About this site

What’s in a name?

Tomme + Tampineswhere I grew up = Tompinesthis site

Hello! I’m Tom Ng. I tutor students from primary school all the way to junior college, in English, Mathematics, Social Studies, History, Geography and General Paper, and I also teach English to adults. My youngest student was six years old; my oldest, 76. I have taught, and still teach, people from all over the world: a dozen countries across four continents. This is where I keep the notes, guides and games we use in our lessons.

I grew up in Tampines, in the east of Singapore. When this site needed a name, I squeezed my own name into my old neighbourhood’s: swap one letter, and Tampines becomes Tompines.

A little wordplay

Playing with the sounds and meanings of words like this is called wordplay. Tompines is a blend: it keeps a piece of each word, so you can still hear both. English is full of blends, such as brunch (breakfast + lunch) and smog (smoke + fog).

Spot the wordplay

The writing game on the front page is called Spin a Yarn. To spin a yarn is to tell a story, often a long and colourful one. On this site, you spin three wheels to start yours.

Happy writing,
Tom