Understanding and Using English Grammar & Fundamentals of English Grammar – Book Review

Understanding and Using English Grammar

by Betty S. Azar and Stacy A. Hagen
&
Fundamentals of English Grammar

by Betty S. Azar and Stacy A. Hagen

Do you want to learn English? If so, Understanding and Using English Grammar and Fundamentals of English Grammar are definitely for you. To be honest, in terms of English, these books are my "first love"; they are "the alpha" of my English journey. I learned A LOT from these books. Betty and Stacy explain every language point simply and clearly, with lovable tables and drawings. These books are also comprehensible, making them remarkable references. I didn't read much of Basic English Grammar, which is intended for lower-level learners, but it must be as good as these incredible books. Highly recommended for those who really want to learn English!

Click here to buy the fifth edition of Understanding and Using English Grammar.

Have you read Understanding and Using English Grammar and Fundamentals of English Grammar? What do you think of them? Share your opinion in the comment section below! Continue reading..

We Are Killers

"We?" "Do you mean 'you and your friends'?" This is what might be in your head now. But "we" here means "you and I". Yeah, YOU and I. How come? Okay, let's go to the explanation.

You might think kill means "to make someone die by stabbing them with a knife, shooting their head with a gun, pushing them from the top of a fourteen-story building, twisting their head powerfully, etc." BUT if you think more deeply, you'll find out something else.

To kill is to reduce someone's lifespan. It does NOT matter what means you use. In other words, When you are making someone's life shorter, actually you are killing them.

When you are smoking beside someone, you are producing gas that is destroying some of their cells. Maybe 200.000 or 300.005 cells. Numbers don't matter. You are killing them.

When you are running a red light, you are probably making someone (more) emotional. They probably just got a problem at the office, so you are adding insult to injury. When they arrive at home, they will probably wreak their anger on their spouse or children or anyone else. They will probably do harm to them. You are probably reducing one-billionth of their life. You are killing them.

When you are littering, you are probably contributing to flood that kisses off people. You are killing them.

When you are not giving an old man your seat on a bus... Okay, you know it.

I believe you can find many more examples. And yes, we are killers. Continue reading..

Me, Me, and Me!

I had some experience some time ago and it triggered me to share it here. I can't remember the details of the experience, but the point is I focused on myself and didn't pay attention to anyone around me. In other words, I regarded myself as the "king of the universe". What's the result? Unhappiness, stress, dissatisfaction.

Ego. Everyone has it. Don't deny that.

So, is it bad to have an ego? The simple answer is "no".

Ego is important. If you didn't have an ego, you would probably die soon because you wouldn't eat and would give all of your food to other people instead. You would be stressful too because you would spend your spare time to work and work and, therefore, drain yourself.

However, if you have an enormous ego, you must be careful. If now you are not contented, if you are feeling there is something missing, if you think you have everything but it is not "enough", perhaps you ego is beyond the limit.

Then, what should you do? You could follow the steps below as a start:
1. Look at someone around you.
2. Put yourself in their shoes.
3. Think about something that you can do for them to improve their life quality.
4. Do it.

Note: If you don't know what you can do for them, give your best smile, which you certainly can do, to them.

Caring is a good medicine. No side effects. Believe me.

To end this article, here is an utterance from my friend: "If you care for other people, you don't need to care for yourself." Agree? Continue reading..