SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE AND PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE

Today another presentation take place, it was Nazira's group. They presented about simple present tense and present continuous tense. Actually, I don really got it at first, but after another explanation then I could understand very well.

Present Continuous Tense

When we talk about events that are actually happening now, we use the present continuous tense. This is formed by using the stem of the verb and adding -ing to the end, for example the verb "work" becomes "working". In some cases you need to alter the spelling a bit for example the verb "die" becomes "dying".

Statements +	Statements -	Questions	Short answer +	Short answer -
I'm working.	I'm not working.	Am I working?	Yes, I am.	No, I'm not.
He's working.	He isn't working.	Is he working?	Yes, he is.	No, he isn't.
She's working.	She isn't working.	Is she working?	Yes, she is.	No, she isn't.
It's working.	It isn't working.	Is it working?	Yes, it is.	No, it isn't.
You're working.	You aren'tt working.	Are you working?	Yes you are.	No, you aren't.
We're working.	We aren't working.	Are we working?	Yes we are.	No, we aren't.
They're working.	They aren't working.	Are they working?	Yes they are.	No, they aren't.

Present Continuous Timeline

For example:
Q) "What are you doing?" A) "I'm building a website."
We also use the present continuous tense to talk about things that are happening around now but are temporary.
For example:
Q) "What are you doing these days?" A) "Unfortunately I'm working a lot."
It is also used to describe trends or situations that are happening but may be temporary.
For example:
"Nowadays more and more people are shopping on the Internet."
...and habitual actions (usually negative).
For example:
"He's always cleaning his car."
The present continuous tense can also be used to discuss future events:
Note:-
The present continuous is usually used with doing verbs (verbs of action) not with verbs of state. The following verbs are notused in the continuous form:-

Conditions: belong, cost, need, own, seem Feelings: like, love, hate, want, wish Beliefs: believe, feel, know, mean, remember, think, understand

http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/tenseprescont.htm

Simple Present Tense

I sing

How do we make the Simple Present Tense?

subject	+	auxiliary verb	+	main verb
		do		base

There are three important exceptions:

1. For positive sentences, we do not normally use the auxiliary.
2. For the 3rd person singular (he, she, it), we add s to the main verb or es to the auxiliary.
3. For the verb to be, we do not use an auxiliary, even for questions and negatives.

Look at these examples with the main verb like:

	subject	auxiliary verb		main verb
+	I, you, we, they			like	coffee.
	He, she, it			likes	coffee.
-	I, you, we, they	do	not	like	coffee.
	He, she, it	does	not	like	coffee.
?	Do	I, you, we, they		like	coffee?
	Does	he, she, it		like	coffee?

Look at these examples with the main verb be. Notice that there is no auxiliary:

	subject	main verb
+	I	am		French.
	You, we, they	are		French.
	He, she, it	is		French.
-	I	am	not	old.
	You, we, they	are	not	old.
	He, she, it	is	not	old.
?	Am	I		late?
	Are	you, we, they		late?
	Is	he, she, it		late?

How do we use the Simple Present Tense?

We use the simple present tense when:

• the action is general
• the action happens all the time, or habitually, in the past, present and future
• the action is not only happening now
• the statement is always true

John drives a taxi.
past	present	future
It is John's job to drive a taxi. He does it every day. Past, present and future.

Look at these examples:

• I live in New York.
• The Moon goes round the Earth.
• John drives a taxi.
• He does not drive a bus.
• We meet every Thursday.
• We do not work at night.
• Do you play football?

Note that with the verb to be, we can also use the simple present tense for situations that are not general. We can use the simple present tense to talk about now. Look at these examples of the verb "to be" in the simple present tense - some of them are general, some of them are now:

Am I right? Tara is not at home. You are happy.
past	present	future
The situation is now.

 

I am not fat. Why are you so beautiful? Ram is tall.
past	present	future
The situation is general. Past, present and future.

http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verb-tenses_present.htm

Last class for this Semester..

1st March 2012,today is my last Bel 120's class with Miss Zu. I am quite sad since I enjoyed learn with Miss Zu. before we end our class firstly we did our last semester paper, in april 2011. Most of the student did not come bit for me, I wanted to have my bel 120's class. Yes I will miss that moment. Miss Zu give us some snack while doing the exercise, fun right? to have snack. Since the first day until the last day of the class there are many things that I have gained about english. In Bel 120's class it improve my self-confident and knowledge. Not only the english lesson but also I have gain knowledge about blogspot too, how to create and what it uses. Before this I never do or get to know what is blogspot, and when Miss Zu asked us to do it, I don know and I have asked my roommate to create it for me,funny right. In bel 120's class it also make me more closer with my classmate. Before this I cannot mix with my classmate but after we do many things together then it make us become closer. First time I started to speak with my classmate is when Miss Zu asked us to do a circle and talk with each other. I am quite nervous because I never talk to stranger especially boy, I am a silent person I think. Then we need to do a presentation, I feel like wanted to run away and hide when I need to face with 31 students in my class, but I admit by that presentation then it has built my self confident to face with people. I really enjoyed with Miss Zu lesson, it 's not bored, since there have video, music I really enjoyed it. I wonder if I could have Other lecturer like Miss Zu?? I hope... Thank you Miss Zu because have taught me for almost five months.

examination exercise...

Miss Zu have asked us to find a copy of last year examination. Miss Zu wanted to do the exercise with us to teach us more how to complete the test very well. We do an exercise on September and April 2011 paper. The latest news. Huh, quite hard to do but I hope in examination I can do it very well, I'm so scared since I don really well in English. But alhamdulilah with Miss Zu's guidance I think I can do it very well.

ESSAY IN GROUP!!

Today our lesson, Miss Zu asked us to do an essay..in a group.. We need to count until 4, started with me and after that the fifth person need to count as one back. Fun right, just like in marching time. but I enjoyed it. My group is number one, which is Syuhada, Safira and Faiz Ali. I'm not very familiar with this group actually because every time my group always Masfarah and maizatuliana, but yes maybe I can try, and looks like they give cooperation very well. First name will do about introduction which is me. It happen in spontaneously, so cannot think very well since I only have 10 minutes to complete my introduction. Second paragraph was done by Safira, the third paragraph by Syuhada and last but not least was done by faiz, then the conclusion was made by fourth of us. We need to do an essay about services by express bus. I really hope our mark is good enough.

MAKING INFERENCES AND DRAWNIG CONCLUSION

In today's lesson Miss Zu taught us about making inferences and drawing conclusion.

Making Inferences and Drawing Conclusions

Read with purpose and meaning

Drawing conclusions refers to information that is implied or inferred. This means that the information is never clearly stated. 
Writers often tell you more than they say directly. They give you hints or clues that help you "read between the lines." Using these clues to give you a deeper understanding of your reading is called inferring. When you infer, you go beyond the surface details to see other meanings that the details suggest or imply (not stated). When the meanings of words are not stated clearly in the context of the text, they may be implied - that is, suggested or hinted at. When meanings are implied, you may infer them.
Inference is just a big word that means a conclusion or judgement. If you infer that something has happened, you do not see, hear, feel, smell, or taste the actual event. But from what you know, it makes sense to think that it has happened. You make inferences everyday. Most of the time you do so without thinking about it. Suppose you are sitting in your car stopped at a red signal light. You hear screeching tires, then a loud crash and breaking glass. You see nothing, but you infer that there has been a car accident. We all know the sounds of screeching tires and a crash. We know that these sounds almost always mean a car accident. But there could be some other reason, and therefore another explanation, for the sounds. Perhaps it was not an accident involving two moving vehicles. Maybe an angry driver rammed a parked car. Or maybe someone played the sound of a car crash from a recording. Making inferences means choosing the most likely explanation from the facts at hand. 
There are several ways to help you draw conclusions from what an author may be implying. The following are descriptions of the various ways to aid you in reaching a conclusion.

General Sense

The meaning of a word may be implied by the general sense of its context, as the meaning of the word incarcerated is implied in the following sentence:
Murderers are usually incarcerated for longer periods of time than robbers.
You may infer the meaning of incarcerated by answering the question "What usually happens to those found guilty of murder or robbery?" Use the text box below to write down what you have inferred as the meaning of the word incarcerated.

If you answered that they are locked up in jail, prison, or a penitentiary, you correctly inferred the meaning of incarcerated.

Examples

When the meaning of the word is not implied by the general sense of its context, it may be implied by examples. For instance,
Those who enjoy belonging to clubs, going to parties, and inviting friends often to their homes for dinner are gregarious.
You may infer the meaning of gregarious by answering the question "What word or words describe people who belong to clubs, go to parties a lot, and often invite friends over to their homes for dinner?" Use the lines below to write down what you have inferred as the meaning of the word gregarious.

If you wrote social or something like: "people who enjoy the company of others", you correctly inferred the meaning of gregarious.

Antonyms and Contrasts

When the meaning of a word is not implied by the general sense of its context or by examples, it may be implied by an antonym or by a contrasting thought in a context. Antonyms are words that have opposite meanings, such as happy and sad. For instance,
Ben is fearless, but his brother is timorous.
You may infer the meaning of timorous by answering the question "If Ben is fearless and Jim is very different from Ben with regard to fear, then what word describes Jim?" Write your answer on the following line.

If you wrote a word such as timid, or afraid, or fearful, you inferred the meaning of timorous.

A contrast in the following sentence implies the meaning of credence:
Dad gave credence to my story, but Mom's reaction was one of total disbelief.
You may infer the meaning of credence by answering the question "If Mom's reaction was disbelief and Dad's reaction was very different from Mom's, what was Dad's reaction?" Write your answer on the following lines.

If you wrote that Dad believed the story, you correctly inferred the meaning of credence; it means "belief."

Be Careful of the Meaning You Infer!

When a sentence contains an unfamiliar word, it is sometimes possible to infer the general meaning of the sentence without inferring the exact meaning of the unknown word. For instance,
When we invite the Paulsons for dinner, they never invite us to their home for a meal; however, when we have the Browns to dinner, they alwaysreciprocate.
In reading this sentence some students infer that the Browns are more desirable dinner guests than the Paulsons without inferring the exact meaning of reciprocate. Other students conclude that the Browns differ from the Paulsons in that they do something in return when they are invited for dinner; these students conclude correctly that reciprocatemeans "to do something in return."

In drawing conclusions (making inferences), you are really getting at the ultimate meaning of things - what is important, why it is important, how one event influences another, how one happening leads to another. Simply getting the facts in reading is not enough - you must think about what those facts mean to you.

WRITING LESSON TIME...

Today, 16 february 2012, we learn about how to do an essay. Miss Zu told us that in an essay there must have five paragraph, first we need to have an introduction that contain the hook, transition and the thesis, while the other three paragraph must contain topic sentence, supporting details, and main idea.

Identifying Topics, Main Ideas, and Supporting Details

Understanding the topic, the gist, or the larger conceptual framework of a textbook chapter, an article, a paragraph, a sentence or a passage is a sophisticated reading task. Being able to draw conclusions, evaluate, and critically interpret articles or chapters is important for overall comprehension in college reading. Textbook chapters, articles, paragraphs, sentences, or passages all have topics and main ideas. The topic is the broad, general theme or message. It is what some call the subject. The main idea is the "key concept" being expressed. Details, major and minor, support the main idea by telling how, what, when, where, why, how much, or how many. Locating the topic, main idea, and supporting details helps you understand the point(s) the writer is attempting to express. Identifying the relationship between these will increase your comprehension.

Applying Strategy

The successful communication of any author's topic is only as good as the organization the author uses to build and define his/her subject matter.

Grasping the Main Idea:

A paragraph is a group of sentences related to a particular topic, or central theme. Every paragraph has a key concept or main idea. The main idea is the most important piece of information the author wants you to know about the concept of that paragraph.

When authors write they have an idea in mind that they are trying to get across. This is especially true as authors compose paragraphs. An author organizes each paragraph's main idea and supporting details in support of the topic or central theme, and each paragraph supports the paragraph preceding it.

A writer will state his/her main idea explicitly somewhere in the paragraph. That main idea may be stated at the beginning of the paragraph, in the middle, or at the end. The sentence in which the main idea is stated is the topic sentence of that paragraph.

The topic sentence announces the general theme ( or portion of the theme) to be dealt with in the paragraph. Although the topic sentence may appear anywhere in the paragraph, it is usually first - and for a very good reason. This sentence provides the focus for the writer while writing and for the reader while reading. When you find the topic sentence, be sure to underline it so that it will stand out not only now, but also later when you review.

Identifying the Topic:

The first thing you must be able to do to get at the main idea of a paragraph is to identify the topic - the subject of the paragraph. Think of the paragraph as a wheel with the topic being the hub - the central core around which the whole wheel (or paragraph) spins. Your strategy for topic identification is simply to ask yourself the question, "What is this about?" Keep asking yourself that question as you read a paragraph, until the answer to your question becomes clear. Sometimes you can spot the topic by looking for a word or two that repeat. Usually you can state the topic in a few words.

Let us try this topic-finding strategy. Reread the first paragraph on this page - the first paragraph under the headingGrasping the Main Idea. Ask yourself the question, "What is this paragraph about?" To answer, say to yourself in your mind, "The author keeps talking about paragraphs and the way they are designed. This must be the topic - paragraph organization." Reread the second paragraph of the same section. Ask yourself "What is this paragraph about?" Did you say to yourself, "This paragraph is about different ways to organize a paragraph"? That is the topic. Next, reread the third paragraph and see if you can find the topic of the paragraph. How? Write the topic in the margin next to this paragraph. Remember, getting the main idea of a paragraph is crucial to reading.

The bulk of an expository paragraph is made up of supporting sentences (major and minor details), which help to explain or prove the main idea. These sentences present facts, reasons, examples, definitions, comparison, contrasts, and other pertinent details. They are most important because they sell the main idea.

The last sentence of a paragraph is likely to be a concluding sentence. It is used to sum up a discussion, to emphasize a point, or to restate all or part of the topic sentence so as to bring the paragraph to a close. The last sentence may also be a transitional sentence leading to the next paragraph.

Of course, the paragraphs you'll be reading will be part of some longer piece of writing - a textbook chapter, a section of a chapter, or a newspaper or magazine article. Besides expository paragraphs, in which new information is presented and discussed, these longer writings contain three types of paragraphs: introductory, transitional, and summarizing.

Introductory paragraphs tell you, in advance, such things as (1) the main ideas of the chapter or section; (2) the extent or limits of the coverage; (3) how the topic is developed; and (4) the writer's attitude toward the topic. Transitionalparagraphs are usually short; their sole function is to tie together what you have read so far and what is to come - to set the stage for succeeding ideas of the chapter or section. Summarizing paragraphs are used to restate briefly the main ideas of the chapter or section. The writer may also draw some conclusion from these ideas, or speculate on some conclusion based on the evidence he/she has presented.

All three types should alert you: the introductory paragraph of things to come; the transitional paragraph of a new topic; and the summarizing paragraph of main ideas that you should have gotten.

http://academic.cuesta.edu/acasupp/as/308.HTM

15 february 2012

Today is my first time doing the grammar test. I'm quite confident since I have done exercise for do the test on 13 february 2012. I'm nervous but I really hope I can get more mark than doing an exercise. Insyaallah..