"Yet"和"Updated"

Dr Tan,

　　Would appreciate it if you could advise me on the following:

　　(I) What is the difference between the following sentences?

　　1.(a) I have not received the letter yet.

　　　(b) I have yet to receive the letter.

　　2.(a) The record has been updated.

　　　(b) The record was updated.

　　(II) Is there any error in this sentence: Can you spend me a few minutes?

　　(III) If I wish to register for a English Course, which institution do you think is better?

　　Regards

Dear Lih Wei,

　　1.(a) means: Your letter is not there yet.

　　　(b) means: I'm still waiting for your letter.

　　2.(a) is "present perfect tense", while (b) is "simple past tense". Both refer to the "updated record". In other words, you may use either sentence.

　　3. The sentence should be: "Can you spare me a few minutes.?"

　　4. In this sentence, the article "a" has to be changed to "an" because the noun next to it begins with a vowel sound.

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