NB1/2 - Past simple revisited: regular e irregular verbs

Dear students & readers of this blog,

The past tense is always a challenge for us. We have to learn a lot of things, like how to form and pronounce the regular -ed forms, a long list of irregular verbs...Let's see if I can help you from here. Have a look at the resources below:

Regular past tense

• English grammar lessons: past simple
• Exercises 1
• Exercises 2
• Exercises 3
• Exercises 4
• Exercises 5

• Game: Tower defence 
• Regular verbs: angry farmer 
• Regular verbs hoop shoot 

Past simple negative

• Past tense negative: tower defence
• Penalty shootout

  Questions in the past simple

• Questions in the past tense

Form full questions from the following prompts, and click on COMMENTS to write your answers.

What / your friends / do / yesterday?
Where / your parents / go / on holiday?
When / you / go to bed / last night?
You / were / happy / yesterday?
you / like / this lesson / last night?

Irregular past tense

There is also another link to practise your irregular verbs in an easy and fun way. Would you like to find out? Click on IRREGULAR VERBS.

It will be permanently linked to this blog on the sidebar, under the heading "Vocabulary & grammar".

•  Irregular verbs: angry farmer

If you want to pronounce regular -ed forms of the past correctly, watch the video below:



Some practice:

• Practice 1
• Practice 2
• Practice 3
• Practice 4
• Practice 5
• Final exam

(Sources: engames.eu, englishmaven.org & MacMillan)

Did you enjoy this post?

It's St Patrick's Day 2016!!!

Dear students and readers of this blog,

Saint Patrick's Day (Irish: Lá ’le Pádraig or Lá Fhéile Pádraig), colloquially St. Paddy's Day or simply Paddy's Day, is an annual feast day which celebrates Saint Patrick (circa AD 385–461), one of the patron saints of Ireland, and is generally celebrated on March 17.
The day is the national holiday of Ireland. It is a bank holiday in Northern Ireland and a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland and Montserrat. In Canada, Great Britain, Australia, the United States, and New Zealand, it is widely celebrated but is not an official holiday. (Source: wikipedia)


First of all, don't miss the video just below if you want to know something more about the History of St Patrick's Day.

For Basic level students, here's some info on St. Patrick's Day.

What if you were walking around your town one day, and people suddenly started dancing? Watch the Riverdance Flashmob at Sydney's Central Station on Saint Patrick's Day 2012:




Now, some Irish songs that are perfect for a good St Patrick's day celebration.

Star of the County Down  (Irish Rovers)



Star Of The County Down Lyrics

Near Banbridge Town in the County Down
One morning last July,
Down a boreen (=path) green came a sweet colleen (=girl)
And she smiled as she passed me by.
She looked so sweet from her two bare feet
To the sheen (= brillo) of her nut brown hair.
Such a winsome (=adorable) elf, I'm ashamed of myself
For to see I was starin' (=looking) there.

[Chorus:]
From Bantry Bay up to Derry's Quay
From Galway to Dublin Town,
No maid I've seen like the fair colleen
That I met in the County Down.

As she onward sped, sure I scratched my head,
And I looked with a feelin' rare,
And I say's, say's I, (=I asked) to a passer-by,
"Whose the maid with the nut brown hair"?
Well he looked at me and he said to me,
"That's the gem of Ireland's crown.
Young Rosie McCann from the banks of the Bann,
She's the star of the County Down".

[Chorus]

She'd soft brown eyes with a look so shy
and a smile like a rose in June.
And she sang so sweet what a lovely treat,
as she lilted (=sang)  an Irish tune.
At the Lambuth dance I was in the trance
As she whirled (=danced) with the lads (=men) of the town.
And it broke my heart just to be apart,
From the star of the County Down.

[Chorus]

At the Harvest Fair she'll be surely there
So I'll dress in my Sunday clothes,
With my shoes shone bright and my hat cocked
Right for a smile from the nut brown rose.
No pipe I'll smoke, no horse I'll yoke
Till my plough was a rust coloured brown.
And a smiling bride, by my own fireside
Sits the star of the County Down.

Lyrics from <a href="http://www.elyrics.net" rel="nofollow">eLyrics.net</a>

Spancil Hill, by The Corrs



St. Patrick's Day is also widely celebrated in the US, especially in the cities like New York and  Chicago. We have learnt that, in Chicago, the river turns green (the colour of the festivity, the colour of Ireland) every 17 March. Watch this video to see how:

Have a happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Duit !!

NB 2 - File 7A: Visiting the National Portrait Gallery

Dear students & readers of this blog,

We know that London has many museums, but now we are going to talk about one of the most interesting, yet least known of all: the National Portrait Gallery. 

It is situated just off Trafalgar Square, at a 5-minute walk from the National Gallery. It houses portraits, both paintings and photographs, of outstanding British men and women. Here you have some practical info, just in case you are planning to visit London soon:

IMPORTANT INFO

Address

2 St.Martin's Place

London WC2H 0HE, United Kingdom

Cómo llegar

‎

020 7306 0055

Nearest tube/railway station

Leicester Square (Northern & Picadilly Lines)

Charing Cross (Norther & Bakerloo lines)

Admission

Free

Opening Times

Saturday to Wednesday from 10:00am to 6:00pm 

Thursday and Friday from 10:00am to 9:00pm

                                                                                                      www.npg.org.uk

As we saw in our textbooks, some of the people featured in the museum are:

HRH the Duke of Windsor and the Duchess of Windsor (aka Edward VII & Mrs Wallis Simpson.

Edward VIII was King for just a few months. As he was in love with Mrs Wallis Simpson, an American woman who was divorced, he abdicated, and became the Duke of Windsor. They were together for the rest of their lives.

Click on their names above if you want to read more about their biographies.

Henry VIII of England 

Henry VIII was the king of England. He was famous for starting the Church of England. He was also married six times. Two of his wives were executed. He was a poet, a singer and a sportsman in his youth, but in his old age he was changeable and tyrannical. He was Mary Tudor (Bloody Mary some people called her), and Elizabeth I's father.

The Brontë Sisters: Charlotte, Emily & Anne.

Charlotte, Emily and Anne were born in Yorkshire. They were all remarkable writers, but only Charlotte was famous during her lifetime. They were the authors of some of the most famous novels of English literature: Jane Eyre (Charlotte), Wuthering Heights (Emily) or The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (Anne).

Click on their names above to learn more about their biographies.

Helena Bonham Carter

She was born in London. She is an actress. Her first significant role was in the film A room with a view. Her partner was film director Tim Burton. They have two children.

Click on her name above to learn more about her biography.

Now let's play a game. I'm going to give you five clues about two famous people, and you are going to say who I'm talking about, okay? Let's go:

Celebrity no. 1

1- He was an English writer

2- He was born in the 16th century.

3- He was married with three children

4- He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon

5- He was the author of plays such as Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet.

And he is...

William Shakespeare

Celebrity no. 2

1- She was born in Los Angeles in 1926.

2- She was a famous actress.

3- She was blonde and very beautiful.

4- Her real name was Norma Jean Baker.

5- She was married to Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller.

And she is...

Marilyn Monroe

Now let's see if you guess this one. These are the clues:

- He was born in a city in South Africa.

- He was an anti-apartheid activist.

- He was in prison for many years.

- He was the 1st black president of South Africa.

- He was married three times.

So...who was he? 

WRITE A COMMENT WITH THE ANSWER, IF YOU KNOW IT. ALSO, WRITE A COMMENT WITH THE CLUES YOU WROTE IN CLASS. LET'S SEE IF WE GUESS THEM!!!

For some theory on was / were, click here.

NB 2 - If you love somebody, set them free

Dear students & readers of this blog,

As our classes are usually so packed, we don't have enough time to listen to music with the lyrics. And actually, this is a great way of learning new vocabulary and expressions, as well as of learning about pronunciation. So, with the excuse that, in our Basic 2 class we have studied the INDEFINITE PRONOUNS, we are going to listen to some music.
For some info on indefinite pronouns, click here.

What about Sting?

Here is Sting's song "IF YOU LOVE SOMEBODY, SET THEM FREE", a song included in "The Dream of the Blue Turtles", his first solo album after leaving The Police, and it was released in 1985. Now watch the video, listen to the song, and fill in the gaps in the lyrics below:

"If You Love Somebody Set Them Free"

VERSE (=estrofa) 1

If you need somebody, __________ my name
If you want someone, you can ___________ the same
If you wanna ___________ something precious
You got to lock it up and _____________ away the key
If you want to hold onto your possessions
Don't even ______________ about me

Chorus

If you love somebody,

If you love someone,

If you love somebody, 

If you love someone

set them free

VERSE 2
If it's a mirror you want, just _________ into my eyes
Or a whipping boy, someone to despise
Or a prisoner in the dark
Tied up in chains you just __________ ____________
Or a beast in a gilded cage
That's all some people ever _____________ to be

Chorus: if you love somebody...

VERSE 3
You can't ___________ an independent heart
Can't tear the one you _____________ apart (tear someone apart)
Forever conditioned to _____________ that we can't live
We can't live here and be happy with less
So many riches, so many souls
Everything we see that we want to ______________

VERSE 1 REPEATED

 Chorus

For the full lyrics, click here. 

NB 1 - File 6B: how to say the date

Dear students & readers of this blog,

First of all, I want to apologize for having been absent for so long. These have been very busy months for me, since we came back from our Christmas holidays. But here I am again, ready to suggest you ways of practising your English at home.

In our Basic 1 class we have been studying how to say the date. Here you have some links that can help you study and practise at home.

First, you need to know the ORDINAL NUMBERS in English. Click here for a list...and more.

Next, you need to learn how to say THE MONTHS OF THE YEAR. Please take a few minutes to check the video below:



And finally, you need to be able to know how to say the YEARS correctly. Click here.

Here you will find a SUMMARY of everything. Don't miss it!

So...WHAT'S THE  DATE TODAY? Practice by writing a comment to this post.

Christmas 2015 is here! Come and join us for a Christmas celebration!!

Dear students & readers of this blog,

Christmas is just a few weeks away. We have completed our first term at the school and that is something to celebrate, so...

COME AND JOIN US NEXT 22 DECEMBER, AT 18.00, FOR A FUN CHRISTMAS PARTY!!


This is the programme for the evening:

Cartel promocional fiesta navidad from leticiaeoiplasencia

We'll have A COOKING CONTEST, A CHRISTMAS QUIZ, CAROL SINGING...and of course, FOOD AND DRINK!!

Afterwards, we'll join the rest of the Departments of the school and we'll share some time with French and German students. A unique opportunity to relax and get to know other people!!

DON'T MISS IT!!!

We all know how people celebrate it in Spain, but maybe we are not so familiar with Christmas traditions in the UK. For example, do you know what is...

• Advent?
• Boxing Day?
• mulled wine?
• mistletoe? 

If you want to learn the answers to these and other questions, click here.

If cooking is your thing, click on the mince pies below, and you'll get the recipes  for lots of traditional British dishes: 

Yes, but Christmas is also celebrated in other English-speaking countries. How do people celebrate Christmas in...

• The USA?
• Australia?
• South Africa?
• Canada? 

What's the story or Christmas Carols? To find out, click here.

These are the Christmas Carols we will be singing at the party. Why don't you practise a bit before?

DECK THE HALLS  

Click here if you want the lyrics with some notes about the vocabulary.

LET IT SNOW (with lyrics)

MAY YOU ALL HAVE A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY START OF 2016. I'LL SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!!

NB 2 - What were you doing when... PAST CONTINUOUS

Dear students & readers of this blog,

After revising the tenses we studied last year in Basic 1, the time has come to move on and study something new. A new tense.

THE PAST CONTINUOUS

As it is a new tense for us, we need to know some things about it.

FORM

Simple! BE + -ING. Please find a fully conjugated verb below:

And don't forget short answers!!! Short answers are formed with the auxiliary verbs WAS/WERE.

Were you reading? YES, I WAS / NO, I WASN'T

Were they reading? YES, THEY WERE / NO, THEY WEREN'T

USE

We usually use the Past Continuous in the following situations:

• To describe an action in progress at a specific moment in the past.

         E.g. Last night at 9 I was watching TV.

• For an action that was in progress when a shorter action (in the past simple interrupted it.

         E.g. I was watching TV when the telephone rang. 

Have a look at this video that illustrates this use:

• To describe the context at the beginning of a narration or story.

         E.g. The house was silent. John was looking through the window, while Linda was reading a magazine. The clock was ticking, when suddenly...

For a more detailed grammar explanation, click on this wonderful link from the BBC English Learning site.

And now, some practice. Listen to Naziru, Ly and Fernando talk about what they were doing on a memorable day in their lives.

(source: bbc.co.uk/learningenglish)

NB: Describing people

Dear students and readers of this blog,

In our Basic level class we have worked with basic physical and character descriptions. So here you have some resources to work on how to describe a person correctly.

In the first place, how do we ask for somebody's description? Well, don't ask 'HOW IS HE/SHE?', because you'll probably be answered something like 'fine, thanks'. If you want somebody to give you a description of themselves, or of somebody else, you have to ask...

WHAT DOES HE/SHE LOOK LIKE? (For physical appearance)
WHAT'S HE/SHE LIKE? (For personality)

Never EVER confuse this question with 'What does he/she like?', because the answer to that question is something like 'she likes going to the cinema' (likes & dislikes).

• Click here for some useful vocabulary to describe people. 
• Also, if you click on this link, you'll find a nice vocabulary bank.
• And if you want to practise a bit, click here.

Would you like to play a description game? Click here.