The Top 10 Conditionals Song Lyrics

How to Pronounce -ed in English 

By www.englishclub.com

The past simple tense and past participle of all regular verbs end in -ed. For example:

base verb (v1)	past simple (v2)	past participle (v3)
work	worked	worked

In addition, many adjectives are made from the past participle and so end in -ed. For example:

• I like painted furniture.

The question is: How do we pronounce the -ed?
The answer is: In 3 ways - / Id/ or / t/ or / d/

If the base verb ends in one of these sounds:		example base verb*:	example with -ed:	pronounce the -ed:	extra syllable?
unvoiced	/t/	want	wanted	/ Id/	yes
voiced	/d/	end	ended
unvoiced	/p/	hope	hoped	/ t/	no
	/f/	laugh	laughed
	/s/	fax	faxed
	/S/	wash	washed
	/tS/	watch	watched
	/k/	like	liked
voiced	all other sounds, for example...	play	played	/ d/
		allow	allowed
		beg	begged

* note that it is the sound that is important, not the letter or spelling. For example, "fax" ends in the letter "x" but the sound /s/; "like" ends in the letter "e" but the sound /k/.

Exceptions

The following -ed words used as adjectives are pronounced with /Id/:

aged blessed crooked

dogged learned naked

ragged wicked wretched

So we say:

• an aged man /Id/
• a blessed nuisance /Id/
• a dogged persistence /Id/
• a learned professor - the professor, who was truly learned /Id/
• a wretched beggar - the beggar was wretched /Id/

But when used as real verbs (past simple and past participle), the normal rules apply and we say:

• he aged quickly /d/
• he blessed me /t/
• they dogged him /d/
• he has learned well /d/ or /t/

2nd CONDITIONAL.

Second conditional

copyright: www.englishgrammarsecrets.com

The Second Conditional is used to talk about 'impossible' situations.

• If we were in London today, we would be able to go to the concert in Hyde Park.
• If I had millions dollars, I'd give a lot to charity.
• If there were no hungry people in this world, it would be a much better place.
• If everyone had clean water to drink, there would be a lot less disease.

Note that after I / he/ she /it we often use the subjunctive form 'were' and not 'was'. (Some people think that 'were' is the only 'correct' form but other people think 'was' is equally 'correct' .)

• If she were happy in her job, she wouldn't be looking for another one.
• If I lived in Japan, I'd have sushi every day.
• If they were to enter our market, we'd have big problems.

Note the form 'If I were you' which is often used to give advice.

• If I were you, I'd look for a new place to live.
• If I were you, I'd go back to school and get more qualifications.

The Second Conditional is also used to talk about 'unlikely' situations.

• If I went to China, I'd visit the Great Wall.
• If I was the President, I'd reduce taxes.
• If you were in my position, you'd understand.

Note that the choice between the first and the second conditional is often a question of the speaker's attitude rather than of facts. Compare these examples. Otto thinks these things are possible, Peter doesn't.

• Otto – If I win the lottery, I'll buy a big house.
• Peter – If I won the lottery, I'd buy a big house.
• Otto – If I get promoted, I'll throw a big party.
• Peter – If I got promoted, I'd throw a big party.
• Otto – If my team win the Cup, I'll buy champagne for everybody.
• Peter – If my team won the Cup, I'd buy champagne for everybody.

Note that the 'If clause' can contain the past simple or the past continuous.

• If I was still working in Brighton, I would commute by train.
• If she were coming, she would be here by now.
• If they were thinking of selling, I would want to buy.

Note that the main clause can contain 'would' 'could' or 'might.

• If I had the chance to do it again, I would do it differently.
• If we met up for lunch, we could go to that new restaurant.
• If I spoke to him directly, I might be able to persuade him.

Also note that sometimes the 'if clause' is implied rather than spoken.

• What would I do without you? ("if you weren't here")
• Where would I get one at this time of night? ("if I wanted one")
• He wouldn't agree. ("if I asked him")

exercise 1

exercise 2

exercise 3

exercise 4

exercise 5

exercise 6

 

Aprobar la expresión escrita de los exámenes de la EOI,

Aprobar la expresión escrita de los exámenes de la EOI, 

o de Cambridge, en 5 pasos. 

Copyright: http://elblogdelingles.blogspot.com.es

Quería esperar a tener más posts en el blog sobre temas específicos para mejorar la expresión escrita (puntuación, orden de las palabras), pero hace unos días encontré esta fantástica página donde vienen prácticamente todos los aspectos a tener en cuenta en la expresión escrita. Aunque no quita para que yo escriba en el futuro sobre los mismos temas en este blog -con otro enfoque y en español- he decidido daros ya los consejos para aprobar los "writings" de los exámenes de la EOI o de Cambridge. Así que aquí van.

Razones por las cuales es difícil escribir en inglés correctamente

Hay dos razones por las cuales puede resultar difícil aprobar el "writing" de estos exámenes.

La primera, y principal razón, es que tus pensamientos están escritos en tu cabeza en español y, por tanto, cada vez que intentas escribir una frase en inglés lo que haces es pensarla en español e intentar traducirla.   Como consecuencia de ello, lo que escribes en inglés es casi siempre incorrecto.

Por ello, considero que es inútil empezar a escribir antes de tener cierto dominio de las estructuras en inglés. En este contexto, es importante que aprendas primero las estructuras correctas y luego intentes escribir, y no al contrario.

Para que compruebes hasta qué punto tus pensamientos están escritos en tu idioma materno, haremos una sencilla prueba.

Escribe, por favor, un párrafo sobre el trabajo, o los estudios, que estás realizando actualmente. ¡Venga! Ponte a pensar cómo escribirías ese párrafo corto. ¿Lo tienes ya?

Te pongo, a continuación, un ejemplo de párrafo que he encontrado escrito por un estudiante de inglés.

¿Se parece este párrafo al tuyo?

(1)Actually I'm working in a (2) juridical advising company and (3) my functions in this company is (4) concerning to taxes and financial investment on markets,  (5 y 6) advising to the companies which is the best investment for them.

Estarás conmigo que ese párrafo es la traducción literal de algo así como:

Actualmente estoy trabajando en una empresa de asesoramiento jurídico y mis funciones en esta empresa están relacionadas con los impuestos e inversiones financieras en los mercados, asesorando a las empresas  sobre cuál es la mejor inversión para ellas.

Veremos ahora cuántos errores contiene este texto.

Lista de errores

1. Actually: Es incorrecto. Es una traducción literal de "actualmente". Actually, en inglés, no significa "actualmente", significa "realmente". Podrías decir, por ejemplo: "No, actually, I'm not working there". "No, realmente, no estoy trabajando allí".  Para decir "actualmente" deberás decir: "currently", "at the moment", "in the present". Nunca  "actually".

2. Juridical advising company: No es inglés. El nombre de este tipo de empresas es  "Law Firm", pero quien ha escrito el párrafo piensa directamente en "Empresa de asesoramiento jurídico" y así lo escribe, quizás con la ayuda de un traductor automático. Mira, en estos ejemplos, como aparece "legal advice" o "legal counsel", pero jamás "Juridical advising".

3. My functions:  Nuevamente una traducción literal de "mis funciones". No suena muy inglés, aunque lo he visto en varios párrafos en internet, creo que es más frecuente decir: "My responsibilities" o "My job involves".  Además, "my functions" es plural, por tanto, no se puede decir: "is". Tengo que decir: are... En este caso, el autor del párrafo ha perdido la concordancia sujeto-verbo.

4. Concerning to: Traducción literal de "concerniente a". Se dice: "concerning taxes" (sin "to"). Mira aquí cómo se usa "concerning". Verás que no hay ningún  ejemplo en que "to" vaya detrás de "concerning".

5. Advising to the companies:  Traducción literal de "aconsejando a las empresas". No se dice "advising to the companies". Se dice: "advising companies on". Mira aquí cómo se usa "advising".Verás que no hay ningún ejemplo en que "to" vaya detrás de "advising".

6. El texto tiene, finalmente, errores de estructura, tales como los que hay en esta frase:
"...financial investment on markets, advising to the companies which is the best investment for them..."   No sólo no debió poner "advising to the", sino que además la estructura de la frase es incorrecta ya que no tiene coherencia.  Nota: tres líneas = 6 errores. No está mal.


Este último error, conecta directamente con la segunda razón por la cual es difícil escribir en inglés correctamente. Para escribir bien necesitas conocer la técnica correcta. NO se trata de escribir solamente, se trata de escribir de una determinada manera que debes de aprender.

Veamos cómo escribir el mismo texto en inglés sin recurrir a "la traducción de pensamientos".

I’m currently working in a law firm as a tax advisor. My responsibilities are to provide legal advice on taxes and financial investments for companies.

 ¿Ves las diferencias?

El texto es más corto y da más información más precisa sobre lo que hace el autor del texto.

¿Cómo se logra esto? Aprendiendo una técnica y practicando mucho.

La técnica correcta en 5 pasos

¿Recuerdas que para probar el exámenes orales de la EOI necesitabas un sistema?

También para aprobar la expresión escrita necesitas un sistema. Si no tienes técnica, o tu técnica no es la correcta, no aprobarás.

Esta es la técnica correcta en 5 pasos:

1) Debes conocer el estilo de texto que tienes que escribir.

Aquí tienes ejemplos de diferentes estilos de textos para el FCE (que también te valen para la EOI).  Estudia bien y analiza cada uno de estos estilos. Recuerda que los estilos son tu mapa y sin mapa no puedes llegar a ningún sitio.

2)  Antes de empezar a redactar tu texto, escribe tus ideas.

Para que se te ocurran ideas debes intentar preguntarte y responderte preguntas como: ¿Dónde? ¿Cuándo? ¿Por qué? ¿Cómo? ¿A quién/es? ¿De quién? ¿Qué ocurrió? ¿Qué hacer?


Por ejemplo: Tienes que escribir una carta a editor de un periódico local en relación con los contenedores de reciclaje que han colocado en tu zona para fomentar el reciclaje. Aquí tienes el examen . Fuente: EOI de Durango (País Vasco)

La carta tiene ya escrito el principio y el final. Tú tienes que pensar en todos los problemas que la colocación de estos contenedores ha supuesto.

La carta comienza con:

Sir,


I was extremely pleased when our local council eventually placed special bins in the area to encourage recycling. There are, however, several problems.

For one thing________________________ (a completar)

Y acaba con:

I do think that these suggestions might help solve the situation. The rest depends both on the council and our neighbours' willingnesss to act in a more civilised manner. (Name, Surname and ID Number)
************
Ideas:

- Los contenedores son de material inflamable. Responde a ¿cómo o de qué?
- Unos gamberros quemaron los contenedores. Responde a ¿qué ocurrió?
- Podrían reemplazarse por otro tipo de contenedores no inflamables. Responde a ¿cómo?
- Los contenedores están situados junto a una zona donde hay muchas ramas secas. Responde a ¿dónde?
- Podrían situarse a 100 metros junto a una zona sin vegetación. Responde a ¿cómo y dónde?


3) Empieza a escribir un borrador con frases cortas.

Escribe solo una frase para cada idea. No más. Esto es muy importante así que lo repetiré. Escribe sólo una frase por idea. Luego, las podrás unir con mucho cuidado valiéndote de conectores.

Por ejemplo:

• For one thing, the recycling bins are made of plastic. --> Material inflamable
• Unfortunately, they were burnt  by a group of yobs last night.--> ¿Qué ocurrió?
• They could be replaced by metal bins which are non-flammable--> ¿Qué hacer?

4) Aprende a utilizar las estructuras correctamente y ordénalas. Aquí tienes ejemplos de estructuras de diferentes tipos de oraciones en inglés. Aquí tienes una muy buena página de la BBC para ayudarte a organizar tus frases. 


5) Fíjate en el "word order" u "orden de las palabras". Esto, también, es muy importante porque el orden de las palabras no es tan importante en español como en inglés. Esta página te ayudará a organizarte. Más ayuda.Y más ayuda. No te olvides de los conectores para enlazar tus ideas. Tampoco te olvides de las comas. Y de otros detalles de la puntuación.  Por último, una vez que hayas acabado el texto, no te olvides de revisarlo.

Además, puedes utilizar la demo gratuita de paragraph punch para prácticar. Y Linguee junto a Bab-la.

EXERCISE ONE
EXERCISE TWO
EXERCISE THREE
EXERCISE FOUR

Used to 
(from www.englishgrammar secrets.com)

Used to do

We use 'used to' for something that happened regularly in the past but no longer happens.

• I used to smoke a packet a day but I stopped two years ago.
• Ben used to travel a lot in his job but now, since his promotion, he doesn't.
• I used to drive to work but now I take the bus.

We also use it for something that was true but  no longer is.

• There used to be a cinema in the town but now there isn't.
• She used to have really long hair but she's had it all cut off.
• I didn't use to like him but now I do.

'Used to do' is different from 'to be used to doing' and 'to get used to doing'

to be used to doing

We use 'to be used to doing' to say that something is normal, not unusual.

• I'm used to living on my own. I've done it for quite a long time.
• Hans has lived in England for over a year so he is used to driving on the left now.
• They've always lived in hot countries so they aren't used to the cold weather here.

to get used to doing

We use 'to get used to doing' to talk about the process of something becoming normal for us.

• I didn't understand the accent when I first moved here but I quickly got used to it.
• She has started working nights and is still getting used to sleeping during the day.
• I have always lived in the country but now I'm beginning to get used to living in the city.

TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION: SINGLE SEX OR CO-EDUCATION SCHOOLS?

Watch this slideshare and prepare & organize your ideas 

for a discussion on the given topic:

Single Sex Education Versus Coeducation from missymoo424

PRACTISE SOME PHRASAL VERBS.

Exercises on Phrasal Verbs (http://www.ego4u.com)

• Phrasal Verbs with 'up'
• Phrasal Verbs with 'on'
• Phrasal Verbs with 'turn'
• Mixed Exercise 1
• Mixed Exercise 2

• Phrasal Verbs with 'out'
• Phrasal Verbs with 'down'
• Phrasal Verbs with 'look'
• Mixed Exercise 1
• Mixed Exercise 2

• Phrasal Verbs with 'up'
• Phrasal Verbs with 'out'
• Phrasal Verbs with 'off'
• Phrasal Verbs with 'come'
• Phrasal Verbs with 'get'
• Phrasal Verbs with 'go'
• Mixed Exercise 1
• Mixed Exercise 2

Four Types And Stages In Education

Education system has come a long way since its origin. Present day education is much more structured in comparison to yesteryears, when there was no such concept of a formal education system. Education can be defined as the knowledge of putting one’s potential into maximum use. It helps a person to make the right decision in the sphere of life.
Four Types of education:
Usually, there are 3 types of education system as discussed in the following lines.
1. Formal education: Formal education can be defined as a hierarchically structured and chronologically graded education system. It comprises of primary education, higher education and full time professional training. This education system is referred to as mainstream or traditional education.
2. Adult education: As the name suggests, adult education refers to a practice of educating adults. There are different forms of adult education, namely, formal class based learning, e-learning and self-directed learning. There are also some career specific courses that adults can learn. Some of the common career specific courses are real estate license, medical billing, bookkeeping, etc. Most of these courses are available online.
3. Alternative education: This type of education is actually an alternative approach to traditional or mainstream education. This educational alternative is often rooted in several philosophies that are quite different from that of mainstream education.
4. Special education: There are some students who require special learning needs, which are addressed through special education. According to IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), a child is first identified as one who requires special education support; then, the child is evaluated and on its basis, his/her eligibility is determined. Finally, an Individualized Education Program (IEP) is written and the plan is carried out effectively.
Four Stages in formal or mainstream education:
There are primarily 4 stages in a formal or mainstream education. The stages are given below.
1. Nursery education: Often referred to as preschool education, nursery education is the basic stage of formal teaching. It comprises of nursery school and kindergarten, which serves as a transition from home to the beginning of formal education. With the help of social interaction and creative play, children (between 3-5 years of age) are taught how to develop basic skills.
2. Primary education: Elementary or primary education refers to a first few years of structured, formal education. Usually, it consists of 6-8 years of schooling that usually starts from the age of 5 or 6. However, the basic age of primary education slightly varies from one country to another. Most of the countries have made it compulsory for students to receive primary education. Apart from basic literacy, the main aim of primary education is to establish foundations in a variety of subjects, such as, mathematics, science and social sciences.
3. Secondary education: It is the final stage of school education that is offered during a child’s adolescence. This stage is characterized by transition from a comprehensive primary education to an optional and selective form of training. In this stage, a child develops in depth knowledge on specialized subjects.
4. Higher education: Tertiary or higher education is a non-compulsory educational level, which comprises of undergraduate and post graduate education along with vocational education and training. Usually, a person needs to admit in a college or a university to receive higher education. It is the most specialized form of an educational system.
It is advisable that you complete higher education. On completion of the course/courses, you’ll receive academic degrees, diplomas or certificates that will help you to get a better job, which in turn, will help you to build a solid financial footing for yourself.

Taken from:  http://www.onediy.com/education/four-types-and-stages-in-education.html


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