Last year I had a great group of 2º ESO students. They were just 12 or 13 years old. However, their level of English was quite high, so I asked them to do a project presentation about Scotland and I was very pleased with the result.
The idea was to create a collaborative presentation with Google Docs. First, I showed them how easy it is to use this web tool. You can see it in this video.
Being digital natives, they had no problem whatsoever to learn the basics. Then, I showed them a presentation with the procedure they had to follow and the questions they had to answer. Here it is:
I also created the presentation they were going to work on. I just put the title and a picture and sent it to their e-mail addresses, enabling them to edit it. I also warned them to be careful not to delete their classmates' work!
And here is their presentation. Isn't it great?
I hope this can be an inspiration for EFL classes, because sometimes it is not easy to find topics for projects.
English is a very creative language in the sense that new words are invented every day, and one easy way to create a new term is to make compound nouns or adjectives. Thus, an animal with cold blood is a cold-blooded animal. Cold-blooded is a compound adjective made up of an adjective and a noun, to which the suffix-ed has been added. This word ending in -ed may look like a participle but in fact it is not, because in order to be a participle, the root has to be a verb, not a noun.
A few more examples:
A man with dark hair and blue eyes is a dark-haired, blue-eyed man.
A person with long legs is a long-legged person.
As you can see, all these examples are formed by adding -ed to an adjective-noun combination. But this is by no means the only one possible. Keep reading to find others.
A compound adjective is a combination of two or more words that works as an adjective. These words can be adjectives, nouns, adverbs or participles, and they can be hyphenated or not. A hyphen is a punctuation mark in the form of a short line (-) that is put between two words to join them.
These compounds can be written as one word (waterproof), two separate words (brick red) or they can be hyphenated (snow-white). The compounds that are used more often tend to appear in one word. Those that combine occasionally but keep their individual meaning tend to use a hyphen. And those that come in two words keep their independent identity. But British and American English don't always use the hyphens in the same word combinations, so, when in doubt, check a good dictionary!
Sometimes, more than two words can be found forming a compound (up-to-date, state-of-the-art,..) These expressions are only found hyphenated when they precede the noun they qualify, but not when they follow linking verbs. Examples: If you are a fashion lover, read these tips to stay up to date. I like to follow the latest up-to-date trends. His house is state of the art. It is full of the latest gadgets. I love state-of-the-art technology.
Let's have a look at the different combinations that we can find: Noun + adjective Trustworthy, blameworthy, duty-free, tax-free, seasick, watertight, waterproof, colour-blind, worldwide, knee-deep, self-conscious, and other compounds that are equivalent to the construction "as...as..." : brick red (as red as brick), stone-cold (as cold as a stone), paper-thin (as thin as paper) Adjective+adjective
A combination of two qualities: bitter-sweet, deaf-mute.
A combination in which the first element takes the suffix -o: socio-economic, Anglo-Saxon, Franco-German, Anglo-American. In this case, all the combinations are hyphenated.
A combination in which the first adjective qualifies the second adjective: dark-blue, red-hot, Roman-Catholic.
Adverb+adjective Evergreen, oversensitive, all-American Noun+present participle Self-defeating, self-denying, heart-breaking, breath-taking, law-abiding, Noun+past participle Self-taught, hand-made, thunderstruck, home-brewed, heart-felt, brightly-lit, open-minded, well-behaved Adjective or adverb+present participle Forthcoming, everlasting, neverending, easygoing, good-looking Adjective or adverb+past participle Far-fetched, well-meant, widespread, new-laid, long-awaited Number+ noun Second-hand, first-rate. Notice that adjectives using numbers, like any other adjectives, are not found in the plural. Thus, a boy who is twelve years old is a twelve-year-old boy, or a tree which measures three metres is a three-metre-tall tree. These expressions with numbers are always hyphenated. Adjective+ noun
Apart from the common formation that we have seen at the beginning of this post, in which the noun takes the suffix -ed, there are other possibilities such as last-minute, deep-sea, ... Noun+noun Part-time Verb+adjective or adverb Feel-good, buy-now, pay-later
And remember that new combinations are always possible. You can create your own adjective!
Let's watch this video about two beautiful brown-eyed girls. Notice that the song by Van Morrison is called "Brown Eyed girl". Why doesn't it have a hyphen? Because you don't need it in titles! Enjoy!
On February 2nd, a curious ceremony takes place in several American States: a group of men dressed in tuxedos and wearing tall hats go to a groundhog’s den and wake him from his hibernation. As the poor creature gets out of his burrow, the men watch his behaviour. Two things can happen: If he gets frightened by his shadow and he goes back to the protection of his lair, that means that there will be still several more weeks of cold winter weather. However, if he decides to stay, the forecast is that spring will come early.
The most famous groundhog in America is Punxsutawney Phil, from Gobblers Knob, Pennsylvania. According to his followers, Phil is the true and only weather forecasting groundhog, and the others are just impostors. They also sustain that there has only been one Phil and that he goes on living thanks to some secret recipe punch that he drinks during the summer: just a sip gives him seven more years’ life. Of course, this must be taken with a pinch of salt, as it is known that a groundhog lives only for seven or eight years.
This tradition of weather forecasting was introduced in America by German immigrants, who in their homeland used to watch the behaviour of hedgehogs on Candlemas for their predictions. They also had some proverbs about the weather: “If Candlemas is mild and pure, Winter will be long for sure.” “If Candlemas brings wind and snow, Then spring will very soon
show. But if it's clear and bright, Then spring won't come so right.”
For the translation of these proverbs see this page.
But why was the religious festivity of Candlemas chosen as the day of the
prediction? Candlemas was celebrated on February 2nd, which is right in the
middle of the winter, between the winter solstice and the spring equinox,
and thus it is the right time to make a guess whether the long-awaited spring is
near.
Unfortunately, our little friend Phil is not very reliable, as only about 40%
of his predictions turn out to be true. Anyway, each year this tradition draws
thousands of people to the home of this cute rodent and puts a warm smile upon our
faces in the long dreary winter.
In the following video we can learn a bit more about the habits of these
animals (also called woodchucks) that are related to squirrels. Then you can
answer the questions below. Happy Groundhog’s Day!
The gerund is a nonfinite verb form that is made by adding the suffix -ing to the root of the verb. The spelling rules are the usual when a suffix is added:
Most verbs just add -ing: learn=> learning
Verbs ending in silent -e, drop it and then add the suffix: live=> living
When the last three letters of a verb are consonant-vowel-consonant and the vowel carries the stress of the word (which always happens in monosyllables), we need to double the last consonant: get=> getting, prefer=> preferring.
Verbs ending in -ie drop both letters and add -ying: die=> dying
Although it's a verbal form, the gerund works like a noun, so it can do all the functions that nouns do. In the sentence, the gerund can work as:
Subject:Smoking is bad for your health.
Object of a preposition: when a verb is placed after a preposition, the gerund form must be used. Paul is interested in collecting stamps.
Noun modifier. They can modify other nouns, thus forming compound nouns: I've bought new running shoes.
Complement of certain expressions such as it's no use, it's (not) worth, there's no point in, it's a waste of money/time, to be used to, to get used to. (For the last two expressions see a previous post) Examples: There was no point in waiting, so we left. It's a waste of time watching that film. That car isn't worth repairing. It's no use repairing that car.
It's not worth repairing that car.
Image by Dr. Keats
Complement of certain verbs: when one verb is followed by another, the second verb can be an infinitive or a gerund, and that choice depends on the first verb. In this entry, we are going to see a list of the most common verbs followed by the gerund, leaving the ones followed by the infinitive for a future entry. Let's see an example: He suggested going out for dinner. Notice that *He suggested to go out for dinner is not possible. Here is the list of the most common verbs always followed y the gerund:
admit
endure
can't help
put off
appreciate
enjoy
imagine
resent
avoid
escape
involve
resist
consider
excuse
leave off
risk
contemplate
fancy
mention
can't stand
delay
feel like
mind
suggest
deny
finish
miss
understand
detest
forgive
postpone
dislike
give up
practise
After the verbs need, require, want, and deserve, the gerund is used with a passive meaning: Your work needs correcting (to be corrected). My shoes want mending (to be mended).
After certain verbs it's also possible to find a possessive adjective followed by the gerund, in which case the possessive is like the subject of the gerund. Compare: My dad dislikes working late. My dad dislikes my working late.
In the first sentence, both verbs refer to "my dad", but in the second sentence, the gerund refers to "me", not "my dad"; what he dislikes is that I work late, not him.
In informal English an object pronoun is used instead of the possessive adjective. So, the example above could be My dad dislikes me working late in a more colloquial style.
A noun in the possessive case, or just a noun in an informal style, is also possible in between verb and gerund: I don't mind Mary's coming with us, or I don't mind Mary coming with us.
This structure is quite similar to that of Verb+Object +Infinitive, in which the object of the verb acts as the subject of the infinitive.
Note that not all verbs ending in -ing are gerunds. They can also be present participles, which are more related to adjectives than to nouns. If you want to know more about adjectives ending in -ing and their -ed counterparts, have a look at this blog entry.
Now is the time for you to check what you have learnt by doing these exercises:
In British English, you can "do sport". In American English you can "play sports".
A typical mistake Spanish speakers make is using the verb practise for sports:
*I love practising sport. This should be: I love sport.
*I usually practise sport every evening. This should be: I usually do sport every evening.
However, in American English you can use the verb practise or practice (as it is spelt there) to mean "to train": The team is practicing for tomorrow's competition.
When other words related to sports are used, we may use other verbs: "What sports do you do?" "I play tennis".
Observe these pictures:
Go skiing
Do karate
Play tennis
There are three verbs that collocate with sports and other free time activities: go, do and play, but they are not interchangeable:
Go is used with activities and sports that end in -ing. The verb go here implies that we go somewhere to practice this sport: go swimming.
Do is used with recreational activities and with individual, non-team sports or sports in which a ball is not used, like martial arts, for example: do a crossword puzzle, do athletics, do karate.
Play is generally used with team sports and those sports that need a ball or similar object (puck, disc, shuttlecock...). Also, those activities in which two people or teams compete against each other: play football, play poker, play chess.
In this table there is a list of sports and activities that collocate with these verbs:
Go
Do
Play
riding
aerobics
badminton
jogging
gymnastics
table-tennis
hitch-hiking
taekwondo
football
fishing
judo
basketball
sailing
karate
chess
windsurfing
kung-fu
cricket
skiing
ballet
board games
snowboarding
exercise
snooker
swimming
yoga
hockey
dancing
athletics
baseball
skating
archery
rugby
cycling
a crossword puzzle
volleyball
running
tai chi
squash
Some exceptions to the rules:
You use do with three activities that end in -ing: do boxing,do body-building and do weight-lifting because they don't imply moving along as the other activities ending in -ing.
Golf: if there is an idea of competition, you use the verb play. However, you can say go golfing if you do it for pleasure: Tiger Woods plays golf. We'll go golfing at the weekend.
The traditional idea of Christmas is that of a cold, snowy day in which families get together around a fireplace, but, although Christmas is celebrated all over the world, not everywhere is it winter at this time of year. While in most countries in the north it's freezing cold, in the southern hemisphere it's summer, and instead of warming up near the fire, people are getting a tan under the sun.
One of these countries in which people bask in the sun at Christmas is Australia, or Down Under, as it is widely known. Due to the weather, their Christmas is a bit different from that of northern countries, but not that different, as they still have Santa, Christmas trees and stockings. However, you will much more easily see Santa on a surf board rather than a sleigh!
In the following video, Brian Sutton sings about a typical Christmas Day in Australia. But before watching it, let's see the meaning of a few words you may not know, as they are Australian slang words:
Billabong: a water hole in a dried up river.
Coolabah: a eucalyptus tree and a brand of wine.
Esky: a cooler, a portable, insulated container for keeping food and drinks cold. It's a shortened version of the trade name "Eskimo Box".
I usually tell my students that in order to learn a language, not only grammar and vocabulary are needed, but also a good knowledge of the culture of the people that speak that language. But what is culture?
The term culture comprises not only the arts but also the language, the religion, the social habits, the cuisine, the history and the traditions of a particular people. As you can see, language is only a piece of the puzzle and to understand it better, you need to take a wider look and try to comprehend the other parts.
As a learner of English, how much do you know about British Culture? Find out by doing this quiz. Take a pen and a piece of paper and write down your answers. Finally, find out how many answers you got right in the answer key. But don't cheat!
