Idioms and Idiomatic Expressions

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 Indefinite Article A/AN

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.

Simple Future Be Going to + Will Future Tenses

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! 

How Much, How Many

Hello, everybody!
Hoje a explicação é sobre How Much/How Many.Parece difícil, mas a explicação e a aplicação é simples, vamos lá:

How much é usado para todos os singulares e contáveis, incluindo líquidos sem seus containeres. Ex.:

• How much wine do we need for tonight?
• How much bread do we have for the breakfast?
• How much cheese is there in the fridge?
• How much milk are you going to buy?
• How much money do you have?
• How much ham would you like?
• How much chocolate would you like?
• How much lettuce is there?

How many é usado para todos os plurais e contáveis. Ex.:

• How many oranges do we need?
• How many cartons of orange juice are there?
• How many bottles of wine do we have?
• How many cartons of milk are there?
• How many eggs are there in the fridge?
• How many apples do you need?
• How many bars of chocolate would you like?
• How many heads of lettuce are there?

Lembrando que contáveis são tudo o que você pode contar: an apple, a pear, an egg, a carrot, a tomato...

Incontáveis são o que não é possível contar, como  cheese, ham, salami (a piece, a pound / two, three pieces/ two, three pounds...), sugar, money... e outros. 

Para atividades extras, acesse How Much/ How Many 1, How Much/ How Many 2, How Much/ How Many 3, How Much / How Many 4, e How Much/ How Many 5. 

How to Make Your Writing Really Beautiful - Part 2

Já publicada a parte 1 de How to Make Your Writing Really Beautiful, segue aqui a continuação. Esse post havia sido publicado há 5 anos atrás, mas eu o revisei e estou republicando-o, por isso manterei a explicação no idioma original. Dúvidas, deixem comentários.

This time, I'll show you some conjunctions that are used to express a "but" relation.

At any rate > whatever happens or even something you say that you are going to say something more exactly

• Well, I won't go home by bus, at any rate.
• I'm not sure if they liked my project. At any rate, some of them went out from room without I could finish it. 

However > Adverb. It means despite this

• I'm thinking about taking a Philosophy course. However, Astronomy looks fascinating.
• He bought a new video game, however, he's thinking about saving money to buy the Playstation 4.

On the other hand > It used when you are comparing two different facts or two opposite ways of thinking

• I'd like to stay at home because it's comfortable, but on the other hand I'd like to go out with my friends tonight. What should I do?
• I like my job, but on the other hand I need another one which pays more.

Although > Conjunction. Despite the fact that, or but

• I decided to leave home for work earlier, although the weather is really bad.
• Although I have spent most part of my money on a new blouse, I saved something to have dinner with my friend tonight.

And there are other conjunctions such as: actually, anyhow, as a matter of fact, even so,, even though, in spite of this/that, nevertheless, on the contrary.
Next step, I'll show you more words to emphasize the best writing. I hope to have helped you all.

English Central Videos

So, to start with, ops, para começar, quero indicar à todos os estudantes deste idioma maravilhoso, o site English Central. Há milhares de videos, em que é possível praticar audio (listening), speaking, pronunciation, e vocabulário. É um site bastante dinâmico, basta apenas ter um bom headphone com microfone.

No English Central há videos para 3 níveis: fácil, média dificuldade e alta dificuldade. É uma excelente ferramenta, tanto para os que estão aprendendo até mesmo para professores, nós que falamos o idioma, mas vivemos no Brasil, e a prática e treino devem ser constantes.

Present Perfect Simple

imagem extraída de basico2eoi.blogspot.com.br

Olá, todos. Hoje eu trago um pouco da dúvida que muitos tem, sobre o Present Perfect Simple. Na verdade, o uso dele é simples. Os americanos usam esse tempo todo o tempo!
O Present Perfect Simple serve para expressar uma ação que terminou recentemente, ou uma ação passada que tem resultado no presente. 
Seguem vários exemplos:

The form of the Present Perfect Simple:

Subject + have/has (auxiliary verb in the present simple) + the verb in the past participle + complement.

I have always wanted to buy that house.

Other uses of the Present Perfect Simple:
- puts emphasis on the result
Ex.: Karen has washed the car. (the car is still clean, you can see it)

- an action that is still going on
Ex.: Jimmy has not finished his homework yet. (unfortunately, you can see his task unsfinished)

- an action that stopped recently
Ex.: Ellen has cooked dinner. (note, also, that you don't use time expressions, such as "yesterday", "ago", "last...")

- finished action that has an influence on the present
Ex.: I have lost my car keys.

- an action that has taken place once, never or several times before the moment of speaking
Ex.: I have never been to Norway.

Signal Words of Present Perfect
already, ever, just, never, not yet, so far, till now, up to now. Click on this link and practice a little bit more with these signal words.

Aqui seguem mais alguns links para praticarem online:

Activity link 1;
Activity link 2;
Activity link 3 (hard);
Activity link 4 (hard): 
Activity link 5;
and (many) activity link 6.

Espero tê-los ajudado, pois todos esses links contém ótimos exercícios para praticar!
Hope to have helped you all, because all these links are full of activities ready to activate your learning process!

Pet Peeves

Produzi meu primeiro podcast, I'm so proud! É muito simples, mas o tema é Pet Peeves. O que é isso?
Pet Peeves são coisas que te irritam, como pessoas que ouvem música perto de você, sem seus fones de ouvido, que falam alto, quem usa muito perfume, quem tem o (mau) hábito de estar sempre atrasado e por aí vai. Aqui tem um podcast de mim falando o que acho sobre o assunto.

How to Write Beautifully - part 1

Como eu gosto muito mesmo de escrever, e quando fazia o curso do idioma, eu escrevia mais do que o professor pedia, resolvi deixar umas dicas ótimas aqui. Deixarei a explicação em inglês, pois acredito ser mais dinâmico para aprender.

I was reading some texts and I notice something that makes any writing beautiful: conjunctions. Personally  I love them. They enhance your writing and speaking. Let's take a look at some of them. Try to use some of these conjunctions when you write something next time.

To show an "and" relation, there are the following words and examples:

Furthermore > Adverb. It means in addition, more importantly >>
I suggest we spend these holidays in that hostel, furthermore they're cheaper than hotels.
Jimmy prefers going to the shopping mall, furthermore he can buy some clothes there.

Indeed > Adverb. Really or certainly, often used to emphasize something, and used to express that something is correct >>
Is she your sister? Oh, yes, she is indeed.
This is a very nice bracelet, indeed.

By the way > Used to introduce a new subject for consideration or to give further information>>
I'm sure that Bob will study hard, by the way, he's been taking some extra classes since last week.
I bought that digital camera last week, by the way, where is it? I can't remember where I put it.

Moreover > Adverb. It used to add information, also and more importantly >>
The whole text is badly written. Moreover, it's full of errors. It has to be written again.
I needed to buy milk. Moreover, it was necessary to buy coffee and some sugar.

And there are other conjunctions such as: additionally, again, along with this/that, also, as a matter of fact, besides, finally, what is more, as well as this, in addition, in fact, in other words, likewise, for instance/example.

Hope to have helped you!

A Musical Way to Teach Comparatives

Olá, novamente! Durante uma maravilhosa conferência que participei, no mês passado, assisti a dois workshops do professor Carlos Gontow; You Can Speak English e From Singing to Speaking. Deem uma olhada no twitter @carlosgontow, e conheçam o Dicas de Inglês  para mais informações. Tenho certeza de que curtirão bastante.

Eu sempre usei inglês nas minhas aulas, mas ele mostrou uma forma mais divertida e didática de fazer isso. Aqui está um exemplo com  Anything You Can I Can Do Better (clique para ouvir a música numa janela a parte, mas também ao final da letra tem o clip). Achei muito legal essa forma de ensinar os comparativos. Gosto muito quando nós, professores, apesar da nossa experiência, poder aprender a fazer a mesma coisa, mas de uma forma diferente e divertida.

Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better) 

Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)

Anything you can do, I can do better.

I can do anything better than you.

No, you can't.

Yes, I can. No, you can't.

Yes, I can. No, you can't.

Yes, I can, yes, I can!

Anything you can be I can be greater.

Sooner or later, I'm greater than you.

No, you're not. Yes, I am.

No, you're not. Yes, I am.

No, you're NOT!. Yes, I am.

Yes, I am!

I can shoot a partridge

With a single cartridge.

I can get a sparrow

With a bow and arrow.

I can live on bread and cheese.

And only on that?

Yes.

So can a rat!

Any note you can reach

I can go higher.

I can sing anything

Higher than you.

No, you can't. (High)

Yes, I can. (Higher) No, you can't. (Higher) (4 x)

Yes, I CAN! (Highest) - aqui um superlativo

Anything you can buy I can buy cheaper.

I can buy anything cheaper than you.

Fifty cents?

Forty cents! Thirty cents?

Twenty cents! No, you can't!

Yes, I can, Yes, I can!

Anything you can say

I can say softer.

I can say anything

Softer than you.

No, you can't. (Softly)

Yes, I can. (Softer) No, you can't. (Softer) (2 x)

Yes, I can. (Softer)

YES, I CAN! (Full volume)

I can drink my liquor

Faster than a flicker.

I can drink it quicker

And get even sicker!

I can open any safe.

Without bein' caught?

Sure.

That's what I thought--

you crook!

Any note you can hold

I can hold longer.

I can hold any note

Longer than you.

No, you can't.

Yes, I can No, you can't.

Yes, I can No, you can't.

Yes, I can

Yes, I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I No, you C-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-N'T--

CA-A-A-A-N! (Cough, cough!)

Yes, you ca-a-a-an!

Anything you can wear I can wear better.

In what you wear I'd look better than you.

In my coat?

In your vest! In my shoes?

In your hat! No, you can't!

Yes, I can

Yes, I CAN!

Anything you say I can say faster.

I can say anything faster than you.

No, you can't. (Fast)

Yes, I can. (Faster) No, you can't. (Faster)

Yes, I can. (Faster) No, you can't. (Faster)

Yes I can! (Fastest) - aqui temos um superlativo

I can jump a hurdle, I can wear a girdle.

I can knit a sweater, I can fill it better!

I can do most anything!

Can you bake a pie? No.

Neither can I.

Anything you can sing

I can sing sweeter, I can sing anything

Sweeter than you.

No, you can't. (Sweetly)

Yes, I can. (Sweeter) No, you can't. (Sweeter) (3 x)

Yes, I can. (Sweeter) No, you can't, can't, can't (sweeter)

Yes, I can, can, can (Sugary)

Yes, I can! No, you can't!

A New Beginning

Após 5 anos, o Neon English passa a se chamar Get Into English, ou seja, envolva-se com o inglês. Outra mudança, além de título, domínio e layout, é que o blog passa a ser, parte em português e parte em inglês.

Todas as matérias até então publicadas, serão revisadas, algumas deletadas, haverão novos links e outros tópicos, e isso será gradual, pois ainda levarei meses até revisar todo o conteúdo.

Então, caros alunos e estudantes, não esqueçam que inglês é envolvimento, dedicação, prática, além de que existe inúmeras ferramentas que tornam o aprendizado super interessante.

So, that's all for now and get into English!!!

Phonetic Sounds and the end of the verbs in the past tense

Some students has a kind fo difficult with some sounds in English. Since I was looking for something to help you with, I've come across a wonderful phonetic sounds chart. Click on here to practice the sounds of this phonetic sound. Just one thing: it's in the beautiful British accent. I'm sure you all gonna love it!

Another tip that I have for you is about the end of the verbs in the past. Here you are (extracted from esl about):
Group A

Voiceless sound: p, k, s, ch, sh, f, x, h - pronounce ED as "T". Example: ask - asked (t)

asked, baked, brushed, cooked, cracked, crashed, danced, dressed, dropped, escaped, finished, fixed, guessed, helped, hoped, joked, jumped, knocked, kissed, laughed, locked, looked, missed, packed, panicked, picked, pressed, pushed, pronounced, relaxed, relaxed, slipped, smoked, stopped, shopped, talked, typed, walked, washed, worked.

Group B

Voiced Sound: l, v, m, n, r, b, v, g, w, y, z and vowel sounds (diphthongs) - pronounce ED as "D". Example: allow - allowed (d)

advised, agreed, answered, appeared, arrived, believed, belonged, bored, burned, called, carried, changed, cleaned, closed, covered, cried, damaged, described, died, dried, earned, encouraged, enjoyed, entered, explained, explored, filled, followed, happened, interviewed,  imagined, jailed, killed, listened, lived, loved, measured, moved, opened, planned, played, performed, pulled, realized, remembered, rained, repaired, saved, shared, shaved, showed, snowed, studied, tried, traveled, turned, used, welcomed, whispered, worried, yawned.

Group C

T or D pronounced as "ED" or "ID". Example: need - needed (id)

accepted, afforded, arrested, collected, contacted, counted, decided, defended, demanded, divided, ended, expanded, expected, exported, flooded, graduated, hated, hunted, included, invited, invented, landed, painted, planted, printed, presented, protected, provided, rented, repeated, reported, respected, rested, scolded, skated, started, shouted, treated, visited, waited, wanted, wasted.

Practice, practice, practice, and your pronunciation will get better, no doubt about it! See you!

10 dicas infalíveis para quem quer aprender inglês | Tecla SAP

10 dicas infalíveis para quem quer aprender inglês | Tecla SAP

Here, some steps that you all may follow. Remember, English is dedication and self-studying.

See ya'!

Reported Speech

Some students have asked about Reported Speech, a really tough matter. It is used when we want to reported what another person has said. There's always a backshift of sentences, apart from when the sentence is still true. 
Examples:


Present to Past
direct speech: I go to school.
indirect speech: She said that she went to school. 


Present Continuous to Past Continuous
direct speech: Is he working until so late?
indirect speech: He asked me if he was working until so late.


Past Perfect to Past Perfect
direct speech: When did you find the wallet?
indirect speech: He asked us when we had found the wallet.


Present Perfect to Past Perfect
direct speech: I've already done my homework.
indirect speech: I told my mother that I had already done my homework.


Present Perfect Continuous to Past Perfect Continuous
direct speech: James has been working on his project since yesterday.
indirect speech: He said that he had been working on his project since the day before.


Imperative to Infinitive
direct speech: Buy me some packages of milk, please.
indirect speech: She told me to buy her some packages of milk. 


Will to Would
direct speech: I'll be home in about half an hour.
indirect speech: He said he would be in home in about an hour.


Can to Could
direct speech: I can do this activity.
indirect speech: You said you could do the activity.


I've provided some links for you all to learn more and practice, such as English Hilfen, and exercises 1,and exercises 2, English Learner exercises and Web2 exercises. So, that's all by far. Bye!


*Image credits from http://english1na.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/reported-speech.gif

Adjectives and nouns - http://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/lessons/noun-and-adjective-forms
and http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/word_formation/nouns_adjectives/index.php
blog about it

Tag Questions

You need to learn English, don't you? You listened to those podcasts that I had applied to you, last week, didn't you? You will do your best to improve your English skills, won't you?
So, in order to confirm what you say, you must use this special grammatical structure. It's a statement followed by a mini-question that we usually call it "tag question". 
They're really interesting because you grab the person who's you're talking to attention. 
Look at these structures:


- She should go to the doctor, shouldn't she?
- They have been playing video game for hours, haven't they?
- He is the new teacher, isn't he?
- You told the truth to you parents, didn't you?
- He will buy a new car next year, won't he?
- The cat is under the bed, isn't it?
- It's raining, isn't it?
- We went to the movies, didn't we?
- That child can play soccer right now, can't he/she?
- Those people could protect the environment, couldn't they?


Got them? So, here there are some useful links to learn more and practice: English Club (explanation), English Club (activities), Learn English (explanation), English Hilfen and Better English (both activities). 

Some tips to improve your English skills

Fifteen days after the New Year's Day... 
Why are you learning English? Why is this language important for you? To myself, without English I wouldn't be working, I couldn't be listening to all the songs that I enjoy... I couldn`t chat and talk... even being Brazilian, the first language for me is English. At this very moment, I'm accessing CNN, BBC and listening to some wonderful songs... in English.
So, you must evaluate your interests, your motivation and set goals to yourself, such as; 
- listen to the songs you enjoy... with lyrics, to get used to the vocabulary along the listening
- watch movies with their original captions and pay closely attention to the characters speaking and pronunciation
- download podcasts (you have some links in previous posts, such as ESL podcasts and others) and their transcripts, but don't forget to put them aside, some time after, and just listen to them
- listen to Elllo and read the transcripts outloud to get used to the pronunciation and rhythm. Thus, you can do that with any podcast. 
- watch videos on CNN. There are many pieces of news that you can watch and get the meaning. 
- if you want something more informal and funny, here you have some videos on watchknow.org
You're going to have a good time laughing and learning with Misterduncan, an English teacher.
- read parts of texts outloud and pay attention to your voice, rhythm, intonation, pronunciation. 
- you must understand and accept that it's not possible to translate all the words you hear. You must understand the conception and the meaning... don't be frustrated about that. 
- translating is a waste of time because the meanings are completely different. Some schools, such as the one where I work, teach English inside the conception, not translating word by word, the focus is on the conversation, what becomes the course very dynamic. 
- bear in mind that listening comprehension is one of the most difficult tasks. You must practice everyday, at least 20 min, 30 min a day. 
- set your goals little by little, be patience with yourself, every learning process takes time. I didn't become a teacher overnight. 
At last, but not least important, click on this link Learn English and read some tips to improve yourself. On these two links (eHow and 2LC), you have more tips to boost your learning process. Way to go!

The Neverending Phrasal Verbs II

Phrase / Phrasal Verb:
She missed many classes, now she has to run to catch up on with the lessons. / catch up on with
Meaning:
to become up to date

 Phrase / Phrasal Verb:
This is the result of our effort, we carried out our project and we got a promotion! / carry out 
Meaning:
to manage despite difficulties

Phrase / Phrasal Verb:
She was so anxious to go to Iron Maiden's concert but it was called off due to the rain. / call off
Meaning:
to cancel 

Phrase / Phrasal Verb:
He worked very hard and now he came out with a smart solution. / come out with
Meaning:  
to produce (answers, solution, ideas) 

Phrase / Phrasal Verb:
I can't do without a computer, it's important to fulfill what I have to do today. / do without 
Meaning:  
manage without something that it's necessary or someone needs
 
Phrase / Phrasal Verb:
I know that you're bit down in the dumps, but drop by in my house later, huh? / drop by  
Meaning:  
to stop at a place briefly
* down in the dumps means that someone is sad or depressed.





 

The Neverending Phrasal Verbs I

One of the most challenges that English students have is about Phrasal Verbs. Despite of having posted some links here, I leave you some useful examples. Hope this post may help you.

Phrase / Phrasal Verb:
* I am for the animal rights. / be for
Meaning:
to agree with - support


Phrase / Phrasal Verb:
 * She is in charge of the new project. / be in charge of 
 Meaning:
to be responsible for - manage


Phrase / Phrasal Verb:
* He was brought up by his granparents after his parents died. / bring up
Meaning:
to educate / raise a child

 Phrase / Phrasal Verb:
 * Dean broke up with me last weekend. I'm so sad! / break up
Meaning:
 to end a relatioship

Phrase / Phrasal Verb:
* I read in the news that the burglars broke into that famous jewelry again. / break into 
Meaning:
enter by force.

ESL Podcast

I'm sure you're all gonna love this! Access ESL podcasts and download (for free) or listen to more than 800 podcasts about many life issues; business, entertainment, daily life, shopping, relationships... It's really practical. Go for it and improve your listening skills! 
Bear in mind that in order to have a good speaking, you need to improve your listening and vocabulary.