11 August 2008 - Written by Lyle

When talking about physical activities it can be difficult to choose the correct verb. Here are the general rules, but there are exceptions.

Play – Can be used for most competitive sports and games.

Eg: play hurling, play chess, play golf.

Go – Is usually used for activities that can be done alone.

Eg: go surfing, go skiing, go bird-watching.

Do – Is often used for activities done in groups.

Eg: do aerobics, do yoga, do Tai-Chi.

(Learn, practice and study are also used, especially for activities which require lessons).

Try to complete these sentences using play, go, or do.

1. I’ve _______ snowboarding several times.

2. Many Australians _________ cricket.

3. I like _________ swimming in summer.

4. I _________ fencing for 2 years in high-school.

5. Most kids in Japan ________ judo in school.

6. If the weather is nice, I’ll _______ sailing.

7. How long have you ___________ volley-ball.

8. Jim ________ kayaking in Canada.

9. Have you ever _________ kung-fu?

10. I don’t like _________ gymnastics.

August 6 2008 - Written by Rob

Consider these sentences in the past simple tense:

- We watched the play in the old theatre.

- I shot my woman

- They saved the world

They are positive statements – they describe things that happened.

If we want to make negative statements – to talk about things that didn’t happen – we use a different form:

- We didn’t watch the play in the old theatre

- I didn’t shoot my woman!

- They didn’t save the world

We used the form didn’t + infinitive (Didn’t, from the verb ‘to do’. It is an auxiliary or supporting verb. The infinitive is the ‘name’ of the verb, before it is put into any tense. For example past, future, present continuous etc.)

Make these sentences into negatives (that is, say that they didn’t happen)

1) Francis went to the beach.

2) Stephanie and Judy took a holiday last year.

3) The animals stole the fire.

4) Benjamin and I visited the graveyard.

5) You broke the microphone.

31 July 2008 - Written by Lyle

A suffix is a group of letters that is attached to the end of a word to alter the meaning. Let’s look at suffixes that change verbs into nouns. There are five main suffixes which are used to change an action into a person who performs the action. Here they are…

-ee

a person to whom something is done. Eg: train – trainee / pay – payee / escape - escapee.

-er

a person who does something. (usually physical). Eg: work – worker / wrestle – wrestler / write - writer

-ian

a person who does something as a job or hobby. Eg: music – musician / electric – electrician / vet - veterinarian

-ist

a person who believes in something, or does something. Eg: nude – nudist / Buddha - Buddhist / baptise - baptist

Or Eg: piano – pianist / violin - violinist / cycle - cyclist

-or

a person who does something (often as a job). Eg: act – actor / sail – sailor / direct - director

Try to choose the correct suffix for the following people.

1. A person who paints. Paint___.

2. A person who conducts. Conduct___.

3. A person who believes in capitalism. Capital___.

4. A person who works in science. Scient___.

5. A person who is employed. Employ___.

6. A person who translates. Translat___.

7. A person who builds. Build___.

8. A person who works in comedy. Comed___.

9. A person who works in politics. Politic___.

10. A person who believes in conformity. Conform___.

30 July 2008 - Written by Rob

When we want to talk about something imaginary (that only exists in our minds), we can use the following structure:

If I won the lottery I would buy a mansion.

I would be terrified if I saw a ghost.

What would you do if the world ended?

These are situations that probably will not happen. They are unrealistic.

We use ‘would’ and the past tense of a verb (‘If I won’, ‘If I saw’, ‘If the world ended’) Although we use the past tense, this does not mean that the action took place in the past.

However, if we want to talk about realistic events that could happen, we use a different structure:

If I see Ben I will tell him you want to see him.

They will kill you if they find you.

If he calls his girlfriend, she will be very angry.

These are realistic situations. There is a real chance that they will happen.

For these situations we use ‘will’ and the present tense (‘If I see’, ‘If they find you’, ‘If he calls’)

What words are missing from the following situations:

1. If aliens attacked the earth, people _________ be terrified.

2. ______ you call me if you see Sebastian?

3. What _______ you do if you could fly?

4. They _________ leave this country if there is a recession.

5. The priest _________ come to the house if his condition gets much worse.

6. _________ we survive if there was a nuclear attack on Dublin, do you think?

25 July 2008 - Written by Lyle

People have lived in Australia for more than 50,000 years. The earliest known inhabitants (people who live in a place) in Australia were the Aboriginals (native) . It is thought they came by boat from the islands of what is now Indonesia.

In 1606 explorers from the Netherlands, and then France, and Britain found the land currently (presently) known as Australia. First they found the north and west coast. This was dry and uninhabitable land (land where humans can’t live), and they found no economic reasons to stay. In 1770 an English sailor, Captain James Cook, came across (encountered) the east coast of Australia. He called (named) it New South Wales, and claimed it for Britain.

In 1788 the British sent a fleet (collective noun for ships) of ships to settle (begin to live in) Australia. Britain needed a place to send its convicts (people who have been sent to prison). This First Fleet settled at a place they called Sydney. Soon they began to farm, and more people came. Sydney grew, and new towns were founded (started).

In 1840 Britain stopped sending convicts to Australia. The people in Australia wanted to run (control) their own country. So in 1851 New South Wales, Victoria and the other colonies (a place controlled by another country) established their own parliaments. (people who decide laws)

The gold rushes (when a lot of gold is found) of New South Wales and Victoria started in 1851 leading to massive immigration (many people move). As the towns and farms spread across Australia, the Aboriginal people were pushed off their land. Some were killed, and many starved (die from hunger) or died from (illness).

24 July 2008 - Written by Rob

Countable nouns are items or things that can be singular (eg, apple), or plural (apples). Uncountable nouns, on the other hand, only has one form (eg, coffee, beer, money, energy, electricity, magic). Numbers can be used with countable nouns, but they can’t be used with uncountable nouns (for instance, it’s possible to say one elephant, eighteen guns, four winds)

‘Some’ and ‘any’ can be used with plural countable nouns and with uncountable nouns.

Countable:

They are gone to buy some apples.

Do we have any biscuits?

Uncountable:

Would you like some coffee?
I don’t have any money.

One useful way to think about uncountable nouns, is that they name items that

need to be placed in a container - for example, salt, milk, vinegar, water etc.

A or an can be used with countable nouns (an envelope, a daughter, an eyeball, a snake), but not with uncountable nouns. However, with uncountable nouns, we can use phrases such as ‘a cup of tea’, ‘a grain of salt’ etc. We can count the units or containers that uncountable nouns come in.

As an exercise, place the following words into these sentences to make uncountable nouns countable:

grain bottle bolt jar bowl bag

There’s nothing more welcome on a cold winter’s day than a bowl of Irish stew.
She said she felt as insignificant as a ________ of sand on the beach.
The tree was hit by a _______ of lightening.
“I tell you now I’d kill my own grandmother for just one more _______ of whiskey”
You told me yesterday that you’d bought a ______ of sugar. Where is it?
They went down to the shop to buy a ________ of mayonnaise.

18 July 2008 - Written by Jeanne

One point in time

On is used with days:

• I will see you on Monday.
• The week begins on Sunday.

At is used with noon, night, midnight, and with the time of day:

• My plane leaves at noon.
• The movie starts at 6 p.m.

In is used with other parts of the day, with months, with years, with seasons:

• He likes to read in the afternoon.
• The days are long in August.
• The book was published in 1999.
• The flowers will bloom in spring.

Extended time

To express extended time, English uses the following prepositions: since, for, by, from—to, from-until, during, (with)in

• She has been gone since yesterday. (She left yesterday and has not returned.)
• I’m going to Paris for two weeks. (I will spend two weeks there.)
• The movie showed from August to October. (Beginning in August and ending in October.)
• The decorations were up from spring until fall. (Beginning in spring and ending in fall.)
• I watch TV during the evening. (For some period of time in the evening.)
• We must finish the project within a year. (No longer than a year.)

Place

To express notions of place, English uses the following prepositions: to talk about the point itself: in, to express something contained: inside, to talk about the surface: on, to talk about a general vicinity, at.

• There is a wasp in the room.
• Put the present inside the box.
• I left your keys on the table.
• She was waiting at the corner.

Higher than a point

To express notions of an object being higher than a point, English uses the following prepositions: over, above.

• He threw the ball over the roof.
• Hang that picture above the couch.

Lower than a point

To express notions of an object being lower than a point, English uses the following prepositions: under, underneath, beneath, below.

• The rabbit burrowed under the ground.
• The child hid underneath the blanket.
• We relaxed in the shade beneath the branches.
• The valley is below sea-level.

Close to a point

To express notions of an object being close to a point, English uses the following prepositions: near, by, next to, between, among, opposite.

• She lives near the school.
• There is an ice cream shop by the store.
• An oak tree grows next to my house
• The house is between Elm Street and Maple Street.
• I found my pen lying among the books.
• The bathroom is opposite that room.

17 July 2008 - Written by Lyle

“A man that doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man”. Don Corleone (The Godfather).

My “old man” (father) met my mum (mother) in the 1970s. They had two sons – me, and my elder brother (older brother). Last year he got married. My sister-in-law (brother’s wife) gave birth to a baby boy, so now I have a nephew (brother’s son). I was very happy to become an uncle. My mother was not so happy to become a grandmother, but she loves spending time with her grandson. My extended family (uncles, aunts etc) is fairly large. On my mother’s side of the family (mother’s relatives) I have 3 aunts, two uncles, and a lot of cousins.

How well do you know your family?

Your wife’s brother is your ___________________________.

Your grandfather’s father is your ______________________.

Your grandmother’s sister is your ______________________.

Your cousin’s child is your ____________________________.

Your sister’s daughter is your _________________________.

Your mother’s daughter is your________________________.

Your son’s daughter is your ___________________________.

A man whose wife has passed away is a _________________.

A woman whose husband has passed away is a ____________.

Your spouse’s family are your __________________________.

Great grandfather. Sister. Widower. In-laws. Brother-in-law. Great aunt. Niece. Granddaughter. Widow. First cousin once removed.

16 July 2008 - Written by Rob

We use ‘can’ to talk about abilities:

He can play guitar.
I can’t believe it’s not butter.
You can do it if you really want.
You can’t always get what you want.
They can speak German, but they cannot speak French.

‘Can’ is used in the present tense, to talk about things that someone is able to do now, at this time. It is what’s known as a ‘modal verb’.

If we want to use ‘can’ in the past tense, we change it to ‘could’. (Note: ‘could’ has several other meanings, but we shall only focus on the one meaning in this lesson):

I couldn’t understand what you were saying to me last night on the telephone
They could sing many old songs when they were younger, but now they can’t remember them.
He told me that when he was a child, he could read people’s minds
I couldn’t remember for days, but today it finally came back to me
We could go out whenever we pleased, back then.

Now, insert either ‘can’ or ‘could’ (or ‘can’t’ or ‘couldn’t’) into the following sentences.

1. I looked and looked but I _______ find anything.
2. ______ you hear me? I’m speaking as loud as I _____.
3. What do you mean, you ______ believe me - I’m telling you the truth!
4. She _____ sing so beautifully, before she lost her throat to the wild dogs.
5. They ______ take long, leisurely strolls in the hills and meadows while they were living in Switzerland. It was ideal.
6. We ______ leave the house until the landlord went away.

10 July 2008 - Written by Lyle

Does anyone ever watch the closing credits of a film? Is anyone interested in where the film was shot? Is anyone patient enough to watch the credits to see if there are bloopers or post-credit scenes? For those of you who do, here’s a list of jobs on a film crew. Try match these definitions with the job titles below:

1. The person who creates the physical “look” of the film.

2. The person responsible for microphone placement.

3. The person in charge of setting up the lighting.

4. The person who creates and records sound effects.

5. The person in charge of the camera, framing and lighting.

6. The person who assembles the various shots into a film.

7. The person in charge of objects that appear in the film.

8. The person responsible for inserting film into the camera.

9. The person who keeps track of what parts of the script have been filmed.

10. The person who builds the structures in a film.

Production Designer

Props Master

Director of Photography

Loader

Boom Operator

Key Grip

Foley Artist

Continuity person

Set Designer

Editor