Tag Archives: grammar

Both, None, Either and Neither

A word on Grammar, Grammar and Exercises, Lesson Plan: Intermediate, Slides, Writing skill, , , , , , , ,

You know how it is. Once I start surfing the net I need to remind myself that I need to get some sleep. So, just last night I was about to call it a night when blog hopping, I “bumped into” this new tool which, though still in their beta version, has a lot of potential. Slidebean is a cloud-based platform that lets you create presentations for free, you only need to register and explore a bit.

EDITED* Slidebean is no longer free. The presentation is now displayed with Genial.ly

And as I was preparing a lesson for the Intermediate level about Conjunctions I decided to give it a go and  I don’t regret it. I think it has created a beautiful presentation out of a boring point of grammar. What do you think?

 

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A Formal Email

Grammar, Lesson Plan: Intermediate, Vocabulary, Writing, Writing skill, , , , ,

I know it might be a tiny bit too late to be posting this but I’ve  just come across it and given that we are having the test on Monday/Tuesday I sort of hope the idea of visiting the blog crossed your mind and you are one of the lucky  who will be reading and doing the interactive exercises on the website where these snapshots have been taken from:      http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/.

Scroll down their  page and make sure you do the following exercises

  • ♥Check your writing: indirect questions
  • ♥Check your writing . gap fill: Useful Phrases

England? Great Britain? United Kingdom or maybe The British Isles?

General, ,

Have you ever wondered what’s the difference between England and Great Britain? Has it ever crossed your mind the possibility that The United Kingdom and Great Britain might  not be synonyms? I’ve come across this beautiful picture from Taste of Awesome.com, that beautifully helps clarify these  terms. I’ve just added the words Great Britain. I hope the author doesn’t mind. And, whatever you do, “never” call a Scottish person English or ask them why they wear skirts. Please, it is a kilt,  not a skirt!! There is a big difference!!

What a mess! I hope none of my students read this post. And why … you might be wondering? the reason is simple…. I always tell my students that English is a very easy language to learn. Hey! What do you want me to say? Do they really need to know that it is so irregular in pronunciation and spelling that even most native speakers need to think twice before daring to write some words?

If you don’t believe me, read this poem. You might change your mind!

We’ll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes,
But the plural of ox should be oxen, not oxes.
Then one fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese,
You may find a lone mouse or a whole nest of mice,
But the plural of house is houses, not hice.

If the plural of man is always called men,
Why shouldn’t the plural of pan be called pen?
The cow in the plural may be cows or kine,
But a bow if repeated is never called bine,
And the plural of vow is vows, never vine.

If I speak of a foot and you show me your feet,
And I give you a boot would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth, and a whole set are teeth,
Why shouldn’t the plural of booth be called beeth?

If the singular’s this and the plural is these,
Should the plural of kiss ever be nicknamed keese?
Then one may be that and three would be those,
Yet hat in the plural would never be hose,
And the plural of cat is cats, not cose.

We speak of a brother, and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methren,
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine she, shis and shim,

So the English, I think, you all will agree,
Is the queerest language you ever did see

Speaking: Practising Modals

Speaking, , , , ,

I shouldn’t be saying this but I have to… I hate teaching modals and I am not a hundred per cent  sure I  am the only one to blame for this. Maybe grammarians should reach an agreement on how best categorise them ?

Anyway, let’s face the teaching of modals with some speaking activities to help lift spirits. Mine, of course!

ACTIVITY 1.EXPRESSING ABILITY: CAN

Work with a partner. Take turns asking your partner questions about the abilities in parentheses. Use Can in your questions and Can or Can’t in your answers. Demonstrate you can -let’s have fun, shall we?- where necessary:)

♥ (say the alphabet backwards)

♥ (wiggle your nose)

♥ (read in a car without getting sick)

♥ (touch the end of your nose with your eyes closed)

♥ (curl your tongue)

♥ (remember your first teacher’s name)

♥ (raise one eyebrow without raising the other)

♥ (cross your eyes)

♥ (pull your fingers backwards to your wrist)

Do you have any other outstanding abilities?

Ready to continue…?

ACTIVITY 2. In pairs once again, talk about the following…