Professional Documents
Culture Documents
English
English
first of all
to begin with
Enumerating arguments
in addition to
additionally
besides
moreover
furthermore
above all
Weighing arguments
both... and....
up to a point
so to speak
similarly
as well as
Restrictions
however / though
nevertheless
whereas
in spite of / despite
unlike
on the contrary
Refering to
with reference to
regarding
as regards
Emphasizing
Id like to emphasize
Generalizing
on the whole
as a rule
to some extent
in many ways
in all respects
basically
Giving examples
such as / including
in particular / particularly
what I mean is
Making exceptions
apart from
except
Giving reasons
because
as / since
because of
the reason for this is
Consequences
therefore
consequently / as a result
I think that
in my experience
as far as I know
as far as I am concerned
I am convinced that
Agreeing
Disagreeing
It interests me a lot
I am prepared to do something
I am determined to do something
Im planning to do something
Lack of interest
It means nothing to me
finally
last of all
last but not least
in conclusion / to conclude
all in all
Modifying adverbs
partly
comparatively / relatively
extremely / incredibly
Who/Whom/Whose
"Who" is a subject pronoun like "he," "she" and "we" in the examples above. We use
"who" to ask which person does an action or which person is a certain way.
Examples:
Who made the birthday cake?
"Whom" is an object pronoun like "him," "her" and "us." We use "whom" to ask
which person receives an action.
Examples:
"Whose" is a possessive pronoun like "his," "her" and "our." We use "whose" to find
out which person something belongs to.
Examples:
Such sentences usually start with a phrase such as: "I am not sure" or "He doesn't
know" or "We don't care." Just ignore the first part of the sentence and look at the
indirect question when deciding whether to use "who," "whom" or "whose." Ask
yourself if the indirect question requires a subject, object, or possessive form.
Examples:
He doesn't know who the boss of the company is. subject of the indirect
question
Adjective clauses are used to describe a noun in the main sentence. In the example
above, the adjective clause tells us about "the man." Just ignore the main sentence
and look at the adjective clause when deciding whether to use "who," "whom" or
"whose." Ask yourself if the adjective clause requires a subject, object, or
possessive form.
Examples:
We knew the actress who starred in the movie. subject of adjective clause
They hired the man whom we interviewed last week. object of adjective
clause
She knew the family whose house we bought. "Whose" shows possession of
house.
The form "whom" is becoming less and less common in English. Many native English
speakers think "whom" sounds outdated or strange. This trend is particularly
common in the United States. Especially when combined with prepositions, most
people prefer to use "who" as the object pronoun. To most native English speakers,
the examples below sound quite natural.
Examples:
To understand how to use "who," "whom," and "whose," you first have to
understand the difference between subjects, objects, and possessive forms.
Subjects do an action:
He loves movies.
She goes to school.
We enjoy Chinese food.
"Who" is a subject pronoun like "he," "she" and "we" in the examples above. We use
"who" to ask which person does an action or which person is a certain way.
Examples:
Who made the birthday cake?
Who is in the kitchen?
Who is going to do the dishes?
"Whom" is an Object Pronoun
"Whom" is an object pronoun like "him," "her" and "us." We use "whom" to ask
which person receives an action.
Examples:
Whom are you going to invite?
Whom did he blame for the accident?
Whom did he hire to do the job?
"Whose" is a Possessive Pronoun
"Whose" is a possessive pronoun like "his," "her" and "our." We use "whose" to find
out which person something belongs to.
Examples:
Whose camera is this?
Whose dog is barking outside?
Whose cell phone keeps ringing?
"Who," "Whom" and "Whose" in Indirect Questions
Such sentences usually start with a phrase such as: "I am not sure" or "He doesn't
know" or "We don't care." Just ignore the first part of the sentence and look at the
indirect question when deciding whether to use "who," "whom" or "whose." Ask
yourself if the indirect question requires a subject, object, or possessive form.
Examples:
He doesn't know who the boss of the company is. subject of the indirect question
I don't care whom you invite. object of the indirect question
She isn't sure whose car that is. "Whose" shows possession of car.
"Who," "Whom" and "Whose" in Adjective Clauses
Adjective clauses are used to describe a noun in the main sentence. In the example
above, the adjective clause tells us about "the man." Just ignore the main sentence
and look at the adjective clause when deciding whether to use "who," "whom" or
"whose." Ask yourself if the adjective clause requires a subject, object, or
possessive form.
Examples:
We knew the actress who starred in the movie. subject of adjective clause
They hired the man whom we interviewed last week. object of adjective clause
She knew the family whose house we bought. "Whose" shows possession of house.
"Whom" Less Common
The form "whom" is becoming less and less common in English. Many native English
speakers think "whom" sounds outdated or strange. This trend is particularly
common in the United States. Especially when combined with prepositions, most
people prefer to use "who" as the object pronoun. To most native English speakers,
the examples below sound quite natural.
Examples:
Who did you come to the party with?
I don't know who he gave the book to.
That is the woman who I was talking to.
Who did you get that from?
Do you have any idea who he sold his car to?
That is the person who I got the information from.
deceit the act or practice of deceiving; conceal Once she exposed thei
3 ment or distortion of thetruth for the pur r deceit, no one evertr
4 pose ofmisleading; duplicity; fraud;cheati usted them again.
ng
populist appealing
3 to the interests orprejudices of ordinary p
9 eople
meagre deficient in quantity or quality;lacking full a meager salary
4 ness or richness;scanty; inadequate
0
quandary a state
5 of perplexity oruncertainty, especially as
4 to whatto do; dilemma.
whittle (away) to reduce the amount of, as if bywhittling to whittle away one's i
7 ; pare down; take awayby degrees nheritance.
2
confined (to) to enclose within bounds; limit orrestrict Confine your efforts to
7 finishing the book.
4
akin (to) allied by nature; having the sameproperti Something akin to vert
7 es igo was troubling her.
8
nuts and bolts the essential or basic aspects to learn the nuts and b
9 olts of a new job.
7
dawdling to waste time; idle; trifle; loiter Stop dawdling and hel
1 p me with thesepackag
1 es!
9
I never knew that helping someone could cause so much trouble. Since young, my parents
had been stressing the need to help others so much that I sometimes wonder if I was born
to help. Of course, they had been setting good examples for me as well. Whenever there
was a charity that requires large amount of money to help the disabled, or simply our
neighbour who needed someone to look after his pet while he was overseas, my parents
would be the first on the list offering to help. Their influences on me impacted me so much
that I was sometimes called 'the nosy one' in school, for I had offered my help to every
single event. This time round, as usual, I offered my help. Never did I knew that that would
mean a big trouble for myself.
It was the first day of my summer vacation. I was feeling rather excited as I was on my way
to meet my friends, planning to chill out at the beach. While walking to the nearest bus stop
from my home, I noticed a boy, probably five years my junior, looking lost on the streets.
"Could he have lost his way?" I thought to myself, wondering if I could help.
After glancing at my watch, I realised I was quite early. I should be able to arrive on time
even if I helped the little boy. With that, I walked towards him, approaching him with the
confidence that I could help.
"Excuse me, I noticed that you look kind of lost. Can I be of help in any ways?" I
approached him with a smile on my face.
"Oh, I... I need to deliver this to my friend. However, I have something else to see to," there
was a tinge of uncertainty and fear in his speech. Nevertheless, I offered to help him to
deliver the large parcel he was holding since the trip would not take long.
I took a bus to the place stated in the address he had given me. Within a few stops, I
arrived. I went around asking for directions to the "Dark Alley House". After a few attempts, I
reached my destination.
It was a large warehouse. As I walked further into the gloomy place, three men, smelling of
cigarettes and beer, approached me.
"Are you here to deliver something?" one of them asked, in an intimidating tone.
"Yes, if I am not wrong, your friend was supposed to deliver this parcel package to you.
However, he had something else to attend to," I answered him, stating the only truth that
was known to me.
"My friend, huh?" he replied, leading to an outburst of laughter among the trio. "Alright,
come on in. Follow us closely."
They led me deeper into the warehouse. I realised that the 'warehouse' was actually a
gambling den. The whole area was crowded with people. Some were smoking, while the
others were taking drugs. that observation led to to wonder what could the parcel package
contain. As soon as I figured it out, it was too late to flee.
The police alarm sounded off. I could see everyone panicking, trying to escape through the
back door. however, those were futile attempts. The police had cordoned that whole area.
Policemen stationed at both the front door and the back door. No one could escape. Soon,
everyone, including myself, was caught and taken to the police station for further
interrogation.
I told the police everything that I knew. At that point of time, the only wish I wanted to come
true was that the police could believe me. They seemed to be convinced by my plight.
Similar to what I had expected, that parcel package was indeed drugs. I knew I was in hot
soup. The boy whom I helped was nowhere to be found. There was no witness to help me.
This was a hopeless situation. I was later arrested and put into the boys' home for 6
months.
Now, I was finally released from the boys' home. I could sense that my future is bleak.
Surely not many would accept an ex-convict into the society. I regretted my actions. I had
only myself to blame for landing myself in such a situation. I always thought that being
helpful was good. However, this time round, it was just nosiness on my part.
Write a story about a person who entered a competition and surprised everyone by winning.
MitchMonroeisarash,gruffelventhgraderwhoonlyappear'sinateacher'sworstnightmare.Uponarriving
toschoolperpetuallylate,hewoulddisruptclasswithhisgrostequelyloudsnoresandpodsofdrooloozing
fromhismouth.Whenaskedabouthisassignments,Mitchisthefirstonetoshoothishandtowardsthesky
andbrazenlyadmit,"Ididn'tdoit,Miss."Notoriousforhisrowdybehaviourtowardhisfellowstudents,he's
evenmoreinfamouswiththePrincipal.Constantlybeingtoldtoshowsomerespect,heseemstobe
incorrigiblebeyondrecognition.Thatis,untilhesignedupforthestatechesschampionship
Racous,wastheleasttosaytheatmosphereoftheassemblyhallwhenMitchMonroewascalleduponthestage
asthePrincipalintroducedthisyear'sprospectivechampions.AmongabandofelitestraightAplus
academics.Mitchlookedoddlyoutofplace.Nosurprisesthereforajesterwithhisshirtuntucked,shoelaces
undone,messyandovergrownfacialhair.AndIwonderedwhyIhadpitiedhim.Apparently,rumoursbroke
outthatMitchparticipatedtoredeemhimselftohisteachersandfamily.Iwassurethatthiswasjustanother
practicaljokeofhistogainunrivalled,yetpointlessattention.Mitchsucceededalright.Butonlybecausehe
wasaloser.
JustasIhadforecasted:hewashopelesslytrashedbyaminorchessplayer.Imaginewhatwouldhave
happenedifhefacedaprofessionalplayer.Enoughsaid.Afterlunch,Mitchreturnedtoclasswheresuddenly
hewascircledbyagroupofgleefulstudentswhoguffawedathimandjested."loser"',"attentionhog"and"
wannabe".Infuriated,Mitchshoutedineveryone'sfaceandsaidthis"Markmywordseveryone.Markmy
words.Iamgoingtodowhateverittakestowinthiscompetitionandyouallwillbesorryyoueverlooked
downatme!"Famouslastwords,Ipresumed.
Secondroundbeckonedthefollowingweekandoddly,Iwaslookingforwardtohisarrivalattheschool
librarywherethecompetitiontookplace.Itcameasaheartwarmingsurprisethatotherslookedeagerforhis
presence.Andtherhegoes!stompinghiswornoutshoestowardsthecentreofthestagewherehisfellow
competitorshadbeenyawningforthepasttenminutes.Waitasecond.Mitchisgoingtobeblownto
smithereens,ashisopponentisachampionforthesecondtime.
Whatalegendarybattle.YoushouldhaveseenhowMitchskilfullydedicatedthegame.Everymovehemade
brilliantlyearnedatwomoveadvantagebecausehischallengesweremanipulatedintoeverydesired
square.DareIsayitMitchlookedlikeachampion.Helookedlikeawinner.MitchMitchellMonroe,the
mostshabbyandmostillbehavedwalkingdisasterdefeatedourschool.Itwasutterlyincredulous.
Thefollowingweekarrivedincorrespondencetothethirdandfinalround.Thewinnerwouldbecrownedstate
championandwouldproceedtotheNationalchampionship.Iwasliterallyshiveringtotheboneandchewing
offmynailsinanticipationforthefinaliststoarrive.Finally,theycame;Onebeingamathematicalwhizkid,
thekingofmanipulation.Theother,fightingtoredeemhimselfasatopstudent.withabrightfuture.Letthe
gamebegin.
Aseverytensecondofthegamepasses,theupperhandseemstobeshiftingallegiancesaseverymovewas
filledwithprowess,yetdeceivinglysimpletothenakedeye.Itwasmagnificent.Eachplayerseemedtohave
completecontrolovertheotherinasinglemove.Itwasmagic.However,withlessexperience,Mitchlooked
palpablytense.Sweatdrippedfromhisbrowtothechessboardashebenthisheadbetweenhiskneesin
dejection,tothesorrowfulsighofthecrowdfrombehind.Everyonewasquiet.Theatmospherewassostill
andmanifestlyburdenedwithflabbergast.
Icouldn'thandleitanymore.IcheeredMitch'snameandthatinevitablytriggeredachainofcheersasevery
singlestudentbackedMitchintheroom.Itgotmorethunderousandelectrifyingwitheverymove.Thesaga
resumedwitheachoftheplayersattackingeachother'spiecesdevilishly.Whenbothplayersweredownto
threepieceseach,aheavysilencefilledtheroom.Checkmate!Mitchmadetemostradicalmove.Thecrowd
roaredwithnewfoundenergy.Wepattedhisbackandcarriedhimoffhisseat.Thatwasournewchamp!
Mitchhadredeemedhimself.
HereceivedastandingovationfromtheproudteachersandthePrincipalgavehimathumbsupthatmusthave
reallyboostedhiszestasthenewchampion.UponreminiscinghowIperceivedMitchbeforehewonthe
competition,Ipersonallyfeltashamedandinspiredatthesametime.AshamedofhowIlookeddownupon
himasa"loser".Inspiredbyhowgritt,determinationandselfbeliefcangetyoutoachieveyourgoals.I
understandifMitchrefusestospeaktome,butdeepdowninsideIknewhewasbetterthanthat.
Vocab
Abstemious self denying; refraining from indulging
Enshroud cover
Plethora an excess
Tedium boredom
Blatant obvious
Creditable praiseworthy
Ensconce establish firmly in a position
Laceration a cut
Obdurate stubborn
Credible believable
Labyrinth a maze
Replete full
Tangible can be touched