Discussion Groups / ESL Teaching / October 2004

We have several dictionaries, but probably 1/4 or more of the words I
look up are not in there. I read a lot and like to look up any word I
am not totally sure of. Because I have been reading and looking up
words my entire adult life, the words I look up tend to be unusual or

What can I do now?

In Chinese, we have a verbial phrase "Qing Jia", and we use it like,
"I have to 'Qing Jia' today because I'm sick or I have something to
take care of."
We can use this phrase in scenerios like being at school or at work or

Could someone help me in identifying the different elements in this
sentence, like direct object, object clause, complex object,
prepositional phrase etc.  Here's my attempt.  Please let me know if
its correct.

Vancouver Tutors and Student Services offers experienced tutors with
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Is there a general rule for where the preposition is in questions? I
read in my textbook (OUP) that it is in the final with -wh- questions,
but whith longer prespositions  like under, without etc. this tends to
be in the initial position. I find this explation a bit insufficient. ...

"I've been studying some Spanish. I think I'll do a course in French
next."
or
"I've studied some Spanish. I think I'll do a course in French next."

I am looking for an English tutor to prepare job interview. I need to
improve speaking and conversation skill. Please email (hseo@uiuc.edu) me if
anyone can help me. I want a native speaker and, if possible, experienced
person as a tutor.

Sometimes when I am driving, when I come across rude drivers I call them
"idiot".  They don't here it ofcourse.  Other times, when my computer is
doing something that I did not expect I call it "You idiot".
Is calling someone "Idiot" (not on the face) a swear word?  Is the usage

I have written a paper on the latest trend in the industry to cut the
cost of the trainings through the educational services and since the
major differnece between studying in differenet university is the
quality of education , this paper discusses how a simple video

I just received the local ballot for the upcoming mayoral election.
Guess what? Surprise! It's printed (AT MY EXPENSE) in English
(the official language of this nation) and, get this, of all
languages, spanish.

The following is a paragraph from _The Summons_ by John Grisham.
<< They strolled into the front entrance of the law school, chatting
aimlessly about the final exam. She was easing closer with each
flirtation, warming up to the zone, the only one who knew where she

Hi! Can you help me?
What does these two sentence means
1."CHANCES   ARE   THAT   YOU ' RE already  familiar with RFID"
and

Sensory Inc, the world leader in embedded speech technologies, is now
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technology that is implemented on low cost chips. The new technology
is being introduced in Hong Kong at Sensory's "Designing a Voice User

Wich is right? And what is the difference?
I'm sorry, I'm just starting my english lessons :)