Hi guys,

Just back from my holidays- sorry I haven’t blogged for a while.

In today’s English class we’re going to look at some vocabulary mistakes that students make in my class all the time, so see if you can spot the errors, and then check your answers of course.

Here goes:

Common vocabulary problems- see if you can correct them.

1. I really love comedy films. They’re my favourite.
2. I quite like where I live. It’s a nice neighborhood.
3. I’m always stressful at my job- it’s too tough for me.
4. We often get angry and have discussions- I can’t take it anymore.
5. James doesn’t like waiting. He’s really unpatient.
6. My uncle ate so much food that he couldn’t eat any desert.
7. I always wanted to be a cooker when I was young.
8. New York is too touristic for me.
9. My father and I have a really strong relation.
10. Amy broke her leg yesterday so she’s out of work.
11. Tigers are a specie which is endangered.
12. You need to wash up your clothes before tomorrow.

And here are the answers:

1. I really love comedies. They’re my favourite.
2. I quite like where I live. It’s a nice neighbourhood.Without a u is American.
3. I’m always stressed at my job- it’s too tough for me.
4. We often get angry and have arguments- I can’t take it anymore. Arguments are aggressive-not discussions.
5. James doesn’t like waiting. He’s really impatient.
6. My uncle ate so much food that he couldn’t eat any dessert. Sahara desert.
7. I always wanted to be a cook when I was young.A cooker is an oven
8. New York is too touristy for me. Touristic doesn’t exist.
9. My father and I have a really strong relationship.
10. Amy broke her leg yesterday so she’s off work. Out of work is unemployed.
11. Tigers are a species which is endangered. Species is singular and plural.
12. You need to wash  your clothes before tomorrow. Wash up is for plates e.t.c.

How did you do? I’d say 8 out of 12 is pretty good for an upper-intermediate student.

Anyway, see you again soon.

As always, good luck with your English!

Click here to enrol in English courses in London.

Hi guys,

Just to follow up what we said about usually, used to, be used to, get used to.

See how you do. Correct the sentences below (if they need correcting).

1. I’m not used to getting up early.

2. I usually get cold because I work on a boat.

3. I haven’t got used to he be rude.

4. I don’t go to the gym but I used to.

5. We used to ate fish every Friday.

6. If he works hard, he’ll be used to the long hours.

7. I am used to high bus prices because I have lived here for a long time.

8. James has been used to his level of pay for a few years.

9. I didn’t use to be a lawyer.

10. I buy her flowers because she cooks for us usually at Christmas.

1. I’m not used to getting up early. Correct.

2. I usually get cold/am used to getting cold because I work on a boat.

3. I haven’t got used to his rudeness.

4. I don’t go to the gym but I used to. Correct.

5. We used to eat fish every Friday.

6. If he works hard, he’ll get used to the long hours.

7. I am used to high bus prices because I have lived here for a long time. Correct.

8. James has been used to his level of pay for a few years. Correct.

9. I didn’t use to be a lawyer.

10. I buy her flowers because she usually cooks for us  at Christmas.

Hi guys. So we recently looked at some of the rules for articles.  Now it’s time to put them into practice.

Which of these are correct?

Questions

Hi guys! Today we’re going to look at some rules with the/a.

I’ll give you the rules then soon I’ll give you a quiz which you can take.

Let’s see how you do.

1. Geographical things

No the with:

countries, except republics, kingdoms and plurals (like the U.S.A)

continents

islands

mountains

lakes

towns, cities, e.t.c.

the with:

oceans

rivers

deserts

mountain ranges

groups of islands

waterfalls

Remember:the north of Brazil but northern brazil

2. Names of places

No the with:

streets, roads, avenues, e.t.c.

squares, parks,

universities, airports, cathedrals, castles, palaces, but The Royal Palace

the with:

hotels, restaurants, pubs,

theatres, cinemas,

museums, art galleries,

many other famous buildings e.g.- The Eiffel Tower

The Taj Mahal

But when the building is named after somebody and has –s or –s’: Lloyds’ banks

Andrew’s restaurant

3. nouns+ numbers don’t need the e.g. page 26

street 34

4. Always the same.

5. Always the internet.

6. On the radio, but on television.   the television = the television set

7. the (or another determiner like my, that, e.t.c.) before superlatives e.g. the biggest

8. the (or another determiner) before ordinal numbers e.g. the first

the twenty-first

9. No a/the before meals except when there is an adjective

e.g.-  I’m having breakfast. I had a fantastic breakfast.

10. Organizations often have the e.g. the BBC, the world bank

But brand names or businesses don’t have the e.g. IBM

Microsoft

Ok, guys. The quiz will follow.

See you soon, and good luck with your English.

Click here to enrol in English courses in London.

Hi guys,

So last time we looked at the phrases in the end, at the end , finally, at last and after all.

Here are some sentences with these English phrases that people often do badly. Can you correct the wrong ones?

Questions:

1. At last! I thought you’d never turn up.
2. We waited for 5 hours for the rain to stop. At the end, we decided to go home.
3. Boil the water, put the teabag in the mug, stir and after all put the milk in.
4. He’s taken his test 5 times and hasn’t passed yet. I hope he finally manages it this time.
5. By the way, we’ll discuss it after the questions, in the end of the meeting.
6. She’s been sailing for a very long time, and she will at last finish this time tomorrow.
7. I wasn’t sure which course to take but finally I enrolled for the history lessons.
8. At the end of the holidays, the kids have to buy new uniforms.
9. You need to take the medicine. At the end, you have a very serious illness.
10. If you stop being so loud, we’ll give you some sweets in the end of the trip

Answers:

1. At last! I thought you’d never turn up.Correct.
2. We waited for 5 hours for the rain to stop. In the end, we decided to go home.
3. Boil the water, put the teabag in the mug, stir and finally put the milk in.
4. He’s taken his test 5 times and hasn’t passed yet. I hope he finally manages it this time.Correct.
5. By the way, we’ll discuss it after the questions, at the end of the meeting.
6. She’s been sailing for a very long time, and she will finally finish this time tomorrow.
7. I wasn’t sure which course to take but in the end I enrolled for the history lessons.
8. At the end of the holidays, the kids have to buy new uniforms.Correct.
9. You need to take the medicine. After all, you have a very serious illness.
10. If you stop being so loud, we’ll give you some sweets at the end of the trip.

If you’re a bit confused about number 6, at last has a similar meaning to finally, but it’s more dramatic, more informal and usually goes at the beginning of the phrase.

That’s all for today.

Keep studying and good luck with your English!

Enrol here for English courses in London.

Hi guys!

Another helpful English blog (I hope).

Today we’re going to look at some very important aspects of English language learning which I feel everyone should bear in mind when they take a course. As a teacher, I often find that students make unnecessary mistakes based on not learning basic skills. Often, I teach upper-intermediate students who don’t know how to pronounce –ed, which is something that you should learn at pre-intermediate level. Also, people often don’t learn their irregular verbs, even basic ones.

What I’m trying to say is that the classroom is for practising skills, error correction and learning things which you can’t get from a book.

Let’s take the example of verb tenses. Learning how to use English verb tenses can be difficult. Very difficult. It takes a lot of practice, a lot of input from the teacher, and a lot of patience. On the other hand, learning the form of a verb is easy and you should do it outside the classroom. A sportsman would say that you need to control the controllables.

So, if you’re a student between pr-intermediate to advanced, here is a list of things which you should concentrate on outside of the classroom.

1. Phonetics. Do you know phonemes? You should, because if you ever look up a word in a dictionary then it will give you the pronunciation of the word in phonetics. There are lots of resources online, or I recommend the text book English File. It does  a very good explanation. Learn them, then use them.
2. Pronunciation of –ed and –es. I did a blog on this earlier so perhaps you could look at that. They are the biggest pronunciation problem that people have.
3. Verb forms. Do you know how to form the present continuous? What about the future continuous passive?
4. Irregular verbs- past simple and past participles. There is a list in most English text books. Also online. Watch pronunciation.
5. Basic collocations. Examples- I am afraid of, it depends on, listen to. Very important.
6. Basic verb patterns. These overlap with the collocations. Examples- Decide + inf (with to), enjoy + gerund. Again, very important.
7. Writing. You should do writing frequently, ideally every day. I sometimes get my students to write in class, but in general teachers shouldn’t need to force you to do it. Writing in English is the best thing you can do for you language learning needs.
8. Review your work. It’s easy to remember what you did yesterday. It’s not so easy to remember what you did 2 weeks ago. For every hour you spend in class, you should spend an hour reviewing what you have learnt.
9. Buy a good grammar book and use it. I recommend the blue book by Murphy which is called Use of English for intermediate to advanced learners. There is also a green book for very advance learners. You can buy them  at most school receptions, or on Amazon.
10. Learn 10 new words of vocabulary and keep a notebook of your work.

Ok, I hope that helps. That’s all for today folks!

Good luck with your English!

You can enrol here  for English courses in London.

Hi guys!

Today we’re going to look at English verb patterns. We’re going to do simple ones today, then tomorrow things will be a bit more difficult. Remember, the thing about verb patterns is that you have to learn them, sometimes there is no logic to them.

Let’s see if you can do these. The questions are below, and then the answers of course. Fill in the gaps with whatever words or phrases you think are best. Some gaps will need nothing in them.

Questions

1. We spent a lot of money _______ food last week.
2. Don’t shout at me!! I spent 5 hours________(wash the dishes) last week.
3. My boyfriend makes me ________(clean) his underwear.
4. They need to tell _______ him the truth.
5. It took me five hours _________(convince) them to go bunjee-jumping.
6. We ________ (go) a walk in the park.
7. I’d love _________(buy) a houseboat but I just can’t afford it.
8. If you want _______ (repair) the car you need _______(buy) a new wheel.
9. My mum won’t let me _________(go out) and play.
10. I can’t stand ________ (sleep) outside
11. You should try _________ (do) it on your own.
12. They told the politician _________________(not be) happy.
13. He said he was speaking _________ us ________ the problem of punctuality.
14. Don’t fall in love_________ people who are much younger than you are.
15. You should share it_________ your sister.
16. It’s difficult __________(pick up) a language if you don’t speak it.
17. I’m trying to give up __________(break up) with people over the phone.
18. You should _______________(learn)  keep your mouth shut when you’re eating.

Answers

1. We spent a lot of money ___on____ food last week.
2. Don’t shout at me!! I spent 5 hours___washing_____(wash) the dishes last week.
3. My boyfriend makes me __clean______(clean) his underwear.
4. They need to tell _______ him the truth.
5. It took me five hours ____to convince_____(convince) them to go bunjee-jumping.
6. We ____went for_______ (go) a walk in the park.
7. I’d love ___to buy______(buy) a houseboat but I just can’t afford it.
8. If you want ___to repair____ (repair) the car you need __to buy___(buy) a new wheel.
9. My mum won’t let me ___go out______(go out) and play.
10. I can’t stand __sleeping__ (sleep) outside.
11. You should try ___to do______ (do) it on your own.
12. They told the politician ____that they weren’t happy______(not be) happy.
13. He said he was speaking ___to______ us __about____ the problem of punctuality.
14. Don’t fall in love__with__ people who are much younger than you are.
15. You should share it__with___ your sister.
16. It’s difficult __to pick up___(pick up) a language if you don’t speak it.
17. I’m trying to give up _breaking up___(break up) with people over the phone.
18. You should ___learn to____________(learn) keep your mouth shut when you’re eating.

Ok guys. I hope that went ok. See you tomorrow!

Click here to enrol for English courses in London.

Hi guys!

Most students love English error corrections, and so do I, so today I’m going to give you some sentences to fill in, with answers of course.
We’re going to look at prepositions that collocate with verbs.

Before we start, just a quick note about verbs and prepositions. There is a difference between verbs that have complementary prepositions and phrasal verbs: Many verbs are followed by propositions that you need to put between the verb and the object- E.g.You have to listen to this cd. On the other hand, there are also many verbs that use a preposition/adverb to change the meaning. These are phrasal verbs. E.g. Compare- He cheated (at golf). with He cheated on his wife. Two very different meanings. That’s the difference between normal verbs and phrasal verbs.

Anyway, now you can try these. Fill in the gap with a preposition (or nothing).

Questions

1. You’ll have to wait_______ the bus.
2. I’m thinking ______ the problem.
3. Have you seen Tom? I’m looking ______ him.
4. It’s a good idea to try ______ buy books on the internet. They’re cheaper.
5. Put ______ the music.
6. They gave the book_____ their friend.
7. We paid ______ the landlord the rent and we left.
8. Look ______ that. It’s amazing.
9. We need to get______ the train at the next stop.
10. We went ________ the room when we heard a strange noise.
11. Many people in this country believe______ democracy.
12. If you want to succeed, you need______work harder.
13. When you learn English, you have _____ practise the language every day.
14. I’m thinking ______ doing a course in English.
15. He said he wanted to borrow some money_______ you.
16. They robbed him _______ his dignity.
17. I enjoy _______ swimming.
18. He lent his phone ______ the guy who wanted to phone the police.
19. Ask _______ the manager if they complain.
20 You should apply_______ a visa if you want to stay.

Answers

1. You’ll have to wait for the bus.
2. I’m thinking about the problem.
3. Have you seen Tom? I’m looking for him.
4. It’s a good idea to try to buy books on the internet. They’re cheaper.
5. Put on the music.
6. They gave the book to their friend.
7. We paid the landlord the rent and we left.
8. Look at that. It’s amazing.
9. We need to get off the train at the next stop.
10. We went to the room when we heard a strange noise.
11. Many people in this country believe in democracy.
12. If you want to succeed, you need to work harder.
13. When you learn English, you have to practise the language every day.
14. I’m thinking of doing a course in English.
15. He said he wanted to borrow some money from you.
16. They robbed him of his dignity.
17. I enjoy swimming.
18. He lent his phone to the guy who wanted to phone the police.
19. Ask for the manager if they complain.
20 You should apply for a visa if you want to stay.

Great stuff. This kind of thing is really good for learning grammar.

Good luck with your English!

Enrol here for English courses in London.

Hi guys!

Most students love English error corrections, and so do I, so today I’m going to give you some sentences to fill in, with answers of course.
We’re going to look at prepositions that collocate with verbs.

Before we start, just a quick note about verbs and prepositions. There is a difference between verbs that have complementary prepositions and phrasal verbs: Many verbs are followed by propositions that you need to put between the verb and the object- E.g.You have to listen to this cd. On the other hand, there are also many verbs that use a preposition/adverb to change the meaning. These are phrasal verbs. E.g. Compare- He cheated (at golf). with He cheated on his wife. Two very different meanings. That’s the difference between normal verbs and phrasal verbs.

Anyway, now you can try these. Fill in the gap with a preposition (or nothing).

Questions

1. You’ll have to wait_______ the bus.
2. I’m thinking ______ the problem.
3. Have you seen Tom? I’m looking ______ him.
4. It’s a good idea to try ______ buy books on the internet. They’re cheaper.
5. Put ______ the music.
6. They gave the book_____ their friend.
7. We paid ______ the landlord the rent and we left.
8. Look ______ that. It’s amazing.
9. We need to get______ the train at the next stop.
10. We went ________ the room when we heard a strange noise.
11. Many people in this country believe______ democracy.
12. If you want to succeed, you need______work harder.
13. When you learn English, you have _____ practise the language every day.
14. I’m thinking ______ doing a course in English.
15. He said he wanted to borrow some money_______ you.
16. They robbed him _______ his dignity.
17. I enjoy _______ swimming.
18. He lent his phone ______ the guy who wanted to phone the police.
19. Ask _______ the manager if they complain.
20 You should apply_______ a visa if you want to stay.

Answers

1. You’ll have to wait for the bus.
2. I’m thinking about the problem.
3. Have you seen Tom? I’m looking for him.
4. It’s a good idea to try to buy books on the internet. They’re cheaper.
5. Put on the music.
6. They gave the book to their friend.
7. We paid the landlord the rent and we left.
8. Look at that. It’s amazing.
9. We need to get off the train at the next stop.
10. We went to the room when we heard a strange noise.
11. Many people in this country believe in democracy.
12. If you want to succeed, you need to work harder.
13. When you learn English, you have to practise the language every day.
14. I’m thinking of doing a course in English.
15. He said he wanted to borrow some money from you.
16. They robbed him of his dignity.
17. I enjoy swimming.
18. He lent his phone to the guy who wanted to phone the police.
19. Ask for the manager if they complain.
20 You should apply for a visa if you want to stay.

Great stuff. This kind of thing is really good for learning grammar.

Good luck with your English!

Enrol here for English courses in London.

Hello again! Ready to learn some English?

Obviously know quite a few teachers who have to correct mistakes that students make everyday. They often say that errors with -s, with plurals or with uncountable nouns are the most common problems. Here are some examples of things that students have written on their courses. Can you correct them? One is ok.

1. Here’s a good advice for you.
2. She have 3 dogs and a cat.
3. They became famous for attacking 5 woman.
4. There are quite a lot of firemen on the roof.
5. The police isn’t happy about the number of drugs being sold.
6. No one think this is a good idea.
7. I’m hoping to watch a comedy serie tonight.
8. There’s a lot of people outside the stadium.
9. My housemate is looking for a new accommodation.
10. We only have 5 fruits left.
11. They have just got 3 baguettes, 2 fishes and some milk.
12. She really need to find a place to work.
13. Our favourite mean of transport is bicycles.
14. Do anybody have any question.
15. The childrens were late so I punished them.

1. Here’s some good advice for you. Advice is uncountable
2. She has 3 dogs and a cat.
3. They became famous for attacking 5 women.
4. There are quite a lot of firemen on the roof. Correct.
5. The police aren’t happy about the number of drugs being sold. Police is always plural.
6. No one thinks this is a good idea.
7. I’m hoping to watch a comedy series tonight. Series is always spelt the same, in singular and plural.
8. There are a lot of people outside the stadium.
9. My housemate is looking for some new accommodation. Accommodation is uncountable.
10. We only have 5 fruit left. Fruit is uncountable.
11. They have just got 3 baguettes, 2 fish and some milk. Fish is spelt the same for singular and plural.
12. She really needs to find a place to work.
13. Our favourite means of transport is bicycles. Means is always with an -s
14. Does anybody have any questions.
15. The children were late so I punished them. No -s on children.

Well done. Hope you all did ok. Another blog tomorrow, of course!

Good luck with your English.

Click here to enrol for English courses in London.

Hi guys,

Welcome to the Islington centre for English blog. This week we’re just going to look at some common mistakes in relation to grammar.
Today we’re going to look at conditionals.

1. If I will come, she’ll be happy.
2. I help you if you need it.
3. I would fail the exam if I hadn’t studied hard.
4. If they was on a beach I’d sunbathe.
5. I take my wallet, if I go out.
6. If I had married a banker, I would have lived in a castle now.
7. She would love it if you would come with her.
8. I always go to school after I had breakfast.
9. If I was you, I  take the job.
10. She would help you if you want her to.

1. If I come, she’ll be happy. If I will
2. I’ll help you if you need it. First conditional.
3. I would have failed the exam if I hadn’t studied hard.Third conditional.
4. If they were on a beach I’d be sunbathing.
5. I take my wallet if I go out.No comma when if is in the middle.
6. If I had married a banker, I would be living in a castle now.Continuous not perfect.
7. She would love it if you came with her.Second conditional.
8. I always go to school after I have/have had breakfast.Zero conditional. Use present simple or perfect.
9. If I was you, I would take the job. Second conditional.
10. She would help you if you wanted her to. Second conditional.

That’s all guys! Keep studying English and keep following my blogs.

Click here to enrol for English courses in London.

Hi guys. So today we’re going to revise and practise what we’ve done this week.
Questions and negatives mistakes

Are these correct? Look at the auxiliaries. Does each sentence have or need one? Change the sentences if you think they’re correct.

1. You are from Switzerland?
2. James don’t believe in God.
3. Where you going?
4. With who did you go?
5. Who did make that cake?
6. I not gave him the book at the weekend.
7. I haven’t any socks.
8. How many times you have been to France?
9. Would you like to have some cake?
10. Was you having fun when he arrived?
11. We won’t help until you agree to do it.
12. How was the presentation?
13. When did you saw the match?
14. Which colour do you like?
15. Is the people happy with the government?

1. Are you from Switzerland? Verb before subject.
2. James doesn’t believe in God.
3. Where are you going? Needs an auxiliary.
4. Who did you go with? Preposition goes at the end.
5. Who made that cake? Subject questions don’t need auxiliaries.
6. I did not give him the book at the weekend. Negatives need auxiliaries.
7. I don’t have any socks. Needs an auxiliary.
8. How many times have you been to France? Subject then verb.
9. Would you like to have some cake? Correct.
10. Were you having fun when he arrived?
11. We won’t help until you agree to do it.Correct.
12. How was the presentation?Correct.
13. When did you see the match?
14. Which colour do you like? Correct
15. Are the people happy with the government? People is plural.

Good luck with your English. See you next week.

Hi guys.

Today we’re going to look at how to form questions.

The basic question form is (qu)asv. That means question word, auxiliary, subject, verb.
For example, Where=q do=auxiliary you=subject come=verb from?

The main auxiliary verbs are do, be and have. Also we use must, have to, should, would, will, shall e.t.c.
Some more examples with the auxiliary verbs in italics:

1. How old do you think she is?
2. Will you help?
3. Where should we go?
4. What are you doing?

Remember, the verbs do, be and have can be auxiliary verbs or main verbs.

For example, here the first sentence has have an auxiliary and the second has have as the main verb.
1. Which countries have you visited?
2. Where did you have your party?

Now, there are two exceptions to this rule:
Firstly, when the main verb is be then an auxiliary verb is not necessary in English:
1.Are you English?
2.Where is the ball?
As you can see, there is no auxiliary in these sentences.

Next, we don’t need an auxiliary when the question is a subject question. This means when the question word is the subject of the verb:
1. Who wrote Romeo and Juliet?
2. What is the thing that annoys you the most?
3. Which scientist discovered gravity?
Of course, there is no auxiliary in these sentences, only a main verb.

So, in summary, all question need an auxiliary, unless the main verb is be or the question is a subject question.

We’ll do some practice tomorrow, as well as going through some of the mistakes that people make when forming question in English.

Good luck with your English!

Click here to enrol for English courses in London.

Hi guys!

Today we’re going to look at words that are often confused.

1.raise/rise

These verbs are different because raise is transitive (it has an object) and rise is intransitive( no object). E.g.- Parents raise their children.

The government have raised taxes.

The sun rises.

Taxes have risen.

2. advise/advice

Advise is a verb. Advice is a noun.

Practise/practice is the same.

3. a shame/ashamed

A shame is the same as a pity. E.g. What a shame!

Ashamed is the same as embarrassed. E.g. She saw me naked. I’m so ashamed.

4. affect/effect

Basically, the difference is that affect is always a verb, and effect is nearly always a noun.

E.g. The weather has affected the trains.

The weather has had a big effect on the trains.

But ‘to effect a change’ means ‘to make a change happen’

5. sensitive/sensible

Sensitive means easily affected. It can be a good or bad thing. E.g. He’s very sensitive to the needs of others.

She’s always complaining about his behaviour. She’s far too sensitive in my opinion.

On the other hand, sensible means mature or serious, and is always good.

E.g. Oldest children are usually the most sensible.

6. quite/quiet

It’s not difficult to tell the difference in meaning, but check the spelling.

7. wage/salary

A wage is per hour/per week or per month.

A salary is per year.

8. economic/economical

Economic means ‘to do with the economy’. Economical means cheap.

E.g. The government has to agree on the economic policy.

Using diesel is more economical than petrol.

9. out of work/off work

Out of work means unemployed. Off work means on holiday or on leave (such as maternity leave).

10. say/tell

Remember that we say something (to sb.)/that… and we tell sb. sth./ that…

E.g. She told me the truth.

Jamie said that he wanted to talk.

Cheers guys. See you next time. Keep reading the English blogs.

Good luck with your English!

Click here to enrol for English courses in London.

Hi guys. Today we’re going to talk about the language that we use in the classroom, including some common phrases, mistakes that people make, and words which refer to grammar.

First of all, here are some questions that you can/should ask in the English classroom:

What does X mean?  What means X?  What is the meaning of X?

How do you spell/write X?

How do you pronounce X?   What is the pronunciation of X?

Now, here’s some other useful language:

I’ve finished.   I haven’t finished.   I finished

I don’t know anything.   I don’t know nothing.

I can’t do the number 1.

I’m on the letter a.

Here are some aspects of English that you can talk about:

fluency   accuracy   pronunciation   grammar   vocabulary

And finally, here are some words which we use to talk about English:

phrase- a group of 2 or more words

clause- a group of words which include a verb. E.g.- I love you because you’re wonderful.

sentence- a complete group of words that includes a full-stop. E.g. They can’t do it anymore.

tense- the ‘time’ of the verb, for example present simple, present continuous e.t.c.

subject- the person or thing which ‘performs’ the action. E.g. We are improving.

direct object- the person or thing which ‘receives’ the action. E.g. I don’t speak English.

indirect object- the person or thing which is affected by the action, but not directly. E.g.- I went to France.

infinitive- the to form of the verb. E.g. to eat. However, many teachers and books use it to mean the verb without to. E.g. eat

bare infinitive- the verb without to E.g. eat

past participle- the form used with perfects and passives. E.g. I have eaten.

present participle- the form used with continuous tenses. E.g. I am eating.

gerund- has the same form as the present participle but is used differently. E.g. Eating is important for your health.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you tomorrow!

Good luck with your English!

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Hi guys!

2. When I was young, my mother told to me a history every night.

3. John felt down because the road was wet.

4. I going to see Francis on Friday. I’ll probably pay a dinner.

5. I’m worried about my best friend. She doesn’t phone me for a long time.

6. I became English student when I had 13 years.

7. Most of people don’t like the cold weather.

8. My daughter is so badly behaved. She never listens me.

9. We need to make her stop to play with her pen. It’s really getting on my nerves.

10. I forget my bag. Can you give me a paper?

Answers

1. I have a very difficult work job./I have some very difficult work.

Work is uncountable.

2. When I was young, my mother told to me a history story every night.

to tell sb. sth.

History is an academic subject.

3. John felt fell down because the road was wet.

fall fell fallen

feel felt felt

4. I am going to see Francis on Friday. I’ll probably pay for a dinner.

to be going + inf

to pay for sth.,  to pay sb. (for sth.)

We don’t say a before breakfast, lunch, dinner. e.t.c.

5. I’m worried about my best friend. She doesn’t hasn’t phoned me for a long time.

Present perfect with for to talk about something that started in the past and is still true.

6. I became an English student when I had was 13 years old.

Occupations need a determiner(a/the/my/that e.t.c).

I am 13.  - Correct.

I am 13 years old. -Correct.

I am 13 years. – Incorrect.

7. Most of people don’t like the cold weather.

Most X/ the majority of X for talking in general.

We don’t use the for generic things.

8. My daughter is so badly behaved. She never listens to me.

Always listen to.

9. We need to make her stop to play playing with her pen. It’s really getting on my nerves.

to stop + verb+ing =to stop the activity. E.g. She stopped smoking last year.

to stop + infinitive with to= to stop moving in order to… E.g. She was driving and she stopped to let

the children pass.

10. I forget forgot/have forgotten my bag. Can you give me a some/a sheet of /a piece paper?

Paper is normally uncountable. A paper = a newspaper

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AHHH!!!STOP MAKING MISTAKES WITH THE PAST SIMPLE!!!

It’s not called past difficult!!! It’s easy!!

Many English students, even advanced ones, make mistakes with the past simple, but it really isn’t that hard!!

The first thing to say about the past simple is that most verbs are regular.
When a verb is regular, you take verb and add -(e)d. For example, arrive-arrived attack-attacked.
A lot of students find it difficult to pronounce -ed. Here are the basic rules:
If the word ends in -ed, look at the stem. Does it end in -t or -d? If it does, you need to say “id”. There is an extra syllable. For example, hate-hated decide-decided paint-painted taint-tainted fit-fitted add-added. You need to add an “id” sound to the rest of the verb.
On the other hand, if the stem ends in any other letter (not -t or -d), don’t say “id”, say “t” or “d”. Don’t add a syllable. For example, wash-washed sunbathe- sunbathed play-played.

However, there are many verbs which are irregular. You have to LEARN them. The teacher can’t do it for you.
Use a good English text book, or look on the internet, and learn both the past simple and the past participles at the same time.
Some are very common verbs. E.g. eat ate eaten. Others are not so common. E.g. dig dug dug.
It’s very important to learn both the spelling and the pronunciation(use a dictionary or ask your teacher).

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