What is Grammar?

Grammar is the system of a language. People sometimes describe grammar as the \”rules\” of a language; but in fact no language has rules*. If we use the word \”rules\”, we suggest that somebody created the rules first and then spoke the language, like a new game. But languages did not start like that. Languages started by people making sounds which evolved into words, phrases and sentences. No commonly-spoken language is fixed. All languages change over time. What we call \”grammar\” is simply a reflection of a language at a particular time.
Do we need to study grammar to learn a language? The short answer is \”no\”. Very many people in the world speak their own, native language without having studied its grammar. Children start to speak before they even know the word \”grammar\”. But if you are serious about learning a foreign language, the long answer is \”yes, grammar can help you to learn a language more quickly and more efficiently.\” It\’s important to think of grammar as something that can help you, like a friend. When you understand the grammar (or system) of a language, you can understand many things yourself, without having to ask a teacher or look in a book.
So think of grammar as something good, something positive, something that you can use to find your way - like a signpost or a map.
* Except invented languages like Esperanto. And if Esperanto were widely spoken, its rules would soon be very different.

TOEFL Lessons 3

Irregular Plurals

The vast majority of nouns in the English language are made plural by adding an “s” or “es” to the end of the word. For example, book, apple, house, table, door, cat, bush, boss are just some of the millions of words that become plural with the simple addition of an “s” (books, apples, houses, tables, doors, cats, bushes, bosses). However, certain nouns have “irregular” plurals which do not behave in this standard way.

EXAMPLES

• There are 4 mouses in my room.

• There are 4 mice in my room.

Non-count nouns

• have no plural form because they are assumed to be plural.

• Example:

• Hair à There are many different styles of hair.

• Grass à There are several kinds of grass.

• Mud à There are three different kinds of mud.

Plurals That Change its Form

• Mouse à mice

• Tooth à teeth

• Goose à geese

• Foot à feet

• Louse à lice

• Man à men

• Fungus à fungi

• Child à Children

• Person à People

• Curriculum à curricula

• Datum à data

• Analysis à analyses

Other Irregular Plurals

• For words that end in “fe,” you change the letter “f” to the letter “v” and then add “s” Knife = knives —–Wife = wives

• For words that end in “f” you change the “f” to a “v” and add “es” Half = halves —Loaf = loaves

• For words that end in “us,” change the “us” to an “i” —–Syllabus = syllabi

• For words that end in “o” add “es”—-Tomato = tomatoes

Un-changing nouns

• Fish à fish

• Deer à deer

• Sheep à sheep

• Series à series

• Bison à bison

TOEFL Lessons 2

Form and Use of Verb

Verb ‘have’

◦ have/has/had + past participle (V3)

◦ Example :

– I have lived in Sleman since 1995.

– She had done the homework.

– I had been in seventh grade by 2009.

◦ Have/has for present tense

◦ Had for past tense

Verb ‘be’

◦ Be + V ing (kalimat aktif)

◦ Be + V3 (kalimat pasif)

◦ Example:

– I was drinking a glass of tea.

– The book is brought by Charles.

Modals

◦ Can, will, shall, must, may, etc. (present tense)

◦ Could, would, should, might, etc. (past tense)

◦ Structure:

– Modals + V1

Example:

I can do the test by myself.

I should not come there yesterday.

Global Warming

Global warming is a serious issue posing a big threat to our Earth. Its time we all get to understand the concept and make effort in our own possible way to prevent the disaster. Well, lets begin with the clarification of the basic concepts related to global warming.

Global Warming - An introduction
Scientists believe that the Earth has warmed considerably from what it once used to be and that its continuing to get warmer. But how much more will it warm in the future is anybody’s guess. The scientists have reached the conclusion that the global surface temperatures (land and ocean) are approaching a 1 degree Celsius increase since the year 1880.;
In short, global warming refers to an average increase in the Earth’s temperature, which causes changes in climate. A warmer Earth may lead to a rise in sea level, changes in rainfall patterns, and can even adversely affect plants, wildlife, and humans.
Greenhouse effect
Earth is enveloped by a blanket of air called the atmosphere which comprises of several layer of gases. The sun’s radiation reach the Earth after passing through the atmosphere. The rays from the Sun travels back into the atmosphere after warming the Earth. But the greenhouse gases prevent most of the outgoing infrared radiation from the surface and lower atmosphere from escaping into outer space. This process is called the “Greehouse Effect” and has kept the Earth’s temperature about 60 degrees Farenheit warmer than it would otherwise be. Current life on Earth could not be sustained without the natural greenhouse effect. The name derives from the greenhouses which look like small glass houses, used to grow plants in the winter months. The glass panels of the greenhouse let in the sunlight and keep the heat from escaping which in turn helps the plant to survive the chill.
Greenhouse gases
Carbon dioxide, methane, halogenated fluorocarbons, nitrous oxide, ozone, perfluorinated carbons, hydrofluorocarbons and water vapor are the greenhouse gases. They absorb infra-red radiation in the atmosphere and make the Earth warmer by trapping energy in the atmosphere.
Causes of Global Warming
Some of the activities of man are accelerating the damage done due to the greenhouse gases. Burning of fossil fuels like oil and coal releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which in turn causes most of the warming. Another cause is cutting down trees or deforestation. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, one of the greenhouse gases, from the air.
There are a group of greenhouse gases, called chlorofluorocarbons. They are used in the manufacture of aerosol sprays, blowing agents for foams and packing materials, as solvents, and as refrigerants. Their presence in the atmosphere, even in small amounts, can be dangerous because they can trap large amounts of heat. Increases in all these gases are due to mankind’s explosive population growth over the last century, and increased industrial expansion.
Do you know you are also contributing to the damage?
You are sending greenhouse gases into the atmosphere when you engage in the following activities:-
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Watch TV
Turn on a light
Ride in a car
Listen to a stereo
Microwave a meal
Wash or dry clothes

You need electricity to perform many of these functions. Electricity comes from power plants. Most power plants use coal and oil to make electricity. Burning coal and oil produces greenhouse gases.
Effects of Global Warming
The effects of global warming are already being felt around the globe.It has a major effect on crops and weather conditions around the world.

Sea levels - When many people think of global warming, their first concern is the possible rise of sea levels. With a large number of the world’s cities in coastal areas, this is a crucial problem. There are two major causes of rising sea levels. First, extra water is produced when ice melts. Secondly, the natural expansion of sea water as it becomes warmer. The range of sea ice around both poles continues to shrink, as it melts. Even with the level of greenhouse gases present today, the earth may warm enough in the next 50 years or so to completely melt the sea ice located on the poles. Experts believe that global warming could increase the intensity of hurricanes by over 50 percent.
Weather - Some parts of the Earth will become considerably dry, others will become wetter. There will be countless number of storms, floods and drought.

Agriculture - Temperature increases may cause agricultural zones to shift northward, opening up new crops for some areas, while limiting them in others, where crops and livestock may be threatened by heat stress and drought. For example, food productivity in the tropics is likely to decline because many crops are already grown at their maximum temperature tolerance. Agriculture is also quite vulnerable to floods, droughts and hail, though these will vary regionally from year to year.


Human Health - Global warming brings in its trail health hazards which include deaths from more frequent temperature extremes (particularly heat waves) and an expanded range of vector-borne illnesses (those transmitted by rodents and insects). Diseases like malaria are likely to become common in the United States and Europe.


Plants and Animals - As temperature and weather changes, the homes of plants and animals will be affected at large. Polar bears and seals will have to find a new habitat if the ice in the Arctic melts. Many animals and plants may not be able to adapt with the climatic change and can die.

Ozone layer - The ozone layer is a layer of ozone gas which surrounds the Earth some 15 to 35 km above its surface. This 20 km wide layer acts like a natural filter and prevents most of the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays from reaching the Earth. Without this filter, more people would get skin cancer and eye diseases. Animals would also have been affected and so would farmers’ crops and the top layer of our oceans. This beneficial natural ozone layer accounts for about 90% of all the ozone gas that exists.
Global warming can increase ozone depletion
Continued global warming will accelerate ozone destruction and increase stratospheric ozone depletion. Ozone depletion gets worse when the stratosphere (where the ozone layer is), becomes colder. Because global warming traps heat in the troposphere, less heat reaches the stratosphere which will make it colder. Greenhouse gases act like a blanket for the troposphere and make the stratosphere colder. In other words, global warming can make ozone depletion much worse right when it is supposed to begin its recovery during the next century.
Things that can be done
Global warming is no doubt a grave problem but there are little things we can do to make a big difference. Remember conservation of energy is the keyword. Driving your car or using electricity is obviously not wrong, but just try to use it more sensibly. Carpooling is a smart option.

Use a bicycle whenever you have to travel a short distance. It has twin benefits. Your cycle does not add to the pollution and you get your your regular exercise.
Don’t forget to turn off the lights when you leave the room.

Turn off your computers when not in use. Less electricity will need to be produced and so less coal, oil and gas will have to be burnt in power stations, which means less air pollution and less carbon dioxide!

Talk to your friends and family in order to create awareness about global warming and listen to what they have to offer as solutions.
Offer to help your parents keep the air filters on your AC and furnace clean.

Planting trees is a great way to reduce greenhouse gases. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, from the air.
Recycle cans, bottles, plastic bags, and newspapers. Recycling used materials uses less energy than making new ones.

Sun is a veritable source of energy. Make good use of solar energy to heat homes, buildings, water, and to make electricity.
Global warming is the greatest environmental challenge of the 21st century. Its about time we get conscious of our responsibilities and perform our duties to combat this environmental hazard.

TOEFL Lesson

Nouns and Pronouns

Singular and Plural Noun

— Penanda singular: one, a, an, every, each, single

— Example:

— I eat an apple.

— Every person must go to the field.

— I have a beautiful doll.

— Penanda plural: many, several, various, two, both

— Example:

— Many people come to the concert.

— I have two brothers.

— I got up several minutes ago.

Countable and Uncountable Noun

— Countable : dapat dihitung

— Penanda countable : many, few, fewer, number

— Example :

— There are many books in the library.

— The number of students here are 25.

— Uncountable : tidak dapat dihitung

— Penanda uncountable : much, little, less, amount

— Example :

— I drink much water this afternoon.

— Please add a little more sugar to the tea.

Subject and Object Pronouns

— Subject pronoun : I, they, we, you, he, she, it

— Example:

— They are smart students.

— We do not know how to use it.

— He brings a book from the library.

— Object pronoun : me, them, us, you, him, her, it

— Example:

— The test makes me confused.

— The teacher tells us that tomorrow is holiday.

— I hate him.

Possessive adjective & Possessive Pronoun

— Possessive adjective: my, his, her, their, your, its, our

— Example:

— My dog is cute.

— His picture is good.

— Their father is a teacher.

— Possessive pronoun: mine, his, hers, theirs, yours, ours

— Example:

— The book is mine.

— This laptop is yours.

— That ball is his.

Did You Know?

A beaver can hold it’s breath for 45 minutes.
	More people are injured by cats, dogs, and pigs each year than by Great White Sharks.
A 70 pound octopus can squeeze through a hole no bigger than a silver dollar because it has no backbone.
	Orcas, also known as killer whales, are not whales but are the largest member of the dolphin family. The biggest animal in the world is the blue whale. It has a heart the size of a car and tongue as long as an elephant. The Blue Whales whistle is the loudest noise made by any animal.
Penguins can jump almost 6 feet into the air.
	There are more sheep in New Zealand than people.
An African ostrich egg weighs almost 30 pounds and is so strong a 200 pound man can stand on it without it breaking!
	When it is born, a kangaroo is only 1 inch long!
The fastest mammal - the dolphin - can swim up to 35 miles per hour.
	The bird that can fly the fastest is called a Canvasback duck. It can fly up to 70 miles per hour. Birds can sleep with one eye open.
A crocodile can’t move its tongue and cannot chew. Its digestive juices are so strong that it can digest a steel nail.
	A horse can nap standing up.
No two zebras have identical stripes.
	Some frogs are tiny but the largest of them all, the Goliath frog, is the size of a baby deer!
No animal has killed more people than the hippo.
	Some turtles and tortoises, including the Eastern box turtle, can live for more than a century.
Averaging 10 to 12 feet in length, the king cobra is the largest venomous snake in the world. It is also the only known snake that builds a nest for egg incubation.