My English class

Collocations: have and take

2012-01-22T22:03:00.000+01:00

Image: 'Day 092/366 - To Do List' http://www.flickr.com/photos/26104563@N00/2381294958 A collocation is a combination of words that occurs frequently enough to be recognized as a common combination. When learning a foreign language, it’s really useful to learn collocations instead of single words, because they are much easier to remember and, by using them, you will sound more natural

House or home? Types of dwellings

2011-12-30T23:58:00.000+01:00

The difference between these two nouns is not always clear. A house is a type of building where someone lives. It is intended to be used by just one family and it may have more than one floor.Home is the place where someone lives and feels that they belong to. Your home can be a house, an apartment or a farm, but if you live there, that’s your home.However, you can also find the term home with

Santa Claus: a universal symbol of Christmas

2011-12-24T17:57:00.000+01:00

The idea of Christmas is intimately connected to the image of a chubby old man dressed in red and wearing black boots and belt and a white beard. This man, called Santa Claus, St Nick, or just Santa, is the personification of Christmas. It seems that you can’t have one without the other. But in fact, while Christmas has been celebrated for many centuries, Santa Claus, as he is known today, is

Wear, dress or put on?

2011-12-08T22:27:00.001+01:00

Some students get confused with these three verbs. Dress and put on are quite similar, but the former is intransitive and the latter always takes an object. She always dresses in dark colours Image: 'IMG_2897 Leather dress from behind' http://www.flickr.com/photos/67575879@N03/6154818221 Dress is an intransitive verb, that is, it doesn’t have an object: She always dresses in dark colours.

Two years old!

2011-11-20T22:40:00.001+01:00

It was November 2009 when I started writing this blog. At the beginning it was just an assignment for a course on Web 2.0 I was doing, but it soon caught on me, and I kept writing about grammar points my students find difficult to understand, or cultural topics, because learning a language is not just a matter of grammar or vocabulary, but also of the habits and culture of the people that speak

Between or among?

2011-11-13T15:37:00.001+01:00

Between, betwixt, among, amongst, amid, amidst are all prepositions and their meanings are quite similar, that’s why students of English are often confused about their use. Between and among are the most widely used, as the others are more formal (amid) or even archaic, that is, they are no longer used by speakers, and can only be found in written or literary texts. That's the case of betwixt,

7 billion people

2011-11-01T23:37:00.001+01:00

You must have heard in the news that the world population has reached 7 billion people these days. They even show images of a baby that, according to the United Nations, is supposed to be the 7 billionth person in the world. I wonder how they can be so sure of that, as it is estimated that 5 babies are born in the planet every second! Anyway, I suppose it is just symbolic. Image by AFP here

Have or have got?

2011-10-31T00:21:00.001+01:00

Compare these two sentences: “I have a new car”. “I have got a new car” Do they have the same meaning? Image in: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037382/ Yes, they do. Both have and have got can be used to express possession, but have got is considered to be more colloquial than have, and in more informal contexts, speakers even tend to drop have: I’ve got a problem (informal) I got a

English place names

2011-10-02T22:59:00.001+02:00

This summer I have spent a wonderful fortnight in Bedford, a beautiful market town north of London, by the river Great Ouse. It’s not very far from Oxford, and that made me think of the coincidence in the ending of these two names. In fact, there are many towns or villages whose names contain the suffix -ford. Not only that, there is an important number of endings that get repeated over and

How many names does zero have?

2011-09-01T23:54:00.001+02:00

One of the things my students find incredible about the English language is that a figure like zero should have so many different names. Have you ever come to think about it? I don’t know if this happens in other languages, but at least it doesn’t happen in Spanish... It’s not only that it has many names, but also they are used in different contexts. Let’s have a look: Zero. This word derives

The influence of Indian languages in English

2011-08-21T18:14:00.001+02:00

One of the characteristics of English is its facility to acquire new words from other languages and insert them in the corpus of the language. Though it is a Germanic language, a great part of its vocabulary comes from Latin, either directly from this classic language or through the Romance languages, especially French. But English has also been influenced by languages that are spoken in far

Where does the English language come from?

2011-07-28T10:10:00.001+02:00

Most European languages and many others from southern and western parts of Asia belong to the Indo-European group of languages, which includes languages spoken by almost three billion native speakers all around the world. Two of these are the most widely spoken languages in the world: Spanish and English, which come from different branches of the common Indo-European trunk. This picture

Both, either, neither

2011-07-15T13:49:00.001+02:00

We use both, either and neither when we are talking about two things. Both is used with plural nouns to mean “the two” or “the one as well as the other”. Either can have two pronunciations: / ˈiːðər/ (mainly in American English) and / ˈaɪðər / and means “one or the other”. Neither can also have two pronunciations: / ˈniːðər/ (mainly in American English) and /ˈnaɪðə(r)/ and means “not

Holiday or vacation?

2011-06-30T00:27:00.000+02:00

The end of June is, for teachers in Spain at least, synonymous with the beginning of the summer holidays. The last few weeks are usually hectic, with classes in the morning and meetings in the afternoon and evening, followed by dinners out with fellow teachers or students, and it's only when you finish the last class that you come to realize that “this is it”, the holidays have started. Holiday

Boring or bored? Adjectives ending in -ed or -ing

2011-06-13T00:07:00.000+02:00

In English there is an important group of adjectives that are derived from verbs. They are formed by adding a suffix to the roots of verbs. These suffixes are -ed and -ing. For example, from the verb to relax you can have two adjectives: relaxed and relaxing. These adjectives are, in fact, present participles (-ing) and past participles (-ed) of verbs that are used as adjectives. Have a look at

Have/get something done

2011-06-04T17:57:00.000+02:00

The structure we are going to have a look at today is quite difficult to understand for Spanish speakers, because it doesn't exist in this language. A typical mistake my students make is to say “I will cut my hair tomorrow”, when they really mean that they are going to tell the hairdresser to cut their hair. They don't realize that for an English speaker that sentence means that that person is

To marry or to get married?

2011-06-03T00:17:00.000+02:00

On April 29th the future king of Great Britain got married to the beautiful Katherine Middleton in a magnificent ceremony that was broadcast to millions (some even say billions) of viewers all over the world. I told my students to write a composition on the topic of the Royal Wedding and when it came to marking, I realized that they didn't know how to use the verb to marry correctly. The problem

Connectors showing cause and result

2011-05-25T23:13:00.000+02:00

Connectors or linkers are words or groups of words that help us connect words, phrases or sentences. Thanks to them, we can express relationships between ideas and improve our expression by making longer, more complex sentences. For example, take these two sentences: Our teacher was ill. We had to put off the exam. The first sentence is the cause of the second, and the second is the result of the

What / how ... like?

2011-05-14T21:44:00.000+02:00

There are several expressions that are quite similar and pose problems for learners of English because they don’t know when to use one or another. These expressions are:What does she look like? What is she like? How does she look? How is she? We should take into account that the word like in these cases is not a verb but a preposition. When it follows the verb look, it means "to resemble" or "to

Conditional sentences

2011-05-01T11:39:00.000+02:00

A conditional sentence is a type of subordinate clause that states a hypothesis or condition that can be real or imagined. They are usually introduced by the conjunction if, but there are other possibilities, like unless, providing, as long as, in case (of), etc. Created with Wordle There are four different types of conditional sentences, but some linguists consider that they can be reduced to

International Book Day and St. George's Day

2011-04-23T18:19:00.000+02:00

April 23rd was declared International Book Day by UNESCO in 1995, but it has been celebrated as such in Spain since 1923. The reason why this day was chosen to represent the book is that two of the greatest writers in the world, Cervantes and Shakespeare, died on 23rd April 1616, and in the case of Shakespeare, he was also born on that day in 1564. Isn't it a coincidence?

Shade or shadow?

2011-04-20T16:55:00.000+02:00

Foreign languages would be easier to learn if they followed the same pattern of the mother tongue: if they had exactly the same grammatical structure and the words were exact equivalents... But, unfortunately, this is just wishful thinking and things are much more difficult. Not only are there differences in grammar but also words don't describe the same realities and it's very common that you

Easter traditions

2011-04-13T22:52:00.000+02:00

In many countries, when children think of Easter, they think of eggs, rabbits and chicks. But what do these have to do with the Passion of Jesus Christ? Well, nothing at all. The rabbits and the eggs, though associated with the Christian tradition, are actually of pagan origin. In fact, the name “Easter” comes from a pagan goddess, Eostra, who was a deity related to spring and fertility. Her

Wet, damp, moist and other words of the same semantic field

2011-04-08T16:37:00.002+02:00

Wet, damp, moist,...Which of these words would you use to describe something that has got water or another liquid on its surface? They are not exact equivalents, and sometimes it's difficult for learners of English to spot the difference in nuance. We are going to see their meanings and we'll also add some other words of the same semantic field. Adjectives: Wet is used when something is full

More glogs created by my 3º ESO students

2011-04-05T19:40:00.000+02:00

About a month ago, I published a few of the glogs my students have made about the topic I suggested: "English speaking countries". Here are some more. Aren't they fantastic? I'm very pleased with their work! And they learnt how to make them in a jiffy. It just took one hour in the computer classroom and they finished the glogs at home. They are great students! This glog is by Antonio Romero:

Too and enough

2011-03-29T23:19:00.000+02:00

For the difference between these two words, have a look at this presentation: What many of my students find more difficult about this topic is to remember the order of enough with adjectives and nouns. A good tip is to learn an example by heart. The lyrics of a song might help as well, because you hear them so often that the order of the words remain in your memory. A good song to remember the

Daylight saving time

2011-03-27T20:11:00.000+02:00

Twice a year, many people around the world have to reset their clocks to adjust to the new official time: we put one hour forward in spring and one hour back in autumn. This happens in most countries of the northern hemisphere and in some of the southern one, and started about a century ago, during the First World War in Germany. Image: 'Eternal clock' http://www.flickr.com/photos/21046489@N06

Negative prefixes before adjectives

2011-03-25T20:23:00.002+01:00

We can form the opposite of many adjectives or give the negative meaning by adding a negative prefix. (a prefix is a syllable that goes before a word) There is no fixed rule for adding one prefix or another, so students have to get familiar with these words in order to use them correctly. Happy and unhappy faces Image in: http://www.cute-wallpaper.com/ecards/smiley-face/ There are many

The order of adjectives

2011-03-19T23:00:00.000+01:00

In English, most adjectives go before the noun they qualify. The problem comes when there are several adjectives and one has to decide in which order they should go. For example, how would you describe the lady in the picture? Image: 'Marie' http://www.flickr.com/photos/21245573@N00/884846015 She is young, beautiful and red-haired.She is a____________ ___________ ___________ lady. In which

The largest earthquake in living history has hit Japan

2011-03-13T15:28:00.000+01:00

When you hear that an earthquake has struck Japan, you give a sigh of relief, you know that the risk of loss of people is smaller than in other countries because they are so used to tremors that they are really well prepared to face them: buildings are built to suffer the shaking of the earth, and people are trained to behave accordingly in the situation. But this time the largest eathquake in

Mardi Gras

2011-03-06T11:21:00.000+01:00

It's carnival time and millions of people go out in the streets to enjoy and indulge before Lent, which is a time of fasting and penitence for Catholics and lasts forty days, ending on Easter Sunday. Carnival goes on for several days before Ash Wednesday, and the last day is called Shrove Tuesday or Fat Tuesday. The French call this day “Mardi Gras”, and that's how carnival is known in New

Other, others and another

2011-03-03T00:27:00.000+01:00

A typical mistake my students make:* I like learning English but I don't like learning others languages.Others is not the plural form of other. Other can be an adjective or a pronoun, while others is always a pronoun. Have a look at these examples:Susan was at the meeting with three other teachers. (adjective)Have you got any other questions? (adjective)I prefer this car to any other. (pronoun)

Glogs created by my 3º ESO students

2011-02-24T16:18:00.000+01:00

These are some of the glogs that my 3º ESO students have made about an English-speaking country. As you can see, the quality is very good for 14-year-olds who are doing English as a second language, being French their first foreign language. Congratulations, class! Read about the project here. Glog by Carlos Ruiz Glog by Lucía Ruiz Gil Glog by Daniel López and José Mª Díaz

Languages and dialects

2011-02-21T18:50:00.000+01:00

Learning a foreign language opens up new opportunities and gives you perspectives in the personal, professional and social fronts. In the world there are about 6000 languages and many more dialects. But, what is the difference between language and dialect? A language is a system of communication that uses sounds, symbols and words in order to express a meaning or idea. A dialect is a regional

Rob or steal?

2011-02-20T00:55:00.002+01:00

Both verbs have the same meaning but different structure: rob someone of somethingsteal something from someone As you can see, steal is used when we refer to the thing that is stolen, while rob is used when we refer to the person or place from which something has been stolen.For example:They stole $1 million from the bank.They robbed the bank of $1 million. Both sentences mean the same, but the

St. Valentine's Day

2011-02-13T20:06:00.001+01:00

It's the middle of February and if we watch any TV at all, we are constantly reminded that St. Valentine's Day is coming near and... have you bought your loved ones a present to show them how much you love them? Well, if you haven't, they will give you plenty of advice as to what to buy. image: 'Vintage valentine' http://www.flickr.com/photos/67016001@N00/371190050 Some people say that this

So and such

2011-02-13T00:34:00.000+01:00

So and such can be used as emphasizers, that is, words that help us put the stress on something.So is used with adjectives or adverbs, while such is used with nouns (with or without adjectives).This car goes so fast! (adverb)He's so intelligent! (adjective)He's such an intelligent man! (noun) Image: 'the writing on the wall' by ugod http://www.flickr.com/photos/27513492@N00/3254159848 Notice

Project work for 3º ESO F

2011-02-11T11:17:00.001+01:00

During this month the students of 3º ESO F will be working on a project about English-speaking countries. The idea is to use an interesting tool: Glogster. With Glogster you can create an interactive poster and make it public so that it can be seen anywhere in the world. Besides, glogs can be embedded in blogs and websites, and in them you can add photos, videos, podcasts, texts... Have a look at

Collocations: make and do

2011-02-07T17:27:00.000+01:00

Do and make are two verbs with similar meanings, and sometimes it's difficult to choose one or the other.Make often expresses the idea of creation:Let's make a cake!Do is used to talk about an activity without saying exactly what it is.What are you doing?Do is always used with something, anything, everything, nothing...Come on, boys, do something! http://awfullibrarybooks.net/wp-content/uploads/

A map of the predominant surnames in the USA

2011-01-30T17:13:00.000+01:00

I have recently come across this very interesting map published by National Geographic. Map: Mina Liu; Oliver Uberti, NGM Staff. Source: James Cheshire, Paul Longley, and Pablo Mateos, University College London. It shows the most common surnames in the different states of the USA. The bigger the name, the more common it is. The colours are given according to the origin of the name, thus, red

Future tenses

2011-01-29T21:00:00.000+01:00

There are many ways to express the future in English, but there are only four tenses that are termed “future”:future simple: will+ infintive I will study tomorrow future continuous: will be + V-ing Tomorrow at this time I will be studying English future perfect: will have + past participle By the end of this week I will have finished my exams. Future prerfect continuous: will have

A useful tool for learning vocabulary

2011-01-22T00:43:00.000+01:00

I usually tell my students that learning a language is like building a house: you need a strong structure, but you also need bricks. Otherwise, your house will look more like a skeleton! In a language, grammar is the structure and words are the bricks. Learning a lot of grammar but very little vocabulary won't help you at all to understand and be uderstood in that language.

How to pronounce "ch" in English words

2011-01-18T23:00:00.000+01:00

The digraph “ch” can be pronounced in four different ways in English. How can this be possible? Though it is a Germanic language, English has borrowed words from many other languages that it's been in contact with through the centuries, but most influences come from French and the classic languages Greek and Latin. English letters and letter combinations of Greek origin or influence While most

Singular nouns with plural verbs

2011-01-15T00:29:00.001+01:00

Which one of these sentences is correct?: “The band were playing” or “The band was playing”? Havana Streetband http://www.flickr.com/photos/44124385307@N01/63602/ Especially in British English, certain singular words which refer to groups of people can be used as if they were plural. This happens when we consider the group as individuals. In this case, the verb that follows is in the plural,

Shops and food vocabulary

2011-01-10T17:25:00.000+01:00

It's sale season and most people enjoy going out shopping. Do you? This exercise is good for beginners to learn some vocabulary related to shops and the food sold in them. Click on the images and you will hear the words. Then you can do the activities. Enjoy shopping!

New Year's Day

2011-01-01T21:04:00.000+01:00

Even though it's titled War, U2's third album has been described as “the record where the band turned pacifism into a crusade”. Of all the songs in the album, two stand out particularly: Sunday Bloody Sunday and New Year's Day. The first one is about a terrible incident in Northern Ireland in which a group of civil rights defenders were shot by the British Army with a result of fourteen dead

For+object+to-infinitive

2010-12-30T22:02:00.001+01:00

The structure for + object + to-infinitive (where the object is the noun, pronoun or noun phrase that receives or is affected by the action of the verb) is often used after certain adjectives. It's important for me to finish this essay on time.It's essential for him to sign the will in front of a witness. Image: 'more writing' http://www.flickr.com/photos/34817627605@N01/8955308 The same meaning

Been or gone?

2010-12-28T18:44:00.000+01:00

Compare the following sentences:He's gone to LondonHe's been to London Image: 'London Eye & Big Ben at sunset' http://www.flickr.com/photos/85903370@N00/2403610781 Do they mean the same? The answer is no. Sometimes it's confusing for learners of English to use one or the other, especially when you can see both been and gone as the past participle of the verb to go in most manuals. You use

Boxing Day

2010-12-26T22:07:00.000+01:00

The 26th of December is known in Britain as Boxing Day. There are several theories regarding the origin of the name, but it's probably called so because from remote times, servants and other workers used to receive boxes full of food and gifts as a present for the Chistmas period. Boxing day is also St. Stephen's Day (which is how this festivity is known in Ireland), and legend has it, it was on

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-14T19:21:00.001+01:00

The Christmas holiday is drawing near and everywhere there are lights and decorations that cheer the dull winter evenings. Santa Claus movies are back on television and Christmas carols can be heard in supermarkets and malls. There's hardly a festive season that is more widely celebrated all over the world than Christmas. Cheering up is what we need during exam time and if there is a feelgood

How to pronounce the final -ed in verbs

2010-12-11T23:43:00.001+01:00

The final -ed in verbs in the past or past participles has three different pronunciations, depending on the sound that precedes it. Those verbs ending in /d/ or /t/ need to have another syllable so that people realise that they are in the past. decide /dɪ'saɪd/ --> decided /dɪ'saɪdɪd/ want /wɔ:nt / --> wanted /wɔ:ntɪd / In the above examples -ed is pronounced /ɪd/. In the rest of the verbs, -ed

Basic vocabulary crosswords

2010-12-08T20:04:00.001+01:00

Let's do some crosswords to revise basic vocabulary of different semantic fields. Click on the labels under the images to open the crossword page. Once there, click on a number in the grid to see the definitions. If you get stuck, click on "hint" and you will be given a letter. Have fun! Hat tip to El Tinglado. Images in http://hcmc.uvic.ca/clipart/ FURNITURE COUNTRIES AND NATIONALITIES

The present perfect versus the past simple

2010-12-07T19:58:00.000+01:00

It's quite easy to learn the tenses in English, but I think the present perfect tense is the most difficult, at least for Spanish speakers, because it is not always translated by the same tense in that language: it is usally translated by "pretérito perfecto compuesto", but in some cases you must use the present simple, and even a verbal periphrasis: I have never been to a theme park. Nunca he

This blog is one year old!

2010-12-05T19:26:00.000+01:00

Glitterfy.com - Happy Birthday Glitter Graphics It's one year and a couple of weeks since I started writing in this blog, and to celebrate it, what about having a look again at the best cartoons of the week? Most of them have been taken from Time and others from the web So much pun.com I hope you have found them funny, witty and thought-provoking. I would also like to snatch the opportunity to

Thanksgiving Day

2010-11-25T13:26:00.000+01:00

Thanksgiving is celebrated in the USA on the 4th Thursday of November. It is a celebration in which families get together for a wonderful dinner that includes turkey, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie and they give away presents and later watch the football on TV. Image in http://www.flickr.com/photos/24882165@N07/4102336245 Related to other Harvest festivities, Thanksgiving dates back to 1621

Don't touch my junk!

2010-11-23T19:50:00.001+01:00

Have you heard this expression recently and don't know what it means? MIKE LUCKOVICH / ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION You have surely heard about the new scanners that are being installed at airports that show images of bodies in detail and are rightfully criticized by those who want to preserve some degree of privacy? Well, apparently, one of these people who opted out of the full body scan,

Prepositions of time: at, on, in.

2010-11-21T23:41:00.000+01:00

With this presentation you will learn the use of at, in and on before time expressions. In the last slide there are some exercises that will help you check what you have learnt.

An interview with Emma Watson

2010-11-20T18:01:00.000+01:00

This week has seen the premier of the latest Harry Potter film, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1”, which is going to be the penultimate movie in the series. It is based in J. K. Rowling's last book, but the movie version has been divided in two parts and we won't be able to see the end of the story till 2011.All the Potter books have been really successful and so have the films

Remembrance Day

2010-11-10T23:21:00.000+01:00

You probably have seen many people wearing paper poppies on their lapels these days.Photo: "Lest We Forget" The red poppy stands as a symbol of remembrance: by wearing it on our chests, close to our hearts, we remember those people that died at war. But, of all the flowers, why the poppy? Because it was the only plant that grew in the barren fields of northern France and Flanders after the great

Past tenses

2010-11-05T21:26:00.000+01:00

In English there are four past tenses: Past simple: I worked / you studied / we did (irregular form) Past continuous: I was working / You were studying / He was doing Past perfect: I had worked / you had studied / He had done Past perfect continuous: I had been working / you had been studying / We had been doing The present perfect tense (I have worked) is not, strictly speaking, a past tense

The parts of the body

2010-11-04T22:45:00.000+01:00

With this basic presentation you will learn the parts of the body. There are some exercises at the end to check how much you have learnt. Have fun! Parts of the body View more presentations from Inma Dominguez.

Halloween

2010-10-29T20:04:00.000+02:00

The spookiest night of the year is getting nearer. Thousands of children dressed up as little devils, vampires or witches will go out to the streets to terrorize the neighbourhood: “trick or treat”, they will say and people will fill their bags with sweets and even money. This anglo-saxon tradition is quickly spreading to other countries thanks to the influence of American films and culture.

Arrive in, at or to?

2010-10-26T19:30:00.000+02:00

One of the typical mistakes my students make is using the preposition "to" with the verb "arrive".For example: *We arrived to London.The preposition “to” can never follow the verb “arrive”, because it is a preposition of movement and the verb is not. Instead of “to”, we can use “at” or “in”, but, when should we use one or the other? The answer is easy:We use “at” when we get to a small place

Prepositions of place and movement

2010-10-24T12:12:00.000+02:00

A preposition is a part of speech that links nouns, pronouns or phrases to other words in the sentence. There are three types of prepositions:Time prepositions, used to show a point in time. Place prepositions, used to indicate a location or position. Direction prepositions, used to show movement from one place to another. Sometimes it's difficult for a learner of foreign languages to use

John Lennon: a dreamer

2010-10-09T23:51:00.000+02:00

If he hadn't been killed on December 8 1980, John Lennon would have turned 70 today. Image: 'you may say i'm a dreamer' http://www.flickr.com/photos/20005495@N00/27828904 Born in Liverpool, he was co-founder of one of the most famous bands of all times, The Beatles, for which he composed numerous songs, most of them with his friend Paul McCartney. In a few years, the band became famous all

There is / there are

2010-10-07T19:39:00.000+02:00

Jobs

2010-10-07T18:33:00.000+02:00

Personal Pronouns and the verb "to be"

2010-09-27T17:33:00.000+02:00

This i s a basic presentation for beginners. I use it with my ESPA (adult) students. There are some follow up exercises at the end. Pronouns and the verb to be View more presentations from Inma Dominguez.

Summer reading

2010-09-18T21:27:00.000+02:00

Lying on a sunbed under the dappled shade of a tree by the sea or the swimmingpool with a book in my hand is my idea of a relaxed, happy summer time. During the school year, with so many things to do and think about there is but little time to spend in leisure reading and, by the time I go to bed, I'm so tired that I can manage just a couple of pages before falling asleep and in that way I hardly

Trip or travel?

2010-07-28T01:19:00.001+02:00

Sometimes my students get confused when using these two words. The difference is quite simple: “travel” is mostly used as a verb, whereas “trip” is a noun. Thus, you can say: “I will travel to Croatia this summer.” “ I will go on a trip to Croatia this summer.”“Travel” can also be used as an uncountable noun meaning “travelling in general”:“People say travel broadens the mind”“Air travel is

Waka Waka

2010-07-13T00:38:00.002+02:00

Images in FlickrCC: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sanfora/sets/72157624133367427/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/36613169@N00/164281467 Well, it's over! The World Cup is over. 32 countries sent their best footballers to South Africa with just one goal in mind: to be the winners. During the five or six weeks that the competition lasts, millions of people all over the world place their

Clairvoyant octopus

2010-07-10T00:49:00.001+02:00

It's unbelievable! Half the world has been following the predictions of an octopus for the winners of the South Africa World Cup matches. I must admit it's the first time I hear about a gastropod that predicts the future in the way of a Roman augur or a sibyl at Delphi. Marine life mosaic in Pompei

Few / a few, little / a little, fewer /less

2010-06-13T21:05:00.001+02:00

Sometimes it's difficult to know when to use few or a few, little or a little. First of all, we should know that few is used with plural nouns, whereas little is used with uncountable nouns, which are always singular. There are few apples in the basket. We have little hope of success. Without articles, few and little have a rather negative meaning: not much / many. In the above examples: There

Adverbs and adjectives

2010-05-30T15:27:00.006+02:00

Adjectives qualify a noun while adverbs modify verbs. In fact, the word "adverb" means "next to a verb" in latin. Many adverbs derive from adjectives. Most of them are formed by adding the suffix -ly to the adjective. The adjectives ending in -ble just drop the final -e and add -y, while those adjectives that end in -y drop it and add -ily. Some examples are: quick quickly comfortable

The present perfect tense

2010-05-15T15:53:00.000+02:00

Watch this presentation and then do the exercises below: Present Perfect (1) View more presentations from Achkasov. The present perfect with just, yet, already Put the verbs in brackets in the present perfect For or since? Have you ever...?

Present perfect test

2010-05-10T22:55:00.003+02:00

Countable and uncountable nouns

2010-05-07T20:50:00.000+02:00

Watch this presentation about countable and uncountable nouns and then do the exercises below. Countable and uncountable nouns View more presentations from Inma Dominguez. Decide which nouns are countable and which nouns are uncountable Food partitive exercises Partitive crossword Choose the correct partitive A /an / some /any

Vale a pena ficar de olho nesse blog award

2010-04-23T23:53:00.000+02:00

This blog has just received this award from one of the persons I've been following since I started blogging five months ago: Patricia Pérez Miguel, from Buenos Aires, Argentina. This means that for her, this blog is one of ten blogs worth visiting and I feel honoured! Thank you very much Patricia! Here is my list of ten blogs worth visiting: The English You Need Blog Free Technology for Teachers

Volcanoes

2010-04-18T20:16:00.001+02:00

A volcano of unpronounceable name, the Eyjafjallajökull, in Iceland, is causing havoc in airports in Europe and all over the world. Who doesn't know a person that has been caught in this nightmare of cancelled flights and left stranded in a foreign country, or at home deprived of the long-awaited holidays? Image: 'Eruption of EyjafjallajÃ¶kull Volcano, Iceland April 17+[Detail]' http://

What's the weather like?

2010-04-18T12:43:00.005+02:00

Learning weather words in English is not as easy as it seems. Because it is a recurrent conversation topic and, in great part, due to the changeable nature of the weather in Britain, the variety of weather words in English is considerable. So much so, that sometimes it's difficult to find an equivalent in Spanish. In the following video we are going to hear some people talk about the weather.

Ten horse idioms

2010-04-11T19:12:00.002+02:00

From Queen Boudicca to the races in Ascot, the horse has always been part of life in Britain. The Celts, who arrived in Britain around 500 BC, worshiped horses and carved them on chalk hills in southern England. It is not known how many of them have been lost through the years but it is believed that there were hundreds of them. Image: 'White Horse Folkestone' http://www.flickr.com/photos/

Possessive adjectives and pronouns

2010-04-06T19:59:00.003+02:00

The plural of words ending in "f", "fe"

2010-04-03T17:53:00.000+02:00

April Fools Day

2010-04-01T18:27:00.002+02:00

April 1st is generally known as April Fools Day. It's celebrated in many countries around the world. The origin of such a day is not very clear, though some people trace it back to the times of Chaucer, the 14th Century English writer. In Spain, the tradition of playing jokes on gullible people is celebrated on the 28th of December and it is related to the slaughter of innocent children ordered

The history of Easter

2010-03-24T12:59:00.001+01:00

Easter is coming near. It is celebrated in many countries of the world, but not in the same way. In many European countries and in the U.S.A., people give away chocolate eggs and bunnies. To learn more about this tradition, have a look at this video and then answer the questions.

The history of Easter

In this link you will find more information about Easter. Besides more information,

Flags of the world

2010-03-21T11:54:00.000+01:00

How good are you with flags? And with the names of countries in English? With this test you can check how much you know. You are given some clues to help you but some flags are difficult to locate. Good luck!

Flags A to Z

The history of St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-14T23:06:00.001+01:00

On March 17th, millions of Irish people all over the world celebrate St. Patrick's Day wearing green clothes and shamrock (a three-leafed clover), drinking green beer and participating in parades. Green is so much associated with this day that in some cities like Chicago they even dye the river in that colour! But why is St. Patrick so important in Ireland? Well, he was a Roman priest that

The London Eye

2010-03-10T15:32:00.003+01:00

Image in Flickrcc:http://www.flickr.com/photos/38073239@N00/3315490863 The London Eye, the biggest ferris wheel in Europe, is celebrating its tenth birthday these days. It was built to celebrate the 2000 Millenium, but it was not until March 2000 when it was open to the public. It's 135 metres tall and it's got 32 egg-shaped passenger capsules, each of which can fit up to 25 people. It moves so

Learning English can be fun!

2010-03-06T00:58:00.000+01:00

Learning English can be fun. Have a look at this video and discover how Manuel is enjoying while practising his English and cleaning at the same time. Meanwhile, the Major is astonished to see a moose head talking and Mr. Fawlty thinks he's had too much to drink! This video is a little excerpt from the wonderful series "Fawlty Towers", produced by the BBC in the 1970s. It takes place in a

Singing in the rain

2010-03-03T00:05:00.000+01:00

Meteorologists say this has been the rainiest winter in southern Spain so far since records started, and I guess they must be right. Just have a look out there: it's still raining! We are not used to so much rain, but let's look on the bright side: there won't be any restrictions on water consumption next summer!! Don´t be under the weather because every cloud has its silver lining. Pay heed to

The Abbey Road studios in London

2010-02-28T14:49:00.002+01:00

A few days ago, we heard the sad news that the Abbey Road Studios, where The Beatles recorded most of their albums, was up for sale. Fortunately, the British Government made it a listed building and now EMI, the music company that owns the studios, says it's not for sale any more. According to British laws, listed buildings cannot be altered or changed, especially in the outside aspect. Not only

Ways to express the future: Will and going to

2010-02-21T19:07:00.006+01:00

Have a look at this presentation about the future tenses and then try doing these exercises: Will (affirmative, negative, interrogative)Going to (negative)Will or going to? Future Tenses View more presentations from rosarioa.slide.

Travel the world

2010-02-20T19:23:00.001+01:00

How much do you know about the world? Try this questionnaire. Travel The World Quiz

My English video. East blue group

2010-02-19T21:06:00.003+01:00

Means of transport wordsearch

2010-02-19T20:41:00.002+01:00

Means of transport word search game » word search puzzle maker

Why should we read?

2010-02-17T11:39:00.001+01:00

I always remind my students that reading in English is really important to get a grasp of the language. Reading is one of the basic skills together with writing, listening and speaking. In this presentation by denbe01 on Photopeach there are many more reasons for reading. I hope you enjoy it! Why I Like to Read on PhotoPeach

Happy New Chinese Year!

2010-02-13T18:59:00.001+01:00

These days Chinese people all over the world are celebrating the new year, which is called the Year of the Tiger. These celebrations last for 15 days and consist of family reunions, socialising and amusements. On New Year's Eve they have a special family dinner in which they honour their ancestors. The last day of the celebrations is called Lantern Day because people carry lanterns in the

My English Video Project. The Kitty girls' video

2010-02-08T22:41:00.000+01:00

The origin of St.Valentine´s Day

2010-02-08T00:36:00.004+01:00

How much do you know about the origin of this holiday? Watch the video and answer the questions! <p>&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;The origin of St.Valentine´s Day &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;</p>

Irregular plurals

2010-02-07T20:57:00.001+01:00

Most nouns in English form the plural adding "-s", but those ending in "ch, sh, s, o" add "-es". Examples: house - houses; match - matches; bush - bushes; bus - buses; potato - potatoes. As happens to all the rules, there are exeptions: photo - photos; piano - pianos, and others. Nouns ending in "-y" change this to "-ies": baby- babies. Those could be considered regular plurals, but there are