• Are You Ready to Learn to Use Tenses Accurately in Your Business Descriptions?

    by User Not Found | Oct 04, 2012

    A very important part of projecting a positive and professional business image is to write and talk well. 

     

    Learning the correct use of verb tenses in English is a vital part of this, and it is why ESL Classes  are so important for business executives.

     

    Here we show you how to use the most important tenses correctly in your business descriptions so that you never lose a client or partner because of a lack of English knowledge:

     

    1. Simple past tense

    Use the simple past tense to describe something that completely happened at a specific time in the past and is over now, for example:

     

    -      I graduated from NYU in 1995. (This is when the ceremony occurred). 

     

    DO NOT SAY: I have graduated since 1995.

     

    -      I finished the Beta project last month. (Specific time). 

     

    DO NOT SAY: I have finished the Beta project last month.

     

    1. Present perfect tense

    Use the present perfect tense to describe something that has been in effect from a certain point in the past until now, but BE CAREFUL! 

     

    Some verbs are used for specific actions while others are used for conditions that cover periods of time.

     

    For example:

     

    -      I met Mr. Johnson last year at a convention in New York. (Specific time). 

     

    DO NOT SAY: I have met him since last year. 

     

    THE CORRECT WAY TO SAY IT IS: I have known him since last year.

     

    1. Simple present tense

    Use the simple present tense to describe facts.  For example:

     

    -      I work for BTS Corporation.

     

    -      He’s an electrical engineer.

     

    -      I am responsible for guiding new employees.

     

    -      He answers company mail.

     

    1. Present progressive tense

    Use the present progressive tense to describe ongoing projects.  For example:

     

    -      I am developing new software.

     

    -      She is teaching the hearing-impaired.

     

    -      We are building a new apartment complex in West Heights.

     

    If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention our ESL blog as the original source).

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  • American Accent Trainig - Pronouncing the "TH"

    by User Not Found | Oct 04, 2012
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  • In, On & At - When Should You Use Each One?

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  • Essential English Word Categories Explained

    by User Not Found | Oct 04, 2012
    www.englishlci.com

    www.englishlci.com

     

    Here we give you a helpful guide to understand 10 types of words that exist in English:

     

     

     

     

     

     

    1. Acronym

    Is an abbreviation pronounced as a word.  

     

    It consists of the initial letters of a multiword name or expression and can have only uppercase letters¾NASA¾, the initial-cap style for longer acronyms¾Nasdaq¾, or only lowercase letters¾radar¾; the latter are also known as anacronyms.

     

    1. Anepronym

    Is a trademarked brand name that is used generically, like aspirin or Kleenex.

     

    1. Antonym

    Is a word distinguished from another by an opposite meaning, like large as compared to small.

     

    There are also types of words called autoantonyms, contranyms, or contronyms that are single words with contrasting meanings, like oversight, which can mean either “responsibility for” or “failure to be responsible for”.

     

    1. Eponym

    Is a proper or common name that derives from another name, like San Francisco¾in honor of St. Francis¾or many scientific terms such as watt¾named after James Watt¾and volt¾named after Allesandro Volta¾.

     

    1. Heteronym

    Is a word that is spelled the same for different meanings, like wear¾to clothe oneself¾and to wear¾to atrophy¾.

     

    An heteronym can be pronounced differently depending on its meaning, such as bass, the musical instrument, and bass, the fish.  This type of word is also called an heterophone.

     

    1. Homonym

    Is a word pronounced or spelled the same but different in meaning, like hi and high¾also called homophones¾.

     

    The word bass, named above, is both an heteronym and an homonym.

     

    1. Metonym

    Is a term that identifies something by its association, for example: articles about Microsoft often referred to the company metonymically as Redmond¾the city in Washington State where its headquarters are located¾just as Washington stands for the U.S. government.

     

    1. Pseudonym

    Is a name adopted by an author, like Lewis Carroll, whose real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson.

     

    In a literary context, this is known as a nom de plume¾“name of the pen”¾.

     

    Other pseudonyms are stage names¾performing arts¾, ring names¾professional wrestling¾, and handles¾computer hacking, or CB or ham radio operation¾.

     

    1. Synonym

    Is a word with the same meaning as another, like small/little and sick/ill.

     

     

    1. Toponym

    Is a place name or name derived from a place, whether it retains capitalization or is lowercased in generic usage, like burgundy and Chevy Tahoe.

     

    There are many other ‘-nym’ word categories that you should ask about during your ESL classes, we have listed 10 very important ones here, but this is only the beginning!

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  • 10 Latin Abbreviations Correctly Used in English

    by User Not Found | Oct 04, 2012

    www.englishlci.comThere is a correct way to use, in English, abbreviations originated from Latin terms and phrases.  Here we show you the right use of the most common 10.  

    Feel free to share these with your ESL class and have some fun practicing them! 

    • e.g.

    This abbreviation means exempli gratia or ‘for example’ and it should always be used with the periods and followed by a comma to signal sample examples¾e.g.,¾. 

    Example: “I like many of the ladies on the Food Network (e.g., Rachael Ray, Giada DeLaurentiis, etc.)” 

    • etc.

    It means et cetera or ‘and so forth’ and is commonly misspelled ect.  It must be preceded by a comma.  Do not use etc. in an e.g. list, as abbreviations are redundant. 

    Example: “The drawer held items like scissors, clips, post-its, pens, markers, etc.” 

    • et al.

    This means et alia or ‘and others’ and is normally used to substitute the names of all but the primary author in a reference to a multiauthor publication or article.  There is no period after et because this word is not an abbreviation.  Do not precede it with a comma. 

    Example: “Possible explanation supplied by Kahneman et al.” 

    The second word in this term¾alias¾is used alone to mean ‘otherwise known as’ or ‘an assumed name’. 

    • i.e.

    This abbreviation means id est or ‘that is’ and, like e.g., is often wrongly used w

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  • GRE and GMAT Preparation Course - Get the Score You Deserve

    by User Not Found | Oct 04, 2012
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  • Did You Know That These Words Have No Plural?

    by User Not Found | Oct 04, 2012

    www.englishlci.comYes… many ESL students don’t know this and find it difficult to believe, but some words in English have no plural form.

    These words are called “mass nouns”, this is, nouns that don’t have a plural form in English and can’t be used in plural or with plural verbs. Mass nouns are singular in form.

    Mass nouns cannot be counted; thus, they are also called uncountable nouns or non-count nouns, which are common nouns that cannot be modified by a numeral without specifying a unit of measurement and can’t combine with an indefinite article-a or an-.

    For example, the words “moose”, “sheep” and “shrimp” do not have a plural form, but they can be used in singular or plural form as they are:

    - The moose is/are migrating.
    - The sheep is/are ready to be fed.
    - The shrimp is/are very well cooked.

    Thus, these three are not mass nouns.

    Here is a list of words that are “mass nouns”; share it with your ESL class and start a very interesting game to discover more of these words:

    Furniture
    Information
    Knowledge
    Jewelry
    Homework
    Marketing
    Livestock
    Education
    Courage
    Bravery
    Luck
    Cowardice
    Greed
    Clarity
    Honesty
    Evidence
    Insurance
    Butter
    Love
    News
    Curiosity
    Satisfaction
    Work
    Mud
    Weather
    Racism
    Sexism
    Patriotism
    Chaos
    Scenery
    Help
    Advice
    Water
    Fun
    Wisdom
    Silence
    Sugar
    Coal
    Spelling
    Money

    Try to use these words in the plural form and you will discover it is not possible.

    There are many other words that belong to this list… remember in essence, mass nouns DO

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  • American Accent Training - Eat vs. It

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  • Useful Vocabulary for Busines Executives - from A to L

    by User Not Found | Oct 04, 2012

    We’re going to go over the meaning of some business-related words. If you’re a business executive and currently taking ESL lessons, it’s important that you review them once in a while so you don’t lose track of their subtleties, since these words are the basic substance of your communication. We hope the following list helps you keep your English fluent and robust. Good luck!

    Acquisition – When one person or enterprise takes ownership of another business. It is often used along with the word merger, like in mergers and acquisitions or M&As.

    Advertising – The use of communicational techniques with the purpose of attracting the public’s attention, generally through paid announcements, broadcasts, and electronic media.

    Appraisal – An estimation of a product’s value on the open market. It also refers to the way that such estimation is made.

    Business Incubator – A business whose main purpose is to provide workspace, coaching, and support services to other business (usually starting entrepreneurs and early-stage businesses).

    Business Valuation – A way to estimate a business’ value by means of its assets.

    Consumer Direct Marketing – A form of Network Marketing in which the distributors are also consumers of the product they sell.

    Corporation – An organization recognized as a separate legal entity that has its own rights, privileges, and liabilities distinct from those of its members’.

    Downline – In a Multi-Level Marketing business, the group of people signed up underneath an individual who receives payment on their sales.

    Entrepreneur – An individual who starts a business, organizes it, is responsible for its development, and assumes the risks.

    General Partnership – An organizational structure in which each general partner shares in the administration, profits and losses of the operation.

    Home Based Business – As the name suggests, a home based business is a business located and operated from its owner’s home. It doesn’t necessarily refer to a small business; it can also be a large business, as long as it’s run from home.

    Independent Contractor – A person who independently trades or does business, offering their services to the public directly. The person or company that contracts their services can only define the result they want, but not the means or methods used to accomplish such result.

    Intrapreneur – A intrapreneur is an entrepreneur who works within a large corporate environment.

    Joint Venture – A legal entity created by two or more businesses that come together to lead a business of specific objectives with both parties sharing profits and losses. The difference between a Joint Venture and a strategic alliance is that a Joint Venture is an actual legal entity.

    Limited Liability Company (LLC) – A legal entity that is not taxable itself and distributes the profits to its owners, but shields personal assets from business debt like a corporation.

    Limited Partnership – A business arrangement in which the daily operations are operated by one or more general partners and funded by limited or silent partners who are legally liable for losses based on how much they invested.

    Line of Credit – Similar to a business loan, with the difference that the borrower only pays interest on the amount actually used.

    If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.englishlci.com as the original source).

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