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(0)Martin Manser
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Summary
Verbs and tenses are one of the most difficult parts of the English language for learners. There seem to be so many different tenses and structures that are not simple. I have compiled this book to help make verbs easier to understand. The book is in five parts: Chapter 1 The basics Here we look at the main terms used to describe different kinds of verb, eg transitive and intransitive. Chapter 2 Tenses In this section, we explain the wide range of...
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Useful reference library volume 7
Summary
Charles Dickens was the most popular writer of his generation and his many novels and short stories are still widely read and enjoyed around the world. To modern readers he occupies an exalted position as perhaps the leading commentator writing in English upon the times in which he lived. Although Dickens did sometimes set his tales in earlier centuries, most of his books were set in contemporary Britain and many of them depict life as experienced...
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Why do we describe something as "A-1", "a lame duck", or "straight from the horse's mouth"? Why is someone's behaviour said to be "beyond the pale"? What is the original meaning of the word "treacle"? This book explores the intriguing origins and development of about 800 words and expressions in English.
The story of the development of English provides an endless source of fascination not only for native speakers but also for students of English as...
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Useful reference library volume 5
Summary
William Shakespeare's standing as one of the great writers in the English language is universally recognized and unlikely to be seriously challenged now or in the foreseeable future. Although relatively little is known for certain about his life and personal beliefs, and only little more about the circumstances in which he wrote his celebrated plays and poetry, his influence upon literature, language and the wider culture remains profound and far-reaching....
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Useful reference library volume 6
Summary
Jane Austen ranks high among the most loved of all English writers. In contrast to many other celebrated authors her reputation rests upon a relatively small output, of around half a dozen major novels and a few other fragments, but her lasting influence upon the subsequent development of the English novel is undisputable nonetheless. Austen's own life was one of upper middle-class rural gentility and this is the orderly, prosperous and close-knit...
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An eponym is the name of a person after whom something is named, for example Lord Sandwich gave his name to the sandwich. This book tells the stories of nearly one thousand men and women whose names have become part of the English language. It introduces readers to the people behind the Bunsen burner, the Catherine wheel and the Belisha beacon, and explains who John Hancock, Gordon Bennett and Granny Smith were. It also includes characters from literature...