Let´s listen to this passage on a trip to New York and see how much we understood.
Click HERE
Monday, March 22, 2010
PRONUNCIATION NO. 8: silent -e, spelling helps
Silent -e-
Many words in English finish with a single -e- When that happens, this letter is usually silent and the previous syllable is pronounced with a diphthong:
/ai/
smile
type
side
abide
nice
fine
mine
/ei/
tame
lame
same
name
fame
sane
long /o/
sore
before
more
/A/
done
some
tongue
Can you find other examples?
Spelling and pronunciation
There are 12 vowels in oral English, still, only 5 letters are used to represent them. Sometimes spelling, however, can be useful.
a) -o- in: son, tongue, ton, come.
b) -o- in: long, song, shot.
c) -ou- in: fought, sought, four.
d) -a- in: man, sand, land.
e) -i- in: fit, six, minute.
f) -ee- in: see, feet, need.
g) -ea- in: seat, feast, least, neat
h) -oo- in: foot, good, look.
i) -oo- in: food, fool, wool.
j) -u- in: full, put.
k) -u- in: luck, cut, nut.
Can you find more examples for this list? More sounds to add to the list?
GRAMMAR NO. 8: Numbers
VOCABULARY NO. 8: In class
In our session today, we will review some words related to a class/classroom. We are going to use 2 online tools to find out the meaning of them.
1) OBJECTS: Use Google Images to understand the meaning of the following words:
pencil
pen
eraser
pencil sharpener
folder
binder
notebook
staple
stapler
notepad
bookmark
chalk
square
bevel
ruler
drawing compass ("o" here is pronounced as in "son", "come")
crayon
coloring pencils
marker
bulletin board
OHP
bookcase
booklet
2) VERBS and misc: We will use Google define: to find out the meaning of the following words:
to read out loud
to write down
to hand out/hand in
to turn in
to grade
to collect
to proctor
a deadline
office hours
a tutorial
a seminar
a lecture
a section
an instructor
a professor
a teacher
a teaching assistant
schedule
tentative weekly schedule
a syllabus
a class
a classroom
a tutor
timetable
exam calendar
Monday, March 15, 2010
GRAMMAR NO. 7: Too/either, So/neither
EXPLANATION
Too/either and so/neither are used to express our agreement to what another person has said.
Too is used when the verb is in the affirmative form. For example:
A: I have a red Ferrari
B: I have one, too
Either is used when the verb is in the negative form. For example:
A: I don't have a Ferrari
B: I don't have one either
But in English, we don't need to use long replies to express our agreement. This is not necessary because our agreement is with the entire sentence, so we use an auxiliary:
do/does when the verb is in the simple present
are/is when the original verb is in the present continuous
will when the original verb is in the future
have/has when the original verb is in a perfective tense
a modal when the original verb uses a modal, etc.
Too/so are used when we agree in the affirmative. For example:
A: I have an SUV (sport utility vehicle, a family car)
B: I have one too OR So do I
Either/neither are used when we agree in the negative. For example:
A: I don't have a bike
B: I don't have one either OR Neither do I
When we use so/neither, the verb must go in the affirmative form and the order of the sentence takes the form of a question. More examples:
So must I
Neither will they
So should I
Neither are we
So is she
Neither are Peter and Susan
So do I
Neither will he
So can we
Neither could they
Can you find the first part of the aforementioned phrases with so and neither?
IMPORTANT!!!
So, too, either and neither have other functions in English. We will study them in the following sessions.
PRACTICE
http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-49198.php
http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-68857.php
http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-57421.php
http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-69398.php
http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-67793.php
http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-58137.php
http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/quizshow.php?title=lesson-76-too-so-either-neither&quesnum=1
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