Mastering English: Vocabulary, Grammar, and Writing
Essential English Vocabulary
Here are some common English words and phrases with their meanings:
- All in all: In general
- Appreciate: Consider
- Clap: Applaud
- Cheer: Animate
- Clown: To act like a clown
- Costumes: Attire
- Chances are: Possibilities
- Currently: At present
- Devoted: Dedicated
- Front-row seats: Sitting in the first row
- First-rate: Excellent
- Go broke: To become bankrupt
- Live performance: A concert or show performed in front of an audience
- Musicians: People who play musical instruments
- Move to tears: To cause someone to cry
- Sing along: To sing together with someone
- Stage: A platform where performances take place
- Tribute band: A group that performs in homage to another band
- Huge: Enormous
- Mimic: Imitate
- Mainstream: Conventional
- Might as well: Could also
- Moved to tears: Emotionally affected
- Lighting: Illumination
- Look down on: Disdain
- Reward: Gratifying
- Profitable: Lucrative
- Wreck: Ruin
- Witness: Observe
- Afford: To be able to pay for
- Front row: The first line of seats
- No longer: Not anymore
- Named after: Given the name in honor of
- Weird: Strange
- Have a go: To try
- On the go: Busy and active
- Go mad: To lose one's mind
- Go bald: To lose all of one's hair
- Go from bad to worse: To deteriorate further
- Convincingly: Persuasively
- Equipment: Gear
- Rewarding: Gratifying
- Well worth: Valuable
Understanding the Passive Voice
The passive voice is formed using the following structure:
Subject + to be (in the same tense as the active voice verb) + past participle (third column)
Passive Voice Examples
| Tense | Active Voice | Passive Voice |
|---|---|---|
| Present Simple | This singer writes many songs | Many songs are written by this singer |
| Past Simple | This singer wrote many songs | Many songs were written by this singer |
| Future Simple | This singer will write many songs | Many songs will be written by this singer |
| Present Continuous | This singer is writing many songs | Many songs are being written by this singer |
| Past Continuous | This singer was writing many songs | Many songs were being written by this singer |
| Present Perfect Simple | This singer has written many songs | Many songs have been written by this singer |
| Past Perfect Simple | This singer had written many songs | Many songs had been written by this singer |
| Modals | This singer should write many songs | Many songs should be written by this singer |
| Modal Perfect | This singer must have written many songs | Many songs must have been written by this singer |
| Have to | This singer has to write many songs | Many songs have to be written by this singer |
| Be going to | This singer is going to write many songs | Many songs are going to be written by this singer |
More Passive Voice Examples
- They build houses. – Houses are built.
- They say that women live longer than men. – It is said that women live longer than men.
- They say that women live longer than men. – Women are said to live longer than men.
- He ate all of the cookies. – All of the cookies were eaten.
- Do Jamaican farmers grow coffee? – Is coffee grown by Jamaican farmers?
- Matt can do this work. – This work can be done by Matt.
- Has the library ordered the new books yet? – Have the new books been ordered by the library yet?
Effective Writing Techniques
Comparing
- Both pictures show...
- The pictures are alike because...
- Picture A shows..., while picture B shows...
- In picture A..., but in picture B...
Expressing Personal Opinions
- Personally, I prefer...
Connectors
- Moreover
- Besides
- In addition
- As well as
Contrast
- But
- However
- Nevertheless
- Although
- In spite of
- While
- Whereas
Other Expressions
- In conclusion
- To sum up
- In short
- In my opinion
- I believe that...
Essay Structure
- For and against: 4 paragraphs (introduction, arguments for, arguments against, conclusion)
- Story narrative: Opening, characters, setting, ending, past perfect, extreme adjectives
- Opinion: 3 paragraphs (introduction, arguments, conclusion)