Monday, March 23, 2015

The Canterville Ghost (Highlight verbs in simple past tense)

Chapter II

There was a horrible storm that night, but apart from that nothing scary happened. The next morning, however, when the family came down to breakfast, they found the terrible stain of blood once again on the floor. Washington cleaned it a second time, but the second morning it appeared again. The third morning it was there, too, although the library had been locked up at night by Mr Otis himself.
The following night, all doubts about the existence of the ghost were finally removed forever. At eleven o'clock the family went to bed and some time after, Mr Otis was awakened by a strange noise in the corridor, outside his room. It sounded like the clank of metal, and it came nearer every moment. Mr Otis got up and looked at the time. It was exactly one o'clock. So Mr Otis put on his slippers, went to the door and opened it. There, right in front of him, stood the ghost - his eyes were as red as burning coals; long grey hair fell over his shoulders and from his wrists and ankles hung heavy chains.
“My dear Sir,” said Mr Otis, “you must oil those chains. It's impossible to sleep with such a noise going on outside the bedrooms. I have therefore brought you this bottle of lubricator, and I will be happy to supply you with more if you require it.” With these words Mr Otis laid the bottle down, closed his door and went back to bed.
Shocked, the Canterville ghost stood quite motionless for a moment, but then he growled angrily. Just at this moment, the twins appeared on the corridor and threw a large pillow at him! The ghost hastily escaped through the wall, and the house became quiet again.
When the ghost reached his small secret chamber, he took a deep breath. No ghosts in history had ever been treated in this manner!

The Canterville Ghost

Chapter II

Questions on the text

  • Which statement is true?


  • What wakes Mr Otis up?


  • Is Mr Otis afraid of the ghost?  

Find a synonym for each word in the text.

  • terrible → 
  • closer → 

Why do we use the simple past in the following sentences?

  • He put on his slippers, went to the door and opened it.

  • His eyes were red; grey hair fell over his shoulders and from his wrists hung heavy chains.

Irregular Verbs

https://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/irregular-verbs

Simple Past Tense

The simple past expresses an action in the past taking place once, never, several times. It can also be used for actions taking place one after another or in the middle of another action.

To Be - Affirmative

SubjectTo BeExamples
Iwaswas tired this morning.
YouwereYou were very good.
HewasHe was the best in his class.
ShewasShe was late for work.
ItwasIt was a sunny day.
WewereWe were at home.
YouwereYou were on holiday.
TheywereThey were happy with their test results.

To Be - Negative Sentences

The negative of To Be can be made by adding not after the verb (was or were).
SubjectTo BeExamples
Iwas notwas not tired this morning.
Youwere notYou were not crazy.
Hewas notHe was not married.
Shewas notShe was not famous.
Itwas notIt was not hot yesterday.
Wewere notWe were not invited.
Youwere notYou were not at the party.
Theywere notThey were not friends.

To Be - Negative Contractions

The can make negative contractions of the verb To Be in the Past tense by joining the verb (was or were) and n't(e.g. were not = weren't). We don't make a contraction of the subject and the verb (e.g. I was).
was not tired this morning.ORwasn't tired this morning.
You were not crazy.ORYou weren't crazy.
He was not married.ORHe wasn't married.
She was not famous.ORShe wasn't famous.
It was not hot yesterday.ORIt wasn't hot yesterday.
We were not invited.ORWe weren't invited.
You were not at the party.ORYou weren't at the party.
They were not friends.ORThey weren't friends.
* Notice that we don't have contractions for To Be in Past Tense affirmative sentences.

To Be - Questions

To create questions with To Be, you put the Verb before the Subject.
AffirmativeYouwerehappy.
 SubjectVerb 
 
QuestionWereyouhappy?
 VerbSubject 

AffirmativeQuestion
I was lateWas I late?
You were sick.Were you sick?
He was surprised.Was he surprised?
She was from Italy.Was she from Italy?
It was a big house.Was it a big house?
We were ready.Were we ready?
You were early.Were you early?
They were busy.Were they busy?

To Be - Short Answers

In spoken English, we usually give short answers in response to questions.
Was he from Japan? - Yes, he was (from Japan). The last part (from Japan) is not necessary. We use shorts answers to avoid repetition, when the meaning is clear.
QuestionShort Answers**Short Answers
Was I late?Yes, you were.No, you weren't.
Were you sick?Yes, I was.No, I wasn't.
Was he surprised?Yes, he was.No, he wasn't.
Was she from Italy?Yes, she was.No, she wasn't.
Was it a big house?Yes, it was.No, it wasn't.
Were we ready?Yes, we were.No, we weren't.
Were you early?Yes, we were.No, we weren't.
Were they busy?Yes, they were.No, they weren't.
** With To Be, We don't use contractions in affirmative short answers.
http://www.grammar.cl/Past/To_Be.htm

Form of Simple Past

PositiveNegativeQuestion
no differencesI spoke.I did not speak.Did I speak?
For irregular verbs, use the past form (see list of irregular verbs, 2nd column). For regular verbs, just added.

Exceptions in Spelling when Adding ed

Exceptions in spelling when adding edExample
after a final e only add dlove – loved
final consonant after a short, stressed vowel
or l as final consonant after a vowel is doubled
admit – admitted
travel – travelled
final y after a consonant becomes ihurry – hurried

Use of Simple Past


  • action in the past taking place once, never or several times
    Example: He visited his parents every weekend.
  • actions in the past taking place one after the other
    Example: He came in, took off his coat andsat down.
  • action in the past taking place in the middle of another action
    Example: When I was having breakfast, the phone suddenly rang.
  • if sentences type II (If I talked, …)
    Example: If I had a lot of money, I would share it with you.
https://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/simple-past

Thursday, March 12, 2015

PRONOUNS CHART


CAN - CAN'T (EXERCISES)

http://www.grammar.cl/Games/Can_Cannot.htm

CAN - CAN'T

Can is a modal verb.
Can is used to express ability or to say that something is possible.
Can is the same for all subjects. We don't add an 'S' in the third person (like other verbs)
The verb that comes after Can is in the infinitive without to:
  • I can speak Spanish. (= it is possible for me to speak Spanish = I have the ability to speak Spanish)
  • He can swim well.
  • We can see our neighbour in the garden.
  • They can play the guitar.
For more uses of Can see: Modal Verbs: Can - Could

Negative

To form the negative we add "not" after can to form one word: cannot.
We can also contract the negative to form can't. (can't = cannot)
  • cannot play the piano. We can't go to the cinema tonight.
  • She cannot speak French very well. He can't drive a car.

Questions

To from the question we change the position of the subject and the auxiliary verb.
The main verb is still in the infinitive without to.
  • Where can I buy an ice-cream?
  • Can go to the party, please?
  • Can you speak Japanese?
  • What can we do on Saturday?
Remember that you can use short answers:
  • Can I sit here please? Yes, you can.
  • Can you speak Chinese? No, I can't.

Impersonal Can

Sometimes You can and Can you…? are impersonal and refer to people in general.
  • You can see many stars at night from here. (= people in general can see many stars)
It doesn't necessarily refer to you but people in general.
  • You can't run naked in the middle of the street.
Not necessarily saying YOU can't run naked in the middle of the street but in general it is not possible for anyone.

Prepositions of time (practice)

http://oppematerjal.sisekaitse.ee/laanemaa/DocumenExamination/task_11_prepositions_of_time.html




http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/grammar-vocabulary/grammar-videos/prepositions-time




Sunday, March 1, 2015

FRECUENCY ADVERBS


DAILY ROUTINES


Telling the time


ADJECTIVES

An adjective's job is to modify a noun or pronoun. They are always near the noun or pronoun they are describing. Be careful how you use adjectives such as interesting, beautiful, great, wonderful, or exciting. Many adjectives like these are overused and add little definition to a sentence. Instead, show your reader or listener what you are talking about by using verbs and nouns creatively. Sprinkle fewer well-chosen adjectives for interest.
Adjectives are often used to describe the degree of modification.
The adjective forms are positive, comparative, and superlative.
Adjectives are often used to describe the degree of modification.
The adjective forms are positive, comparative, and superlative.
This tree is tall. (positive)
That tree is taller. (comparative)
The last tree in the row is the tallest. (superlative)
A handful of adjectives have irregular forms of positive, comparative, and superlative usage.
These include good/better/best, bad/worse/worst, little/less/least, much-many-some/more/most, far/further/furthest.
My was good, hers was better, and yours was the best.
Appearance Adjectives
adorable
beautiful
clean
drab
elegant
fancy
glamorous
handsome
long
magnificent
old-fashioned
plain
quaint
sparkling
ugliest
unsightly
wide-eyed
Color Adjectives
red
orange
yellow
green
blue
purple
gray
black
white
Condition Adjectives
alive
better
careful
clever
dead
easy
famous
gifted
helpful
important
inexpensive
mushy
odd
powerful
rich
shy
tender
uninterested
vast
wrong
Feelings (Bad) Adjectives
angry
bewildered
clumsy
defeated
embarrassed
fierce
grumpy
helpless
itchy
jealous
lazy
mysterious
nervous
obnoxious
panicky
repulsive
scary
thoughtless
uptight
worried
Feelings (Good) Adjectives
agreeable
brave
calm
delightful
eager
faithful
gentle
happy
jolly
kind
lively
nice
obedient
proud
relieved
silly
thankful
victorious
witty
zealous
Shape Adjectives
broad
chubby
crooked
curved
deep
flat
high
hollow
low
narrow
round
shallow
skinny
square
steep
straight
wide
Size Adjectives
big
colossal
fat
gigantic
great
huge
immense
large
little
mammoth
massive
miniature
petite
puny
scrawny
short
small
tall
teeny
teeny-tiny
tiny
Sound Adjectives
cooing
deafening
faint
hissing
loud
melodic
noisy
purring
quiet
raspy
screeching
thundering
voiceless
whispering
Time Adjectives
ancient
brief
early
fast
late
long
modern
old
old-fashioned
quick
rapid
short
slow
swift
young
Taste/Touch Adjectives
bitter
delicious
fresh
greasy
juicy
hot
icy
loose
melted
nutritious
prickly
rainy
rotten
salty
sticky
strong
sweet
tart
tasteless
uneven
weak
wet
wooden
yummy
http://www.momswhothink.com/reading/list-of-adjectives.html
Touch Adjectives
boiling
breeze
broken
bumpy
chilly
cold
cool
creepy
crooked
cuddly
curly
damaged
damp
dirty
dry
dusty
filthy
flaky
fluffy
freezing
hot
warm
wet
Quantity Adjectives
abundant
empty
few
full
heavy
light
many
numerous
sparse
substantial