Listening

Showing posts with label grammar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grammar. Show all posts

Saturday, 8 March 2014

Simple Present – Present Progressive

Form

Simple PresentPresent Progressive
infinitive
(3rd person singular: infinitive + 's')
I speak
you speak
he / she / it speaks
we speak
they speak
form of 'be' and verb + ing
 
I am speaking
you are speaking
he / she / it is speaking
we are speaking
they are speaking
Exceptions
Exceptions when adding 's' :
  • For can, may, might, must, do not add s.
    Example: he can, she may, it must
  • After o, ch, sh or s, add es.
    Example: do - he does, wash - she washes
  • After a consonant, the final consonant ybecomes ie. (but: not after a vowel)
    Example: worry - he worries
    but: play - he plays
Exceptions when adding 'ing' :
  • Silent e is dropped. (but: does not apply for -ee)
    Example: come - coming
    but: agree - agreeing
  • After a short, stressed vowel, the final consonant is doubled.
    Example: sit - sitting
  • After a vowel, the final consonant l is doubled in British English (but not in American English).
    Example: travel - travelling (British English)
    but: traveling (American English)
  • Final ie becomes y.
    Example: lie - lying
See also explanations on Simple Present and Present Progressive

Use

In general or right now?

Do you want to express that something happens in general or that something is happening right now?
Simple PresentPresent Progressive
in general (regularly, often, never)
Colin plays football every Tuesday.
present actions happening one after another
First Colin plays football, then he watches TV.
right now
Look! Colin is playing football now.
also for several actions happening at the same time
Colin is playing football and Anne is watching.
Signal words
  • always
  • every ...
  • often
  • normally
  • usually
  • sometimes
  • seldom
  • never
  • first
  • then
  • at the moment
  • at this moment
  • today
  • now
  • right now
  • Listen!
  • Look!
Note: The following verbs are usually only used in Simple Present:
be, have, hear, know, like, love, see, smell, think, want

Timetable / Schedule or arrangement?

Do you want to express that something is arranged for the near future? Or do you refer to a time set by a timetable or schedule?
Simple PresentPresent Progressive
action set by a timetable or schedule
The film starts at 8 pm.
arrangement for the near future
I am going to the cinema tonight.

Daily routine or just for a limited period of time?

Do you want to talk about a daily routine? Or do you want to emphasis that something is only going on for a limited (rather short) period of time?
Simple PresentPresent Progressive
daily routine
Bob works in a restaurant.
only for a limited period of time (does not have to happen directly at the moment of speaking)
Jenny is working in a restaurant this week.

Certain Verbs

The following verbs are usually only used in Simple Present (not in the progressive form).
  • state: be, cost, fit, mean, suit
    Example: We are on holiday.
  • possession: belong, have
    Example: Sam has a cat.
  • senses: feel, hear, see, smell, taste, touch
    Example: He feels the cold.
  • feelings: hate, hope, like, love, prefer, regret, want, wish
    Example: Jane loves pizza.
  • brain work: believe, know, think, understand
    Example: I believe you.
  • Introductory clauses for direct speech: answer, ask, reply, say
    Example: “I am watching TV,“ he says.
Click here to do some exercises.

Saturday, 6 July 2013

A, an, the or no article?

Have a look at UNIT 11 C: articles and do the exercises on your CD-Rom (i-Tutor)

A, an or the? Click here.

A, an, the or no article? Click here.

Exercise 1, Exercise 2, Exercise 3, Exercise 4

Watch this video:


Be going to for plans and predictions

Have a look at UNIT 10 B-C: be going to plans and predictions and do the exercises on your CD-Rom (i-Tutor)

Going to: grammar lesson 1. Click here.


Verb tenses: future with 'going to'. Click here.


Exercise 1, Exercise 2, Exercise 3, Exercise 4


Watch this video.


Quantifiers

Have a look at UNIT 9B: quantifiers and do the exercises on your CD-Rom (i-Tutor).

Quantifiers: grammar lesson 1. Click here.


Quantifiers: grammar lesson 2. Click here.




Countable and uncountable nouns

As I promised, here you are some grammar contents that we couldn't work in class and also you can do some exercises to practise.

Have a look at UNIT 9A: countable and uncountable nouns and do the exercises on your CD-Rom (i-Tutor).


Watch this video

Countable and uncountable nouns grammar. Click here

Exercise 1 


Past simple (textbook review)

Hi everybody,

As you know, we didn't finish the textbook so I recommend you to do the exercises of UNIT 8 (pages 60-65) to review the past. Use the CD-Rom (i-Tutor).

Wednesday, 8 May 2013

Past Simple: general review

As we finished the introduction of both regulars and some irregulars, you are now ready to do some exercises combining both. First of all, have a look at this interactive book:
Remember:
* We use past simple to describe past actions, for example, what did they do yesterday? Complete this exercise
*Past simple is necessary when describing someone’s life; do you like football? Here you are Ronaldo’s and Messi’s biography to complete with past simple.

Past Simple: negative sentences + questions



Use the Simple Past to express an action that started and finished at a specific time in the past.
 Simple Past
Signal words
yesterday, last week, a month ago, in 2002, … see previous post on it
I told you we have regular and irregular verbs in the past but negative sentences and questions are similar in both groups. Have a look at the explanation:
Negative sentences:
Use the auxiliary did (Simple Past of do). Remember all subjects take the same form of the verb.
regular verbsirregular verbs
did not play football.did not go to the supermarket.
NOTE: Short forms in negative sentences in the Simple Past are used quite often.
regular verbsirregular verbs
didn’t play football.didn’t go to the supermarket.
Questions: (Wh?) + did + subject + verb ? [ Remember formula (Qu) A+ S+I]Use the auxiliary did (Simple Past of do). Remember all subjects take the same form of the verb. .
regular verbsirregular verbs
Did you play football?Did I go to the supermarket?
 Now, find below some exercises to practise:
negative sentences:1234
questions:0   1234        5

Past Time Expressions



Last month, we studied some prepositions of time. Now we are studying the past, it’s time to add some new expressions:
Time Expressions Often Used in the Past
last- used when speaking about the previous week, month or year
Example: They went on holiday last month.
yesterday- used when speaking about the previous day
Example: I was with my best friend yesterday.
ago- used when speaking about X days, weeks, months, years before. NOTE: ‘ago’ follows the number of days, weeks, etc.
Example: We went to Cleveland three weeks ago.
for- used with a period of time.
Example: We lived in Paris for three years.
when- used with a past time clause
Example: I played tennis when I was a teenager
And, of course, the prepositions of time we studied in January:
Example: She was in Merbourne in 1976.
 I was at school on Monday.
We were at home at 7pm.
Ready to try some exercises? Exercise 1exercise 2, exercise3

Source: EOI Elx

The past simple: irregular verbs


Every language has irregular verbs and English is no exception ! Unfortunately there is no magic formula, you simply have to learn them by heart!
Here is a list. Try to learn the most useful ones first and then learn the others little by little.
Here is a game for you to practise and a crossword .
Some more activities:
Finally a fantastic song by the Beatles

Source: EOI Elx

Past Simple: -ed pronunciation


In the Simple Past, we add -ed to regular verbs. But the question is: How do we pronounce the -ed?
The answer is: In 3 ways – / id/ or / t/ or / d/
* note that it is the sound that is important, not the letter or spelling. For example, “fax” ends in the letter “x” but the sound /s/; “like” ends in the letter “e” but the sound /k/.
If the verb ends in one of these sounds:example :-ed: -ed pronunciation:Do you add an extra syllable?
1./t/wantwantedid/yes, the -e changes to [ɪ]
/d/endended
2./p/stopstoppedt/no, the -e is silent.
/f/laughlaughed
/s/faxfaxed
 /ʃ/washwashed
 /ʧ/watchwatched
/k/likeliked
3.all other soundsplayplayedd/
followfollowed
rainrained
NEVER pronounce /ed/!!!  Whenever you see a word ending in –ed, visualize the “e” as crossed out, if you want to increase your chances of pronouncing it correctly!Crossed out!
Is it clear enough? What’s the final sound of the following verbs? Choose the right one here.
Do you need more practice? Choose the correct “ed” ending sound in these multiple choice exercises. Exercise 1 – Exercise 2 -  Exercise 3 – Exercise 4 – Exercise 5Exercise 6. Don’t worry if you don’t know the meaning of some verbs, focus on their pronunciation.
Final Exam – Practice what you have learned by choosing the correct pronunciation for multiple words written in a paragraph.
Now you are ready to practise some listening. Try this site or this one and, finally, this onecombines present and past pronunciations.
Source: EOI Elx 

Past Simple: -ed spelling


We have two different groups to form the Simple Past:
You have to know all forms of the irregular verbs very well. For the Simple Past you need the form of the verb which can be found in the 2nd column of the table of the irregular verbs. Example: go – went.
90% of verbs are regular verbs so let’s start with regulars first.
Simply add -ed with regular verbs. Example: wait – waited
SPELLING EXCEPTIONS
Sometimes there are exceptions in spelling when adding -ed:
1) verbs with final stressed consonant +vowel+consonant–> double the consonant. Example: stop – stopped
If the final syllable of the word is not stressed, we do not double it. Example: listen- listened (Here we stress the first syllable, not the second.)
If the final consonant in the group consonant+vowel+consonant is x or w, we do not double the consonant. Examples: fix-fixed, show-showed
In British English we ALWAYS double one -l at the end of the word. Example: travel – travelled
2) verbs with -e at the end of the word –> add only -d. Example: love – loved
3) verbs ending in consonant+y –> change ‘y’ to ‘i’ +ed. Example: cry – cried
Careful! verbs ending in vowel +’y' –> add -ed as usual. Example:  play – played
Are you ready to use regular past forms? Try exercises 1234 and 5.

Source: EOI Elx

The simple past: regular verbs


When you form the regular past tense in English you need to pay attention to two things: pronunciation and spelling.
PRONUNCIATION
To form the simple past you simply add -ed to the end of the infinitive and you have the simple past.
-ed can be pronounced in three different ways: /t/, /d/ and /id/.
“T” is a voiceless consonant what we called “sorda” in Spanish that means you will feel no vibration in your throat, just a short explosion of air as you pronounce. These are some voiceless consonants : p, t, k, s, sh, ch, th (as in thing)
“D” is a voiced consonant what we called “sonora” in Spanish that means you feel a vibration in your throat when you pronounce it. These are some voiced consonants : b, d, th (as in then), v, l, r, z, j (as in Jane)
Vowels are always voiced.
If a verb ends in t or d then the -ed will be pronounced as a whole new syllable /id/
So the sound of the past : -ed will assimilate the sound of the preceding sound and so if it is a voiced sound the pronunciation of -ed will be voiced /d/ and if voiceless it will go to /t/.
To sum up, you have three options with the pronunciation of the regular past tense -ed: /t/, /d/ or /id/
Here you have a video to practise
and some interactive exercises:
SPELLING
With most regular verbs, the simple past is created simply by adding -ed. However, with some verbs, you need to add -d or change the ending. Here are the rules:
Verb ending in…How to make the simple pastExamples
eAdd -Dlive arrow to the right lived
date arrow to the right dated
Consonant +yChange y to i, then add -EDtry arrow to the right tried
cry arrow to the right cried
One vowel + one consonant
(but NOT w or y)
Double the consonant, then add -EDtap arrow to the right tapped
commit arrow to the rightcommitted
anything else including wAdd -EDboil arrow to the right boiled
fill arrow to the right filled
hand arrow to the right handed
show arrow to the right showed
Source: EOI Elx