TI love reading the news online. There are so many words and expressions that you can learn! I picked up some interesting ones from what I've been reading. Here you are:
*I'm usually gung-ho (crazy about) for every new technological thing.
* If so, count me in, but if it's going to be like the 3-D movies I've seen, I'll pass.
* People are being enticed away from the profession by higher salaries elsewhere.
* The adverts entice the customer into buying things they don’t really want.
(Entice means persuade someone in a pleasant way.)
* She had to hand her sister her cell phone.
* My mother always keep the house tidied up. (clean and organized)
* He had a lot of murky schemes but all of them backfired.
(Murky means dark and dirty - Backfired means something that went wrong.)
* James has ants in his pants (excited) today because of the test. If he succeed, he'll have a new life from now on!
* I haven't met him again... sorry, despite of being boring, he has a face that only a mother could love! (the poor guy is ugly)
* He can’t spend all his afternoon watching this movie. You have to agree that it’s a bit much, don’t you? (means excessive or annoying)
* She's a little bit down in the dumps (depressed) today. What happened to her?
Take a look at Using English, a4EL, English Idioms,and English Grammar for more examples and acitivities. There is also a list of idioms by theme, click here to check it out!
The indefinte article a/an is the same for all genders: a girl, a cat, an eraser, an egg.
The indefinte article has no plural form: a girl - girls, a cat - cats, an egg, eggs.
We use an if the following word starts with a vowel sound:
- an egg, an envelope, an apple.
We use a if the following word starts with a consonant sound:
- a cat, a dog, a door, a girl
We must use the indefinite article a/an before phrases of time and measurements (per week/weekly):
- We have Spanish classes 3 times a week.
- I go on holiday once a year.
- This Ferrari can do 350 kilometres an hour.
- Oranges are $1 a kilo.
Before phrases of jobs:
- George is an engineer.
- I'm a teacher.
Before phrases of nationality:
- Elton John is an English singer
- Antonio Banderas is a Spanish actor
Half/Quite:
- Stella needs half a kilo of sugar
- This is quite a good song
So far, so good. Further on, I'll explain about the article the.
After all this time (and I'm really sorry about that), I'm back! I'd intended to write this blog in both languages, although my first intention was to write it in English but some students have asked to write in Portuguese, just like the coaching sessions that we have at school. So here we go, and I'm going to explain about Simple Future - Be Going To.
It's used to talk about plans, intentions. Going to + verb in the infinitive form often emphasizes this idea of intention or decision, got it?
1. She's going to play the guitar. (It's a planned action in the future).
2. He studied a lot. He's going to do the test. (It's certain that this is going to happen).
3. This afternoon, I'm going to write that essay.
Will - Future is used to:
1) Future actions happen without the speaker's intention: The stars will shine tonight.
2) Predictions, assumptions: I think that your favorite band will play in Brazil in October.
3) Spontaneous actions: Hang on! I'll have a word with you.
4) Sudden decisions: By the way, I'll go to the Vamp Party with you.
Here you are some links to practice:
Will or Be Going To (1)
Will or Be Going To (2)
Will or Be Going To (3)
See you all next post!
