Author Archives: Set Education

Giải thưởng điện ảnh Anh Quốc, Baftas, đã được công bố. Bộ phim giành chiến thắng lớn là 'The Hurt Locker', với sáu giải thưởng, trong đó có giải Đạo diễn Xuất sắc nhất được trao cho Kathryn Bigelow.

Bản tiếng Anh (Bạn có thể tham khảo phần tiếng Việt bên dưới)

There are several points to make here. The first one is to do with singular and plural nouns, I'm sure you know that most nouns in English are made plural by putting an s on the end, so for example, girl – girls, boy – boys. But some nouns have irregular plurals, for example child – children. And 'person' is one of those nouns that has an irregular plural. 'People' is in fact the plural form of person. So for example we talk about one person and two people. So in normal everyday speech you will hear people talking about 'many people', 'there were a lot of people at the concert', for example. 

However it becomes slightly more complicated because sometimes you do see the word 'persons'. For example if you're in a lift or elevator you might see the sign 'Four persons only'. And sometimes if you're listening to the news, to news reports you may hear news reports talking about persons. So for example 4 persons were injured in the accident, or police are looking for 5 persons. Persons is normally a more formal use, a more formal plural form. 

It gets slightly more complicated when you find the word peoples. People can be used to mean a nationality – all of the people of one country – so for example 'the people of Cuba'. And when you're talking about a group of nationalities you may find the word 'peoples', for example, 'the peoples of South America'. So that's another slightly more complicated and not so common use of the word 'peoples'. 

Finally you may find the word 'person' attached to a number. For example 'a two-person car', 'a three-person room'. This is where 'person' is being used to describe the noun. '2 – person' is the adjective describing 'car' and as you know we don't put an 's' on an adjective. So far example we talk about a 'two-week holiday' not a 'two-weeks holiday' or a 'three-year course' not 'a three-years course'. So hear we use 'two-person car'. 

So in summary, normally you find 'people' as the plural form of 'person' – one person, three people. Sometimes you'll find people used to describe the nationality so you'll find 'peoples' to describe different nationalities and sometimes you'll find the word 'persons' in more formal styles of writing or in signs for example.

Bản tiếng Việt

Có một số điểm đáng chú ý trong câu hỏi này. Trước hết là danh từ số ít và số nhiều. Chắc chúng ta đều biết là phần lớn các danh từ số ít trong tiếng Anh được tạo thành danh từ số nhiều bằng cách thêm chữ -s vào cuối danh từ, ví dụ: girl - girls, boy - boys.

Nhưng một số danh từ có dạng số nhiều bất quy tắc, chẳng hạn: child - children. Và person là một trong những danh từ như vậy. Peopletrên thực tế là dạng số nhiều của danh từ person. Vì thế chúng ta nói về một người - one person, và hai người - two people.

Do vậy trong những câu nói hàng ngày, chúng ta nghe nói về nhiều người - many people, 'There were a lot of people at the concert'.

Tuy nhiên nó phức tạp hơn một chút vì đôi khi chúng ta gặp từ persons. Ví dụ: nếu bạn ở trong thang máy bạn có thể thấy viết 'Four persons only'. Và đôi khi nếu ta nghe tin tức, có thể nghe thấy từ personsđược dùng. Chẳng hạn '4 persons were injured in the accident', hay'Police are looking for 5 persons'. Từ persons thường được dùng trong ngữ cảnh trịnh trọng, là dạng số nhiều mang sắc thái trịnh trọng hơn.

Và nó lại còn trở nên phức tạp hơn khi chúng ta bắt gặp từ peoples. Ngoài nghĩa là người, people còn có thể được dùng để chỉ một dân tộc, nationality - tất cả người của một quốc gia - vì thế chúng ta có ví dụ: 'the people of Cuba'.

Khi chúng ta nói về nhiều dân tộc khác nhau, chúng ta sẽ phải dùng từpeoples, ví dụ: 'the peoples of South America' - các dân tộc Nam Mỹ. Đây là một cách dùng hơi khác và ít thông dụng của từ peoples.

Và cuối cùng chúng ta có thể bắt gặp từ person đi cùng với một con số. Ví dụ: 'a two-person car' một chiếc xe hai chỗ ngồi. Trong trường hợp này từ person được dùng trong một cụm từ có chức năng như một tính từ, bổ nghĩa cho danh từ 'car' và trong trường hợp như thế này chúng ta không thêm chữ -s vào một tính từ. Tương tự chúng ta nói 'a two-week holiday' - một kỳ nghỉ hai tuần liền, chứ không nói 'a two-weeks holiday', hay ' a three-year course', chứ không phải là 'a three-years course'.

Tóm lại, thông thường chúng ta thấy people là danh từ số nhiều củaperson - one person, three people. Đôi khi từ people được dùng để chỉ một dân tộc vì thế chúng ta sẽ bắt gặp từ peoples để chỉ các dân tộc, quốc gia khác nhau, và đôi khi từ persons được dùng ở số nhiều trong văn viết chính thức, trịnh trọng, hay trong các biển chỉ dẫn.

Theo BBC 

Không chỉ nổi tiếng ở Nga, đã từ lâu Matrioska hay còn gọi búp bê gỗ đã được nhiều nơi trên toàn thế giới biết đến. Bằng chính cái vẻ rất Nga, sự có mặt vui vẻ và ngộ nghĩnh của chúng tại các cuộc triển lãm, hội chợ, các festival lớn đã thực sự làm khán giả ngạc nhiên thích thú.

Tại sao tuần lễ lại có 7 ngày? Vì sao số 7 lại được coi là con số "mầu nhiệm"? Bởi vì nó được xuất phát từ quan niệm của người châu Âu và liên quan đến hiểu biết của các nhà khoa học thời ấy về vũ trụ.

Đây là bài học cung cấp cho chúng ta các mẫu câu, bao gồm: câu đơn, câu phức, câu ghép và câu phức hợp; đồng thời hướng dẫn cho chúng ta cách sử dụng các mẫu câu này trong bài viết. Giám khảo sẽ xem xét tổng thể các mẫu câu được sử dụng trong bài đế đánh giá trình độ ngữ pháp và tính chính xác của bài viết đó.

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1) Clip 1: Sentence Types

2) Clip 2: Vocabulary Exercise

3) Printable Documents

     a) Notes for Study

IELTS Tip

Use a variety of sentence types and structures in your writing.

Include a range of simple, compound and complex sentences as well as concession, modals, cause and effect and other grammatical structures.

These features make your writing effective, formal and more interesting.

SENTENCE TYPES

In your writing you will be giving reasons, stating the results of a situation, linking statements which contrast with one another and showing other relationships between statements in a sentence. Using different structures and sentence types to express these kinds of ideas adds variety to your writing and also demonstrates the grammatical range of your language, a criterion by which your writing is assessed.

 

Grammatical Range and Accuracy

There are four types of sentence structures in English:

• simple

• compound

• complex

• compound-complex

A simple sentence is also called an independent clause.

Simple sentence
Pollution is a serious problem in cosmopolitan areas.
subject	verb
pollution	is

 

A compound sentence consists of 2 or more simple sentences and a conjunction.

Compound sentence
2 simple sentences	Pollution is a serious problem in cosmopolitan areas. The government is addressing the issue.
Compound sentence	Pollution is a serious problem in cosmopolitan areas but the government is addressing the issue.
but – coordinating conjunction expressing contrast

 

A complex sentence consists of an independent and a subordinate clause.

Complex sentence

Although the government is addressing the issue of pollution, it is still a serious problem in cosmopolitan areas.

Although – subordinating conjunction expressing concession

 

A compound-complex sentence consists of 2 or more independent clauses and 1 or more subordinate clauses.

Compound-complex sentence
Although the government is addressing the issue of pollution, it is still a serious problem in cosmopolitan areas and affects people’s health.
although – subordinating conjunction expressing concession
and – conjunction which joins two independent clauses
it is still a serious problem in cosmopolitan areas	and	it …. affects people’s health.

 

Connecting your ideas within sentences shows how the meanings of the clauses are related. For example, they may be contrasting ideas, providing a reason, adding another example or cause.

Using a variety of sentence structures to express these kinds of meanings provides an indication of the grammatical range of your language skills and is a criterion by which your writing is assessed.

Here is a Writing Task 2 question and a sample body paragraph which respond in part to the question.

_________________________________________________________________

Write about the following topic.

Society’s responsibility towards the environment today is reflected in the measures taken in disposing of waste through recycling.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your knowledge or experience.

_________________________________________________________________

The body paragraph below presents opposing arguments to the topic that society’s responsibility towards the environment is reflected in the measures taken in disposing of waste through recycling.

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Body Paragraph

(1) On the other hand, some manufacturers continue to ignore the impact that the tonnes of waste generated by their goods has on the environment. (2) Two of the most obvious sources are discarded computers and electronic devices. (3)The component parts of these kinds of products cannot be reused nor recycled and do not breakdown in landfill tips where they are dumped. (4) Another major waste problem is packaging. (5) The shelves of supermarkets are full of items which are excessively packaged. (6) Though the contents of these products need to be preserved, protected and secured, triple wrapping is unjustifiable and wasteful.

 

There are 6 sentences in the above paragraph. There is also a range of structures which are used to express and connect ideas. Each of these sentences is considered separately.

Sentence 1	topic sentence of the paragraph (TS)
On the other hand, some manufacturers continue to ignore the impact that the tonnes of waste generated by their goods has on the environment.
complex sentence	independent clause                        +          subordinate clause
Independent clause	subject	verb + to-infinitive	object
	some manufacturers	continue to ignore	the impact
Subordinate clause	providing additional information using the relative pronoun that
	that the tonnes of waste generated by their goods has on the environment
relative pronoun that	connects further information to the noun in the main (independent) clause, namely the impact to which it is referring

 

Sentence 2	first supporting sentence (SS1) – providing the sources of the goods
Two of the most obvious sources are discarded computers and electronic devices.
simple sentence	complement	verb (one verb)	subject
	Two of the most obvious sources	are	discarded computers and electronic devices.
Explanation	The complement, two of the most obvious sources, is in front position because it relates directly to the information in the previous sentence, namely garbage generated by their goods; discarded computers and electronic devices are the sources and the goods. Discarded computers and electronic devices is new information and new information, which is the subject, comes after the verb in this type of structure. The old information, which is two of the most obvious sources, comes first.

 

Sentence 3	developing sentence (DS)
The component parts of these kinds of products cannot be reused nor recycled and do not breakdown in landfill tips where they are dumped.
compound-complex sentence
compound sentence	one subject	two verbs
	The component parts of these kinds of products	cannot be reused nor recycled and do not breakdown …
Coordinating conjunction and	joins two pieces of information which relate to the same subject, namely component parts
verbs
cannot be reused nor recycled	passive structure (+ be + participle) using a negative modal to express ‘impossibility’ cannot
do not breakdown	negative auxiliary verb do not + phrasal verb breakdown
Passive structures are used for a more formal and more impersonal style of writing.
complex part of the sentence – subordinate clause
… where they are dumped.
Subordinating clause	The subordinating clause is expressed using a relative adverb where to indicate ‘place’. It refers to landfill.

 

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Sentence 4	second supporting sentence (SS2) – providing another source
Another major waste problem is packaging.
simple sentence	complement	verb (one verb)	subject
	Another major waste problem	is	packaging.
Explanation	The use of this structure is the same as in sentence 2. The complement, Another major waste problem, is in front position because it refers back to information in the topic sentence, namely waste generated by their goods. So, the problem is stated first and then identified in the sentence, i.e. ordering the information; packaging is the subject – it is new information which comes after the verb in this type of structure.

 

Sentence 5	first developing sentence (DS2.1)
The shelves of supermarkets are full of items which are excessively packaged.
complex sentence	independent clause                        +          subordinate clause
independent clause	subject	verb	object
	The shelves of supermarkets	are	full of items
subordinate clause	relative pronoun which refers back to the noun (object) items
	… which are excessively packaged.

 

Sentence 6	second developing sentence (DS2.2)
Though the contents of these products need to be preserved, protected and secured, triple wrapping is unjustifiable and wasteful.
complex sentence	subordinate clause              +          independent clause
subordinate clause	subordinating conjunction though used to express a concession
	Though the contents of these products need to be preserved, protected and secured …
independent clause	subject	verb	object
	triple wrapping	is	unjustifiable and wasteful.

 

The grammatical range of sentence types and structures used in this body paragraph is varied. Short simple sentences were used to emphasise the main ideas, while the complex and compound sentences incorporated more information allowing the writer to expand and develop the ideas more fully. Together this made the writing effective, formal and interesting.

In addition to grammatical range, the number of errors in grammar and punctuation is also measured. This provides an indication of your proficiency or grammatical accuracy. It is also a criterion by which your writing is assessed.

Use a variety of sentence types to make your writing more interesting. The same idea can be expressed in different sentences. For example:

simple sentence	Happiness is difficult to define.
Compound sentence	Happiness is difficult to define but it’s not impossible.
Complex sentence	Happiness is difficult to define because it can mean different things.
Complex sentence	Happiness is difficult to define because it means different things to different people.
Complex sentence	Though difficult to define, I think happiness lies in personal success.
Complex sentence	Because happiness can be interpreted in different ways, it is difficult to give a definition.

 

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     b) Learning Activities

Practise and consolidate your learning about conjunctions and sentence types by completing our activities. The answers for all activities are on the last page.

ACTIVITY 1

Choose an appropriate conjunction or linking word from the box below to connect the two sentences. Make any necessary changes so that the sentence is grammatically correct.

especially      and                but                  where             so that while              or                     which                         because         yet

1. Global warming is a serious problem. The government is addressing the issue.

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

2. Some strategies are firmly in place for minimising waste. The business world has not yet heeded the serious consequences of their inaction.

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

3. Public transportation is a good solution. It can reduce the amount of air pollution.

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

4. Every person can be an environmentalist in his/her own way. People can help reduce the effects of global warming.

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

5. Cooperation between government and health care agencies is important.

Proposed policies are accepted.

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

6. The benefits that robots provide cannot be disputed. This is evident in the technological and industrial fields of study.

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

7. Young graduates prefer travelling overseas. It gives them the opportunity to learn and absorb another language and culture.

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

8. One of the options was to merge with the parent company. The other option was to face bankruptcy.

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

9. The Environmental Action Group lost its case. It emerged with more community support and donations.

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

10. Parents need to be aware of their children’s activities in online chat rooms.

Predators may also be operating.

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

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ACTIVITY 2

Choose the best endings for the following sentences.

1. People may join environmental groups or

a. affect the rate of pollution.

b. disseminate information about pollution.

2. Developing countries are having difficulty providing clean water and food much less

a. basic needs and shelter.

b. health care and social welfare.

3. Global warming is an international concern because

a. it affects the climate and nature worldwide.

b. of a decrease in pollution.

4. There has been more information in the media about food additives recently whereas

a. before people weren’t aware of the dangers.

b. before it has been widely publicised.

5. Not only is the use of alcohol and tobacco on the rise, but

a. teenagers have stopped attending school.

b. teenagers are experimenting with designer drugs.

6. Vegetarians risk developing dietary deficiencies if

a. animal protein is consumed.

b. nutritional requirements aren’t maintained.

7. One way of relaxing when on holidays is to enjoy the beach. Alternatively,

a. one could take in a show or the local night life.

b. one could join in a game of beach volleyball.

8. Some argue that capital punishment is appropriate for crimes such as

a. premeditated murder and drug trafficking.

b. an effective deterrent against violence.

9. Industries should be required to establish waste management programs so that

a. older generations can start recycling.

b. future generations can enjoy a cleaner environment.

10. I was well-prepared for my final test. Consequently,

a. I was confident of success.

b. I wasn’t sure of my chances.

ACTIVITY 1 ANSWERS

1. Global warming is a serious problem but the government is addressing the issue.

2. While some strategies are firmly in place for minimising waste, the business world has not yet heeded the serious consequences of their inaction.

3. Public transportation is a good solution because it can reduce the amount of air pollution.

4. Every person can be an environmentalist in his/her own way and help reduce the effects of global warming.

5. Cooperation between government and health care agencies is important so that proposed policies are accepted.

6. The benefits that robots provide cannot be disputed, especially in the technological and industrial fields of study.

7. Young graduates prefer travelling overseas which gives them the opportunity to learn and absorb another language and culture.

8. One of the options was to merge with the parent company or face bankruptcy.

9. The Environmental Action Group lost its case yet it emerged with more community support and donations.

10. Parents need to be aware of their children’s activities in online chat rooms where predators may also be operating.

 

ACTIVITY 2 ANSWERS

1. b                              6. b

2. b                              7. a

3. a                              8. a

4. a                              9. b

5. b                              10. a

 

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     c) Transcript

Hello, and welcome to Study English, IELTS Preparation. I’m Margot Politis.

One of the criteria used to assess your writing in the IELTS test is called grammatical range and accuracy. The examiners will look at the number of mistakes you make, and also at the range of sentence types you use.

What is the range of sentence types? There is a simple sentence, like this:

Pollution is a problem.

This example shows you the basic structure. A subject – pollution, a verb – is, and the object – a problem. A simple sentence can have more words than this. You can add adjectives:

Pollution is a serious problem.

Air pollution is a serious problem.

And you can add information with a preposition like ‘in’

Air pollution is a serious problem in the city.

Or ‘from’

Air pollution from cars is a serious problem in the city.

So a simple sentence doesn’t have to be short or simple.

Most of the time the thing that’s simple about simple sentences is the idea they express. Listen to some typical simple sentences in this piece about an old theatre:

It is a lovely theatre. It has excellent acoustics. It's a classic 3 tiered, horse-shoe shaped auditorium.

You tend to use simple sentences for straightforward information.

It is a lovely theatre to work in.

It has excellent acoustics.

You can add detail, but the idea is not complicated. Listen again:

It's a classic 3 tiered, horse-shoe shaped auditorium.

But it’s best to use a variety of sentence types and not just a list of simple sentences.

Listen to this:

The foundation stone was laid in 1834 and the theatre opened in 1837.

You can join two simple sentences together with ‘and’.

The two sentences are:

The foundation stone was laid in 1834.

The theatre opened in 1837.

Joining them with 'and' gives you a compound sentence.

Listen again:

The foundation stone was laid in 1834 and the theatre opened in 1837.

But what type of sentence do you use if you want to say something a little more complicated? Listen:

Although the Theatre Royal has some of the disadvantages of this sort of theatre, such as the columns which people don't like sitting behind, it still has atmosphere.

This sort of sentence is called a complex sentence. A complex sentence isn’t just 2 sentences joined together. Some parts of a complex sentence might not be a complete idea. For instance, the first part of this sentence is quite long with a subject, verb and object, but it isn’t complete:

Although the Theatre Royal has some of the disadvantages such as the columns which people don't like sitting behind …

That doesn’t express a complete thought. It needs a simple sentence to finish it:

it still has atmosphere.

If you take the detail out, you have a structure like this:

Although the theatre has disadvantages, it has atmosphere.

‘Although the theatre has disadvantages’ is what is called a dependent clause.

It depends on a simple sentence - it has atmosphere – to become complete and form a complex sentence.

Here is another complex sentence.

When you stand in the middle of the stage, you can talk to everybody.

When you stand in the middle of the stage – that’s a dependent clause. It needs another simple sentence or independent clause to make sense:

When you stand in the middle of the stage, you can talk to everybody.

You can even change the order of the clauses and say:

You can talk to everybody when you stand in the middle of the stage.

Apart from although and when, some of the words used to create dependent clauses like this are: which, that, because, after, and where.

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Knowing how to use them is important. It’s something you should practise.

There is one other type of sentence, which is a combination of compound and complex sentences like this:

When the theatre was first built, it was said to look like a 2 storey house and on the outside of the building you can see the stone window sills.

Normally people use a range of sentence types as we’ve seen with the man talking about the theatre. It’s your ability to use these various sentence types that the examiners notice.

Listen as he finishes with a complex sentence, a simple sentence and a complex/compound sentence:

If I could sum up this theatre in a few words, I suppose I could call it an international theatre star! This is the oldest theatre in Australia. It’s been operating for a hundred and 59 years and, who knows, it might still be here in another one hundred and fifty nine years.

His first sentence was complex. Sentences with ‘if’ are mostly complex because an ‘if’ clause depends on another sentence to make sense. Listen:

If I could sum up this theatre in a few words, I suppose I could call it an international theatre star!

Remember that a simple sentence can consist of a subject – this, a verb – is, and an object – the oldest theatre in Australia. Listen:

This is the oldest theatre in Australia.

A compound sentence is two sentences joined by ‘but’ or, as here ‘and’:

It's been operating for one hundred and fifty nine years and who knows, it might still be here in another one hundred and fifty nine years.

There are 2 sentences here joined by ‘and’. The second part is complex with the dependent clause ‘who knows’.

who knows, it might still be here in another hundred and fifty nine years.

So we’ve seen what can go right. What can go wrong?

A simple sentence must have a verb. Is this a sentence?

The house in the country.

No. It looks like a sentence but there is no verb. Let’s add a verb.

The house is in the country.

That’s a simple sentence.

The main problem people have with compound sentences is a mistake called a runon sentence. It’s when 2 simple sentences are run together without using a conjunction such as ‘and’ or ‘but’:

Look at this:

The theatre is small it is beautiful.

That’s a run-on sentence. It’s either 2 simple sentences:

The theatre is small. It is beautiful.

Or it’s a compound sentence:

The theatre is small, but it is beautiful.

So let’s recap. A simple sentence is basically a subject – Pollution – a verb – is – and an object – a problem. It’s also called an independent clause.

A compound sentence is two independent clauses joined by a conjunction such as and, but or so.

A complex sentence is a combination of a dependent clause or clauses with an independent clause. It’s a good way to express some of your ideas in an essay.

Be careful. Using too many simple sentences can make your writing choppy and dull and too many long sentences can make it difficult to follow your ideas. So use both.

That’s all for now. To find more information about sentence types visit our Study

English website at: australianetwork.com/studyenglish.

Good luck with your studies.

 

(Nguồn UTS: Insearch and Australia Network)

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