Possessives

The possessive form is used with nouns referring to people, groups of people, countries, and animals. 'Belonging to' or 'ownership' is one of the relationships it expresses:

·         John owns a car. ('John' is the possessor or owner)

·         It is John's car.

·         America has some gold reserves. ('America' is the owner)

·         They are America's gold reserves.

It can also express other relationships, for example:

Where someone works or studies or spends time:

·         John goes to this school. This is John's school.

·         John sleeps in this room. This is John's room.

a family relationship:

·         John's mother

·         The Queen's daughter

qualities:

·         John's patience.

·         The politician's hypocrisy.

Form

To form the possessive, add 's ('apostrophe -s') to the noun.
If the noun is plural, or already ends in -s, just add:' (an apostrophe).

For names ending in -s:

In speaking we add the sound /z/ to the name, but in writing it is possible to use either 's or just '. The 's form is more common.

e.g. Thomas's book, James's shop.

Examples:

·         The car of John = John's car.

·         The room of the girls = The girls' room.

·         Clothes for men = Men's clothes.

·         The sister of Charles = Charles' sister.

·         The boat of the sailors = The sailors' boat.

Teacher: Anna

Prerpositions of place

To describe the location of something or someone we use the prepositions of place.
The generally used prepositions of place are the following:

in                                      
on
in front of
behind
below
above
between
among
around
far
near
into
out of
onto
off
opposite
under
next to

So when we want to ask about the location of something (or someone):

-       Where is the muffin?

-       It is in the box.

-       It is on the box….. Now we have various ways to explain it.

I hope you found it easy and now you can do this x-word:

Teacher Hajni

A, An or The?

When do we say "the dog" and when do we say "a dog"? (Today we talk only about singular, countable nouns.)
The and a/an are called "articles". We divide them into "definite" and "indefinite" like this:

Definite: The
Indefinite: A/An

We use "definite" to mean sure, certain. "Definite" is particular.
We use "indefinite" to mean not sure, not certain. "Indefinite" is general.
When we are talking about one thing in particular, we use the. When we are talking about one thing in general, we use a or an.
Think of the sky at night. In the sky we see 1 moon and millions of stars. So normally we would say:

I saw the moon last night.
I saw a star last night.

Of course, often we can use the or a/an for the same word. It depends on the situation, not the word. Look at these examples:
We want to buy an umbrella. (Any umbrella, not a particular umbrella.)
Where is the umbrella? (We already have an umbrella. We are looking for our umbrella, a particular umbrella.)

Teacher Gustavo

POSSESSIVES

Known as possessive -‘s, genitive -‘s or Saxon genitive.  We use it to show that something belongs to somebody. Read about the different uses in the boxes and do the exercises

SINGULAR NOUNS

We add -‘s to a singular noun:

the boy’s ball

the girl’s father

the pupil’s classroom

PLURAL NOUNS

We add an apostrophe (‘) to a plural noun:

the boys’ ball

the girls’ father

the pupils’ classroom

PROPER NOUNS (NAMES)

Both uses in the examples are allowed:

Chris’ dog and/or Chris’s dog

Doris’ cat and/or Doris’s cat

BUT: Moses’ and Jesus’

IRREGULAR NOUNS

the child’s / children’s dog

the mouse’s / mice’s food

the man’s / men’s car

the hero’s / heroes’ fear

the wolf’s / wolves’ den

-‘s vs of

We can use of instead of -‘s, but -‘s is more usual and natural:

the mother of my son

my son’s mother

Teacher: Anna

Word order in English sentences

Word Order in Positive Sentences

For the beginning, remember this simple rule:

Subject                                   verb(s)                                            object

   I                                          speak                                                English

   I                                       can speak                                             English

 If you are a more advanced learner, remember the following rule:

Subject      verb          indirect object        direct object             place           time

I                will tell           you                    the story              at school     tomorrow.

The word order in negative sentences is the same as in affirmative sentences. Note, however, that in negative sentences we usually need an auxiliary verb:

Subject      verbs     indirect object         direct object      place             time

I              will not tell         you                the story         at school        tomorrow.

Teacher: Elena 

As long as x Unless

As long as

Take a look at this sentence:

"I will go if it is free."

(If it is free, I will go.)

In this sentence we can change if to as long as and it keeps the same meaning:

"I will go as long as it is free."

(As long as it is free, I will go)

Here are some other examples:

"You can borrow my bike as long as you are careful." = You can borrow my bike if you are careful.
"You will pass the test as long as you study hard." = You will pass the test if you study hard.

Unless

Now let's look at the same if sentence using a negative:

"If it isn't free, I won't go."

(I won't go if it isn't free.)

Here we can use unless to keep the same meaning:

"Unless it is free, I won't go."

(I won't go unless it is free.)

Unless means except if or only if.

Here are some other examples:

"I'll walk to town unless it rains." = If it doesn't rain, I'll walk to town.

"Unless we leave now, we’ll be late." = If we don't leave now, we'll be late.
"You can't enter unless you have a ticket." = Only if you have a ticket, can you enter.

Teacher Gustavo

 TIPS ON HOW TO MEMORIZE ( ESPECIALLY THE IRREGULAR VERBS IN THE PAST TENSE)

Sounds familiar guys? I know that memorizing is probably the worst part of learning English but with a little help we can get there. So here are some tips about that.

1.Visualize what you are learning can help you memorize faster and easily. One very effective way is to close your eyes and imagine you are actually touching the things which you are learning. For memorizing speech, using different color ink for different parts is a very effective way.

2.It is a fact that remembering funny things is quite easy. To remember something make some funny comments on the topic, like a joke about the shape, formula etc. Believe me this technique actually works and you will never ever forget in your life. 

3. A very good way to invigorate your brain and to edifice your critical thinking abilities, start playing brain games. This includes puzzle games, crossword etc

4. As it is said, practice makes a person perfect. So practice memorizing. Every day try to memorize something, like a speech, poetry or may be a simple phrase. Try to recall it and write it throughout the day. You may find it bit difficult in the starting days, but believe me after practicing for a few days you will see a drastic change in your memorizing capabilities.

I hope this will help you guys.

Kisses..

Teacher: Elena 

Hello guys =)

Hoje tenho uma dica boa sobre adjetivos.

Os adjetivos em inglês são usados para qualificar ou modificar um substantivo ou um pronome. Eles aparecem antes do substantivo ou depois dos verbos de ligação na frase. 

Veja os exemplos:

• I have a blue car. (Eu tenho um carro azul.)
• She is smart. (Ela é esperta.)

      Porém, alguns adjetivos possuem uma terminação diferente. É o caso dos adjetivos que terminam com –ing e –ed. Observe:

• Julia's job is boring. (O emprego de Julia é chato.)
• Julia is bored. (Julia está entediada.)

Perceba que no primeiro exemplo o adjetivo boring refere-se ao emprego de Julia. Já no segundo exemplo, refere-se a ela.

• Julia is bored because her job is boring.

        (Julia está entediada porque seu emprego é chato.) 

Agora compare outros exemplos:

* interesting (interessante) * interested (interessado(a))

• Julia is very interesting. (Julia é muito interessante.)
• Julia is very interested in Arts. (Julia é muito interessada em Artes.)

* surprising (surpreendente) * surprised (surpreso(a))

• This film is surprising! (Este filme é surpreendente!)
• I am surprised with this film! (Eu estou surpreso(a) com este filme!)

* shocking (chocante) / shocked (chocado(a))

• This scene is shocking. (Esta cena é chocante.)
• Everybody is shocked.  (Todos estão chocados.)

Resumindo:

• Adjetivos terminados em  –ING é usado para descrever as características de pessoas e coisas.
• Adjetivos terminados em  – ED é usado para descrever sentimentos.

Teacher Andreza

Preposition with Gerund

Preposition + Gerund ( -ing)

If a verb comes after a preposition such as in, at, with, about, of, on, etc. the verb  must end in-ing. Let's see the following examples :

1. I'm interested in working for you.
2. She's very good at singing slow songs.
3. He's fed up with listening to his complaints.
4. Indonesian people are excited about going on Idul Fitri holiday.
5. They take advantage of having a motorcycle to solve traffic jam problem.
6. These shoes are good for dancing.
7. Instead of going abroad, they went to see their parents in the country.
8. Before eating, we always say a prayer.
9. After leaving school, I worked as a government employee.
10. He banged the door without saying anything.
11. We can be more and more intelligent by listening to others.

Verb + Preposition + Gerund

There are a lot of verbs with preposition can be followed by gerund. Here are the verbs and their prepositions.

1. succeed in
2. dream of
3. think of
4. think about
5. approve of
6. disapprove of
7. look forward to
8. insist on
9. decide against
10. apologise for

Let's see the following examples :

1. Have you succeeded in finding a good job?
2. I always dream of being rich.

Verb + Object + Preposition + Gerund

The following verbs have the structure : verb + object + preposition + -ing.

1. accuse .......of
2. suspect .........of
3. congratulate...... on
4. prevent .........from
5. stop .......... from
6. thank ............. for
7. forgive.......... for
8. warn ......... against

Let's see the following examples :

1. They accused me of stealing the book.
2. The police suspected the man of being a spy.
3. The headmaster congratulated him on getting the highest score on exam.
4. Please prevent the baby from eating the soil.
5. The guard stopped everyone from entering the building.
6. Thank you for loving me.
7. Please forgive me for not telling you the truth.
8. They warned all the citizens against buying the pills.

Exercise

In this exercise you have to write the correct preposition and choose the verb provided.

 stay    find    have   break   live   study 

1. I'm fed up ......  foreign languages.
2. The man was suspected ............... into a house.
3. My brother eventually succeeded ..... a good job.
4. My wife and I always dream ........... in Bora-bora.
5. I'm getting hungry. I'm looking forward ............ dinner.

Teacher: Gustavo

O modal verb CAN é usado para frases que tenham “poder, ou conseguir” como:

-I can swim “eu posso nadar”

Ou

-I can do it! “eu consigo fazer isso!”

O Modal CAN, não pede nenhum auxiliar, sendo ele mesmo quem faz as perguntas e respostas, na afirmativa ou negativa!

Em sua interrogativa o CAN aparece no começo, mostrando que a frase é uma pergunta.

Na afirmativa o CAN fica logo após o sujeito da frase.

E a negativa do CAN é expresso como CANNOT ou sua forma abreviada CAN’T.

Ex:

I: Can you ride a horse?

A: Yes, I can ride a horse!

N: No, I can’t ride a horse.

    And you? What can you do? 

Can you write?                                                                                       Yes /No

Can you count?                                                                                      Yes /No

Can you read it quickly? She sells seashells by the seashore.        Yes /No

Can you spell ” butterfly”?                                                                      Yes /No

Can you draw a rabbit?                                                                         Yes /No

 What these animals can/can’t do? Answer with CAN or CAN’T!

They ­­­____run, but they ___ swim.                

They _____smell, but they ___ fly.  

They _____ Fly, but they ____ run.               

They _____read, but they ____hear.

Teacher: Anna

Hi guys, how r u?

Vocês já ouviram falar de Tag questions? Não??? Então senta que lá vem a explicação, uhhuulllll...

Tag questions nada mais é do que aquela perguntinha que você faz depois de uma afirmativa ou negativa.

Exemplo: Ela foi ao supermecado, não foi?

Em português foi lindo, veremos agora em Inglês.

Mas antes uma dica simples e eficaz, quando a frase for negativa a tag question será afirmativa, e vice e versa.

Resumindo : (+,-? ) She loves chocolate, doesn’t she?

(-,+?) She doesn’t love him anymore, does she?

Vocês só terão que prestar muita atenção no auxiliar da frase, que tudo ficará muito fácil.

                       (+,-? )                                                                            (-,+?)

 She is your friend, isn’t she?                                             She is not your friend, is she?


They are very happy, aren’t they?                                    They aren’t very happy, are they?


They play soccer everyday, don’t they?                          They don’t play soccer everyday, do they?


She works a lot, doesn’t she?                                            She doesn’t work a lot, doe she?



Mary was sad with me, wasn’t she?                                  Mary wasn’t sad with me, was she?


We were there last night, weren’t we?                               We weren’t there last night, were we?


She can play tennis, can’t she?                                          She can’t play tennis, can she?


You could tell her, couldn’t you?                                        You couldn’t tell her, could you?


She should stay there, shouldn’t she?                               She shouldn’t stay there, should she?


Jack will be back soon, won’t he?                                     Jack won’t be back soon, will he?


Susie is sleeping, isn’t she?                                               Susie isn’t sleeping, is she?


She should stay there, shouldn’t she?                               She shouldn’t stay there, should she?

Susie is sleeping, isn’t she?                                               Susie isn’t sleeping, is she?

Vocês acharam que era só isso, não é mesmo?


Como tudo existe algumas exceções:

· Quando for a primeira pessoa na negativa:


I am your friend, aren’t I?

I am not your friend, Am I?


Não usa “am not I”. Isso é regra da gramatica, é comum acharmos que seria “am not I”. Então quando ver “aren’t I” como tag question, não ache que foi erro do autor. Pois como toda gramatica há sempre suas exceções.

Está achando que as exceções pararam por aqui? Não mesmo.


Mais exceções:


1. Quando usamos a sugestão Let’s, a tag question é shall we?


Ex: Let’s go to movies tomorrow, shall we?


Let’s study for the English test tomorrow, shall we?


2. Com imperativo afirmativo, a tag question é Will you?


Ex: Come over here, will you?


Try and be quiet, will you?


3. E quando for usar everybody, anybody, somebody… usar a pessoa They.


Ex: Everybody loves music, don’t they?


E não esqueça, se for nobody, never é frase negativa.


Espero que tenham gostado.


Kisses=)

Teacher Andreza