I picked a book from the library

1. I selected the book I bought to class because at the first sight, the book cover is green (my favorite color), very small (easy to read), and about Malaysia (the country that I really wanted to visit).
2. The book has 2 authors. They are T. E. Smith and John Bastin.
3. The title of the book is Malaysia.
4. Headley Brothers LTD printed the book.
5. The book was printed in London, Great Britain in 1967.

The book "Malaysia", which is written by T.E. Smith and John Bastin, interested me at the first sight. "Malaysia" was printed my Headley Brothers LTD in London, Great Britian in 1967. The cover of the book is green, one of my favorite color; and it is a very small book, which is very easy to read. Moreover, I always wanted to visit Malaysia, especially its capital, but I have never had a chance to do so. According to the book, "Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, lies in the medium-sized but heavily populated stae of Selangor (Bastin and Smith 6)." Kuala Lumpur is famous for the Petronas Twin Towers, Petaling Street, Gombak River, and Klang river. Every year, there are many foreign people come Malaysia to visit these famous places.

Bibliography:
Bastin, John and Smith, T.E.. Malaysia. The Modern World. London: Headley Brothers LTD, 1967.

How my group organized the presentation on "My native language is not English" - Trang Phung, Thanh Dao

My group has two people, Thanh and I. We chose the topic "My native language is not English” because we are both international students. I chose to present about how to use certain words such as “a lot, few and less, much and many” while my friend, Thanh, chose to work on phrases in sentences for our group presentation.

First of all, we visited the Leo webpage, read the information that we need for our presentation for three or four times to understand it. After that, we also visited other websites to learn more about our topics. When we were done with the online resources, we started to write down our group presentation on our blogspot. I myself wrote the first half of the presentation about my part –how to use certain words such as “a lot, few and less, much and many”. Thanh wrote the last part about sentence structures and how to place phrases in sentences. All our online resources is from the Leo webpage.

Because the presentation has to be somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes, each person have to present at least 3 minutes. My part is a little shorter than Thanh’s part so I will also do the introduction and conclusion. We will have our presentation on Monday, September 24^th. We will try the best to present our topic so the whole class can understand.

In my presentation part, I will first talk about how to use the word “a lot”. The word a lot has to write in two words, and it also has the same meaning with “much” and “many”. “A lot” is followed by “of” when the meaning is general and by “of the” when the meaning if specific. I also give examples such as “A lot of students showed up in class today” has a general meaning while “A lot of the students in class today disagreed with my opinion” has a specific meaning.

Moreover, I will talk about how to use “few and less”, “much and many”.  “Few” and “many” are used with count nouns while “less” and “much” are used with non count nouns. Some counts nouns are used with “few” and “many” are students, teachers, dogs, and cats. Non-counts nouns are used with “less” and “many” are time, money, and controversy. I also give some example sentences with these words.

After I finish my part, Thanh will present about sentence structures and how to place phrases in sentences. Thanh will talk about 8 common kinds of phrases. They are noun phrase, appositive phrase, verb phrase, absolute phrase, prepositional phrase, gerund phrase, participial phrase, and infinitive phrase. She will give the definition to each phrase and so do examples.

Lastly in the presentation, I will do the conclusion to sum up everything that we mentioned about. All our resources are from the Lao webpage so we recommend other students to visit the webpage. The Leo webpage contains a lot of interesting information about English grammars, English structures, organize and develop the writings, not only for international students but for everyone. 

Group 7 presentation-Trang Phung, Thanh Dao- My native language is not English.

As international students, we chose the topic "My native language is not English" so we can understand and know more about parts of English that we are not good at. In this presentation, we will talk about how to use English words such as a lot, few and less, much and many. Moreover, we will talk about how to place phrases in sentences. I myself, Trang, will talk about the first part, and my groupmate, Thanh, will talk about the second part. 

Most of the time, when I have to do grammar exercise or when I have to write essays, I usually confuse certain words such as a lot, few and less, much and many. Normally, I go to the Write Place so people who work there can help me correct these mistakes. But now, after reading the Leo webpage, I understand how to use those words better. 

First of all, I will talk about the words "A Lot".
_ The words a lot must be written as two words. 
_ According to the Leo webpage (1), a lot has the same meaning as both many and much and can be interchanged with either one. 
_ A lot is followed by of when the meaning is general or by of the when the meaning is specific. 
_ Examples:
          - A lot of students showed up in class today. (general meaning) 
          - A lot of the students in class today disagree with my opinion. (specific meaning).
_ A lot can be used to end a sentence. 
_ Examples:
          - He cheats a lot.
          - I eat a lot.

Secondly, international students like me can easily confuse between few and less, much and many. According to the Leo webpage (2), "few" is used with count nouns while "less" is used with noncount nouns. "Many" is used with count nouns while "much" is used with noncount nouns.
_ Examples:

Few and less:
-Few (count/ plural):
          1) Few teachers are not very nice with students.
          2) Few students are opting to study science-related subjects.
-Less (noncount/ singular):
          1) People want to spend less time in traffic jams.
          2) It is a better job but they pay you less money.

Many and much:
-Many (count/plural):
          1) Many students in SCSU are business major.
          2) Many professors in SCSU are very nice, especially professor Roland Specht Jarvis.
-Much (noncount/singular): 
          1) I don't have that much money.
          2) I spend too much time on Facebook.

Hi, I'm Thanh. Now I will talk about my concern about sentence structure and need to know more about where to place phrases in sentences.
As you know, phrase can never stand on its own as a complete sentence. Here are some of the most common kinds of phrases:


1. NOUN PHRASE

A noun phrase consists of a noun and all of its modifiers.
It can function together in a sentence as a subject, object, or complement.(4)

Exp: All of my international friends love to try the traditional food of my country.

2. APPOSITIVE PHRASE

An appositive phrase consists of the appositive and its modifiers which may themselves be phrases.
It functions as a noun that renames a noun/pronoun preceding it.(5)

Exp: Jenny, a girl who is very poor, was accepted to go to Havard University.

3. VERB PHRASE

A verb phrase includes a main verb and its helping verbs.
It can function as the predicate of a sentence only.(6)

Exp: It is difficult to wake up very early everyday.

4. ABSOLUTE PHRASE

It's a group of words often includes a noun or pronoun, a participle, as well as any related modifiers, objects or complements of the phrase.
Usually set off by commas, it modifies the entire sentence, adding information.(7)

Exp: The birds having flown off, the cat climbed down from the tree.

5. PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE

Prepositional phrase is a group of words made up of a preposition, its object, and any of the object's modifiers.
It often functions as an adjective or adverb, but it can function as a noun as well.(8)

Exp: I prepared milk for the kitten.

6. GERUND PHRASE

A gerund phrase includes a gerund and might include other modifiers, objects, or complements.
It always functions as a noun.(9)

Exp: Knowing the truth may hurt you a lot.

7. PARTICIPIAL PHRASE

A participial phrase consists of a present or past participle and its modifiers, objects, or complements.
It always functions as an adjective.(10)

Exp: Walking under the rain, she got a cold.

8. INFINITIVE PHRASE

An infinitive phrase consists of an infinitive and its modifiers, objects, or complements.
It can function as a noun, adjective, or adverb.(11)

Exp: He helped to build the roof.

In conclusion, international students who confuse certain words such as a lot, few and less, much and many or concern about sentence structure can visit the Leo webpage at http://leo.stcloudstate.edu. This webpage has a lot of information about English grammars, English structures, organize and develop the writings, not only for international students but for everyone. 

Sources:
(1) http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/grammar/muchfew.html#alot; accessed 9-17-2012
(2) same source as (1)
(3) same source as (1)

(4) Phrase Formula accessed 9-17-2012

(5) same source as (4)

(6) same source as (4)

(7) same source as (4)

(8) same source as (4)

(9) same source as (4)

(10) same source as (4)

(11) same source as (4)

LEO assignment

Most of the time, when I have to do grammar exercise or when I have to write essays, I usually confuse certain words such as a lot, few and less, much and many. Normally, I go to the Write Place so people who work there can help me correct these mistakes. But now, after reading the Leo webpage, I understand how to use those words better.

First of all, I will talk about the word "A Lot".
_ The word a lot must be written as two words.
_ According to the Leo webpage (1), a lot has the same meaning as both many and much and can be interchanged with either one.
_ A lot is followed by of when the meaning is general or by of the when the meaning is specific.
_ Examples:
- A lot of students showed up in class today. (general meaning)
- A lot of the students in class today disagree with my opinion. (specific meaning).
_ A lot can be used to end a sentence.
_ Examples:
- He cheats a lot.
- I eat a lot.

Secondly, international students like me can easily confuse between few and less, much and many. According to the Leo webpage (2), "few" is used with count nouns while "less" is used with noncount nouns. "Many" is used with count nouns while "much" is used with noncount nouns.
_ Examples:

Few and less:
-Few (count/ plural):
          1) Few teachers are not very nice with students.
          2) Few students are opting to study science-related subjects.
-Less (noncount/ singular):
          1) People want to spend less time in traffic jams.
          2) It is a better job but they pay you less money.

Many and much:
-Many (count/plural):
          1) Many students in SCSU are business major.
          2) Many professors in SCSU are very nice, especially professor Roland Specht Jarvis.
-Much (noncount/singular): much talk is, much controversy is, much fun is.
          1) I don't have that much money.
          2) I spend too much time on Facebook.

Sources:
(1) http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/grammar/muchfew.html#alot; acessed 9-17-2012
(2) same source as (1)