lunes, 30 de junio de 2008

domingo, 29 de junio de 2008


Reading Comprehension!!*


A special Christmas Present





David wants to buy a Christmas present for a very special person, his mother. David's father gives him $5.00 a week pocket money and David puts $2.00 a week into his bank account. After three months David takes $20.00 out of his bank account and goes to the shopping mall. He looks and looks for a perfect gift.Suddenly he sees a beautiful brooch in the shape of his favourite pet. He says to himself "Mother loves jewelry, and the brooch costs only $l7.00." He buys the brooch and takes it home. He wraps the present in Christmas paper and places it under the tree. He is very excited and he is looking forward to Christmas morning to see the joy on his mother's face. But when his mother opens the present she screams with fright because she sees a spider.



A special Christmas present . Choose the correct answer :

1-What does David want to buy his Mother?
  • a special birthday present
  • a Christmas present
  • a spider ring
2-Who does David get his money from?
  • his pet
  • his mother
  • his father


3-How much money does David have in the bank?

  • $20.00
  • $5.00
  • $l7.00


4-What does David buy his mother?

  • a ring
  • a brooch
  • a spider

5-What does David do with the present when he takes it home?

  • he gives it to his mother
  • he wraps it in Christmas paper
  • he is very excited

6-Why does David's mother scream?

  • because the present is beautiful
  • because she doesn't like Christmas presents
  • because she thinks she sees a real spider

7-Why does David buy a spider brooch?

  • spiders are his favourite pet
  • he loves Christmas
  • to scare his mother

8-Where does David put the present on Christmas Eve?

  • under his pillow
  • under a spider
  • under the Christmas tree

Melisa Reyes

miércoles, 25 de junio de 2008

rocio chavez

Minaya Aguilar.

MODAL PERFECT

We can use the modal perfect to talk about the past

modal perfect= modal + have + past participle

e.g. You should have seen what Emma worw to the party


POSIBILITY:

Simon may/might/could have been at the party. I can´t really remember.

(= It´s possible he was at the party)


CERTAINTY:

Francis must have been 11 when he moved to France. (I´m sure he was 11)


HYPOTETICAL SITUATIONS:

I coul/woul have passed the exam if I´d studied harder

(= I didn´t pass because I didn´t study hard enough.)


OPINION:

You ought to/should have called me. (= You didn´t call me but I wish you

had called me.)


Note: modal perfect continuous = modal + have + been + ing form

e.g. We must have been dancing four hours.


We use the modal perfect continous:


for actions in progress on interrupted when another action happens

e.g. He can´t have been driving carefully when he crashed the card


Rocio Chavez

martes, 24 de junio de 2008

Modals I (ability, obligation, advice, permission)




The modals are:


Can (can´t / cannot) Could (couldn´t / could not)


May (may not) Migth (migthn´t / migth not)


Will (won´t / will not) Would (wouldn´t / would not)


Must (mustn´t / must not) Should (shouldn´t / should not)




Be careful!! Modals have only one form. For example, they do not take an "-s" in the third person singular.




The semi - modals are:


Have to


It has a similar meaning to must, but it does change its form depending on person and tense:


have / has (got) to (don´t / doesn´t have to / do / does not have to, haven´t / hasn´t got to / have / has not got to + didn´t have to, etc)


ought to (oughtn´t / ought not to)


It has a similar meaning to sholud. It doesn´t change its form depending on person and tense.



Be careful!! Modals are never followed by the full infinitive (with to). Use the bare infinitive.


Example: I can´t go to the party.


Brian Rueda Pichilingue

Examples















Minaya Aguilar

sábado, 21 de junio de 2008

Modal perfect

We can use the modal perfect to talk about the past.
modal perfect = modal + have + past participle
e.g. You should have seen what Emma wore to the party.

possibility Simon may/might/could have been al the party. I can't really remember. (= It's possible he was at the party.)

certainty Francis must have been 11 when he moved to france. (= I'm sure he was 11.)
Francis can't/couldn't have been 10 when he moved to france. (= I'm sure he wasn't 10.)

hypothetical I could/would have passed the exam if I'd studied harder.
situatons (= I didn't pass because I didn't study hard enoungh.)
note: here could = would have benn able to

opinion You ought to/should have called me. (= You didn't call me but I wish you had called me.)
He oughtn't to/shouldn't have spoken to her like that. (= he did speak to her like that but I think what he did was wrong.)

Note: modal perfect continuous = modal + have + been + -ing form
e.g. We must have been dancing for hours.

We use the modal perfect continuous:
- For actions in progresss or interrupted when another action happens
e.g. He can't have been driving carefully when he crashed the car.

- To emphasise that an action continued for a long time
e.g. Jan must have been talking on the phone for al least 3 hours!

Minaya Aguilar.

miércoles, 18 de junio de 2008

Simple Perfect (simple and continuous)

We use present perfect simple for:

- Actions and situations taht happened at an unspecified time before the moment of speaking.

e.g. I have seen that film loads of times. (before now)
I've never heard of that pop group before.
She's just turned off the TV. (not long before now)

- Actions and situations that started in the past and still happen, or are still true, at the moment of speaking.

e.g. She has written short stories since she was a child. (she still writes short stories)
I have believed in ghosts ever since that night. (I still believe in ghosts)

Present perfect simple (positive):
I/You/We/They + have+ past participle
He/She + has + past participle

Present perfect simple (negative):
I/You/We/They + haven't/have not + past participle
He/She + hasn't/has not + past participle

Present Perfect simple (question form):
Have + I/you/we/they + past participle...?
Has + he/ she + past participle...?

Time expressions often used with present perfect simple

for (+ period of time) e.g. I have lived in Belgium for three years.
since (+ time when it started) e.g. I have lived in Belgium since 2003.
just e.g. He has just woken up.
already e.g. I've got that CD already. I have already got that CD.
yet (with negatives and questions) e.g. I haven't seen that film yet. Have you seen the new Mel Gibson film yet?
still (with negatives) e.g. I still haven't found my sunglasses.
recently/lately e.g. I've bought a lot of magazines recently.
so far e.g. I've read 100 pages of this book so far.
before e.g. Have you eaten Chinese food before?
ever/never e.g. Have you ever been to Germany?. I've never been to China.


Be careful! We often use present perfect simple with the superlative and with ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc).

e.g. It's the best film I've ever seen. It's the best time I've been to South America.

Carl has been to Mexico. = Carl is not in Mexico now.
Carl has gone to mexico. = Carl is in Mexico or on his way to Mexico now.

We use present perfect continuos for:

- Actions and situations that started in the past and still continue al the moment of speaking.

e.g. She has been working as a journalist for three years.

- Temporary actions and situations in the recent past.

e.g. I've just been readingan interesting article about celebrities.

Present perfect continuous (positive):
I/You/We/They + have + been + -ing form
He/She + has + been + -ing gorm

Present perfect continuous (negative):
I/You/We/They + haven't/have not + been + -ing form
He/She + hasn't/has not + been + -ing form

Present perfect continuous (question form):
Have + I/you/we/they + been + -ing form...?
Has + he/she + been + -ing form...?

Time expressions often used with present perfect continuous

for (+period of time) e.g. I have been living in Belgium for three years.
since (+ time when it started) e.g. I have been living in belgium since 2003.
just e.g. he has just been playing football.
recently/lately e.g. I've been seeing a lot of Karen recently.
all day, all morning, etc e.g. I've been doing my homework all evening. I need a break now.

Be careful! Something there is very little difference in meaning between present perfect simple and present perfect continuous:

e.g. I have lived here for two years now. (= I moved here two years ago.)
I have been living here for two years now. (= I moved here two years ago.)

Sometimes there is a big difference in meaning:

e.g. I've lived in Paris, London and Rome. (= I don't live in Paris now.)
I've been living in Paris for two years now. (= I live in Paris.)



Minaya Aguilar.

martes, 17 de junio de 2008

Will and be going to.

We use both will and be going to to talk about the future. Sometimes there is very little difference in meaning. It is often just a matter of formality. Will is generally more formal than be going to.

We can use either will or be going to for:
  • Facts about the future.

There will be an eclipse of the sun tomorrow. (formal)

There´s going to be an eclipse tomorrow. (informal)

  • Predictions (opinios about the future) not based on present evidence.

One day people will have holidays on Mars. (formal)

One day people are going to have holidays on Mars. (informal)

  • Decisions made at the moment of speaking.

I know! I´ll get Dad a DVD for Christmas.

I know! I´m going to get Dad a DVD for Christmas.

NOTE: Will emphasises the decision, whereas be going to emphasises the intention. The meaning, however, is basically the same in both sentences.

We can use will for:

  • most first conditional sentences.
  • offers, suggestions and request.

BE CAREFUL!

With offers and suggestions in the questions form, we do not use will with I and we. We use shall:

Example: Will I help you with the washing-up? (mistake).

Shall I help you with the washing-up?

We can use Be going to for:

  • Plans and intentions (which you already have when you speak)
  • Predictions based on present evidence.

Brian Rueda Pichilingue.