tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-173279442024-03-13T02:34:11.717-05:00Club EnglishA Grammar, Usage, Idiom, and Pronunciation Resource for ESL studentswordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13694767852556204886noreply@blogger.comBlogger194125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17327944.post-11276042239355203132012-04-26T23:37:00.000-05:002012-04-26T23:59:07.259-05:00Club English Has Moved!<a href="http://www.summit-esl.com/clubenglish/">ClubEnglish</a> can now be found at our <a href="http://www.summit-esl.com/">website, summit-esl.com</a>. Not only can you read more<a href="http://www.summit-esl.com/blog/"> blog posts</a> there, but you can find <a href="http://www.summit-esl.com/articles/">articles</a>, <a href="http://www.summit-esl.com/english-quizzes/">quizzes</a>, <a href="http://www.summit-esl.com/multimedia/">multimedia</a>, and more to help you learn English.<br />
<br />
I won't be posting here any more, so be sure to go to <a href="http://www.summit-esl.com/">Summit Language Institute</a> and update your bookmark.<br />
<br />
See you there!!wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13694767852556204886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17327944.post-77727476744792991742011-09-02T20:37:00.002-05:002011-09-02T20:42:43.807-05:00Ham-Handedness, Courtesy of BloggerI received notification that one of my older posts (from nearly four years ago) was taken down by Blogger because it had received a DMCA (<strong>Digital Millennium Copyright Act</strong>) complaint.
<br />
<br />This is a false accusation, as the post in question consisted entirely of original material and I, being the sole author, am in fact the owner of the copyright.
<br />
<br />Until and unless this issue gets resolved, I will not be posting articles here on Club English.
<br />wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13694767852556204886noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17327944.post-1656019502334754462011-06-06T21:15:00.003-05:002011-11-02T14:34:56.669-05:00Tips for Remembering English SpellingAre you having trouble remembering how certain English words are spelled? You’re not alone! Native English speakers often have trouble with spelling, too. English has phonetic rules – rules dealing with pronunciation. (For an example of this, see #2 in <a href="http://clubenglish.blogspot.com/2011/02/some-hints-on-learning-irregular-verbs.html"> this post about irregular verbs</a> for some common phonetic rules that affect irregular verbs.) If you learn some of these rules, you will find that they will help your spelling as well as your pronunciation! However, there are also words that don’t follow phonetic rules.<br /><br />What can we do about these words that don’t follow the phonetic rules? Fortunately, there are some “memory tricks” (or mnemonics) that can make it easier to remember. I’ll show you a few memory tricks that are helpful for remembering English spelling.<br /><br />For example, sometimes it’s confusing whether a word should have “ie” or “ei.” Should we spell “recieve” or “receive”? “Piece” or “peice”? “Pie” or “pei”? There is a spelling rule for this! (And it’s an old rule – it’s been around a long time.)<br /><br /><blockquote>“i” before “e”<br />Except after “c”<br />Or when sounded like “a”<br />As in “neighbor” and “weigh.”</blockquote><br /><br />Now, there are exceptions to this rule, like “science” and “ancient” and “height” and so on. You might want to put them on a “special cases” list. Then you can use flash cards to work on these. (More about flash cards in a little while!)<br /><br />There are other tricks to help remember how to spell confusing words. In particular, there are some words that are pronounced the same way but have different spellings, like “red” (the color) and “read” (as in “Tom read a book last night.”) These types of words are called “homophones.” How to remember which one is which? Let’s look at an example.<br /><br />“Principal” (the headmaster of a school) and “principle” (a rule) are homophones – they’re said the same way, but they have different spellings and therefore different meanings. We can remember that “principal” is a person, because<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">A principal is a prince of a pal.</span><br /><br />(A “pal” is a friend – like a “pen pal,” or a friend who you write letters to.)<br /><br />Sometimes acronyms (a word made from the first letter of each word – or almost every word – in a sentence) are helpful in remembering confusing spellings. “Affect” and “effect” are not homophones, but many times when they are spoken, their pronunciations are so similar that it’s easy to confuse the two. How to remember which spelling is which?<br /><br />The acronym RAVEN comes to the rescue:<br /><br />R – Remember<br />A – Affect<br />V – Verb<br />E – Effect<br />N – Noun<br /><br />This helps us to remember that we spell “effect” with an “e” when we are using the noun, and we spell “affect” with an “a” when we are using the verb.<br /><br />Sometimes, it’s just difficult to remember how a certain word is spelled. Is it “oshin” or “ocean”? “Wensday” or “Wednesday”? Acronyms can help here, too.<br /><br />OCEAN: Only Cats’ Eyes Are Narrow<br />WEDNESDAY: WE Do Not Eat Soup DAY<br /><br />Other tricky spellings can be remembered with short and/or silly sentences:<br /><br />“Beleive” or “believe”? ==> Do you beLIEve a LIE? (The “i before e” rule also works here.)<br /><br />“Acceptable” or “acceptible”? ==> ACCEPT a TABLE.<br /><br />Here is a list of commonly misspelled English words:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">accidentally</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">accommodate</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">achieve</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">because</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">believe</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">calendar</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">conscientious</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">definitely</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">effect / affect</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">embarrass</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">embarrassment</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">excellent</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">existence</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">gauge</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">grammar</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">harass</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">hierarchy</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">indispensable</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">inoculate</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">it’s / its</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">lose / loose</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">millennium</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">miniature</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">minuscule </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">mischievous</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">misspell</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">noticeable</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">occurred</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">occurrence</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">pastime</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">perseverance</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">precede</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">preceding</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">privilege</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">publicly</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">questionnaire</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">rhythm</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">separate</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">separately</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">supersede</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">their / they’re / there</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">then / than</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">weather / whether</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">weird</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">withhold</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">your / you’re</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Other Tips for Spelling</span><br /><br />What about words that don’t have any easy rule or tricks to remember their spelling? What do you do then?<br /><br />Make a list of “problem words” – words that you keep on misspelling. These you will probably have to practice until they get into your long-term memory. Flash cards are an excellent way to do this. You can use a flashcard program (like the one found <a href="http://www.mnemosyne-proj.org/">here</a>). The nice thing about using a program like this is that it focuses on the cards that you have trouble remembering. It quizzes you more frequently on these, so you don’t have to spend as much time with cards that are easier for you to remember.<br /><br />You can also make your own flashcards and carry these with you. Then you can work on them whenever you have some spare time. Make some cards out of paper that’s a little bit heavier, so they won’t tear so easily. (In the US, we often use “index cards” when we make flash cards.) On each card, write a word on your spelling list. On the back side of the card, you can write what the word is in your native language.<br /><br />After you’ve written all your spelling words on the flash cards, you will have a stack of spelling word flash cards to work on. Flip them over so you see the word in your native language.<br /><br /><blockquote>Start: Read the first card.<br /><br />Step 1: Say what the word is in English.<br /><br />Step 2: Spell it out loud.<br /><br />Step 3: Check yourself.<br /><br />a. If you spelled it correctly, put it in the “good” pile.<br /><br />b. If you did not spell it correctly, or if you had to think longer than a few seconds to remember how to spell it, put it in the “bad” pile.<br /><br />Step 4: Pick up the next card, and go back to Step 1.</blockquote><br /><br />Read all the flash cards in your stack of spelling words until you get to the last card. When you finish going through the stack, you’ll have two piles: the “good” pile and the “bad” pile. You can put the good pile aside and leave them for tomorrow. Take the bad pile and go through them again, like the first time. Words that you spell correctly go in the good pile, words that you don’t spell correctly go in the bad pile.<br /><br />Keep on repeating with the bad pile until all the cards have moved from the bad pile to the good pile. You’re done for the day!<br /><br />Repeat this process every day. As you improve, you should notice that the bad pile gets smaller day by day, even on the first time you go through the pile.<br /><br />If a card is in the good pile for several days in a row (for example, every day for a week), you can move it to a “once a week” pile. You know these cards fairly well now, so you don’t have to review them every day – once a week will be often enough. If you forget how to spell one of your “once a week” cards, move it to the bad pile for your daily review. Eventually, though, all your cards will move to this “once a week” pile.<br /><br />In the same way, you can create a “once a month” pile. These are cards that are in the good “once a week” pile for several weeks. This pile will have cards that need review only once a month. If you forget how to spell a card in the “once a month” pile, move it back to the “once a week” pile. By the time a card moves to the “once a month” pile, it has gone into your long-term memory. This means that you know it fairly well, and you don’t have to review it so often. You’ll probably remember it for the rest of your life!<br /><br />Good luck with your spelling!!wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13694767852556204886noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17327944.post-64530733548539000732011-06-01T21:38:00.005-05:002011-06-01T22:19:01.930-05:00House Repairs: The Main LineA few months ago, when winter was coming and the weather was turning colder, we had a main line clog. The main line is the pipe in a house’s plumbing that takes all the household water waste and sewage and sends it to the city’s sewer system. It is the only pipe that does this for the whole house. Everything that goes down the drain, or is flushed down the toilet, goes out under the house through this main line and into the city sewer.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9uXcOS3mGO7FeBQgYtRYS3Mrc6UMtHEfLQJRo3wVQlDSLe6hEfNKSABYJ_umMmGo1SH7hV8usKMzKgsM5l4IwDODsArXGjdsQPw45eslxUB35i6LTrcS2tcPnUbQ3-oy66M7U/s1600/yucky-sink.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9uXcOS3mGO7FeBQgYtRYS3Mrc6UMtHEfLQJRo3wVQlDSLe6hEfNKSABYJ_umMmGo1SH7hV8usKMzKgsM5l4IwDODsArXGjdsQPw45eslxUB35i6LTrcS2tcPnUbQ3-oy66M7U/s320/yucky-sink.jpg" alt="yucky sink!" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613448169699459362" border="0" /></a>Now imagine what happens when this main line has a clog, or a blockage. When you take a shower, the water goes down the drain, but underneath the pipe is clogged. The water has no place to go, and it backs up through the pipes. When you wash your dishes or your laundry, the water has no place to go, and it backs up. When you flush the toilet, the water has no place to go, and it backs up. Not a pleasant situation!!<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrZARiWXkBfbaRkjgX82spSBp2HenTuc3AURcDuNMR0gGpPNI6IEoD0TGbzcxYNmsgXCeFxihHI3tVzykJtrusAvUOpW4CVkE7QB3VjrqBMhTjlGoE0LvbYTXlWOsqEBFBLTk9/s1600/DSC02779.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrZARiWXkBfbaRkjgX82spSBp2HenTuc3AURcDuNMR0gGpPNI6IEoD0TGbzcxYNmsgXCeFxihHI3tVzykJtrusAvUOpW4CVkE7QB3VjrqBMhTjlGoE0LvbYTXlWOsqEBFBLTk9/s320/DSC02779.JPG" border="0" alt="tree roots"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613452457757222082" /></a>There are different reasons why the main line might be clogged. Sometimes the roots of trees growing near the house might grow through the joins of the pipes. A join is where two sections of pipe come together. Tree roots function to provide the tree with water, so the tree roots naturally seek out sources of water. Toilet paper and other solid waste can then get easily caught in the tree roots. This causes a blockage. Unfortunately, this scenario is not unusual, especially in an older house like ours. An older house is more likely to have an older style of pipe that is more susceptible to this type of thing.<br /><br />So we had a main line clog. The water was backing up in the sink in the basement. We couldn’t wash dishes. We couldn’t wash the laundry. We couldn’t take a shower. We couldn’t flush the toilet. If we did any of these things, sewage would back up into the sink in the basement. Actually, we had had main line clogs before, about every other year. So we tried what had always worked in the past: a plunger, a plumber’s snake, and chemicals.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW_rRwNcukp6yHb8JHyzcyAFlJU4ALYchhJMzXkXaYLUjojEuYkWfXbyOI32gMXy8-xdxXM4S6iBeIgkYAkuxK7-sPB5o97onnixId0r93eSLhacKtwitkwIXGfLDErGJB0mMR/s1600/plunger.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW_rRwNcukp6yHb8JHyzcyAFlJU4ALYchhJMzXkXaYLUjojEuYkWfXbyOI32gMXy8-xdxXM4S6iBeIgkYAkuxK7-sPB5o97onnixId0r93eSLhacKtwitkwIXGfLDErGJB0mMR/s320/plunger.jpg" alt="plunger" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613448162826845922" border="0" /></a>The first thing we tried was a plunger – a basic tool that is handy to have around the house. It is a suction cup on the end of a stick. It is very effective for unclogging minor clogs, like when someone tries to put a few too many potato peelings down the drain. Since a plunger is a suction cup, it can be used to create a vacuum. The vacuum dislodges the blockage and sends it on its merry way, through the plumbing and out into the city sewer. Plungers work best when the clog is not that deep in the pipe. If the clog is too far away from the drain opening, then the plunger is ineffective. We tried using a plunger on the clog, but it was no use. There was just as much water in the sink as before.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoRnTbKnCQY_FCamGsj4NNOU-pqwyR0WCiEAH03xvGs1F06eLgt2U2-rWym3VFhoZlcaM-NwYo6OLgsaMJAXlP0IOpne2AeAORfVXv1wLUqHXrMJcWbzlEqTrCsAGRE3BVTX0_/s1600/snake1.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoRnTbKnCQY_FCamGsj4NNOU-pqwyR0WCiEAH03xvGs1F06eLgt2U2-rWym3VFhoZlcaM-NwYo6OLgsaMJAXlP0IOpne2AeAORfVXv1wLUqHXrMJcWbzlEqTrCsAGRE3BVTX0_/s320/snake1.jpg" alt="plumber's snake going into main line" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613448160213476722" border="0" /></a>We then tried a plumber’s snake. A plumber’s snake is another basic tool. It is like a metal rope or coil that can be fed, or inserted little by little, into the pipe. In the picture you see here, a man is feeding a snake through a special valve called a clean-out valve. The clean-out valve is the primary access that you have to the main line. A snake is used by ramming, or pushing forward and pulling back repeatedly, against the clog. This will help to dislodge the blockage. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg1GLYeSVOumYvqoSWNurdxbvcOw5M_hvwWDmv02u82iRatqYqsUt2tI2FJQWDQkk0LNFg0c3Z5kd0Bg8vflh-dzxuSo_A4QAOMsdp14j_Ao6vGGwmMaseEOZU2mLrlnMmfAlW/s1600/snake2.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg1GLYeSVOumYvqoSWNurdxbvcOw5M_hvwWDmv02u82iRatqYqsUt2tI2FJQWDQkk0LNFg0c3Z5kd0Bg8vflh-dzxuSo_A4QAOMsdp14j_Ao6vGGwmMaseEOZU2mLrlnMmfAlW/s320/snake2.jpg" alt="plumber's snake with auger" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613448165169864370" border="0" /></a>Some snakes may have an electric motor. Some also have an auger, or a type of drill, to cut through tree roots and other things that may be causing the blockage. Plumber’s snakes usually come in lengths of 25–50 feet, so they are more effective than plungers when the blockage is farther away. But if the blockage is out even further than the length of the snake, or if the pipe has become so narrow that the blockage simply cannot be rammed through, then a plumber’s snake is of no use, either. The plumber’s snake couldn’t budge our clog – the water was still standing in the sink.<br /><br />So we had to resort to the big guns: chemicals. At the hardware store, you can buy a very strong base. This base reacts with fatty substances like grease or similar things. These are likely to “build up” or accumulate on the inside of the main line, very similar to plaque build-up in a person’s arteries. When plaque builds up in a person’s arteries, it can cause a stroke or a heart attack. When grease and other things build up on the inside of the main line, it can cause a clog.<br /><br />So you can get this strong chemical and pour it into your pipes through the clean-out valve. Then you let the chemical sit overnight. This allows the chemical to work, and it will “eat through” the clog. Then, in the morning, you turn on the hot water and let it run for several minutes. This flushes out the chemicals and whatever was clogging the system. Now the clog is dissolved, and your drain flows freely once again. Like I said, these chemicals are very corrosive. They “eat away” at the pipes, so they’re not something that you want to use too frequently. But we had always managed to get things working again with this solution, and once every other year is not that often.<br /><br />This time, however, the chemicals did not work. We tried two or three applications with little or no success. This clog was especially stubborn, and especially serious. We had no choice. We needed to call a plumbing service that specialized in cleaning out main lines. We looked online for a company that did that type of work, and contacted them.<br /><br />The plumbing fellow came out the next day and took a look at our situation. He explained the basic reasons why a main line might be clogged. He also explained that this was not unusual for a house that is as old as ours. (Our house was built in the 1930s.) Then he explained that the chemicals were not very good for older pipes, because they were so corrosive. Using these strong chemicals could actually cause more problems later on.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKnIzlO7hYGl_Vs14ZtVoxUdk6E37Lw42TbmWaksMKlxFY60rvRaGOycu_U_u3ILVTWzIjQbDzJSms47anpWqZJHkmle8OfvV0zZHxOfyZZ3IGrLIsoYieV7uK3nKLXT87RFAW/s1600/DSC02781.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKnIzlO7hYGl_Vs14ZtVoxUdk6E37Lw42TbmWaksMKlxFY60rvRaGOycu_U_u3ILVTWzIjQbDzJSms47anpWqZJHkmle8OfvV0zZHxOfyZZ3IGrLIsoYieV7uK3nKLXT87RFAW/s320/DSC02781.JPG" alt="diagnostic tool - camera" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613448175365540018" border="0" /></a>The plumbing fellow took some special equipment into our basement. He used this equipment to try to pinpoint the clog and find out exactly where it was located. The special equipment was a type of camera attached to a long, flexible line. He fed the camera in the main line, and on the little TV screen we could see waste water and other stuff in the main line. But the clog was so bad that it was difficult even to see precisely where the clog was.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO1B9JW0GWp4L9I2u2uDaL0_brczhMY3ipYpl3o9TIwKjsDP1o8iSDhfieQvmQ10Tx16WsSZn82VYn4xtTlXloWQEGs-_XxtlROr7P5qTTZ8UbmXUjGCdp6Jp1vOOC45OQzVkm/s1600/DSC02778.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO1B9JW0GWp4L9I2u2uDaL0_brczhMY3ipYpl3o9TIwKjsDP1o8iSDhfieQvmQ10Tx16WsSZn82VYn4xtTlXloWQEGs-_XxtlROr7P5qTTZ8UbmXUjGCdp6Jp1vOOC45OQzVkm/s320/DSC02778.JPG" border="0" alt="digging to find the clog"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613452458432090610" /></a>It turned out that the clog was outside the house. Actually, it was between the house and the city sewer that runs underneath the middle of the street. Later on we found out that some decorative shrubs contributed greatly to this clog. These shrubs were planted outside the house by the foundation, so they interfered with the plumbing pipes. But at the time we didn’t know that. We could only guess. The plumbing guy told us what our options were. We decided to have the plumbing fellow replace the section of pipe outside our house. That’s where the clog was. Also, the old clay pipes were broken or deteriorated, and needed replacing anyway.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLztQuV-_4IpkucjyBbeHZ7dd2DUIzwiJzKTTYWiuSXMnZNBwdWT7cqJN2SCX1pN4hr8HsYV8AFKg-MJH17Ime5W5Zb5mvFxExxJjlI2MEcN4SdXmvyK18yS79sZs2kAuqfmRU/s1600/DSC02784.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLztQuV-_4IpkucjyBbeHZ7dd2DUIzwiJzKTTYWiuSXMnZNBwdWT7cqJN2SCX1pN4hr8HsYV8AFKg-MJH17Ime5W5Zb5mvFxExxJjlI2MEcN4SdXmvyK18yS79sZs2kAuqfmRU/s320/DSC02784.JPG" border="0" alt="external access to main line"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613452463229674738" /></a>As long as the plumbing fellow was digging around our plumbing pipes, we also had him install an external access to the main line. Most houses are now built with such an access. But ours did not have one since it was built so long ago. This new external access would make it much easier for any future clogs to be cleaned out.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />So we had our main line clog taken care of. But since the plumbing was so old, there was another potential problem: the old iron pipes in the house could fail to work. If that happened, we’d be back where we started. The old iron pipes would continue to deteriorate. Eventually they would fail, causing more clogs or other plumbing problems. We could be lucky and go for several years without any more incidents. Or we could be unlucky and have another serious plumbing problem within a month or two. No one can predict when these things will happen. But there was a strong chance that something would happen at some point. The plumbing fellow explained that the pipes should be lined with a special plastic coating. This would prevent further deterioration. It would also make the pipes practically as good as new.<br /><br />Nobody likes to spend extra money, especially on something like plumbing or other house repairs. It would be more pleasant to take that money and go on a nice vacation, or buy a digital SLR camera, or something like that! But it was something that needed to be done, especially if we wanted to move sometime in the near future. A house with known plumbing problems is much harder to sell than a house without plumbing problems. So we decided to go ahead and have this other plumbing issues fixed as well. We set up a date, and the plumbing fellow came back on the agreed date to line our pipes.<br /><br />Since then, we haven’t had any more plumbing problems :) . Whoever buys our house will be a lot luckier than we were. We took care of this major plumbing problem for him!wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13694767852556204886noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17327944.post-82611872000226194342011-02-11T15:47:00.004-06:002011-02-11T16:16:59.254-06:00Some Hints on Learning Irregular VerbsAll languages have irregular verbs. English is no different. There are no shortcuts in learning irregular verbs. They have to be memorized. But there are some things that you can do in your study to make them easier to remember.<br /><br />Here are a couple of suggestions:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. Group the irregular verbs by the following patterns:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">A – A – A: </span><br />These are verbs that don’t change from the base form for either the simple past form or the past participle.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Examples:</span><br /><br />cost / cost / cost<br />hurt / hurt / hurt<br />hit / hit / hit<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">A – B – B: </span><br />These are verbs that change from the base form for the simple past and the past participle, but there is no difference between the simple past and the past participle.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Examples:</span><br /><br />tell / told / told<br />think / thought / thought<br />build / built / built<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">A – B – A: </span><br />These are verbs that change from the base form for the simple past, but then the past participle is the same as the base form.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Examples:</span><br /><br />run / ran / run<br />come / came / come<br />dive / dove / dived <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">A – B – C:</span><br />These are verbs that are different for all three: base form, simple past, and past participle.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Examples:</span><br /><br />break / broke / broken<br />swim / swam / swum<br />write / wrote / written<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. Another way to group verbs – by the change from the base form to the other forms, especially their vowel changes.<br /><br />==> Key concept – This vowel change often (but not always) represents a change in pronunciation:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Base form: </span>-a-, -ea- (pronunciation /ei/ or /i/)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Simple past: </span> -o- (pronunciation /oʊ/)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Past participle:</span> -o_en (pronunciation /oʊ_ɛn/ )<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Examples:</span><br /><br />break / broke / broken<br />speak / spoke / spoken<br />steal / stole / stolen<br />wake / woke / woken<br />weave / wove / woven<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Base form:</span> -aw, -ow, -y (pronunciation /ɔ/ or /oʊ/ or /ai/)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Simple past:</span> -ew (pronunciation /u/)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Past participle:</span> own, -awn (pronunciation /oʊn/ or /ɔn/)<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Examples:</span><br /><br />blow / blew / blown<br />draw / drew / drawn<br />fly / flew / flown<br />grow / grew / grown<br />know / knew / known<br />throw / threw / thrown<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Base form: </span> -i- (pronunciation /ɪ/)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Simple past: </span>-a- (pronunciation /æ/)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Past participle:</span> -u- (pronunciation /ʌ/)<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Examples:</span><br /><br />begin / began / begun<br />drink / drank / drunk<br />ring / rang / rung<br />shrink / shrank / shrunk<br />sing / sang / sung<br />sink / sank / sunk<br />swim / swam / swum<br />spring / sprang / sprung<br />stink / stank / stunk<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Base form:</span> -ink, -ing, -uy, -ight (pronunciation /ɪŋk/ or /ɪŋ/ or /ai/ or /ait/)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Simple past:</span> -ought (pronunciation /ɔt/)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Past participle:</span> -ought (pronunciation /ɔt/)<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Examples:</span><br /><br />bring / brought / brought<br />buy / bought / bought<br />fight / fought / fought<br />think / thought / thought<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Base form: </span> -i- (pronunciation /ai/)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Simple past: </span> -o- (pronunciation /oʊ/)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Past participle:</span> -i_en (pronunciation /ɪ_ɛn/)<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Examples:</span><br /><br />arise / arose / arisen<br />drive / drove / driven<br />ride / rode / ridden<br />rise / rose / risen<br />smite / smote / smitten<br />stride / strode / stridden<br />strive / strove / striven<br />write / wrote / written<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Base form: </span> -ell (pronunciation /ɛl/)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Simple past: </span> -old (pronunciation /oʊld/)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Past participle:</span> -old (pronunciation /oʊld/)<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Examples: </span><br /><br />sell / sold / sold<br />tell / told / told<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Base form: </span>-i- (pronunciation /ai/)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Simple past: </span>-i- (pronunciation /ɪ/)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Past participle: </span> -i_en (pronunciation /ɪ_ɛn/)<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Examples: </span><br /><br />bite / bit / bitten<br />hide / hid / hidden<br />slide / slid / slidden<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Base form: </span>-ind (pronunciation /aind/)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Simple past: </span>-ound (pronunciation /aʊnd/)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Past participle: </span> -ound (pronunciation /aʊnd/)<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Examples: </span><br /><br />bind / bound / bound<br />find / found / found<br />grind / ground / ground<br />wind / wound / wound<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Base form: </span>-ee-, -ea- (pronunciation /i/)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Simple past: </span>-e_t, -ea_t, -ed (pronunciation /ɛ_t/ or /ɛd/)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Past participle: </span> -e_t, -ea_t, -ed (pronunciation /ɛ_t/ or /ɛd/)<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Examples: </span><br /><br />bleed / bled / bled<br />breed / bred / bred<br />deal / dealt / dealt<br />dream / dreamt / dreamt<br />feed / fed / fed<br />feel / felt / felt<br />flee / fled / fled<br />keep / kept / kept<br />kneel / knelt / knelt<br />mean / meant / meant<br />meet / met / met<br />plead / pled / pled<br />sleep / slept / slept<br />speed / sped / sped<br />sweep / swept / swept<br />weep / wept / wept<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Base form: </span>-ake (pronunciation /eik/)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Simple past: </span>-ook (pronunciation /ʊk/)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Past participle: </span> -aken (pronunciation /eikɛn/)<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Examples: </span><br /><br />forsake / forsook / forsaken<br />mistake / mistook / mistaken<br />shake / shook / shaken<br />take / took / taken<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Base form: </span>-ea- (pronunciation /i/)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Simple past: </span>-e-, -ea- (pronunciation /ɛ/)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Past participle: </span> -e-, -ea- (pronunciation /ɛ/)<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Examples: </span><br /><br />lead / led / led<br />leave / left / left<br />read / read / read<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Base form: </span>-ear (pronunciation /ɛr/)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Simple past: </span>-ore (pronunciation /ɔr/)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Past participle: </span> -orn(e) (pronunciation /ɔrn/)<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Examples:</span><br /><br />bear / bore / borne<br />swear / swore / sworn<br />tear / tore / torn<br />wear / wore / worn<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Base form:</span> -i- (pronunciation /ɪ/)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Simple past:</span> -a- (pronunciation /ei/)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Past participle:</span> -i_en (pronunciation /ɪ_ɛn/)<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Examples:</span><br /><br />bid / bade / bidden<br />forbid / forbade / forbidden<br />forgive / forgave / forgiven<br />give / gave / given<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Base form:</span> -i-, -a- (pronunciation /ɪ/ or /æ/)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Simple past:</span> -u- (pronunciation /ʌ/)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Past participle:</span> -u- (pronunciation /ʌ/)<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Examples:</span><br /><br />cling / clung / clung<br />dig / dug / dug<br />fling / flung / flung<br />hang / hung / hung<br />sling / slung / slung<br />slink / slunk / slunk<br />spin / spun / spun<br />stick / stuck / stuck<br />sting / stung / stung<br />string / strung / strung<br />swing / swung / swung<br />wring / wrung / wrung<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">These have no vowel change, or vowel shift, but have a change in consonant.</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Base form:</span> -d<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Simple past:</span> -t<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Past participle:</span> -t<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Examples: </span><br /><br />bend / bent / bent<br />build / built / built<br />lend / lent / lent<br />make / made / made<br />send / sent / sent<br />spend / spent / spent<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">These are similar to the above, except they have no final consonant in the base form. The simple past and past participle are done as above, but note that the -y in the base form is changed to -i before adding the final -d.</span><br /><br />lay / laid / laid<br />pay / paid / paid<br />say / said / said<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">These also have no vowel shift – they are regular verbs. However, there is an optional –t instead of –ed for simple past, past participle (note that those ending in –ll are reduced to one “l” when using –t for past tense):</span><br /><br />burn / burned, burnt / burned, burnt<br />learn / learned, learnt / learned, learnt<br />dwell / dwelt, dwelled / dwelt, dwelled<br />smell / smelled, smelt / smelled, smelt<br />spell / spelled, spelt / spelled, spelt<br />spill / spilled, spilt / spilled, spilt<br />spoil / spoiled, spoilt / spoiled, spoilt<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">These are regular in simple past and past participle, but when the past participle is used as an adjective or in passive sentences, then the –n form is more common:</span><br /><br />hew / hewed / hewn, hewed<br />mow / mowed / mown, mowed<br />prove / proved / proven, proved<br />saw / sawed / sawn, sawed<br />sew / sewed / sewn, sewed<br />show / showed / shown, showed<br />shear / sheared / shorn, sheared<br />sow / sowed / sown, sowed<br />strew / strewed / strewn, strewed<br />strike / struck / stricken, struck<br />tread / trod / trodden, trodwordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13694767852556204886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17327944.post-64619397715102422032011-02-06T21:43:00.002-06:002011-02-06T21:47:08.235-06:00Using / BE + -ing / to Express Future EventsYou can use <span style="font-weight: bold;">BE + -ing </span>to talk about something in the future. Here is the sentence pattern:<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />SUBJECT / BE + -ing / OBJECT / (TIME)</span><br /><br />Note: <br />The <span style="font-weight: bold;">(TIME) </span>component is optional. You can include the time to give more information, or to emphasize that you’re talking about the future.<br /><br />Examples:<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Go:</span><br />We / are going / on vacation / next week.<br />We / are going / on vacation.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />(“next week” is informative.)</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Play:</span><br />John / is playing / tennis / Saturday.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />(Here, “Saturday” is not only informative, but it emphasizes the future. Without “Saturday,” we might think John is playing tennis right now.)</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Bake:</span><br /><br />I / am baking / a cake / tonight.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />(Also emphasizes the future to avoid confusion with the present continuous.)</span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><br /><br />Use the following verbs and try writing some sentences talking about the future by using BE + -ing:</span><br /><br />1. Speak<br />2. Bring<br />3. Drive<br />4. Do<br />5. Eat<br />6. Have<br />7. Call<br />8. Come<br />9. Take<br />10. Pitch <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><br /><br />My sentences:</span><br /><br />1. Professor Lee is speaking on statistics at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.<br />2. Tom and Jane are bringing potato salad to the picnic.<br />3. Jack is driving the school bus for tomorrow’s field trip.<br />4. I am doing laundry tomorrow night.<br />5. Are we eating bacon for breakfast tomorrow?<br />6. They are having waffles for lunch next weekend.<br />7. She is calling the doctor’s office first thing in the morning.<br />8. Mr. Smith is coming on the six o’clock train.<br />9. The class is taking pictures for the yearbook tomorrow.<br />10. Bob Feller is pitching for the Cleveland Indians next year.wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13694767852556204886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17327944.post-19643152573966158402011-02-02T21:21:00.007-06:002011-02-02T21:41:48.094-06:00Weather Report: Tons of Snow!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHed1BYPfo1Zw5zUhGBg0yeScIrhyphenhyphenypvdWNxvFa09tkyNfFe09iG2D0seQQsqs_BxATwazGJym3vKOxOalp7WduXgmYgm7O3CXYY8D3McyvEgIUUmRuC4nMkfuf6HRGog3mU0p/s1600/DSC02923.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHed1BYPfo1Zw5zUhGBg0yeScIrhyphenhyphenypvdWNxvFa09tkyNfFe09iG2D0seQQsqs_BxATwazGJym3vKOxOalp7WduXgmYgm7O3CXYY8D3McyvEgIUUmRuC4nMkfuf6HRGog3mU0p/s320/DSC02923.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569302394571648354" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Blizzard</span><br /><br />When talking about the weather, a "blizzard" is a very heavy snowstorm with high winds. Usually, though, people say "blizzard" when they want to indicate that it snowed a lot.<br /><br />We had a blizzard last night. We had lots of snow (20.3 inches, over 50 cm), and there were high winds. The high winds created big snowdrifts. A snowdrift is a pile of snow made from blowing wind. There was so much snow that it was hard to push the door open.<br /><br />Snow was piled high everywhere. We shoveled all morning (close to 4 hours) just to dig out the driveway and clear the sidewalks. It was a lot of hard work. The snow is heavy, and then to get it out of the way, we had to lift it up and throw it in piles. If you need some exercise, shoveling snow will give you a good workout!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4j7sfzieZ25RGTvQv17-fIzWBUkNDK1Ik4UCZquthdfNJYusfoV9vQdYjC-ZAnMBbPFl8VzolbhkPfd3jNzEP7C2xokdat8c06mMx_BqjEoP-sVFnM9JZB4yd-pr53IzUsqil/s1600/DSC02936.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4j7sfzieZ25RGTvQv17-fIzWBUkNDK1Ik4UCZquthdfNJYusfoV9vQdYjC-ZAnMBbPFl8VzolbhkPfd3jNzEP7C2xokdat8c06mMx_BqjEoP-sVFnM9JZB4yd-pr53IzUsqil/s320/DSC02936.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569302764998167602" border="0" /></a><br />Tonight, it is supposed to get very cold. The weather forecast says that temperatures could get down to 12 below zero Fahrenheit (almost -25 C). With the wind, it can feel even colder - maybe 30 below (-34 C). We call this "windchill" - when it's cold and windy, it feels colder than what the thermometer actually says.wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13694767852556204886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17327944.post-87428030815403244652010-12-31T20:54:00.002-06:002010-12-31T21:18:07.298-06:00Happy New Year! 2011 ResolutionsEvery year I make resolutions (which I prefer to think of as "setting goals"), with a track record of limited success. This year is no different: I have been thinking about what sort of things I'd like to accomplish this year, and have written them down in a rough draft. What's new (and hopefully improved) for this year is that insofar as possible, I am appending to each goal specific, actionable steps to help me achieve that goal; e.g., if one of my goals is to complete my writing projects, I have under that goal "Write a minimum of 1000 words a day."<br /><br />I think that this approach will be especially helpful for those who are learning another language. So, for example, if you want to improve your English in 2011, don't just write "Learn more English" as your resolution. Instead, write:<br /><br />(example 1)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Increase my vocabulary</span> <ul><li>Learn 100 new words a week</li><li>==> Learn 15 new words a day</li><li>==> Spend 20 minutes a day learning vocabulary</li><li>==> Read one English story a week<br /></li></ul><br />(example 2)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Improve my grammar</span> <ul><li>Complete XYZ workbook<br /></li><li>==> Work on N sections a week</li><li>==> Spend 30 minutes a day doing the workbook<br /></li></ul> I think this gives you a good idea of setting not only specific goals, but thinking about the specific steps that are necessary for achieving your goals.<br /><br />What are your goals for English? Think about them, and then think about what steps you can take towards those goals. Make your steps realistic and practical, and you'll be more likely to achieve them.<br /><br />For some, this might seem like a no-brainer, and, indeed, I have heard before the advice about being specific in setting goals. But the "a-ha" insight for me lies in not only being specific about the goals themselves, but in getting specific about the steps necessary to achieve those goals. It forces me to think more clearly about the goals - thus, the goals are more realistic, giving me a better chance at success.wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13694767852556204886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17327944.post-56440569316653502652010-02-04T12:09:00.003-06:002010-02-04T12:11:44.489-06:00Culture Focus: Groundhog Day<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTU1KTQjzlCbUN6aYFwKX5LElaQKaSvWk0H8C8lTqH_hA9_raWJ1MCn_yU_flbkx9jTEpLCEyAAifQxEqsE8MN4Nkr-YiglTOJ4RZ1AnnyW_lPDyDGei4O97_IT7PLzWt0nfd/s1600-h/groundhog.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTU1KTQjzlCbUN6aYFwKX5LElaQKaSvWk0H8C8lTqH_hA9_raWJ1MCn_yU_flbkx9jTEpLCEyAAifQxEqsE8MN4Nkr-YiglTOJ4RZ1AnnyW_lPDyDGei4O97_IT7PLzWt0nfd/s320/groundhog.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434452203241194178" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />February 2 was Groundhog Day. It is not an official holiday. It comes from an old tradition. People watch and wait for a groundhog to come out of his hole in the ground. <br /><br />According to folklore, if the groundhog sees his shadow, he will be scared and go back into the hole. This means that we will have six more weeks of winter.<br /><br />On the other hand, if the groundhog does not see his shadow, he will stay out of his hole. This means there will be an early spring.<br /><br />In the United States, the most famous groundhog is Punxsutawney Phil from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. This groundhog was made famous in the movie “Groundhog Day.”<br /><br />Another name for “groundhog” is “woodchuck.” There is an old joke about the woodchuck:<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">Question: </span>How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Answer: </span>He’d chuck all the wood a woodchuck could chuck!</blockquote><br /><br />Here, “chuck” means the same as “throw.”wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13694767852556204886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17327944.post-49500286692476938842010-02-03T14:40:00.002-06:002010-02-03T14:45:25.435-06:00Grammar Basics: Unit 32 – must (Solutions)<span style="font-weight: bold;">Exercises</span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><br /><br />Complete the sentences. Use “must be” and one of the following verbs.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />Example:</span><br /><br />Your sister had a new baby? Congratulations! You must be (<span style="font-style: italic;">hungry, happy, tired</span>)!<br />==> You must be happy!<br /><br /><ol><li>Jack worked all night. He must be tired.</li><li>It must be windy. I see everyone is using an umbrella.</li><li>Class is canceled today. Mrs. Smith must be sick.</li><li>John just sits on the couch and sighs. He must be bored.</li><li>Mary gets straight As every semester. She must be very smart.</li></ol><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Complete the sentences. Use “must” and one of the following verbs.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />Example:</span><br /><br />Everything in Susie’s room is pink. She must (<span style="font-style: italic;">hate, like, know</span>) the color pink.<br />==> She must like the color pink.<br /><br /><ol><li>Miss Brown teaches two kindergarten classes every day. She must have the patience of Job.</li><li>Tom studied for six hours last night. He must know all the material well enough for the test by now.</li><li>The Jones have a large vegetable garden. They must eat plenty of fresh vegetables in the summer.</li><li>Jane used to have long hair, but now it’s short. She must have gotten a haircut.</li><li>Jack seems to know so much. He must read a lot.</li></ol><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><br />Complete the sentences. Use “must” and one of the following verbs.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />Example:</span><br /><br />You are going to Disneyworld for your vacation? You must (<span style="font-style: italic;">take, give, bring</span>) a lot of pictures.<br />==> You must take a lot of pictures.<br /><br /><ol><li>Hospital visiting hours are over. You must go home now.</li><li>All passengers must have their passports ready when going through Customs.</li><li>In most states, you must be 21 to drink alcohol.</li><li>You must sign this form before submitting it to the office.</li><li>You must do your homework if you want to pass the test.</li></ol><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><br />Complete the sentences. Use “must” or “must not”.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />Example:</span><br /><br />Jack never goes out after work. He (<span style="font-style: italic;">must / must not</span>) like socializing.<br />==> He must not like socializing.<br /><br /><br /><ol><li>Matt rides a bike every day, even in the winter. He must not have a car.</li><li>Jane has the flu. She must not feel very well.</li><li>Tom works at the zoo. He must like animals.</li><li>Grandpa needs a magnifying glass to read the paper. He must not see very well.</li><li>Mary’s pie has won a blue ribbon at the county fair. She must be a good cook.</li></ol>wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13694767852556204886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17327944.post-59987865999855550322010-02-02T16:00:00.006-06:002010-02-02T16:19:27.111-06:00Grammar Basics: Unit 32 – must<span style="font-weight: bold;">“must”</span> is used with another verb in its infinitive form. <span style="font-weight: bold;">“must”</span> does not change for either person or count.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Pattern:</span> I / you / he, she, it / we / they “must” + V (inf. form)<br /><br />The negative “<span style="font-weight: bold;">not” </span>comes between “<span style="font-weight: bold;">must” </span>and its verb:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">“must not” </span>+ V (inf. form)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">“must” </span>is used in two different ways:<br /><br />1 – <span style="font-style: italic;">to indicate something that we believe to be true</span><br />2 – <span style="font-style: italic;">to indicate that doing something is an obligation or necessity</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br />1 – must: belief that something is true</span><br /><br />In this sense, it is very similar to <span style="font-weight: bold;">“probably”</span>:<br /><br /><ul><li>John dislikes driving, so I think he must take the train to work. <span style="font-style: italic;">(I think he probably takes the train to work, since he dislikes driving.)</span></li><li>You haven’t eaten all day? You must be hungry! (<span style="font-style: italic;">You are probably hungry!)</span></li><li>I called the Petersons, but no one answered. They must not be home. <span style="font-style: italic;">(They are probably not home.)</span></li><li>There are several newspapers on the neighbor’s driveway. They must be on vacation. <span style="font-style: italic;">(They are probably on vacation.)</span></li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnJgRWMZz_5DHJBFJZ6hPqFpxUJ3ht6CJE9gCTbtUbuBaYjkrHPBt9ov12nA8jkgDjj44JYxld99LAyLAtJf3AC0o3FX14zOPyjHgDPJ77zKaj-Ms6C-JwIbeBhd6LeEq3xqg-/s1600-h/underground.train.station.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnJgRWMZz_5DHJBFJZ6hPqFpxUJ3ht6CJE9gCTbtUbuBaYjkrHPBt9ov12nA8jkgDjj44JYxld99LAyLAtJf3AC0o3FX14zOPyjHgDPJ77zKaj-Ms6C-JwIbeBhd6LeEq3xqg-/s320/underground.train.station.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433774033582241810" /></a><br /><br /><br />2 – must: something is an obligation or necessity</span><br /><br /><ul><li>You must be quiet in the library.</li><li>All drivers must stop at a red light.</li><li>If you want dessert, you must finish your dinner.</li><li>It’s quiet hours now in the dormitory. You must not play loud music.</li></ul><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Note: </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">“must not” </span>can be contracted: <span style="font-weight: bold;">“mustn’t”</span><br /><br /><ul><li>You mustn’t play loud music.</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Note: </span>We can also use <span style="font-weight: bold;">“have to” </span>in the positive sentences above:<br /><br /><ul><li>You have to be quiet in the library.</li><li>All drivers have to stop at a red light.</li><li>If you want dessert, you have to finish your dinner.</li></ul>For the negative, use <span style="font-weight: bold;">“should not”</span>:<br /><br /><ul><li>It’s quiet hours now in the dormitory. You should not play loud music.</li></ul>If we need the past tense, we use <span style="font-weight: bold;">“had to” </span>and not <span style="font-weight: bold;">“must”</span>:<br /><br /><ul><li>You had to be quiet in the library.</li><li>All drivers had to stop at a red light.</li><li>If you wanted dessert, you had to finish your dinner.</li></ul><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Exercises</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Complete the sentences. Use </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">“must be” </span><span style="font-style: italic;">and one of the following verbs.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Example:</span><br /><br />Your sister had a new baby? Congratulations! You must be (<span style="font-style: italic;">hungry, happy, tired</span>)!<br />==> <span style="font-style: italic;">You must be happy!</span><br /><br /><ol><li>Jack worked all night. He must be (<span style="font-style: italic;">hungry, happy, tired</span>).</li><li>It must be (<span style="font-style: italic;">cold, raining, windy</span>). I see everyone is using an umbrella.</li><li>Class is canceled today. Mrs. Smith must be (<span style="font-style: italic;">sick, hungry, short</span>).</li><li>John just sits on the couch and sighs. He must be (<span style="font-style: italic;">busy, hot, bored</span>).</li><li>Mary gets straight As every semester. She must be (<span style="font-style: italic;">dumb, very smart, tall</span>).</li></ol><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Complete the sentences. Use <span style="font-weight: bold;">“must” </span>and one of the following verbs.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Example:</span><br /><br />Everything in Susie’s room is pink She must (<span style="font-style: italic;">hate, like, know</span>) the color pink.<br />==> <span style="font-style: italic;">She must like the color pink.</span><br /><br /><ol><li>Miss Brown teaches two kindergarten classes every day. She must (<span style="font-style: italic;">know, have, like</span>) the patience of Job.</li><li>Tom studied for six hours last night. He must (<span style="font-style: italic;">know, write, see</span>) all the material well enough for the test by now.</li><li>The Jones have a large vegetable garden. They must (<span style="font-style: italic;">drink, wash, eat</span>) plenty of fresh vegetables in the summer.</li><li>Jane used to have long hair, but now it’s short. She must (<span style="font-style: italic;">have, be, seem</span>) gotten a haircut.</li><li>Jack seems to know so much. He must (<span style="font-style: italic;">write, read, talk</span>) a lot.</li></ol><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Complete the sentences. Use “<span style="font-weight: bold;">must” </span>and one of the following verbs.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Example:</span><br /><br />You are going to Disneyworld for your vacation? You must (<span style="font-style: italic;">take, give, bring</span>) a lot of pictures.<br />==> <span style="font-style: italic;">You must take a lot of pictures.</span><br /><br /><ol><li>Hospital visiting hours are over. You must (<span style="font-style: italic;">go, leave, stay</span>) home now.</li><li>All passengers must (<span style="font-style: italic;">eat, have, read</span>) their passports ready when going through Customs.</li><li>In most states, you must (<span style="font-style: italic;">have, be, am</span>) 21 to drink alcohol.</li><li>You must (<span style="font-style: italic;">close, look, sign</span>) this form before submitting it to the office.</li><li>You must (<span style="font-style: italic;">do, listen, work</span>) your homework if you want to pass the test.</li></ol><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Complete the sentences. Use <span style="font-weight: bold;">“must” </span>or “<span style="font-weight: bold;">must not”</span>.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Example:</span><br /><br />Jack never goes out after work. He (<span style="font-style: italic;">must / must not</span>) like socializing.<br />==> <span style="font-style: italic;">He must not like socializing. </span><br /><br /><br /><ol><li>Matt rides a bike every day, even in the winter. He (<span style="font-style: italic;">must / must not</span>) have a car.</li><li>Jane has the flu. She (<span style="font-style: italic;">must / must not</span>) feel very well.</li><li>Tom works at the zoo. He (<span style="font-style: italic;">must / must not</span>) like animals.</li><li>Grandpa needs a magnifying glass to read the paper. He (<span style="font-style: italic;">must / must not</span>) see very well.</li><li>Mary’s pie has won a blue ribbon at the county fair. She (<span style="font-style: italic;">must / must not</span>) be a good cook.</li></ol>wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13694767852556204886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17327944.post-14119046026194070852010-01-26T17:23:00.003-06:002010-01-26T17:25:20.268-06:00Educational Focus: Report cards<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXhjmRxMTkUr3R5BEo2-eznIaTpsl9ASx_5q80flW_EFlyv67F_661Kd72BYIMUd5GubqFRpa4pswcgDj6kkVhXYqWzaSYxH_J2roFS_75H97nzkAPChg8B6Xk-LIE3I3pg-Mn/s1600-h/report.card2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXhjmRxMTkUr3R5BEo2-eznIaTpsl9ASx_5q80flW_EFlyv67F_661Kd72BYIMUd5GubqFRpa4pswcgDj6kkVhXYqWzaSYxH_J2roFS_75H97nzkAPChg8B6Xk-LIE3I3pg-Mn/s320/report.card2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431193391494492578" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Most high schools have recently finished the first half of the school year. We call this the first semester of the school year. Like colleges and universities, high schools base their courses on a half-year, or semester, system. Some schools (usually grade schools) use a quarter system instead of semesters. Either way, mid-January still marks the middle of the school year. The fall semester starts at the end of August (or, sometimes, the beginning of September) and ends either in December (for colleges and universities) or mid-January (for high schools). At the end of each semester, students usually take a cumulative final exam. This cumulative final exam tests the students over all the material that they were supposed to learn for that semester. After the students have taken the tests and the teachers have graded the tests, the teacher will calculate the semester grade and record it in the student’s report card. <br /><br />Nowadays, report cards are generated by computer and mailed directly to the student’s parents. Before school had computers, student report cards were written by hand on a card. The card had lines on which were written the student’s name, the teacher’s name, the class, and all the subjects which the student had. Typical subject would be arithmetic (math, or mathematics), history, science, social studies, English, art, music, and PE (physical education).<br /><br />The possible grades that a student could get in a subject were A (best grade), B, C, D, or F (worst). Letter grades could also be given a “+” or “–” to indicate “somewhat above” or “somewhat below.” Thus, the entire range of grades, from best to worst, would be: A+, A, A–, B+, B, B–, C+, C, C–, D+, D, D–, F. A grade of “F” indicates failure. A student who got an “F” is said to have “flunked.”<br /><br />Sometimes, a report card might also have a separate space for “effort.” Here the teacher indicates how hard the student worked to earn his grade. This mark for effort is not really a grade. It is a comment about the student’s attitude to the parents. So, a student might have gotten a “C” in a subject, and an “A” or “1” for effort. This tells the parents that the student had put forth his best effort anyhow. On the other hand, a student might have gotten an “A+” in a subject and yet received only a “2” or even a “3” for effort. This would indicate that perhaps the student needs to be challenged more. Maybe the class is too easy for him!<br /><br />When report cards were written by hand, the teacher passed out the report cards for the students to take home. The students had to take the report cards home to show their parents. One of the parents had to sign the report card. Then the student brought it back to school and returned it to the teacher. At the end of the school year, the parents did not have to sign the report card. Since school was over, the student could keep the report card. For the final report card, the teacher would write at the end something like “Promoted to Grade 5” to indicate that the student successfully finished Grade 4, and could start the next school year in the next higher grade.wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13694767852556204886noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17327944.post-83271770354755035732010-01-17T08:00:00.001-06:002010-01-17T08:00:04.040-06:00Writing Assignment: Going skating (Solution)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmpcH3lwPFQQnfOuHat-uIbdUWIvnSsntLnRDCgCh64y-6k0pLS1jhf8lKN1Ycc5LYXq8RiRxAPNKpn15kbYCwRxbF4Gjfx3ZvOHhT41ww2oD8f__8JG36LZsmbDBoKntUbwRL/s1600-h/IceSkating1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 252px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmpcH3lwPFQQnfOuHat-uIbdUWIvnSsntLnRDCgCh64y-6k0pLS1jhf8lKN1Ycc5LYXq8RiRxAPNKpn15kbYCwRxbF4Gjfx3ZvOHhT41ww2oD8f__8JG36LZsmbDBoKntUbwRL/s320/IceSkating1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427470259602128626" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />1. Where is this family skating?<br /><br />They are skating outside.<br /><br />2. How many people are skating in the picture?<br /><br />There are three people skating in the picture.<br /><br />3. Is anyone skating backwards?<br /><br />No one is skating backwards. They are all skating forwards.<br /><br />4. Is anyone doing a figure eight?<br /><br />No, no one is doing a figure eight.<br /><br />5. Is anyone making a crossover turn?<br /><br />No, no one is making a crossover turn.<br /><br />6. Can the baby skate?<br /><br />No, the baby is too young to skate.<br /><br />7. What is the baby doing instead of skating?<br /><br />Instead of skating, the baby is riding in a push sled.<br /><br />8. What is the father doing?<br /><br />The father is pushing the baby in the baby sled while he is skating. He is also holding the hand of the big sister.<br /><br />9. What type of skates does the father have?<br /><br />The father has either hockey skates or figure skates.<br /><br />10. What is the mother doing?<br /><br />The mother is holding the hand of the big sister while she is skating.<br /><br />11. What type of skates does the mother have?<br /><br />It looks like the mother has hockey skates. Women’s figure skates are usually white.<br /><br />12. What type of skates does the big sister have?<br /><br />The big sister has beginner skates, or double-bladed skates.<br /><br />13. Can the big sister skate by herself, or does she need help?<br /><br />No, she cannot skate by herself. She needs help in learning how to skate.<br /><br />14. Is it cold in the picture?<br /><br />Yes, it is cold. The water is frozen.<br /><br />15. Is anyone wearing a scarf?<br /><br />Yes. The mother is wearing a head scarf to keep warm. The baby is also wearing a scarf.<br /><br />16. Who is wearing a hat?<br /><br />The two girls are wearing hats.<br /><br />17. Who is not wearing a hat?<br /><br />The father is not wearing a hat. He does not have anything on his head to keep warm. The mother is not wearing a hat, but she still has something on her head to keep warm.<br /><br />18. What do the people have on their hands to keep their hands from getting cold?<br /><br />The people are wearing mittens and gloves to keep their hands warm.<br /><br />19. Is the family skating on an ice rink, a river, a lake, or a pond?<br /><br />The family is not skating on an ice rink. They are outdoors, skating on a river or a lake.<br /><br />20. How much snow is there on the ice?<br /><br />There is no snow on the ice.<br /><br />21. What must be done if there is snow on the ice and someone wants to go skating?<br /><br />If there is snow on the ice and someone wants to go skating, the ice must be cleared and the snow shoveled off.<br /><br />22. How thick should the ice be for it to be safe for skating?<br /><br />The ice should be at least 8 – 10 cm thick for it to be safe for skating.<br /><br />23. What happens if the ice is too thin to skate on?<br /><br />If the ice is too thin to skate on, it is dangerous. The ice could break, and the skater could fall in and drown.<br /><br />24. Why are there cracks in the ice?<br /><br />There are cracks in the ice because ice expands as it freezes. <br /><br />25. Is it safe to go skating if there are cracks in the ice?<br /><br />If the cracks are from the ice expanding as it gets colder, it is usually okay to skate on. If the cracks come from someone breaking the ice to open it up for water, it is probably not safe to go skating there.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Paragraph: Going Ice Skating</span><br /><br />Have you ever been ice skating? What was it like? Was it outdoors, or at a rink? Did you fall down a lot when you first learned to ice skate? If you have never been ice skating, write about what you think would be fun about ice skating (or what would not be fun, if you don’t like it).<br /><br />When I was younger, I grew up near a river. In the summertime, we went swimming, fishing, and boating on the river. But in the wintertime, the river would freeze over, and then we could go ice skating. My father would always check the ice first to make sure it was thick enough and safe for skating. If there was snow on the ice, we had to shovel it off before we could go skating there. We could make as big as rink as we wanted, but a bigger rink also meant that there was a lot more snow shoveling to do before we could skate there.<br /><br />When I first learned to ice skate, I had double-bladed skates. They were strapped on over my snow boots. The double blades made it easier for me to become accustomed to skating on the ice. After I got better at skating, I could skate on single blades. Then I wore an old pair of hockey skates that had belonged to one of my brothers. The hockey skates had a blade attached to the bottom of the shoe, so I had to take off my boots, put on the skates, and then lace them up tightly to wear them. Since it is difficult to lace skates when wearing mittens or gloves, I had to take off my mittens when I laced up the skates. It was very cold, and by the time I finished putting on my skates, my fingers were numb. I couldn’t wait to put the mittens back on.<br /><br />As I got better at skating, I learned how to skate backwards and skate around corners using a crossover turn. I never had any lessons, so I don’t know how to do anything fancy like a figure eight or spins. But at least I can skate without falling down, and I can skate fast enough to have some fun. I enjoy skating, and look forward each winter to being able to go out and get some exercise and fresh air.wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13694767852556204886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17327944.post-83843336416668953722010-01-16T15:33:00.002-06:002010-01-16T15:36:30.953-06:00Writing Assignment: Going skating<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEjOlne5jhvwpj3cSTRLOfmLELtcKQwHBFWHJZGJ1z7Wd4AcUb4YvDHWxv8MoGnKer4PD0ZXjt6fyAGlI7rxur8mVxBUqGaj2Va-Gv1wjP92XjtWLrdnm1XDfcBNeFmx8KMUTb/s1600-h/IceSkating1-lined.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 252px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEjOlne5jhvwpj3cSTRLOfmLELtcKQwHBFWHJZGJ1z7Wd4AcUb4YvDHWxv8MoGnKer4PD0ZXjt6fyAGlI7rxur8mVxBUqGaj2Va-Gv1wjP92XjtWLrdnm1XDfcBNeFmx8KMUTb/s320/IceSkating1-lined.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427454435315582130" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Vocabulary<br /><br />(ice) skates<br />Hockey skates<br />Figure skates<br />Speed skates<br />Double-bladed skates<br />Blade<br />Shoe<br />(shoe) lace<br />Cold<br />Jacket<br />Glide<br />Push<br />Crack<br />Thick<br />Thin<br />Lap<br />Rink<br />River<br />Lake<br />Pond<br />Shovel<br />Crossover turn<br />Backwards<br />Push sled / baby sled<br />Hat<br />Coat<br />Jacket<br />Scarf<br />Mittens<br />Gloves<br />Boots<br />Hood<br />Figure eight<br /><br /><br />1. Where is this family skating?<br />2. How many people are skating in the picture?<br />3. Is anyone skating backwards?<br />4. Is anyone doing a figure eight?<br />5. Is anyone making a crossover turn?<br />6. Can the baby skate?<br />7. What is the baby doing instead of skating?<br />8. What is the father doing?<br />9. What type of skates does the father have?<br />10. What is the mother doing?<br />11. What type of skates does the mother have?<br />12. What type of skates does the big sister have?<br />13. Can the big sister skate by herself, or does she need help?<br />14. Is it cold in the picture?<br />15. Is anyone wearing a scarf?<br />16. Who is wearing a hat?<br />17. Who is not wearing a hat?<br />18. What do the people have on their hands to keep their hands from getting cold?<br />19. Is the family skating on an ice rink, a river, a lake, or a pond?<br />20. How much snow is there on the ice?<br />21. What must be done if there is snow on the ice and someone wants to go skating?<br />22. How thick should the ice be for it to be safe for skating?<br />23. What happens if the ice is too thin to skate on?<br />24. Why are there cracks in the ice?<br />25. Is it safe to go skating if there are cracks in the ice?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Paragraph: Going Ice Skating</span><br /><br />Have you ever been ice skating? What was it like? Was it outdoors, or at a rink? Did you fall down a lot when you first learned to ice skate? If you have never been ice skating, write about what you think would be fun about ice skating (or what would not be fun, if you don’t like it).wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13694767852556204886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17327944.post-17592186056024097142010-01-15T08:00:00.001-06:002010-01-15T08:00:09.733-06:00Grammar Basics: Unit 31 – can and could (Solutions)<span style="font-weight: bold;">Exercises:</span><br /><br />Using the given clues, write sentences using “can.” If there is a question mark, make a question using “can.”<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Example:</span><br /><br />Tom / sing well ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">Tom can sing well.</span><br />She / speak Italian / not ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">She can’t speak Italian.</span><br />John / poker / ? ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">Can John play poker?</span><br /><br /><ol><li>Walter can drive a car.</li><li>We can’t come to the party.</li><li>I can ice skate.</li><li>Can you swim?</li><li>Bill can go to the picnic.</li><li>Can we go on vacation this summer?</li><li>They can’t buy a house.</li><li>Can you shut the window?</li><li>Sally can cook dinner.</li><li>Tim can’t stay up late.</li></ol><br />Determine whether to use “can” or “could” with the given verb in the following sentences.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Example:</span><br /><br />I wasn’t busy, so I (come) to the party. ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">I wasn’t busy, so I could come to the party.</span><br />Dan is sick. He (go, not) to the football game. ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">Dan is sick. He can’t go to the football game.</span><br /><br /><ol><li>After eating a whole pizza, James was full. He couldn’t eat another bite of food.</li><li>Louis is blind. He can’t read that book.</li><li>Mark is in high school, so he can attend summer camp this year. </li><li>We couldn’t go swimming at the outdoor pool because there was a thunderstorm.</li><li>We have finished packing, so we can leave on our trip as soon as you’re ready.</li><li>John didn’t finish his homework in time, so he couldn’t go skiing with us.</li><li>On a clear day, you can see forever.</li><li>We had an extra seat in the car, so we could give Mary a ride to the train station.</li><li>If you’re tired, you can take a quick nap before dinner.</li><li>The weather was nice, so we could go camping at the state park last weekend.</li></ol>wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13694767852556204886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17327944.post-16034732743132708762010-01-14T08:00:00.000-06:002010-01-14T08:00:06.607-06:00Grammar Basics: Unit 31 – can and could“can” is used to indicate the ability to do something. It is used with a verb in the infinitive form:<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />can + V (inf.) …</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Examples:</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq0GyDFkqpfc6MSCh_R2vnv0NlrmfgcBZSEEErXYQHG3eAASooK3AXLzPKfw30apw9IsghNu3Pg00QoCX_eGSYSpKrri05bTVw8TVdn-aJ3uXIuhxj9VyxOYlCqOcfnL9NfWir/s1600-h/chess.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq0GyDFkqpfc6MSCh_R2vnv0NlrmfgcBZSEEErXYQHG3eAASooK3AXLzPKfw30apw9IsghNu3Pg00QoCX_eGSYSpKrri05bTVw8TVdn-aJ3uXIuhxj9VyxOYlCqOcfnL9NfWir/s320/chess.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426314750183410098" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">I can play the piano.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Shelia can ride a bike.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />The twins can play chess.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />We can go to the museum tomorrow.</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Note: </span>“can” is the same, regardless of person and number. First person singular, third person plural – it doesn’t matter :).<br /><br />To make a question, switch the order of “can” and its subject:<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />Can you play the piano?</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Can Jack ride a bike?</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Can they play checkers?</span><br /><br />To negate, put “not” between “can” and its verb: “can not”, which is written as one word ==> “cannot”<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I cannot lift this heavy suitcase.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />They cannot come because of bad weather.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Sam cannot speak Chinese.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Note: </span>“cannot” is usually contracted to “can’t.” Thus we have:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I can’t lift this heavy suitcase.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />They can’t come because of bad weather.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Sam can’t speak Chinese.</span><br /><br />All the examples we’ve given thus far use “can” or “can’t” in the present or future tense. To speak of ability in the past tense, we use “could” (“could not” or “couldn’t” for the negation):<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The neighbors were noisy, so I couldn’t sleep at all last night.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />James could eat a whole pizza when he was a teenager.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />They could stay up all night when they were in college.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Other Notes:</span><br /><br />1) Sometimes “can” / “can’t” is used for permission rather than ability:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">You can’t use your cell phone in the library.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Tom can’t go visit Becky. He has to whitewash the fence.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Can I have a drink of water?</span><br /><br />2) In asking permission, “could” is a more polite form to use than “can”:<br /><br />Can I have a drink of water? ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">Could I have a drink of water?</span><br />Can my friend sit here? ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">Could my friend sit here?</span><br />Can you open the window? ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">Could you open the window?</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Exercises:</span><br /><br />Using the given clues, write sentences using “can.” If there is a question mark, make a question using “can.”<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Example:</span><br /><br />Tom / sing well ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">Tom can sing well.</span><br />She / speak Italian / not ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">She can’t speak Italian.</span><br />John / poker / ? ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">Can John play poker?</span><br /><br /><ol><li>Walter / drive / a car</li><li>We / come / to the party / not</li><li>I / ice skate</li><li>You / swim / ?</li><li>Bill / go / to the picnic</li><li>We / go on vacation / this summer / ?</li><li>They / buy a house / not</li><li>You / shut / the window / ?</li><li>Sally / cook / dinner</li><li>Tim / stay up / late / not</li></ol><br />Determine whether to use “can” or “could” with the given verb in the following sentences.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Example:</span><br /><br />I wasn’t busy, so I (<span style="font-style: italic;">come</span>) to the party. ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">I wasn’t busy, so I could come to the party.</span><br />Dan is sick. He (<span style="font-style: italic;">go, not</span>) to the football game. ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">Dan is sick. He can’t go to the football game.</span><br /><br /><ol><li>After eating a whole pizza, James was full. He (<span style="font-style: italic;">eat, not</span>) another bite of food.</li><li>Louis is blind. He (<span style="font-style: italic;">read, not</span>) that book.</li><li>Mark is in high school, so he (<span style="font-style: italic;">attend</span>) summer camp this year.</li><li>We (<span style="font-style: italic;">go, not</span>) swimming at the outdoor pool because there was a thunderstorm.</li><li>We have finished packing, so we (<span style="font-style: italic;">leave</span>) on our trip as soon as you’re ready.</li><li>John didn’t finish his homework in time, so he (<span style="font-style: italic;">go, not</span>) skiing with us.</li><li>On a clear day, you (<span style="font-style: italic;">see</span>) forever.</li><li>We had an extra seat in the car, so we (<span style="font-style: italic;">give</span>) Mary a ride to the train station.</li><li>If you’re tired, you (<span style="font-style: italic;">take</span>) a quick nap before dinner.</li><li>The weather was nice, so we (<span style="font-style: italic;">go</span>) camping at the state park last weekend.</li></ol>wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13694767852556204886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17327944.post-11538183268030950082010-01-13T08:05:00.002-06:002010-01-13T08:05:00.183-06:00Culture Focus: Refunds & ExchangesUsually, when people buy a gift for someone else, they try to get a gift that is suitable for the recipient. If they want to give some clothes as a gift, they try to get clothes that are the right size. They try to get clothes that are in the style that the recipient likes. If they want to give a book, they try to get something from a favorite author. If they give some music as a gift, they try to get something from a favorite band. Sometimes, though, it is difficult to know exactly what kind of present would make the recipient happy. This means that sometimes, despite our best efforts, a present is not always what the recipient likes. Because of this, people often give a gift receipt along with the present. A gift receipt makes it easier for the recipient to exchange the gift or get a refund.<br /><br />What is a gift receipt? In general, a receipt is a piece of paper from a store that shows 1) when something was bought, 2) what price was paid for the item, and 3) from which store the item was purchased. A gift receipt contains all this information too, except the price of the item is coded. Why is the price coded? We consider it impolite to let a person know how much was paid for the present, so gift receipts are coded to hide the price.<br /><br />So, if a person is unhappy with a present he’s gotten, he has two options: 1) He can exchange the present for something more to his liking, or 2) he can get a refund.<br /><br />1) <span style="font-weight: bold;">Exchange</span><br /><br />Sometimes, the person likes the present, except it is the wrong size, wrong color, etc. He can take the item and the gift receipt back to the store. Then he can pick out a present that is the right size, right color, etc. This situation is easier for the clerk, since there is generally no difference in price between the original present and the exchange. Usually, the clerk will scan the information from the receipt. Then the clerk will scan the information from the exchange. This is so the store’s inventory will remain accurate and up-to-date. The clerk will probably make a note of the exchange on the receipt.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeVZ2uzdnJeksBIH6PMHJeG9usIfkdiotFwrGKzSMh0TSERHPbkniJzHPfynKgURpN7g2IC6HiMIV5cuh82JzHCcRDFQnBrtcVBa-mAIw0MhyenTf1Fp3FCzdZWjTXheroeSMz/s1600-h/buying.stuff.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeVZ2uzdnJeksBIH6PMHJeG9usIfkdiotFwrGKzSMh0TSERHPbkniJzHPfynKgURpN7g2IC6HiMIV5cuh82JzHCcRDFQnBrtcVBa-mAIw0MhyenTf1Fp3FCzdZWjTXheroeSMz/s320/buying.stuff.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425730147634043330" border="0" /></a><br />Sometimes, the person will want to exchange the old present for another item that is completely different. For example, maybe a person got a sweater as a gift, but they want to have a pair of shoes instead. In this case, the clerk usually treats this as two separate transactions: one return, and one purchase. The clerk scans the gift receipt for the original purchase information. The person returning the present will get a store credit equal to the amount paid for the original purchase. This credit is then applied to the purchase of the new item. If the cost of the new item is less than the cost of the original present, the person will get a refund for the difference, or get a store credit. If the cost of the new item is greater than the cost of the original present, the person will have to pay the difference.<br /><br />Both cases are good from the store’s perspective, because the sale is saved, and the customer is happy. It is a “win-win” situation: both sides benefit from the deal.<br /><br />2) <span style="font-weight: bold;">Refund</span><br /><br />Sometimes, the person likes nothing about the present. He would rather have the money instead of the present. In this case, he can be refunded the price of the gift. The clerk will scan the information about the original purchase and determine how much money the person will get back. From the store’s perspective, this is not a good thing, because it is the same as a lost sale. But the store will do it anyhow, because it is good for customer relations: “The customer is always right.”wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13694767852556204886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17327944.post-37099319739740951342010-01-13T08:00:00.000-06:002010-01-13T08:00:04.533-06:00Grammar Basics: Unit 30 – might and may (Solutions)<span style="font-weight: bold;">Exercises:</span><br /><br />Use the given words to respond to the following questions, using the phrase “I don’t know / I’m not sure. I (He, They, etc.) might…”<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Example:</span><br /><br />What are you doing this afternoon? (<span style="font-style: italic;">store</span>) ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">I don’t know. I might go to the store this afternoon.</span><br /><br />Where is Tom going for vacation? (<span style="font-style: italic;">Florida</span>) ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">I’m not sure. He might go to Florida</span>.<br /><br /><br /><ol><li>What are you going to eat for lunch? ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">I’m not sure. I might have soup or salad</span>.</li><li>Is Mary coming to the party? ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">I don’t know. She might have to work</span>.</li><li>When are you going to go to the library? ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">I don’t know. I might go after class</span>.</li><li>Did Bill and Jane name their new baby yet? ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">I’m not sure. They might have named him James</span>.</li><li>What’s the weather supposed to be like tomorrow? ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">I’m not sure. It might rain</span>.</li><li>Where is Mark going to college? ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">I don’t know. He might be going to the University of Illinois</span>.</li><li>Does Sally have any pets? ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">I’m not sure. She might have a cat</span>.</li><li>What color is Jill’s car? ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">I don’t know. It might be blue</span>.</li><li>How many books do the kids have to read for the summer program? ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">I’m not sure. They might have to read 15 books</span>.</li><li>Where would you like to go on your dream vacation? ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">I don’t know. I might like to go to Switzerland</span>.</li><li>How old is John’s son? ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">I don’t know. He might be six</span>.</li><li>Where did Tom and Susan move to? ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">I’m not sure. They might have moved to Colorado</span>.</li><li>Is there butter or margarine in this cookie recipe? ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">I’m not sure. It might be butter</span>.</li><li>Where does Jim work? ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">I don’t know. He might be a salesman for a manufacturing company</span>.</li><li>How fast can Tina type? ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">I’m not sure. She might type as fast as 80 words per minute</span>.</li><li>Where are the newlyweds going for their honeymoon? ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">I’m not sure. They might go to Hawaii</span>.</li><li>Who is the greatest basketball player? ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">I don’t know. It might be Michael Jordan</span>.</li><li>What present are you going to give your mother for her birthday? ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">I’m not sure. I might get her a box of chocolates</span>.</li><li>What is the name of Barbara’s older son? ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">I don’t know. It might be Christopher</span>.</li><li>Who’s calling on the phone? ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">I’m not sure. It might be the doctor’s office</span>.</li></ol>wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13694767852556204886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17327944.post-44854615379174096012010-01-12T08:00:00.001-06:002010-01-12T08:00:01.857-06:00Grammar Basics: Unit 30 – might and may“might” is used to indicate possibility. We use it when we are not certain if something will happen.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Pattern:</span><br /><br />might + V (infinitive) …<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgehAiJJTdZp7JI7LpcRF5oz9DnNwFDH8JnluJu7EmsEM4RGvxFrPC0JxwYNRle9yBmOviWQYJ99e5mnJxjwSa5ppoGAtsbEVig2LrcEltN44gApPDDKTnIypkxphy_Z8E6b6nL/s1600-h/maybe.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgehAiJJTdZp7JI7LpcRF5oz9DnNwFDH8JnluJu7EmsEM4RGvxFrPC0JxwYNRle9yBmOviWQYJ99e5mnJxjwSa5ppoGAtsbEVig2LrcEltN44gApPDDKTnIypkxphy_Z8E6b6nL/s320/maybe.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425566213351385346" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I might cook spaghetti tomorrow night.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Be careful! You might slip and fall on the ice.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />He might get a job working at the gas station.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />We might see a movie next weekend.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />They might close the store early.</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Note: </span>“might” is the same, regardless of person and number. First person singular, third person plural – it doesn’t matter :).<br /><br />To form the negation, put “not” between “might” and its infinitive verb.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Negation:</span><br /><br />might not + V (infinitive) …<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />I might not get to the appointment on time.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />You might not make the team if you don’t practice.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Who knows, it might not rain tomorrow anyhow.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />We might not see him again for a long time.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />They might not be able to afford it.</span><br /><br />“might” is often used with “I don’t know” or “I’m not sure”:<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />A: What are you going to eat?</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />B: I’m not sure. I might try the salmon.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />A: Have you decided where you’ll go for your honeymoon?</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />B: We don’t know. We might go to the Bahamas.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />A: Do you know if Tom is coming?</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />B: I don’t know. I suspect he might not make it.</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Recall:</span><br /><br />“am going to” indicates certainty – something will happen.<br />“might” indicates uncertainty – we do not know if something will happen.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />Tom is going to stop by later. </span>(He will certainly come).<span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Tom might stop by later.</span> (Maybe he will come, or maybe he won’t. We don’t know.)<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />I am going to take a nap after lunch. </span>(I am so tired, I will certainly rest.)<span style="font-style: italic;"><br />I might take a nap after lunch.</span> (I don’t know. I have a lot of work to do, so maybe I will do that instead.)<br /><br />When we are talking about uncertainty, we can use “may” instead of “might”:<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />Tom may stop by later = Tom might stop by later.</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Exercises:</span><br /><br />Use the given words to respond to the following questions, using the phrase “I don’t know / I’m not sure. I (He, They, etc.) might…”<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Example:</span><br /><br />What are you doing this afternoon? (<span style="font-style: italic;">store</span>) ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">I don’t know. I might go to the store this afternoon.</span><br /><br />Where is Tom going for vacation? (<span style="font-style: italic;">Florida</span>) ==> <span style="font-style: italic;">I’m not sure. He might go to Florida.</span><br /><br /><ol><li>What are you going to eat for lunch? (<span style="font-style: italic;">soup or salad</span>)</li><li>Is Mary coming to the party? (<span style="font-style: italic;">have to work</span>)</li><li>When are you going to go to the library? (<span style="font-style: italic;">after class</span>)</li><li>Did Bill and Jane name their new baby yet? (<span style="font-style: italic;">James</span>)</li><li>What’s the weather supposed to be like tomorrow? (<span style="font-style: italic;">rain</span>)</li><li>Where is Mark going to college? (<span style="font-style: italic;">University of Illinois</span>)</li><li>Does Sally have any pets? (<span style="font-style: italic;">cat</span>)</li><li>What color is Jill’s car? (<span style="font-style: italic;">blue</span>)</li><li>How many books do the kids have to read for the summer program? (<span style="font-style: italic;">15</span>)</li><li>Where would you like to go on your dream vacation? (<span style="font-style: italic;">Switzerland</span>)</li><li>How old is John’s son? (<span style="font-style: italic;">six</span>)</li><li>Where did Tom and Susan move to? (<span style="font-style: italic;">Colorado</span>)</li><li>Is there butter or margarine in this cookie recipe? (<span style="font-style: italic;">butter</span>)</li><li>Where does Jim work? (<span style="font-style: italic;">salesman for a manufacturing company</span>)</li><li>How fast can Tina type? (<span style="font-style: italic;">as fast as 80 words per minute</span>)</li><li>Where are the newlyweds going for their honeymoon? (<span style="font-style: italic;">Hawaii</span>)</li><li>Who is the greatest basketball player? (<span style="font-style: italic;">Michael Jordan</span>)</li><li>What present are you going to give your mother for her birthday? (<span style="font-style: italic;">box of chocolates</span>)</li><li>What is the name of Barbara’s older son? (<span style="font-style: italic;">Christopher</span>)</li><li>Who’s calling on the phone? (<span style="font-style: italic;">doctor’s office</span>)</li></ol>wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13694767852556204886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17327944.post-13538627739087079642010-01-11T08:00:00.000-06:002010-01-11T08:00:08.062-06:00Educational Focus: Snow Days<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM5vncC2a5l6yiT6gypT2pmWMwagJgMlGalBXBFMKA4FR6bbqUk1t0pzCzPEcZT0xY9HF-FsRkbiPH445I5vCNigM89N1CgROevA7ipE47BgPkBj8v2alFNQrB5V1XkAp8f0Rz/s1600-h/driving.snow.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM5vncC2a5l6yiT6gypT2pmWMwagJgMlGalBXBFMKA4FR6bbqUk1t0pzCzPEcZT0xY9HF-FsRkbiPH445I5vCNigM89N1CgROevA7ipE47BgPkBj8v2alFNQrB5V1XkAp8f0Rz/s320/driving.snow.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425328893411130226" border="0" /></a><br />Many places in the United States get snow in the winter. If it is very cold, like this year, even states like Texas or Florida can get snow. Sometimes there is so much snow that is it difficult or dangerous to drive. If this happens, schools often declare a “snow day.” When a school has a snow day, classes are canceled for that day, and children don’t have to attend.<br /><br />How much snow is necessary to get a snow day? It depends. In southern states like Texas or Florida, drivers are not used to driving in snow. Also, most southern towns would probably not have snow plows or other equipment to clear the roads of snow. Consequently, even only a few centimeters of snow would create dangerous driving for most drivers in southern states. Children living in these states would most likely get a snow day if there were only a few centimeters of snow.<br /><br />Northern states like Minnesota or North Dakota, though, are accustomed to winter driving with lots of snow, so a few centimeters of snow would mean nothing to them. Snow plows come and clear the roads, but sometimes they only put out salt or gravel if it is a minor amount of snow. Children living in these states would probably not get a snow day if there were only a few centimeters of snow. It would have to snow a lot more – maybe 15 cm or so – before the schools would consider granting a snow day. If there is a lot of wind, though, the snow can form big drifts, which would make the roads difficult or dangerous to drive. So if there is drifting snow, children would probably get a snow day.<br /><br />Sometimes a snow day is declared because the weather is very cold, instead of because of the snow. Some Januarys have several days where the temperature stays below -25 degrees Celsius. Even the high temperature of the day doesn’t get above -20 – that is extremely cold!! In these cases, it is too cold to walk to school, or to wait outside for a school bus to come. So sometimes schools will also cancel classes due to extreme cold.<br /><br />Of course, most children enjoy playing in the snow and having a day off from school. And you can be sure that if a student hasn’t studied for a test as much as he should, he will fervently hope for a snow day to give him some extra study time!wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13694767852556204886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17327944.post-66688393908960890592010-01-10T08:00:00.003-06:002010-01-10T08:00:03.699-06:00Writing Assignment: At the Post Office (Solution)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_hylYA6eGzQ_4rhs3rfE0sXrDU_GBR6XRHvwth4eP3pO7HgNz9CyKkm9sFRw3xIOwr4hhVZ-FeJx8wsKTNF2zr-5tn1h5QuPJtO7pyZJNIj16i6-0IVzqmGJZWFVt-RrqaBwu/s1600-h/at.the.postoffice.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 290px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_hylYA6eGzQ_4rhs3rfE0sXrDU_GBR6XRHvwth4eP3pO7HgNz9CyKkm9sFRw3xIOwr4hhVZ-FeJx8wsKTNF2zr-5tn1h5QuPJtO7pyZJNIj16i6-0IVzqmGJZWFVt-RrqaBwu/s320/at.the.postoffice.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424859146613840274" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />1. In what place are these two people?<br />They are in the post office.<br /><br />2. Where is the man standing?<br />He is standing behind the counter (behind the window).<br /><br />3. What is he doing?<br />He is handing the woman a small packet.<br /><br />4. Where is the woman standing?<br />The woman is standing at the counter (at the window).<br /><br />5. What is the woman doing?<br />She is taking the packet from the man.<br /><br />6. Why might the woman have gone to the post office?<br />She may have gone to the post office to buy some stamps.<br /><br />7. What kinds of things may be bought at the post office?<br />At the post office, a person can buy stamps, envelopes, boxes, padded envelopes, tape, and other mailing supplies.<br /><br />8. What can people do at the post office besides buy stamps and other mailing supplies?<br />People can pick up their mail from the post office. They can mail a letter or parcel. They can have letters and packages weighed. They can get official government forms, like passport applications and tax forms.<br /><br />9. Are there other people also at the post office?<br />We don’t see any other people at this post office.<br /><br />10. What do you do if there are other people waiting in line?<br />If there are other people waiting in line, you have to wait for your turn.<br /><br />11. What can the man behind the window do if he has to do something in back?<br />If he has some task to do in the back of the post office, he can put a sign at his window.<br /><br />12. What would the sign say?<br />The sign would say “Next Window Please” or “Will Be Back Soon.”<br /><br />13. On what days is the post office open?<br />The post office is open from Mondays through Saturdays. It is closed on Sundays.<br /><br />14. When does the post office open?<br />The post office usually opens at 8 a.m. or 8:30 a.m.<br /><br />15. When does the post office close?<br />The post office usually closes at 5 p.m. On Saturdays, it usually closes at 12 noon, or 12:30 p.m.<br /><br />16. On what holidays does the post office close?<br />In the US, the post office is closed on federal holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr’s Birthday, Washington’s Birthday (President’s Day), Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.<br /><br />17. What is the name of the person who delivers the mail?<br />The person who delivers the mail is called a mailman, a postman, a mail lady, or a mail carrier. Other people who work for the post office can be called postal workers. The head of the local post office is called a postmaster.<br /><br />18. What happens to the mail of a person who has moved to a new house or apartment?<br />If a person has moved, his mail will be forwarded if he has filled out a “change of address” form. If he has not filled out a change of address form, it will be marked “undeliverable” and returned to sender.<br /><br />19. What happens to the mail of a person who is on vacation?<br />If a person goes on vacation, he can request that his mail be held until he returns from vacation. He can then go to the post office and pick it up. To have his mail held, he must fill out an “authorization to hold mail” form.<br /><br />20. How is international mail usually sent?<br />International mail is usually sent via airmail.<br /><br />21. What kind of hobby do some people have with stamps?<br />Some people collect stamps for a hobby.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Paragraph: At the Post Office</span><br /><br />Write a brief paragraph about the last time you had to go to the post office for something. What did you do there? Were there other people there too? What are some other reasons why you usually go to the post office?<br /><br />Just before Christmas, I had to go to the post office to buy some stamps. I had to mail my Christmas cards, and I wanted to get the special Christmas stamps available at the post office. The Christmas stamps came out in October, and came in two sets. One design had Madonna and Child (the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus). The other set had four different designs: a reindeer, a snowman, a gingerbread man, and a nutcracker. Each set comes in a booklet containing 20 stamps. The stamps have self-sticking adhesive on the back, so they do not need to be licked.<br /><br />There were a few people already waiting in line at the post office. Some people had Christmas cards and Christmas packages that they wanted to mail. The packages had to be weighed before the proper postage could be put on the package. People mailing packages had to tell the postal worker if there was anything breakable, perishable, or hazardous. They also had to fill out a form if they wanted to have the package insured.<br /><br />Some people came to the post office to pick up their mail from their post office box. Some people came to the post office to buy some boxes or other mailing supplies for their Christmas packages. Some people were planning on going somewhere for Christmas vacation, so they filled out a form to have their mail held until they came back.<br /><br />In the lobby of the post office, there is also a bulletin board with some “wanted posters” on it. If there are dangerous fugitives that are wanted by the FBI, the local post office will have their pictures put up on a wanted poster. The people on the wanted poster do not look like they are very nice people. I hope that I never seen them walking down the street somewhere.wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13694767852556204886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17327944.post-28586362868790841072010-01-09T13:36:00.002-06:002010-01-09T13:41:13.230-06:00Writing Assignment: At the Post Office<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX2dM5Z36yktgM-KuOLUDtEJ8rYNgcnVKIwWofdX9z-X0eZa7Tmnzcw1Y7z9Y1NT30tBmGJq_jww-c-Jkco7kDgn41lTpRk7n3BXNmV8IsOudXjUeLA_OdsR03jn4slyXOPA4v/s1600-h/old.post.office.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 290px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX2dM5Z36yktgM-KuOLUDtEJ8rYNgcnVKIwWofdX9z-X0eZa7Tmnzcw1Y7z9Y1NT30tBmGJq_jww-c-Jkco7kDgn41lTpRk7n3BXNmV8IsOudXjUeLA_OdsR03jn4slyXOPA4v/s320/old.post.office.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424826676499095570" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Vocabulary<br /><br /><br />Post office<br />Teller<br />Clerk<br />Window<br />Counter<br />Stamp<br />Envelope<br />Post card<br />Postmark<br />Bulletin board<br />Form<br />Waiting line<br />Postmaster<br />Mail box<br />Post office box<br />Address<br />Return address<br />Parcel<br />Mailing supplies<br />Package<br />Packing<br />Tape<br />Label<br />Padded envelope<br />Wanted poster<br />Ahead (in line)<br />Take a number<br />Next window<br />Mailman<br />Mail lady<br />Postman<br />Postal worker<br />Mail carrier<br />(vacation) hold on mail<br />Forward the mail<br />Return to sender<br />Postage paid<br />Postage due<br />Special delivery<br />Book of stamps<br />Sheet of stamps<br />Air mail<br />Stamp collecting<br /><br /><ol><li>In what place are these two people?</li><li>Where is the man standing?</li><li>What is he doing?</li><li>Where is the woman standing?</li><li>What is the woman doing?</li><li>Why might the woman have gone to the post office?</li><li>What kinds of things may be bought at the post office?</li><li>What can people do at the post office besides buy stamps and other mailing supplies?</li><li>Are there other people also at the post office?</li><li>What do you do if there are other people waiting in line?</li><li>What can the man behind the window do if he has to do something in back?</li><li>What would the sign say?</li><li>On what days is the post office open?</li><li>When does the post office open?</li><li>When does the post office close?</li><li>On what holidays does the post office close?</li><li>What is the name of the person who delivers the mail?</li><li>What happens to the mail of a person who has moved to a new house or apartment?</li><li>What happens to the mail of a person who is on vacation?</li><li>How is international mail usually sent?</li><li>What kind of hobby do some people have with stamps?</li></ol><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Paragraph: At the Post Office</span><br /><br />Write a brief paragraph about the last time you had to go to the post office for something. What did you do there? Were there other people there too? What are some other reasons why you usually go to the post office?wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13694767852556204886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17327944.post-77975030981715737902010-01-09T11:39:00.002-06:002010-01-09T11:44:49.341-06:00Grammar Basics: Unit 29 – will, Part II. (Solution)<span style="font-weight: bold;">Exercise: </span> In the following sentences, choose either “will” or “going to” to make an appropriate sentence.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Example: </span><br /><br />I’m tired, so I think I (will / am going to) go to bed. ==><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />I’m tired, so I think I will go to bed.</span><br /><br />A: What are you doing tomorrow night?<br />B: We (will / are going to) go out for dinner and watch a movie. ==><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />We are going to out for a dinner and watch a movie.</span><br /><br />1. It snowed a lot overnight. I will shovel the driveway before I go to work.<br /><br />2. <br />A: I have a ton of work to do.<br />B: That’s all right. We will help you.<br /><br />3. I’m confused. I think I will ask Sam to explain these instructions to me.<br /><br />4. <br />A: Have you done your homework yet?<br />B: No, I will do it later, I think.<br /><br />5. I’m tired. I think I will skip exercising today.<br /><br />6. <br />A: Are you going to do anything this weekend?<br />B: No, I am going to stay home and get caught up on my reading.<br /><br />7. Someone’s at the door. Will you answer it?<br /><br />8. <br />A: What are you doing after lunch?<br />B: I am going to go ice skating. Want to come?<br /><br />9. Mother likes flowers, so I think we will get her a colorful bouquet for her birthday.<br /><br />10. <br />A: This room’s a mess.<br />B: Don’t worry – I will clean it up.<br /><br />11. Do you know how expensive that wine is? If we buy that for the party, it will cost a fortune!<br /><br />12. <br />A: We’re having a potluck this Saturday.<br />B: Okay. I will bring a salad.<br /><br />13. I’ve finished reading my library books. I think I will return then and get some more.<br /><br />14. <br />A: Why are you baking so many cookies?<br />B: I am going to gift wrap plates of cookie and give them away as presents.<br /><br />15. We didn’t get a Christmas tree this year. We will get one next year, okay?<br /><br />16. <br />A: The car’s low on gas.<br />B: I will fill it up on my way to the store.<br /><br />17. I’m hot. I think I will go swimming to cool off.<br /><br />18.<br />A: The plants need watering.<br />B: I will do it as soon as I’m done washing these dishes.<br /><br />19. I will give you a call tomorrow, okay?<br /><br />20.<br /> A: I have a taste for pretzels.<br />B: I will bake some.wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13694767852556204886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17327944.post-30745614808423219132010-01-08T10:25:00.005-06:002010-01-08T10:36:03.450-06:00Grammar Basics: Unit 29 – will, Part II.Many ESL students are confused about “will” and “going to.” Both are used to indicate future events. But their connotations are slightly different.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />going to:</span> "going to" is used when a person has already decided to do something. After you have made your plans to do this or that, you use “I’m going to …” when you tell somebody about your future.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />will: </span>"will" is used at the moment you have made your decision. For example, someone might say, “The phone is ringing.” You could respond, “Don’t worry, I’ll get it.” You would not say, “I’m going to get it,” because you did not make your decision until the phone started to ring.<br /><br />Another example: Someone asks, “Who wants to go with me to the store after lunch?” Up until now you had not considered doing that. But after someone asks you, you think that it would be something you are interested in doing. So you decide to go along, and you respond, “I will.”<br /><br />If some other person asks you (even only 5 minutes later), “What are you doing after lunch?” you would then respond: “I am going to the store.” You would not say, “I will go to the store.” Why? Because your decision was already made before the other person asked.<br /><br />Here are some more situations where “will” is used instead of “going to”:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Person A: </span>It’s cold in here.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Person B: </span>I’ll turn up the heat.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />Person A: </span>We need some more milk and eggs.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Person B: </span>I’ll go to the store later today and pick some up.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />Person A: </span>I’m bored. I think I’ll go for a walk.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPAsa67x8JoWEzi9Er94_VfnGiTw8KtW7-wdg2LjiO_o-4BTmOMMBBVbGTULdcMDhflUg3qu0j_K18Mo0uaM8jawjZxbcapfQfLgEjtJfRb1Yt4AhKkJtCnQ6B12mgADvTiCMd/s1600-h/sandwich.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPAsa67x8JoWEzi9Er94_VfnGiTw8KtW7-wdg2LjiO_o-4BTmOMMBBVbGTULdcMDhflUg3qu0j_K18Mo0uaM8jawjZxbcapfQfLgEjtJfRb1Yt4AhKkJtCnQ6B12mgADvTiCMd/s320/sandwich.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424408052554599874" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Person A: </span>You look hungry. I’ll fix you a sandwich.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />Person A: </span>The roads are so snowy and icy today, I don’t think we’ll go to the museum.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Exercise: </span>In the following sentences, choose either “will” or “going to” to make an appropriate sentence.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Example:<br /><br /></span>I’m tired, so I think I (will / am going to) go to bed. ==><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I’m tired, so I think I will go to bed.</span><br /><br />A: What are you doing tomorrow night?<br />B: We (will / are going to) go out for dinner and watch a movie. ==><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">We are going to out for a dinner and watch a movie.</span><br /><br />1. It snowed a lot overnight. I (will / am going to) shovel the driveway before I go to work.<br /><br />2. <br />A: I have a ton of work to do.<br />B: That’s all right. We (will / are going to) help you.<br /><br />3. I’m confused. I think I (will / am going to) ask Sam to explain these instructions to me.<br /><br />4. <br />A: Have you done your homework yet?<br />B: No, I (will / am going to) do it later, I think.<br /><br />5. I’m tired. I think I (will / am going to) skip exercising today.<br /><br />6. <br />A: (Will you do / Are you going to do) anything this weekend?<br />B: No, I (will / am going to) stay home and get caught up on my reading.<br /><br />7. Someone’s at the door. (Will you / Are you going to) answer it?<br /><br />8. <br />A: What are you doing after lunch?<br />B: I (will / am going to) go ice skating. Want to come?<br /><br />9. Mother likes flowers, so I think we (will / are going to) get her a colorful bouquet for her birthday.<br /><br />10. <br />A: This room’s a mess.<br />B: Don’t worry – I (will / am going to) clean it up.<br /><br />11. Do you know how expensive that wine is? If we buy that for the party, it (will / is going to) cost a fortune!<br /><br />12. <br />A: We’re having a potluck this Saturday.<br />B: Okay. I (will / am going to) bring a salad.<br /><br />13. I’ve finished reading my library books. I think I (will / am going to) return then and get some more.<br /><br />14. <br />A: Why are you baking so many cookies?<br />B: I (will / am going to) gift wrap plates of cookie and give them away as presents.<br /><br />15. We didn’t get a Christmas tree this year. We (will / are going to) get one next year, okay?<br /><br />16. <br />A: The car’s low on gas.<br />B: I (will / am going to) fill it up on my way to the store.<br /><br />17. I’m hot. I think I (will / am going to) go swimming to cool off.<br /><br />18. <br />A: The plants need watering.<br />B: I (will / am going to) do it as soon as I’m done washing these dishes.<br /><br />19. I (will / am going to) give you a call tomorrow, okay?<br /><br />20. <br />A: I have a taste for pretzels.<br />B: I (will / am going to) bake some.wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13694767852556204886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17327944.post-63109156988301440652010-01-07T12:28:00.002-06:002010-01-07T12:31:12.605-06:00Culture Focus: Getting a Driver’s LicenseIn most states in the US, 16 is the minimum age to obtain a driver’s license. Some states are lower. For example, 14-year-olds may get a driver’s license in South Dakota. New Jersey is at the other extreme, requiring drivers to be at least 17 years of age. Also, most states require that student drivers take and pass a driver’s education class before they are eligible to take an official driver’s licensing exam from the driver licensing facility, or DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles), as it is called in many states.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTRC6Z6eyO22dCp2gC_ecdjqeFELYiIFeuGv_m6HvVZ1NnpLJF87ZbSBeJdssmXFxy-aiXMbTrsxO1kuiv3Z6MeTDDprnNd_ENdak8YHs1UwCqlGyO7oh8VyKygKMUTKKost40/s1600-h/driving.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 212px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTRC6Z6eyO22dCp2gC_ecdjqeFELYiIFeuGv_m6HvVZ1NnpLJF87ZbSBeJdssmXFxy-aiXMbTrsxO1kuiv3Z6MeTDDprnNd_ENdak8YHs1UwCqlGyO7oh8VyKygKMUTKKost40/s320/driving.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424066974205181826" border="0" /></a>A driver’s education class typically has two parts. The first is a classroom component, where students learn about driving safety and “rules of the road” (laws regulating drivers). The second is a practical component (“behind the wheel”), where students practice driving with an instructor. In some classes, students must spend several sessions on a “simulator,” or mock car, before they are permitted to drive an actual car on the road. A student driver must successfully pass both components of driver’s education. He must also spend a minimum number of hours driving outside of class. Then he is given some sort of certificate to verify completion of the requirements and eligibility for taking the official driver’s exam, or “road test.” (When I was in school, we called this a “blue slip,” because it was blue.)<br /><br />At the driver license facility, the student driver registers and waits for his turn to take the road test. An examiner will go in the car with him and give him various driving tasks to do. The examiner might ask him to drive down a certain road or turn left at a stop sign. The examiner might ask the student driver to parallel park by a curb. The examiner might even ask the student driver to do a three-point turn or a two-point turn. The examiner carries a clipboard with a checklist, and notes how the student driver did. He will check to see if the student driver performed the requested maneuver correctly. He will check to see if the student driver used turn signals properly. He will check to see if the student drove in an unsafe manner, and so on. If the examiner is satisfied with the student’s driving, he will pass the student. Then the student can exchange his “blue slip” for an actual driver’s license.<br /><br />For adults who already know how to drive, a vision test and a written test (based on the “rules of the road”) are usually required in addition to a road test. The vision test is to make sure the driver can see well enough to drive. In Illinois, the requirement is 20/40 vision or better, plus peripheral vision (140 degrees). If the driver’s vision is not 20/40, he must wear glasses while driving. The glasses should correct the vision to 20/40 or better. The written test is not very hard. It consists mainly of sign recognition, and rules pertaining to specific situations (for example, does a driver commit a moving violation if he passes a stopped school bus?). Driver license facilities have booklets available for study. These booklets list the rules of the road that all drivers are expected to know. Studying these booklets gives a person enough knowledge to pass the written test.<br /><br />After passing all the necessary tests, the student can get his driver’s license. He hands in all the paperwork and waits. When it’s his turn, the official will call his name and take his picture. After a few minutes, his driver’s license is finished, and he is now a full-fledged driver.wordsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13694767852556204886noreply@blogger.com0