miércoles, 18 de mayo de 2011

PRONUNCIATION ANIMATIONS

Modal verbs

MODAL VERBS
  • Ability and permission: can, could, be able to, be allowed to
  • Possibility and deduction: may, might, can, could, must (certainty), can't
  • Obligation and necessity: must, have to, need, 
  • Giving advice: should, ought to
  • Lack of obligation: don’t have to,  needn’t to
  • Prohibition: mustn’t
PERFECT MODALS
  • Advisability: asking for & giving advice about an action that has already occurred. (it may create a sense of regret or blame)
             - SHOULD/OUGHT TO + HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE
             - MIGHT/COULD + HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE
  • Degrees of certainty: making assumptions or conclusions about PAST actions or situations.
             - MUST + HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE ( logical conclusion/deduction, certain 95%)
             - COULD/HAVE/MIGHT + HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE (not certain - 50%)
             - COULDN'T + HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE (impossibility)

Practice

    jueves, 10 de marzo de 2011

    Practise your listening


    Listen and improve!

    1. http://www.esl-lab.com/newyorktravel/newyork-travelrd1.htm
    2. http://www.esl-lab.com/game1/gamerd1.htm ( a bit more difficult. Look up the word " to blink")
    3. http://www.esl-lab.com/story1/story1.htm
    4. http://www.esl-lab.com/tradition/traditionrd1.htm  
     ADVANCED LISTENINGS
    https://agendaweb.org/listening/advanced.html

    DICTATIONS
    https://www.learnenglish.de/dictationpage.html
    https://www.englishclub.com/listening/dictations-long.htm
    https://agendaweb.org/listening/365-dictations/01.html


    Improve your reading comprehension


    In this web page you can find lots of texts with different activities you can choose, which will help you practice your comprehension skills.

    ADVANCED READING-COMPREHENSION
    https://agendaweb.org/reading/comprehension-exercises-advanced-1.html
    https://www.usingenglish.com/comprehension/advanced.html

    Relative clauses

     Grammar notes: relative clauses 
     (http://valenciaenglish.netfirms.com/relative.htm)


    Definition
    A relative clause is a part of a sentence beginning with a relative pronoun (although this pronoun can be omitted in certain cases). For example:
    The company where I worked is called International Enterprises Plc.
    The man who went into the baker's bought a loaf of bread.
    My sister, who lives near London, is coming to visit me soon.
    Basic relative pronouns
    The relative pronoun you use depends on the thing you're talking about. Generally speaking, the most basic ones are these:
    for people
    who/that
    for things
    which/that
    for places
    where
    for reasons
    why
    for times
    when
    Who, which and that cannot be used indiscriminately. That can only be used in defining relative clauses.

    relative pronouns
    Four relative pronouns often seem to confuse people, but they're easy to use too.
    WHICH
    This can be used to refer to the whole part of the sentence that went before. Usually a pronoun refers to a noun, but this refers to more. For example:
    I've broken my leg, which means I can't walk.
    I've still got some money left, which is surprising.
    WHOM
    This is hardly ever used in spoken English, and not often in written English. It sounds very formal to most people. If you're going to use it at all, then only use it after prepositions. Even so, there's usually another less formal way to say the same thing. For example:
    The woman to whom he was talking is his sister.
    The woman that he was talking to is his sister.
    WHOSE
    This is used to show possession. It means basically 'of who(m)'. It can always be used for people and animals, but also for things, though this sometimes sounds strange and it might be better to change the structure of the sentence unless the thing is made up of people (a team, a city, an organisation). For example:
    My students, whose homework is never done, will fail the exam.
    The homework belongs to the students, it's theirs, so possessive.

    That dog whose bone you took is going to bite your leg off.
    It is - or was - the dog's bone.

    The city, whose football team lost the final, never wins anything.
    The city's made up of people, so it sounds OK.
    WHAT
    This can be literally translated to mean 'the thing that' or 'that which'. It is not used anywhere near as often as 'which' or 'that' and is not used in the same way. For example:
    A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.
    I didn't know what he was going to do next.

    Non-defining relative clauses
    These are the ones that give extra information. They are always written between commas. If you leave out the relative clause between the commas it still makes sense. For example:
    Valencia, which is Spain's third largest city, is on the Mediterranean coast.
    We all know Valencia, so this is extra information not needed for understanding.

    My parents, who are retired, come to Spain every year.
    I've only got one set of parents.

    I used to live in London, where I was born and went to school.

    Defining relative clauses
    These are the ones that give you the information you need to understand the sentence. There are no commas. If you take the relative clause away, the sentence doesn't make sense. For example:
    The team that wins will receive a cup and 1,000 €.
    What team?

    The man who lives next door is always making a noise.
    What man?

    Has he told you what he's going to do?
    Has he told me what?

    Links to exercises and pdf files
    Relative clauses gapfill exercise - online
    Relative clauses gapfill exercise - pdf file for download or printing
    Relative clauses sentence combination exercise - online
    Relative clauses sentence combination - pdf file for download or printing
    Relative clauses grammar notes from this page - pdf file for download or printing

    Quiz

    The Difference between the United Kingdom, Great Britain and England

    Watch this video in which it is explained in a... let's say quick way. I hope you enjoy it!!!