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Friday, December 27, 2019

Tip of the week: listen and sing-a-long

Vocabulary needs to be revised, What could be better than studying vocabulary by singing your favourite songs?
Read the lyrics and enjoy the song. You don’t have to translate the lyrics word by word, just try to find out what the song is all about. 
Pick some words or phrases from the song that you would like to learn. If necessary, look up their exact meaning in a dictionary. 
Now,  all you have to do is listening to the song again and again (no problem - it’s one of your favourite songs!).
Let the music turn you on.
Use your search engine (google, safari, firefox,etc.) Put the name of your favorite song + lyrics into search. Go!
Samples:
Perfect + lyrics
Circles + lyrics
I Don't Care + lyrics
Posted by Torrie Gruber at 9:23 AM No comments:
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Labels: Listening A-2 B-1, Listening level B-1 B-2, Listening level B-2 C-1, Speaking sing-a-long A2+

Saturday, December 21, 2019

Strange Christmas traditions

Did you know: only 30% of the world's population are Christian? Yet it seems everyone gets in n the celebration.
Which one do you think is the weirdest?
Comment below.
Posted by Torrie Gruber at 4:30 PM No comments:
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Labels: Just For Fun, Listening A-2 B-1, Listening level B-1 B-2, Video A2

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Would you do it?

Skydiving
You’re standing in the open door of an airplane. The wind is blowing hard and your legs are shaking. The ground looks so far away. Everything is tiny… houses, cars, lakes and rivers. You know it will all be over in minutes, but it seems like so many things could go wrong. Do you jump?

People sometimes feel that unless they want to die with regrets, they need to take risks and try activities that seem dangerous. For example, they might jump from an airplane, swim with sharks, or climb a tall mountain. But you don’t have to leave your comfort zone to be happy with your life. What’s important to one person is not necessarily important to another!

Do Lily and Marni plan to go skydiving? Find out in this English lesson about an extreme sport.

Here is the link to questions and listening. 


Posted by Torrie Gruber at 9:01 AM No comments:
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Labels: Listening level B-1 B-2

Friday, October 18, 2019

Commonly confused words 1 intermediate B1-B2

Today we are going to look at some words that we really have to think about.  Even native speakers mistakenly misuse them at times.





Compare:

I never drink coffee in the evening except when I know I will be staying up quite late.   (ausserdem)

We don't agree on changing teachers, but I have to accept the decision  (akzeptieren)

Now let's compare some other words.  $remember, try to learn the words here before moving forward.  Try to write them down in sentences and review them so they do't go missing from your vocabulary bank. 

CLICK & GO

credit to allthingsgrammar.com
Posted by Torrie Gruber at 11:56 AM No comments:
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Labels: Confusing Words, Vocabulary B-1 +, Vocabulary B-2 +

Friday, October 11, 2019

Quantifiers: some and any

Your turn.  CLICK FOR WORKSHEET




thank you atg.com
Posted by Torrie Gruber at 7:10 AM No comments:
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Labels: Confusing Words, Vocabulary A-1+, Vocabulary B-1 +

Friday, October 4, 2019

Quantifiers -some or any?



Your turn.  Open the document and practice. I wish you best of luck and remember: practice makes perfect! 

Read more »
Posted by Torrie Gruber at 11:43 AM No comments:
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Labels: Confusing Words, Grammar A-1 Elementary, Grammar A-2 Elementary

confusing verbs -have or have got?

click here and: 

Have got and have mean the same. Have got is more informal.                                                            We use have (got) here to refer to both verbs:  
I’ve got a terrible pain in my back.                                                                                                I have a terrible pain in my back. (more formal)

They haven’t got a car.                                                                                                                     They They don’t have a car. (more formal)

We use have (got) to talk about possession, relationships, characteristics and illnesses.                      In these contexts, it is not used in the continuous form.






She’s got two cats and a dog. She has two cats and a dog. 
Not: She is having got two cats and a dog.
Have you got a drill?  Do you have a drill? (more formal)

How many brothers have you got?
How many brothers do you have? (more formal)

 She’s got a new boyfriend.

 She has a new boyfriend. (more formal)

thank you English Grammar Today 
Posted by Torrie Gruber at 6:54 AM No comments:
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Labels: Confusing Verbs

Friday, September 27, 2019

English Pronunciation Listening exercises: vowels sounds

cheese -long e
jet-short e

Listen to our helper explain and improve your pronunciation!
Posted by Torrie Gruber at 6:40 AM No comments:
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Labels: listening, Listening level A-1+, Listening level B-1 B-2, Listening level B-2 C-1

Friday, September 20, 2019

Idioms Taken Seriously reloaded

This little strip of idioms is absolutely, ridiculously cute. 

Can you find any idioms that if translated literally could be illustrated in a similar way?


Posted by Torrie Gruber at 11:54 AM No comments:
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Labels: Grammar A-1 Elementary, Just For Fun, Vocabulary B-1 +

Friday, September 13, 2019

Exam coming up?

This makes complete sense.
watch and learn
Posted by Torrie Gruber at 12:20 AM No comments:
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Labels: Cambridge exam practice, Examination Tips-all levels

Friday, September 6, 2019

crazy words

There are some pretty crazy words in English. The one that stands out in my mind:



Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia -definition: the fear of long words (a phobia)

Click here for more from Cambridge 
Posted by Torrie Gruber at 11:56 PM No comments:
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Labels: Confusing Words, Vocabulary B-1 +

Friday, August 30, 2019

Auxilliary verbs review time


Hilfsverben sind die Verben be, do, have, will, wenn sie in Verbindung mit einem anderen Verb (dem Vollverb) zur Bildung einer Frage, Verneinung bzw. einer zusammengesetzten Zeitform oder des Passivs gebraucht werden.
Das Verb "be"
Das Verb be kann als Hilfsverb und als Vollverb verwendet werden. Als Hilfsverb benötigen wir das Verb für die Verlaufsformen und das Passiv. Da be ein unregelmäßiges Verb ist, sieht es in allen Formen anders aus:
Simple Present:
I am, he/she/it is, we/you/they are
Simple Past:
I/he/she/it was, we/you/they were  Partizip Perfekt: been
Dass be in den folgenden Sätzen ein Hilfsverb ist, erkennst du daran, dass dahinter immer ein weiteres Verb (das Vollverb) steht. (Bei den Verlaufsformen steht das Vollverb in der ing-Form, beim Passiv im Partizip Perfekt/3. Verbform)
Verlaufsform
Present Progressive: He is playing football. i)
Past Progressive: He was playing football. i)
Present Perfect Progressive: He has been playing football. i)
Past Perfect Progressive: He had been playing football. i)
Passiv
Simple Present/Past: The house is/was built. i)
Present/Past Perfect: The house has/had been built. i)
Futur I: The house will be built. i)

"be" als Vollverb
Beachte aber, dass be auch ein Vollverb sein kann. In diesem Fall steht kein weiteres Verb dahinter. Wird be als Vollverb verwendet, benötigen wir bei einer Verneinung oder Frage kein Hilfsverb.
           Positiver Satz: They are fifteen years old. i)
          Verneinung: They are not fifteen years old. i)
Frage: Are they fifteen years old?

Das Verb "have" 
Present Perfect Simple: He has played football. i) 
Past Perfect Simple:     He had played football. i)
Present Perfect Progressive: He has been playing football. i)
Past Perfect Progressive:  He had been playing football. i)

zusammengesetzte Zeiten Passiv
Present/Past Perfect: The house has/had been built. i)
Beachte, dass auch have ein unregelmäßiges Verb ist, deshalb sehen die Formen oft anders aus:
Simple Present: I/we/you/they have, he/she/it has
Simple Past: I/he/she/it/we/you/they had
Partizip Perfekt: had
"have" in positiven Sätzen
Als Vollverb zeigt das Verb have einen Besitz an. In der Umgangssprache im britischen Englisch wird have hier aber meist als Hilfsverb in Verbindung mit dem Vollverb got verwendet.
als Vollverb: I have a car. i)
als Hilfsverb: I have got a car. i)
"have" bei Verneinung und Frage
Wird have als Vollverb verwendet, musst du bei Verneinung und Frage das Hilfsverb do verwenden. Benutzt du aber have got, brauchst du kein weiteres Hilfsverb.
als Vollverb: I do not have a car. i)   
Do I have a car? i)
als Hilfsverb:   I have not got a car. i)
Have I got a car? i)
Das Verb "will"
Das Verb will kann nur als Hilfsverb verwendet werden. Es dient zur Bildung der Futur-Formen.
Hilfsverb "will"
Futur I: He will not play football. i)
Futur II: He will have played football. i)
An das Verb will wird in der 3. Person Einzahl kein "s" angehängt. Die Kurzform der Verneinung ist won't.'
Beispiele:       I will, he will
I will not = I won't
Das Verb "do"
Das Verb do kann wiederum Hilfsverb oder Vollverb sein. Als Hilfsverb benötigen wir do für die meisten Verben (außer be, will, have got und Modalverben) bei Verneinungen und Fragen im Simple Present und Simple Past. (Das Vollverb steht dann im Infinitiv/Grundform)
Hilfsverb "do" bei Verneinungen
 Present: He does not play football. i)
Simple Past: He did not play football. i)
Hilfsverb "do" in Fragen
Simple Present: Does he play football? i)
Simple Past:    Did he play football? i)

Auch das Verb do ist unregelmäßig:
Simple Present: I/we /they do, he/she/it does
Simple Past: I/he/she/it/we/you/they did

"do" als Vollverb
Als Vollverb nutzen wir do in bestimmten Wendungen (im Sinne von tun/machen). Bei Verneinung und Frage verwendest du ein zusätzliches do als Hilfsverb.
positiver Satz: She does her homework every day. i)
Verneinung: She doesn't do her homework every day. i)
Frage: Does she do her homework every day? i)
Kein Hilfsverb "do"
Das Hilfsverb do für Verneinung und Frage wird in folgenden Fällen nicht verwendet:

wenn das Vollverb "be" ist
Beispiel: I am not angry. / Are you okay? i)

wenn bereits ein anderes Hilfsverb (z.B. have, be, will) verwendet wird
Beispiel: They are not sleeping. / Have you heard that? i)

wenn ein Modalverb verwendet wird (can, may, must, need, ought to, shall, should)
Beispiel: We need not wait. / Can you repeat that, please? i)
wenn nach dem Subjekt (wer/was) gefragt wird
Beispiel: Who sings that song? i)

Übungen zu Hilfsverben
§  Hilfsverb oder Vollverb Übung 1
§  Hilfsverb oder Vollverb Übung 2
§  Richtiges Hilfsverb wählen Übung 1
§  Richtiges Hilfsverb wählen Übung 2, Übung 3, Übung 4
§  Hilfsverben in negativen Sätzen Übung 1
§  Hilfsverben in negativen Sätzen Übung 2
§  Hilfsverben in Fragen Übung 1
§  Hilfsverben in Fragen Übung 2

credit to ego4u.de

Posted by Torrie Gruber at 12:10 AM No comments:
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Labels: Grammar A-1 Elementary, Grammar A-2 Elementary
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