of the first water

درجه یک -  از بهترین کیفیت

 Means of the finest quality. This idiom comes from the gem trade and refers to a grading system for diamonds and their color or luster compared to the shininess of water.  The clarity of diamonds is assessed by their translucence; the more like water, the higher the quality. This comparison of diamonds with water dates back to at least the early 17th century.i 

The first water in Diamonds means the greatest purity and perfection  of their complexion, which ought to be that of the clearest drop of water. When Diamonds fall short of this perfection, they are said to be of the second or third water, &c. till the stone may be properly called a coloured one.

Michael Jordan is obviously a basketball player of the first water who would be of enormous value to any team.i

Here are some verbs that are used in statistics although we can use them in several other situations, too.i

The difference between rise and raise

Rise is an intransitive verb( it never has an object); We can say something rises for example:  smoke rises , prices rise , inflation rises

It is an irregular verb: rise , rose , risen

Example: Inflation is rising at the moment.i /

The river has risen by several meters. i/

Her voise rose in anger.i

Raise: is a transitive verb ( it needs an object), and it is regular: raise , raised , raised

It means to make something go up / move sth to a higher level /  increase

Example: They raised the standards of the service.

/ He raised her voice due to the noise of the traffic outside.i

Compare rise with raise: The company is raising the price   but     

   The price is rising.i

Lower and fall

Fall is an intransitive verb ( it never has an object). it is an irregular verb: fall , fell , fallen

It means to become less , to become lower in amount or size or strength

Example:The temperature fell sharply in the night.i

Lower: is a transitive verb ( it needs an object      )i

It means to move sth down or to a lower position , decrease , reduce

Example: They have lowered the prices. / 

he lowered his gun slowly.i

Grow is still another verb used with numbers but means increase in number or amount over a period of time

It is intransitive verb ( it never has an object)i

Example: Nowadays, the number of unemployed people is growing.i  

i-Where can you find the largest diamond in the world?i

i-On a baseball field!i

A diamond is a beautiful, clear stone used in jewelry, but it is also the name of the playing field in the game of baseball. A baseball diamond is shaped something like the stone.i

Athough the most perfect diamonds are mined in far-off lands, in America there are diamonds that are much bigger and more precious. Any American can tell you that these diamonds are found on a baseball field!i

i-How do you make seven even?i

i-Take off the s!i

Seven is an odd number: that is, it can't be divided by two. The opposite of an odd number is an even number.i

Confusing words: wrong, wrongly, wrongfully 

ways of saying approximately

If we want to say that a number, quantity, time or price is ‘quite accurate but not exact’, we have several options in English.i

One of the most important factors in learning English is  pronunciation, for it is the first thing the audience realize about a speaker at the very beginning of speech. So, it is said that the most prestigious speakers have great pronunciation, and poor accent may lead in being known as a less knowledgable person in the field of English language learning or even taching in spite of being  very knowledgable and experienced.i

In order to improve your pronunciation and accent, you can take the following tips into account.i

a) Turks (Turkish People) are well known to be the most qualified people who can pronounce English as well as native speakers due to the variety of vowels in their language; however, they must be careful in order not to transfer the pronunciation of their first language in to English. The most troublesome sounds are( ch, j, and th). Be sure that you are producing them in a correct way.i

b) In order to be certain about your accent and pronunciation, try to imitate those who are successful in speaking. Also, try to benefit from listening to English conversations, then record your voice while practicing the conversation. By listening to your own voice, you can notice the areas of difficulties for you.i

c) Practice, practice, nad practice since there is the most famous saying that practice makes the perfect. Try to practice in front of a mirror while pronouncing special kinds of words in order to see the shape of your mouth and lips when producing those sounds, because each sound has particular features that must be recognized in pronunciation.i

 By Pardis 

For more information go to the continue section   

Crazy English

Pot to piss in

پولدار بودن

You want to have children! We can't afford them, we don't have a pot to piss in.

i-Why did the boy put his radio in the refrigrator?i

i-He wanted to hear cool music!i

Cool has two meanings. It can mean" somewhat cold". In everyday speech, cool also means "wonderful, exciting, great"i

a) Wow! What a great song!i

b) You said it! This station plays really cool music. I could listen for hours.i

a) Me too. Hey, tell you what, let me get us a nice, cool drink from the fridge, and we can just sit back and listen for a while.i

b) Cool !  Sounds like a great idea!i

What

i- What kind of coat is made without buttons and is iwet when you first put it on?i

i-A coat of paint!i

A coat is  a piece of clothing that covers your clothes. A coat can also be a thin covering of some substance such as paint or dust all over a surface.i

a) Wow! I like the new color you're painting the living room!i

b) Thanks, but be careful. I just put on the first coat and it's still wet. Here, let me take your coat. I'll hang it up in the closet  and we'll get started painting the dinning room.i

i-What kind of cake tastes awful?i

i-A cake of soap!i

A cake is a baked sweet made from flour, eggs, and other ingredients. A bar of soap can also be reffered to as a cake of soap!i

a) Hi, Jane. Where are you off to?i

b) Oh, I'm going to the bakery to pick up a birthday cake for my son. How about you?i

a) I'm heading for the drugstore. I need a couple of cakes of soap, , and some asprin.i

i-How do you keep a rhinoceros from charging?i

i-Take away his credit cards!i

To charge means "to rush at someone or something to attack it." To charge something also means to pay for an item by using a credit card.i

a) I heard you went on a safari. How did it go?i

b) Great! But we had a scare- out of nowhere, a huge tiger came charging at us. Thank heaven we were able to scare him off with rifle shots!i

a) That sounds exciting. Tell me, was the trip expensive?i

b) It certainly was. I had to charge the plane tickets to my credit card. It will take me months to pay off! But it was worth it.i

Remember that gerunds are nouns but participles have linking functions and can be all parts of speech except a noun.i

Deciding where to spend the holiday, I went to get a ticket.i         Participle

     Deciding where to spend the holiday is a difficult task.    Gerundi

Perfect participle (active)i

a) action 1 is completed before action 2

I had had dinner. I went to the movies.i

Having had dinner, I went to the movies.i

b) action 1 continues for a while before action 2 starts

I had been (was) my own boss for 5 years. I couldn't stand having another boss.i

Having been my own boss for 5 years, I couldn't stand having another boss.i

c) action 1 happens several times before action 2 starts

He had failed 3 times, He didn't want to try again.i

Having failed 3 times, he didn't want to try again.i

Absolute participle:  is a kind of participle in which there are two different subjects for two different parts of a sentense

The weather was fine. We went on a picnic.i

The weather being fine, we went on a picnic.i

Functions of past participle

a) to help form perfect tenses

He has worked hard

b) as a participle adjective

a rented room            an educated man               coloured eggs

c) with special verbs

c-1   causative have  :    We had the car fixed.i

c-2   after "find, keep , leave"i

We found the money hidden in the garden.i        یعنی مخفی کرده بودند

We found the man hidding in the garden.i     یعنی خودش مخفی می شد

c-3 After perceptive verbs:   see, hear, watch......i

There is a difference in meaning between present and past perfect participles after perceptive verbs.i

I saw her cooking lunch.i                 در حال انجام عمل دیده

I saw her cooked lunch.i          یعنی از اول تا آخر عمل رو دیده

d) as  a reduced adjective clause

The books which are published in Iran are cheaper.i

The books published in Iran are cheaper.i

Misrelated participle:   is the most troublesome participle because it is always wrong

How to correct a misrelated participle?i

a) by changing the voice of one part

        When using this car, the brakes should be checked.i         incorrect

When using this car, you should check the brakes.i     correct

b) by changing word order

Shining in the sky, we saw the first star.i       incorrect

We saw the first star shining in the sky.i     correct

In the first sentence "shining in the sky" is related to "we" and it is wrong.i

c) by using the full clause

Climbing down the tree, one of the eggs broke.i     incorrect because eggs cannot climb down the tree

While he was climbing down the tree, one of the eggs broke.i     correct

Participles can be used in passive voice ,too.i

When did the soldier go out of the battle field?i

Having been wounded by a bullet, he fell down and was carried out

Participles can be used in different ways but be sure that you use them in a correct way because changing the order of the words can cause incorrect sentences.i

Hearing that Juliet was dead, Romeo killed himself

Romeo killed himself, hearing that Juliet was dead

Romeo, hearing that Juliet was dead, killed himself

THINK ABOUT:i

How can you change the following sentence into a participle?i

His heads I win tails you lose attitude annoys me.i

Which part of the sentence is incorrect and what is the correct form?i

While watching from our window, the great ship entered the harbor, whistle blowing and crew cheering.i