UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES
Faculty of English Linguistics and Literature
Language proficiency
Week 2
Lecturer: Lê Tấn Cường .MA -PhD Student
Cellphone: 096.331.8588
Email: cuonglt@hcmussh.edu.vn
Tips to be successful in sentence completion
1. Pay attention to the words before each gap and predict the missing words
(a noun, a verb, or an adjective?)
The missing words
must be nouns
2. Find synoyms and paraphrasing
2. Find synoyms and paraphrasing
2. Find synoyms and paraphrasing
2. Find synoyms and paraphrasing
3. Check grammatical accuracy
How to sound like a native speaker?
Types of sentences
1. A simple sentence:
Ex: John is living in LA.
S +V 1
2. A complex sentence: S + V, S + V
One independent and one dependent clause are connected using the following
conjunctions:
•After-although-as
•Because- before
•even though
•if
•since
•though
•Unless-until
•When-whenever-whereas-wherever- while
Ex: After we got our new jobs, we decided to take more courses related
to our expertise.
3. A compound sentence: S + V, S + V
Two independent clauses are connected using For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So)
Ex: Jane was waiting for him, but he didn’t come.
Complex sentences
GREAT STRUCTURES
1.We have taken great effort to ensure this text is as close to the original
version as possible.
2. A great deal of time was spent sourcing the content from numerous
sources available in the public domain.
3. More than 20 years ago, Wilson was inspired by the secret to gain
freedom for his people.
4. Long before I was born, the secret found its ways into the possession
of Edison.
5. You may find it in the very first chapter.
6. While I was performing the twenty year task of research, which I had
undertaken at Mr Carnegie’s request, I analyzed hundreds of well
known men, many of whom admitted that they had accumulated their
vast fortunes through the aid of Carnegie secret.
7. John once told me that that project was potential.
8. It came little by little, beginning with a burning desire to become a
business associate of the great Edison.
9. The business alliance has been in operation for more than 30 years.
10. This is exactly what the majority of men do.
11. That was the first time in all his experience that he had seen such a
sight.
12. It contains details and instructions efficient to enable anyone to
understand.
13. In answer to these questions, this book was written.
14. The principles described in this book are of great help.
15. The first thing I did with it was to turn to the word “Impossible”.
16. But, being a poet, not a philosopher, Henley contented himself by
stating a great truth in poetic form.
17. Millions of people are now facing the problem of unemployment.
19. Never, in the history of America has there been so great an
opportunity for practical dreamers as now exists.
20. We, who desire to accumulate riches, should remember the real
leaders of the world have always been men who put things into
practical use.
21. Having determined that he could hear the sound of my voice
plainly, I began, immediately, to transfer his mind the desire to hear and
speak.
22. After balancing his schedule, he found its’ influence.
23. Overjoyed because of the Changed World which has been brought
to him through his hearing device, he…
24. There is no doubt in my mind that he has a good business in his
hometown.
2
Should an event be prepared in advance?
Well [give yourself time to think], I have to say [preface what you really think]
yes, by all means. I must admit [confess that something is true] that only few
celebrations can be successfully organized on the spot without too much planning
effort. For instance, [give example] it would be so easy to throw a surprise
birthday party for a friend or a family member since [give reason] there’s such a
wild range of products that one can buy at a Dollar store for such purposes – all
sorts of paper cups, plastic plates and cutlery, single use tablecloths and so
on. Yet, [contrast] most events do require a good deal of planning. Family
celebrations like [give example] Christmas, Thanksgiving, wedding
anniversaries, as well as [add ideas]wedding parties, product launches or
various receptions simply can’t be spontaneous. Their organization needs a good
plan because [give reason] there are way too many aspects to take into account –
the menu, guest list, or even gifts. So[express a result] good planning of large
events always equals order and peace of mind. On the other hand, [introduce
another point of view] it is not uncommon for people to overplan their events and
then, when something small deviates from the initial plan, it wreaks havoc on the
whole event and the festive feeling associated with it. That is why [give an
explanation] I don’t think we should plan every single detail of every single
event, so that [express purpose] we leave some space for adjustment in case the
circumstances change.
Mini project:Cover a talk (presentation/ Vlog/
Podcast…) (30 minutes)
- Look for a talk (presentation/ Vlog/ Podcast…)
- Take notes some key ideas/ words/ structures…from
the talk
- Cover the talk in form of a video
- Share your video on our zalo group
- Check out your friends’ videos and jot down anything
that might help improve your speaking performance.
