Written in these walls...

A few months ago a famous boy band said: Written on these walls are the stories that I can' explain. This is a relative clause. They could have ommitted that, or used which instead. The Beatles decided to elicit the relative pronoun when they said All you need is love.
Now read this excerpt from "Torn", by Natalia Imbruglia:
 Well you couldn't be that man I adored
You don't seem to know, don't seem to care
What your heart is for. 

In the first line she chose not to say ...who/that I adored. And then she used what. Why? Well, when there's no antecedent to refer to,  what must be used.

In the same song she says: There's nohing where we used to lie. Where is the relative from which must be used when we refer to a place. 

Michael Jackson asks: Do you remember the time when we fell in love? When is used when referring to time. Easy, isn't it? 
- exercise 1
- exercise 2
- exércise 3
- exercise 4
- exercise 5

See you in class!

A mythical creature!

Hi guys! You may find this picture a bit scary. It was taken deep in the forest, and the man who took it needed psychological aid because he said he would never get over so terrifying an experience!

Leprechauns are wonderful creatures, and if you don't believe it, just have a look at this old picture on the right. It was taken in the very heart of Dublin. And here you are a few exercises on relative clauses. Do them and anjoy yourselves, or else the Leprechaun will get angry and... who knows?

• Defining or non-defining?
• Forming relative clauses
• An easy one!

Now a quote on the subject:
In never cease being dumbfounded by the unbelievable things people believe.
Leo Rosten (1908 -  1997), Polish-American teacher and humorist


More in a few days!

Cockney rhyming slang

Hi guys. These people are wearing a costume associated with Cokneys. It's called the Pearly King (or Queen).

Cockney rhyming slang is not a language but a collection of phrases used by Cockneys and other Londoners. But, what is a Cokney? A true Cockney is someone born within the sound of Bow Bells. (St Mary-le-Bow Church in Cheapside, London).

Here you are some examples of Cockney slang. What do you think they mean?

• Can you Adam and Eve it?
• I got kicked in the Albert Halls!
• See you alligator
• She's got a beautiful garden with nice April showers
• Got any Persians on you mate?

Here are some more examples of Cokney, this time they are excerpts from Bible stories (lemon curd means word):

You can click here and see more for yourselves.

Reported questions and commands

Hi kids! A few exercises on reported questions. Hope you enjoy them!

• Exercise 1
• Exercise 2
• Exercise 3
• Exercise 4 (this one on commands)

Now this week's quote:

My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four. Unless there are three other people.

Orson Welles
US actor & director (1915 - 1985)

And now a song that might ring the bell... Just click here.

Have a nice weekend and enjoy the good weather! And don't forget to do the other exercises on statements as well.

Reported statements

Hi kids! Did you have a good time in Lisbon? Sure you did! Now you can tell your friends about your experiences.
Now we're learning to say what other people told us some time ago. There is something vital that we've got to bear in mind: reported speech in statements in English is exactly the same as in Spanish.


 
So, let's practise!

• Exercise 1
• Exercise 2
• Exercise 3 (you can watch a video here if you want)
• Exercise 4

Here's a quote by Indira Gandhi (1917-84), Prime Minister of India who got assassinated:

My grandfather once told me that there were two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was much less competition.

I'll post some exercises on questions and commands soon, so check out the blog now and then.

Be good!

The sooner, the better!

Hi kids! Here's what I promised this very morning. But before you do the exercises, have a look at this video. It's got really good explanations on the topic and some exercises as well:

• Video 1

And now a few exercises:

• Exercise 1
• Exercise 2

And last, a few sentences which are, indeed, food for thought:

The more I know, the more I worry.
The less they have to say, the more they talk.
The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
The earlier you start, the better chance you have of being successful.
The bigger the risk, the bigger the payout.
The less said, the better.

See you on Thursday!

American vs British English

Hi kids. Some days ago we could listen to Corey speaking about the differences between British and American English. This long weekend you can watch the interview to Hugh Laurie (Dr. House). As you could learn, he is a British actor who performs in an American tv series.



Or listen to this silly video   

Now try listening to genuine Scottish accent. Is it difficult to understand? People in Scotland pronounce differently from what is usually considered the standard British accent.





 

There's also Gibraltarian English...

Now, a couple of links to websites with lots of British and American words. Some of them are everyday words, some are not that usual. If you click on the picture on the right you'll get access to one which contains more basic words.

                 

Here's also a link to a website with lots of kitchen vocabulary. You can look up any word you wish, and you'll probably find it here! Besides, on this site you'll find almost all the vocabulary you can think of.

Ok guys, have a nice long weekend, enjoy yourselves and be as good as possible.