Potato Pals In the Morning

Meet Carol. Talking about tourism.

- A journey is “the movement from one place to another”, e.g. a flight from Santiago de Compostela to London.

- A trip is “the journey, the time spent in a place (accommodation, leisure time, guided tours, etc) and the return journey”. Often trip is used for short journeys but not always. We can say a daytrip, a business trip, a trip around the world etc.

^{- *}A travel^* is incorrect. Travel is usually only used as a verb. Travel is only used as a noun when we talk about the idea of travelling in general.

Buying jewellery.

SCENE 1: “Buying jewellery” scene: This scene has been extracted from a very popular British film Love Actually (2003). Can you recognise the actors?

Who says what?

a) Right, listen. You keep yourself occupied while I do the boring stuff for our mothers.

b) Lovely, would you like it gift wrapped?

c) Could we be quite quick, please?

d) Ready in the flashiest of the flashes

e) Are you gonna dip it in yogurt? Cover it with chocolate buttons?

f) Don´t worry, my expectations are not that high after 13 years of Mr Oh-But-You-Always-Love-Scarves.

Answer these questions about the scene:

a) Where does it take place?

b) How much is the necklace?

c) How would you describe the man’s attitude towards the assistant?

d) Why doesn’t he buy the necklace in the end?

Politeness in discourse: This scene provides a perfect example of politeness and formal style in English speech. Read the script below and underline all the words and expressions used to sound polite. Underline all the instances of will+infinitive. What does it express?

ASSISTANT: Looking for anything in particular, sir?

CUSTOMER: Yes, that necklace there. How much is it?

ASSISTANT: It’s 270 pounds, sir

CUSTOMER: All right, I´ll have it.

ASSISTANT: Lovely. Would you like it gift wrapped?

CUSTOMER: yes, all right.

ASSISTANT: Lovely. Let me just pop it in the box. There.

CUSTOMER: Look, could we be quite quick, please?

ASSISTANT: Certainly sir, ready in the flashiest of the flashes. There

CUSTOMER: It’s great

ASSISTANT: Not quite finished.

CUSTOMER: Look, I don’t need a bag. I´ll just put it in my pocket.

ASSISTANT: This isn’t a bag, sir. This is so much more than a bag!.

CUSTOMER: Could we be quite quick, please?

ASSISTANT: Prontissimo!

CUSTOMER: What’s that?

ASSISTANT: It’s a cinnamon stick, sir.

CUSTOMER: Actually, I can’t wait.

ASSISTANT: You won’t regret it, sir.

CUSTOMER: You wanna bet?

ASSISTANT: It’s but the work of a moment. Almost finished.

CUSTOMER: Almost finished? What else is gonna be? Aree you gonna dip it in yogurt? Cover it with chocolate buttons?

ASSISTANT: We’re going to pop it in a Christmas box

CUSTOMER: But a don’t want a Christmas box!

ASSISTANT: But you said you wanted it gift wrapped.

CUSTOMER: I did but

ASSISTANT: It’s the final flourish.

CUSTOMER: Can I just pay?

ASSISTANT: A spring of holly

CUSTOMER: Not bloody holly

WOMAN: Looking around the jewellery section…

What do you want for Xmas?

Articles!

The? x? A? An?

Use of Articles

WHAT´S YOUR BACKGROUND?

MY BACKGROUND.

Environment. Geographical data.
Ethnic background.
Nationality.
Religion.

Background is a very productive word in English. Here we will focus on the following meaning: person's social heritage: previous experience or training.

background1 /'bækgraʊnd/ sustantivo
(of picture, scene) fondo m;
she prefers to stay in the ~ prefiere permanecer en un segundo plano
(of events) ~ (to sth) antecedentes mpl (de algo)
(of person — origin) origen m;
(— education) formación f;
(— previous activities) experiencia f
background2 adjetivo (before n) ‹noise/music› de fondo;
~ reading lecturas fpl preparatorias (acerca del momento histórico, antecedentes etc)

GROUP WORK ON STEREOTYPES

ENGLISH STEREOTYPES


LEAD-IN: Look at the postcard. What does it say about the English?
- Is politeness a stereotype? Can you think of other stereotypes associated with the English?

With a little help from your classmates... (thanks, David!)

Determinante ADJETIVO NOUN
(del grado más subjetivo ..................................................................... al más objetivo)
Opinion Size Shape Age Colour Nationality (Origin) Material Purpose
(noun used as adjective)


OSISHA CO(N)MP(any). I put origin instead of nationality, it looks similar

CORRECTION ON HANDOUT "RELATIONSHIPS".

1. If they get on well, it means that they are always playing and chatting happily together.
2. To loathe is to abominate so if I loathe my neighbour I hate him.
3. You see your colleagues at work.
4.A best friend is closer to you than an acquaintance.
5. To make up means to come to terms, to become friends after a discussion, so Henry and Sue are friends again.
6. Cinderella´s father married to her wicked step-mother.
7. You live at 37.
8. To idolise is to love so it means she watches all his films over and over again.
9. You are an only child.
10. You have separated.
11. They are very different.
12. Julian.

If there is anything you want me to comment in class as regards this handout, please, write a comment below and say what group you are in.
Cheers!

Some info on next two weeks. Please, read it!

Hello you all,

I hope you are not too tired as the end of the term is getting closer and closer. We still have almost a month ahead before Christmas and this is what we will be doing:

1. Next week you will be performing your anecdotes which you have previously sent to me by mail.I am really impressed because you´ve worked hard on them and the final results are excellent so far. Good job!!! Needless to say, you will get a record of my feedback once all the anecdotes have been performed.You should give me a paper copy of your anecdote the day of your presentation.

2. Next week you will also sit a little test on some of the contents covered in these two months. Remember you have two mind maps (I´ve also e-mailed them)to help you revising. You will be given/e-mailed another one on narrative texts before the test.

3. We will be going on a trip to the l...... (instructions to be given in class).

4. Do you remember your profiles on display? You will be involved on a speed-dating experience as well...


To be continued...

28th November: BND!!

B.N.D. (VIDEO below)
You’re going to watch an advertisement about the B.N.D. Listen and read the script. What do you think B.N.D. stands for?
Buy time, buy dreams, buy silence, buy identity, buy status, buy quality time, buy friends, buy romance, buy intimacy, buy security, buy space, buy vision, buy Christmas spirit, buy salvation, buy knowledge, buy opinions, buy health, buy youth, buy colour, buy reflection, buy shoes…

B STANDS FOR......
N STANDS FOR .....
D STANDS FOR .....

If you have to describe a teapot, don´t miss this nursery rhyme...

Can you describe these objects?

Revising introducing people!

Tenses to narrate anecdotes.

Past Tenses. Past Perfect, Past Simple and Continuous

View more presentations from José Antonio Romero Tena.

What is the relationship between these pictures?

Homophones! Weight/wait.Spanglish! Avoiding misunderstandings.

Watch this video on homophones (words that sound the same but they have different form and meaning).

Watch this video on problems of communication.

Revision on past tenses. Check your group to revise -ed pronunciations.The pat perfect.(The woman who had had enough)

GRAMMAR: PAST SIMPLE and PAST CONTINUOUS (was/were+verb+ing). Cuisinaire rods.
+
I/he/she/it was working
You/we/they were working
-
I/he/she/it wasn’t working
You/we/they weren´t working
?
Was she working? Yes, she was. No, she wasn’t.
Were they working? Yes, they were. No, they weren’t.
REMEMBER:
- Use the past continuous to describe an action in progress at a specific moment in the past: At six o’clock last night I was driving home.
- Past simple or past continuous? Use the past simple for a completed action and the past continuous for an action in progress: When they took the photo, they were writing a song.
Put the verbs into the past simple or past continuous:
e.g. She arrived when we were having dinner. (arrive, have)
1. I ............my arm when I ..............football. (break, play)
2. ....................you ................fast when the police ..........you? (drive, stop)
3. It ............... when we ..............the pub (snow, leave).
4. I ....................the match because I ....................... (not see, work)
5. When you .......................me , I .................to my boss. (call, talk)
GRAMMAR: PAST PERFECT
3. Look at these sentences from story 3. Answer the questions:
a. The police stopped the Italian driver.
b. They had seen him using his mobile phone.
1. Which action happened first, a or b?
2. What’s the form of the verb in b?
4. Read the endings of the other 5 stories and underline examples of had+past participle. Did these actions happen before or after the main part of the story?
+ I/you/he/she/it/we/they had/’d seen the film before
- I/you/he/she/it/we/they hadn’t seen the film before
?   Had she seen it before? Yes, she had. No, she hadn’t
REMEMBER:
- Use the past simple when you are talking about the past, and want to talk about an EARLIER action.
- Be careful: I´d can be I had or I would.
5. Complete the sentences. Put the verbs in the past simple or past perfect.
e.g. We didn´t get a table in the restaurant because we hadn’t booked. (not get, not book)
1. I ...............Maria because she ................her hair (not recognise, cut)
2. My friend .............to tell me I ___________my jacket in the car. (phone, leave)
3. When I .....the TV, the match ........ (turn on, finish)
4. She ............the book because she ............it yet. (not lend, finish)
5. He ..............all his exams because he ................at all. (fail, not study)
6. When we ............home we saw that somebody ...........the kitchen window. (get, break)

Anecdotes. Next writing task. Pre-writing activity.

You are going to write, in groups of four, an anecdote based on one of the commercials in the video below. Do not write more than 150words. You should be able to express your ideas in a text of this length. Your text does not need to be complex, but it should give details that allow the reader to have a clear mental image of the story you are telling.
It is very important that you use cohesive markers, using the right verb tenses and time references, as well as the appropriate connectors and linking words. COHESION AND COHERENCE MISTAKES WILL BE INTRODUCED IN YOUR CORRECTION. (CHS) (CHC).
A written anecdote has similarities with a spoken anecdote: 1) It is told in 1st person and 2) very formal expressions are not used. However, there are important differences:
- Do not use vague language and as many contractions as in spoken language.
- Use linking expressions (see linking); do not repeat expressions or use but at the start of a sentence.

LINKING: TIME LINKERS
Adverbials: Suddenly (I was standing there. Suddenly, I heard a noise), eventually (Eventually I got back home after a really long journey), at last (I saw my dad coming. At last, I started to feel a bit more relaxed).
Conjunctions: As soon as (As soon as we finished, we went outside to take the car), while (I arrived while they were having lunch) when (when he arrived I was watching TV) once (once he left the show was no longer the same).

TIPS:- Use past tenses coherently.
- Learn time connectors to link events
- Try to make your anecdote interesting and more dramatic (e.g. direct or reported speech, include any brief dialogue, leave suspense till the end, include an unexpected ending)
Check vocabulary, grammar and sentence structure before you hand it in or e-mail to me.
Example: (1ST VIDEO): Yesterday evening I was going to have dinner at my place with my girlfriend. I got home and went to the kitchen to unpack the things I had bought at the supermarket:some tomato sauce, some meat and some pasta to make spaghetti bolognese.
I put the saucepan on the cooker, and I only looked away for half a second, but it was enough time for my cat to jump onto the cooker and spill the sauce on the floor. The cat got covered in sauce too.
When I was picking up the cat, who was then all red, my girlfiend came in. She saw me standing in the kitchen with the cat in one hand and a big knife in the other. I had picked up the knife before to cut the onions. I think my girlfriend thought I had just killed the cat, because she ran out of the flat and now she never answers my phone calls!!



Some help on the second and the third:
IN THE CAR
Girl: I hope she sings this tonight
Girl: Hey dad, pull over, we need gum
Dad: Oh honey, here’s some money
Policeman: What have we got here?
Dad: I’m her daddy.

AT THE HOSPITAL
Doctor 1 (mumbling): … fractured fibula … gonna be able to go home tomorrow.
Mum: Daddy’s going to be so excited!
Doctor 2: That killed him.

More on prepositions. Useful to print it out!

English Prepositions

Don´t misunderstand me but this week we´ll be talking about misunderstandings!!

Do you know The Monty Phyton?


They were a British comedy group that created the influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. They have been incredibly popular since then. Hope you enjoy this video on misunderstandings (Spanish subtitles).



Do you remember the meaning of complexion? What does sensible mean? They are false friends: words in different languages or dialects that look related but that differ significantly in meaning. Some false friends: an abstract: resumen (y no abstracto)to achieve: lograr (y no archivar, que se dice to file, actual: real, efectivo (y no actual, que se dice current),actually: en realidad (y no actualmente, que se dice nowadays, at present),to advertise: anunciar (y no advertir, que se dice to warn,Advice: consejos (y no aviso, que se dice warning, notice),ailment: enfermedad leve, achaque (y no alimento, que se dice food)

Do you know more false friends? I am sure you do. Please click on COMMENT (below) and add your false friend to the list.
Cheers!

at? in? on? at the front? in front?

Schwa!!!!

Enjoy this video focussing on the most common English sound schwa.

More practice on adjectives.

HOW DID YOU FEEL?

1. Complete the sentences to describe the situations. Use and adjective from the box

frightening surprising relaxing exhausting annoying depressing

1. I heard footsteps in the middle of the night. That’s really OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
2. The bus was full. I had to wait for the next one so I arrived late for work. That’s so OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
3. I saw Andy eating a burger! I thought he was vegetarian. That’s very OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
4. I was lying on the beach in the sun all day yesterday. How OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
5. On my holiday it rained every day. That’s just so OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
6. I ran my first full marathon on Sunday. How OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

2. Imagine you were in the situations. How would you feel?
Example: 1. I was really frightened

-ing and –ed ADJECTIVES
1. –ing adjectives describe a situation, person or thing: an interesting life, a boring weekend…
2. –ed adjectives describe how people feel: I´m very interested in modern art. We were bored…
3. Complete the sentences. Use one of these adjectives:
Shock- disappoint-
Bor- -ed frighten- -ed
Excit- -ing annoy- -ing
Confus- fascinate-

1. A: I watched a horror film last night. B: Were you OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO?
2. A: I spent four hours round the museum. B: Oh no! was it OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO? A: Actually it was OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
3. A: Did you see the way she behaved? B: Yes, it was 00000000000000000000. Don’t invite her next time.
4. I had a second interview but I didn’t get the job. I’m so OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
5. The teacher was very OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO because all the students were late.
6. My daughter is very OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO because it’s her birthday tomorrow.
7. I don’t know how this camera works. The instructions are really 000000000000000.

Reflexive Pronouns

This slide show can help you understand the use of reflexive pronouns.

Reflexive Pronouns

View more documents from Dr. Shadia Banjar.

-ing and -ed adjectives.

Do you remember the differences between boring and bored? We can say challenging, but does challenged exist? If so, what does it mean? (look it up in your dictionary). Let´s freshen up! Enjoy this slide show!

ING AND ED ADJECTIVES

View more presentations from Ivan Albacete.

Present Perfect Tense

Remember I studied Chinese vs I´ve studied Chinese? Check out this slide show and by clicking on comments tell me what you think is more recent in tha past: I´ve lived throughout two world wars and I saw him yesterday? Does it contradict our theory on verbal tenses? Let´s reflect!!! Waiting for your comments...

Presentation:

Present Perfect Tense

View more presentations from rosarioa.slide.

Do you know if Wanda got married? (I hope you don´t get tired of her!) Getting into get.

One of the funny things in Englsih is that some verbs can have different uses / meanings. The vernb GET is an example of it.
Here you have a mindmap to help you remember the uses of Get. Are you ready to GET into GET ?????

Let´s do some group work on correcting writing texts!

1 GR grammar
2 T tense
3 WW wrong word
4 WO word order
5 SP spelling
6 P punctuation
7 ∧ * missing word
8 / extra word
9 AG agreement

As some of you need help with the correction code to assess your writing, here you have a text (TO BE CORRECTED IN CLASS) below:
MYSPACE WEBSITE PROFILE (www.uk.myspace.com)

Headline: Life and let life

About me:
Hi everyone! My name is Alessandra. It’s an Italian name, because my grandmother was from Italy, but I´m Argentenian and I live in Mendoza, a big city in the west of the country. I live with my parents and my two brothers. I have 19 years old, and I´m at university. I´m studing Computer Science. I´m in my first year and I’m really liking it.

I have to say that I have long and brown eyes (I wear contact lenses often). I think I´m a positive person. I´m quite extrovert and friendly. My mother say I´m very talkative (but she loves talking to me!)

Interests:
In my free time I love reading and going to the cinema. But I don’t have much free time because I have classes every day, and a lot of work to do even at the weekends. I also go to English classes in Friday afternoon.

I love learning languages! Apart of English I can speak French, Italian and of course Spanish, which is my first language. I´m interested in meeting people from different countries because I like to know different opinions, lifestyles, traditions. So, if you want to have a Argentinian friend, please send me a message or write a comment on myspace.
See you !

Remember you have been given a photocopy on that in class.

My second letter to the class.

Dear All,

Three weeks have passed since we first met and as I promised here you have my second letter to you. These are the aims I have been chasing throughout these introductory weeks. I hope now you can identify English sounds,you can introduce yourself, you can skim and scan information on how to get the most from our classes, you can understand the information in a dictionary entry, you can spell words, you can correct your own writing homework using the code given, you can produce a short text describing yourself, your friends or your relatives, you can use relative pronouns to paraphrase, you can use wh-words to ask for information, you can get information on how people learn English, you can decide when to use present perfect and simple past, you can talk about challenging situations in your life, you can not only describe people´s appearance but you can also talk about their personality using -ed and -ing adjectives. Finally, you can use your blog and your google documents!!!!!! Do you realise you have already made progress? This is just the beginning. Let´s keep on climbing!

Thanks so much for your contribution and I hope to keep on receiving feedback from you!

With warm wishes.
Laura E.


Note: fyi contents to be checked in textbook pages 6-7, 66-67 and...

What is more interesting? Who is more interested in finding it out? Are you more tired now? Hope not!

Hi class!

As you can see in the title name -ed and -ing adjectives form their comparative -and also superlative form by adding "more and most" regardless the number of pronounced syllables.

Can you help me decide if these sentences on the use of comparative structures is true or false? See the examples below to help you decide.

One- syllable adjectives add -er and -est to form the compartative and the superlative.

The number of syllables depends on the spelling, not the pronunciation.

Some common adjectives of quality and quantifiers have irregular comparative and superlative forms.

When two adjectives are compared more is used.

When the first part of a compound adjective is another adjective or an adverb, this first element is used to form the comparative and the superlative.

The comparatives and superlatives of compound adjectives are usually formed by putting more, most in front of the adjective.

Past participle adjectives require more and most.

Two or more syllable adjectives form their comparative and superlative forms by...


And now...

Adjective Comparative Superlative

1 NICE Nicer than. The nicest

2 INTELLIGENT More intelligent The Most intelligent

3 TIRED More tired. The Most tired

4 CLEVER/NARROW/SIMPLE. Cleverer- more clever. Cleverest/most clever
Simpler-more simple Simplest/most simple
Narrower-more narrow. Narrowest/most narrow

5. I was more angry than frightened.

6. good/ bad/much-many/little/old. Better. Best . Worse. Worst. More. most
Less. least. Elder -relatives only- Eldest.


7 Unhappy. Unhappier-more unhappy. Unhappiest-Most unhappy.


8.Nerve-racking. More nerve-racking. Most nerve-racking.


9.Good-looking. Well-paid. Better-looking/better-paid. Best-looking/best-paid.

CORRECT ANSWERS IN BOLD! Bored? Boring? Challenging enough? Describing...

Remember the difference between bored and boring?
1.Look at these sentences from the podcast Viva España:

Well, I am afraid I’m very boring…
And we had a day in Seville which was quite interesting, wasn’t it?
I was surprised about the fact that you are able to smoke in Spain.
I was disappointed with the graffiti.
It was very disappointing to see so much graffiti everywhere.
My first view of the Alhambra in Granada was absolutely amazing.

Remember: the thing you are talking about is -ing. The book is boring.
How you feel about things is –ed. I’m bored because the book is boring!

2.Now decide if the correct adjective is –ing or –ed.

There was a lot of building work everywhere which was annoying / annoyed.

But it was pleasing / pleased to see so many flowers, everywhere looked
very colourful.

I was astonishing / astonished by the number of olive trees in Andalucía.

It amazing / amazed us how expensive the beers were, Madrid is much more
expensive now.

Everyday was different so we were never boring / bored.

The weather wasn’t always good, it was a bit depressing / depressed when
it rained.

Jackie was fascinating / fascinated by the decorative tiles, especially in the
Alhambra.

We were shocking / shocked when we realized we had taken over 1,000
photographs during the holiday!

It was amusing / amused to see the little girls dressed up in their flamenco
outfits.

It was so relaxing / relaxed to spend the day on the beach