< TJ > Grammar - 'a few', 'few', 'a little', & 'little'

< T >
By Indriyani
via FB Page
15 Oct 2012

what about the use of 'a few'__'few' and 'a little'__'little' ???

< J >
‘A few’ dan ‘few’ dipakai untuk plural count noun.
‘A little’ dan ‘little’ dipakai untuk non-count noun.

‘A few’ dan ‘a little’ memberi pesan POSITIF
a.    She has been here only two weeks, but she has already made a few friends.
(positif: Dia sudah memiliki beberapa teman)
b.    I’m very pleased. I’ve been able to save a little money this month.
(positif:  Saya berhasil menabung daripada membelanjakan uang)

‘Few’ dan ‘little’ memberi pesan NEGATIVE, sesuatu hampir NOL
Very (few/little) bahkan membuat pesan negative-nya menjadi sangat kuat, sesuatu sudah dianggap NOL.
a.    I feel sorry for her. She has (very) few friends.
(negative: Dia tidak memiliki banyak teman; dia hampir tidak memiliki teman)
b.    I have (very) little money. I don’t even have enough money to buy food for dinner.
(negative: Saya tidak memiliki banyak uang; saya hampir tidak memiliki uang)

Read more ...

< TJ > Grammar - 'a lot of' vs 'lots of'

< T >
By Indriyani
via FB Page
15 Oct 2012
 
‎* Hi, Bert...
please, explai to me about the difference usage of "of a lot of" and "lots of". thank before :)


< J >
'a lot of' VS 'lots of'

Arti dasarnya sama: 'a great deal of'

Kedua kata tersebut termasuk dalam bahasa percakapan sehari-hari, tapi masih termasuk bahasa standar dan diterima.
'lots of' dianggap lebih informal daripada 'a lot of'.

'a lot of' dan 'lots of' digunakan pada plural count noun atau non-count noun:

Plural Count Noun:
There are a lot of books in your bag. (OK)
There are lots of books in you bag. (OK)

Non-Count Noun:
There is a lot of milk left in your glass. (OK)
There is lots of milk left in your glass. (OK)

-------
Dalam grammar, kata kerja harus sesuai dengan plural count noun atau non-count noun

Plural Count Noun:
A lot of books were left on the table.
Lots of books were left on the table.

Non-Count Noun:
A lot of milk was left on the table.
Lots of milk was left on the table.


-------
Dalam tulisan akademis, istilah lebih formal yang digunakan adalah:
'a great deal of' atau 'many' untuk plural count noun, dan
'a great deal of' atau 'much', untuk non-count noun

Plural Count Noun:
There are a great deal of books in your bag.
A great deal of books are in your bag.

Non-Count Noun:
There is a great deal of milk left in your glass.
A great deal of milk is left in your glass.

-------
Dalam hal arti, orang menganggap artinya sama: great quantity.
Tapi ada sebagian orang menganggap 'lots of' berarti lebih daripada 'a lot of', yaitu 'a greater quantity'.

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< TJ > Grammar - sentence comprehension & sentence relationship

< T > 

By Syifa Azzahra

11 oct 2012

via facebook  

Admin smg sll semngat berbgi ilmu, aku mau tanya apa yang dimaksud dg sentence comprehension dan sentence relationship, tolong kasih contohnya, terima kasih

min, sukses sll

< J >

A) sentence comprehension itu adalah kemampuan untuk memahami bacaan, baik menyangkut dari aspek struktur kalimat dan aspek ambiguity:

contoh:

(1) The criminal confessed his sins harmed too many people.

(informal writing, lebih cocok untuk dipakai pada percakapan dengan menggunakan jeda setelah kata 'confessed')

bandingkan dengan

(2) The criminal confessed that his sins harmed too many people. (formal writing)

jika tidak menganalisa ulang, seseorang bisa saja bingung membaca kalimat (1) setelah karena setelah kalimat 'The criminal confessed his sins', dia kemudian

menemukan kata kerja 'harmed'.

ambiguity (berarti lebih dari satu)

(3) Time flies like an arrow

bisa berarti

- Time moves as quickly as an arrow

- A special kind of fly, called time fly, likes arrows

- Measure the speed of flies like you would measure the speed of an arrow.

Usually, readers will be only aware of the first interpretation.

(4) The spy shot the daughter of the colonel who was standing on the balcony.

(who was standing on the balcony? the daughter or the colonel?

untuk ambiguity, solusinya harus mengerti konteksnya, jadi tidak ambil arti yang salah.

=======

B) Sentence Relationship adalah hubungan dalam rangkaian kata pada kalimat atau antar kalimat sehingga membentuk arti yang jelas dan mudah dimengerti.

Penggunaan kata penghubung (connector/transition words) menunjukkan hubungan tersebut.

Contoh:

(5) Jack is a very poor basketball player; therefore, he should be taken off the team.

(hubungan cause/effect)

(6) George Washington was very much admired as a soldier and statesman, but in his private life, he was described by some as proud and demanding.

(hubungan contrast)

(7) There are thousands of thoughts that might enter your conscious mind at any given moment; moreover, those thoughts are in some way related to your interests, hopes, needs, and desires.

(hubungan addition)

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< TJ > Grammar - Will have been V-ing, Will be V-ing, & Will have V3

< T >
Ayaz Lars
Via Facebook page @sukses toefl ielts
5 oct 2012

Mister bert..
apa bedanya 'I will have been learning', 'I will be learning, dan 'I will have learnt' ??


< J >
I will have been learning for 2 hours when you come.
(Future Perfect Progressive Tense)
(nanti, saya akan sudah belajar 2 jam ketika kamu datang)
penekanan pada lama durasinya sampai kejadian lain datang.
Jadi saya akan mulai belajar dari 2 jam sebelum kamu datang;
nanti, pas ketika kamu datang, saya akan sudah belajar selama 2 jam.


I will be learning when you come.
(Future Progressive Tense)
(nanti, saya akan sedang belajar waktu kamu datang)
Penekanannya adalah SEDANG TERJADI kegiatan belajarnya waktu kamu datang.


I will have learnt when you come.
(Future Perfect Tense)
(nanti, saya SUDAH selesai belajar waktu kamu datang)
Tidak penting kapan selesai belajarnya; yang pasti akan sudah selesai belajar ketika kamu datang.

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< TJ > Grammar - Lexical Verb

< T >
By Shinta Yunita
7 oct 2012
via Facebook page @sukses toefl ielts

hi,min
i think ur page very useful for me,
i want to ask you,can you explain the meaning of lexical verb?tia ya :)

< J >
lexical verb = main verb = NON-AUXILIARY VERB:
-kata kerja utama
-bisa berdiri sendiri

lexical verb berlawanan dengan  auxiliary verbs

auxiliary verb = helping verb
-kata kerja bantu
-tidak bisa berdiri sendiri, harus digunakan bersama main verb (lexical verb)

Lexical verb:
-Transitive and intransitive verbs
-Linking verbs
-Dynamic and stative verbs
-Regular and irregular verbs
http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs-what_classification-main.htm

Auxiliary verb:
-Be
-Do
-Have
-Modals
http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs-what_classification-helping.htm
http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/verbaux.htm

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< TJ > Listening - Tips

< T >

 By Rio Silaen
5 oct 2012
via Facebook page @sukses toefl ielts
 

kasih tips buat listening donk mr.Bert

< J >

- cari materi yang mudah/ringan dulu, jangan banyak vocabulary yang level advanced (lanjut)
- yang ucapannya jelas dan tidak terlalu ngebut/cepat bicaranya
coba dari film anak-anak dulu atau lagu anak-anak, kemudian kalau sudah biasa, lagu-lagu/film-film atau acara-acara televisi yang ucapannya sudah lebih cepat (kecepatan normal) dan vocabulary-nya sudah luas.

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< TJ > Grammar - Penggunaan 'since'

< T >

By Muhib Didi
3 oct 2012
Facebook page

min, halo. saya kurang mengerti masalah penggunaan since sebagai karena.. mohon dijelaskan. terima kasih

< J >

'since' sebagai 'karena' digunakan untuk penghubung kalimat keterangan SEBAB.

Sebagai penghubung, kata 'since' berdiri di antara 2 kalimat (kalimat utama dan anak kalimat keterangan sebab)

I didn't eat much this lunch break since I had a big portion of nasi goreng as my breakfast this morning.

kalimat utama: I didn't eat much this lunch break

penghubung: since

anak kalimat keterangan sebab: I had a big portion of nasi goreng as my breakfast this morning

kata penghubung yang lain selain 'since':

-because

-as

-now that

-inasmuch as

contoh:

* I didn't eat much this lunch break because I had a big portion of nasi goreng as my breakfast this morning.

* Several workers missed their shifts as the recent change in work shift was not posted.

* We can start the conference now that all the participants have arrived.

* The outcome of the election cannot be announced inasmuch as all the votes have not yet been counted.

Jika anak kalimat diletakkan di depan, tanda koma harus dipakai untuk memisahkan anak kalimat dan induk kalimat.

* Because I had a big portion of nasi goreng as my breakfast this morning, I didn't each much this lunch break.

* As the recent change in work shift was not posted, several workers missed their shifts.

* Now that all the participants have arrived, we can start the conference.

* Inasmuch as all the votes have not yet been counted, the outcome of the election cannot be announced.

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< TJ > Grammar - Suffix '-ing' dan '-ed'

< T >

By Syifa Azzahra

1 Oct 2012

Via facebook account wall

admin... aku mau tanya perubahan makna dari :

- investigating

- pinned

- bruised

pada penambahan prefix dan suffix pada akhir kata. terima kasih admin

< J >

 ‘–ing’ setelah verb à ‘Verb + ing’ disebut Present Participle

‘-ed’ atau ‘-d’ atau bentuk Verb3 (termasuk irregular verb) disebut Past Participle

Present Participle

1.    Sebagai verb pada ‘continuous tense’: The detective is investigating the case.

2.    Sebagai keterangan: The detective investigating the case found new evidence.

3.    Sebagai gerund: A detective does investigating as a routine.

Past Participle

1.    Sebagai verb pada ‘perfect tense’: The teacher has pinned the test result on the announcement board.

2.    Sebagai keterangan: The test result pinned on the board lists the scores of all classes for the mid-semester exam.

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< TJ > Vocabulary - English term for 'ternyata', 'rupanya'

< T >
By Jefri Lumban Gaol
Via Facebook account @sukses toefl ielts
30 Sept 2012

.min,
.bhs inggrisnya

.ternyata
.rupanya

Thank you

< J >

The rookie turned out to be the team's best striker. 

(pemain baru tersebut ternyata penyerang terbaik dalam tim.)

Apparently it is he who is arriving now. 

(Rupanya dia yang datang sekarang.)

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< TJ > Vocabulary - Arti Kata 'Suppose'

< T > 
By Rio Silaen
via Facebook Page @Sukses Toefl Ielts
29 Sept 2012

gud afternoon admin :) what's the meaning of "suppose" and how t use it in a sentence?

< J >

This is what I have to answer your question:

1. Berandai-andai: Suppose we win the lottery.

2. Menganggap benar atas sesuatu yang belum pasti: Scientists supposed that large dinosaurs lived in swamps.

3. Menunjukkan kemungkinan: I suppose it will rain.

4. Untuk menyampaikan usulan/ide: Suppose we dine together.

To be supposed to:

1.    Menunggu/mengharapkan jadwal acara/event: The game is supposed to begin at 10:00.

2.    Mengharapkan sesuatu berjalan sesuai aturan: The committee is supposed to vote by secret ballot.

3.    Mengharapkan seseorang/orang lain bertindak seperti yang diinginkan: I

a.     I am supposed to go to the meeting. My boss told me that he wants me to attend.

b.    The children are supposed to put away their toys before they go to bed.

4.    Digunakan untuk menunjukkan sesuatu yang diharapkan tapi tidak terjadi pada waktu lampau: Jack was supposed to call me last night. I wonder why he didn’t.

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< TJ > Vocabulary - Arti 'up' pada 'wake up', 'wait up', & 'make up'

< T >

Kalo ada kalimat yg pake 'up' itu maksudnya apa ya kak?
Co : wake up, wait up, make up
Maksud dari up itu apa kak? Fungsinya untuk apa.? Kadang bingung kalo mau artiin up nya itu

< J >

'up' nya TIDAK BISA dipisahkan sendiri (namanya kata kerja frasa/phrasal verb)
jadi harus sering2 baca dan dengar supaya terbiasa cara menggunakannya dengan baik

cara penggunaanya juga bisa lebih dari 1:
wake * up + --> awaken someone (membangunkan seseorang)
contoh: The car alarm woke me up at 6:00 in the morning.

wake up --> awaken (bangun)
contoh: Wake up. It's time to get ready for work.

===========

wait up --> not sleep because you are waiting for something or someone
contoh: Don't wait up.

wait up for + --> not sleep because you are waiting for someone or something
contoh: Let's wait up for Mary to see how her date went.

jadi, phrasal-verb itu sama seperti pengetahuan vocabulary, tidak ada rumus bakunya, tiap-tiap phrasal verb punya arti dan penggunaan masing-masing.

kalau sudah berhubungan dengan vocabulary, tidak ada cara lain selain selalu menggunakannya terus menerus supaya permanen di memory otak.

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< TJ > Vocabulary - Penggunaan 'due to'

< T >
Kalo due to itu di pakai untuk apa?

< J >
due to sekarang bisa dipakai sama seperti 'because of'
jadi, diikuti oleh kata benda

contoh:
The concert was canceled due to the rain
the concert was canceled because of the rain

ke2 kalimat itu artinya sama

kalau dulu, due to itu tidak boleh dipakai sebagai kata depan (preposition) seperti di atas, tapi harus sebagai kata sifat (adj.)

dulu, kallimat yang benar adalah:
The cancellation of the concert was due to the rain

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< TJ > Grammar - Penggunaan 'Subjunctive' dan 'Causative'

< T >
Bagaimana penggunaan 'Subjunctive' dan 'Causative'?

< J >

subjunctive structure:

---------------------------

1. verb: S-V-[THAT]-S-<Verb Word>

2. expression: It is-Adj-[THAT]-S-<Verb Word>

Past & Present Tense use the same structure

example:

    Present: The President requests that she stop the occupation.

    Past: The President requested that she stop the occupation.

    Present: It is essential that she be present.

    Past: It was essential that she be present.

causative structure:

-----------------------

1. for human object

1.a S-V-O-to V

example:

   I allowed Jim to clean up the mess.

   I asked Jim to clean up the mess.

   I told Jim to clean up the mess.

1.b S-V-O-V(O)

example:

   I let Jim clean up the mess.

   I had Jim clean up the mess.

   I made Jim clean up the mess.

2. for non-human object

S-HAVE/GET-O-V3

example:

   I get my motorcycle fixed

   I have my hair cut

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< TJ > Grammar - Pemakaian 'Another' & 'Other'

< T >
Bagaimana pemakaian 'another' dan 'other'?

< J >

another dipake untuk penambahan tunggal (singular)

other: dipakai untuk penambahan jamak (plural)

another dan other bisa dipakai sebagai kata sifat (adj.) atau kata ganti (pronoun)

The students in the class come from many places. One of the students is from Sorong. Another student is from Pontianak. Another is from Makassar. Other students are from Jakarta. Others are from Padang.

Another student <-- singular, kata sifat

Another is <-- singular, kata ganti

Other students <-- plural, kata sifat

Others are <-- plural, kata ganti

sedangkan yang menggunakan 'the' biasa dipakai di ujung sebagai penambahan akhir untuk sesuatu yang sudah jelas/spesifik

tunggal/singular:

I have 3 handphones: 1 is cheap, another is expensive, & the other is so-so. (the other is <-- kata ganti)

I have 3 handphones: 1 is cheap, another one is expensive, & the other one is so-so. (the other one <-- kata sifat)

jamak/plural:

I have 5 books: 1 is black, 2 others are white, & the others are yellow. (the others are <-- kata ganti)

I have 5 books: 1 is black, 2 other books are white, & the other books are yellow. (the other books <-- kata sifat)

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< TJ > Grammar - Penggunaan 'although', 'despite', & 'in spite of'

By Rizqina Rosma
23 Sept 2012
Via facebook

< T>
admin, how to differenciate 'although, despite and inspite of' ?

< J >
despite = in spite of
both are preposition

although = even though = though
they are connecting words for adverb-of-cause clause

---------------------------
so, the sentence structures are as follows:

--> despite + noun
--> in spite of + noun

--> although + clause
--> even though + clause
--> though + clause

---------------------------
Examples:
We went out in spite of the rain
We went out despite the rain
We went out although it was raining
We went out even though it was raining
We went out though it was raining

He won the game in spite of overwhelming odds.
He won the game despite overwhelming odds.
He won the game although he had to face overwhelming odds.
He won the game even though he had to face overwhelming odds.
He won the game though he had to face overwhelming odds.
---------------------------

'in spite of' is the opposite of 'because of'
'despite' is the opposite of 'because of'

She passed the exam because of her good teachers.
She passed the exam in spite of her bad teachers.
She passed the exam despite her good teachers.

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< TJ > Vocabulary - When to use 'good morning', 'good afternoon', & 'good evening'

By Reza Zulfi Prasetya
22 Sept 2012
Via facebook

< T >
Selamat siang! How do i say it in english?N when does this greeting starts n ends(i mean time duration)?plz correct,too

< J >
correction for your question:
"When does this greeting start and end?"

(don't put the 's' as in starts and ends when asking because the aux-verb 'does' is used before the subject)

the following classification can be used as reference:
good morning: 12 AM - 12 PM (early morning - lunch)
good afternoon: 12 PM - 5/6 PM (after lunch - finish working/have dinner)
good evening: 5/6 PM - 12AM (after dinner - midnight)

'good night' is not a greeting, it is a parting or if we want to go to bed.
if it is still not that late, we can just say 'have a good evening' or simply 'good bye' when parting (berpisah).

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< TJ > Vocabulary - Use of 'simply'

By Reza Zulfi Prasetya
21 Sept 2012
Via facebook

< T >
So how does the usage of 'simply'?

< J >
The question is better this way: "How to use the word 'simply'?"

The word 'simply' is an 'adverb'
The word 'simply' is not an 'adjective'

The use of 'simply':
1. He dresses simply. (plain and simple way of dressing)
2. The teacher explained the concept simply. (explaining something clearly)
3. It is simply a matter of miscommunication. (merely, only; it is only a matter of miscommunicaton)
4. It is simply delicious. (absolutely delicious)
5. You are, quite simply, the best candidate for the vacant job. (frankly, speak honestly)

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< TJ > Grammar - Connector 'when' in Adjective Clause

By ‘Belajar Bahasa Inggris Online Yuk’
On their Fb Page
18 Sept 2012

< T >
choose the best answer!

The town ... I was born has many tourist object.
a. of which
b. that
c. whose
d. where

< J >
I choose 'where' (D)

The town where I was born has many tourist objects.

other options using 'which' & 'that' should be:
The town IN WHICH I was born has many tourist objects.
The town WHICH I was born IN has many tourist objects.
The town THAT I was born IN has many tourist objects.

-----
'of which' itu pemakaiannya memiliki arti 'whose'

I was born in Jakarta.
The people of Jakarta are stressed out because of the traffic jam.

I was born in Jakarta, the people OF WHICH are stressed out because of the traffic jam.
I was born in Jakarta WHOSE people are stressed out because of the traffic jam.

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< TJ > Vocabulary - Pengucapan 'man' berbeda pada 'spiderman' dan 'huntsman'

By Elisa Alif
11 Sept 2012
Via facebook

< T >
dear Bert,
i've seen teh adv of "The Amazing Spiderman" and being inquired of something,
u know, how could man in spiderman be pronounced as well as man in huntsman don't????
.
please correct my sentence if there a mistake :)
thx a lot Bert

< J >
my correction for the question:
I have watched the adventure of “The Amazing Spiderman” and am wondering about something.
How could ‘man’ in “spiderman” be pronounced differently than ‘man’ in “huntsman”?
---
My answer for the question:
‘man’ in superhero characters (superman, batman, spiderman) is pronounced differently than ‘man’ in huntsman, sportsman, fireman, horseman, woman.

as to why it is pronounced differently on different words, I have no idea.. :)
English is a unique language which has so many irregularities. Why is the "ch" in "chord" and "chore" pronounced differently? Also, man in “man” and “woman” is pronounced differently.

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< TJ > Grammar - Passive (Get + Verb3)

By Ayaz Lars
2 Sept 2012
Via facebook

< T >
Mr Bert, get + verb3 itu maksudnya apa?
*I got hit by car

< J >
Get + verb3 (past participle)
adalah bentuk kalimat passive menggunakan 'get'
bentuk ini fungsinya mirip seperti (linking) verb + adjective

Jadi, verb3 berfungsi sebagai keterangan untuk subjek.
I got hit by a car <--- saya tertabrak mobil (maksudnya kesenggol saja, kan ya? lol)

contoh lain:
* I stopped working because I got tired.
* They are getting married next month.

Bentuk 'get+verb3' (passive dengan get) umum dipakai di speaking (percakapan), tapi tidak cocok dipakai di penulisan resmi (formal writing)

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