Carmen María's English Blog



Ernest Hemingway once won a bet by writing a six-word story. This is what he wrote:


Some microstories can be really descriptive, despite the fact that they are extremely short. 



"When he woke up, the dinosaur was still there"


Why don´t you try and write your own micro tale? We can put them on our English Corner pinboard. 
Send them to me by email.

Looking forward to reading them!!!




Yes, love at first sight exists.


Hi, guys! Ready for next Friday´s celebration? Have you bought a tube of grease for your hair, boys? What about you, girls? You´ll look amazing, no doubt. 

Silence! 4th Year Secondary groups rehearsing...




Motivation is the key to succesful learning. 

 Always...

 Set  achievable short-term goals
Praise achievements 
Reward positive behaviour 
Show your students you trust their capacity.
Zero Conditional
First Conditional Exercise
Second Conditional Exercise
Third Conditional Exercise
All type Conditional Exercise

 (www.perfect-english-grammar.com)

USE 1 Completed Action Before Something in the Past


The Past Perfect expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in the past. It can also show that something happened before a specific time in the past.

 Examples:
  • I had never seen such a beautiful beach before I went to Kauai.
  • I did not have any money because I had lost my wallet.
  • Tony knew Istanbul so well because he had visited the city several times.
  • Had Susan ever studied Thai before she moved to Thailand?
  • She only understood the movie because she had read the book.
  • Kristine had never been to an opera before last night.
  • We were not able to get a hotel room because we had not booked in advance.

USE 2 Duration Before Something in the Past (Non-Continuous Verbs)


With Non-Continuous Verbs we use the Past Perfect to show that something started in the past and continued up until another action in the past.
Examples:
  • We had had that car for ten years before it broke down.
  • By the time Alex finished his studies, he had been in London for over eight years.
  • They felt bad about selling the house because they had owned it for more than forty years.
Although the above use of Past Perfect is normally limited to Non-Continuous Verbs and non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, the words "live," "work," "teach," and "study" are sometimes used in this way even though they are NOT Non-Continuous Verbs.

EXERCISES
Click on the links:

Exercise 1 : Past Simple or Past Perfect?
Exercise 2: Past Simple, Present Perfect or Past Perfect?

(englishpage.com)
I liked your music and your extravagant elegance. Rest in peace, Bowie.
   

    










"On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 
And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route." (Mathew 2, 11-12)


Useful vocabulary:

 The Three Wise Men/Magi: Reyes Magos
Epiphany: Epifanía
Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar: Melchor, Gaspar y Baltasar
Bethlehem: Belén
Star: estrella
Gift/present: regalo
Gold: oro
Incense: incienso
Myrrh: mirra
Camel: Camello
To adore/ worship: adorar
To honour: honrar
To bow down: hacer reverencia


New year and new music video by Taylor Swift. Really beautiful.
This song usually comes with me when I drive to work every morning. It's like a tongue twister that I like to sing. 
Sometimes you have to lose something to find yourself.



Looking at it now
It all seemed so simple
We were lying on your couch
I remember
You took a Polaroid of us
Then discovered 
The rest of the world is black and white
But we were in screaming color
And I remember thinking...


     "Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one. " (Brad Pai)

 Happy 2016 to all those who visit my blog and thank you for your support. I hope the new year finds you in a warm and happy place. 
Miss you, Scotland, where I left friends and part of my best memories.



"That´s life" is a sitcom for English learners. This story is about five young people from different countries who meet  to become flatmates and friends, and about all sorts of different situations that happen over a period of time, including comedy, drama and romance. 
This sitcom comes in 5 parts, one for each level. These are the parts published so far. Click on these links and find out.
1- Beginners (That's Life)
2- Elementary (That's Life)
3- Pre-Intermediate (That's Life)
4- Intermediate (That's Life) 
5- Upper-Intermediate (That's Life)

 (From English Today Course, by Multimedia English) 


As we´re going to talk about food and diet next week, read this post  about the Mediterranean Diet. You´ll find some tips to have a good and healthy life.

 The Mediterranean Diet is a living style. Years ago, it was the natural way of life of many people especially in Spain, Italy and Greece: high activity, Mediterranean nutrition and anti stress attitudes. Nowadays, many responsible people all over the world keep what is considered to be the healthiest diet in the world.

Do not forget that the original Mediterranean Diet characteristics are:

1. High consumption of virgin olive oil.
2. High intake of vegetables and fruits and legumes.
3. Use of non refined carbohydrates (portions to be adjusted to physical activity).
4. Consumption of fish, specially oily (or “bluish” one) three o for times a week
5. Consumption of milk and derivates, cheese and yogurt. Keep an eye on the saturated fats of the dairy products. Not too much!
6. Three or four eggs per week.
7. Moderate consumption of meat and saturated fats.
8. One or two small glasses of wine a day, preferably red and at the main meals. White wine and beer are alternatives.
9. Nuts as snacks





Learning languages using lyryc videos is great fun. There are excellent sites you can visit to improve your English through songs. Let me recommend you one...click here: 

 lyricstraining

 And now try this original one I found with my students last Friday...




Recharging batteries... 
Fasten seatbelts. Curves ahead.




 I know that Present Perfect is not an easy verb tense to learn. Here you have a short summary in Spanish about its use.

En inglés utilizamos el tiempo presente perfecto cuando existe una conexión o relación entre el pasado y el presente. Tiene dos usos principales:

 a) Lo utilizamos cuando nos encontramos interesados en el resultado presente de algo que ocurrió en un momento no definido del pasado:

 - The secretary has decided to look for a new job.
  La secretaria ha decidido buscar un nuevo trabajo.

 - I'm afraid I have forgotten your name.
Me temo que he olvidado tu nombre.
b) Lo utilizamos para hablar acerca de una acción o situación que comenzó en el pasado y aún continúa:

 - How long have you worked here?
¿Cuánto tiempo has trabajado aquí?

 - She has been away on business since last week.
Ella se ha ausentado por negocios desde la semana pasada.

 - I haven't seen Sylvia for several years.
No he visto a Silvia durante varios.

 Con el presente perfecto utilizamos How long...? (¿Cuánto tiempo...?) en preguntas relacionadas con la duración y for (durante) o since (desde) para las respuestas.

 - How long have you worked here?
¿Cuánto tiempo llevas trabajando aqui?
Observa que usamos for para expresar la duración de una acción, y since para indicar cuándo comenzó la acción.

 - I've worked here for twelve months (for twenty years, etc).
He trabajado aquí durante doce meses (durante veinte años, etc)
- I've worked here since January (since 1990, since Christmas, etc).
He trabajado aquí desde Enero (desde 1990, desde Navidad, etc)

 A menudo el presente perfecto se utiliza con los adverbios just (justo/acabar de), yet (aún/todavia), still (todavía), already (ya), ever (alguna vez), never (nunca), recently (recientemente), lately (últimamente), so far (hasta aquí), up to now (hasta ahora). 
Observa algunos ejemplos:

- They 've just signed an important contract.
Ellos acaban de firmar un importante contrato.
(RECUERDA: Present Perfect + JUST + participio - Acabar de hacer algo)

 - Sheila has already arrived home.
Sheila ya ha llegado a casa.

 - Sheila hasn't received an answer yet.
Sheila no ha recibido respuesta aún.

 - Have you ever used this type of machine?
¿Has utilizado alguna vez este tipo de máquina?

 - We've had good results so far.
Hasta aquí hemos obtenido buenos resultados.
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