Keeping distance

Sometimes, we feel we need to keep distance from what we say. Maybe because we intend to say it as gossip, or perhaps we're not sure of the veracity of the facts. It may also be because we don't want to be given the authorship of the ideas we express.

For that reason, we have the expressions of distancing, which allow us all the possibilities above. As always, this is a matter of practice, so make sure you revise the activities included on the slides, corresponding to the exercises on the Grammar Bank on your Student's Books.

Distancing from Míriam

Would rather & It's (high) time

To finish with the unreal uses of past tenses, here you have the slides that cover how to use the expressions would rather and It's time.

Would rather, it's time from Míriam

Complete the activities on 5B Grammar Bank on page 149 and check the answers here. Remember that you'll find extra practice on the tab Further practice.

Conditionals and wishes

Expressing the idea of conditions to speak about future, realistic, unrealistic or imaginary consequences is very useful in English. And although is an extense area to deal with, everything's a matter of practice and being sure when and how to use them.

Make sure you revise the slides for better understanding and consolidation. When you're done, rewatch the fragments of The Big Bang Theory using the second conditional, this time for fun 😏

Conditionals and wishes from Míriam

Inversion

Inversion is one of the many ways we can use to add emphasis. It's a nice way to give more strength to an idea as long as we don't overuse it. Check the slides I've prepared for you and have some practice here.

Inversion from Míriam

Speculation and deduction

This should be useful to you. It might help you revise how to make speculations by using some expressions other than maybe, perhaps or it's possible. The more varied your lexis is, the better. So make sure you give it a try.

Speculation and deduction from Míriam

Narrative tenses

The narrative tenses are used to describe actions and events that happened in the past, whether they were repeated, progressive or finished actions. This diagram on the picture should help you to get a better image on their use.

The BBC Learning English website has some interesting contents, which we can use as it's the case now.

On the other hand, a common mistake can be made as long as the structure used to is concerned, as it can be sometimes confused with the similar-sounding be used to and get used to. Make sure you revise it with the following slides.

Be used to; get used to from Míriam

Get your learning started

Maybe if we had to decide on the most used verb in English this would be "get". There are a bunch of expressions and phrasal verbs including this one. And also many verbs that can be replaced by this, which is very commonly done when speaking.

Rewatch the animated comic video Procrastination and spot all the expressions with "get".

Grammar get from Míriam

Remember that you can have further practice on the Oxford website doing the online activities,

Finally, as a treat, it's always interesting to find out about new stuff and as we were dealing with procrastination maybe you feel curious enough to check this TED Talk "Inside the mind of a master procrastinator".

Advanced use of pronouns

Hi there!

Here I bring you the slides concerning the advanced uses of pronouns. Revise them carefully and remember to do the activities on the Grammar Bank section from your books.

Pronouns from Míriam

Also, take some time to relax with the Céline Dion's song All by myself. Enjoy yourselves at the weekend and see you next week!

Discourse markers: linkers

Hi again!

It's time to post the slides related to linkers. Remember why they're so important in discourse: it
makes it more enjoyable, easy to read/hear and more natural. Have a further look, and practice with your Student's and Workbook in order to take them in.

 

Discourse markers from Míriam

"Have": main verb or auxiliary verb

Hello and welcome to our blog!

This first post will deal with grammar, in which you'll find the slides seen in class, and which I totally recommend to have a look at again before doing the activities at home. You can download them by pressing the button at the down-right corner, which will open a new tab to the original Slideshare site, and there look for the "Download" button.

Have: main verb or auxiliary verb from Míriam

Remember to use to workbook for further practice, and you can also check the book's website for extra online activities.

See ya!