Succes and Lucky

--From testmagic.com

I
fully agree with the claim that there is no correlation between success
and luck. Moreover, I understand success to refer to one’s ability to
achieve the predominant part of his goals in his lifetime, which in
turn leads to a correlation between success and income since the
accomplishment of such a natural goal as to provide a good future for
your loved ones demands the means. What is the simplest and most lawful
way to earn enough to consider yourself a successful person? To receive
a good education and to find a good job. Both receiving an education
and making a career presuppose one’s readiness to work hard, and
success without hard work is simply not possible for the vast majority
of the world's population. The reasons and examples listed below will
strengthen my point of view. First of all, considering an education and
a career as key factors of success, one will choose to pursue a degree
from a college or a university. One wishing to be admitted to the
university will have to take several tests. It is doubtful that someone
will be so lucky that knowing nothing, he could pass the test with a
high score. A low score means failure, and that test taker will not
likely be admitted. Therefore, in order to be successful, one should
prepare for the tests and work hard, because a good education will
provide him with a good job and an opportunity to accomplish some of
his goals and dreams. In my lifetime, I have never met a person who
could graduate from a college without working hard.
Secondly, it is impossible to make a career if one is indolent and
lacking knowledge, at least in developed countries. Luck plays no role
in achieving this success. Even if someone was unbelievably lucky
enough to become a manager not being qualified enough, he will be asked
to resign in the near future because of his inability due to lack of
knowledge and experience to make right decisions. For instance, I used
to work for a very small company owned by a friend. This company was
later closed because of bankruptcy. The cause of bankruptcy was wrong
strategies and decisions made by the owner. After the failure, he went
to a university and worked for another company so that he could obtain
experience and become a successful businessman. Nowadays, he considers
himself a successful person because he had turned into reality his two
biggest dreams of producing consumer goods of high quality and making
charitable donations to needy people.
In sum, as long as someone understands success as an ability to turn
into reality some of his dreams and goals, he will have to work hard
because he will need money. And his chances to earn that money will
remarkably increase if he could graduate from a college and make a
career. All of these things are simply not possible without hard work.
Luck has no place in such a scheme of events.

Nouns

Grammar Rule for Nouns

Back to top

a noun is:

a person, place, thing, or idea

If you can read this page, you probably already understand nouns pretty well, so we'll try to teach you something that you might not know and that is important for the TOEFL, GMAT, SAT II: Writing, and other standardized tests that test your English.

Special note about pronouns: You should also be aware that TestMagic does NOT adhere to the traditional system of classifying parts of speech--in the traditional system of classifying parts of speech, nouns and pronouns are placed into two separate groups. There is a certain logic for this division that makes perfect sense, but in our years of teaching, we have learned that our students can raise their scores faster if we include many (but not all!) pronouns in the set of nouns. For example, according to the TestMagic system, I, me, she, him, them, and us are considered nouns.

Tricky Grammar Relating to Nouns!

Back to top

Many nouns can function as adjectives. For example, if we talk about dog food, and we try to figure out the part of speech of dog, we might want to say that it is a noun. Actually, it is a noun if you look at it by itself, but at TestMagic, we say that it is "a noun functioning as an adjective" in that instance.

Some people will call a noun in this position a noun modifier, and it is also correct to say this. And some people will call all the nouns together a compound noun--a series of nouns together to form one noun phrase. Even though different teachers use different methods to explain, the concept is still the same--sometimes a noun can come before another noun to modify it.

Here are some more examples of this structure:

• university bookstore
• Stanford Univeristy bookstore
• drug addiction
• telephone company
• videocassette recorder

By TestMagic.com

Inversion - By TestMagic.com

There are at least eighteen types of inversion:

1. neg intro

2. intro adverbial (in, down, prepositional phrase)

3. intro -ed

4. comparative

5. intro comparative

6. as

7. so... that...

8. had, should, were

9. there is

10. here is

11. intro -ing

12. emphasis

13. the bigger, the better

14. questions

15. "story speech"

16. nor

17. so do I/neither do I

18. intro adjective

Type	Examples	Notes
1. neg intro	Never do I sleep. Only at night can I study. In no way could I help you with your Japanese grammar question. I believe that only rarely will I need your help. Not until I got home did I realize that my shoes were untied.	Question form is obligatory. Used with all verbs. This one is very common on the TOEFL and somewhat common on the GMAT and GRE. We need to learn the various types of words and phrases that require this type of inversion. Notice that sometimes the inversion occurs right after the neg intro form and sometimes it occurs in the next subject and verb. See Neg Intro for more info.
2. intro adverbial	Into the room ran the lady. First comes love, then comes marriage. After A comes B, then comes C, next comes D. Down came the rain and washed the spider out.	Inversion is optional. Used with be-verbs, linking verbs, and verbs of direction. This one is less common on the TOEFL, but more common on the GMAT and GRE. Notice that sometimes we have an adverb, like first and down and sometimes we have an adverb phrase like into the room or after A. These adverbs and adverb phrases usually show location or direction. This type of inversion usually only occurs with be-verbs, linking verbs and verbs that show direction or movement, like come, go, run, etc.
3. intro –ed	Found in San Francisco is Lombard Street, the so-called crookedest street in the world. Lost among the old tables and chairs was the priceless Victorian desk. Located between San Francisco and Marin County is the Golden Gate Bridge.	Inversion is obligatory. Used with be-verbs. This one is very common on the TOEFL, GMAT, and GRE. This type of inversion usually occurs with be-verbs, but sometimes with linking verbs. Notice that the phrase is the complement of the be-verb.
4. comparatives	Cheetahs run faster than do antelopes. You speak Chinese better than do I. Jessica is more interested in Computer Science than is Benjamin.	Inversion is optional. Used with all verbs. This form of inversion is common on the TOEFL, GMAT, and GRE. We normally only have inversion here if we are comparing subjects of the verb, not objects. For example, in the following two sentences, we are comparing objects, carrots and potatoes, not the subject I.: J I like carrots more than I do potatoes. J L I like carrots more than do I like potatoes. L Now, in this sentence, we are comparing subjects, I and my friend Carl: J I like carrots more than does my friend Carl. J
5. intro comparative	Bigger than an apatosaur is the blue whale. More important than your personal statement is your GPA. No less impressive than the invention of the laser was the development of the wheel.	Inversion is obligatory. Used with be-verbs. This form is more common on the GMAT and GRE than it is on the TOEFL. Notice that we can only use this form of inversion when the verb is a be-verb since in every case, the comparative is the complement of the be-verb. Remember that less than is also a comparative.
6. as	Megumi is from Japan, as is Sato. So-eun wants to leave early today, as does Oi. If thrown into the water, camels can swim, as can cats.	Inversion is obligatory. Used with all verbs. We can only use inversion if we are using as for comparisons. as is one of the trickiest words in English; it can have many different meanings.
7. so… that…	So happy was I that I bought flowers for everybody in class. So quickly did she leave that we did not even realize was gone. So rarely does a comet appear visible to the naked eye that when one does, it is considered a major event.	Question form is obligatory. Used with all verbs. This is not so common on the TOEFL, but is fairly common on the GMAT and GRE. The so… that… clause must before the verb in for this type of inversion.
8. had, should, were for if-clauses	Had I remembered Tomomi's birthday, she wouldn’t be mad at me now. Note that the word if does NOT appear in the clause when inversion is used: Had I remembered = If I had remembered Should you need a hand, I will be more than happy to help you. Should you need a hand = If you should need a hand Were I you, I think I would study more for your exam tomorrow. Were I you = If I were you	Inversion is obligatory. Used with all verbs. This is somewhat common on the TOEFL and more common on the GMAT and GRE. This type of inversion is kind of special. Notice that we can only use this type of inversion when we are using an if-clause. In other words, if is omitted: even though the word if does not appear in the clause, we still have the meaning of an if-clause. For more information, see had, should, were.
9. there is, there are, there exists, there comes, etc.	There is a good restaurant nearby. There comes a time in every person’s life when she realizes that she is responsible for her own happiness, not other people. Scientists hypothesize that there exists a certain type of particle that can travel faster than the speed of light.	Inversion is obligatory. Usually used only with these verbs. This form of inversion is common on the TOEFL, GMAT, and GRE, as well as in spoken and written English. Most people remember there is and there are. BUT we must also remember that there are other verbs that we can use instead of is and are. The most common ones are exist, come, and go.
10. here is, here are, here comes, here come	Here is some good food for you to try. Here are the books that I don’t need anymore. Here comes the bus!	Inversion is obligatory. Usually used only with these verbs. You will probably not see this on the grammar section of the TOEFL or on the GMAT or GRE. It could, however, appear on the Listening Comprehension Section of the TOEFL. We use this form mostly in spoken English.
11. intro -ing	Burning out of control was the forest located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Coming in last in the race was Joe "Elephant Legs" Blow. Not helping the situation was little Susie, who was throwing newspaper on the spreading fire.	Inversion is obligatory. Used only with be-verbs. This form is not common on the TOEFL, but might show up on the GMAT or GRE. Notice the intro –ing phrase is the complement of the be-verb.
12. emphasis	Boy am I hungry. Is it ever hot in here! Do you know how to cook!	Inversion is optional. Used with all verbs. You will probably not see this on the grammar section of the TOEFL or on the GMAT or GRE. It could, however, appear on the Listening Comprehension Section of the TOEFL. We use this form mostly in spoken English.
13. the bigger, the better	The closer an object is to another object, the greater is the gravity between the two objects.	Question form is optional. Used with all verbs.
14. questions	Is this the last example? Do you enjoy reading these lists? Are we finished yet?	Inversion is obligatory. Used with all verbs. You will probably not see this on the grammar section of the TOEFL (TOEFL doesn't test questions anymore) or on the GMAT or GRE. It would, however, appear on the Listening Comprehension Section of the TOEFL.
15. "story speech"	“I think it’s time to go,” said Susan. “It’s time for you, but not for me,” replied Gary. “Maybe we should collect our thoughts for a moment,” commented Lany.	Inversion is optional. Used with verbs that report speech. You will probably not see this on the grammar section of the TOEFL or on the GMAT or GRE.
16. nor	No one has volunteered for the job, nor do we expect anyone to volunteer in the future. Hok-ming cannot speak Portuguese, nor can José speak Cantonese. The zoo regulations will not permit you to touch the animals, nor would most people advise you to do so.	Inversion is obligatory. Used with all verbs. You might see this on the adaptive TOEFL if you are scoring high and it could appear on the GMAT or GRE. Remember that nor is considered a conjunction, but we use it between two sentences (not between any two elements like the other conjunctions).
17. "so do I"/ "neither do I."	“So do I.” “So can Terry.” “Neither do most people I know.”	Inversion is obligatory. Used with all verbs. You will probably not see this on the grammar section of the TOEFL or on the GMAT or GRE.
18. intro adjective	Beautiful beyond belief was my baby daughter. Happy about their acceptance into their dream schools were Lany and Tomo. Quick and painless will be your medical procedure.	Inversion is obligatory in most cases. Used with be-verbs. This one is fairly rare and probably would not appear on the TOEFL, but you might see it on the GMAT or GRE. Inversion is sometimes not used in poetic language.

Head Nouns

A head noun is:

The word that is modified by an adjective clause.
Examples

Want to see an example? Look at this sentence:

* I like the car that you bought.

In this sentence, car is the head noun because the adjective clause modifies it.

Usually the head noun is the noun that comes right before the adjective clause, but not always.


Tricks

Look at these examples. The head nouns are underlined. Notice that the head noun is NOT the noun right before the adjective clause.

1. The people in Japan I met were very polite and friendly.

2. The CD in the purple jewel case that I was just listening to is not very good.

3. The TOEFL prep programs here in the USA that I visited seemed quite helpful.

By TestMagic.com

Determiners

You need to know determiners to do well on grammar tests.

We use determiners with nouns. The most common determiners are the, a, and an, but there are many more that are also important.

Here's a list of most of the determiners. You will notice that some of them are repeated; these are the determines most TestMagic students forget.


List

* the
* a
* an
* another
* no
* 's
* the
* a
* an
* no
* another
* 's
* some
* any
* my
* our
* their
* her
* his
* its
* another
* no
* 's
* 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, etc.
* 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, etc.
* each
* every
* its
* another
* no
* 's
* this
* that

Complements

Complements are words that come after linking verbs and modify nouns. The most common noun complements are adjectives and nouns, but can be many other part of speech as well.

TestMagic uses the term noun complement more liberally than do some other grammar resources; doing so will make grammar explanations for tests much, much easier and faster.



Examples

All the highlighted words or phrases below are complements.

My sister is a doctor.

Tomomi is happy.

The book is on the table.

Carl is here.

We should try to remain calm.

The test proved to be more difficult than we had imagined.

I consider you a friend.

Megumi called her ex-boyfriend a philistine.



In all of these examples, the highlighted words are considered by TestMagic to be complements since they all serve to modify the nouns that are underlined.

Adverbs

Examples of adverbs:

quickly, happily, fast, ago, home, downtown, nearby, always, sometimes, never
Adverb rules

What you need to know about adverbs:

* An adverb is a word that modifies (or describes) a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or even a sentence.
* Adverbs are OPTIONAL in a sentence--in other words, they are not necessary in the sentence, so we can use none in our sentence, or we can use several adverbs.
* Many adverbs end in -ly, but many do not (e.g., tomorrow, together, today).

Adverb exceptions

Many nouns can actually functions as adverbs in certain situations. For example, if we look at this sentence:

I went downtown yesterday.

and we try to figure out what part of speech downtown is, we might say that it is a noun, but it is in fact an adverb.
More examples of adverbs functioning as nouns

Here are many nouns that can function as adverbs, depending on the sentence:

today, tomorrow, yesterday, Saturday, Friday, last year, next month, home, downtown

For example:

* See you tomorrow!
* See you Friday!
* I studied hard last year.
* I'm going home.
* I live downtown.

In these examples, all the highlighted words are adverbs.

Adjective

Examples:

quick, happy, fast, timely, funny, friendly, pretty, red, blue, white, yellow, big, little
Rule

Back to top

an adjective is:


a word that modifies (or describes) a noun


adjectives are OPTIONAL in a sentence--in other words, they are not necessary in the sentence, so we can use none in our sentence, or we can use a million of them!!


Be careful!!

Back to top

Many adjectives look like adverbs because they end in -ly. For example, if we look at this sentence:

The friendly teacher helped me a lot.

and we try to figure out what part of speech friendly is, we might say that it is an adverb, because it ends in -ly. However, friendly is in fact an adjective.
-ly Adjectives

Here are some -ly adjectives that you might see on the TOEFL or other tests:

costly, neighborly, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly

Pronouns

EXAMPLES OF PRONOUNS


she, he, it, they, we, some, many, half, others, etc.

SENTENCES WITH PRONOUNS

Trees are important to the environment because they produce oxygen.
they = trees

Tomomi offered me all of her soda, but I only drank half.
half = half of the soda

Some people like red, others like yellow.
others = other people

Some of the people that I met were very friendly.
some = people

Rules
pronouns = nouns
Pronouns replace other nouns.
Pronouns have to be singular or plural, just like the nouns they replace.

Conjuctions

Yeah, we know. Just the name makes you not want to read any more, right? Right!

Actually, I bet you know a lot of subordinating conjunctions already. Just look at these examples:

Examples of subordinating conjunctions

* that
* if
* although
* because
* while
* since
* after
* before
* when
* where
* how
* whether
* in that

You already know all or most of these words, right?

So, I think we can safely say that you already know the most important stuff about subordinating conjunctions, but just in case, here's the most important rule:

subordinating conjunction + sentence

If you can remember this question, you'll be able to answer 85% of the TOEFL questions you'll see on the grammar section no sweat.

Yeah, we know that the name is kind of hard to remember. A lot of other books or teachers use different words because they think that their students won't remember the term subordinating conjunction, but, to tell you the truth, the term is actually very descriptive and helpful.

First, you need to understand that a subordinating conjunction is a conjunction. In other words, we use it to joing two things that are the same. In the case of subordinating conjunctions, we are joining two sentences.

Trust me, many TOEFL grammar questions are related to whether or not we have a conjunction between two sentences.

Let's look at some examples, maybe that will help us understand better.

Look at this sentence:

I was late to class.

Now look at this sentence:

The bus was late.

Now, grammatically, we have two sentences. If we have two sentences, we need something between them to 'connect' them; this is a basic English rule.

In this case, we can use the subordinating conjunction because. We would end up with this sentence:

I was late to class because the bus was late.

Are parents good teachers of their children?

Obviously, the first teachers we have in our lives in most cases are our parents. They teach us to walk, to speak, and to have good manners before we reach "the real world." More than even the professional teachers that we have in school, parents are generally the most involved in the development and education of children.

Almost for sure our parents are the best teachers at the beginning of our lives, which actually corresponds to the parents' role in nature. Parents are most committed and involved in teaching their children; they have a kind of instinct to sacrifice a part of themselves for the betterment of their children. They love us and have great patience while passing down their knowledge to us. They wish us a success and thus will not teach us bad things. And of course, implicit learning occurs when children unconsciously copy some of their parents' habits and styles of behavior.

During the second stage of child development, adolescence, parents can still be in the best position to offer advice even though the children might not accept it. In this case, perhaps the child's friends would be the best teachers. Adolescents are notoriously rebellious in many cultures and may automatically reject any advice from their parents. My first marriage for instance, was solely a matter of doing the opposite when my parents tried to intrude in offering their advice. So in such matters, parents should be much more flexible and be rather the partners with their children. So we can see that being a teacher of growing child become more and more complicated case as the time passes and many parents are simply not able to meet the increased demands.

On the other hand, I would say that parents are not professional teachers and they tend to be very biased by their love of their children. So wishing good things and an easy life may prevent children from maturation. In any case, parents usually can present only one viewpoint of the world, while good teaching should be based on different attitudes. Thus, when children go to school and have a great diversity of teachers, they learn much more than their parents could probably give them. Furthermore, once our parents get older, they become more conservative and cannot always be objective in regard to modern trends and fashions. Thus we need to take their advice with caution during that period. However, some kind of intuition which I believe shared between relatives about what everybody needs and great love which exists in a families still makes our parents very good teachers and advisers at any time.

In conclusion, while parents are not the ideal teachers, and well-rounded children will generally need a great diversity of teachers in their lives in order to have a more accurate view of the world, parents are generally the most committed of all teachers and have the greatest emotional investment in their children and their future.