lunes, 10 de octubre de 2011

revision past tenses

  •   Past simple / Past continuous
Exercise 1
exercise 2
exercise 3
exercise 4
exercise 5
exercise 6
exercise 7
Translation

  • Present perfect / past simple
exerise 1
exercise 2
exercise 3
exercise 4
Translation

  • Present perfect simple and continuous.
Exercise 1
Exercise 2


  • For/since

exercise 1
exercise 2


  • How long...? Answer the questions

exercise 1


  •  All particles (already/yet/just/for/since...)

exercise 1                       
Translation 
  •  Time connectors
exercise 1
exercise 2


  • For / During / While
Exercise 1
  • Gone / Been
Examples

martes, 14 de junio de 2011

Formal letter

Dear Mr. Smith,

I am writing to enquire about the house which you advertised in "El Pais" newspaper, 12th June.

I was wondering if the house is still available. I would also like to have some more information about the rent. I would be grateful if you could also tell me whether bills are included.With regard to bed-lining and dishes, could you tell me if they are provided?

Finally, I would like to know if pets are allowed, as I have a.............as a pet.
I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely
--------    -----------------


* There is a mistake in the hand-out I gave you for the formal letter. At the end, it should say Yours sincerely, as the addressee is "Mr. .........." You write Yours faithfully when the addressee is "Sir/Madam".

martes, 3 de mayo de 2011

Reported Speech

Direct Speech. Peter said: "I am travelling with my parents to London tomorrow"
Reported Speech. Peter said (that) he was travelling with his parents to London the following day.

Slideshare exercises


Exercises

  • Statements.
Changes in verb tenses
Changes in verb tenses, pronouns, time and place
  •  Questions
  • Commands / Orders / Requests (Imperative)
  • Reporting verbs (He said..., He asked.... They advised...)
Advanced exercise

Have you finished? Tell your teacher!!

viernes, 15 de abril de 2011

passive voice

For practice on passive voice, you can do the following exercises:
(Basic level)
Exercise 1  Exercise 2 Interrogative (Word order)
(Active or Passive?)
Exercise 1
(Passive into Active)
Exercise 1
(Upper level)
Exercise 1; exercise 2

Passive with two objects
You will find the explanations of this type of Passive Voice in the following links.
For practice on this special type of passive voice, you can try the following exercises:
; Exercise 1; Exercise 2

martes, 1 de marzo de 2011

Conditional Clauses

Have a look at the following grammar explanations (In Spanish!)

Explanaitions in Spanish

Explanations

·        Conditional Sentence Type 0
General truths. (Siempre que haces esto, ocurre esto otro)
Form: If + Simple Present, Simple Present
Example: If you heat the air in a balloon, it becomes bigger.

Exercises
Exercise on Zero Conditional
·        Conditional Sentence Type 1
 It is possible and also very likely (probable) that the condition will be fulfilled.
Example: If I find her address, I’ll send her an invitation.
Exercises
   Exercise 2 
  • Unless: A no ser que… (Remember it goes with the verb in the affirmative)
Example: I won’t call you if it is not necessary.= I won’t call you unless it it necessary.

Exercises
Unless
·        Conditional Sentence Type 2
1.  It is possible but very unlikely (improbable), that the condition will be fulfilled.
Form: if + Simple Past, Conditional I (= would + Infinitive)
Example: If I found her address, I would send her an invitation
Si encontrase su dirección (veo difícil que ocurra), enviaría una invitación.
(I can't find her address so I can't send her an invitation. I might not find it.)

2.  Hypothetical situations. (Situaciones hipotéticas)
Example: What would you do if you were a millionaire?
3. Advice. (Consejos)
Example: If I were* you, I wouldn’t go out tonight.
Exercises  
   Exercise 1
  Exercise 2
·        Conditional Sentence Type 3

Form: if + Past Perfect, Conditional II (= would + have + Past Participle)
  •  It is impossible that the condition will be fulfilled because it refers to the past.
 Example:"If I had found her address, I would have sent her an invitation".
Si hubiese encontrado su dirección, habría enviado una invitación.
(Es algo que ya no tiene solución, puesto que ya ha ocurrido.)
(I didn't find her address so I didn't send her an invitation)
  • It is also used for regrets. (lamentaciones o arrepentimientos)
Example:"If I had studied harder, I wouln´t have failed the test".
Exercises
Exercise 1
CHART

If Clause
Main Clause
Zero Conditional
PRESENT SIMPLE
PRESENT SIMPLE
First Conditional
PRESENT SIMPLE
WILL + INFINITIVE
CAN/MUST + INFINITIVE
IMPERATIVE
Second Conditional
PAST SIMPLE
WOULD + INFINITIVE
COULD/MIGHT + INF
Third Conditional
PAST PERFECT
WOULD + HAVE + P.P.



  • Exercises: Mixed Types
1st/2nd

  • 2nd/3rd
Upper level
  • 1st/2nd/3rd

Translate into English (Advanced) (Bachillerato Level)


jueves, 24 de febrero de 2011

Future tenses

EXPLANATIONS

Remember last year we learnt there are different tenses to talk about the future so, this year, we are just going to revise them.

WILL                                                                       BE GOING TO

1. Spontaneous decisions                               1. Decision previously made
     Oh, there is a fire.                                                             A- Why are you calling Ann?
     I'll call the police inmediately                                          B-I'm going to invite her to dinner.


2. Predictions about the future                     2. Predictions with evidence
(Science, weather forecast, fortune teller...)                       Look, that woman is going to faint.
    In the future,....                                                            
  
3. Opinion                                                       3.  Intentions and plans
I think.../In my opinion,.../                                          I'm going to repair my bicycle.
I'm sure.../I'm afraid...
    I'm sure you'll pass. Don't worry.                                         
      
4. Offers                                                         PRESENT CONTINUOUS                                                I'll help you with your homework.                               1. Definite arrangements
                                                                                   Next Saturday, we are having a party.
5. Threats                                                                    
    Stop bothering me or I'll tell mum.

6. Promises                                                    PRESENT SIMPLE
    I promise I'll help you later.
                                                                        1. Future timetables.
7. Asking someone to do something.            What time does the tour start?            
    Will you help me do my homework, please?

8. Weather forecast.
    What will the weather be like tomorrow?
    It will be sunny and hot.

EXERCISES


Exercise 1                 Exercise 2

jueves, 10 de febrero de 2011

Past Perfect

1. Form of Past Perfect Simple


Positive
Negative
Question

I had spoken.
I had not spoken.
Had I spoken?


2. Use
A completed action before another action in the past.

3. Signal Words

·       already, just, never, not yet, once, until that day, for, since (with reference to the past, not the present)
·       before (antes de que), when, after (después de que), by the time (para cuando), until (hasta que), once (una vez que)

*Good to know
People (especially native speakers) do not use the Past Perfect in such sentences very often. For example, they will say:
·       After I washed my car, I went to fill up.
Rather than:
·       After I had washed my car, I went to fill up.
However, it is better to use the Past Perfect, especially in written English or when writing exams.
3. EXERCISES
Matching exercise
exercise 1
(Aff)
(Neg)
(Int)
Test

4. Form of the Past perfect continuous


Positive
Negative
Question

I had been speaking
I had not been speaking.
Had I been speaking?


5. Use
·       action taking place before a certain time in the past
(sometimes interchangeable with past perfect simple)
·       puts emphasis on the course or duration of an action

signal words

·       for, since, the whole day, all day
6. EXERCISES

7. Past simple / Past perfect Simple

What happened first?

Fill in the gaps with the past simple or past perfect simple
exercise 4

Translation