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• Present perfect tense

We use the present perfect tense for the following:

ü An unspecified time in the past

–> I have seen that movie.

ü An action that started in the past and continuous to the present

–> She has been married for ten years.

ü A repeated past action which may occur again

–> I have been absent twice so far.

Note the contrast with past perfect tense:

I have seen that movie –> you have seen it, that’s all, and you don’t mention specific time

I saw that movie yesterday –> you mention specific time in the past

• Present perfect continuous tense

ü To emphasize the action, we use the continuous form.

–> We’ve been working really hard for a couple of months.

ü When an action is finished and you can see the results, use the continuous form.

–> You’re red in the face. Have you been running?

• Past perfect tense

The past perfect tense is used with an event that occurred before another event in the past.

–> By the time I got to the airport, the plane had already taken off.

• Past perfect continuous tense

The past perfect continuous tense is used with an event of duration that occurred before another event in the past (to look back at a situation in progress).

–> He had been working there for three years when the accident happened.

Example:

Sarah (climb) ………………………………………. the Matterhorn, (sail) ………………………………………………………… around the world, and (go) ………………………………………. on safari in Kenya. She is such an adventurous person.

What words do you have to put in the blanks?

Sarah has climbed the Matterhorn, has sailed around the world, and has gone on safari in Kenya. She is such an adventurous person.

You use the present perfect tense to describe Sarah’s experience. It happened in the past and may occur again. You can also see the last sentence which uses the simple present tense, so you can decide to use the present perfect tense to fill in the blanks.

Now see the contrast in this sentence:

Sarah (climb) ………………………………………. the Matterhorn, (sail) ………………………………………………….. around the world and (go) ………………………………………. on safari in Kenya by the time she turned twenty-five. She (experience) ………………………………………. more by that age than most people do in their entire lives.

Sarah had climbed the Matterhorn, had sailed around the world and had gone on safari in Kenya by the time she turned (–> past tense) twenty-five. She had experienced more by that age (–> 25 years old) than most people do in their entire lives.

Series of events:

Climb the Matterhorn, sail around the world, go on safari in Kenya (past perfect) –> turn 25 (past tense)

Sometimes you have to memorize things when learning English grammar. Using mnemonics, it will be easier for you to memorize words. I found some mnemonics from my friend’s thesis. I think he wouldn’t be mad if i post them here for you so you can use it to help you learn English. (Note that some of the acronyms are in Indonesian or Javanese, but if you are not a speaker of Indonesian, you can try still, or create your own :P).

Verbs followed by gerund

BeLiDisCon (Begin, Like, Dislike, Continue)

Forest (Forget, Remember, Stop)

AdA (Admit, Avoid)

PaSuKAn (Postpone, Suggest, Keep, Anticipate)

PRiA (Practice, Risk, Against)

Verbs followed by infinitive

PrAWaNe BegO (Promise, Ask, Want, Need, Beg, Order)

ADHEM PAk (Arrange, Decide, Hope, Encourage, Mean, Plan and Ask)

Verbs of Perception

He, NOfi LeWat CaFe SeKS Lo (Hear, Notice, Observe, Find, Leave, Watch, Catch, Feel, See, Keep, Smell, Look at)

The last one was created by my teacher back then in highschool.

Hope it helps

There are some words in English that sometimes make us confused because they have similarities in pronunciation and spelling. Mistakes in writing those words can be a serious problem in your grammar exam ;). I will try to list some of them along with the examples here.

accept (v), except (prep.)
Examples:
They accepted my invitation.
Everyone except me attended the party.

affect (v), effect (n,v)
The verb affect means to influence; the verb effect means to cause to happen, and the noun effect means the result.

Pollution affects everyone.
Arbitrators have effected a settlement of the dispute.
The effect of the drug is well known.

cloth (n), clothes (n), clothe (v)
the noun cloth means artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers; the noun clothes means clothing in general, or apparel; the verb clothe means to provide with clothes, or to cover as if with clothing

Woven cloth originated in Mesopotamia around 5000 BC.
The man was wearing old, dirty clothes.
The mountain was clothed in tropical trees.

compared to, compared with
Compared to is used to point out similarities, compared with is used to indicate differences.

He compared the crowd with the larger crowds of previous year.
He compared the crowd to a swarm of angry bees.

complement, compliment (n)
A complement is something that completes something else; a compliment is a statement of an approval or congratulations.

A subject complement follows the verb “to be”.
She got many compliments on her new dress.

costume, custom, customs (n)
Costume refers to clothing; custom refers to a traditional practice or habit; customs means the agency for collecting duties imposed by a country on imports or exports.

She wore a beautiful costume to the party.
Customs differ from country to country.
You must pass through customs when you enter a country.

desert (n, v), dessert (n)
The noun desert means arid land with little or no vegetation; the verb desert means to leave behind, to abandon; and the noun dessert refers to a dish served as the last course of a meal.

It is very hot and dry in the desert.
The camp was deserted.
My favorite dessert is chocolate ice cream.

its (adj.), it’s (pronoun + v)
Don’t judge a book by its cover.
It’s time to go home.

maybe (adv.), may be (v)
Maybe means possibly or perhaps; may be is a verb form indicating that a possibility exists.

Maybe you will find the wallet you lost.
She may be late.

personal (adj.), personnel (n)
Personal means private; personnel refers to the workers or staff of a business.

It is difficult to discuss personal problems.
All personnel must attend the meeting.

quiet (adj.), quite (adv.)
Quiet is the opposite of noisy; quite can mean completely or fairly.

After the boys left, the house was quiet.
She is quite beautiful.

their (adj.), they’re (pronoun + v), there (adv.)
Use there when referring to a place and their to indicate possession. Remember that they’re is a contraction of the words they and are. It can never be used as a modifier, only as a subject (who or what does the action) and verb (the action itself).

They left their books at home.
Please put your book over there.
There are many documents that are used in investigations
They’re studying for the exam.
They’re talking about their plan there.

Can you add some more?

I was browsing around the net and found this kind of generator thing at http://www.brunching.com/alanislyrics.html. You just submit some words in the form and it will create song lyrics, Alanis Morrisstte’s syle. Haha, it was kindof funny. I was bored with my work i was doing and came up with words relating to it. Here is the song that the web created:

“Will to Live”

I feel miserable
Managers make me ill
I feel miserable
Bosses tear at my foundations
I feel miserable
Work loads are dragging me down to the depths of misery
I want to die

Is it because of work that I feel this way?
With the blue rays of misery pounding on my brain?
Or am I lost in tale of robert frost, adrift far from home
I don’t think so, I don’t think so.

You Broke My Will to Live
You Broke My Will to Live
You Broke My Will to Live
I was getting better but then
You Broke My Will to Live

I feel miserable
Deadlines rot the flesh from my bones
I feel miserable
Work overtime defeat my purpose
I feel miserable
Papers are doing their best to impale my soul
I want to die

Is it because of work that I feel this way?
With the blue rays of misery pounding on my brain?
Am I lost in tale of robert frost, adrift far from home
I don’t think so, I don’t think so.

You Broke My Will to Live
You Broke My Will to Live
Oh God, you Broke My Will to Live
I was getting better but then
You Broke My Will to Live

Hahah, work broke my will to live?? I don’t think so…

aku ingin berpuisi
tapi aku takut mengungkap kata hati
aku ingin berpuisi
tapi aku tak bisa merangkai kata yang berarti

aku bisa berpuisi
tapi aku tak mau mengumbar suara hati
aku bisa berpuisi
tapi aku tidak mau orang lain mengetahui
aku bisa berpuisi
tapi mungkin tidak sebagus sutardji calzoum bachri

aku suka berpuisi
karena aku hanya ingin bercerita sendiri
aku suka berpuisi
karena puisi tidak butuh pungtuasi
aku suka berpuisi
tapi yang kutulis jelek sekali
aku suka berpuisi
dan aku tidak peduli

I found these four-leaf clovers in a paddy field in Blora. There was A LOT of them in the paddy field. If a four-leaf clover does mean luck, then I should get good luck after finding some, hehe.

Trying to do the Nina way

Old paradigm: It is burdening and hard to do

New paradigm: It is something you can have fun with

Hope it will work.

To grammar even kings bow (JB Moliere, Les femmes savants, II, 1672)

We might have learned English since we were in junior high school. Our teacher might have given us a bunch of grammar exercises to do. The teachers usually give a set of grammatical rules to memorize, while sometimes memorizing rules can be discouraging.

Some say grammar is not important when learning English or other languages. Well, it is true sometimes, as long as the person (or native speaker) you talk to understands what you say. However, as my professor said, learning English without grammar is nonsense. Grammar is important. You can’t speak accurately if you don’t use the correct grammar. Consider when your boyfriend/girlfriend, for example, says “I loved you” to you. You might not notice the [-d] sound in ‘loved’, and might be happy hearing that. Be cautious though, he/she might be telling you he/she loved you in the past time and doesn’t love you anymore now. Well this is just an example, my favorite one when giving tips about how important grammar is, haha.

Every language contains a set of grammatical rules. When we study grammar, we study the language pattern. Constant practice of using the language improves our grammar, because we learn the pattern through practicing. In other words, we are exposed to such pattern, over and over.

First way to start, read. Read as many English texts or books. If you’re a beginner, read children books. They are usually shorter, less complicated, and use simple grammar. Study the sentence pattern. If you find grammar constructions that confuse you, take note and discuss it with your teacher or friend. As your skill improves, select books that are more difficult.

You can also watch English movies or listen to English songs. The more you are exposed to English language, the easier for you to catch the grammatical rules. Sometimes songs are grammatically incorrect, but they do help me. When I was in high school, I had a grammar test and I was asked to make a sentence using “would rather…than…”. I didn’t remember if I had to use “to infinitive” or “infinitive without to” after “would rather”. Then I recalled a Backstreet Boys’ song that goes “I’d rather die than live without you”, and I could construct another sentence with the similar pattern. See how it helped me?

Another way to improve your grammar is by writing. Try to write simple stories or your weekend experience for example. It is okay if you write in your language and translate it. Writing directly in English sometimes will make you use simpler grammar and vocabulary. Translating from your native language forces you to write more complex English and it helps you improve your grammar and vocabulary. Then consult your teacher or ask your friend who has a good command in English to correct your writing. It is better if you ask a native speaker, because he/she knows sentences that sound right and do not sound awkward. During the process, make sure you watch for errors that you repeat over and over. Finally, practice using these things correctly. As time goes by, you will be able to think in English without having to translate, and your English will sound “English”.

Just being silly (er, or creative i would say, haha).

Be tough Nina..sometimes the mountain you’ve been climbing is just a grain of sand..