Discourse markers? Unfamiliar to you, right? In fact, you use discourse markers more often than you may think. 

A discourse marker is a word or phrase that is used to connect or organize what you say or write, for example, 'so', 'OK', 'right' and 'by the way/incidentally' are often used as discourse markers. Some people might call them 'linking words' or 'linking adverbials', though. 

You may be familiar with the following discourse markers: as far as...is concerned, on the other hand, however, si

Eid is a smile. Eid is the joy that we feel inside our hearts and we share with others. Eid is the time of eating and drinking as a reward of fasting. Eid is taking and giving. Eid is forgiveness. Eid is the time to forget all the old grudging  and be willingly to pardon those who oppressed us. Eid is the time for brotherhood and friendship. Eid is the time to give the poor what they need and be affectionate to them. Eid is the station for the warrior to rest and wait for the new arrivals. Eid i

One year without EC?  Wow, I made it, haha!  My friends used to place their bets on me that I could never live without EC even for a year.  

I won't say that they totally lost their bets.  It's still true that EC will always be a favorite hangout for me.  If not, I wouldn't be here trying to reconnect.  The fact is, I am just stealing a portion of my tight schedule for my dearests here on EC.  I left them suddenly without explanations and made them worry to the point of cursing me.  (What a great

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it

deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the

olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at

the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can

sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn

mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as

a wlohe. 

I had been away from MyEC for quite a long time and now that I'm back I'm very much disappointed by the number of the mistakes I make when I write something. My English wasn't good before I joined MyEC many years back but then I improved my English language skills to a degree that I was able to score 8 out of 9(btw, I consider that score more of a miracle and a blessing of God then a true reflection of my writing skill!) in writing section of IELTS Academic Test when I took the test about 2 and

In this sarcastic world where everyone lives for himself, wills to have such people who may benefit him to the maximum for no gain, who may help him in need, and tend to him all the time, but (s)he never tries to be sincere, honest and true to his words in relation or friendship. Even (s)he is found reluctant to reciprocate due to egoistic nature. At the end, (s)he blames one another of separation.


We might read and see others referring to this famous proverb hundred times "A friend in need is

Hi there, friends!

While browsing through the members' pages a few moments ago I came across a new word "gourmand". I saw the meaning of it and found it very interesting. What I like the most is the fact that I am a gourmand myself! ;)

Can you guess the meaning of this word without looking up in a dictionary and do you consider yourself a gourmand, too? :)

Image given below is a big clue! :)

Almusahirati is the person who  wakes up people to eat sahoor. Of course, sahoor is an important meal in Ramadan. According to Hadeeth, ((have sahoor, there is barakah in it)). It means that you have sahoor, because it has a blessing in it. Almusahirati starts his duty after three or four o'clock in the morning, carrying a drum and singing, "Oh fasting sleeper, wake up and have sahoor. Oh fasting sleeper, wake up and have sahoor". Nowadays, this habit disappeared in many countries especially Ara

Look at this picture:

Pretty scary, huh? Seems like a snake is gonna attack these little pups.

The snake actually protected those puppies after they fell into a hole. She took care of 'em till they were rescued. This event made someone make a comic(?), if you will.

Have a great weekend!

"I'm not going to change the world. You're not going to change the world. But we can help - we can all help" - Cristiano Ronaldo - footballer and philanthropist

I always think that we, as an individual can easily destroy the entire planet without the help of others. But to reverse or cure our Mother’s Earth it takes more than a community and yet with little result. People always say, we are just like a small drop of water in the blue ocean. No matter how much we put our effort, the impact is too

“Smoking Kids” is a photo project by Frieke Janssechai. The series features children dressed as adults and posed as smokers. It really makes you consider the impact of smoking on children's lives. Personally, I can't stand cigarettes, pipes, cigars, etc. The smell of it all! Now imagine a family where a parent or both are smokers. Hooray! You might say, "So what? The kids can fight the urge for smoking." I dunno, maybe you're right. But do they even stand a chance?

PS. I was inspired to post this

Islam and Muslim have the same letter root (s,l,m) in Arabic. Islam means “submission to the truth” and Muslim means “one who submits to the truth”. The best definition for both words are mentioned in Quran.

Surah 3. Al-i'Imran, Ayah 83

Al-Qur'an Grammar     

أَفَغَيْرَ دِينِ اللَّهِ يَبْغُونَ وَلَهُ أَسْلَمَ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ طَوْعًا وَكَرْهًا وَإِلَيْهِ يُرْجَعُونَ         

Malik     :               Are they looking for a religion other than the Deen (religion and Way of Life) of

Sometimes back there was a hot news on our local TV channels that I girl from China met on internet with a boy in Pakistan and fell in love with him.  She was so deep in love with him that she even came to Pakistan to meet the boy.  What happened to her love this is another story, it however reminded me that I have a blog in my safe of memory which I reproduce below for the reading interest of my EC friends:

Love………thy name ‘strange’

No doubt that love from this far apart and without having any ho

 This is in response to Danny's "Writing Challenge: Using Phrasal Verbs" 

to call up - to phone;

to call on - to visit a person;

to call off - to cancel;

to call for - to  come somewhere in order to get someone or something;

to call down - to reprimand, to scould;

to stick to - to adhere/glue to smith/smbd;

to stick around - to be somewhere around, not far;

to break off - to put the end to the relationship;

to break loose - to escape from usual responsibilities and to start doing some unexpected things.

 This time I decided to make us laugh.I hope you'll enjoy them!

A SENSITIVE FOX.

_ I like this fox leather very much, says a lady to the saleswoman in the fur shop.

_Is it sensitive in the rain?

_What do you say,madam, says the saleswoman. Have you ever seen a fox with an umbrella?

VERY CONVENIENT.

A drunk man is walking around a lamp post,looking for something. A policeman is approaching .

_What are you doing here? he asks him.

_I lost my money and I 'm looking for them.

_May I help you because I'm

Ajit Johnson is a Ph.D. student. Whenever he wants to take a break from discovering the ultimate cure for cancer, he likes to tell stories via art to spread love and hope. "It was one of those unproductive days when I realised that I look at my phone or open web pages far too long than needed, which inspired me to take up a challenge of not using my phone for a day. It was extremely difficult, but very soon I realised, how much more productive I can get and how much time I had which I thought ne