As you will know, today we remember the 20th anniversary of K. Cobain's death(NIRVANA). He was one of the leader of the GRUNGE rock movement 20 years ago.K. KOBAIN's biographical notes
Here's a little chunk of the end of an interwiew he was made in 1993.
Here's some highlights of the most widely acclaimed songs by NIRVANA as a tribute to them for the good music he contributed with. Thanks, mate!
Many students have difficulty recognizing and remembering idioms. Here’s a tip for you:
When you are learning a new idiom, say it out loud a few times. Then,
say it in several different sentences – push yourself to keep trying
new ways of using it. The more you say it, the easier it is to remember.
This is how many salespeople and politicians learn people’s names –
don’t say it in your head, say it out loud!
Another tip is to try and visualise the idiom in pictures. For example:
Sink or swim
Bread and butter
Try out your new skill with these special idiomatic pairs!
Some idiomatic pairs are used as nouns and some are used as adjectives, regardless of what kind of words are paired together.
Some pairs that are used like NOUNS:
Odds and Ends
Pins and Needles
Wear and Tear
Some pairs that are used like ADJECTIVES:
Cut and Dried Free and Easy
Touch and Go
Let’s practice learning “touch and go.” You might notice that
although this idiom is used as an adjective, it is formed from two
verbs, which makes it particularly tricky. “Touch and go” means
precarious, uncertain, maybe even dangerous, and it is used to describe
situations in which one must be very careful.
Let’s use it in a few sentences:
It has been touch and go ever since my mother’s operation.
The president announced that the negotiations between the warring factions have been touch and go. Touch and go situations often arise when approaching an unfamiliar dog.
Look for the meaning of the other idiomatic pairs given and do the
same: think of a few sentences for each one. Say them all aloud. It
doesn’t take long to learn new idioms in this way, and it ensures that
they stick with you.
Here below you will find a fairly good amount of idiomatic pairs for you to learn and practice.
As you have heard on the previous video, Idiomatic pairs are can be an essential part of everyday English. In this way, songs are the right place for them to come up. Watch and listen to Anastasia "SICK AND TIRED".
I'm sure you've heard of Narcolepsy, a not very common sleep disorder. However, the people who suffer from it can't lead a normal life. Watch the video about an Englishman suffering from it.
I was thinking that it would be a good idea to give you some extra practice on this grammar item. Here you have an online exercise for you to get a little bit of extra practice on the use of these frequently confusing grammar items. Click on The Grammar Aquarium and do it.
In
relation to the grammar item dealt with in class last week, let me
give you a much clearer explanation of the real differences between'would' and 'used to'and some extra practice on them.
We only use 'would' to describe actions or situations that were repeated again and again and again... But we use 'used to' for any extended action or situation in the past.
'Would'is only good for actions or situations that were repeated many times; 'Used to' is good for any action or situation that continued for a period of time in the past,including repeated actions or situations.
To make this clearer,let's look at the three examples of 'used to' sentences, and see if we can change them into 'would' sentences.
Here'sthe first example again: "I used to live in Manchester, but I moved to London last year."
Can we use 'would' instead of 'used to' here? No,
we can't, because 'living in Manchester' wasn't repeated again and
again and again. It's simply a situation in the past. Therefore, only 'used to' is good in this sentence.
The second example again: " When he was at school, he used to play football every Saturday."
Here,
we're talking about 'playing football every Saturday'. This is an
action that was repeated many times, so we can also say: "When he was at school, he would play football every Saturday". 'Used to' and 'would' are both good here, and the meaning is the same.
Finally, the third example again: "She used to hate her job until she got a promotion."
Did she 'hate her job' many times? No, this isn't a repeated action, so in this example 'would' isn't possible. We have to use 'used to'.
Here you have a couple of links where to get a bit of extra practice on "used to" or " would".
As I mentioned the other day in class, here
I have made a list with verbs that might well fall under the category
of "STATIVE" as they do represent a "state" so that you can decide on
the right verb when dealing with USED TO or WOULD sentences for habits
in the past.
STATIVE VERBS fall into four groups: Verbs Showing Thought or Opinions
know
believe
understand
recognize Verbs Showing Possession
have
own
belong
possess Verbs Showing Senses
hear
smell
see
feel Verbs Showing Emotion
love
hate
want
need
If you are unsure of whether a verb is an action verb or a stative verb ask yourself the following question: Does this verb relate some sort of process or a state? If it relates a process, then the verb is an action verb. If it relates a state, the verb is a stative verb.
The link below is a different one as it provides real language exchange in your area.( tandem, one to one....) Register and see if you get people keen on practising English with you.
It cost an arm and a leg : It was very expensive. They don’t see eye to eye : They don’t agree with each other She’s got a nose for a bargain : She’s very good at finding ...... I was on my knees by the end of the day : I was very tired
There's no elbow-room : There isn't enough space She really has green fingers (BrEng) / She really has a green thumb (AmEng) = to be a good gardener
We did it by the skin of our teeth : We only just succeeded, we almost failed He doesn’t have a leg to stand on : There’s no justification for what he did or says To make somebody's blood boil: To make sby. very angry. To have two left feet: To be a hopeless dancer She's a real pain in the neck: She's an irritating and annoying person. I really put my foot in it : I said something by mistake that I shouldn’t have said She gave him the cold shoulder : She rejected him; she ignored him To be long in the tooth: To be old He’s pulling your leg : He’s pretending something is true when it isn’t, as a joke The car is on its last legs : It’s old and will soon be unusable He welcomed us with open arms : He was very pleased to accept our help. We soon lost heart: We became demotivated
Peter gave me a hand with the new garage: He helped me.
Here's a great hand-out with loads of body idioms( idiomatic expressions combined with body parts) which are commonly used by native speakers and can help enrich your vocab a lot more.
Hi guys,
As promised, "THE BLISTERS" ( a tribute band to THE BEATLES),are definitely coming over to our school to play LIVE for us.
WHERE?At the auditorium in the school.
WHEN?Thursday, 20th February at 19:00
HOW MUCH?Nothing. It's just for free. it's all on us, the English department.
HOW LONG FOR? For about 1hour and a half or it will depend if we ask them to sing an encore. Anyway, until we feel like it.
the final countdown to the gig is starting right now!!
So, if you wanna have a good time and dance & sing not only to the terrific music from THE BEATLES but also the most widely acclaimed hits from the 60's and 70's, the EOI XATIVA is right the place to be!!
Here below is a website where you can do loads of quizzes. The ones I'm presenting you with are about SURVIVAL, which are related to the unit we are just dealing with at the moment in class. Click on the link and do some of them about survival.
As you all know, people are afraid of all kinds of things: spiders, being in the open air, being enclosed in small spaces. Tell us about your biggest fear or phobia- rational or irrational. Just leave a comment below this post indicating your name.
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