WATCH OUT FOR THE ORDER!

Something that seems to be so easy can fool you:

- I and my father like to go fishing. WRONG

- My father and I like to go fishing. RIGHT

Whenever you use a subject and you also want to include yourself, remember to place the pronoun I after the other subjects.

- John, Julia and I decided to take a course in Italy next year.
- My family and I have always lived in Brazil.
- You and I need to have a serious talk.

Any comments, click on the word below!
Best wishes,
André

PREPOSITIONS - LOCATION

Let's talk about prepositions!

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Prepositions can drive a student crazy.

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Do you want to know why? Some details are obvious whereas others are tricky. There's never an explanation that's why!!!

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You'll find some interesting and straightforward info below:

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LOCATION prepositions: You can start being less specific and go on to being more specific. Check it out:

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- John lives in South America. (continent)
- John lives in Brazil. (country)
- John lives in São Paulo. (state)
- John lives in Sorocaba. (city)
- John lives in Vila Whatever. (suburb)
- John lives on Wherever street. (street)
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OBS: You started being less specific and you ended up being exact.
You use IN for NON-SPECIFIC LOCATION
You use ON for SPECIFIC LOCATION (street)
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LOCATION prepositions 2: you'll use AT when using names of places, numerical addresses, END and BEGINNING and a couple of other words.
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- John always has dinner at that Japanese restaurant.
- John has a lot of things to do at work.
- John went shopping at the mall last Sunday.
- John has a lot of friends at school.
- John's office is at the end of the hallway.
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LOCATION prepositions 3: you'll use ON when using RIGHT, LEFT, BEACH, FLOOR and a couple of other words.
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- John's office is on the right at the end of the hallway.
- John is going to spend the weekend on the beach.
- John's apartment is on the fifth floor.
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You can access the following site for practice:
http://www.englishpage.com/prepositions/location_prepositions_1.htm
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I hope the hints above will help you improve your English.
Remember that you can post questions or comments by clicking on the word comments below.
Best wishes,
André

PAST TENSE

STRESS AND INTONATION – PAST TENSE

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Here's another piece of advice:

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We should keep in mind that regular verbs in the past or past participle have three different pronunciations:

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a) If the verb ends in a voiceless sound, that is, your vocal cords do not vibrate, the “ed” ending is pronounced /t/.

Ex: worked stopped washed

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b) if the verb ends in a voiced sound, that is your vocal cords vibrate, the “ed” ending is pronounced /d/.

Ex: listened caused called

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c) If the verb ends in /t/ or /d/, then the “ed” ending should be pronounced as an extra syllable and the pronunciation is /id/.

Ex: needed added wanted

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You can access the following site for listening and practicing:

http://cla.univ-fcomte.fr/english/pronunciation/01_-ed_endings/01.htm

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If you have any comments or you would like to ask a question, click on the word comments below and I'll check it ASAP.

Best wishes,

André

DOUBT

Here goes something that is TRULY USEFUL!!!

When you don't know how to use a word or maybe how to say something in English or even how to express yourself accurately, try not to say the following sentence:

"Teacher, I have a doubt about ..."

Then, You might say: "why???"


It's not exactly what you want to say. That's why! In English, the word doubt means lack of trust; disbelief; uncertainty. Just like in the sentences below:

- There is some doubt about his candidacy!
- My friend started doubting the things he heard at Church after his wife died.

So, the following sentence would sound ODD:
- I have a doubt about when to use 'other' and 'another'.

This sentence has two mistakes.

FIRST: the word doubt is uncountable, so you can't say a doubt or the doubt, except in some expressions such as 'without a doubt', 'beyond the shadow of a doubt' or 'the benefit of the doubt'.

SECOND: the word doubt implies disbelief, distrust or uncertainty.

SUBSTITUTING:

Instead of saying 'I have a doubt!' you can say 'I have a question: blá-blá-blá?'

Check out the following other possibilities:

- I'm not sure about when I should use 'in' or 'on'.

- I'm a little confused about the use of 'in' and 'on'.

- The use of 'in and 'on' is not clear enough.


Is it all right??? Got it??? Well, if you have any ... QUESTIONS, I'll be glad to answer them.
André

ACTIVE X PASSIVE

If you find it hard to understand the differences between active and passive voices, you should take a look at the following explanation: http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs-voice.htm

TOP 20 most common words

Here are the most common words in the English language according to newspapers, magazines and books:

1 - the
2 - be
3 - of
4 - and
5 - a
6 - to
7 - in
8 - he
9 - have
10 - it
11 - that
12 - for
13 - they
14 - I
15 - with
16 - as
17 - not
18 - on
19 - she
20 - at

TIP

Guys,

If you want to have fluency in the English language, I suggest you practice your basic level as much as you can. Knowing present, past and future tenses, verb to be, interrogative pronouns and basic prepositions is crucial to your development.
Repeat simple questions in your mind such as "When...?" or "How often...?", it's also a good idea to think about complete answers. You don't need them when talking to someone, but they help you fix your knowledge.

What's the meaning of...?

... rough-house? act in a playful and rough manner
... bloat? inflate with air, gas or liquid
... rue? regret for doing sth that had bad results

See you,

Questions

Hi, everybody,
If you happen to have any kind of question, post it right here. You can have your question answered in a jiffy!
André

Unusual vocabulary - part 2

Find out the name of the following things:
DAM
CORK
JACK








SCAFFOLD
FLIP-FLOPS

unusual vocabulary

How do you say... ?

Outlet

Tweezers

Bull horn

Plunger

Wood raft

Places

Places you would never think about:

stationery store = place where you can buy office supplies and school stuff such as notebooks, paper, pens, etc...

butcher's = place where you can buy meat.

junk yard = place where you can find old car parts.

landfill = place where the city's trash is dumped. Iit's also called dump.

TRACK / TRAIL / PATH / LANE / COURSE

All these words mean WAY, but there are slight differences among them:

Track: a way along which sth moves.
Ex: racetrack
Trail: a rough way through the woods or a line of way left behind by sth that has passed
Ex: Hiking trail / trail of an animal
Path: a way marked out or an abstract way.
Ex: follow the path to the door / pathway to the door / lifepath
Lane: a way in traffic.
Ex: drive on the left lane
Course: a way along which there is constant movement or movement in time; duration
Ex: the course of events / the course of the river

HUT - TEPEE answers

What kind of dwelling is a Hut??? a hut is a small kind of shelter usually built from wood.
What about a Tepee??? a conical kind of shelter, commonly used by indians.

Hut - Tepee

What kind of dwelling is a Hut???
What about a Tepee???

House models - answers

There are different house models. Let's check out some of them:

Terraced houses? Same building divided into side-by-side houses.
bungalow? ground isolated house.
prefab house? timber house that is assembled.
detached house? any isolated house
two-story house? a house with two floors
duplex/semi-detached house? a two-story building divided into 2 homes
mobile home? a house that can be moved
studio? a room and a bathroom
cottage? a comfortable small house in the country.

See you,

Conversation - Houses

Vocabulary related:
Attic
Bedroom
Bathroom
Kitchen
Living room
Dining room
Laundry room
Barbecue area
Pool
Cellar
Basement
Office
Library
Balcony
Garage
Roof
Wall
Ceiling
Porch
Stairs
Window
Door
Yard
Garden
Fence
Gate
Lock
Chimney
Pipe
Gutter
Driveway
Sauna
Solar panel
Backyard
Shutter
Steps

Up-to-date slang

Quizz:

1. What kind of person is a "tool"?
2. If you "pancake somebody", what are you doing?

Belly button x Navel

What's the difference between these words?

Anatomy

Body parts:

Arm
Forearm
Neck
Thigh
Calf
Knee
Finger
Wrist
Elbow
Butt
Back
Shoulder
Forehead
Temples
Eye
Mouth
Chin
Ear
Cheek
Eyebrow
Hand
Chest
Belly
Leg
Ankle
Foot
Toe
Heel
Navel
Armpit
Lip
Eyelash
Eyelid
Earlobe
Nostril
Knuckle
Rib
Sole
Palm
Jaw
Shin
Throat
Nipple
Spine

You already know the sources you can search.