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

Annoying habits

Every one of us have their personal dislikes, these little things (although sometimes not so little) that really piss us off. They can be some sounds, people's attitudes, gestures and habits. And here in the picture above you can find some expressions to rant about them.

As this is way too common in our daily lives, TV has covered this issue in many occasions. Series like Friends (you can watch the video here) and How I met your Mother explored the topic in some of their episodes.

You can find a full episode on YouTube, "Spoiler Alert", in which the group realize their friends' most annoying flaws.

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

Dialogues and schedules for the speaking exam (UPDATED)

As you've been informed, in December we'll take some days to take a mock exam and, as part of that,
we'll do the dialogues this time. So, as a treat and for you to have the chance to prepare them better, here you've got the speaking task models. They're the same that you will have the day of the exam, four different tasks in total. Download and print them if you want to, and cheer up! I'm sure you'll do your best!

Dialogue tasks

Remember that on a different post you can find the Speaking tips and useful language, as well as the rest of the topics and the exam sample provided by Conselleria.

You can check your appointment in this same post. I'll keep updating it if any changes are made.

• Speaking schedule for Group 27 (Tuesday-Thursday)
• Speaking schedule for Group 29 (Monday-Wednesday): here and here.

Remember that we won't stop classes. You all have to be punctual at school when the speaking tasks are finished to take the other parts of the exam and carry on with the lessons. Please, if you're coming for the speaking part, try to be there on time so as not to delay the exams.

And talking of exams, these days we'll also take the rest of the tasks as follows:

For the Group 29 on Monday and Wednesday:

• Monday 12th: Reading.
• Wednesday 14th: Listening.
• Monday 19th: Writing.

For the Group 27 on Tuesday and Thursday:

• Tuesday 13th: Reading
• Thursday 15th: Listening
• Tuesday 20th: Writing

Finally, remember to relax, do great and enjoy. Good luck to everyone!

Inaccuracies in movies

So historical movies aren't always accurate. Mistakes can easily slip, either deliberately for the sake of drama, or by accident. Who isn't familiar with the famous plane that can be spotted in Troy? Want to know which others we can find? Check the article 15 of the most historically inaccurate movies and watch the YouTube video Top 10 Historically Inaccurate Movies.

When you're done, you can also have a look at the counterpart: the most accurate movies. What's your favourite? Do you know any other examples?