WEATHER IDIOMS

Idioms can be confusing for non-native speakers. Someone might have said to you that you look a bit under the weather. Or perhaps you heard someone say they were snowed under. What did they mean
Well, they definitely weren’t speaking about the weather. They were using an idiom, i.e. a phrase whose collective meaning is different to the meaning of its individual words.
Here are six common weather idioms to impress your friends with.

 

Frases idiomáticas sobre el Tiempo meteorológico.

raining cats and dogs

This is used to describe very heavy rain.
It’s terrible weather outside; it’s raining cats and dogs.

to weather the storm

To get through a difficult time and survive.
The government is in a crisis but they look like they will weather the storm.

to be snowed under

To have too much work or things to do.
Oh, no! Not another new project. I’m already snowed under. I don’t have time to do any more.

every cloud has a silver lining

You can always find something positive in a bad situation.
Don’t worry about losing your job, it might be the best thing that’s happened to you. Remember, every cloud has a silver lining!

stormy waters

To be in trouble. To be going through a period of problems.
The government is in stormy waters over its new transportation policy.
I’m in stormy waters with my girlfriend; I didn’t get home till 2 o’clock this morning.

to be a bit under the weather

To feel ill, sick; not feeling completely well.
I’m taking the day off work today – I’m feeling a bit under the weather.
You look a bit under the weather, John. Aren’t you feeling well?

UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS OFTEN CONFUSED

 

10 uncountable nouns / Nombres incontables que solemos confundir :

1. advice 2. news 3.information 4. equipment 5. luggage

6. experience 7. progress 8. traffic 9. trouble 10.accommodation

 

 

 

Before uncountable nouns we often use some or any:

• I need some advice.
• We don’t have any news.
• He doesn’t have much experience.

We can also use a lot of, a little, very little and much:

• There is a lot of information.
• They only have a little equipment.
• They don’t have much luggage.

It is possible to make the following nouns countable by saying:

• a piece of advice
• two pieces of news
• three pieces of information
• four pieces of equipment
• five pieces of luggage.

The nouns experience, progress, traffic, trouble and accommodation cannot be made countable in the above way.
 
N.B. Experience also exists as a countable noun, as in this sentence: ‘We had a lot of good experiences on our trip’.

Present Perfect vs Past Simple (Activity)

 

(You'll find the answers in the comments section of this post, but we have to check it in class first)

Present Perfect by radgull

TIPS TO LEARN PHRASAL VERBS EASIER

Seven tips for making idiomatic phrasal verbs easier to learn:

1. Be careful when checking for meaning in your dictionary – phrasal verbs often have more than one meaning. Study the context of the sentence in which you first saw the phrasal verb. From that context you may be able to tell which definition in the dictionary is the one you need.

 

2. If possible, ask a native speaker about the meaning of the phrasal verb.

 

3. Find out how common the phrasal verb is (again, a native speaker will be a big help). Focus on learning common phrasal verbs, not ones which are seldom used.

 

4. Learn the phrasal verb as part of a sentence or phrase (this helps you to remember it).

 

5. Double check that you can use the phrasal verb correctly. You can do this by inventing your own sentence containing the verb and again asking a native speaker if it’s correct. By doing this, for instance, you will see if you are putting the object of the verb in the correct place. Look at these examples: ‘I invite friends over’ and ‘I invited over friends’ are both correct because the position of the object is flexible with this verb. However, with the verb give up, we can say ‘I gave up smoking‘ but not ‘I gave smoking up’.

 

6. Don’t try to learn every meaning of a phrasal verb: one is enough to start with. Learn the other meanings once you are sure you’ll remember the first.

 

7. Look out for phrasal verbs in your favourite songs. Pop music is full of them, and having a melody makes words much easier to remember.
 

How about starting with the songs at MYPLACEFORENGLISH  ?
 

PHRASAL VERBS WITH VERB "PUT"

Here is a list of phrasal verbs that contain put.
A word in brackets, such as something, means that we can use the phrasal with or without that word.

put something down

To stop carrying something.
Put down those heavy bags you’re carrying and take a seat.
He stopped writing and put his pen down for a moment.

put money down

To pay a deposit on something.
I put a £1000 deposit down on the car.

put money in

To make a financial contribution.
The cost of driving to Paris and back is €400 so we all need to put in €100.

put something off

To postpone or delay something.
She put off telling him the bad news until he was feeling happier.
A procrastinator is someone who is always putting things off.

put off, be put off (something)

To get the feeling that something is bad and consequently to change your mind or plan.
I’d love to try oysters but the look of them always puts me off.
It puts me off my writing if lots of people are talking around me.
I was put off going to India when I read about how many tourists get ill when they go there.

be put off (by something)

To be distracted or disturbed by something else happening.
The footballer missed the penalty because he was put off by the crowd whistling.

put on weight

To get fatter.
He put on a lot of weight after he lost his job and had to stay at home.
No dessert for me, thanks – I don’t want to put on weight.

put something on

To turn on something electrical.
I’ll put the television on – there’s a good film on tonight.
Put the light on! I can’t see.

put someone out

To be upset by something someone has done.
I don’t want to put you out but could you work late tonight?

put up the price of something

To increase the price of something.
The government have put up VAT again.
We’ve put up our prices in order to cover our costs.

put something up

To fix something to a wall.
Why don’t you put a sign up to tell people where the party is.
I’m going to put some more pictures up on the wall.

put someone up

To accommodate someone; to let someone sleep at your house for a night or a few nights.
Can you put me up for a few days while I’m in London?

put up with something

To live with something you don’t like; to tolerate something you don’t like.
I have to put up with my husband’s snoring.
How do you put up with all the noise that your neighbours make?

GOALS AND TECHNIQUES FOR TEACHING GRAMMAR IN CLASS

 

( THE GUIDE BELLOW IS FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS, I'M SORRY STUDENTS, NEXT POST WILL BE FOR YOU)

Goals and Techniques for Teaching Grammar

The goal of grammar instruction is to enable students to carry out their communication purposes. This goal has three implications:

• Students need overt instruction that connects grammar points with larger communication contexts.
• Students do not need to master every aspect of each grammar point, only those that are relevant to the immediate communication task.
• Error correction is not always the instructor's first responsibility.

Overt Grammar Instruction

Adult students appreciate and benefit from direct instruction that allows them to apply critical thinking skills to language learning. Instructors can take advantage of this by providing explanations that give students a descriptive understanding (declarative knowledge) of each point of grammar.

• Teach the grammar point in the target language or the students' first language or both. The goal is to facilitate understanding.
• Limit the time you devote to grammar explanations to 10 minutes, especially for lower level students whose ability to sustain attention can be limited.
• Present grammar points in written and oral ways to address the needs of students with different learning styles.

An important part of grammar instruction is providing examples. Teachers need to plan their examples carefully around two basic principles:

• Be sure the examples are accurate and appropriate. They must present the language appropriately, be culturally appropriate for the setting in which they are used, and be to the point of the lesson.
• Use the examples as teaching tools. Focus examples on a particular theme or topic so that students have more contact with specific information and vocabulary.

Relevance of Grammar Instruction

In the communicative competence model, the purpose of learning grammar is to learn the language of which the grammar is a part. Instructors therefore teach grammar forms and structures in relation to meaning and use for the specific communication tasks that students need to complete.
Compare the traditional model and the communicative competence model for teaching the English past tense:
Traditional: grammar for grammar's sake

• Teach the regular -ed form with its two pronunciation variants
• Teach the doubling rule for verbs that end in d (for example, wed-wedded)
• Hand out a list of irregular verbs that students must memorize
• Do pattern practice drills for -ed
• Do substitution drills for irregular verbs

Communicative competence: grammar for communication's sake

• Distribute two short narratives about recent experiences or events, each one to half of the class
• Teach the regular -ed form, using verbs that occur in the texts as examples. Teach the pronunciation and doubling rules if those forms occur in the texts.
• Teach the irregular verbs that occur in the texts.
• Students read the narratives, ask questions about points they don't understand.
• Students work in pairs in which one member has read Story A and the other Story B. Students interview one another; using the information from the interview, they then write up or orally repeat the story they have not read.

Error Correction

At all proficiency levels, learners produce language that is not exactly the language used by native speakers. Some of the differences are grammatical, while others involve vocabulary selection and mistakes in the selection of language appropriate for different contexts.
In responding to student communication, teachers need to be careful not to focus on error correction to the detriment of communication and confidence building. Teachers need to let students know when they are making errors so that they can work on improving. Teachers also need to build students' confidence in their ability to use the language by focusing on the content of their communication rather than the grammatical form.
Teachers can use error correction to support language acquisition, and avoid using it in ways that undermine students' desire to communicate in the language, by taking cues from context.

• When students are doing structured output activities that focus on development of new language skills, use error correction to guide them.

Example:
Student (in class): I buy a new car yesterday.
Teacher: You bought a new car yesterday. Remember, the past tense of buy is bought.

• When students are engaged in communicative activities, correct errors only if they interfere with comprehensibility. Respond using correct forms, but without stressing them.

Example:
Student (greeting teacher) : I buy a new car yesterday!
Teacher: You bought a new car? That's exciting! What kind?

LEGADO INFINITO

Hello everybody, after four years blogging in Myplaceforenglish I have published my first novel in Spanish LEGADO INFINITO. I hope you have the opportunity to read it, I just leave the links where you can get it.

 Thank you for your support.

Muchas gracias a todos tras cuatro años de apoyo en Myplaceforenglish. He publicado mi primera novela : LEGADO INFINITO. Espero que podáis leerla . Os dejo unos links para adquirirla, en Amazon sólo por 0,98€. Espero que os guste, y mis antiguos alumnos : No me critiquéis.
Muchísimas gracias.

 

 

Click in the cover to get the book.

 

AMAZON

 

BUBOK 

 

Forming Comparatives and Superlatives from Adjectives

CUADRO RESUMEN DE LA COMPARATIVA Y EL SUPERLATIVO DE LOS ADJETIVOS EN INGLÉS.

Forming Comparatives and Superlatives from Adjectives:

Type of Adjective	Example of Type	Comparative	Superlative
One Syllable	strong	add "er" stronger	add "est" strongest
One Syllable Ending Vowel Consonant	big thin	double consonant and add "er" bigger thinner	double consonant and add "est" biggest thinnest
More Than One Syllable	famous	add "less" or "more" more famous	add "most" or "least" least famous
More Than One Syllable Ending "y"	silly	remove "y" add "ier" sillier for less less silly	remove "y" add "iest" silliest for least least silly
Irregular	bad good many	no rules worse etter more	no rules worst best most

BRITISH VS AMERICAN ENGLISH LESSER-KNOWN WORDS

  On the whole, British and American speakers of English have very few problems understanding one another. Over the last half a century or so television and film have done much to familiarise Americans with British English (BrE) and Britons with American English (AmE).
There are actually thousands of vocabulary differences between British and American English. While many of these words can be instantly understood by speakers from the other country, other words might easily baffle someone who hasn’t spent a long period of time in both countries.
First let’s look at some of the well-known vocabulary differences between Britain and the United States. Native speakers from either country should know all of these:

10 well-known vocabulary differences

petrol (BrE), gas (AmE)
pavement (BrE), sidewalk (AmE)
lift (BrE), elevator (AmE)
boot (BrE), trunk (AmE)
lorry (BrE), truck (AmE)
sweets (BrE), candy (AmE)
car park (BrE), parking lot (AmE)
motorway (BrE), highway (AmE)
biscuit (BrE), cookie (AmE)
rubbish (BrE), garbage (AmE)
OK, they were the easy ones. Now try 10 more difficult ones, some of which may be completely unknown or are liable to cause some confusion between an American and British speaker.

10 lesser-known vocabulary differences

How many do you know? (The correct answers are at the bottom of the page.)

1. _______ (BrE) / barf (AmE)
2. pedestrain crossing (BrE) / _______ (AmE)
3. _______ (BrE) / downspout (AmE)
4. drawing pin (BrE) / _______ (AmE)
5. flyover (BrE) / _______(AmE)
6. _______ (BrE) / teeter-totter (AmE)
7. _______ (BrE) / rutabaga (AmE)
8. _______ (BrE) / eggplant (AmE)
9. _______ (BrE) / antsy (AmE)
10. braces (BrE) / _______ (AmE)

(Scroll down to see the answers.)




Here are the answers:

1. vomit (BrE) / barf (AmE)
2. pedestrain crossing (BrE) / crosswalk (AmE)
3. drainpipe (BrE) / downspout (AmE)
4. drawing pin (BrE) / thumbtack (AmE)
5. flyover (BrE) / overpass (AmE)
6. see-saw (BrE) / teeter-totter (AmE)
7. swede (BrE) / rutabaga (AmE)
8. aubergine (BrE) / eggplant (AmE)
9. fidgety (BrE) / antsy (AmE)
10. braces (BrE) / suspenders (AmE)

READING ABOUT... MICKEY MOUSE

Mickey Mouse

Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character who has become an icon for the Walt Disney Company. Mickey Mouse is short for Mitchell Mouse. It was created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks and voiced by Walt Disney.
The first appearance of Mickey Mouse was in Plane Crazy on May 15, 1928. But the Walt Disney Company celebrates Mickey Mouse birth as November 18, 1928 upon the release of Steamboat Willie, because it is the first Mickey Mouse Cartoon with sound. The anthropomorphic mouse has developed along the years. He first appeared in color in 1935. The first Technicolor Disney film was Flowers and Trees from 1932. He also evolved from being simply a character in animated cartoons and comic strips to become one of the most recognizable symbols in the world.
Mickey's popularity has grown around the world. This was due to his angelic nature. Mickey never does anything immoral. However, in 2009 the Walt Disney Company announced that they will begin to re-brand the Mickey Mouse character by moving away from his pleasant, cheerful image and reintroducing the more devious side of his personality, starting with the upcoming Epic Mickey, a Mickey Mouse video game. The Walt Disney company thus intends to show the mischievous side of Mickey's personality.

Source: Wikipedia

Reading Comprehension:

1. Mickey Mouse's birthday is celebrated on
   a. May 15, 1928
   b. November 18, 1928
2. The first Mickey Mouse with sound first appeared in
   a. Steamboat Willie
   b. Plane Crazy
3. Mickey Mouse first appeared in color in
   a. 1932
   b. 1935
4. Mickey Mouse has always been popular thanks to
   a. his good nature,
   b. mischievous side of his character.