Working hard...

These last weeks have been really intensive!

And in part is due to our new classmate because he’s working really hard so as to sit his CAE exam (take in or sit an exam) in March! Daniel you are making us work really hard!

Don’t misunderstand us! We are not complaining because it’s good practice.

By the way, welcome to our class!

Week 18^th – 20^th

We went on working really hard!

That week we focused on the “Use of English” part.

It consists of five parts.

Part 1- Multiple - choice text

Part 2- Gapped- text

Part 3- Word building

Part 4- Homonyms

Part 5- Rewriting

We also did the reading part.

Part 1- Three extracts from a scientific research background. Multiple choice answers.

Part 2- An extract from a magazine article where six paragraphs had been removed.

Part 3 - Newspaper article. Also, multiple choice answers.

Part 4- Reviews of crime novels. Choosing from the reviews so as to answer the questions.

We revised some idioms with “out of”

·         When do you feel out of breath?

·         How long have they been out of work?

·         Did you know that a translator computer translated the expression “out of sight, out of mind” into “invisible, insane”?

·         Is this information out of date?

As well as “Animal Idioms”

·         Have you ever talked until the cows came home? Who with?

·         When you buy a bargain, it usually smells a rat!

·         My daughter is so clumsy! She’s like a bull in a China shop!

·         The problem with teenagers is that they don’t pay any attention to your advice. Talking to them is like water off a duck’s back!

·         The atmosphere at work was OK until somebody set the cat among the pigeons and rumours got to the boss.

Finally, could you make the difference between these pair of words?

Policy /politics      economic/ economics    economy/economies    safety/ security        

take over / overtake            complimentary / complementary  

Specially / especially

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv265.shtml

I hope you get lots of stamina (energy) because this week promises to be really intensive, too!

Week 11^th – 13^th

We had a second listening. A full listening part, too.

It seemed to me that this time it was easier for you. According to Eduardo the parts that were easier in the previous listening, were more difficult in this one and viceversa.

Here you are the listening links, in case you want to go through them again!

http://www.examenglish.com/CAE/cae_listening1.htm

http://www.examenglish.com/CAE/cae_listening2.htm

http://www.examenglish.com/CAE/cae_listening3.htm

http://www.examenglish.com/CAE/cae_listening4.htm

http://www.examenglish.com/CAE/cae_listening5.htm

We extended our knowledge of “get”.

We read about women who “got their own back”! (took revenge)

Hot verb: “GET”

+ Adjective or participle	Different meanings	As a phrasal verb
Get dark	Get a paper (buy)	Get on with (have a good relationship / manage)
Get ready	Get a taxi ( call)	Get out of (avoid doing)
Get old	Get an email (receive)	Get through (contact by phone)
Get angry	Get help (find help)	Get up ( rise from bed)
Get married	Get to (arrive)	Get at (reach, imply)
Get lost		Get over (recover)

And don’t forget the passive meaning: “I got my hair cut yesterday”

Nor the expressions:

Get in touch and get in my nerves!

How do you get in touch with your friends? By email, phone or personally?

Which things get on your nerves? (can’t stand, can’t bear)?

We definitely got a lot in our plates!

Phrasal verbs with "get"

And also we had some exercises on “make” and “do”

Could you do me a favour?

Can I make a phone call from your office? My mobile is dead!

Do you really think that the only goal of doing business is making a profit so as to make a lot of money?

My suitcase is full! Can you make room in yours so as to carry these bottles of wine for me?

See you tomorrow!

Distancing & Listening

Week 4^th -6^th

First thing first, I’d like to thank you Chus for giving me a lift (take me in her car) to the underground station.

It seems I’m not a reliable or trustworthy person! I promised not to torture you but the listening was sort of a torture, wasn’t it?

Just kidding! It wasn’t that bad so as to be the first one we did following the premises on the test.

In the listening test, we could hear phrases and expressions like these ones:

·         The music had a soothing effect; in fact, she fell asleep listening to it.

·         It was a bit bland, too. More of the same!

·         He knows he should keep fit; do more exercise, had a healthier diet but… it’s like water off a duck’s back. (He doesn’t pay attention to it)

·         He opens up the gym at seven o’clock, for the early birds. (People who get up early, early risers)

·         People are frightened that female comedians break down (collapse into tears) on stage.

·         She pretended to be madder, cruder…but she overdid it (exaggerated) and now people are confused and cannot distinguish between the character and the real person.

·         She’s paid peanuts (very little) but she enjoys what she does.

                                                                                          

We learnt to give information without stating that what we definitely know is true, as a way of distancing ourselves from the information.

Seem /appear.

·         It seems/ appears +that+ a clause.

It seems/ appears that the less the children sleep, the more likely they are to behave badly.

Subject +seem /appear + infinitive.

 Mark seems/appears to have aged a lot over the last year.

It would seem/appear + that + clause, distances us even more from the information and makes it sound less sure. And it’s more formal.

·         The passive with verbs of saying and reporting.

It + passive verb + that + clause

It is said that a washing machine saves people an average 47 minutes a day.

It has been announced by a White House spokesman that the President has been taken to hospital.

(Verbs commonly used in this pattern: agree, announce, believe, expect, hope, report, say)

Subject+ passive verb + to + infinitive

The Prime minister is expected to resign after the affair was published in the papers.

The missing couple are understood to have been living in Canada.

(Verbs commonly used in this pattern: believe, expect, report,say, suggest and think)

There + passive verb + to + infinitive

It is said that there are more than five million people living in poverty in this country.

There are said to be more than five million people living in poverty in this country.

Remember:

It is said that Carol works sixteen hours a day.

Carol is said to work sixteen hours a day.

It is believed that the missing boy is wearing a black hoodie and jeans.

The missing boy is believed to be wearing a black hoodie and jeans.

It is expected that the strike will end soon.

The strike is expected to end soon.

It is alleged that he kicked a policeman.

He is alleged to have kicked a policeman.

·         Other distancing expressions:

Apparently. At the beginning or at the end of a phrase. Informal.

Apparently, they have split up.

According to. We use it to attribute opinions to somebody else. Not according to me

According to new research, the idea that we have to drink two litres of water a day is a myth.

May / might

Dinosaurs may have died out due to extremely rapid climate change.

There are rumours that the band might be planning a comeback.

Well, that was about it!

This week, more!

Listening Practice - Refinancing a loan

A Week of Words and Abstract Nouns

Week 28^th – 30^th

Hello again!

You must hate me! Well, hatred is a strong emotion. But I’m sure this week I’m not very popular with you. And it’s not my fault. It’s that “Multiple Choice” exercise I gave you.

Yes, I know it must have driven you nuts (crazy)! Anyway, what did you expect? You’re advanced students now!

Do you remember the meaning of these near synonyms?

Staff- crew- team – gang?

Circulation – flow – current – stream

View – purpose – goal - reason

What about these words related to light?

Sparkling- glowing – twinkling – shining

And these ways of walking?

Swaggered – paced – strolled – trudged

Finally, how about these kinds of noise?

Squeaked- creaked- clicked – rustled

Tip:relate the words to concepts or put them in context.

e.g. What creaks? ( a hinge,a wheel or a mouse)

squeak (hinge / wood / shoe)

click (tongue / heels/ a camera)

rustle ( leaves / wind / silk / paper)

Lie off / Lay off?

 To lay off = dismiss from work, past and past participle = laid

The car factory will lay off 100 workers next week.
The shoe factory laid off 100 workers last week.
So far this month 200 workers have been laid off.

There is another verb to lie = to be or stay at rest, past lay, past participle lain

They lie in bed all day.
They lay in bed from midnight until dawn.
They have lain in bed since Monday.

This form of lie can also be used with off.
to lie off in this case means to be positioned.

Many wrecked ships lie off the coast of King Island.
The wreck lay off the coast of King Island until it was salvaged by Captain Nemo.
That wreck has lain off the coast of King Island for 400 years.

And yet another verb to lie = not tell the truth, past and past participle lied

The Bloggs never tell the truth, they always lie.
Billy Blogg lied to me yesterday. 
Every time Mary Blogg has opened her mouth, she has lied.

Do you want more on this subject? Try this link and do the test.

Lie-Lay

We discussed the topic of “The Earliest Memories” from the point of view of a psychologist.

And we worked on abstract nouns.

What are your fears?

What stage in life brings you the sweetest memories: childhood or adulthood?

What do you do to fight boredom?

Do you have strong believes?(sing. belief)

Is poverty an illness?

Is there still kindness in this world?

Can hatred triumph over love?

See you on Tuesday!

I promise not to torture you on the first week of February!

Memories are less reliable than you think!

Verb Patterns, Colours and Time...

Week 21^st- 23^rd

As promised, we learnt some “Colour idioms”.

But it wasn’t until we had reviewed verb patterns.

·         I was so happy to receive your present. (After adjs, to +infinitive)

·         She was busy looking after her little sister. (Exception;after “busy”, ing)

·         He went to the sop to buy some bread. (To express purpose, why?)

·         Doing sport is healthy. (When the verb is the subject, ing)

·         The kid wasn’t tall enough to reach the door knob.(After too and enough)

·         Don’t leave the office without locking the door. (After prepositions)

·         They didn’t know where to run.(After question words, except “why”)

·         We went swimming last weekend. (After “go” for physical activities)

·         My niece would like to become a teacher when she grows up.(After would like, would love etc.)

 After certain verbs we use , to + infinitive and after other verbs we use “–ing”. And this is the most difficult part to remember because there are no rules for it. Read a lot. Do exercises and above all, learn the verbs in context with sample sentences.

·         What did they plan to do?

·         My friends agree to stay in the hotel closer to the beach.

·         She promised not to tell anybody.

·         I refuse to go by bus. It takes longer than the train!

·         I hope to finish my degree next year.

·         They seem to have forgotten what happened before.

·         I decided to take the job.

·         Avoid drinking tap water if you travel to India.

·         There’s no point warning him, he’ll go anyway.

·         He denied taking the money.

·         He confessed to killing the man.

·         They objected to having the shop open until 9pm.

·         We are looking forward to hearing from you.

We learnt idioms with colours.

·         Is there anybody in your family who’s got green fingers?

·         Have you ever been green with envy?

·         When is anybody black and blue all over?

·         Do you know anybody who has a yellow streak?

And we also talked about “time”

·         What would you do if you had more time in your hands?

·         Are you usually on time?

·         What do you do to kill time?

·         Are you often pushed for time?

·         Do you run out of time in exams?

Llistening Practice

New Year, New Term, New Students!

Week 14^th – 16^th

New Year, New Term, New Students!

Nice to meet you!

After introducing each other, we started talking about the topic “When we were young.”

 Do you remember these words?

         ·       The springs of the rocking horse needed oily.

         ·       It was a splendid horse that sprang forwards and backwards. (spring- sprang- sprung)

         ·       She tried to run away (escape) because her family had told her off.(scolded)

         ·       Rainy weather makes me feel miserable.(unhappy)

You also told me “All about you,” as an excuse to review verb patterns.

One day, I want to live in a foreign country.

I often forget to buy the travel card till the very last day!

I wish people would stop fighting against each other.

I would never refuse to go out with my friends.

Once, I helped a blind lady to get on the bus.

Our teacher often tells us not to learn things out of context.

In our next classes we’ll talk about “Time” and “Colours”.

Are you intrigued?

Childhood memories

Verb Patterns - Exercises

Happy 2014

Week 7^th – 9^th January, 2014

Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed your holidays and that you are ready to work!

I went through the last blog and an English adage came to my mind “Man plans, God laughs.” Indeed!

Yes, it means that one makes arrangements but then you have to change them because God, fate, luck or whatever it is, makes you to do so. I had planned to have three days of class the week before the last in December, but we had to put it off.(cancelled, delayed) I had planned to continue with modal verbs but nobody came to class on the last day, so …

Yes, you had warned me that you may not attend to class on that date.

My New Year Resolutions? To fulfil those delayed plans!