Sunday 29 January 2017

Listening- Music-Wonderwall

WONDERWALL - OASIS
a) FILL in the gaps

Today is gonna be the 1…………………………………..
That they're gonna throw it back to you
By 2………………………….. you should've somehow
Realized what you gotta do
I don't believe that anybody
Feels the way 3…………………. do, about you now

Back beat, the word was on the 4…………………………………..
That the 5…………………………………….. in your heart is out
I'm sure you've heard it all before
But you 6……………………………………… really had a doubt
I don't believe that anybody
Feels the way I do about 7………………………………… now

b) LISTEN to the song and correct the underlined words

And all the roads we have to play………………………………. are winding
And all the fights…………………………… that lead us there are blinding
There are many pins…………………………………. that I
Would like to sing…………………………… to you but I don't know how
Because maybe, you're gonna be the one that kills…………………. me
And before
…………………………………………. all, you're my wonderwall

c) SELECT the correct word in bold

Today/ tomorrow was gonna be the day
But they'll never throw it back to you/them
By now you should've somehow
Realized what/where you're not to do
I don't believe/ trust that anybody
Feels the way I do, about you now
And all the roads/streets that lead you there are winding
And all the lights that light the way/path are blinding

There are many/ little things that I
Would like to say/tell to you but I don't know how


                                                                  I said maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me
                                                                  And after all, you're my wonderwall (REPEAT X 2)



Friday 20 January 2017

Grammar: Passive voice

Passive Voice


Use of Passive

Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not known, however, who or what is performing the action.
Example: My bike was stolen.
In the example above, the focus is on the fact that my bike was stolen. I do not know, however, who did it.
Sometimes a statement in passive is more polite than active voice, as the following example shows:
Example: A mistake was made.
In this case, I focus on the fact that a mistake was made, but I do not blame anyone (e.g. You have made a mistake.).

Form of Passive

Subject + finite form of to be + Past Participle (3rd column of irregular verbs)
Example: A letter was written.
When rewriting active sentences in passive voice, note the following:
  • the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence
  • the finite form of the verb is changed (to be + past participle)
  • the subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is dropped)

Examples of Passive Level 2

TenseSubjectVerbObject
Simple PresentActive:Ritawritesa letter.
Passive:A letteris writtenby Rita.
Simple PastActive:Ritawrotea letter.
Passive:A letterwas writtenby Rita.
Present PerfectActive:Ritahas writtena letter.
Passive:A letterhas been writtenby Rita.
Future IActive:Ritawill writea letter.
Passive:A letterwill be writtenby Rita.
HilfsverbenActive:Ritacan writea letter.
Passive:A lettercan be writtenby Rita.

Examples of Passive Level 4

TenseSubjectVerbObject
Present ProgressiveActive:Ritais writinga letter.
Passive:A letteris being writtenby Rita.
Past ProgressiveActive:Ritawas writinga letter.
Passive:A letterwas being writtenby Rita.
Past PerfectActive:Ritahad writtena letter.
Passive:A letterhad been writtenby Rita.
Future IIActive:Ritawill have writtena letter.
Passive:A letterwill have been writtenby Rita.
Conditional IActive:Ritawould writea letter.
Passive:A letterwould be writtenby Rita.
Conditional IIActive:Ritawould have writtena letter.
Passive:A letterwould have been writtenby Rita.

Passive Sentences with Two Objects Level 3

Rewriting an active sentence with two objects in passive voice means that one of the two objects becomes the subject, the other one remains an object. Which object to transform into a subject depends on what you want to put the focus on.
SubjectVerbObject 1Object 2
Active:Ritawrotea letterto me.
Passive:A letterwas writtento meby Rita.
Passive:Iwas writtena letterby Rita.
.
As you can see in the examples, adding by Rita does not sound very elegant. Thats why it is usually dropped.

Personal and Impersonal Passive

Personal Passive simply means that the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. So every verb that needs an object (transitive verb) can form a personal passive.
Example: They build houses. – Houses are built.
Verbs without an object (intransitive verb) normally cannot form a personal passive sentence (as there is no object that can become the subject of the passive sentence). If you want to use an intransitive verb in passive voice, you need an impersonal construction – therefore this passive is called Impersonal Passive.
Example: he says – it is said
Impersonal Passive is not as common in English as in some other languages (e.g. German, Latin). In English, Impersonal Passive is only possible with verbs of perception (e. g. say, think, know).
Example: They say that women live longer than men. – It is said that women live longer than men.
Although Impersonal Passive is possible here, Personal Passive is more common.
Example: They say that women live longer than men. – Women are said to live longer than men.
The subject of the subordinate clause (women) goes to the beginning of the sentence; the verb of perception is put into passive voice. The rest of the sentence is added using an infinitive construction with 'to' (certain auxiliary verbs and that are dropped).
Sometimes the term Personal Passive is used in English lessons if the indirect object of an active sentence is to become the subject of the passive sentence.

Exercises

Exercises on Passive (Form)

Exercises on Passive (Active → Passive)

Exercises on Passive (Active or Passive)

Grammar in Texts

Tests on Passive

Thursday 19 January 2017

Modals

Modal Verbs

Here's a list of some of the modal verbs in English:
cancouldmaymightwill
wouldmustshallshouldought to
Modals are different from normal verbs:

1: They don't use an 's' for the third person singular.
2: They make questions by inversion ('she can go' becomes 'can she go?').
3: They are followed directly by the infinitive of another verb (without 'to').

Probability:

First, they can be used when we want to say how sure we are that something happened / is happening / will happen. We often call these 'modals of deduction' or 'speculation' or 'certainty' or 'probability'.

For example:
  • It's snowing, so it must be very cold outside.
  • I don't know where John is. He could have missed the train.
  • This bill can't be right. £200 for two cups of coffee!
Click here to find out more about probability.

Ability

We use 'can' and 'could' to talk about a skill or ability.

For example:
  • She can speak six languages.
  • My grandfather could play golf very well.
  • can't drive.
Click here to find out more about ability.

Obligation and Advice

We can use verbs such as 'must' or 'should' to say when something is necessary or unnecessary, or to give advice.

For example:
  • Children must do their homework.
  • We have to wear a uniform at work.
  • You should stop smoking.
Click here to find out more about obligation

Permission

We can use verbs such as 'can', 'could' and 'may' to ask for and give permission. We also use modal verbs to say something is not allowed.

For example:
  • Could I leave early today, please?
  • You may not use the car tonight.
  • Can we swim in the lake?

Habits

We can use 'will' and 'would' to talk about habits or things we usually do, or did in the past. 

For example:
  • When I lived in Italy, we would often eat in the restaurant next to my flat.
  • John will always be late!

Past modals

The past modals 'could have + past participle', 'should have + past participle' and 'would have + past participle' can be confusing. 

Could have, should have, would have

These past modal verbs are all used hypothetically, to talk about things that didn't really happen in the past.
Could have + past participle

1: Could have + past participle means that something was possible in the past, or you had the ability to do something in the past, but that you didn't do it. (See also modals of ability.)
  • I could have stayed up late, but I decided to go to bed early.
  • They could have won the race, but they didn't try hard enough.
  • Julie could have bought the book, but she borrowed it from the library instead.
  • He could have studied harder, but he was too lazy and that's why he failed the exam.
Couldn't have + past participle means that something wasn't possible in the past, even if you had wanted to do it.
  • I couldn't have arrived any earlier. There was a terrible traffic jam (= it was impossible for me to have arrived any earlier).
  • He couldn't have passed the exam, even if he had studied harder. It's a really, really difficult exam.
2: We use could have + past participle when we want to make a guess about something that happened in the past. (See also modals of probability.) In this case, we don't know if what we're saying is true or not true. We're just talking about our opinion of what maybe happened.

Why is John late?
  • He could have got stuck in traffic.
  • He could have forgotten that we were meeting today.
  • He could have overslept.
We can also choose to use might have + past participle to mean the same thing:
  • He might have got stuck in traffic.
  • He might have forgotten that we were meeting today.
  • He might have got stuck in traffic.
Should have + past participle

1: Should have + past participle can mean something that would have been a good idea, but that you didn't do it. It's like giving advice about the past when you say it to someone else, or regretting what you did or didn't do when you're talking about yourself.

Shouldn't have + past participle means that something wasn't a good idea, but you did it anyway.
  • I should have studied harder! (= I didn't study very hard and so I failed the exam. I'm sorry about this now.)
  • I should have gone to bed early (= I didn't go to bed early and now I'm tired).
  • I shouldn't have eaten so much cake! (= I did eat a lot of cake and now I don't feel good.)
  • You should have called me when you arrived (= you didn't call me and I was worried. I wish that you had called me).
  • John should have left early, then he wouldn't have missed the plane (= but he didn't leave early and so he did miss the plane).
2: We can also use should have + past participle to talk about something that, if everything is normal and okay, we think has already happened. But we're not certain that everything is fine, so we use 'should have' and not the present perfect or past simple. It's often used with 'by now'.
  • His plane should have arrived by now (= if everything is fine, the plane has arrived).
  • John should have finished work by now (= if everything is normal, John has finished work).
We can also use this to talk about something that would have happened if everything was fine, but hasn't happened.
  • Lucy should have arrived by now, but she hasn't.
Would have + past participle

1: Part of the third conditional.
  • If I had had enough money, I would have bought a car (but I didn't have enough money, so I didn't buy a car).
2: Because 'would' (and will) can also be used to show if you want to do something or not (volition), we can also use would have + past participle to talk about something you wanted to do but didn't. This is very similar to the third conditional, but we don't need an 'if clause'.
  • I would have gone to the party, but I was really busy.
    (= I wanted to go to the party, but I didn't because I was busy. If I hadn't been so busy, I would have gone to the party.)
  • I would have called you, but I didn't know your number.
    (= I wanted to call you but I didn't know your number, so I didn't call you.)
  • A: Nobody volunteered to help us with the fair
    B: I would have helped you. I didn't know you needed help.
    (= If I had known that you needed help, I would have helped you.)
Try an exercise about these past modals here.



Wednesday 18 January 2017

Comparison-Superlative

THE COMPARATIVE AND THE SUPERLATIVE



COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVES
Comparative adjectives are used to compare differences between the two objects they modify (larger, smaller, faster, higher). They are used in sentences where two nouns are compared, in this pattern:
Noun (subject) + verb + comparative adjective + than + noun (object).
The second item of comparison can be omitted if it is clear from the context (final example below).
EXAMPLES
  • My house is larger than hers.
  • This box is smaller than the one I lost.
  • Your dog runs faster than Jim's dog.
  • The rock flew higher than the roof.
  • Jim and Jack are both my friends, but I like Jack better. ("than Jim" is understood)

SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVES

Superlative adjectives are used to describe an object which is at the upper or lower limit of a quality (the tallest, the smallest, the fastest, the highest). They are used in sentences where a subject is compared to a group of objects.
Noun (subject) + verb + the + superlative adjective + noun (object).
The group that is being compared with can be omitted if it is clear from the context (final example below).
EXAMPLES
  • My house is the largest one in our neighborhood.
  • This is the smallest box I've ever seen.
  • Your dog ran the fastest of any dog in the race.
  • We all threw our rocks at the same time. My rock flew the highest. ("of all the rocks" is understood)

FORMING REGULAR COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES

Forming comparatives and superlatives is easy. The form depends on the number of syllables in the original adjective.
ONE SYLLABLE ADJECTIVES
Add -er for the comparative and -est for the superlative. If the adjective has a consonant + single vowel + consonant spelling, the final consonant must be doubled before adding the ending.
AdjectiveComparativeSuperlative
talltallertallest
fatfatterfattest
bigbiggerbiggest
sadsaddersaddest
TWO SYLLABLES
Adjectives with two syllables can form the comparative either by adding -er or by preceeding the adjective with more. These adjectives form the superlative either by adding -est or by preceeding the adjective with most. In many cases, both forms are used, although one usage will be more common than the other. If you are not sure whether a two-syllable adjective can take a comparative or superlative ending, play it safe and use more andmost instead. For adjectives ending in y, change the y to an i before adding the ending.
AdjectiveComparativeSuperlative
happyhappierhappiest
simplesimplersimplest
busybusierbusiest
tiltedmore tiltedmost tilted
tangledmore tangledmost tangled
THREE OR MORE SYLLABLES
Adjectives with three or more syllables form the comparative by putting more in front of the adjective, and the superlative by putting most in front.
AdjectiveComparativeSuperlative
importantmore importantmost important
expensivemore expensivemost expensive

IRREGULAR COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES

These very common adjectives have completely irregular comparative and superlative forms.
AdjectiveComparativeSuperlative
goodbetterbest
badworseworst
littlelessleast
muchmoremost
farfurther / fartherfurthest / farthest
EXAMPLES
  • Today is the worst day I've had in a long time.
  • You play tennis better than I do.
  • This is the least expensive sweater in the store.
  • This sweater is less expensive than that one.
  • I ran pretty far yesterday, but I ran even farther today.