David Jones goes into administration, with store closures expected and thousands of jobs at risk
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EN: Non-defining relative clauses (set off by commas) provide extra, non-essential information about a noun. The relative pronoun 'which' refers back to 'David Jones'. Removing this clause still leaves a grammatically complete sentence.
Harrods, which is a famous luxury department store in London, attracts millions of visitors each year.
EN: The present perfect tense ('has gone') is formed with 'have/has' + past participle. Here, it connects a recent past event to the present moment, especially when combined with a current time frame like 'this week'.
The tech company has entered liquidation this month.
EN: In Australian commercial law, 'voluntary administration' is an insolvency procedure where an independent administrator takes control of a struggling company to evaluate whether it can be restructured, sold, or liquidated. It is similar to Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in the United States.
EN: The present perfect tense ('has been', 'has lost') is used here to describe an ongoing state or action that started in the past and continues into the present, especially when combined with time expressions like 'for many years'.
The company has faced severe challenges for several months.
EN: Compound adjectives with hyphens: When numbers and nouns function together as an adjective before a noun, hyphens are used and the noun remains singular (e.g., '188-year-old', not '188-years-old').
They bought a 50-year-old historic house in the city.
EN: Founded in 1838, David Jones is one of the world's oldest continuously operating department stores. In Australian retail culture, it represents a traditional upscale shopping experience, making its financial collapse a major national news event.
EN: The phrasal verb 'fall behind on (something)' means to fail to keep up with a schedule or make payments on time. 'Rent' is the noun object of the preposition 'on'.
He fell behind on his mortgage payments after losing his job.
EN: The phrase 'the owner of Westfield' functions as an appositive (同位語), set off by commas, giving extra explanatory information about the preceding noun phrase 'its main landlord'.
Mr. Davis, the principal of the school, gave an inspiring speech.
EN: Westfield is a major shopping centre operator founded in Australia, well-known globally. In Australia, large department stores like David Jones often serve as anchor tenants in Westfield malls, making Westfield their primary commercial landlord.
EN: The structure 'is being + past participle' forms the Present Continuous Passive. It describes an action currently in progress being done to the subject by an external agent (introduced by 'by').
The historic building is being renovated by the local government.
EN: 'While' acts as a coordinating subordinating conjunction used to contrast two parallel situations or events happening at the same time, similar to 'whereas'.
Some employees prefer working from home, while others enjoy the office environment.
EN: In Australian corporate insolvency law, 'receivers' (appointed by secured creditors to safeguard their assets) and 'administrators' (independent practitioners appointed during voluntary administration to restructure or sell the company) have distinct legal functions, though both step in when a company is in distress.
EN: Reported speech with backshift: When introducing past reporting verbs like 'said', the modal verb 'will' shifts back to 'would' in the subordinate 'that' clause to maintain tense harmony.
The manager said that we would start the project next Monday.
EN: Apposition (Appositive noun phrase): 'Christopher Hill' is an appositive renaming and identifying the noun 'receiver', set off by commas to add non-essential descriptive detail.
My colleague, David Chen, organized the entire event.
EN: In corporate finance and insolvency under Australian law, a 'receiver' is an independent practitioner appointed by secured creditors to take control of specific charged assets, distinct from 'administrators' who oversee the entire business turnaround or liquidation.
EN: The reporting verb 'expect' is followed by a 'that'-clause functioning as a noun clause (direct object) to express a prediction or anticipated event.
Analysts expect that housing prices will decrease next year.
EN: The structure 'will be + past participle' forms the future simple passive voice, indicating an action that will be performed on the subject by an unspecified agent.
The final decision will be announced tomorrow.
EN: In Australian geography and urban planning, 'regional areas' refers to towns and regions outside major capital cities (like Sydney or Melbourne), while 'outer suburbs' refers to residential areas on the distant outskirts of these metropolises. When department stores cut costs, these non-central locations are typically the first to face closures due to lower foot traffic.
EN: The conjunction 'Because' introduces a subordinate clause of cause and effect (adverbial clause). When the adverbial clause comes before the main clause, a comma is placed between them.
Because the company expanded too quickly, it faced serious cash flow problems.
EN: The idiom 'at risk' functions as a prepositional phrase meaning 'in danger of being lost, harmed, or destroyed'. It often follows linking verbs like 'be'.
Without immediate financial support, hundreds of small businesses are at risk.
Key vocabulary words with IPA pronunciation, definitions, example sentences, and interactive quizzes.
Phrases with type tags, bilingual definitions, usage notes, and example sentences.
A formal process where an insolvent company places itself in the hands of an independent administrator to assess future options.
To fail to keep up a schedule or make payments on time.
To fail or collapse, especially in negotiations or relationships.
In a dangerous situation or vulnerable to loss, harm, or damage.