Expressing plans and predictions.

                                                                       (be + going to + inf)

Going to

Intention

We use the special going to construction when we have the intention to do something before we speak. We have already made a decision before speaking. Look at these examples:

• I have won $1,000. I am going to buy a new TV.
• We’re not going to see my mother tomorrow.
• When are you going to go on holiday?

In these examples, we had an intention or plan before speaking. The decision was made before we spoke.

Prediction

We often use going to to make a prediction about the future. Our prediction is based on evidence. We are saying what seems sure to happen. Here are some examples:

• The sky is very black. It is going to snow.
• It’s 8.30! You’re going to miss the train!
• I crashed the company car. My boss isn’t going to be very happy!

In these examples, the present situation (black sky/the time/damaged car) gives us a good idea of what is going to happen.
Try some games to practise “be going to+inf” to express future plans or predictions.
I’m sure you ARE GOING TO like them!
(From www.englishclub.com

Airport stories.

Airport are special places where you can see all sort of stories unfold: family reunions, business travellers, students on a study trip, holiday makers, couples on their honeymoon, emigrants looking for a new chance in life, lovers reunited etc…
There was even a film ” The Terminal” based on the story of a passenger who got stranded in an airport and ended up living there!
On the 27th of October a mobile phone company filmed their new ad in Terminal 5, Heathrow airport( London), one of the busiest airports in the world.
Passengers arriving were assaulted by singers, the result is a great video. Check it out
It is fantastic, isn´t it?
Have you got an airport story to share?

Describing your favourite photo

When we describe a favourite photo we can take into account the following information:
1) Who took it?
2) What was happening when you took the photo?
3) Why do you like it?
4) Where do you keep it?
Here’s an example which describes the picture above:
“One of my favourite photos is this one of my husband James and my son Peter.
I took it last summer in Menorca (Spain), when we were on holiday.
We were at a place called “Cala Mitjana”. It’s a beach which is famous for its blue water and its peace. When I took the picture, my husband and my son were playing together. I was sunbathing when I decided to take a nice picture of both.
I love this photo because it represents happiness for me. It reminds me of a lovely holiday with my family.
I keep the photo in a family album and I also have it on the living-room table.”
Would you like to practise a bit more? Here you can find a lesson to learn to describe photos.

Past Continuous

The past continuous is formed from the past tense of the verb to be with the -ing form of the verb. We use it to talk about continuous actions in the past.
Look at the British Council website for a detailed explanation and exercises.
Here are some activities to practise:
exercises city life activity yesterday at the beach story
The past continuous vs.the past simple

We use the past simple to talk about completed actions in the past and the past continuous to describe continuous actions and ‘background actions’.
Activities:
exercise 1 exercise 2 exercise 3
Sing along to this beautiful song by Robbie Williams, Eternity, and look out of the examples of the past forms.

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:
regular or irregular verbs?
interactive exercise 1
interactive exercise 2
Finally a fantastic song by the Beatles

The simple past: regular forms.

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:
Choose the right sound
Try again
Number 3
Nice one from the BBC
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 past	Examples
e	Add -D	live lived date dated
Consonant +y	Change y to i, then add -ED	try tried cry cried
One vowel + one consonant (but NOT w or y)	Double the consonant, then add -ED	tap tapped commit committed
anything else including w	Add -ED	boil boiled fill filled hand handed show showed

Present Continuous

We use the present continuous tense to talk about things that are happening NOW or AT THE MOMENT.
I                         am  + verb + ing       I am playing.
he, she, it            is +   verb + ing        The bird is singing.
you, we, they     are + verb + ing        We are dancing

Listen to the sentences about the pictures.

Look at this interactive book for more practice.
Try this exercise to practise.
Watch this video of the song ‘Lemon Tree’. Good luck!

Adjective for describing: Places, Weather, Temperature.

Temperature / Temperatura

Examples / Ejemplos

freezing helado chilly frío cold frío cool fresco lukewarm tibio boiling hirviendo muggy caluroso hot caluroso warm cálido pleasant agradable

There are freezing temperatures in Chile Hay temperaturas heladas en Chile Here in the mountains the nights are chilly Aquí en las montañas las noches son frías Your cold hands off my passion Tus manos frías apagan mi pasión Have your child take a cool bath Haga que su niño tome un baño fresco A lukewarm bath may cool Un baño tibio puede refrescarte Boiling water creates steam for cooking El agua hirviendo produce vapor para cocinar It's a muggy day. Es un dia caluroso I am hot Tengo calor Thank God today is a warm day Gracias a Dios hoy es un día cálido Venezuela has a pleasant climate Venezuela tiene un clima agradable

Weather / Clima

Examples / Ejemplos

rainy - luvioso stormy - tormentoso sunny - soleado windy  - ventoso snowy  -con nieve damp - húmedo dry - seco icy  - con hielo foggy - con niebla cloudy - nuboso clear - despejado mild  - templado chilly  - frío

My country has many rainy days Mi pais tiene muchos días lluviosos I'm afraid the stormy coast of USA Tengo miedo a las costas tormentosas de USA This sunny day is good for camping Este día soleado es bueno para acampar I hate windy days Odio los días ventosos I like snowy days of Canada Me gusta los días con nieve de Canada The jungle has damp climate La selva tiene un clima húmedo Carla does not like the dry desert climate A Carla no le gusta el clima seco del desierto I can walk on icy places Yo camino sobre lugares helados Driving is more risky in foggy conditions. Conducir es más riesgoso en niebla The plane has to avoid cloudy areas El avión tiene que evitar zonas nubosas Today is a clear day Hoy es un día despejado I like the mild climate of the valley Me gusta el clima templado de el valle Even in the chilly rain we keep our enthusiasm Aún bajo la fría lluvia mantenemos nuestro entuciasmo

Describing people - Appearance and Personality.

Do you remember the questions to ask about a person you don’t know?

If you want to ask about people’s appearance: WHAT DOES HE/SHE LOOK LIKE? Learn more adjectives here1, here2,

Click here if you need more practice

When we use more than one adjective, we have to put them in the right order.

                                                           PERSONALITY:

If you want to ask about people’s personality: WHAT IS HE/SHE LIKE? Learn more adjectives click positive aspect here, negative aspect here, or here 3.

Clothes

Exercise1 ,
Try exercises with pictures, vocabulary etc. Exercise 2 ,
There are five exercises to practice the vocabulary of clothes,some verbs like suit,wear,fit,match,try on... some adjectives and colours.If you think that there is something that it could be better tell me Exercise 3

Questions???

Forming questions in English can be a little complicated but if you remember this simple formula you’ll have no problem:
ASI Auxiliary Subject Infinitive
Do you like football?
Does your sister work?
or QUASI
Question word Auxiliary Subject Infinitive
Where do you live?
What does Peter do?
You can use this formula in the past simple too.
Try this game to practise and click here for another question formation activity.

Present simple: daily routines

What do you do every day?

We use the present simple to talk about daily routines and every day activities.
Look at these examples:

• We leave for work at 7:30 AM every morning.
• My husband watches the TV in the evening.
• Susan often meets with her friends after school.
• They usually play football on Sunday.
• Mark rarely visits his sick grandmother.

Try these exercises to practise the different forms: affirmative, negatives and questions
For some listening practice about people’s daily routines click here and here

Listening - Elementary Podcasts.

Listening can sometimes be one of the more difficult skills. Here is a great website which is specially for your level, called Elementary Podcasts by the British Council. There are lots of texts to listen to and you can also download the mp3 files and save them on to your computer, mobile phone or mp3 player. Special packs are available with activities to do and the tapescripts.

Remember, practice makes perfect!!

Speaking.

To speak well in English or to speak good English you need to practise as much as you can, with English tourists, going to any English speaking country and of course with your teacher, your classmates and the school’s conversation assistant Maire Larkin.
By clicking here you can watch some common situations and practise your English.
In this link you can practise many everyday situation and interact with a robot.
Here you can have a virtual chat.
Here I leave some examples of monologues on basic topics and the holidays you may help you prepare for your oral exam. I also leave you with some typical monologue questions for you to plan answers for.
You can always teach your friends, watch here Pepe Reina teaching Iker Casillas some basic English.

Reading.

Reading is an excellent way to develop your English vocabulary, try these easy stories and do the exercises.
If you click here you will have access to exam type exercises.
And here you can see two nice stories with exercises.
If you want more check this out. A hundred stories about life in America with exercises.
Enjoy!

Going to

There are 4 future forms in English. The one which is used most often in spoken English is ‘going to’. We use ‘going to’ when we want to talk about a plan for the future. Example: I‘m going to see him later today. Notice that this plan does not have to be for the near future. Example: In ten years time, I’m going to be boss of my own company. We use ‘going to’ when we want to make a prediction based on evidence we can see now. Example: Look at those black clouds. It‘s going to rain soon. Check these exercises: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Now, think about your future.
Here you are some questions to answer:
1) What are you going to do with your life?
2) What are you going to do after this class?
3) Where are you going to go for your next holiday?
4) Are you going to meet anyone at the weekend?
5) Are you going to watch television tonight?
6) What book are you going to read next?
7) When are you going to stop smoking?
8) What are you going to have for lunch / dinner?
9) Where in the world are you going to travel?
10) How are you going to get better at English?

Moving around a City and Directions

PLACES IN A CITY

Let’s revise some places we can find in any city with some vocabulary exercises: Exercise 1  Exercise 2 , Exercise 3, Exercise 4

In a city, there are a lot of different shops, check them here or try this interactive book once published (It also includes directions on pages 15-17)

                                   GIVING DIRECTIONS

First of all, let’s revise the prepositions of place again. Check them here and do these exercises.

Sometimes, we get lost in a new city and we need to ask for directions. We typically ask Excuse me, is there a BANK around here? How can I get there?

The answer will include one or some of the expressions below. Click on the image and find the places they describe:

Here you are some more interactive exercises on directions: a true/false exercise, listening 1 and listening 2. reading 1 and reading 2 and, finally, a multiple choice exercise.

My House, My Bedroom.

          

Where do you live? What kind of house do you have? Check and listen to the different possibilities here.

How many rooms are there in your house? Check this vocabulary and listen to the words.
A very special part of your house is your bedroom. Check this vocabulary and describe your room. Finally, complete this wonderful book:
How much do you remember? Look at the picture and try to name the different rooms and pieces of furniture you can see:

Find the names below in case you couldn’t remember them:

1	The bathroom	2	The garage
3	The bedroom	4	The kitchen
5	The living room	6	The alarm clock
7	The balcony	8	The office
9	The table	10	The corridor
11	The hall	12	The cellar
13	The terrace	14	The toilet
15	Stairs	16	The dining room
17	The picture	18	The attic
19	The roof	20	The chimney

If you feel you need some extra vocabulary to describe furniture in each room of the house, this vocabulary and listen to the words.

Some More Prepositions of place

Have a look at this bird. Where is it?

Now, check the prepositions:

Now, where is the mouse? Now you are ready to play this game.

There is/ There are revision

We already published a post on there is/ there are, but let’s remember how they work:

RULES:

1. Use there IS for singular countable nouns (one item) + a/an. 2. Use there IS for non-countable items + some. 3. Use there ARE for many items (plural nouns).

See information on countable and uncountable nouns here.
There is a spider on the wall.
There is some milk on the floor.
There are pencils on my desk.

The negative and interrogative form follows verb TO BE forms. Have a look at these examples:

There is not a book. - There isn’t a book.
There are not books. - There aren’t books.

For questions, remember you need an inversion.

Is there a book? Are there any books?
Yes, there is. Yes, there are.
No, there isn’t. No, there aren’t

You had some exercises on the previous post. Now try this exercise on there is/there are to talk about singular/plural nouns or uncountable nouns and another one to practise the negative form.
And also exercises in the past! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Countable/uncountable nouns

There are two kinds of nouns in English, countable and uncountable.

Countable = Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can count. For example: “pen”. We can count pens. We can have one, two, three or more pens.

Countable nouns can be singular or plural:

• My dog is playing.
• My dogs are hungry.

We can use the indefinite article a/an with countable nouns:

• A dog is an animal.

When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone, I like oranges, or we can use some and any, I have some dollars, Do you have any pens?

“People” is countable. “People” is the plural of “person”. We can count people: There is one person here – There are three people here.

Uncountable = Uncountable nouns are substances, concepts, etc that we cannot divide into separate elements. We cannot “count” them. For example, we cannot count “milk”. We can count “bottles of milk” or “litres of milk”, but we cannot count “milk” itself.

Drinks (coffee, water, orange juice) are usually uncountable. But if we are thinking of a cup or a glass, we can say (in a restaurant, for example):

• Two teas and one coffee please.

We treat uncountable nouns as singular. We use a singular verb. For example: Your luggage looks heavy.

Uncountable nouns can’t be plural: butter, meat NOT
two butters , three meats.

We use some and any with uncountable nouns:

• I’ve got some money.
• Have you got any rice?

REMEMBER: we use some in positive sentences and any in negative sentences + questions. Examples:
I have some friends - Do you have any cheese? – He doesn’t have any friends in Chicago.
Try now some exercises: 1, 2, 3
We use How much …? with uncountable nouns and How many …..? with plural countable nouns. Exercises 1, 2, 3,
Finally you can listen and watch the song and complete the lyrics.

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: -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/	want	wanted	/ id/	yes, the -e changes to [ɪ]
	/d/	end	ended
2.	/p/	stop	stopped	/ t/	no, the -e is silent.
	/f/	laugh	laughed
	/s/	fax	faxed
	/ʃ/	wash	washed
	/ʧ/	watch	watched
	/k/	like	liked
3.	all other sounds	play	played	/ d/
		follow	followed
		rain	rained

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!

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 5- Exercise 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 one combines present and past pronunciations.

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 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.