Sunday 18 November 2012

Idioms

(Notice: "sb"= somebody; "sth"= something)

Thursday 15 November 2012

Some differences between British and American English

Wednesday 14 November 2012

Monday 5 November 2012

Hi pals, as you have probably seen, in the right margin of the screen there is a column with the title: "Useful Sites". There, I have shared some websites which I think very useful. There is a conjugator, a site when we can look up about pronunciation of English words, dictionary online and some other tools.
If you know about any interesting or useful website, you can share it in that column. Regards.

Sunday 28 October 2012

At least, I learnt a new word! Enjoy!

Tuesday 23 October 2012

Which are your favourite movies?

According to the specialized web imdb.com and a ranking made by its users, the top five of movies of all time is:

1- The Shawshank Redemption (also known in Argentina as "Sueños de Libertad"), released in 1994 by Frank Darabont. IMDB says: "Two imprisoned men bond over a number of years, finding solace and eventual redemption through acts of common decency." Starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman.

2- The Godfather ("El Padrino" in Argentina), released in 1972 by Francis Ford Coppola. IMDB says: "The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son." Starring Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan.

3- The Godfather: part II, released in 1974 by Francis Ford Coppola. IMDB says: "The early life and career of Vito Corleone in 1920s New York is portrayed while his son, Michael, expands and tightens his grip on his crime syndicate stretching from Lake Tahoe, Nevada to pre-revolution 1958 Cuba." Starring Al Pacino, Robert de Niro, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton.

4- Pulp Fiction (also known in Argentina as "Tiempos Violentos"), released by Quentin Tarantino in 1994. IMDB says: "The lives of two mob hit men, a boxer, a gangster's wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption." Starring John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel Jackson.

5- Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo (also known in Argentina as "El bueno, el feo y el malo"), released by Sergio Leone in 1966. IMDB says: "A bounty hunting scam joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery." Starring Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef.

Have you seen any of this movies?

Do you agree with that ranking?

Would you add or remove any movie to the ranking?

Which would be your own Top Five?

Monday 22 October 2012

The case for the defence

Hello everybody! The teacher sent me by email a summary of the first story, so I´m publishing for everybody to read it.
Regards! Laura

A CASE FOR THE DEFENCE

THE CASE WAS CALLED THE PECKHAM MURDER (PECKHAM IS A LONDON DISTRICT). A WOMAN HAD BEEN BATTERED TO DEATH. HER BODY WAS FOUND IN NORTHWOOD STREET.

NO ONE BELIEVE THAT THE SUPECTED MURDERED WAS GOING TO BE DECLARED NOT GUILTY. THEREFORE, HE WAS GOING TO BE HUNG.

HE WAS A STOUT MAN WITH BULGING BLOODSHOOT EYES. HE WAS VERY UGLY. THIS GUY WAS DIFFICULT TO FORGET.

THE CROWN PROPOSED TO CALL 4 WITNESSES WHO HADN´T FORGOTTEN HIM, WHO HAD SEEN HIM HURRYING AWAY FROM THE LITTLE VILLA IN NORTHWOOD STREET.

MRS. SALMON, WHO LIVED IN 15 NORTHWOOD STREET, HADN´T BEEN ABLE TO SLEEP. SHE HEARD A DOOR CLKICK SHUT AND THOUGHT IT WAS HER OWN GATE. SHE WENT TO THE WINDOW AND SAW ADAMS ON MRS PARKER´S STEPS. HE HAD JUST COME OUT, AND HE WAS WEARING GLOVES. HE HAD A HAMMER IN HIS HAND, AND HE DROPPED INTO THE LAUREL BUSHES BY THE FRONT GATE. HE REALISED THAT THE WOMAN HAD SEEN HIM THROUGH THE LIGHT OF THE STREET LAMP.

HENRY MACDOUGALL HAD BEEN DRIVING HOME FROM BENFLEET AND NEARLY RAN ADAMS DOWN AT THE CORNER OF NORWOOD STREET. HENRY WAS THE SECOND WITNESS.

OLD MR. WHEELER WAS ALSO A WITNESS.HE LIVED NEXT DOOR TO MRS. PARKER, AT NUMBER 12, AND WAS AWOKEN BY A NOISE – LIKE A CHAIR FALLING – AND GOT UP AND LOOKED OUT OF THE WINDOW. HE SAW ADAMS´S BULGING EYES.

IN LAUREL AVENUE HE WAS SEEN BY A FOURTH WITNESS.

THE COUNSEL SAID THAT THE DEFENCE PROPOSED TO PLEAD MISTAKEN IDENTITY.

HIS WIFE SAID THAT SHE WAS WITH HER HUSBAND IN THE MORNING OF FEBRUARY 14^TH.

AFTER THE FORMAL EVIDENCE, MRS. SALMON WAS CALLED. SHE APPOINTED ADAMS IN COURT. SHE SAID SHE WAS CERTAIN THE MURDERER HAD BEEN HIM. MRS. SALMAN WAS 56, AND SHE HAD NEVER HAD TO WEAR GLASSES. SHE SAID THAT IT WAS 2 AM, THERE WAS MOONLIGHT AND WHEN THE MAN LOOKED UP, HE HAD THE LAMPLIGHT ON HIS FACE.

HOWEVER, THE COUNSELOR ASKED MRS. SALMAN TO EXAMEN THE PEOPLE IN COURT AGAIN. THERE WAS ANOTHER MAN WHO LOOKED LIKE MR. ADAMS. THAT MAN WAS HIS TWIN BROTHER.

NO WITNESS COULD SAY WHO THE MURDERER WAS. THEY WERE ALIKE. HIS BROTHER SAID THAT HE WAS WITH HIS WIFE AT THAT TIME.

BOTH WERE ACQUITTED FOR LACK OF EVIDENCE. WHEN THEY WERE LEAVING THE COURT, ONE OF THE TWINS SAID: I¨VE BEEN ACQUITTED, HAVEN´T I? SOMEBODY PUSHED ONE OF THE TWINS IN FRONT OF A PASSING BUS. HE DIED. HIS SKULL WAS MASHED JUST AS MRS. PARKER´S . HIS BROTHER CRIED BESIDE THE BODY, AND HE LOOKED STRAIGHT OVER AT MRS. SALMON.

NO ONE KNEW OF THE ONE WHO DIED WAS INNOCENT OR GUILTY.

Thursday 18 October 2012

Active Voice, Passive Voice

There are two special forms for verbs called voice:

Active voice
Passive voice

The active voice is the "normal" voice. This is the voice that we use most of the time. You are probably already familiar with the active voice. In the active voice, the object receives the action of the verb:

active	subject	verb	object
		>
	Cats	eat	fish.

The passive voice is less usual. In the passive voice, the subject receives the action of the verb:

passive	subject	verb	object
	<
	Fish	are eaten	by cats.

The object of the active verb becomes the subject of the passive verb:

	subject	verb	object
active	Everybody	drinks	water.
passive	Water	is drunk	by everybody.

Now we'll look at the passive voice in more detail:

Passive Voice

The passive voice is less usual than the active voice. The active voice is the "normal" voice. But sometimes we need the passive voice. In this lesson we look at how to construct the passive voice, when to use it and how to conjugate it.

Construction of the Passive Voice

The structure of the passive voice is very simple:

subject + auxiliary verb (be) + main verb (past participle)

The main verb is always in its past participle form.

Look at these examples:

subject	auxiliary verb (to be)		main verb (past participle)
Water	is		drunk	by everyone.
100 people	are		employed	by this company.
I	am		paid	in euro.
We	are	not	paid	in dollars.
Are	they		paid	in yen?

Use of the Passive Voice

We use the passive when:

we want to make the active object more important
we do not know the active subject

	subject	verb	object
give importance to active object (President Kennedy)	President Kennedy	was killed	by Lee Harvey Oswald.
active subject unknown	My wallet	has been stolen.	?

Note that we always use by to introduce the passive object (Fish are eaten by cats).

Look at this sentence:

He was killed with a gun.

Normally we use by to introduce the passive object. But the gun is not the active subject. The gun did not kill him. He was killed by somebody with a gun. In the active voice, it would be: Somebody killed him with a gun. The gun is the instrument. Somebody is the "agent" or "doer".

Conjugation for the Passive Voice

We can form the passive in any tense. In fact, conjugation of verbs in the passive tense is rather easy, as the main verb is always in past participle form and the auxiliary verb is always be. To form the required tense, we conjugate the auxiliary verb. So, for example:

present simple: It is made
present continuous: It is being made
present perfect: It has been made

Here are some examples with most of the possible tenses:

infinitive		to be washed
simple	present	It is washed.
	past	It was washed.
	future	It will be washed.
	conditional	It would be washed.
continuous	present	It is being washed.
	past	It was being washed.
	future	It will be being washed.
	conditional	It would be being washed.
perfect simple	present	It has been washed.
	past	It had been washed.
	future	It will have been washed.
	conditional	It would have been washed.
perfect continuous	present	It has been being washed.
	past	It had been being washed.
	future	It will have been being washed.
	conditional	It would have been being washed.

Now check your understanding:

Active or Passive Quiz

1	I ate a piece of chocolate cake.
2	The librarian read the book to the students.
3	The money was stolen.
4	They are paid on Fridays.
5	The movie is being made in Hollywood.
6	I washed my car three weeks ago.
7	His hair was cut by a professional.
8	I will introduce you to my boss this week.
9	It would have been fixed on the weekend.
10	The national anthem is being sung by Jason this time.

Wednesday 17 October 2012

BBC News Hourly Bulletin

You can listen at the latest world news in a short bulletin (around 2 min.). You can listen it once and again as much as you want. The bulletin updates every hour:

Listen in standard quality

Listen in high quality

Fernando

Sunday 14 October 2012

The quotation

It seemed interesting, i want to share it with you

The Quotation

Wealth is the slave of a wise man. The master of a fool.
Seneca (5 BC-65 AD)

Thursday 11 October 2012

More English Grammar

The English Conditional

There are a number of structures in English that are called the conditionals which are used to talk about possible or imaginary situations. A "Condition" is a "situation or circumstance".

For example: If a certain condition is true, then a particular result happens.

There are four basic conditionals that we use in English.

A) Zero Conditional: Certainty

The Zero conditional is used for things that are always true as long as the condition is met.

IF	Condition	Result	Situation
	present simple	present simple
If	you heat water to 100 degrees celsius,	it boils.	fact- universal
	present simple	present simple
If	I drink coffee,	I get a headache.	fact- personal

In these examples, the result will always occur if the condition is

met, so the time is not important.

B) First Conditional: A real possibility in the future

A First Conditional sentence is one connecting two future actions, where one must take place before the second is possible. Take a student who wants to go to university but hasn't got the results of their exams yet. They cannot go to university until they have received their results. In the case of a good student who is expected to get good grades, then there is a good possibility of achieving the marks required to get to university, so the following sentence could be used:

IF	Condition	Result
	present simple	WILL + base verb
If	she gets good grades,	she will go to university.

We are talking about the future, but we use a present tense for the condition and will for the result. In this case, the person is sure about going to university. We can use other modal verbs in the result part of the sentence:

IF	Condition	Result	Possibility
If	she gets good grades,	she will go to university.	If the condition is met, then she definitely will go
If	he gets good grades,	he may go to university.	He is not sure about going to university.
If	she gets good grades,	she should go to university.	The speaker is expressing his or her opinion, giving advice.
If	he gets good grades,	he can go to university.	This means that it is possible.
If	she gets good grades,	she could go to university.	This means that it is possible, but not that likely.
If	he gets good grades,	he might go to university.	This means that it is possible, but not that likely.

We can also use different present forms in the condition part of the sentence:

IF	Condition	Reason for tense	Result
	present simple	an action in the future
If	I see her,		I'll ask her about it.
	present progressive	an unfinished present action
If	they are still working,		I'll go home.
	present progressive	a future arrangement
If	they are going,		I'll stay at home.
	present perfect	a finished action related to now
If	you have finished your meal,		I'll clear away the plates.
	WILL + base verb	making an agreement	WILL + base verb
If	you will work late today,		I will let you have Friday off.
	WILL + base verb	expressing displeasure because someone insists on doing something	WILL + base verb
If	you will drive too fast,		the police will stop you.

C) Second Conditional: Imaginary Present or Unlikely Future

The Second Conditional can be used to talk about imaginary present situations, where we are imagining something different from what is really the case. We can also use it to talk about things in the future that are unlikely to happen, as the condition is unlikely to be met. We use the past tense in the condition part and would for the result.

IF	Condition	Time	Result	Possibility
	past simple	present	WOULD + base verb	impossible
If	I had the time,		I would learn Italian.	I don't have the time, so I'm not going to learn Italian.
	past simple	future	WOULD + base verb	unlikely
If	I won the lottery		I would travel around the world.	There's a very small chance of winning the lottery, so the trip is unlikely

We can use other modal verbs in the past tense in the result part of the sentence:

IF	Condition	Result	Certainty
	past simple	WOULD + base verb
If	I had the time,	I would learn Italian.	Although unlikely to happen, the speaker is sure that they would do it given the opportunity.
If	I had more time,	I might learn Spanish.	Although unlikely to happen, it is only a possibility anyway.
If	I had more time,	I should learn some more about IT.	Although unlikely to happen, the speaker is saying that it would be a good idea, but is not committed to it.
If	I had more time	I could learn Hindi.	Although unlikely to happen, it is only a possibility anyway.

With the verb to be, there are two forms that can be used with I, he, she & it:

IF	Condition	Result
I, he, she, it	Were
If	I were you,	I'd marry her.
I, he, she, it	Was
If	I was you,	I'd marry her.

D) Third Conditional: Imaginary Past

The third conditional is used when we are talking about the past and imagining something different from what actually happened:

	Condition	Result	What actually happened
	Past Perfect	WOULD HAVE + Past Participle
If	I had known,	I would have helped.	I didn't know and didn't help.

IF	Condition	Result	Certainty
	past perfect	WOULD HAVE+ past participle
If	I had known,	I would have helped.	Although this didn't happen, the speaker is sure about the result.
If	I had known,	I could have helped.	Although this didn't happen, the result is only a possibility.
If	I had known,	I might have helped.	Although this didn't happen, the result is only a possibility.
If	you had known,	you should have helped.	Although this didn't happen, it is only a good suggestion or piece ofadvice.

There are some more conditionals formed by mixing some of these four. To learn more about these, see our glossary entry: English Conditionals.

Structure of Conditional Sentences

The structure of the conditionals is straightforward. There are two basic possibilities in terms of order in the sentence:

IF	Condition	Result
If	it rains,	we will get wet

or like this:

Result	IF	Condition
We will get wet	if	it rains.

Notice that we only use a comma in the first example.

Conditionals: Time and Probability Table

Probability	Conditional	Example	Time
Certain	zero conditional	If you heat water to 100 degrees celsius, it boils	any time
Likely	first conditional	If it rains, I will stay in.	future
Unlikely	second conditional	If I won the lottery, I would retire.	future
Impossible	second conditional	If I had the money, I would lend it to you	present
Impossible	third conditional	If I had seen him, I would have given him the message.	past

Fernando