just look.
- However, I want to do but I can`t
- I get bored easily during doing lessons.
If yes, I will strongly advise you to set your goal and plan for your whole life. You can use following methods to plan your purpose.
At first, just think about the situation where you are in 10 years. Ask yourself:
- What will I have created after 10 years?
- How will I be living?
- What will my pride have become like at that time and compare your dream with your present dreams. Then you should determine your goal.
Secondly, think about the situation after a year.
Thirdly, think about the time after 1-month period.
These 3 lists will help you to plan your work. For example, here is a plan of 1 student about his purpose and make your plan like that.
Plan for 10-year time:
- To become a good computer programmer
- To learn English and Japanese well
- To work in a big international company
1- year plan:
- To enter the university with major computer programming
- To learn with high points
- To learn in English course
1- month plan:
- To solve all the math problems in order to take the entering exam
- To find the best English course and start to learn .
You can plan your goals like this, then locate it place where it will easily be seen for you. It will help you to see it more often. If you see this more often you will be energetic and you will be encouraged. After that, set your weekly and daily work plan. Your daily plan must be included into your weekly plan.
Planning and dreaming is important for human life. Also never make joke with someone`s dream. It is said that the most stupid dream is enjoyed by everyone. There are 3 main enemies of success.
- Sleepiness and laziness
People have to sleep but the time must be limited and defined. If you want to use time effectively you should sleep less time. In order to decline your sleepiness you should determine when to sleep and when to wake up, you are not allowed to go to bed unless you feel really sleepy, if you don`t sleep after 5 minutes lying on your bed just get up and do your lesson.
- TV
It is the enemy of attention. What is the result of watching TV? Don`t watch unnecessary things on TV. It is believed TV decreases 80 percent of person`s creativeness.
- Any kind of games like card and computer games. People who don`t have goal play computer games.
Maybe, it is difficult to get up early and to do lesson with plan but after 10 or 20 times tries it becomes habit of you. Also you should have personal mottos which always encourage you like “Don`t put works later just now”. Don`t give up. And you must put high requirements on you.
Ok, you have planned your work and start to do your homework. Now you must concentrate your attention. If you can`t concentrate it is not possible to fulfill your plan. The distractions of attention are to dream empty, to worry about something and to think like everybody is better than you, there are many subjects to review but there is no time. If you face these thoughts when you are doing homework you should ask yourself if it helps to do your homework and get your goal. Moreover, I advise you never do your lesson lying on the bed. It has only 1 end. That is to sleep. If you lie the brain will concentrate on sleeping and give signal to sleep to your body.
Now I will advise you how to learn English?
In my opinion, we should “attack” all sides like reading, writing, listening and grammar in order to learn English. So you should prepare books cassettes CDs and practice tests.
When you do reading exercise read as much as you can wherever you go like address instructions and words on the board. At first, you will face many new words but don`t give up and later the unfamiliar words will become fewer.
When you do listening exercise turn your TV into channels in English. Also listen to English songs looking lyrics.
If you want to do speaking exercise make friends with foreign people who have come to Mongolia to work and meet them more often and talk to them on all topics.
When you work on grammar practice on grammar books and take lessons from English teacher.
Why don`t you guide diary in English when you do writing? It is simple but it is effective way to improve your writing skills. You don`t have to be shy if you want to learn English.
Finally hardworking and patience will let you to become a good student.