Mastering English Grammar: Verb Forms, Passive Voice, and More
Mastering Verb Forms in English
Verb + -ing (Gerund)
Verbs commonly followed by the -ing form (gerund):
(stop, delay, fancy, consider, admit, miss, involve, enjoy, mind, suggest, finish, postpone, imagine, avoid, deny, risk, practise)
Examples:
- Would you mind closing the door for me?
- Have you ever considered going to another country to work?
Verb + to (Infinitive)
Verbs commonly followed by the infinitive (to + verb):
(offer, decide, hope, deserve, attempt, promise, agree, plan, aim, afford, manage, threaten,
Read MoreMastering English Grammar: Passive Voice, Reported Speech, and More
Passive Voice
Passive Voice Examples:
- Active: buys – Passive: is bought
- Active: ate – Passive: was eaten
- Active: is cleaning – Passive: is being cleaned
- Active: were visiting – Passive: was being visited
- Active: have never recycled – Passive: has never been recycled
- Active: had done – Passive: had been done
- Active: will forget – Passive: will be forgotten
Example Sentence:
I will send you the information by mail.
Passive Transformations:
- The information will be sent to you by mail.
- You will be sent the information
Hamlet’s Soliloquies: Death, Revenge, and Frailty
Hamlet’s Soliloquies: Unveiling Inner Turmoil
Hamlet refers to the world as an “unweeded garden” in which rank and gross things grow in abundance. He bemoans the fact that he cannot commit suicide, explaining in lines 335-336 that “self-slaughter” is not an option because it is forbidden by God. In the first two lines of the soliloquy, he wishes that his physical self might cease to exist on its own, without requiring him to commit a mortal sin: “O that this too too solid flesh would melt, / Thaw,
Read MorePhantom of the Opera: Secrets and Mysteries
The Phantom of the Opera: Key Moments
The Enigmatic Opera House
What was the Opera House like? The Opera House was charmed because there’s a phantom who walks inside like a shadow.
The Phantom’s Presence
Why did people think there was a ghost in the Opera House? Because they listen a noise and isn’t anybody; and because the message’s of the Ghost.
The Ghost’s Demands
What did the ghost have in the Opera House? A private box.
The Mysterious Letter
Monsieur Poligny showed the new managers a letter.
What did
Read MoreThe Sign of Four: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery
Sherlock Holmes and the Sign of Four
Sherlock Holmes receives a visit from Miss Mary Morstan, a visit that lifts him out of the boredom into which he had fallen after solving the case, *A Study in Scarlet*. This boredom he mitigates by taking doses of cocaine. Mary Morstan presents her case: her father, after returning from India, disappeared ten years ago from the hotel where he was staying. For six years, she has received a small box annually, containing a valuable pearl. Someone has summoned her
Read MoreGerald Durrell’s Corfu: Family, Animals, and Nature
Book Review: “My Family and Other Animals”
“My Family and Other Animals” is an autobiographical work written by naturalist Gerald Durrell. First published in 1956, it is a light-hearted and humorous account of the author’s childhood years on the picturesque Greek island of Corfu. The story begins in 1935 when Gerald arrives, at the age of ten, on the island of Corfu along with his somewhat eccentric family. It describes his relationship with his tolerant mother; his brother Larry, who goes on
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