A word on Grammar: made from/of/by/with

Today the focus is on the verb “make” and  what it means when it collocates with four
different prepositions, namely” from”, “of” “by” and “with”. Choosing the right preposition can be a bit tricky sometimes. I hope the explanation below helps you understand a bit better the differences.

🙁 She claimed that the jumper was made from wool

🙂 She claimed that the jumper was made of wool

🙁 Many components are made by plastic

🙂 Many components are made of plastic

🙁 Margarine, which is made by natural ingredients, is more acceptable

🙂 Margarine, which is made from natural ingredients, is more acceptable

♥Use made from when the original materials have been completely changed and cannot be recognised. “Bread is made from flour and water”.

♥ Use made of when the original materials have not been completely changed and you can still see them. “Their dining table is made of solid oak”.

♥ Use made by when you mention the name of the company or person that has made something (NOT the names of materials). “This new razon is made by Wilkinson Sword”.

♥Use made with to talk about one of several  ingredients or materials (for example in cooking). “Paella is made with rice “

Source: Longman Dictionary of Common Errors and Practical English Usage

Now, let’s try a quiz!

Houses are made __ brick

of

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Wine is made __ grapes.

from

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His jacket is made ___leather

of

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Penicillin was discovered ___ A. Fleming

by

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Spanish omelette is made __ potatoes

with

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All our furniture is made __ wood

of

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Paper is made ___ wood

from

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This sweater was knit ___ my granny

by

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Practise your Listening: Dubai Islands

I had  heard some scattered pieces of news  here and there about Dubai being some kind of architectural wonderland  but after watching some videos  about this emirate I can only wonder : “well, what’s next?.

I’ve prepared this video for my intermediate students.If you want to test your listening you might want to click here and answer some questions about this video

SlideShark: convert your PPT to your Ipad format

I’ve been using my Ipad for a year and I couldn’t be happier with it. There are lots of apps that I use for fun and there are some more that I use to help me in my daily teaching. One of them is SlideShark, created by the same people who created MyBrainShark(post here). SlideShark is a free app for converting and viewing PPT files on your iPad. SlideShark converts your PowerPoint files without losing any of your original formatting, transitions, or animations.

To use SlideShark  you need to register but don’t worry it’s free . Then , just upload your PPT files  and  SlideShark will convert the files for you. Instal  the free SlideShark app and  you can access your converted files on your iPad at anytime and display your presentation in the classroom.

Lesson Plan: New Year Resolutions

Happy New Year to everyone  and good luck with your New Year Resolutions. I have a dozen  resolutions myself  but I no longer believe I am going to keep them. The title of this post is not what one might think it means though it’s true that I have had the same New Year Resolutions for quite a number of years. But I want to be positive, start off on the right foot and mentally prepare myself for, this time, keeping them. Time will tell!

Why the title, then?  There is a very funny lesson that I prepared two years ago called Bridget Jones’s Diary that has to do with Resolutions. A few days  I got a comment to a post in this blog where I introduced this  lesson (here) and so I thought I might show it again .