Sunday, 3 March 2013

Conditional sentences

TYPES

Type 1
If present, future
If present, present (universal truth)
If present, modal can/may
If present, imperative
Type 2
If past, would
Type 3
If past perfect, would have+participle

Type 1
If he doesn´t put on his coat, he will get a cold
If you heat ice, it melts
If I cook, you can do the laundry
If he comescall me at once

Type 2
If they came on time, we would go for a walk
If I were you, I would choose English instead

Type 3
If they had got up earlier, they would have caught the bus

Sunday, 10 February 2013

Too/enough

Yesterday morning I wanted to make a cake but I didn´t have enough flour, so I went to the supermarket and got some. When I arrived home, I realised I didn´t have enough sugar; it was too late to go back to the supermarket, so I knocked on my neighbour´s door and he lent me a little. Once in the kitchen, while I was mixing the eggs and the flour, I dropped the sugar bowl and put too much sugar in the mixture! What a mess! I had to add more flour, but I didn´t have enough milk, so I knocked on my neighbour´s door again and he kindly gave me some. While I was going home, I tripped over a stone and I spilt the milk on the ground. Now I didn´t have enough milk to add to the mixture. I went back to my neighbour´s house. He was having a tea party with some friends and invited me to stay for a while. The tea was too hot for me to drink and asked for some cold milk. The others looked at me in amazement and said, "Is the tea not cold enough for you to drink? We always have it very hot in these meetings, it´s a tradition". I had it as fast as I could and left the room. On my way home I stopped at a bakery and bought a cake. I promised myself not to try to make a cake any more in my life.

ACTIVITY: Write sentences of your own and rephrase them as the example by using too and enough:
                    The suitcase is too heavy for me to lift
                    The suitcase is not light enough for me to lift

Tuesday, 1 January 2013

New Year´s Resolutions

A resolution is a decision or plan someone has in mind in order to change habits or lifestyle. They are usually made at the beginning of a new year.
Example:     I am going to give up smoking
                    I am going to eat more vegetables

ACTIVITY: Look at  pictures and write about your own New Year´s resolutions



           steelcitycrossfit.com                                             paraestarenforma.com                    allsubstance.com



            idiva.com                                                          abcnews.go.com                                 livingfrugaltips.com

Sunday, 30 December 2012

Comparing people and things

ACTIVITY: Have a look at the picture and think about how you can compare the people. Share your ideas with your partners
                   Example: Elisabeth II is shorter than her husband



source: oregonlive.com

You can also practise by clicking here

Thursday, 27 December 2012

Past simple versus past continuous

Pay attention to these sentences:

.- As soon as I finished work, I went home
.- When I arrived home, my sister was ironing her skirt
.- While I was watching TV, my wife was listening to music

Now, think about this: what is the use of the past simple and past continuous in the previous sentences?

ACTIVITY: Write some more examples and share them with your partners



What were you doing yesterday at 11 pm? Watch this video


Wednesday, 26 December 2012

Past simple

We use the past simple to talk about actions that are already finished. This tense can be used to tell fairy tales or short stories. Watch this short tale, you´ll like it!

 

 ACTIVITY: Write your own short story and share it with your partners

Sunday, 23 December 2012

Present simple versus present continuous

Remember that we use the present simple for routines and present continuous for actions happening at the moment of speaking. But there are some occasions when we use the present continuous for temporary actions although they are not happening at the moment of speaking:

Examples:   I usually have a cup of coffee for breakfast, but this week I am also having  toasts with butter and jam because I am on holiday.
                  My sister works in London, but this month she´s working in Paris for an important company 

source: colourbox.com

Another use of present continuous is to talk about future. We need to use a time expression
Examples:     We are going to a seaside resort in two days
                     He is flying to his country next Tuesday

ACTIVITY: Can you give more examples?

Wednesday, 19 December 2012

Present simple

We use the present simple to speak about routines, that is to say, actions that we usually do in our everyday life. Examples:
                            I get up at half past seven
                            I have breakfast at work
                            I go to the cinema on Saturdays

You can also use adverbs of frequency to express how often those actions take place. Remember how to place the adverbs of frequency in the sentence!
Examples:             I am never at home in the morning
                            I always have lunch at work
                            I don´t often go to the theatre

ACTIVITY: Can you tell us about an ordinary day in your life?

Wednesday, 14 November 2012

Do you like English?

Do you think English is important in today´s society? If so, what do you use English for? What´s the best way to learn English?

ACTIVITY: Join this blog and give us your opinion, but first of all watch this video