Fun with Words

One of the craziest oddities of the English language is that there are so many different collective nouns that all mean "group" but which are specific to what particular thing there is a group of:

a herd of elephants,
a crowd of people,
a box of crayons,
a pad of paper. 
There is great diversity of collective nouns associated with animals, from a sleuth of bears to a murder of crows. The following is a list of the correct terms to describe group.  Incredible !!!

Collective Name Animal herd of antelope army of ants colony of ants swarm of ants shrewdness of apes flange of baboons congress of baboons tribe of baboons culture of bacteria cete of badgers colony of badgers sleuth of bears sloth of bears pack of bears (polar bears) colony of beavers lodge of beavers flight of bees grist of bees hive of bees swarm of bees congregation of birds dissimulation of birds flight of birds flock of birds volery of birds sedge of bitterns siege of bitterns herd of boar singular of boar sounder of boar chain of bobolinks brace of bucks clash of bucks herd of buffalo rabble of butterflies swarm of butterflies wake of buzzards flock of camels army of caterpillars clowder of cats clutter of cats glaring of cats pounce of cats dout of cats (house cats) nuisance of cats (house cats) kendle of cats (kittens) kindle of cats (kittens) litter of cats (kittens) destruction of cats (wild cats) drove of cattle herd of cattle kine of cattle team of cattle yoke of cattle (two) herd of chamois brood of chickens flock of chickens peep of chickens brood of chicks chattering of chicks clutch of chicks cartload of chimpanzees herd of chinchillas bed of clams quiver of cobras rag of colts rake of colts bury of conies cover of coots flight of cormorants band of coyotes sedge of cranes siege of cranes congregation of crocodiles float of crocodiles storytelling of crows murder of crows herd of deer leash of deer parcel of deer bevy of deer (roe deer) kennel of dogs pack of dogs litter of dogs (puppies) pod of dolphins drove of donkeys herd of donkeys pace of donkeys trip of dotterel bevy of doves cote of doves dole of doves dule of doves flight of doves piteousness of doves flight of dragons weyr of dragons wing of dragons brace of ducks flock of ducks flush of ducks paddling of ducks raft of ducks team of ducks aerie of eagles convocation of eagles swarm of eels herd of elephants memory of elephants parade of elephants gang of elk herd of elk mob of emus business of ferrets cast of ferrets fesnyng of ferrets charm of finches catch of fish haul of fish run of fish school of fish shoal of fish swarm of flies lead of foxes leash of foxes skulk of foxes army of frogs colony of frogs knot of frogs flock of geese gaggle of geese skein of geese (in flight) wedge of geese (flying in a 'V') horde of gerbils corps of giraffes herd of giraffes tower of giraffes cloud of gnats horde of gnats swarm of gnats herd of gnus implausibility of gnus drove of goats herd of goats tribe of goats trip of goats charm of goldfinches glint of goldfish band of gorillas skein of goslings leash of greyhounds covey of grouse pack of grouse colony of gulls group of guinea pigs horde of hamsters drove of hares down of hares husk of hares leash of hares trace of hares trip of hares warren of hares aerie of hawks cast of hawks kettle of hawks array of hedgehogs prickle of hedgehogs brood of hens hedge of herons sedge of herons siege of herons shoal of herrings crash of hippopotami herd of hippopotami bloat of hippopotami drift of hogs parcel of hogs passel of hogs nest of hornets harras of horses herd of horses stable of horses team of horses troop of horses

Collective Name Animal cry of hounds mute of hounds pack of hounds charm of hummingbirds clan of hyenas band of jays party of jays scold of jays smack of jellyfish herd of kangaroos mob of kangaroos troop of kangaroos deceit of lapwings ascension of larks exaltation of larks leap of leopards leep of leopards lepe of leopards pride of lions sault of lions sowse of lions troop of lions lounge of lizards herd of llamas plague of locusts tidings of magpies sord of mallards stud of mares richness of martens horde of mice mischief of mice nest of mice company of moles labor of moles movement of moles cartload of monkeys tribe of monkeys troop of monkeys troup of monkeys herd of moose barren of mules pack of mules rake of mules span of mules watch of nightingales bevy of otter family of otter raft of otter romp of otter parliament of owls drove of oxen herd of oxen span of oxen team of oxen yoke of oxen (two) bed of oysters company of parrots covey of partridges muster of peacocks ostentation of peacocks colony of penguins crèche of penguins huddle of penguins parcel of penguins rookery of penguins nest of pheasants nide of pheasants (on the ground) nye of pheasants (on the ground) bouquet of pheasants (when flushed) flight of pigeons flock of pigeons drove of pigs herd of pigs litter of pigs farrow of pigs (piglets) sounder of pigs (wild pigs) shoal of pilchards congregation of plovers wing of plovers chine of polecats string of ponies pod of porpoises school of porpoises passel of possum coterie of prairie dogs bevy of quail covey of quail bury of rabbits colony of rabbits down of rabbits drove of rabbits husk of rabbits leash of rabbits trace of rabbits trip of rabbits warren of rabbits nest of rabbits (young) wrack of rabbits (young) gaze of raccoons nursery of raccoons colony of rats horde of rats mischief of rats pack of rats plague of rats swarm of rats rhumba of rattlesnakes storytelling of ravens unkindness of ravens crash of rhinocerouses building of rooks clamor of rooks storytelling of rooks run of salmon school of salmon shoal of salmon bob of seals colony of seals crash of seals harem of seals herd of seals pod of seals rookery of seals spring of seals team of seals school of shark shiver of shark down of sheep drove of sheep flock of sheep fold of sheep hurtle of sheep trip of sheep bed of snakes den of snakes nest of snakes pit of snakes walk of snipes wisp of snipes host of sparrows dray of squirrels scurry of squirrels murmuration of starlings muster of storks mustering of storks flight of swallows bevy of swans herd of swans wedge of swans (flying in a 'V') flock of swifts drift of swine sounder of swine spring of teals ambush of tigers streak of tigers knot of toads hover of trout flock of turkeys brood of turkeys (immature) bale of turtles generation of vipers nest of vipers colony of vultures mob of wallabees herd of walruses pod of walruses pack of weasels sneak of weasels gam of whales herd of whales pod of whales school of whales plump of wildfowl herd of wolves pack of wolves rout of wolves route of wolves warren of wombats fall of woodcocks descent of woodpeckers herd of yaks herd of zebras zeal of zebras

s of various types of animals.

B-1 PET Listening Part 1 practice

Some of you are studying for the Cambridge B-1 Preliminary English test.

LISTEN UP!

Click to begin

What’s That Sound?

What sound does each of the following animals make?

a cat _____________________________________

a duck____________________________________

a dog ____________________________________

a sheep __________________________________

a horse  __________________________________

a snake___________________________________

Did you know?

answers:


meow
quack
bark
baa
neigh
hiss

What sound does each of the following objects make?

a train _____________________________________

the ocean __________________________________

a balloon___________________________________

a door _____________________________________

the wind ___________________________________

thunder ____________________________________

Did you know?


answers:

rumble
roar
pop
slam
howl
clap

Wishing and Hoping!

 ....another tricky one!
You can 'hope' about something in the future. You can 'wish' about now or the past!
e.g. I hope you will be happy. (Of course you can also say 'I hope you were happy' and 'I hope you are happy'!) n.b. You can't say 'I wish you will be happy!' You have to say 'I hope you will be happy!'
'Wish' is different e.g. 'I wish you were happy' (in other words you are not happy now). 'I wish the weather was better' ( it isn't!) and 'I wish I had been to your country' (I haven't at any time in my life!). You say it like this because you are imagining something to be different, if you like you are dreaming, or hypothesizing in English.
To 'wish' about the future you do something different: e.g. I wish the weather would get warmer ('get' is an 'action', 'be' expresses a 'state'). You can't say 'I wish the weather would be warmer'.

Why is this correct? 1. I wish I didn't have to go to work today.
Why is this correct? 2. I wish the weather was better.
Why is this not correct? 3. I wish the weather would be better.
Check you grammar book to answer these questions. OR ask me! 
Practice Exercise:
Make sentences with 'wish'. Explain why.
1. He wishes go to University when he 18 (he is now 40).
2. She wishes she born beautiful.
3. The economists and investors wish the economy in better shape.
4. 'I bet you wish you rich, don't you?'
5. I wish I have my camera with me today. The campus cat caught a mouse.
6. That's horrible. I wish you not tell me that. I gave him a saucer of milk! Now I feel sick!
7. I wish I be late every day! (I'm talking about my present habit!)
Answers:
1. He wishes he had gone to University when he was 18.
2. She wishes she had been born beautiful (this is the passive form).
3. The economists and investors wish the economy was in better shape.
4. 'I bet you wish you were rich, don't you?'
5. I wish I had had my camera with me today....
6. .... I wish you hadn't told me that...
7. I wish I wasn't late every day.
The answer depends on whether the verb is seen as an activity or a state in English.

A story to read for pleasure:

Something for Nothing
A few months ago I was broke*. I had no money at all. I had nothing to eat and nothing to drink and nowhere to live. It was terrible.
Then I met a friend in the street. He bought me a cup of tea and I told him my problems.
He laughed. 'No problem', he said, 'I can tell you what to do….but you can only do it once!'
'What?' I asked hopefully.
'Well! You put an advertisement in the newspaper. I'll lend you the money to do it.'
'What am I advertising?' I asked, mystified*.
'You offer to send a picture of the Queen by a famous artist for £5. Then you sit and watch the money roll in!'
'How many people will want a picture of the Queen for £5?' I asked. 'You'd be surprised!' he smiled.
He lent me some money and I put the ad in the newspaper. I put it in the Sunday newspaper because I thought there would be more replies. There were 250 replies. Each letter enclosed £5. I was rich! I met my friend and gave him back the money he had lent me.
'Have you sent the pictures?' he asked. 'You'll be in trouble with the police if you don't!'
I was frightened*. 'No, I haven't!'
'You must do it immediately!' he told me.
'How? I can't paint 250 pictures of the Queen!'
When he told me what to do I began to smile.
What did he tell me to do?
The answer is at the bottom of the page.

To be broke = to have no money
To be mystified = you don't understand the situation
To give back = to return
To be frightened = to be afraid. (look it up in your dictionary)
Grammar: Notice the irregular Simple Past Tenses: met (meet), lent (lend), put (put), thought (think), gave (give), told (tell). (look the verbs in the brackets (…) up in your dictionary if you don't know them. Question form: did he tell ..?
Notice the Past Perfect: he had lent me
Notice the Present Perfect: have you sent…. And the 'tag' reply, 'No, I haven't'
Notice the spontaneous offer: 'I'll lend you the money…'
Notice 'will' to predict something in the future: you'll be in trouble, how many people will want… This is a different use of 'will' from the one above.
Answer: send each person an English stamp with a picture of the Queen on it.

GAP FILL VOCABULARY

An Advanced Exercise: fill the gaps with one word (you can count a pronoun with a contraction as one word)!

This is an exercise that you should practice, practice, and practice more.

Begin here

another good one from grammar cat

Obermutten Graubuenden

So so, Switzerland has now found fame via Facebook -in Obermutten, Graubuenden.
Check it out. Maybe you will want to be a friend too!
Click here to watch the video.

VOCABULARY BANK BUILDING

Help yourself to improve your chances of success in CAE by keeping an organised record of the new words you come across in your studies.
Keep a notebook and organise it on the lines of an address book with three or four pages for each letter of the alphabet.

Look at this example. CLICK HERE


Download this photocopiable worksheet HERE to get started.

thanks again flo joe