get your learning gifts for the month of October 2020
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/video-news-42-free-english-gifts-of-the-month-october-2020
Wednesday, 30 September 2020
Tuesday, 29 September 2020
Have with Numbers- Mix and Match
New Entry: 'Have with Numbers- Mix and Match' has just been added to the Lesson Plans area of UsingEnglish.com.
source https://www.usingenglish.com/teachers/lesson-plans/view-have-with-numbers-mix-and-match/
English Grammar Made Easy S1 #132 - How to Politely Excuse Yourself
learn how to politely excuse yourself
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/english-grammar-made-easy-132-how-to-politely-excuse-yourself
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/english-grammar-made-easy-132-how-to-politely-excuse-yourself
Sunday, 27 September 2020
News #288 - How to Speak More English with the Dialogue Track
learn how using the dialogue track tool can improve your studies
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/news-288-how-to-speak-more-english-with-the-dialogue-track
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/news-288-how-to-speak-more-english-with-the-dialogue-track
Saturday, 26 September 2020
YYSSW
New Entry: 'YYSSW' has just been added to the Chatlish area of UsingEnglish.com. This entry is only available in our members' area.
source https://www.usingenglish.com/members/idioms/view.php?entry_id=27438
Friday, 25 September 2020
Steezy
New Entry: 'Steezy' has just been added to the Slang area of UsingEnglish.com. This entry is only available in our members' area.
source https://www.usingenglish.com/members/idioms/view.php?entry_id=27437
The Present Participle
Today, let me start with a question: What do the following three statements have in common? You are learning about grammar. The president’s words were shocking. I smelled food burning in the kitchen. Did you find the commonality? You may have noted that there is an -ing word in each sentence: learning, exciting and burning. These are examples of the present participle, a word form that ends in -ing and has a specific purpose in a sentence. Present participles can refer to the present, past or future. I hope the meaning of that becomes clearer over the next few minutes. On this Everyday Grammar program, we will talk about three uses for present participles. Continuous tenses Let's start with continuous verb tenses.* As a reminder, a continuous tense is one that includes the verb “be” plus the -ing form of a verb. There are six continuous tenses in English. Some are more common than others. You do not need to learn them all to understand the present participle. Continuous tenses can describe present, past or future actions or events. Now, let’s think about an example from earlier. Listen closely for the verb: You are learning about grammar. Here, the speaker used the present continuous verb tense. Notice that the verb “be” appears in the present form “are.” And the verb “teach” is in present participle form, “teaching.” Now, listen to an example about something that already happened: I was watching a movie when you called. In the first part of the sentence, the speaker used the verb “was watching,” which is the past continuous tense. Notice that the verb “be” appears in the past form, “was.” Yet the verb “watch” still appears in present participle form, “watching.” Sense verbs Now, let’s turn to verbs of perception, also known as “sense verbs.” These are verbs that describe experiences we have through the physical senses of sight, sound, touch, smell and taste. We sometimes use the present participle after sense verbs. Listen for the sense verb and the present participle in this sentence, which you heard earlier: I smelled food burning in the kitchen. Here, the sense verb is “smell” and the sentence is about something that happened in the past. The speaker used the verb “burn” in its present participle form, “burning.” Notice that the sentence structure is sense verb + object + present participle. The object in the speaker’s sentence is “food.” After sense verbs, use of the present participle shows that the speaker experienced only part of what happened. It emphasizes that an action was in progress or not finished when a speaker experienced it. Here is another example that involves a sense verb and the present participle: I heard the woman talking about the election. The sense verb here is “heard” and the verb “talk” is in present participle form, “talking.” The object is “the woman.” Use of the present participle “talking” here suggests the speaker only heard part of what was said. Participial adjectives And finally, we move to adjectives that end in -ing, also known as present participial adjectives. Do not worry! You do not need to remember that term. Just remember that in English, some adjectives end in -ing. We usually use these adjectives to describe a person, thing or idea that causes a feeling or emotion. In one of our earlier examples, you heard the adjective “shocking.” Listen to it again and take mental note of what caused the emotion: The president’s words were shocking. The speaker is saying that she felt shocked by something: the president’s words. Participial adjectives appear in the same position in sentences that normal adjectives do – after linking verbs, such as “be,” and before nouns. In this final example, listen for the -ing adjective and the noun that follows: That boring online class put me to sleep! Did you find the adjective? It was “boring.” And it came before the noun “online classes.” Remember that -ing adjectives describe the cause for an emotion. In this case, the online class caused the speaker to feel bored. And that’s our program for this week. I’m Alice Bryant. Alice Bryant wrote this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. *Continuous verb tenses are sometimes called "progressive" verb tenses. __________________________________________________ Words in This Story kitchen – n. a room in which food is cooked refer to – v. to have a direct connection or relationship to something tense – n. a form of a verb that is used to show when an action happened perception – n. the way that you notice or understand something using one of your senses emphasize – v. to give special attention to something boring – adj. dull and uninteresting
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/the-present-participle/5596213.html
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/the-present-participle/5596213.html
The Present Participle
Today, let me start with a question: What do the following three statements have in common? You are learning about grammar. The president’s words were shocking. I smelled food burning in the kitchen. Did you find the commonality? You may have noted that there is an -ing word in each sentence: learning, shocking, burning. These are examples of the present participle, a word form that ends in -ing and has a specific purpose in a sentence. Present participles can refer to the present, past or future. I hope the meaning of that becomes clearer over the next few minutes. On this Everyday Grammar program, we will talk about three uses for present participles. Continuous tenses Let's start with continuous verb tenses.* As a reminder, a continuous tense is one that includes the verb “be” plus the -ing form of a verb. There are six continuous tenses in English. Some are more common than others. You do not need to learn them all to understand the present participle. Continuous tenses can describe present, past or future actions or events. Now, let’s think about an example from earlier. Listen closely for the verb: You are learning about grammar. Here, the speaker used the present continuous verb tense. Notice that the verb “be” appears in the present form “are.” And the verb “teach” is in present participle form, “teaching.” Now, listen to an example about something that already happened: I was watching a movie when you called. In the first part of the sentence, the speaker used the verb “was watching,” which is the past continuous tense. Notice that the verb “be” appears in the past form, “was.” Yet the verb “watch” still appears in present participle form, “watching.” Sense verbs Next, let’s turn to verbs of perception, also known as “sense verbs.” These are verbs that describe experiences we have through the physical senses of sight, sound, touch, smell and taste. We sometimes use the present participle after sense verbs. Listen for the sense verb and the present participle in this sentence, which you heard earlier: I smelled food burning in the kitchen. Here, the sense verb is “smell” and the sentence is about something that happened in the past. The speaker used the verb “burn” in its present participle form, “burning.” Notice that the sentence structure is sense verb + object + present participle. The object in the speaker’s sentence is “food.” After sense verbs, use of the present participle shows that the speaker experienced only part of what happened. It emphasizes that an action was in progress or not finished when a speaker experienced it. Here is another example that involves a sense verb and the present participle: I heard the woman talking about the election. The sense verb here is “heard” and the verb “talk” is in present participle form, “talking.” The object is “the woman.” Use of the present participle “talking” here suggests the speaker only heard part of what was said. Participial adjectives And finally, we move to adjectives that end in -ing, also known as present participial adjectives. Do not worry! You do not need to remember that term. Just remember that in English, some adjectives end in -ing. We usually use these adjectives to describe a person, thing or idea that causes a feeling or emotion. In one of our earlier examples, you heard the adjective “shocking.” Listen to it again and take mental note of what caused the emotion: The president’s words were shocking. The speaker is saying that she felt shocked by something: the president’s words. Participial adjectives appear in the same position in sentences that normal adjectives do – after linking verbs, such as “be,” and before nouns. In this final example, listen for the -ing adjective and the noun that follows: That boring online class put me to sleep! Did you find the adjective? It was “boring.” And it came before the noun “online classes.” Remember that -ing adjectives describe the cause for an emotion. In this case, the online class caused the speaker to feel bored. And that’s our program for this week. I’m Alice Bryant. Alice Bryant wrote this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. *Continuous verb tenses are sometimes called "progressive" verb tenses. __________________________________________________ Words in This Story kitchen – n. a room in which food is cooked refer to – v. to have a direct connection or relationship to something tense – n. a form of a verb that is used to show when an action happened perception – n. the way that you notice or understand something using one of your senses emphasize – v. to give special attention to something boring – adj. dull and uninteresting
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/the-present-participle/5596213.html
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/the-present-participle/5596213.html
Thursday, 24 September 2020
The Present Participle
Today, let me start with a question: What do the following three statements have in common? You are learning about grammar. The president’s words were shocking. I smelled food burning in the kitchen. Did you find the commonality? You may have noted that there is an -ing word in each sentence: learning, exciting, burning. These are examples of the present participle, a word form that ends in -ing and has a specific purpose in a sentence. Present participles can refer to the present, past or future. I hope the meaning of that becomes clearer over the next few minutes. On this Everyday Grammar program, we will talk about three uses for present participles. Continuous tenses Let's start with continuous verb tenses.* As a reminder, a continuous tense is one that includes the verb “be” plus the -ing form of a verb. There are six continuous tenses in English. Some are more common than others. You do not need to learn them all to understand the present participle. Continuous tenses can describe present, past or future actions or events. Now, let’s think about an example from earlier. Listen closely for the verb: You are learning about grammar. Here, the speaker used the present continuous verb tense. Notice that the verb “be” appears in the present form “are.” And the verb “teach” is in present participle form, “teaching.” Now, listen to an example about something that already happened: I was watching a movie when you called. In the first part of the sentence, the speaker used the verb “was watching,” which is the past continuous tense. Notice that the verb “be” appears in the past form, “was.” Yet the verb “watch” still appears in present participle form, “watching.” Sense verbs Next, let’s turn to verbs of perception, also known as “sense verbs.” These are verbs that describe experiences we have through the physical senses of sight, sound, touch, smell and taste. We sometimes use the present participle after sense verbs. Listen for the sense verb and the present participle in this sentence, which you heard earlier: I smelled food burning in the kitchen. Here, the sense verb is “smell” and the sentence is about something that happened in the past. The speaker used the verb “burn” in its present participle form, “burning.” Notice that the sentence structure is sense verb + object + present participle. The object in the speaker’s sentence is “food.” After sense verbs, use of the present participle shows that the speaker experienced only part of what happened. It emphasizes that an action was in progress or not finished when a speaker experienced it. Here is another example that involves a sense verb and the present participle: I heard the woman talking about the election. The sense verb here is “heard” and the verb “talk” is in present participle form, “talking.” The object is “the woman.” Use of the present participle “talking” here suggests the speaker only heard part of what was said. Participial adjectives And finally, we move to adjectives that end in -ing, also known as present participial adjectives. Do not worry! You do not need to remember that term. Just remember that in English, some adjectives end in -ing. We usually use these adjectives to describe a person, thing or idea that causes a feeling or emotion. In one of our earlier examples, you heard the adjective “shocking.” Listen to it again and take mental note of what caused the emotion: The president’s words were shocking. The speaker is saying that she felt shocked by something: the president’s words. Participial adjectives appear in the same position in sentences that normal adjectives do – after linking verbs, such as “be,” and before nouns. In this final example, listen for the -ing adjective and the noun that follows: That boring online class put me to sleep! Did you find the adjective? It was “boring.” And it came before the noun “online classes.” Remember that -ing adjectives describe the cause for an emotion. In this case, the online class caused the speaker to feel bored. And that’s our program for this week. I’m Alice Bryant. Alice Bryant wrote this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. *Continuous verb tenses are sometimes called "progressive" verb tenses. __________________________________________________ Words in This Story kitchen – n. a room in which food is cooked refer to – v. to have a direct connection or relationship to something tense – n. a form of a verb that is used to show when an action happened perception – n. the way that you notice or understand something using one of your senses emphasize – v. to give special attention to something boring – adj. dull and uninteresting
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/the-present-participle/5596213.html
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/the-present-participle/5596213.html
Coronavirus: Dealing with mass unemployment post-pandemic
Neil and Sam discuss the post-Covid job landscape and teach you vocabulary along the way.
source http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08sdlph
source http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08sdlph
Is there & Are there plus prepositions mix and match
New Entry: 'Is there & Are there plus prepositions mix and match' has just been added to the Lesson Plans area of UsingEnglish.com.
source https://www.usingenglish.com/teachers/lesson-plans/view-is-there-are-there-plus-prepositions-mix-and-match/
Tuesday, 22 September 2020
English Grammar Made Easy S1 #131 - But vs Yet
learn the difference between: but & yet
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/english-grammar-made-easy-131-but-vs-yet
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/english-grammar-made-easy-131-but-vs-yet
Extensive Reading in English for Beginners #23 - The Many Senses
learn more about senses and improve your reading skills
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/extensive-reading-in-english-for-beginners-23-the-many-senses
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/extensive-reading-in-english-for-beginners-23-the-many-senses
Climate emergency
Find out more about this expression and learn things you can do to help the planet.
source http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08s39v3
source http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08s39v3
Monday, 21 September 2020
Sunday, 20 September 2020
Silent Letters- Pelmanism And Snap
New Entry: 'Silent Letters- Pelmanism And Snap' has just been added to the Lesson Plans area of UsingEnglish.com.
source https://www.usingenglish.com/teachers/lesson-plans/view-silent-letters-pelmanism-and-snap/
English Vocab Builder S1 #197 - Medical Conditions
learn essential vocabulary for discussing medical conditions
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/english-vocab-builder-197-medical-conditions
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/english-vocab-builder-197-medical-conditions
Thursday, 17 September 2020
What Are Intensive Pronouns?
Imagine you are watching an American film or television show - a mystery, for example. You hear one of the actors say the following words: “I myself am going to Boston…” You might stop and think about what you heard. Why would the speaker say, “I myself...”? That question will be our subject on Everyday Grammar. Today, we will explore the mysterious world of intensive pronouns. But first, what exactly is a pronoun? Pronouns Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns in a sentence. There are three terms you need to understand: personal pronouns, reflexive pronouns, and intensive pronouns. We will explore each in turn. Personal pronouns are words such as my or our. Personal pronouns have different forms depending on where they are in the sentence. They can take the place of the subject, object, and so on. Personal pronouns are the starting place for reflexive pronouns. English speakers generally make reflexive pronouns by adding the terms –self or –selves to the personal pronoun. For example, in the first person, the singular pronoun my becomes myself; the plural pronoun our becomes ourselves. Before we get to intensive pronouns, let us stop and think about why pronouns are useful. Consider this sentence: “Bob hit Bob while Bob was hammering a nail.” Note that the noun, Bob, appears three times in the sentence. Such a sentence is a little clumsy – much like poor Bob! What if some of the nouns were replaced by pronouns? Then, the sentence could be: Bob hit himself while he was hammering a nail. Or this: Bob hit himself while hammering a nail. In each sentence, the noun Bob appears once. The word himself, a reflexive pronoun, refers to Bob. And the personal pronoun he also means Bob. What about intensive pronouns? Intensive pronouns have the same form as reflexive pronouns. The difference is in how they are used. How to use intensive pronouns In a sentence, the intensive pronoun serves as an appositive – a word or group of words that renames a noun. Appositives tell more information about a noun or noun phrase. Imagine you hear some Americans talking about their favorite food. You might hear one of them say any one of the following lines: Myself, I prefer pizza. I myself prefer pizza. I prefer pizza myself. In our examples, the intensive pronoun myself renames the subject of the sentence – the word I. Note that the intensive pronoun appears at the beginning, middle, or end of the sentence. It does not have to appear next to the noun or pronoun that it is renaming, although in many cases it does. You might be wondering why English speakers use the intensive pronoun. It refers to the same thing as the subject of the sentence. What information could it add? The answer is this: the intensive pronoun gives more emphasis or force to a statement. That is why intensive pronouns are sometimes called emphatic reflexive pronouns. If you are unsure whether a word is acting like an intensive pronoun or reflexive pronoun, you can do a kind of test. If you remove the intensive pronoun, the sentence should still be complete. This is because appositives give more information. You can remove the information and the sentence will still work. For example: I told him myself. Becomes: I told him. Now let’s do the same test on a sentence with a reflexive pronoun: He cut himself while shaving. If you remove himself, the sentence is no longer complete. Closing thoughts We began this report with the line from an imaginary film or television show: I myself am going to Boston. Now you know that the speaker used the words “I myself...” to add more force to the statement. Perhaps she has had a disagreement with someone else about where to go. Perhaps she wants to show that she has made a different choice. The next time you are watching a program, listen to how the speakers use intensive pronouns. Over time, you will begin to understand the important information that such pronouns can give. I’m John Russell. And I’m Ashley Thompson. John Russell wrote this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story plural – adj. grammar: relating to a form of a word that suggests more than one person or thing hammer – v. to force (something) into a place or shape by hitting it with a hammer; n. a tool with a heavy metal head clumsy – adj. moving or doing things in a very uneasy or difficult way; badly made or done phrase – n. a group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not usually form a complete sentence prefer – v. to like (someone or something) better than someone or something else shave – v. to cut off hair or something else very close to the skin We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/what-are-intensive-pronouns-/5587249.html
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/what-are-intensive-pronouns-/5587249.html
Grandma therapy in Zimbabwe
Grandmothers are being trained to provide therapy to people in their community.
source http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08rrlk8
source http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08rrlk8
Wednesday, 16 September 2020
Learning Strategies #54 - How to speak English with confidence
discover effective strategies and tips for learning english
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/learning-strategies-54-how-to-speak-english-with-confidence
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/learning-strategies-54-how-to-speak-english-with-confidence
Tuesday, 15 September 2020
Buckle up
New Entry: 'Buckle up' has just been added to the Phrasal Verbs area of UsingEnglish.com.
source https://www.usingenglish.com/reference/phrasal-verbs/buckle.html#Buckle-up
English Grammar Made Easy S1 #130 - Present Perfect Tense vs Past Perfect Tense
learn the difference between: present perfect tense vs past perfect tense
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/english-grammar-made-easy-130-present-perfect-tense-vs-past-perfect-tense
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/english-grammar-made-easy-130-present-perfect-tense-vs-past-perfect-tense
Monday, 14 September 2020
____ a couple of things wrong about that.
New Entry: '____ a couple of things wrong about that.' has just been added to the Language Polls area of UsingEnglish.com.
source https://www.usingenglish.com/poll/1233.html
Sunday, 13 September 2020
News #287 - For English Learners: Top 5 English Learning Strategies (Steal These for Yourself!)
learn five strategies that speed up your progress
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/news-287-for-english-learners-top-5-english-learning-strategies-steal-these-for-yourself
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/news-287-for-english-learners-top-5-english-learning-strategies-steal-these-for-yourself
Friday, 11 September 2020
100 polite telephoning dos and don'ts
New Entry: '100 polite telephoning dos and don'ts' has just been added to the Articles area of UsingEnglish.com.
source https://www.usingenglish.com/articles/100-polite-telephoning-dos-donts.html
Silent Letters- Secret Message Code Game
New Entry: 'Silent Letters- Secret Message Code Game' has just been added to the Lesson Plans area of UsingEnglish.com.
source https://www.usingenglish.com/teachers/lesson-plans/view-silent-letters-secret-message-code-game/
Fairy Tales- Mix and Match Colour Words Practice
New Entry: 'Fairy Tales- Mix and Match Colour Words Practice' has just been added to the Lesson Plans area of UsingEnglish.com.
source https://www.usingenglish.com/teachers/lesson-plans/view-fairy-tales-mix-and-match-colour-words-practice/
Thursday, 10 September 2020
Understanding the Past Participle
Every language has its own way of saying something happened in the past, is happening now or will happen in the future. As you know, English does this through verb tenses. Most English tenses use a word form called a “participle.” There are present participles and past participles. Take the statement “I have been to Atlanta.” It uses “been,” which is the past participle of the verb “be.” In addition to forming verb tenses, the past participle can form two other things. One is the passive voice and the other is adjectives. On today’s program, I will talk about all three of these. Recognize past participles By now in your English studies, you have heard and seen the past participle countless times. You just may not have known what it was called. In fact, I used it a few times in this paragraph alone. The past participle is everywhere so let me begin with a quick discussion about recognizing it. You probably know that the past tense of a regular verb ends in -ed, as in “I talked to my friend.” For regular verbs, the past participle also ends in -ed. In other words, it is identical, as in “I have talked to her about my plans.” Most English verbs are regular, so most of their past participles are identical to the past tense. But for irregular verbs, the past participles and past tenses are not the same. Think of the verb “take” as an example. Its past tense is “took,” as in “I took my mother to the park.” The past participle is “taken,” as in “She has taken that flight many times.” The perfect tenses OK, now let’s get into today’s subject: the three uses for past participles. The first we will look at is perfect verb tenses. As a reminder, a perfect tense is one that puts some form of the verb “have” before its main verb. Take one of my examples again: She has taken that flight many times. I used the present perfect tense, which is have or has + past participle. Knowing the name of this or other verb tenses is not important for today’s lesson. The thing to remember is this: All perfect tenses in English include the past participle. Listen for it in this next example: She had studied English before moving to the U.S. The speaker used the past participle “studied” as part of the past perfect verb “had studied.” Again, do not worry if you do not know the names of these verb tenses. Simply note that they are perfect tenses and perfect tenses use past participles. The passive voice Next, let’s talk about the passive voice – the second use for the past participle. Here is a quick refresher: In most sentences in English, the subject performs the action of the verb. Take the example "You called a friend." The subject is "You” and the subject performs the action “called.” But sometimes the subject is acted upon or receives the action of the verb. This is called the passive voice. Imagine that someone steals your bike. You could say, “My bike was stolen.” There is no mention of the person because you do not know who did it. We can use passive voice when we do not know who or what performed the action or when identifying the performer is not important. In English, the most basic passive voice is formed with be + past participle. Let’s examine the bike example: My bike was stolen. Here, the verb “be” appears in the past tense “was.” And “stolen” is the past participle of “steal.” Listen for be + past participle in this next example: The dish is cooked over an open fire. Here, the verb “be” is in the present tense “is.” “Cook” is a regular verb, so its past participle is “cooked.” Use as adjectives And, finally, we turn to adjectives – the third use for past participles. Only some past participles can be used as adjectives. These adjectives are a little different from normal ones because they generally describe how someone feels. The adjective “bored” is a good example. If you wanted to describe this feeling in a group of children, you could say this: The children are bored. Notice that the adjective comes after the linking verb “be.” You can learn more about linking verbs on earlier programs. Now, suppose these same children begin to misbehave. You could say this: The bored children are getting into trouble. Here, the speaker put the adjective “bored” before the noun “children.” When past participles act as adjectives, they appear in the same places as normal adjectives – after linking verbs and before nouns. But, note again that these kinds of adjectives describe a person or people’s feelings. And that’s Everyday Grammar for this week. I’m Alice Bryant. Alice Bryant wrote this story for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story tense – n. a form of a verb that is used to show when an action happened passive voice – n. a way of writing or speaking that uses passive verbs paragraph – n. a part of a piece of writing that usually that begins on a new line and often is made up of a few sentences regular – adj. following the normal patterns by which word forms identical – adj. exactly the same mention – n. to talk about, write about, or refer to something or someone, especially in a brief way dish – n. food that is prepared in a particular way bored – adj. tired and annoyed you are unoccupied or do not have interest in your current activity. linking verb – n. a verb (such as be, appear or become) that connects a subject with an adjective or noun that describes or identifies the subject ___________________________________________________________ Practice Now, you try it! Find a few past participles in my story that were not used in any of the examples. Write your answers in the comments section. Example: By now in your English studies, you have heard and seen the past participle countless times. ________________________________________________________________ Common Mistakes Some English learners -- and native English speakers -- mistake the past tense with the past participle. For example, they may use the past participle when they are supposed to use the simple past, as in, “I seen the full moon.” Or, they may use the past tense when they are supposed to use the past participle, as in, “I should have went to the store.” These mistakes generally only happen with irregular verbs since, again, the past tense and past participle of regular verbs are identical. They both end in -ed.
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/understanding-the-past-participle/5578371.html
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/understanding-the-past-participle/5578371.html
Is there a future without bees?
The number of bees is declining at an alarming rate, with serious consequences for us.
source http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08r252n
source http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08r252n
Wednesday, 9 September 2020
Learning Strategies #52 - How to Start Conversations in English
discover effective strategies and tips for learning english
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/learning-strategies-52-how-to-start-conversations-in-english
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/learning-strategies-52-how-to-start-conversations-in-english
Tuesday, 8 September 2020
English Grammar Made Easy S1 #129 - When/How to Use "Did" with Past Tense Expressions
learn when and how to use "did" with past tense expressions (for emphasis)
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/english-grammar-made-easy-129-whenhow-to-use-did-with-past-tense-expressions
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/english-grammar-made-easy-129-whenhow-to-use-did-with-past-tense-expressions
Vanilla
Learn a word that can be used to describe something that is basic or bland.
source http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08qs0w2
source http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08qs0w2
Questions about Daily Routines- Mix and Match
New Entry: 'Questions about Daily Routines- Mix and Match' has just been added to the Lesson Plans area of UsingEnglish.com.
source https://www.usingenglish.com/teachers/lesson-plans/view-questions-about-daily-routines-mix-and-match/
Months and Colours- Mix and Match
New Entry: 'Months and Colours- Mix and Match' has just been added to the Lesson Plans area of UsingEnglish.com.
source https://www.usingenglish.com/teachers/lesson-plans/view-months-and-colours-mix-and-match/
Monday, 7 September 2020
Extensive Reading in English for Beginners #22 - Trees and Paper
learn about trees and paper and improve your reading skills
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/extensive-reading-in-english-for-beginners-22-trees-and-paper
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/extensive-reading-in-english-for-beginners-22-trees-and-paper
Sunday, 6 September 2020
English Vocab Builder S1 #196 - Camping: Common Terms
learn essential vocabulary for goiong camping
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/english-vocab-builder-196-camping-common-terms
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/english-vocab-builder-196-camping-common-terms
Saturday, 5 September 2020
Monthly Review Video #24 - English September 2020 Review - How to Match Your Routine to Language Learning
discover your new learning strategies and free resources of the month.
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/monthly-review-video-24-english-september-2020-review-how-to-match-your-routine-to-language-learning
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/monthly-review-video-24-english-september-2020-review-how-to-match-your-routine-to-language-learning
Meat puppet
New Entry: 'Meat puppet' has just been added to the Slang area of UsingEnglish.com. This entry is only available in our members' area.
source https://www.usingenglish.com/members/idioms/view.php?entry_id=27435
Thursday, 3 September 2020
Three Useful Phrasal Expressions
In a recent Everyday Grammar report, we explored phrasal expressions. Phrasal expressions are groups of words that take on a special meaning. This meaning is different from what the individual words suggest. Today we will explore three common, useful phrasal expressions. You will hear how people use them in everyday speech and in presentations, such as TED Talks. What are phrasal expressions? Phrasal expressions have somewhat unusual meanings. If you look up each individual word in the dictionary, you still might not understand them as a group. Here is an example. In our earlier report, we described the phrasal expression ‘by the way.’ ‘By the way’ means that the person speaking is going to introduce a new subject to a discussion. There are thousands of phrasal expressions in English.* In today’s report, we will explore the expressions so that, at all, and sort of. #1 so that Our first phrasal expression is ‘so that.’ ‘So that’ can be used in an explanation or to describe a purpose. It generally introduces a subordinate clause – a group of words with a subject and a verb. The subordinate clause plays a part in a longer sentence. Here is an example. Imagine you are explaining how to park a car on a very steep hill. Be sure to set the emergency brake so that the car does not roll away. The first part of the sentence – Be sure to set the emergency brake – is a complete sentence. The words ‘so that’ introduce a clause that explains or describes the purpose for setting the brake. Let’s listen to an example of how a speaker might use 'so that’ in a presentation. In this TED Talk, Sara-Jane Dunn talks about programming cells. “And then those programs must operate in a distributed way across individual cells, so that they can coordinate and that plant can grow and flourish.” #2 at all Our second phrasal expression is ‘at all.’ ‘At all’ means to any extent or in any way. It can make statements stronger. It acts like an adverb in the sentence. Unlike ‘so that,’ ‘at all’ does not introduce a clause. English speakers mostly use it in the middle or at the end of a sentence. Here is an example. Tom came to dinner last night, but he didn’t eat at all! He must have been worried about something. The reason the speaker used ‘at all’ is to highlight that Tom did not eat. ‘At all’ makes the statement stronger. ‘At all’ is common in speaking and writing. Let’s listen to how Amy Padnani, an editor at the New York Times, uses ‘at all’ in a 2019 TED Talk. “There were moments when I faced great self-doubt. I wondered if I was crazy or if I was all alone, and if I should just give up. When I’ve seen the reaction to this project, I know I’m not at all alone.” #3 sort of Our third phrasal expression is ‘sort of.’ ‘Sort of’ means in some way or to some extent. Unlike our other phrasal expressions, ‘sort of’ is informal. ‘Sort of’ is used in everyday speech. You will generally not see it in writing. ‘Sort of’ can stand alone as a statement, as in: Do you agree with that? Sort of... ‘Sort of’ can also appear in a longer sentence, as in: She was sort of nice. You might hear Americans reduce 'sort of' to something that sounds like 'sorta.' Let’s listen to how a speaker uses ‘sort of’ in a presentation. In this example, Jon M. Chu talks about filmmaking. Listen to how he uses ‘sort of’ as a kind of adverb. "You can plan, you can write scripts, you can do your storyboards, but at a certain point, your movie will speak back to you, and it’s your job to listen. It’s this living organism and it sort of presents itself, so you better catch it before it slips through your hands..." Closing thoughts You have learned about three common phrasal expressions. Now be sure to practice using them whenever you can. Look and listen for other phrasal expressions and keep a record of your findings. With time, and practice, you will use more and more phrasal expressions with ease. I'm Ashley Thompson. And I'm John Russell. John Russell wrote this story for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. *"Phrasal expression" is an umbrella term that covers many kinds of phrases, phrasal verbs, etc. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story steep – adj. going up or down very quickly distribute – v. to divide (something) among the members of a group — usually + between or among — often used as (be/get) distributed coordinate – v. to act or work together properly and well script – n. the written form of a play, movie, television show, etc. storyboard – n. a series of drawings or pictures that show the changes of scenes and actions for a movie, television show, etc.
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/three-useful-phrasal-expressions/5569366.html
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/three-useful-phrasal-expressions/5569366.html
100 common telephoning mistakes
New Entry: '100 common telephoning mistakes' has just been added to the Articles area of UsingEnglish.com.
source https://www.usingenglish.com/articles/100-common-telephoning-mistakes.html
How to talk about conspiracy theories
We discuss what to do when you are confronted with someone who spreads falsehoods.
source http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08qdrfq
source http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08qdrfq
Throwback Thursday S1 #50 - How to Use "Would" (For Future Statements)
learn how to use "would" (for future statements)
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/english-grammar-made-easy-50-how-to-use-would-for-future-statements
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/english-grammar-made-easy-50-how-to-use-would-for-future-statements
Tuesday, 1 September 2020
English Grammar Made Easy S1 #128 - Using "Though" at Various Positions in Sentences
learn how to use "though" at various positions in sentences (beginning, middle [conjunction]; end [adverb])
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/english-grammar-made-easy-128-using-though-at-various-positions-in-sentences
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/english-grammar-made-easy-128-using-though-at-various-positions-in-sentences
Learning Strategies #51 - Should You Cram when Learning English?
discover effective strategies and tips for learning english
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/learning-strategies-51-should-you-cram-when-learning-english
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/learning-strategies-51-should-you-cram-when-learning-english
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