English is filled with silent letters and strange spellings, making it difficult to predict how to pronounce unfamiliar words. Help is here. Try the Virtual Writing Tutor's pronunciation checker to learn how to say this difficult to pronounce sentence.
Copy + paste the sentence below into the textbox. (1)
Click on the text-to-speech button. (2)
Learn the pronunciation.
A psychologist on the island of Montreal would slice a salmon with a knife instead of a sword, but a psychiatrist would listen to you laugh and cough on his couch.
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Check out the new features on VirtualWritingTutor.com. Here are five for members only, but we haven't stopped adding them yet. There are many more on their way. Remember that membership is free.
1. Saved Texts
The most recent addition is the "Saved Text" feature on the VirtualWritingTutor.com. Whenever members use the Virtual Writing Tutor to check grammar, the system saves the text to the member's profile. That way you never lose a draft, and you can go back to see the changes you made. If you want to delete a text for whatever reason, now you can. Notice the little hot link on the right hand side of the My Profile page, on the "Saved Text" tab. Click it to remove a text from the list.
2. Change Your Password
You can easily change your password for your VirtualWritingTutor.com account. Click on the "Change Password" tab and enter your new password twice and your old password once.
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If you have forgotten your password, you can now have a copy of your password sent to your email address. Since only you can access your email inbox, only you can recover it.
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5. Error Correction Game
We have a cool new way to improve your revision skills. It is coming soon to your "My Profile" page. Stay tuned. You'll love it!
Nobody likes to see bad feedback or false alarms while using the Virtual Writing Tutor. These little annoyances waste our time and mental energy.
That's why I put a lot of energy into reducing the number of false alarm messages the VWT generates. I do my very best to make sure you get only useful feedback. I'm making progress, but I can't imagine all of the sentences that users might write, so I can't eliminate all of these problems on my own.
I need your help!
That's why I added a "Report" button next to every feedback message the system generates.
If you receive bad feedback or a false alarm, click it! Here's what happens next for members. An alert will show asking you to confirm your decision to report the problem. Click OK.
The system will let you know if your report was successfully submitted for review.
Then, the report is stored in my Administration Panel so that I can review reports and make the changes necessary to eliminate the false alarm or fix the feedback.
I can then delete old reports and update the system so that you do not see that problem again.
Please use the "Report" button as often as you feel it is necessary. It is a big help to me, and you help all of the other users of the VirtualWritingTutor.com by improving the feedback that everyone gets on their texts.
Many English Second Language learners understand the difference between past, present and future tenses, but they struggle to understand the difference between the simple, progressive, perfect progressive and perfect aspects. What is the difference between the following sentences?
I work.
I am working.
I have been working.
I have worked.
Do you know the difference?
The effect of aspect on meaning on English verbs
Answer:
I work. The Simple Aspect emphasizes that an activity is normal and routine.
I am working.The Progressive Aspect emphasizes that an activity is temporary and in-progress.
I have been working. The Perfect Progressive Aspect emphasizes that the activity was recently finished or interrupted.
I have worked.The Perfect Aspect can express a past event to emphasize its present consequences.
Common Errors
Here are some examples of common aspect errors that the VirtualWritingTutor can catch.
My brother is usually playing video game.
I live here since I am born.
I am working here for 4 years.
After the party, while I was sleeping I've been dreaming about something wrong.
English can be confusing for many learners because of something called aspect. To illustrate, you can say, "I am eating breakfast" and "I eat breakfast." Both are correct. Both are in the present tense, but each has a different aspect and communicate a different meaning. Do you know when to use the Simple Present and when to use the Present Progressive? Try this.
Do you know the answer?
Answer:
✗Every day, I am waking up at noon. ✓ Every day, I wake up at noon. ? Use the Simple Present, not the Present Progressive, for normal routines, habits and facts.
Similar Errors
My brother is usually playing video game.
My mother is really special for me because I can't cook without burning the whole house, so she's making all my meals all days.
Every year student is having difficulty to decision the right career.
The take-home message? Current thinking on corrective feedback can be summarized as follows: it is likely to be effective when it is explicit, sustained, and focused. The VirtualWritingTutor provides explicit and sustained feedback. It is not, however, focused. The system detects every error it can.
English is filled with silent letters and strange spellings, making it difficult to predict how to pronounce unfamiliar words. Help is here. Try the Virtual Writing Tutor's pronunciation checker to learn how to say this difficult to pronounce sentence.
