Lesson 330--Another way to use Even

Even Spock cried once.

One similar use of even comes with the same idea of surprised behaviour is when we include someone else in the group.

examples

Even Jimmy likes her and he hates everyone.

All of the students got the answer right--Even Kevin!

Even the weakest person can complete the task.

Even the slowest runner could finish the course in the time allotted.

Lesson 329--Using Not Even

 

One interesting word in English is even.  The previous lesson and this lesson focus on using it both positively and negatively.  This lesson will be on the negative.

We use not even when we want to explain that someone doesn't do as much as we expected, especially if that thing is easy and should require no effort.

examples

He's so useless that he can't even comb his hair.

Wanda was so tired that she couldn't even take off her shoes before falling asleep.

Samantha wanted to leave but her girlfriend hadn't even started packing yet.

position

a) between the auxiliary verb and the main verb

b) after the verb be

c) before other verbs.

Lesson 328--Using Even

 

One interesting word in English is even.  This lesson and the next two lessons will focus on using it both positively and negatively.  This lesson will be on the positive.

We use even when we want to explain that someone has done more than we expected or that they have done too much.

examples

Maggie has eaten all the food.  She has even eaten the stale bread.

Garth annoys everyone.  He even annoys his wife.

Dennis is never on time.  He will even be late for his funeral.

Charles wakes up early.  He even wakes up early on his vacation.

position

a) between the auxiliary verb and the main verb

b) after the verb be

c) before other verbs.

Please click below to see a past lesson on how to use get even.
How to use "get even"

Lesson 320--Reflexive Verbs

One of my students said the sentence

"We met ourselves yesterday." (wrong)

I had to explain that such a thing was quite impossible.  We would probably say, "We met one another yesterday."  or "We ran into one another yesterday."

This got me thinking about reflexive verbs.  There aren't so many in English because not all verbs are reflexive.

Here is a partial list

1. taught
2. introduce
3. kill
4. talk to
5. proud of
6. be angry at
7. enjoy
8. laugh at
9. promise
10. be proud of
11. entertain
12. feel sorry for

Examples

I was angry at myself for making such a silly mistake.

Jimmy nearly killed himself when he was playing with his father's gun.

I promised my self that I would lose weight by Christmas.

Melissa introduced herself to everyone.

Lesson 281--Possibilities and Impossibilities

 

When we look at a situation and must make a conclusion about what happened, we can use could have/may have and might have + past participle for possibilities.  On the other hand, when we use couldn't have + past participle , we are saying that it is impossible.

examples

Julia is not here.  She might have gone home.

There are only two stores open, so she may have gone to the closest one.

Paul has a car, so he could have gone anywhere.

Check you phone because she might have tried to call you.

Gwen doesn't have keys, so she couldn't have taken the car.

Victor forgot his phone, so he couldn't have called you.

You couldn't have seen Pablo at the mall because he is on vacation in Miami.

Lesson 259--The Future Using the Present Simple

 

 

Yes, in some cases, we can use present simple when we are talking about the future--that means there are quite a few ways to talk about the future (including "going to" and "will", but also some others.)

When we talk about things that are scheduled, like buses, trains and planes, we can use the present simple.  Other scheduled things include movies. concerts, and plays.

examples

My flight leaves at 9:00 and arrives at 4:30.

The bus departs around 2:45.

I have to be at the airport at 4:00 because the planes takes off just after 6:00.

The movie starts at 9:00, but there will probably be a lot of trailers.

The curtain goes up on the play around 8:45.

School at EC now starts at 8:30 for some students.

 

Lesson 256--house vs. home

a traditional house

 

 

Many students have asked me about this, so it seems like a good topic for today's lesson.

a very modern house

house:  a building where people live.  Not an apartment or condominium.

home:  a place where people live, and where they belong.  This includes a house, an apartment, a condominium, a city, a town, a country, a favourite restaurant or bar.

As you can see, home is more of a feeling.  This affects the grammar as well.

Using "to"

I am going to my house.

I am going to Mary's house.

I am going home. (no preposition)

I am going to my home. (This definitely means where I live and requires a preposition)

Welcome home!

Welcome to my house.

 

Using "at"

I will meet you at my house.

I will meet you at home.

Lesson 255--Using THE

 

 

There seems to be confusion about when to use the

I cannot possibly write down everything, but I will give you some useful information to start with.

We use the for words that relate to our environment.  These include:

the sunshine

the future

the weather

the fog

the night

the rain

the wind

the universe

the mountains

the country

the town

the sea

the seaside

the earth

the stars

the sun

the moon

the world

the planets

Lesson 247--order of prepositions

 

Prepositions are used for many things.  In today's lesson we look at prepositions of time and place and their order.

We went to the park. (place)

We went in the afternoon. (time)

When we put them together, we put place before time.

We went to the park in the afternoon. (correct)

We went in the afternoon to the park. (incorrect)

However we can rearrange the sentence to put the time at beginning of the sentence.

In the afternoon, we went to the park.

more examples. (All the sentences are correct)

I drove to work on Monday.  However, I took the bus to work on Tuesday.

On Monday, I drove to work.  On Tuesday, however, I took the bus to work.

On Monday I drove to work.  However, on Tuesday, I took the bus to work.

Lesson 245--point

Point a gun at someone

We looked at point out and making a point in lessons 162 and 163.  In today's lesson we will also be looking at some other uses of the word point.

point at vs. point to

For the most part, there is little difference between the two.

He's pointing at you.

I pointed to Jane.

I pointed at Jane.

Without any context, the meanings are similar.  However, when more anger or violence is suggested, we prefer at.

I pointed angrily at Jane.

I pointed a gun at Jane.

"Stop pointing at me!" exclaimed Jane.

 

Pointless

Meaning:  There is no point.

examples

Your argument is pointless.

It was pointless to wait any longer, so Melanie went home.

Lesson 243--Like as a Verb and Preposition

 

 

Most of my students are very good at using like as a verb. 

example:          I like chocolate.

                        I liked chocolate when I was a child.

                        I've never liked Jazz music.

However, like is also a preposition.  In the following examples notice that like is a preposition following other verbs.

He looks like a fool.

Maria works like a dog.

Tim and Nancy feel like having hot chocolate.

The party guests were dressed like characters from the Lord of the Rings.

Lesson 242: Pairs

We use the word pair sometimes to mean one thing, and sometimes to mean two things.  Here are some useful examples

 

one item

a pair of scissors

a pair of jeans

a pair of pants

a pair of glasses

a pair of underwear

a pair of shorts

Be careful when using pair as the number of pairs determines singular and plural.

A pair of scissors is useful.

Two pairs of scissors are useful

two items

a pair of socks

a pair of gloves

a pair of shoes

a pair sandals

Be careful when using pair as the number of pairs determines singular and plural.

A pair of shoes is essential for the trip.

Two pairs of shoes are essential for the trip.

 

Lesson 238--The Amazing Word Get.

 

A student today asked me why we always use the word get.  Honestly, I would say because it is easy.  The word get has so many useful functions in English.  My student's example was "Can I get a coffee?"  which he heard a person use when ordering.  It really means "Can I have/order a coffee?"

Today's lesson is using get in a way that means "something happened to me."  It is a passive construction that doesn't use the "be" verb.

I got hit by a car.  ( I was hit by a car.  The car hit me. )

Greg got his car stolen.  (Greg's car was stolen.  Somebody stole Greg's car.)

Theresa got her heart broken again.  (Theresa's heart was broken.  Somebody broke her heart again.)

When he wasn't looking Jimmy got hit in the head.

Sandy and Ramona got beaten in the tennis match.

The car got scratched at the mall.

When you have time, try and make some useful get sentences. 

Lesson 236--Using the Present Continuous for the Future

 

 

While we use the present continuous (is/are/am + ...ing) for things happening right now, we also use it to describe future events.  This is considered more sure than using going to  or will to express the future. To do this:

• we include a reference to the time we are doing the event
• the event must have been organized and agreed to by more than one person.

examples

I am playing tennis on Tuesday with my father. (The time has been agreed upon by my father)

 

Jim is flying to Miami on the 12th. (Jim, the airline, and even his travel agent agreed upon the time)

 

Maria is working late on Thursday. (Both Maria and her boss agreed upon this)

 

The whole family is spending Christmas in Cuba.

 

What are your future plans?

Submit your sentences in the comment box (you don't have to log in, just click the anonymous box).

Lesson 201

According to this movie, Gentlemen prefer blondes

When you talk about your preferences (and you use words like prefer and rather) there are  couple of interesting structures you should pay attention to.

Prefer

I prefer chocolate to vanilla.

I prefer chocolate to vanilla

I prefer to eat rice with chopsticks.

I would prefer to eat rice with chopsticks.

notice what happens when the we consider my preferences for other people.

I prefer you not play your music so loud.

I would prefer you didn't play your music so loud.

 

Would Rather

The same is true with would rather

I would rather watch hockey.

I would rather you didn't watch tennis.

Lesson 197--Using the word sale

 

Everybody has to shop, so you should be ready to do it in English.  Here are some confusing words you are going to have to master.

 

Be on sale:  This means that the price is lower than normal.

e.g. The PS4 is on sale at the electronic Superstore.

Go on sale:  This means they will start selling this product.

e.g. The new iPod goes on sale Friday.

For sale: This just means you can buy it.  It is available to buy.

e.g. The beautiful house is for sale.

Selling:  This is used to describe who sells the product or which store sells the product.

e.g. The Future Shop is selling the biggest TV in Canada.

e.g. Jacob is selling his car.

Lesson 195--By the time.....

 

When talking about the past, we have some good phrases using by the time,

When we focus on things that happened before we got there we use past perfect.

By the time I got to the theatre, the movie had already started.

By the time I got home, everyone had gone to bed.

When we focus on some action in progress we use past continuous.

By the time I got to the party, everyone was having a good time.

By the time I arrived at school, my classmates were taking a test.

Consider the following sentences.

1. By the time I entered the cinema, the movie had already started.
2. By the time I entered the cinema the movie was already playing.

Both sentences describe the same situation.  Sentence A focuses on the action already started, while sentence B focuses on what is happening at that exact moment.

Lesson 185--Using get in the Passvie

 

Teaching the passive is not the hardest thing I have to do, but it isn't the easiest.  Most of you understand the concept, but don't always use it.  Today's lesson is about making that somewhat easier.  For that we are going to use the word get.

 

form:  get + past participle

My bike was stolen.

My bike got stolen.

His friends were arrested.

His friends got arrested.

The thief was caught.
The thief got caught.

Okay, so this isn't really easier, but there are fewer choices instead of was or were, you only need got.  Instead of am, is or are, you only need get and gets.  So somewhat easier.

The only difference is that got makes you sound more like a victim.  It happened to you, through no fault of yours.

Lesson 184--Wishes that are regrets

as a child, this is how we made wishes....and weeds

 

 

The last way I want to look at wish this week is how we use wish in the past.  When we use wish in the past, we are regretting something we did, or something we didn't do.

The form is

wish + subject + had/hadn't + past participle

examples                 

I wish I had bought stock in Apple when I was young.

Samantha wishes she hadn't spent so much money on shoes.

My parents wish I had become a doctor or lawyer.

Most of my students wish they had studied English harder in elementary and high school.

Lesson 183--Wish for the Impossible

 

Wish for Impossible Things (present and future)

 

When something is impossible, but we want it be different we can use the verb wish to express this.  Even though we use the past tense, we are referring to the present or future, not the past.  We use the following pattern

Wish + past tense*

*strict grammar says you should use were instead of was....but more relaxed users sometimes use was.

examples

I wish I were taller.*

I wish I had a PS4.

Cynthia wishes she had a new car.

Sam wishes he didn't have to work today.