Some of you may be disappointed with your PSLE results or the school that you have been assigned to. Here’s a true story that may inspire you. I have a friend who did very badly in her PSLE . She got into “Normal” stream and needed to fulfill five years, instead of four years of[…]
Some students complain about how difficult the Chinese language is. I think the beauty of the language overshadows all reasons why one shouldn’t learn Mandarin. Here’s a good example. This is an English poem. You say that you love rain, but you open your umbrella when it rains. You say that you love the sun,[…]
How do you pronounce vehicle? a) vee-hikl b) VEE-IKL The answer is (B) vee-ikl. Although there’s an H in vehicle, we do not pronounce it.
“Shall” is often used to make suggestions, make an offer or ask for advice. EXAMPLES: Shall we go for a movie tonight? Shall I get you more rice? “Should” is often used to talk about obligation and duty. EXAMPLES: You son is sick. You should stay home and look after him. You should not be[…]
How do you pronounce “salmon”? a) Sell-muhn b) Sae-muhn The answer is (B)
Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects[…]
Always, always think through what you are going to say before speaking. You may not be fluent in the language. It’s OK to have a few seconds of dead air to contemplate your answer. We are not having a radio show so the few seconds of silence is fine. This is better than saying the[…]
A lot of Singaporeans pronounce “colleague” as ke-league. This is inaccurate. Read it as “call-league” /ˈkälˌēg/
Fan is pronounced 风 扇 fēng shàn and not fēng shăn 风闪。 Unless the wind is trying to dodge 闪 you
“Imprisoned for 38 years, supporters believe activist leader was framed for murder by police in tumultuous early ’70s.” Oh dear. How would you interpret this headline? It seems to imply the supporters were imprisoned for 38 years! Adjectives that end with -ing and -ed are called participles. When you use such participles with no proper[…]