DEFINITION - AS / LIKE / HOW / SUCH AS / AS IF

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These words deserve special attention since they are invariably misused. Details can't be taken for granted in order to master the way they're used.

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HOW: 1. it is an interrogative pronoun. 2. It indicates manner.

- How did you find out about that?

- I've known how to drive for 8 years.

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AS: 1. it is a conjunction that shows similarity. 2. it is also a preposition that refers to sth in particular.

- Do as your mother says!

- Paul was appointed as the chairman of the board.

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LIKE: 1. it is a preposition that indicates sth is similar to sth else.

- You look just like your Dad.

- Talking to you is like talking to a brick wall. Come on, say sth!

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SUCH AS: 1. it is used for mentioning examples.

- I like several actors such as Harrison Ford and George Clooney.

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AS IF: 1. it is used to indicate similarity in action.

- It seemed as if she had never seen that guy before.

- Why did you talk to me as if you were talking to one of your employees? I'm your wife! Have some respect!

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COMPARE:

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A. Tom knows how to cook.

B. I work as a teacher.

C. That joke sounded like a silly one.

D. I've read books by different authors such as S. Sheldon and A. Christie.

E. You act as if you were five years old sometimes.

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A. HOW is followed by an action in the infinitive form.

B. AS is followed by a particular thing.

C. LIKE is followed by an object that is similar to the one already mentioned.

D. SUCH AS is followed by examples.

E. AS IF is followed by a sentence.

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You should click on the link below for further practice:

http://www.bristol.ac.uk/arts/skills/grammar/grammar_tutorial/page_64.htm

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Keep up the good work.

Best wishes,

André

DIFFERENCES - MAKE / DO

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Another great and crucial topic that makes students confused is the use of the verbs MAKE and DO. Students may understand the basic definition of each one, but there are thousands of expressions with those verbs that don't seem to make sense and they actually do damage to students' comprehension.
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BASIC DEFINITION:
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DO: perform an action.
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MAKE: construct, create, build.
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Common expressions:
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DO A FAVOR
DO DAMAGE
DO GOOD
DO WELL ON STH
DO BUSINESS
DO A JOB
DO ONE'S BEST
DO THE DISHES
DO THE HOUSEWORK / HOMEWORK

MAKE FRIENDS
MAKE AN EXCUSE
MAKE LOVE
MAKE A POINT
MAKE A DECISION
MAKE A LIST
MAKE SENSE
MAKE A MISTAKE
MAKE MONEY
MAKE PLANS
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There is no better way to remember than practicing:
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http://esl.about.com/library/vocabulary/blmakedo1.htm?lastQuestion=0&answers=1&submit=Next+Question+%3E%3E&ccount=0
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http://engli.webpark.pl/makeordo.html

http://www.english-test.net/esl/learn/english/grammar/ei092/esl-test.php
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Hope you can master the use of both verbs in expressions soon
Best wishes,
André

LOSE x MISS

The following verbs can be tricky, but only if you don't remember any of the hints or definitions below. Take the quiz after reading and get to know if you really understand the differences:


LOSE: to fail to keep sth; not to win.
- My father lost his eyeglasses once again.
- John lost the card game.
- I'm sorry I lost my mind back there. Tim can be a real jerk sometimes!
(figurative meaning - expression = not to be able to control oneself in anger)

MISS: not to be present; to fail to reach, understand or get to sth; to feel the absence of sb.
- Hurry up, the movie is about to begin. You don't want to miss the beginning.
- That's great, Mary! You can't miss this opportunity.
- I had no idea I would miss you this much.

***LOSE: involves sth you that once belonged to you.
I can LOSE a wallet, a key, a pen.

***MISS: involves sth that never belonged to you.
I can MISS a train, a meeting, a TV show.

Click on the link below for further practice:
http://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/254.html

Best wishes,
André

DIFFERENCES

There several words in the English language that are quite different from what we expect due to their portuguese-spelling similarity. Check out a couple of adverbs that might be taken into consideration:



EVENTUALLY: it describes what happens in the end. It's used to emphasize a result after a series of things. It also shows a "gradual" result. AT LAST is a synonym. It's used to emphasize a result that comes up at an unspecified time.

- Look at the way she treats her kid. She shouldn't beat him up every time he does something wrong. I hope she will eventually understand a beating isn't helpful at all.
- If Josh keeps exercising like that and doesn't get back to eating junk food, he will eventually lose weight.

FINALLY: it describes what happens in the end. It's used to give emphasis to the last thing that is done or happens in a series of events.

- After the teacher explained the topic for the third time, the student finally understood.
- The project has finally come to an end! We'll have time to focus on other issues from now on.

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Fill in the blanks with the appropriate adverb:

1. Tim saved some money and ________________ bought his car last week.
2. You'll _______________ buy an apartment if you save money.
3. Tina worked hard and _______________ rose to the position of manager.
4. After 10 years of hard work, Tina _______________ got promoted to manager.


Best wishes,
André

LISTENING PRACTICE

Practice is the key to understanding better. There is a link to a video below. Listen to it and answer the following questions:

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu79GZOUuy0

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1. How long has Bob studied martial arts?

2. What does Bob say will happen to those women after the course?

3. What does the black woman want to know?

4. What does Bob start his class with?

5. Who was the world champion in 1976?

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Best wishes,

André

PRESENT PERFECT

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Present Perfect is one of the most difficult constructions for brazilians to understand.
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There are some facts to be considered before using this construction:
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1. Situation started and goes on
- I have worked for this company since 1999.
- Julia hasn't seen her father for a week.

2. Past situation without time reference
- Mark has been to Europe twice.
- We've bought a new car.

3. Recent Information
- My parents have just arrived from Australia.
- He's finished the article.

4. PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS: constant or repeated action:
- Won't you get some rest? You've been playing this game for hours!
- Sue's been taking English classes since last month.

*****The only way to perfection is through practice.

Click on the links below:
http://www.better-english.com/grammar/pspp1.htm
http://www.smic.be/smic5022/testtenses2.htm
http://www.smic.be/smic5022/presentperfect2.htm
http://www.geocities.com/gob72/grammarverbtenses.html
http://www.geocities.com/gob72/presentvspresentperfect.htm

Hope it will help you improve your English!
Best wishes,
André

INTENSIFIERS - SO / SUCH

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There are different words that will indicate intensity. SO and SUCH are two short words that can be misleading if one isn't careful when using them.

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SO: it's used with adjectives for emphasis.

- It's so cold in here. Turn on the heater!
- You are so lazy. Why don't you do anything?
- I love her so much!
- I'd never seen so many wild animals.

SUCH: it's usually used with adjectives + nouns for emphasis. It can be used with only nouns.

- Tom is such a jerk!
- You had such an amazing idea!
- This is such hot tea.
- There are such wonderful beaches in Rio!

***You should pay attention to the word SUCH and its comploment:

- This is such a nice song. (countable singular)
- Dan has such beautiful eyes. (countable plural)
- I've never tasted such food. Is it spicy? (uncountable)

There's a link below for further practice:
http://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/236.html

Best wishes,
André

LISTENING PRACTICE

You will find a link to a video below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYE7teZSv2U

You will answer some questions this time. The video is "a little" difficult, but the intention is to practice and try to understand most of it. Do your best!

How was Fred’s day at work?
What did Barney bring Bam-Bam?
Did Fred bring anything home?
What do Barney and Fred have to do?
How did Fred try to get out of Jury duty?
Why did Fred say the mangler is guilty?
Why did Fred panic?
Where did they hide?
What went wrong when Fred decided to be courageous?
Why did the mangler go after Fred?

Post your answers on by clicking on the word COMMENTS below.

Best wishes,

André

TAKE

Every intermediate student knows the meaning of the verb TAKE.

- I will take my son to the Zoo later.
- Do they take credit cards at Wal-Mart?

Still, there is a wide range of collocations that can be tricky for Portuguese speakers. Check out the examples and the problems you might face if you try to translate from portuguese to English. Remember the FIRST RULE: DO NOT TRANSLATE!


- Mary takes notes every time she is in a meeting.
(problem: DO NOTES is wrong)

- I will take a trip to Europe at the end of the year.
(problem: DO A TRIP is wrong)

- When did you start taking this course?
(problem: DO A COURSE is wrong)

- We need to take a break.
(problem: DO A BREAK is wrong)

- Jim has to take another test at school.
(problem: DO A TEST is not common)

You can also find a couple of other expressions:

TAKE A LOOK
TAKE A PILL
TAKE A CALL
TAKE AN INTERVIEW
TAKE A SEAT
TAKE A SHOWER

Hope you can benefit from the explanation above.
Best wishes,
André

LISTENING practice

You will find a link to a scene from the movie "The Great Dictator" below:

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcvjoWOwnn4

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Fill in the blanks after watching the first 2 minutes of the video clip:

I'm sorry, but I don't want to be an Emperor - that's not my business. __________ ___________________________ or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone, if possible. Jew, Gentile, ___________________, _____________. We ________________________________; human beings are like that. We want to live by each other's happiness, not by each other's misery. We ________ _______________________________________. In this world, ______________ ____________________ everyone and the good ________________________ and can __________________________ everyone.

__________________________________ be free and beautiful.

But ________________________________________.

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You can click on the word comments below and post your text on this blog. It will be checked ASAP.

Bets wishes,

André

ALL x BOTH x EVERY x EACH

English learners invariably get confused when using these words. Still, there's no room for mistakes if the following tips are followed:



ALL: number of people or things considered as a group. It can be used with plural nouns, uncountable nouns or pronouns.
- I keep all the vegetables in the fridge.
- All my money was stolen.
- Richard hasn't seen his relatives for a while. He misses all of them.

BOTH: two people or things considered as a group. It can only be used with plural nouns or pronouns.
- Both students will have to take the exam again.
- Bob and Julia go to Germany once a year. Both of them speak German.

EVERY: number of people or things considered individually. It can be followed by singular nouns.
- Every student was given 30 minutes to finish the test.
- Every house in this neighborhood has a basement.

EACH: number of people or things considered individually too, but it expresses the idea of 'one by one'. It can be followed by singular nouns, pronouns or prepositions + plural nouns.
- Each proposal will be reviewed carefully.
- Each of the soldiers will be awarded with a medal.
- What they did was wrong. I want to talk to each of them.

Further examples:

- I gave some money to each of them.

- There's heavy traffic on the highway every single day.

- The teacher explained the topic once again to all of the students, but two students were still unsure, then she explained it to both of them after class.

You can use the following link for practice:

http://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/82.html

I hope the topic is clear now. If not, leave a message by clicking on the word comments below. Bets wishes,

André

SEE x WATCH x LOOK

Some verbs sound the same to a lot of students, but they actually happen to be very different when it comes to context and purpose.

Let's analyze verbs that involve sight.


SEE: to visualize
- I can't see my house from here.
- Did you see John at the party?
- I haven't seen her e-mail yet.

WATCH: to observe carefully.
- Who's going to watch the dogs while we're away?
- Helen loves watching that TV show.
- I didn't watch the whole presentation.

LOOK: to direct the eyes to sth attentively
- Hey, look! What's that?
- Look at my new dress!
- When I looked out the window, I saw it was raining.

There is a link you can click on to read another explanation about this topic:
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/words/look_watch_see.htm

There is also a link for you to practice these differences:
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/look_see_watch.htm

Remember to click on the word comments below for any kind of question.
Best wishes,
André

THERE + TO BE

You should always bear in mind that Portuguese and English are two different languages and, therefore, they have different ways of expressing things.

Something that has constantly caused confusion is the construction: "there + to be"

I mean, it's easy to read something like: "there is a book on the table"

Still, most students tend to use the verb HAVE or HAPPEN instead of the construction "there + to be". See some common mistakes below:

- Have a good movie on TV tonight. WRONG

- Happened an accident on the road. WRONG

Check out the correct sentences:

- There will be a good movie on TV tonight. (expressing existence)

- There was an accident on road. (expressing occurrence)

This construction always indicates EXISTENCE or OCCURRENCE. Its conjugation will be based on the verb to be. Check out some other examples:

- There are shows in SP every weekend.

- There are going to be hundreds of athletes in the Pan American Games.

- There might be some trouble in the traffic downtown.

- There hasn't been any improvement in the project.

- How many on-the-job accidents were there last year?

- There shouldn't be so many people at the party because of the location.

Don't forget to use THERE + TO BE whenever you think about EXISTENCE or OCCURRENCE! If you have any kind question, click on the word comments below.

Best wishes,

André

TO x FOR

These prepositions have been cursed by students over the years.

There's no need to be afraid though. They can be understood and properly placed in a sentence as long as students remember some simple hints:

TO: it's used every time an action needs two participants, or, in other words, an action affects the complement somehow. Check out the examples:

- I gave flowers to my wife on our wedding anniversary.

- John sent a letter to his uncle in Italy.

- I had to explain the same subject to my students twice.

TO: (2) It's used when there is a direct involvement between two parts.

Check out the examples:

- His girlfriend was dancing to him at the nightclub.

- My mother used to read stories to me when I was a kid.

- The doors were open to the president.

FOR: indicates something is a benefit from an action performed.

- I bought flowers for my wife on our wedding anniversary.

- My grandmother cooked pasta for me.

- Helen turned on the air conditioning for us.

FOR: (2) it's used when there is a substitution in the part that shuld perform the action.

- My father is not here, but he left me a message and I will read it for him.

- Can you open the door for me?

- Those women are going to dance for me because I hired them.

Check the sentence and the action before you use TO or FOR again.

If you need any extra explanation, click on the word comments below.

Best wishes,

André

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