Monday 31 October 2016

More mistakes (Spanish version included)

Some typical mistakes happen when people use the personal or object pronouns or even when they use the possessive adjectives.

Let's have a look at them:

The personal pronouns (I, you, he, she , it, we, you, they) are always the subject of the sentence (they start the sentence) and they are followed by a verb: "I eat apples", or "He and I are good friends".

Let's see the mistake made in the picture below:


In the picture it is used an object pronoun ("me") instead of a subject one ("I"), which is incorrect.

Object pronouns (me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them) are used as an indirect object, and they always follow a verb or a preposition. They can't be used as subjects of the sentence, as they don't perform the action, they receive the action: "He gave me a present" or "I'm worried about you".

And finally, we'll see the misuse of the possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her, its, our, your, their):


In this case, the possessive adjective "your" can't be used, as this kind of adjectives indicate possession and they are always followed by a noun (in this case there is an adjective "stupid"). The correct way in this picture would be "you're or you are", this is, a subject pronoun followed by a verb.

- SPANISH VERSION:

Ocurren algunos errores típicos cuando la gente quiere hacer uso de los pronombres personales u objeto, e incluso también cuando usan los adjetivos posesivos.

Vamos a verlos:

Los pronombres sujeto (I, you, he, she , it, we, you, they) son siempre el sujeto de la frase (comienzan la frase) y van seguidos de un verbo:  "I eat apples" ("Yo como manzanas"), or "He and I are good friends" ("Él y yo somos buenos amigos").

Veamos el error en la foto de abajo:


A: "Hey, me y Felicia estábamos -" 
B: "Felicia y YO"
A: "Qué eres, una especie de nazi de la gramática?"
B: "Sip"

En la foto se usa un pronombre objeto ("me") en vez de un pronombre sujeto ("I"), lo cual es incorrecto.

Los pronombres objeto (me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them) , se usan como complemento indirecto y siempre van detrás de un verbo o de una preposición. No pueden ser usados como sujeto de la frase ya que no son los que realizan la acción, si no quien la recibe: "He gave me a present"  ("Él me dio un regalo") o "I'm worried about you" ("Estoy preocupado por").

Y finalmente veremos el mal uso de los adjetivos posesivos (my, your, his, her, its, our, your, their):


"¡La vida es dura! Es incluso más dura si tu estúpido"

En este caso no se puede usar el adjetivo posesivo "your", ya que esta clase de adjetivos indica posesión y van siempre seguidos de un nombre (en este caso lo que hay es un adjetivo "stupid"). La forma correcta en esta frase sería usar "you're" o "you are" (" eres"), es decir, un pronombre sujeto seguido de un verbo.


Thursday 27 October 2016

Information Cards Game

A good way for elementary students to start speaking English language is by asking and answering common questions. I made this worksheet for elementary students, and kids really loved playing this game.

Instructions: Cut the cards and give one to each student. They can go around the classroom asking and answering the following things:

1 - What's your name? My name is...
2 - How old are you? I am ....
3 - Where are you from? I'm from....
4 - What do you do? I'm a / an...
5 - What's your favourite colour? My favourite colour is...



NAME: Luigi

AGE: 40 years old

COUNTRY: Italy

JOB: Hairdresser

FAVOURITE COLOUR: Pink
NAME: Peter

AGE: 54 years old

COUNTRY: Japan

JOB: Lawyer

FAVOURITE COLOUR: White


NAME: Luis

AGE: 20 years old

COUNTRY: Spain

JOB: Baker

FAVOURITE COLOUR: Red

NAME: Michael

AGE: 44 years old

COUNTRY: Germany

JOB: Shop assistant

FAVOURITE COLOUR: Black




NAME: Pierre

AGE: 18 years old

COUNTRY: France

JOB: Student

FAVOURITE COLOUR: Purple











NAME: Anthony

AGE: 36 years old

COUNTRY: Holland

JOB: Carpenter

FAVOURITE COLOUR: Green


NAME: Mario

AGE: 25 years old

COUNTRY: Portugal

JOB: Singer

FAVOURITE COLOUR: Grey












NAME: Paul

AGE: 32 years old

COUNTRY: England

JOB: Teacher

FAVOURITE COLOUR: Blue










It's a very easy and simple game, so you can add lots more.

Wednesday 26 October 2016

Listening practice: The Kinks - Dedicated follower of fashion

In this new section of the blog I will add some resources I have created for my own lessons.

The first one is a listening comprehension. The song is Dedicated follower of fashion, by The Kinks, a very famous 60s band.

There are two exercises: one of them is a fill in the gaps and the second one is vocabulary related, you have to match some words with their definitions.

Hope you enjoy it and it's useful for you!!



1 - Listen to the song and fill in the gaps the missing words:

The Kinks – Dedicated Follower Of Fashion

They seek him here, they _____ him there,
His __________ are loud, but never square.
It will make or break him so he's got to _____ the best,
'Cause he's a dedicated follower of fashion.

And when he does his ______ rounds,
'Round the _________ of London Town,
Eagerly pursuing all the latest fads and _________,
'Cause he's a dedicated follower of fashion.

Oh yes he is (oh yes he is), oh yes he is (oh yes he is).
He thinks he is a _________ to be looked at,
And when he pulls his frilly nylon _________ right up tight,
He feels a dedicated follower of fashion.

Oh yes he is (oh yes he is), oh yes he is (oh yes he is).
There's one thing that he loves and that is ________
One week he's in ___________, the next week he is in __________
'Cause he's a dedicated follower of fashion.

They seek him ______, they seek him  ______,
In Regent Street and Leicester Square.
Everywhere the Carnabetian army __________  on,
Each _____ an dedicated follower of fashion.

Oh yes he is (oh yes he is), oh yes he is (oh yes he is).
His world is built 'round ___________ and ___________.
This pleasure-seeking ___________ always looks his best
'Cause he's a dedicated follower of fashion.

Oh yes he is (oh yes he is), oh yes he is (oh yes he is).
He flits from shop to _____ just like a ____________.
In matters of the ______he is as fickle as can be,
'Cause he's a dedicated follower of fashion.
He's a dedicated follower of fashion.
He's a dedicated follower of fashion.


2 - Match the words with their definitions:

1 - seek                               
a.a dot repeated to form a pattern on  
   a fabric
2 - loud
b. capricious
3 - eagerly
c. to go in search of
4 - nylon
d. to fly, move, or pass swiftly and lightly from one place or condition to another
5 - polka-dots
e. a narrow band differing in color, material, or texture from the background part
6 - stripes
f. too brightly colored, ostentatious
7 - fickle
g. a substance like thin plastic, made into fibers and sheets, usually tough, strong, and easily stretched, used esp. for fabrics
8 - to flit
h.having strong desire or interest


Sunday 23 October 2016

Idioms and sayings

We are already in autumn, so the rain is beginning to appear again. Amongst the idioms we have in English to express that it's raining a lot or heavily we have the next one:

"It's raining cats and dogs" - don't take it literally, we won't see cats and dogs falling from the sky, but we'll see and feel heavy rain, so remember to take an umbrella with you!!