Mr Yang,

Please tell me if there is any difference between:

1. He is in the office.

&

2. He is in office.

Is the "Mr" here unnecessary? "Please contact Senior Engineer Mr Tai-man Chan ..."

VA

1. means he is inside his office room , or in the place where he works .

2. means he is still occupying his office job - eg , in office as manager, as the department head , in office as prime minister .

3. "Senior Engineer Tai Man Chan" or "the senior engineer Mr Tai Man Chan".

If you use Capital Letters S and E , you refer to Chan's title already , so no need for "Mr" which is another title.

TLY

Dear Mr Yang,

I would like to ask you a question about tense.In the sentence "You worsen the problem that you want to relieve before",should I use the present tense "want" or the past tense "wanted"? Could you tell me why?

Thanks for you help!

Yours sincerely,
FK.Y

It depends on when it is that you "want" . Do you want now or did you want before ?

1. "you worsen the problem you want to solve" - ( relieve is not a good word here ) .

2. "you worsen the problem you wanted to solve" - ( no need to say "before" because "wanted" already indicates it was "before".

TLY

Dear Mr Yang,

I would like to study some English poetry this summer. Someone suggest reading Byron's or Milton's poetry. However, as a beginner, I don't know whose or which kind of poetry I should read first. And I also wonder if reading the poetry could improve my English. Can you give my some suggestions?

Yours respectfully,
Chris

1. Byron and Milton are very difficult . I suggest you start with Shakespear's short sonnets (very romantic) and Tennyson's short poems (musical and rhythmic)

2. Go to a book shop and ask if they have a small book comprising a selection of poems by different poets . this is your best chance .

3. You'll need guidance . It is difficult to understand and appreciate poetry on your own .

TLY

Dear Yang sir,

"In such a system, currying favour, political correctness, second-guessing and shoe-shining will not get you very far." In above sentence,what is meaning of "currying favour", "secound-guessing"?

Thanks.

sam kan

Curry - 拍馬屁，奉承( 是貶辭)

second guess - 猜測，預測(目的在於討好,奉承)

Please check oxford Advanced Dictionary ，這是一本必備的書.

TLY