April Fool's Day (British Council)

Read about some April Fool's Day tricks from  around the world. Click on the image to visit the website.

CONDITIONAL SENTENCES

What are conditionals in English grammar? Sometimes we call them 'if clauses'. They describe the result of something that might happen (in the present or future) or might have happened but didn't (in the past). They are made using different English verb tenses.

There are four kinds:

• The Zero Conditional:
  (if + present simple, ... present simple)
  If you heat water to 100 degrees, it boils.
                                                Click here to learn more.
• The First Conditional:
  (if + present simple, ... will + infinitive)
  If it rains tomorrow, we'll go to the cinema.
                                                Click here to learn more.
• The Second Conditional:
  (if + past simple, ... would + infinitive)
  If I had a lot of money, I would travel around the world.
                                               Click here to learn more.
• The Third Conditional
  (if + past perfect, ... would + have + past participle)
  If I had gone to bed early, I would have caught the train.
                                              Click here to learn more.

• 

Some exercises:

- Zero Conditional: 1, 2, 3, 4

- First Conditional: 1, 2, 3, 4

- Second Conditional: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,

- Third Condicional: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Some quotations about FOOLS

You Know What They Say About Fools...
•    It's better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and leave no doubt. --Mark Twain
•    However big the fool, there is always a bigger fool to admire him. -- Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux
•    He who lives without folly isn't so wise as he thinks. -- François, Duc de La Rochefoucauld
•    Let us be thankful for the fools. But for them the rest of us could not succeed. -- Mark Twain  

•    A fool must now and then be right by chance. -- Cowper
•    It is better to be a fool than to be dead. -- Stevenson   
•    The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year. -- Mark Twain

April 1st: April Fools' Day

The History of April Fools Day

Unlike most of the other non-foolish holidays, the history of April Fool's Day, sometimes called All Fool's Day, is not totally clear. It is not like Halloween, where despite an interesting history, most people just put on Halloween costumes, get candy, and leave it at that. There really wasn't a "first April Fool's Day" that can be pinpointed on the calendar. Some believe it sort of evolved simultaneously in several cultures at the same time, from celebrations involving the first day of spring.
The closest point in time that can be identified as the beginning of this tradition was in 1582, in France. Prior to that year, the new year was celebrated for eight days, beginning on March 25. The celebration culminated on April 1. With the reform of the calendar under Charles IX, the Gregorian Calendar was introduced, and New Year's Day was moved to January 1.

homeless people

Reported Speech

Reported Speech Presentation

Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - Somewhere Over the Rainbow (with lyrics)

English Vocabulary - Sports

Emphasis in English. Part 2: Expressing Annoyance

We use the Simple Present to express habits: She always smiles at people. 
But what happens when you want to express an annoying habit or the idea that something irritating or shocking always happens?

We use the Present Continuous with words such as "always" or "constantly".
Its meaning is like Simple Present, but with negative emotion; there is often an element of criticism with this structure

Compare these sentences:

• Juan always asks questions about the lesson. ( a fact)
• Juan is always asking questions about the lesson. ( annoying)
• My teacher always loses her keys.(a fact)
• My teacher is always losing her keys! (annoying)
  

More examples
•    She is always coming to class late.
•    He is constantly sending text messages. I wish he would stop.

•    I don't like them because they are always having arguments.

Annoying situations at work

'Every workplace has employees who irk others with their strange habits. While some habits can be tolerated, others are just plain unacceptable, and ought to be done away with. Find out which employee behavior are ranked the most annoying!'

Click on the link to read and listen more about annoying situations at work (or anywhere)

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/10most-annoying-employee-behaviors.html

Emphasis in English. Part I

 I do like English.

There are several ways to add emphasis to your sentences in English. You use emphasis when when you are expressing your opinions, disagreeing, making strong suggestions, expressing annoyance, etc.

Today we will see the emphatic do.

We normally use the auxiliary do/does (present) or did (past) in negative and interrogative sentences.

I don't like football.                         Dou you like foobootball?                     
She doesn't speak English.                Does she speak English?
He doesn't love you.                        Does he love you?
They don't watch TV on weekdays.    Do they watch TV on weekdays?
We didn't see the film.                     Did you see the film?

However, we use it in affirmative sentences when we want to place strong emphasis on what we are saying to show that we feel strongly about it in a positive way. In all these cases, do/does/did is pronounced with strong stress. 

You don't like fooball, do you? -  I do like football. In fact, I love it.
She doesn't speak English.      -  She does speak English. She's from London.
He didn't invite us.                 -  He did invite you, but you ignored him.

 Examples and their tranlation into Spanish:
1.- Naturally, we don't always have horses available that are already trained and ready for Grand  Prix participation immediately, but we do have them on occasion.
hesselhof.com
Como es lógico, no siempre tenemos caballos de categoría Grand-Prix adiestrados que estén ya listos para la competición, pero sí con cierta frecuencia.

2.- I really do like to share my stories and experience with my peers.  familychildcaresf.org
    Realmente me gusta compartir mis historias y experiencias con mis compañeros.

3.- I don't know if there's a measure of how many of them resonate as passionately as I do, but they do listen. ourplanet.com
No sé si es posible medir la cantidad de personas que sienten tan apasionadamente como yo, pero el hecho es que escuchan.

 

Further information:

Usingenglish 

BBC Learning English

BBC worldservice 

Activities:

Random Idea English. Exercises

Countries and Nationalities (with sound) - English Language

Activities
Exercise 1
Exercise 2. Memory Game
Exercise 3. Multiple Choice
Further practice

Tale: Sleeping Beauty

Tale: Sleeping Beauty

Speaking

In  this webside you can find:

• Phrases for conversation 
•  Conversation topic 
• Speaking situations

  Levels: Low-High Beginning, Low-High Intermediate and Advanced

Job Interviews

In this webside you will find questions and answers to practise a job interview. You will also find audio files to listen to a native English speaker and improve your interview skills while improving your English speaking.

Articles: a / an / the / -

Click on the link to read the rules for their use.

How to use the article in English

Exercises:

Excersise 1
Exercise 2
Exercise 3
Excercise 4
Excersise 5

"If" poem by Rudyard Kipling (British accent)

Today is World Poetry Day.

Spring. Quotations

Today is 20th March, 2014. Let's celebrate the first day of spring reading what others said about it.

It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.  ~Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

It's spring fever.  That is what the name of it is.  And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!  ~Mark Twain

No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.  ~Proverb

 In the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty-six different kinds of weather inside of four and twenty hours.  ~Mark Twain
 
You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming.  ~Pablo Neruda

The sun was warm but the wind was chill.
You know how it is with an April day.
~Robert Frost


I want to do to you what spring does with the cherry trees. ~Pablo Neruda
 
April hath put a spirit of youth in everything.  ~William Shakespeare
 
A little madness in the Spring
Is wholesome even for the King.~Emily Dickinson

Now every field is clothed with grass, and every tree with leaves; now the woods put forth their blossoms, and the year assumes its gay attire.  ~Virgil

Falles

 Falles?  

 "Mr. Pyrotechnic, you may commence the Mascletà!"

You might need to explain what Fallas are, and as you know, some words are difficult to translate.

Here you’ll find some words and expression that will help.

Falles:

1 The celebration held in commemoration of Saint Joseph on 19 March

2  the sculptures or monuments produced for or by a neighbourhood, which burn during the last day of the Fallas festival.They usually have a satirical theme.

Ninot: 

Wooden dolls put on display. They are filled with firecrackers and are made of cardboard and paper-maché. 

Casal Fallers: 

Organized groups of people (fallers and falleres)
Falleres: 
Girls and women dressed in a traditional costume. 
Mascletà: 
Fireworks display at midday
Masclet: 
Firecracker
Despertà:  
The wake-up call  at 8:00 am 
Banda: 
Brass bands march down every street playing lively music.

L'Ofrena de flors:    
The flower offering. Each falla casal takes an offering of flowers to the Virgin 
Els Castells:  
Fireworks
La Nit del Foc: 
The Night of Fire  
La Cremà:    
The Burning. 
Els plors: 
The crying
               

Na Jordana

Fireworks.

              

Verb Patterns. Exercises

Click on the links to practise what you have learned
1. Infinitive or Gerund?

2. Gerund, Infinitive

Verb Patterns

VERB PATTERNS. BASIC INTRODUCTION 

1) The infinitive with TO is used:  

• After adjectives: 
This is very easy to understand 

• After some verbs:

 

afford         decide         learn         seem              agree         

expect        manage       try            arrange           hope          

offer           wait            ask           promise          want          

choose       plan            refuse        would love      would like

• To express purpose: 
 He went to the airport to pick her up.  

• In the construction verb + object + to infinitive: 
I want Peter to speak to me. 
She’d like him to go there. 
They advised me not to buy it. 

2) The gerund (-ing form) is used: 

• After preposition:  
I look forward to seeing you again.                      
They apologized for not paying the bill. 
They came home alter meeting his friends 

• When it is the subject of the sentence: 
Eating in class is forbidden. 
Biting your nails is a bad habit 

• After some verbs:  

admit          enjoy           mind             consider          finish           
miss            stop            suggest         deny               imagine       
practise       tolerate        avoid            keep               mention     
can't help    dislike          like               hate               give up 

I can't help laughing at him.

I can't stand waiting in queues. 

There's / It's no use crying over spilt milk. 

That car isn't worth buying. 

David has given up smoking. 

Let's go hiking. (go + ing actions) 

3) The bare infinitive/ Infinitive without TO is used: 

• After modal verbs  
They must study . 
We can’t go there. 
She might pass. 
You should go to the library. (but, I ought to talk to him) 

• make / let somebody do something. 
 She made me cry. 
They let him go to the party. 

Second conditionals: mind map and games

Click on the image to find two games

Saint Patrick's Day

What do you know about this celebration?

Short text about Saint Patrick's Day

Quiz

Crossword

Interactive crossword

Crossword with listening

Lots of games related to Saint Patrick's Day: have fun!

Preparing to make a call

Telephone English. Listenings and activities

Connecting. Listening

Messages. Listening

Answer machine. Listening

Answer machine quiz.

Answer machine. Fill in the blanks

Business communications. Listening

Phone messages. Listening