English Town

English verbs can express an action (run, bring, come, look, give, get, etc.) or a state of being (be, seem, appear, need.) Verbs are simpler in English than in many languages. Most have only two forms in the present tense and one form in other tenses. In the present tense we use the base form for I, you, and all plurals. For third person singular (he, she, it, Jack, Mrs. Smith, a tree, the city, etc.) we add an '-s' or sometimes '-es' to the end of the base form.  The verb 'to be' is an exception. It has three forms in the present and two in the past. It's so important that it is worth the extra study it takes. Modal verbs are also exceptions, as they have only one form. For more on using modals and other helping verbs, see the Helping Verbs section below. Types of Verbs: Transitive & Intransitive Some verbs are transitive, which means they can take a direct object: (“She buys  groceries .” I’m bringing a  friend .” “Do you w...

How to Form Negative Sentences  English negative sentences (unlike questions)   follow the same basic word order as affirmative sentences. They start with a noun or pronoun as the subject, and then the verb and the rest of the predicate. (Negative commands, like positive ones, omit the subject.) 0 Enregistrer The main difference :  to make a verb negative, put a helping verb and ‘not’ in front of it. (Negating the verb is the usual way to make a negative sentence.)  See the examples below, then read the explanation.  See also  other ways to make sentences negative (besides using  'not') at the bottom of this page.  (In the image box to the right or above, n otice that half the quotes   do not use 'not.' Those that include it use a contraction: do n't , ca n't , or would n't .) Some Examples Using 'Not': To make these examples as c lear as possible , the  subject  is  orange  and the  p r...

Do you need to take English grammar lessons to learn English? No. Children learn a language with no formal lessons at all-- just by listening and then beginning to speak. If you are just beginning to study English, don’t start with grammar terms.   First listen to some basic conversations and learn some simple phrases. Listen and practice as much as you can. You will begin to understand the basics of English structure even without formal study. Too much emphasis on grammar in the beginning may even make it harder to speak fluently. Thinking too much about what’s correct makes it more difficult to express your thoughts.  Instead, try to  think  in English. The best way to gain fluency and understanding is to listen a lot, read a lot, and speak freely. Don’t worry about perfect grammar. So Why Study Grammar? As your English improves, you do need to understand how English works. How are thoughts expressed? How are sentences organized?  If y...

It's important for you to master business English. The English language is the most common in the international arena, especially in diplomatic and business circles. It is also the official language of more countries than any other language in the world. Unfortunately, many individuals have a basic and very rudimentary grasp of the language, which makes proper and effective communication difficult. Here is a great list of tools that will help you polish and perfect your business English skills. Free Sites to Help You Master Business English  Blair English With more than 190 online exercises, this platform has a three-pronged approach to business English lessons. Learners listen to recordings of the practical application of the lesson, then apply the lesson on their own. It has a repertoire of most day-to-day scenarios to ensure that a learner is adequately equipped.  Further, it is a guide on how to write business letters for different purposes, business reports...

Understanding the most common Greek and Latin prefixes will help you recognize the meaning of a large number of English words   For examples and a list of the most common of these prefixes in alphabetical order (plus a few tips on understanding their use), you might want to see  List of Prefixes . The list on this page is arranged according to the meaning of the prefixes in English, followed by the Latin Greek prefixes for each meaning. The prefixes on the alphabetical list that aren’t included here (and others that are obvious, like over- and under-) are English, except non- and counter-, which come to English from French. The list below also includes some Greek (and a few Latin) prefixes that were not included on the first list because they are not used as commonly in English as the others. The illustration gives two examples of the way prefixes change the meaning of roots. It uses 'mission', derived from Latin, and 'logical', originally from Greek. Man...

Directions:  Read the passage. Then answer the questions. Give yourself 20 minutes to complete this practice set. Pastoralism in Ancient Inner Eurasia Pastoralism is a lifestyle in which economic activity is based primarily on livestock. Archaeological evidence suggests that by 3,000 B.C., and perhaps even earlier, there had emerged on the steppes of Inner Eurasia the distinctive types of pastoralism that were to dominate the region’s history for several millennia. Here, the horse was already becoming the animal of prestige in many regions, though sheep, goats, and cattle could also play a vital role. It is the use of horses for transportation and warfare that explains why Inner Eurasian pastoralism proved the most mobile and the most militaristic of all major forms of pastoralism. The emergence and spread of pastoralism had a profound impact on the history of Inner Eurasia, and also, indirectly, on the parts of Asia and Europe just outside this area. In particular...

This section measures your ability to understand academic passages in English. There is one passage in this practice test. Give yourself 20 minutes to read the passage and answer the questions about it. You may look back at the passage when answering the questions. You can skip questions and go back to them later as long as there is time remaining. Please note: The practice questions are real  TOEFL i BT ®  test questions, but the testing experience has been adapted for presentation in this course. Your performance on this practice test is not a predictor of how you might perform on the actual  TOEFL i BT ®  test.  Your scores for this practice test will show correct vs. incorrect choices. You will also see an explanation for why each answer choice is correct or incorrect. Scores and scoring information are for preparation use only; they are not official or scaled scores.

People often ask, “How do you decide what to put on the test?” and “How do you create the test?” Producing a Stimulus and Questions The development of TOEFL test content begins with test developers who are experts in a wide variety of subjects. These test developers search for source material that is typical of what can be found in a first- or second-year university-level class. They consult textbooks and published research studies, work with professors and researchers, and draw on their own expertise to produce what we call a  stimulus —material such as a reading passage or a lecture. They then create questions which ask about the content of the stimulus. But things don’t end there. Fairness, Reliability and Validity Next, the stimulus and questions go through multiple reviews by other experts. They are reviewed for content  accuracy . They are also reviewed for  fairness ,  reliability  and  validity . To be fair, test content must not be ...