PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS

Some people think the present perfect continuous is difficult to use, but really it's not very complicated, and it sounds very impressive when you use it correctly. 

As I told you in class, here you have the cartoon strips where you have to come up with the sentences. Remember, make a sentence in Present Perfect Simple and another sentence in Present Perfect Continous, applying the rules we have seen in the Power Point. I also leave the slides we have been working with in class for you to download. CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO MAKE IT BIGGER!!

Download the Power Point: Present Perfect Continous

For reviewing the uses of Present Perfect Continuous you can also go to this site and practice with some exercises online: Perfect English Grammar
And this other one: English Grammar Online

PAST SIMPLE RULES AND PRACTICE

By just a click you  will find the rules for the Siple Past we have been dealing with in class. Regular and Irregular verbs, formation, pronunciation... and some practice too. This is a great way to revise it and have a go to check your progress. In case you have doubts don't hesitate and bring them to next class. Come on! Have a try!!


To download the doc in your computer, click on this link: Past Simple Rules and practice.

For online practice, try this site:
agendaweb past simple tense
agendaweb mixed past tenses

PRESENT SIMPLE WEBS

For refreshing the Present Simple forms online here you can find sme worthwhile online resources you can go through for some practice.
You also can use these websites for when the exam comes and check your progress.
Click on the following webs:


Liveworksheet 1

Liveworksheet 2

Liveworksheet 3

PAST PERFECT SIMPLE VS. CONTINUOUS

The past perfect tense is often used in English when we are relating two events which happened in the past. It helps to show which event happened first. This page will explain the rules for forming and using the tense.

Forming the past perfect tense: This tense is formed using two components: the verb HAVE (in the past tense), and the past participle form of a verb. With a regular verb the past participle ends with -ED (just like the simple past). Irregular verbs have a special past participle form that you have to learn. 

Example: I wanted to live in a foreign country, so I applied for a job in Japan. Judy had lived in Japan, so I called her to find out more about the culture and lifestyle there. (Judy no longer lived in Japan — she returned from there before I applied for the job.)

Click on the link to download the homework: English Homework

For more explanations and activities online: British council, Englishpage

For lots of graded activities online: Agendaweb, e-grammar

VERB TO BE & HAVE GOT (REVISION GRAMMAR UNIT 1)

Practice the verb forms TO BE & HAVE GOT with this wonderful wewbsite where you can find tons of graded exercises of these verbs in all their forms. This is great to refresh and to check your progress once you have completed the unit becuase you can correct yourselves when an exercise is done. HAVE A TRY!!
Click on the following links:
agendaweb verb To Be
agendaweb Have Got

USED TO STRUCTURE AND LESSON PLAN

Used to" expresses the idea that something was an old habit that stopped in the past. It indicates that something was often repeated in the past, but it is not usually done now. Use to + verb is a regular verb and it uses -ed to show past tense. But since it always means something that happened in the past, it should always use past tense. For example- I used to go to school in Paris. (I went to school there before, but now I don't.) Or, When Josh was a child, he used to climb trees. (Now he doesn't climb trees.)

• For practising through a video go to the following link: British Council - learn English teens
• For grammar practise online: Perfect English Grammar 
• For downloadable lesson plan for students/teachers: Lesson plan

FUTURE CONTINUOUS & FUTURE PERFECT

The future continuous (will be + ‘ing’ form) and the future perfect (will have + past participle) tenses are used to talk about events in the future. We use the future continuous to talk about something that will be in progress at or around a time in the future.

We use the future perfect to say that something will be finished by a particular time in the future. We often use the future perfect with ‘by’ or ‘in’. ‘By’ means ‘not later than a particular time’ and ‘in’ means 'within a period of time’. We don’t know exactly when something will finish.

To download the class Power Point: Class Power Point
For further practice: Future Power Point

Oxford University: Future continuous and future perfect

English Page: 

Future Continuous

Future Perfect

Future Perfect Continuous

INCREASING AND DOUBLE COMPARATIVE

Comparison and contrast are expressed by the use of the…the… with comparative adjectives in parallel clauses. This structure is used to show proportionate increase or decrease.
The more adventurous it is, the more I like it. (NOT The more it is adventurous, the more I like it.)

A short form of this structure is used in the expressions

‘the more the merrier’

‘How do you like your coffee?’ ‘The stronger the better.’

We also use expressions like easier and easier and more and more to show gradual increase. It's important to say that something is increasing all the time. 

He was driving faster and faster.
It kept raining harder and harder
As he was explaining it I got angrier and angrier

If you want to practice with online activities:
Double comparatives: ESLlounge or Oxford University
Increasing comparatives: TolearnEnglish or agendaweb

TO download the PPT about comparatives and superlatives: Power Point

HAVE/GET SOMETHING DONE - CAUSATIVE SENTENCES

Causative sentences show that somebody/something is indirectly responsible for an action. The subject doesn't perform the action itself, but causes someone/something else to do it instead. For example:
- Yesterday I had my hair cut.
I didn't cut my own hair, but I made someone else do it for me instead - I "caused" them to cut my hair.
By using the causative sentence takes attention away from the doer of the action, and gives more attention to the action being done. It sounds polite and professional. Get is often used instead of have. For example:
- I got my computer fixed - I had my computer fixed. (These two sentences mean the same thing).ç
Causative verbs are often used with negative experiences. In these situations it's more common to use have. For example:
- I had my wallet stolen. (I didn't actually cause my wallet to be stolen - someone stole my wallet from me)

To practice this structure follow these links.
UsingEnglish
Englishpage

REPORTED SPEECH EXPLANATIONS AND PRACTICE

There are two ways of relating what a person has said: direct and indirect.
In direct speech we repeat the original speaker’s exact words: He said, “I have lost my umbrella.”
Direct speech is found in conversations in books, in plays and in quotations.
In indirect speech we give the exact meaning of a remark or a speech, without necessarily using the speaker’s exact words:
He said (that) he had lost his umbrella.
Indirect speech is normally used when conversation is reported verbally, though direct speech is sometimes here to give a more dramatic effect. When we turn direct speech into indirect, some changes are usually necessary. In this entry you can see the rules and changes of Reported Speech and some exercises with the key. Have a nice practice:
Reporting questions (and key)
Reporting commands and requests (and key)
Reporting statements (and key)

Class Homework

Power Point seen in class

To practice with some online activities: agendaweb reported speech
Another site: Perfect English Grammar
Last site: English-hilfen

IDIOMS

Every language has its own collection of wise sayings. They offer advice about how to live and also transfer some underlying ideas, principles and values of a given culture / society. These sayings are called "idioms" - or proverbs if they are longer. These combinations of words have (rarely complete sentences) a "figurative meaning" meaning, they basically work with "pictures". 

in this Power Point you will find a list of commonly used idioms and sayings (in everyday conversational English), can help to speak English by learning English idiomatic expressions. This is a list, which contains exactly 12 of the idioms we have gone through in class.

See the Power Point

PASSIVE STRUCTURES

Sentences can be active or passive. Therefore, tenses also have "active forms" and "passive forms." You must learn to recognize the difference to successfully speak English. In passive sentences, the thing receiving the action is the subject of the sentence and the thing doing the action is optionally included near the end of the sentence. You can use the passive form if you think that the thing receiving the action is more important or should be emphasized. You can also use the passive form if you do not know who is doing the action or if you do not want to mention who is doing the action. nHave some practice in the following links:

Passive structures website

Passive exercises

And for the homework sent in class, download it in the following link: Passive Homework.

NEW!!! Here you can download the key for the passive exercises you have worked with in class: Passive key

To revise the Power Point Presentation we have seen in class and go through explanations and exercises to caonsolidate structures, click on the link: Passive Power Point

ANCIENT EGYPT: GREAT FUN WEBSITES

As I promised, here you can find the activities aboout mummies we've gone through in class. Apart from this subject you can find other ages like Ancient Greece, Rome and so on. This site is full of games and activities (printable ones as well) to flick through and have a really joyful time. What are you waiting for then?
To go straight to hte website click on tis following link: schoolliaison.com

For downloading the Egyptian puzzle: crossword

For checking the answers of your Egyptian puzzle: Art Gallery 34

ANIMAL FACT FILE

Where can I find handy webs for an animal fact faile for the next project? The link that you have below is the number one "GO TO" research topic for kids, teachers and librarians. Free websites that provide animal facts for kids are one of my most common requests. I have spent LOTS of time searching the Internet for websites that are easy for elementary students to navigate. I hope that this post will make your job WAY easier.

10 animal research webs for kids

SO & SUCH EXPLANATIONS AND PRACTICE

SO is used to emphasise an adjective, and is always used without a noun. SUCH is used in the same way, but is always used with a noun. 

This apple is SO SWEET, but, This is SUCH a sweet APPLE. 

SO and SUCH are used with THAT to give justification. 

This apple is SO SWEET THAT I will have another one, but, This is SUCH a sweet APPLE THAT I will have another one. 

SO can also be used with MUCH and MANY SO MUCH for NON COUNTABLE nouns, SO MANY for COUNTABLE nouns. SUCH MUCH and SUCH MANY don't exist. 

There is SO MUCH PAINT (non countable) and there are SO MANY ANIMALS (countable).

To practice so & such with online activities: Agenda Web

To review the class Power Point on Su & Such: Power Point