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Proverb of the Week

PHRASE OF THE WEEK... "To have a sweet tooth" (to be fond of sweet things like candy and desserts) - Charles has a very sweet tooth - Carlos es muy goloso.

Thursday 31 March 2011

I love sports... what about you?

Watch the following video and try to answer the questions below.

- What's the sport you can see on the video? Yeah! you are right.. it's American football!
- What do you think about this NFL (National Football League) advertisement /əd'vɜ:tɪsmənt/ (anuncio)?
- Do you think the video is real or a fake?
- Would you like to play this sport? Why (not)?

Here you go another video. It's the most exciting sporting event I've ever watched on TV.
Think about that sporting event and answer these questions:
- Did you watch it?
- When and where did it take place?
- What teams were taking part?
- What was the final result? Who scored the goal(s)?
- In your opinion, who was the best player?
- Where did you watch that match?
- What was your reaction when the match finished?



By courtesy of Sergio Viñals.

Wednesday 30 March 2011

How to use NO and NOT


What's the difference between no and not?

La palabra not se utiliza para expresar negación en una gran variedad de situaciones. Por ejemplo, se utiliza con los adjetivos y adverbios:
- “Are you hungry?”"Not really.”
- Not many of my friends use Skype.

Y con los verbos:
- You’re not my mother!
- Don’t (do not) go there! It's a dangerous place.

Acuérdate de utilizar not con el infinitivo y el gerundio:
- Remember not to go to bed too late. (Remember to don’t go to bed too late. X)
- He’s worried about not being able to find a job. (He’s worried about don’t find a job.X)

La palabra no se utiliza en dos situaciones:
1. Para respuestas negativas.
- Do you like this music?
- No, I don’t.
2. Antes de sustantivos, con el significado de not..any o ningún/ninguna.
- There’s no bread left.
- She had no reason to tell me.
- There are no oranges in the fridge. 

Un error común es decir no cuando se debería decir not.
- “How are you?” “No bad.”X –> Not bad.
- I play football, but no basketball. X –> I play football, but not basketball.
Aunque not aparece antes de un sustantivo (basketball) en este último ejemplo, significa I don’t play y no ningún/ninguna; por eso no utilizamos no en este contexto. 
- I play football, but I don’t play basketball. = I play football, but not basketball. 

Exercises. Fill in the blanks with no or not:

1. “How often do you go out?” “____ often.”
2. A good movie should make you think, ____ just entertain you.
3. I have plans on Saturday, but ____ on Sunday.
4. “Do you like heavy metal?”"____, ____ really.”
5. “What’s new?” “____ much.”
6. One of the great things about living in the city is ____ having to drive.
7. I have ____ idea why he did that.
8. That’s ____ necessarily true.
9. There’s ____ way I’m eating that!

Answers:

1. “How often do you go out?”"Not often.”
2. A good movie should make you think, not just entertain you.
3. I have plans on Saturday, but not on Sunday.
4. “Do you like heavy metal?”"No, not really.”
5. “What’s new?” “Not much.”
6. One of the great things about living in the city is not having to drive.
7. I have no idea why he did that.
8. That’s not necessarily true.
9. There’s no way I’m eating that!

By courtesy of Zac Tobias.

Tuesday 29 March 2011

Must / Mustn't / Have to / Don't have to

What's the difference? When do you need to use each of them? If you want to learn more about them, click HERE.
Are mustn't and don't have to different? What do you think? Of course they are different! Have a look at this LINK to learn more about it.

ONLINE EXERCISES

OPTIONAL EXERCISES (Expansion)

QUIZZES
- Have to / Don't have to - Quiz (2) 

VIDEOS
- Mustn't Vs Don't have to


- Must Vs Have to

Monday 21 March 2011

Gerund or Infinitive?

1 - The Infinitive (with to)
Use the infinitive:
  • To express a purpose:
- I went to the city centre yesterday evening to buy my daughter a present.
- Alice went to France to visit her old friends.
- I went to the party to meet new people.
- I came to this school to learn English.
  • After adjectives:
- She finds it hard to learn German.
- My phone number is easy to remember.
- Is there any part of your town where it's dangerous to go at night?
  • After some verbs (decide, try, forget, help, hope, learn, need, offer, want, plan, pretend, promise, would like):
- He promised not to be late for work again.
- He learned to cook at school.
- Have you ever forgotten to turn off your mobile phone in a cinema?
- Try not to be late tomorrow. 
- She'd like to take part in the competition.

2 - The Gerund (with -ing)
Use the gerund:
  • As the subject of a sentence:
- Eating outside with my friends makes me feel good.
- Flying makes me nervous.
- Singing is good for your health.
  • After prepositions:
- She's good at speaking English.
- He left without saying goodbye.
- Are you interested in visiting Egypt?
- I'm thinking of buying a new car. 
- Thank you for being my best friend.
  • After some verbs (enjoy, like, dislike, love, hate, mind, spend, finish, start, stop, continue, quit, go on)
- I hate getting up early.
- He doesn't mind doing the washing-up.
- Sorry! I'm afraid I can't go to the cinema with you. I have to go on working until 9pm
- Please stop talking.
- She quit smoking two years ago. 
- How long do you spend studying?

Gerund or Infinitive?  
When two verbs go together, the second verb is often in the infinitive or in the gerund (the -ing form). There are no fixed rules regarding which form the second verb takes, so when you learn a new verb it’s a good idea to learn the verb pattern. Unfortunately, there are some verbs that can be followed either by the infinitive or the gerund with no real difference in meaning: For example:

The verb "start" can have both patterns with no difference in meaning:
- It started to rain = It started raining. (They have the same meaning).

But in the case of verbs, such as “stop”, "remember", "forget" and "try" the meaning changes:
- I stopped to smoke after working for two hours. (You had a break and smoked a cigarette.)
- I stopped smoking. (You abandoned the habit)
- I'm trying to find a new job, but it's very hard. (make an attempt)
- Why don't you try doing yoga? (experiment with something)
- Remember to bring your dictionary tomorrow. (keep something in mind)
- Do you remember meeting him last year? (remember something after it happened)
- I can't forget to post this letter. (omit something unintentionally)
- I will never forget meeting the King. (forget something after it happened)

After "make" and "let" we have to use the infinitive without "to". 
- Singing makes me feel good.
- We like John very much because he makes us laugh a lot.
- I'm grounded! My parents don't let me go out today.

Have you had enough practice? If not, you can get more practice by clicking on the following links: (os recomiendo estos links y ese blog en general, es de los mejores que conozco para aprender inglés)
Problemas con el Infinitivo en Inglés
- Problemas con el Gerundio en Inglés

ONLINE EXERCISES: The best way to learn verb patterns is through practice, practice, practice! Why don't you start, then, by doing these exercises?
Infinitive with "to" (1)
- Infinitive with "to" (2)
- Gerund (1)
- Gerund (2)
- Gerund or Infinitive (1)
- Gerund or Infinitive (2)
- Gerund or Infinitive (3)

Thursday 17 March 2011

Saint Patrick's Day

Today, Irish people celebrate Saint Patrick's Day all over the world. Learn more about it, the national day of Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland.
Click HERE to read some useful and interesting information about this special day and check out this powerpoint presentation.

View more presentations from Rafaarabit33.

By courtesy of my colleague Francisco Javier García

Tuesday 15 March 2011

Asking and giving directions


View more documents from Rafaarabit33
You can also download this document HERE 

HOW TO ASK FOR DIRECTIONS
  • Excuse me, where is the nearest bank?
  • How do I get to (the) . . . ?
  • Can you tell me how to get to (the) . . . (from here)?
  • What’s the best way to get to (the) . . . ? 
  • Excuse me, do you know if there is a . . . near here?

HOW TO LOCATE PLACES

  • The bank is next to the library.
  • The library is on the corner of Main Street and Park Avenue.
  • The park is in front of the department store.
  • The shoe shop is opposite the hospital.
  • The shopping centre is near / close to the cathedral

HOW TO GIVE DIRECTIONS

  • Go straight on
  • Go up / down High Street
  • Turn left / right
  • Take the second (turning on the) left /right
  • Walk past the (post office)
  • Cross the street
  • The (bookshop) will be on your left / right
  • Take Baker Street
  • Walk two blocks

EXAMPLE

  • (First,) go down this street (for three blocks)
  • (Then,) turn right at the zebra crossing.
  • (After that,) go straight on Park Avenue until you get to the traffic lights.
  • (When you get to the traffic lights), turn right again.
  • The bank will be on your left, next to the police station. You won’t miss it.
Now, you can get more practice with these listening activities:

Would you like to play another game? if so, play this Reading game.
- READING - Game (from BBC) 

WATCH & LISTEN: Homes in Britain
To understand directions in English coming from people or machines, watch the first video and then do the activities in the second one.
FIRST VIDEO


SECOND VIDEO

And finally, enjoy this video!


Sunday 13 March 2011

How to tell if your boyfriend is a slob


View more documents from Rafaarabit33.
-You can also download the document HERE
-Vocabulary -"Housework chores" 


By courtesy of my colleague Teresa Bastida

Friday 4 March 2011

Extra Listening practice

Do you guys need to improve your listening skills? If so, you can practise by listening to these 4 exercises.