David Beckham has retired from ‘the beautiful game’ and no matter what you think about his playing and his success as a advertising megastar, you surely can’t deny that he has had an amazing and unprecedented footballing career. As he said himself in a statement…
If you had told me as a young boy that I would have played for and won trophies with my boyhood club Manchester United, proudly captained and played for my country over one hundred times and lined up for some of the biggest clubs in the world, I would have told you it was a fantasy

Clearly, his best days are behind him, but somehow he has still managed to bow out at the top, whilst still playing at the highest level. When he was a teenager, he broke through on to the world stage when he scored an incredible goal from the halfway line. If he hadn’t scored that goal,
would he have become a legend?

Since, then, you could say that he hasn’t put a foot wrong. However, there were some ups as well as downs, which have made it a bit of a roller coaster career in which he has gone from being the poster boy for English football all the way down to the bottom, too.
If he hadn’t been sent off in the World Cup against Argentina, then England might have won the match and gone on to be the world champions. That alone would have made his legacy all the more shiny. In fact, real success at international level is the only blemish on his record. However, when he was public enemy number 1 he had to do his talking on the football pitch and sort out his personality to get back in public favour. If he hadn’t worked hard, then maybe he wouldn’t have become England captain or the fantastic person that he is …. even though I don’t know him personally, apparently he’s very nice!

If he hadn’t acknowledged that he was too old to play football at 38, then he would have continued playing and perhaps he would have become an embarrassment and tarnished his reputation.

What do you think about this different idea about his past?
If he had married a different Spice Girl like Geri Haliwell, he wouldn’t have modelled in a million advertisements. And just one last thing….
If Posh Spice, hadn’t married David Beckham, she would have disappeared by now, wouldn’t she?
 
(BTW, this last sentence is a nice example of QUESTION TAG GRAMMAR)
 

Third Conditional English Grammar

The third conditional is like a dream, because it can NOT come true. We are thinking about how the past could have happened in a different way. But it is impossible to go back in time and change something in the past.
 
 
 
IF one thing (Condition) in the past HAD HAPPENED differently then another thing (result) also WOULD / COULD / MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED differently.
 

 
 
Here’s a news report about Beckham’s retirement that uses some of the advanced language from above…

 

Here’s some more Beckham posts you might like…
 
1. English Grammar Beckham style
2. Beckham speaks about the future
3. Playing with past tenses: Beckham baby part II
4. How do you pronounce -ed endings: Beckham baby part I
 
DON’T FORGET TO ENTER OUR FANTASTIC COMPETITION WHERE YOU CAN WIN 2 WEEKS OF FREE ENGLISH LESSONS HERE AT SGI IN LONDON
 
One last Becks video

In this lesson, look at our posts on verbs with irregular preterite forms and answer the questions in the quick quizzes related to the information in the articles.

To get your answers and results, CLICK on SUBMIT TEST in the bottom right hand corner of the Quiz screens, BEFORE you move on to the next page of the lesson
 

Have a great weekend!
 

 
English people like to drink alcohol. They drink it in the pub, in bars and even at home. Remember that it’s not a good idea to drink lots of alcohol so only have it in moderation!

There are 3 types of alcohol which English people really enjoy. They are lager, beer and Guinness and they are drunk in pints or halves.
 
Check our previous post to learn about English Measurements:

 
The infographic and questions use lots of comparatives and superlatives. Learn about them by reading our previous posts here:

1. Comparatives

2. Superlatives

3. Language for making comparisons
 

Verb noun collocations

 
Here are some of the collocations from the text with extra nouns which you could use to talk about butlers or similar jobs.
 

Answer + the door/the phone/a question

Attend to + guests/visitors/your duties

Select + clothes/an outfit/a menu

Manage + other staff/a team/employees

Serve + afternoon tea/brunch/lunch/supper

Arrange + appointments/deliveries/meetings

Order + food and goods/a meal/a drink

Look after + pets and plants/children/the house

Polish + shoes/a car/a trophy

The Queen of England and other rich and important people have always had their own private butlers, but now British butlers are in demand more than ever.
 
Demand for butlers has changed over the years. At the beginning of the century, butlers were common in the homes of the rich. This number then declined and the International Guild of Professional Butlers says only 100 butlers were employed by 1980s. That figure is now up to 10,000. The same as in the 1930s.
 
This latest demand is driven by Asia and Russia where British butlers can earn over £100,000 a year. Whereas in Arab countries, it can be double, triple or even be 10 times that figure. That’s enough to make almost anyone think about a career change.
 
Not only that, but butlers are back in vogue due to the hugely successful TV series Downtown Abbey. So, not only is the career lucrative, but it’s also cool!
 
The role of the modern butler is slightly different to before. He or she doesn’t just answer the door or bring you your pipe and slippers. They can also act as a PA, chef and even a bodyguard.
 

Typical duties of a butler

 
Answer the door

Attend to guests

Run a bath

Select clothes

Dress their employer

Lay the table

Manage other staff

Serve afternoon tea

Arrange appointments

Order food and goods

Take messages

Look after pets and plants

Polish shoes

Iron clothes

Arrange flowers

 
 
British butlers are popular because of their classic Received Pronunciation accent and their Queen’s English. To meet this demand, several butler schools have opened in China to train new butlers.
 

 

Advantages of being a butler

 
You get to live in a mansion, castle or penthouse apartment for free. You have free use of the swimming pool, gym and sauna when your boss isn’t around. You can also get to visit many international locations.

Disadvantages of being a butler

 
It is hard work. Getting up at 5 or 6 and going to bed at 1 or 2 isn’t easy. You are also responsible for everything that goes on in the house so if things go wrong you are to blame. Another problem is that you cannot say ‘no’ to any demands, however strange they are.

 
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

 
Read the transcript (below the video) and look out for…

1) Regular verbs (add an -ed ending to the infinitive of the verb)
2) Irregular verbs (there is no rule for these type – you have to learn them. Here is a list of the most common Past Simple irregular verbs). There is a table to focus on these verbs below.

 
You may also like to hear the SGI Teachers discussing the benefits of the Royal Family in our Real & Relevant Conversation Podcasts
 
 

 

Queen’s Xmas Speech 2012 Full Transcript

 
“This past year has been one of great celebration for many. The enthusiasm which greeted the Diamond Jubilee was, of course, especially memorable for me and my family.

It was humbling that so many chose to mark the anniversary of a duty which passed to me 60 years ago. People of all ages took the trouble to take part in various ways and in many nations. But perhaps most striking of all was to witness the strength of fellowship and friendship among those who had gathered together on these occasions.

Prince Philip and I were joined by our family on the River Thames as we paid tribute to those who have shaped the United Kingdom’s past and future as a maritime nation, and welcomed a wonderful array of craft, large and small, from across the Commonwealth.

On the barges and the bridges and the banks of the river there were people who had taken their places to cheer through the mist, undaunted by the rain. That day there was a tremendous sense of common determination to celebrate, triumphing over the elements.

That same spirit was also in evidence from the moment the Olympic flame arrived on these shores. The flame itself drew hundreds and thousands of people on its journey around the British Isles, and was carried by every kind of deserving individual, many nominated for their own extraordinary service.

As London hosted a splendid summer of sport, all those who saw the achievement and courage at the Olympic and Paralympic Games were further inspired by the skill, dedication, training and teamwork of our athletes. In pursuing their own sporting goals, they gave the rest of us the opportunity to share something of the excitement and drama.

We were reminded, too, that the success of these great festivals depended to an enormous degree upon the dedication and effort of an army of volunteers. Those public-spirited people came forward in the great tradition of all those who devote themselves to keeping others safe, supported and comforted.

For many, Christmas is also a time for coming together. But for others, service will come first. Those serving in our armed forces, in our emergency services and in our hospitals, whose sense of duty takes them away from family and friends, will be missing those they love.

And those who have lost loved ones may find this day especially full of memories. That’s why it’s important at this time of year to reach out beyond our familiar relationships to think of those who are on their own.

At Christmas, I am always struck by how the spirit of togetherness lies also at the heart of the Christmas story. A young mother and a dutiful father with their baby were joined by poor shepherds and visitors from afar. They came with their gifts to worship the Christ child. From that day on, he has inspired people to commit themselves to the best interests of others.

This is the time of year when we remember that God sent his only son ‘to serve, not to be served’. He restored love and service to the centre of our lives in the person of Jesus Christ.

It is my prayer this Christmas Day that his example and teaching will continue to bring people together to give the best of themselves in the service of others.

The carol, In The Bleak Midwinter, ends by asking a question of all of us who know the Christmas story, of how God gave himself to us in humble service: ‘What can I give him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; if I were a wise man, I would do my part’. The carol gives the answer ‘Yet what I can I give him – give my heart’.

I wish you all a very happy Christmas.”

Past Simple Irregular Verbs Glossary

to be

was / were

to choose

chose

to take

took

to pay

paid

to draw people to sth (this means ‘to attract’)

drew

to see

saw

to give

gave

to come forward (this means ‘to volunteer)

came

to send

sent

Received Pronunciation

 
BTW, if you’re interested in the famous Received Pronunciation accent, it’s interesting to hear how the Queen has softened her English accent over the years since her first televised Xmas Speech in 1957. Back then her accent was a lot sharper and “posher”
 

 

Beckham is English and speaks, well, English but how well? A number of people have said that his English isn’t very good but why? The answer is that he doesn’t always use correct grammar. Instead he speaks how people speak in some towns and cities, especially around London.

Lets take a look at Beckham grammar:

1) “My parents have been there for me, ever since I was about seven.”

Translation = This means that his parents were not there for him before he was 7. Maybe he had other parents, they were on holiday or he lived on his own.

2) “Well, I can play in the centre, on the right and occasionally on the left side.”

Translation = He can play almost everywhere except the back.

3) “I remember so clearly us going into hospital so Victoria could have Brooklyn. I was eating a Lion bar at the time.”

Translation = He must have really liked that Lion bar to remember it so well or maybe it was more important than the news his wife was having a baby. It may also just be a way to advertise the chocolate bar.

4) “Maths is totally done differently to what I was teached when I was at school.”

Translation = Maths is taught in a very different way to when Becks learned it at school. However, maths hasn’t changed. Numbers are numbers so maybe he’s referring to how students use computers more.

5) “I’d like to have Brooklyn christened, but I don’t know into what religion yet.”

Translation = Only Christian churches officially do christenings so either he means different branches of the religion or he thinks that every religion does them.

Check out these great quotes from Becks:

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/d/david_beckham.html

To learn common British slang have a look at the Urban Dictionary at:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/

You might like our other posts about Beckham…

1.  Beckham speaks about the future 

2.  How do you pronounce -ed endings? – Beckham’s baby

3.  Playing with past tenses: Beckham baby (part II)

4. Football Vocabulary: Introduction to soccer English

In the film, a man travels back in time to kill someone who will become an evil gang lord in the future. On the way he meets his younger self and their actions change time, possibly. The chart shows the original path of the main character Joe as well as an altered path and possible path for the young and old Joes, as well as 2 other characters called Sara and Cyd.

Conditionals

Now, to discuss all these future and past possibilities we need conditionals. We’ll start off with a basic rule of time travel:
 
If you travel back in time, you change the future

Not everyone believes this though, some say it’s only possible, such as:

If you travel back in time you can change the future
=It’s physically possible
 
 
Here’s another example that’s less probable:
If you travel back in time you could/might change the future
 
 
We can also use the Will conditional:
Cyd will become a gang lord if Joe doesn’t stop him
=This is a future possibility
 
 
Again, we can add could/might or may to make it less probable and to have an element of choice:
Cyd could/might become a gang lord if Joe doesn’t stop him
If Sarah supports Cyd, he will/could/might/may grow up and not become the rainmaker
 
 
We can use conditionals to talk about the results of past events in the film by using the Would conditional:
If Joe hadn’t become a Looper he wouldn’t be in this mess
If Sara hadn’t raised Cyd on her own, he would be fine
 
 
The infamous third conditional is useful too for thinking about past events that didn’t happen and their results.
Old Joe wouldn’t have fled to the past if the rainmaker hadn’t attacked his wife
Young Joe couldn’t have saved Cyd and Sara, even if he had survived.
If young Joe hadn’t killed himself, would old Joe have been stopped?
If young Joe had survived, he and Sarah might have started dating.
 
 

Here are some questions to think over

1. Would losing his mum turn Cyd into the rainmaker if he didn’t know he had special powers?
2. If old Joe had only been planning to kill the rainmaker why did he travel back with so much gold?
3. If being attacked by old Joe is what causes Cyd to turn evil in the future, would he stay good without that experience?
4. Will there be a sequel if enough tickets are sold?

 

Then get deep into understanding the choice between the two tenses with the grammar explanations of each sentence.

Transcript

 
Q = Queen
J = Jeeves
 
Q: Jeeves, have you polished my crown today?

Q: Indeed, indeed.

Present Perfect v Past Simple

WHY IS IT PRESENT PERFECT?

Jeeves, have you polished my crown today?

‘Today’ for the Queen is not finished… the time/today is still continuing, so in her opinion, ‘today’ is still NOW. So she is thinking about some point in the past AND all the time up until now (‘now’ is still part of ‘today’)

No, Madam. I’m afraid that I haven’t had time to do that yet.

yet is a keyword for the present perfect. He is thinking about the past and all the time continuing up until now.

Have you finished reading this blog yet?
No, I haven’t finished reading this blog yet.

You started reading the blog a few minutes ago (the PAST) and you have continued reading it… up until now (the PRESENT). This is thinking about the past and the present at the same time.
Think of yet as meaning ‘up until now’

Then please tell me what have you done this morning?

Same as 1. This morning is a time period that has not finished in the speaker’s opinion.. it is still continuing. It would be the same meaning if the Queen said, “What have you done IN ALL THE TIME OF THIS MORNING UP UNTIL THIS MOMENT NOW?”

…your beloved doggies have done their “toilet business” all over the royal throne.

Jeeves implies/means that the dog poo (or some of it) is still on the throne… he is in the middle of cleaning it/he has not finished the cleaning yet.

It would be possible for the Queen to still see the evidence of the dogs’ action. There is a specific, visible result in the present because of a past action.

…that is why I haven’t cleaned your crown yet.

There is a result of a dirty, unpolished, uncleaned crown in the present. This is because of Jeeves NOT doing any cleaning of it throughout the whole morning.
All the time of the morning, there wasn’t any moment when he cleaned the crown and we can see the result now: an unclean, unpolished crown. Jeeves is thinking of all the time in the morning up to AND including NOW.

…and I’ve just arrived back.

‘Just’ often goes with the present perfect. It basically means ‘a short time ago’.

With this sentence she is saying, “I arrived a short time ago and Look! Here I am in front of you”. A past action that has a clear result now in the present moment.

… you have definitely had an extremely difficult morning.

Jeeves is thinking about all the past time of the morning up to now. In his opinion the morning has not finished – it is still happening. Past & Present together = Present Perfect

WHY IS IT PAST SIMPLE?

I got up at 5am and then the first thing I did was to iron your newspaper.

Got up – finished action. He did it one time and it was completed/ended/finished. He did NOT continue to keep getting up lots of times.
Plus he said the exact time in the past when it happened (5am). This time does not connect to the present time.

He ironed the newspaper and then it was finished. It’s a completed action, that is not being repeated or having any effect on the present moment.

Plus here, Jeeves is telling a story of past events, like a list of things. When you do this, you use the past simple.

Then at half past five I took your corgis for a walk. Then at 6 o’clock I took Prince Philip to the bathroom.

Exactly the same reasons as before. He says the exact times in the past and he is telling a story of past events

But then I discovered something in the palace.

He is continuing with his story/list of past events.
Also, he discovered/found something (the dogs’ poo) once and then he did something about it: he implies/means that he started cleaning it. Again, it’s like he is telling a story of past events, but this time he doesn’t say what the second past event is (the cleaning)

…your beloved doggies have done their “toilet business” all over the royal throne.

Jeeves implies/means that the dog poo (or some of it) is still on the throne… he is in the middle of cleaning it/he has not finished the cleaning yet.
It would be possible for the Queen to still see the evidence of the dogs’ action. There is a specific, visible result in the present because of a past action.

Yes, yes. What was it?

The Queen is responding to the sentence “I discovered…” which is about a past, finished action. So she continues talking in the past simple.

It would sound very strange if she used present perfect and said, “What has it been?”

Did you meet the Prime Minister?

The Queen is not with the Prime Minister now. So if she did actually meet him in the morning, she MUST have completed that action, because he isn’t standing there now with her. Completed, finished action in the past = Past Simple.

I left the palace at quarter to eleven…

She is talking about a completed action and mentions the specific time in the past that it happened – definitely past simple!
It sounds strange to say, “I have left the palace at 10:45″. This specific time has been and gone – it’s finished, so we can’t use the present perfect. Present Perfect is for when you are thinking about the past and the present at the same time.

 
 
You might like our other Present Perfect blogs in this series…

1. Infographic
2. Jack The Ripper
3. Love Story
4. ‘Need to drink’ Cartoon & timeline
5. Alien Search

Present Perfect Formula

Have / Has + Past Participle

Present Perfect Sentences

 
1. I have heard that there are intelligent life beings here on Earth.

In this sentence the main verb is ‘to hear‘ – an IRREGULAR verb
The past Participle of ‘to hear’ (or maybe you like to call it ‘Verb 3′) is ‘heard‘ (hear / heard / heard)

 
 
2. My leader has sent me…

The main verb here is ‘to send‘ – an IRREGULAR verb
Past Participle (‘Verb 3′) of ‘to send’ is ‘sent‘ (send / sent / sent)

 
 
3. I have decided to look for a different planet…

Main verb here is ‘to decide‘ – a REGULAR verb
Past Participle (‘Verb 3′) of ‘to decide’ is ‘decided‘ (decide / decided / decided)
 
 
 
Check out our other Present Perfect posts for deeper… and better …. explanation of this grammar tense.

1. Infographic
2. Jack The Ripper
3. Love Story
4. ‘Need to drink’ Cartoon & timeline

There are explanations below to explain why we use Present perfect and not past simple in the sentences…
 

 
 

So, what do these sentences really mean…?
 
1. I haven’t bought lemonade since 2003.
2.I haven’t tasted sweet lemonade for almost 10 years!

 
There is a continuing period of time from 2003 up to now, where he did not drink any lemonade. He is thinking about the past and the present together.

 
If he was only thinking about the past (and NOT THINKING ABOUT THE PRESENT AT THE SAME TIME) he would say…
 
PAST SIMPLE: I drank lemonade in 2003
(This is a finished action that is not connected to the present time. He drank that lemonade and it exists no more)
 
Compare with….
PRESENT PERFECT: I haven’t bought lemonade since 2003. (He is thinking about all the time from 2003 until now, 2012).

 
Look at the grammar timeline to help you understand this period of unbroken time from 2003 to the present time.

PRESENT PERFECT TIMELINE

 
Drag your mouse over the dots on the timeline, click on the bubbles that appear and read the descriptions.
 

You can see from the pictures on the timeline that there is an unbroken, continuing period of time from the middle of 2003 until the end of the timeline where he did not drink any lemonade. It is an action (or actually it is a non-action) from the past that continues up until the present moment now.
 

 
You might like our other Present Perfect blogs in this series…

1. Infographic
2. Jack The Ripper
3. Love Story

Find out why we use them in English grammar with explanations below the cartoon.

A Present Perfect Love Story

Present Perfect: TIME NOT MENTIONED

 
One very common reason for using present perfect (and NOT the past simple tense) is to describe something that happened in the past, but WITHOUT SAYING WHEN THAT ACTION HAPPENED.

Let me explain that again a different way.

We use the present perfect when we are thinking about something that happened or started in the PAST and that TIME PERIOD CONTINUES UP TO NOW, but we do not mention the time when the thing started.

Present Perfect Examples

 
1. Why haven’t I met the man of my dreams yet?

She is thinking about the start of her search for a boyfriend (whenever that search started – she doesn’t say the exact time) and all the time period up to now. In other words, at the moment, she does not think that she has found a good man and she is asking ‘Why not?’

 
 
2. I’ve been such a good girl

Presumably she means today, or this week, or in the last few weeks, or even in the last few years. She is thinking about the past and the present together… but she doesn’t say when this unbroken time period began.

 
 
3. I’ve made my bed

Again, she presumably means today, but she doesn’t say when that happened. However, we can see that her bed is still made, or in other words, ‘tidy’.

If she said exactly WHEN she made her bed, then it’s normal to use PAST SIMPLE
Ex: I made my bed this morning / at 9am / when I got up

 
 
4. I haven’t watched any TV

Did she say when the time period started? No. So she uses the present perfect. Compare this with Past Simple where you DO normally say the time.

Ex: I didn’t watch any TV last night / yesterday / on Thursday

 
 
5. I’ve taken care of my body

She’s thinking about some time in the past when she started doing exercise and eating well, but she hasn’t told us the exact moment when that started. This exercising and good eating regime is continuing up to the present moment though. Look. Here body is still in good shape now. Compare this to past simple where you say when the time ban or finished…

Ex: I took good care of my body when I was a teenager / a young girl / in first year at school
All of these time periods are FINISHED in the speaker’s opinion. The speaker is NOT thinking about the past AND the present together any more. This implies that the “taking good care of the body” has finished!

 
 
6. Maybe I’ve had a tiny bit too much to eat today

In Thelma’s opinion, TODAY IS NOT FINISHED, IT IS STILL CONTINUING. When the time period is not finished/over then she has the possibilty to eat more food today for example.

FINISHED TIME PERIOD = PAST SIMPLE
TIME PERIOD CONTINUING = PRESENT PERFECT

I had too much to eat last night / yesterday / on my summer holiday (Past Simple)
I’ve had too much to eat today / this morning / this week (Present Perfect)

 
 
7. I’ve joined an online dating agency

At some time in the past (we don’t know when) she joined the dating agency. Now, she is still a member of the dating agency. There is an unbroken line of time between the past and now. We just don’t know when the past action (joining the agency) started. Compare this with a past simple version of the sentence with the exact time stated clearly.

Ex: I joined a dating agency yesterday / last Monday / in August

 
 
8. I’ve found him

She found her boyfriend at some point in the past (which she didn’t mention) and she still has him right there next to her. She’s thinking about the past and all the time continuing from that point up to the present moment NOW. Compare the Present Perfect v Past Simple…

Past Simple = time is clearly stated

I found him yesterday / on Monday / at the weekend
 

Present Perfect = time is not mentioned

I’ve found him

You might like our other Present Perfect blogs in this series…

1. Infographic
2. Jack The Ripper

Look at the present perfect examples highlighted in bold. Then read the explanations after the text.

“Jack the Ripper” is the famous story of a mass murderer from Victorian London. He killed at least 5 women by slashing their throats and then cutting out their organs. As police have never solved the murders, this legend has fascinated the public for the whole of the last century. Researchers have put forward over 100 differrent theories as to the identity of the killer. The story has inspired numerous novels and movies.

The real name of “Jack the Ripper” has been the subject of speculation since 1888. But now, experts believe that they have found the identity of the serial killer from the East End of London.

Charles Cross, who was a cart driver, is the name of the most likely suspect. He claimed that he found Polly Nichols (the first murder victim) when she was already dead and was standing at the side of the road when more people turned up.

However, a witness, Robert Paul told police that he saw Charles Cross crouching over Polly Nichols and he was touching the body. The experts believe that Cross was the killer and was disturbed as he was mutilating Polly Nicholl’s corpse.

The author experts, Holmgren and Stow said that, “Cross hasn’t been the subject of much investigation and has appeared only vaguely in census records. We have found out that he gave a false name to police and his real name was Charles Latchmere. He walked past every single murder scene on his way to work and all the murders happened at the time when he would have been making that journey.”

Present Perfect Explained

Why do we use the present perfect tense in these sentences?

 
Now, I’m sure you’ve all heard from lots of English teachers that the present perfect “connects the past to the present”, which isn’t really super helpful.

In the Jack the Ripper story, the start of the tale is 1888 when the first woman was killed. That is our PAST.

The PRESENT is now, i.e. September 2012.

So let’s look at our sentences with those two times (1888-past & 2012-present) as our reference points.

PRESENT PERFECT EXAMPLES

 
1. Police have never solved the murders
Or we could say…
Police have not solved the murders from the time of the killings (1888) up until now (2012).

So you can see that the time period that we are thinking of is ALL OF THE TIME from the past point (1888) UP TO & INCLUDING the present moment (2012).
This is how the past time connects to the present time. It is an UNBROKEN, CONTINUING LINE OF TIME from the past action all the way through to the present moment.

 
 
2. This legend has fascinated the public
Or we could say…
This legend has fascinated the public from the time of the killings (1888) ALL THE TIME up until now (2012).
Again, there is an UNBROKEN LINE, A CONTINUATION OF TIME between the past until the present.

 
 
3. Researchers have put forward over 100 different theories
Or we could say…
Researchers have put forward over 100 different theories from the time of the killings (PAST) up until now (PRESENT).

 
 
4. The story has inspired numerous novels
Or…
The story has inspired numerous novels from the time of the killings (1888) AND INCLUDING ALL OF THE YEARS/TIME INBETWEEN up until now (2012)

 
 
5. The real name of “Jack the Ripper” has been the subject of speculation since 1888
This sentence explains itself, doesn’t it?
From the time of the killings in the past (1888) and including all the time up until now (2012) people have been speculating about Jack the Ripper

 
 
6. …experts believe that they have found the identity of the serial killer…
This sentence uses a different time in the past – this past is NOT 1888… it is much more recent, more like last month, August 2012.
This is like the classic textbook sentence, “I lost my keys, but now I have found them”.
They are telling people the news (the new things). No-one new about the evidence, but now

They didn’t have the evidence about the identity and then they discovered it (last month)… but they still have the evidence in their hands.
There was a RESULT IN THE PAST and that RESULT IS STILL TRUE IN THE PRESENT.

There is a continuing line of time of ‘HAVING the evidence’. They had it in the middle of August. They had it at the end of August. They had it at the beginning of September. They have it now . At no time did they lose the the evidence. From the moment of discovering the evidence, they have kept it.

Present Perfect v Past Simple

 
If the sentence was only…

“They found the evidence.” (PAST SIMPLE)
I would want to know WHEN they found it… OR what did they do with the evidence after that.

So, it would be more normal to say the exact time when it happened…
“They found the evidence on August 12th, 2012” (PAST SIMPLE)

Or, what happened after that…
“They found the evidence and then gave it to the police..” (PAST SIMPLE)

 
USING THE PRESENT PERFECT version experts believe that they have found the identity of the serial killer tells us that at some point in the past (WE DON’T KNOW EXACTLY WHEN BECAUSE IT’S NOT IMPORTANT) the experts found the evidence and they still have that evidence NOW.

 
 
7. Cross hasn’t been the subject of much investigation and has appeared only vaguely in census records.
Or….
Cross hasn’t been the subject of much investigation from the TIME OF OUR PAST (1888) AND ALL THE TIME UP TO NOW (2012). Just like sentences 1 to 5.

 
 
8. We have found out that he gave a false name to police

This is the same explanation as for number 6. At some point in the PAST (WE DON’T KNOW WHEN) some action happened and NOW IN THE PRESENT TIME that action is still true. We are thinking about the PAST AND THE PRESENT TOGETHER & ALL THE TIME INBETWEEN WITHOUT ANY BREAK IN THE TIME PERIOD.

I hope you can understand the present perfect a bit more clearly now – because I’m not going to write all of that out again!!!

Do you want to see something funny about the present perfect after all that studying?
 

This week we will have a different look at the present perfect tense to help you understand this confusing grammar once and for all!!!

Finally learn how to use the present perfect tense properly with our series of grammar posts this week.

Come back everyday this week for loads of explanations and exercises to help simplify the present perfect.

They were part of the famous Manchester scene. Their first album was released in the late 1980s. Their second album only came out in 1994 and soon after they broke up in 1996. The band had been best friends before they split up. However, afterwards they didn’t speak to each other.

The guitarist John Squire had always said that he did not want to reform the band and had quit music and become a painter. Ian Brown, the singer, had continued his career. The bassist Mani had joined another band called Primal Scream but the drummer hadn’t played music for years.

Fans of the band are extremely happen that they have reunited and are now playing gigs again. They may even be releasing a new album in 2013.

Have a look at what they were like before:

The Past Perfect

This text talks about the break up which is a past event but it also talks about what happened BEFORE the band split up. To do this PAST PAST TIME it uses the PAST PERFECT tense.

 The band had been best friends before they split up.

Here, the past time is the time when they split up and it tells you that before that time they were best friends.

We make the PAST PERFECT like we make the PRESENT PERFECT but with HAD. So, you have:

GRAMMAR: Subject + had + Past Participle

Here are some more examples from the text:

1. The guitarist John Squire had always said that he did not want to reform the band and had quit music.
2. Ian Brown, the singer, had continued his career.
3. Mani had joined another band called Primal Scream
4. the drummer hadn’t played music for years.

You can use the PAST PERFECT to talk about a time before another or an event before another.

Questions

1)What had you studied before you learned English?

2)Before the London 2012 Games, which cities had hosted the Olympics?

For those of you who don’t know, one of Britain’s best-loved exports of TV is the brilliantly named Bear Grylls. His show about survival in the wild, called Man vs. Wild or Born Survivor (as it’s called in the UK), has been running since 2006 and it was unique to TV. Unfortunately, his employers, The Discovery Channel, had some bad news for him, as he has now been sacked.

Apparently the company and Bear could not agree on a contract for a new programme. Therefore they have just decided to end all association with him. Bear’s goals have always been to bring challenging and interesting shows for many of his fans around the world. He’s taken a lot of risks doing crazy, extreme things and anyone who has seen his shows can confirm that he is one crazy man. But fun to watch!

Some of things had him heading for the desert and surviving by drinking urine from a rattlesnake’s skin, and wrestling alligators, eating deer poo and disgusting insects. He did these things to show the world how to survive, using things that can only be found in the world – hence the drinking and eating of all these nasty things! These extreme things have also attracted him several Hollywood fans such as Will Ferrell and Jake Gyllenhaal, who have also joined in with some of his adventures.

However, it has not always been positive for Bear. He did apologise for misleading viewers in 2008 when it appeared that he was left in the wild for a period of many days. In reality, he stayed in a motel. Additionally, one adventure included him trying to obtain some honey from a beehive. Unfortunately for him, the bees were not happy and he got stung in the face. Moments later, his face started to swell for being allergic to the stings. It actually got so bad that he couldn’t see. However, for all these problems, he’s still respected.

I’m sure that another channel will ask him to make more interesting programmes because he does have a huge worldwide fan base who are all for his extreme adventures. I actually met him in person as a student of mine from the Ukraine (where he is also very popular) saw that he was doing a book signing in London. He seemed like a very nice guy and my student was extremely happy to get a photograph with him and a signed book. Not just for him, but his friends too!

Glossary

To swell

to become larger than normal, usually by a collection of liquid

To sting

to prick or wound with a sharp-pointed, often venom-bearing organ

To mislead

to make people think something else that is not true

‘For’ meanings

 
 
Directed at, giving/receiving something

“…had some bad news for him”

“Bring…interesting shows for his fans”

“Not just for him…”

Going towards (something or somewhere)

“…heading for the desert”

Supporting (opposite of against)

“…who are all for his extreme adventures”

Because of ( + noun or verb-ing)

“…his face started to swell for being allergic to the stings”

Over a period of time/distance

“…he was left in the wild for a period of many days”

Despite

“…for all these problems, he’s still respected”

Technology is moving. It is moving so fast that there is now an interactive bus stop advert – just for women! And it is here, right in Oxford Street. The interactive screen aims to show a 40-second advert only to women and girls. Although how can they do that?

Well, there will be a screen with a camera that will measure facial features of the person in front of it and then it will decide whether it is either a man or woman. Once determined that it is a female, it will show the advert. Otherwise, a male would just be directed to a website. Despite the problems this may cause, it guesses correctly 90% of the time.

The advert was placed by the organisation Plan UK, a children’s charity. They want to highlight the huge problem women and girls face in developing countries – things like poverty and discrimination – and not getting the choice to decide how to lead their lives. They have said that men will not get the direct chance to see the advert even though it is in public view, as this is to make them understand about gender discrimination. The interactive ad will be displayed at the bus stop outside Selfridges and will be available for 2 weeks from the 22 February, at a cost £30,000. Although the camera will take your picture, none of the data captured will be stored.

I am always interested in new technological ways of promoting something, especially when it is in the heart of London. I am not sure if this advert is money well-spent though. If it was a big corporate company, I would feel that money isn’t a problem to create an innovative new promotion. In spite of the fact that they are a charity, I feel that the money could have been better spent on the actual children that they are trying to help. A normal poster at that bus stop would have cost 1/10^th of that amount. Furthermore, what happens if you are a woman and the advert thinks you are a man? How would that help a young woman’s self-esteem, particularly if she is humiliated in public?

So, what do you think – is the advert a good way of highlighting an issue, despite costing a lot? And what is actually in this 40-second advert? Well, stroll down to Selfridges and take a look for yourself – even though you may not be woman!

Clauses of Contrast

• Use although, though, even though + clause

• Although and even though can be used in the beginning or middle of a sentence

“Although the camera will take your picture, none of the data captured will be stored”

• Even though is stronger than although and expresses a big or surprising contrast

“…men will not get the direct chance to see the advert even though it is in public view”

• Though is more informal and can be used in the middle or at the end of a sentence

“I am not sure if this advert is money well-spent though”

• After in spite of or despite use a noun, verb + ing or the fact that + subject + verb
  • “Despite the problems this may cause, it guesses correctly 90% of the time”
  • “In spite of the fact that they are a charity, I feel that the money…”
  • “…a good way of highlighting an issue, despite costing a lot”

*Do not use of with despite NOT despite of costing a lot
 
 

There is one question that people still ask: how did she die? We know that she died in the bath after a late night party. Unfortunately, nobody knows exactly, and the doctors said it will be another few weeks until they know the full reason. Some fans blame her husband, Bobby Brown, for indirectly causing her death. They did not like him at all. Did he have a bad influence? Only he knows, but everyone thinks yes. They thought that when they married in 1992, her life got worse.

However, other fans just want to  see the positive things in her life. She did a lot of great things:

• She sold 170 million records all over the world
• She had 11 UK and US number one songs
• She won six Grammy awards
• Her song “I Will Always Love You” was the biggest-selling song of 1992 and is still the biggest today by a female singer
• Her film ‘The Bodyguard’ was also very successful and made her a movie star, as well as a singer

It is a shame that she did not have a good image when she died, but she will always be remembered by her fans for her earlier good things…especially for her magical voice. The funeral on Saturday gave time for people to think about the good parts of her life and they did not forget that she was once the ‘Pop Princess’. The funeral ended with her most famous song “I Will Always Love You” and it was a nice way to close the life of a superstar.

Past Simple

1.     The past simple expresses a past action that is finished, usually with a past time

2.     The verbs are divided into two groups; regular and irregular.

3.     Regular verbs are formed by adding –ed to the end of it (e.g. want – wanted).

4.     A list of irregular verbs can be found here.

5.     The form of the past simple verbs is the same in all people

Positive

I/he/she/it/we/you/they  +  past simple verb

Whitney Houston died in a hotel

Negative

I/he/she/it/we/you/they   +   didn’t (did not)   +   infinitive

They did not like him

Questions

Question word (what/where/how etc.)   +   did   +   I/he/she/it/we/you/they   +   infinitive

How did she die?

Yes/No Questions

Did   +   I/he/she/it/we/you/they   +   infinitive

Did he have a bad influence?

A lot of students have told me that London is the best place to meet people. Although, finding friends is one thing and finding love is another. However, in this huge city there is anything for anyone, and definitely someone for anyone. As Valentine’s Day is coming up, there’s always going to be people who want to find love on this particular day. Finding that person can be difficult, and going on that nervous first date can be very tricky – what do you say, what do you wear etc. This applies not just to students, or Londoners, or foreigners, but to people everywhere in the world.

So if you’re looking for love and have a romantic date coming up this Valentine’s Day, try these rules of Date Club:

The first rule of Date Club is…

You do not talk about yourself all the time. As the opposite sex likes to be the focus of attention, it is good to keep the conversation on them (particularly if you are a woman). Secretly, we’re all egomaniacs and your date would be as pleased as punch at the interest you would give them.

The second rule is…

You do not talk about your Ex-partner. The worst thing to do when on a date is to talk about any previous boyfriends or girlfriends. This would naturally lead to comparisons like, “She/He is not as tall as you” or “You are just the same as him/her”. Your date would be as dead as a doornail.

The third rule is…

If someone seems disinterested within half an hour, call it game over.  It may be that your job as a bartender or life as a student might not be what the other person is looking for. Or maybe there’s just not that initial first spark. Whatever it is, it is as plain as day when someone’s just not interested. It’s different if you have to spend time together, for example working or studying, but usually people do not have that much patience on dates.

The fourth rule is…

Only two people to a first date: just you and your potential love interest. People might say that a double date is better for a first meeting, but unfortunately it will just add that added pressure and prolong any bad dates. As your friend gets the drinks, you could be left alone with the other two who might either ignore you or it could lead to awkward silences. You would have to be as cool as a cucumber to handle two at once.

As Grammar

We can use as in many different ways:

1. To give a reason: “As the opposite sex likes to be the focus of attention it, is good to keep the conversation on them”

2.     To compare people or things: “You are just the same as him/her”

3.     To describe someone or something’s job or function: “your life as a student”

4.     To say that something happens while something else is happening (=when): “As your friend gets the drinks, you could be left alone with the other two”

As Idioms

As pleased as punch

very happy about something

As dead as a doornail

When something is definitely not possible anymore

As plain as day

very simple, understandable

As cool as a cucumber

calm, not nervous

As quiet as a mouse

someone who is very shy and introverted

 
As a bonus, here is a cool song, ‘As‘ sung by George Michael & Mary J Blige. The original version is by Stevie Wonder, but as I couldn’t find a good quality video of Stevie doing it, you’ll have to do with George. Anyway, if you’ve ever wanted to know what a whole club of George Michaels looks like, this is the video for you!
The lyrics (the words to the song) are written out for you under the video…there are lots of uses of ‘as’….as you can see
 

George Michael ft Mary J. Blige : As von tartenpion333

AS (by Stevie Wonder)

As around the sun the earth knows she’s revolving
And the rosebuds know to bloom in early may
Just as hate knows love’s the cure
You can rest your mind assure
That I’ll be loving you always

As now can’t reveal the mystery of tomorrow
But in passing will grow older every day
Just as all that’s born is new
You know what I say is true
That I’ll be loving you always

CHORUS
(Until the rainbow burns the stars out in the sky)
Always
(Until the ocean covers every mountain high)
Always
(Until the dolphin flies and parrots live at sea)
Always
(Until we dream of life and life becomes a dream)

Did you know that true love asks for nothing
No no her acceptance is the way we pay
Did you know that life has given love a guarantee
To last through forever and another day

Just as time knew to move on since the beginning
And the seasons know exactly when to change
Just as kindness knows no shame
Know through all your joy and pain
That I’ll be loving you always

You can see a little bit of yourself in one or some of the following statements, can’t you?

• You sit down at work for long periods every day, don’t you?
• You watch TV all evening sitting on the sofa, don’t you?
• You have got into the habit of being online for hours on end without taking a break, haven’t you?
• You will often play video games hunched over the screen, won’t you?

The Bad News

If so, I’ve got some worrying news for you! If you sit down for over six hours per day then you face some serious medical dangers:

1. You could be reducing your life by up to seven years
2. Your risk of getting heart disease is 64% higher than people who live a more active life
3. You are much more at risk of developing colon cancer

It‘s hard to believe, isn’t it? You don’t want to have a heart attack or die seven years early, do you?

The Good News

You can avoid these problems if you do the following:

• Get out of your chair as often as possible and stand up and stretch.
  Do at least 30 minutes of activity every day.

It isn’t that hard to do, is it?
However, it‘s not so easy to remember to do this all the time, is it?
Get help by downloading free software that will remind you with an alarm to stop hunching over your computer all day.
For the Mac, you can download Time Out for free.
For Windows, there’s Breaker or Workrave.

I have got Time Out running on my computer and it’s great. It’s also unbelievable how quickly the time flies by and you get an alarm (which is 100% adjustable) and then realise it’s time to get out of your bad posture position!

If you want more information on the dangers of sitting, take a look at the excellent cartoons at the bottom of the page after the grammar explanation.

Here are a couple of very quick vids that show you how to do some stretches if you have to stay sitting in your office chair. It would look weird if you got down on the floor and started doing some yoga-tastic moves, wouldn’t it? More importantly though, they’ve got subtitles for English students! That‘s always a help, isn’t it?

Question Tags

In spoken English we put a ‘mini-question’ on the end of a normal sentence to make it into a question.
This question tag at the end of the sentence uses an auxiliary (or helping) verb like do, have, will, should, can, could and ‘to be’

Examples:

• (HAVE) You have got into the habit of being online for hours, haven’t you?
  (BE) It‘s not so easy to remember to do this all the time, is it?

As you can see, when your sentence is (grammatically) positive, then the question tag is negative

• You have got into the habit of being online for hours, haven’t you?
  You have…..(POSITIVE)…………………………….., haven’t you? (NEGATIVE)

And when the sentence is (gramatically) negative, then the question tag is positive

• It‘s not so easy to remember to do this all the time, is it?
  It is not……(NEGATIVE)……………………………., is it? (POSITIVE)

So, POSITIVE SENTENCE = NEGATIVE TAG

and NEGATIVE SENTENCE = POSITIVE TAG

This works for any ‘helping verb’ (listed above)

• It would look weird, wouldn’t it?
  You shouldn’t sit down, should you?

The problem is what happens when you can’t see/find the helping verb!
Well, then we use ‘do’ - or if the subject is he/she/it, we use ‘does’

• You watch TV all evening sitting on the sofa, don’t you?
  She sits down at work all day, doesn’t she?

Please note that when we have a sentence with ‘have got’, we do NOT use the ‘got’ in the question tag.

• You haven’t got back pain, have you?
  You’ve got a good office chair, haven’t you?

This year’s Australian tennis Open produced the longest final ever at nearly 6 hours. Well, 5 hours and 53 minutes to be precise, and people could not stop watching it wherever they were in the world. It was no surprise that it was between the current world no.1, Novak Djokovic, against one of the all-time greats (even at only 25), Rafa Nadal. It was a superb and exhausting final, but also a truly amazing spectacle between two athletes in their prime – with some experts saying it was the greatest tennis match ever. It was a shame that someone had to lose but whoever did was not important to the viewers. We were entertained and that was the main thing.

However, whenever these two have played in the past, it has always been an epic battle. This one was just the best of the best. If you saw the match, you would have seen that however good Nadal played, Djovokic was that little bit better and that little bit stronger. Although Djokovic won this time, altogether they have now played 30 times and Nadal actually has the slight advantage of 16 wins to Djokovic’s 14. And whichever surface they play on, they always have close matches. Nadal is known as the ‘King of Clay’ so generally he wins the French Open, but recently Djokovic has been dominating the other surfaces and it looks like he will continue to do so.

Even though they are opponents on the court, they are actually good friends off it. Therefore, they have a very respectable rivalry. They have the same manager and have often been seen eating together in restaurants or playing golf. So whichever activity they choose to do, they always seem to be with each other!

There is one other player who is missing in all this: Roger Federer (unfortunately not Andy Murray). He is also regarded as one, if not the, best tennis player ever. And together, their matches are called the ‘Trivalry’. Wherever the other two go, Federer is not far behind. Of course he’s a bit older and his winning ratio is slowly decreasing, but he has been at the top of the game for almost 10 years now. He has won a record 16 grand slams, something which the other two have a long way to go to match. Whatever people think, he is still playing some great tennis and you shouldn’t discount him from any tournament.

You don’t really need to choose who you would like to get to the next Open final (which will be the French), because whoever it is – Nadal, Djokovic, Federer – it is always worth watching. Whatever you do, don’t miss the next one!

Whoever, Whichever etc. Grammar

We use whenever to mean ‘at any time’ or ‘it doesn’t matter when’, e.g. Come to school whenever you like.

We can also use:

• Whichever = any thing from a limited number

“Whichever surface they play on, they always have close matches”

• However = it doesn’t matter how

“However good Nadal played, Djovokic was that little bit better”

• Wherever = any place

“Wherever the other two go, Federer is not far behind”

• Whoever = any person

“Whoever gets to a final – Nadal, Federer, Djokovic – you are always guaranteed value for money”

• Whatever = any thing

“Whatever you do, don’t miss the next one!”

They also have the meaning ‘it doesn’t matter what / which / who / how / where.’

New Years Eve is fast approaching and if you are planning on staying in London for it, here is a guide of what could be done:

The River Thames: First of all, NYE wouldn’t be the same without fireworks, so the best place to be? Of course it is the River Thames. The best spots to be are either Embankment or underneath the London Eye. Last year over 250,000 people saw the fireworks display, and there may well be just as many people this year, if not more. People normally arrive 3 hours before midnight and BBC radio 1 will be providing a live DJ set. It is totally free but there is unlikely to be any alcohol sold which means you need to bring your own booze.

Trafalgar Square: If you can’t get to the River Thames, there’s always Trafalgar Square. Ok, so I doubt if you can see much of the fireworks and it is bound to be just as crowded as by the Thames. However, it is sure to be fun counting down the time until midnight, which is usually displayed on the big screen, and then kiss the nearest person. It’s a nice social way to see in the New Year.

Primrose Hill: If you don’t fancy central London, try getting to Primrose Hill for a fantastic, panoramic view across London – there you are likely to be able to take your pick of the fireworks! The area is not controlled and you don’t need a ticket as it’s basically just a public park. So even if you don’t make it for NYE, try visiting it one day.

Pubs & Bars: Most clubs would require a ticket or an entrance fee, so you would need to check in advance. I don’t suppose tickets would be expensive for pubs, but it is more than likely that club tickets would be £20 or over. There’s Camino in Kings Cross, which is good for a combination of food and music, Guanabara in Covent Garden for some samba beats, Boogaloo in Highgate for some local live music, or an electro night NYE party at Corsica Studios in Elephant & Castle.

House Party: Probably the best thing (and my preferred choice) is spending it with friends at a house party. Whether you organise it yourself or at one of your friends, I should think you will find one. It is definitely the most practical option. You won’t be stuck in crowds out in the cold finding a way to get to places, but be with the people you want to. Who better to see in the New Year with?

Additionally, I can’t imagine anyone having trouble getting home because most of the London Underground is open all night – and it’s free!

Whatever you decide to do – whether you are outside in Central London, in a pub or club, at home with friends – have a Happy New Year. Wishing everyone a great 2012…it is sure to be a good one!

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.
 

Levels of Certainty about the Future

• We use these phrases when we think something will definitely happen:

Be bound to + infinitive: it is bound to be just as crowded…

Be sure to + infinitive: it is sure to be a good one…

Be more than likely to + infinitive: it is more than likely that club tickets…

• We use these phrases when we think something definitely won’t happen:

I can’t imagine: I can’t imagine anyone having trouble…

• We use these phrases when we think something will probably happen:

Be likely to + infinitive: you are likely to be able to…

May well + infinitive: there may well be just as many people…

I should think: I should think you will find one…

• We use these phrases when we think something probably won’t happen:

Be unlikely to + infinitive:                        there is unlikely to be any alcohol…

I don’t suppose: I don’t suppose tickets would be expensive…

I doubt if: I doubt if you can see much of the fireworks…

 
Here’s last year’s fireworks from New Year’s Eve in central London…

 

The present perfect sentences are about sometime in the past, but the exact time is not mentioned, i.e. the time is unspecified. This non-specific past time use is one of the four main ways of using the present perfect tense.

The past simple sentences are also about the past, but the the time is clearly stated. We know exactly when these actions happened (e.g. yesterday / December 26^th etc)

There is a grammar explanation of present perfect vs past simple after the article

Challenge to the Hunting Act

The Agriculture Minister, Jim Paice has challenged the Prime Minister, David Cameron to repeal the law which bans hunting with dogs. This comes after around 250,000 people turned out for over 300 traditional Boxing Day hunts across the UK on 26^th December. Previously, Jim Paice has said that the ban ‘simply doesn’t work’ and has made a ‘mockery of the law’. Additionally, hunt supporters have described the act as ‘failed’.

Support for fox hunting

The Prime Minister has made it known that he personally supports the lifting of the ban, but he has not set aside any Parliamentary time for a vote to repeal the act (Note: ‘Act’ is another word for ‘law’).

In his statement on Boxing Day, The Agriculture Minister went on to say that ‘virtually all levels of authority – the courts and the police – have criticised the hunting act as unenforceable. Making the police enforce the law just distracts them from more important issues’.

A spokesman for The Countryside Alliance (who are committed to seeing the ban overturned) said yesterday that, ‘It is a point of pride for rural communities across Britain that, despite the prejudice and ignorance of some, hunting remains as strong as ever’.

The Government has promised to allow MPs a free vote on whether to bring forward legislation to repeal the Hunting Act, but as yet, they have not specified a date as to when this might happen.

Support for the ban

The Chief Executive of The League Against Cruel Sports responded yesterday by saying: ‘It is utterly appalling that people can think the act of chasing a wild animal with hounds to the point of exhaustion and then taking pleasure in watching it being killed is acceptable. Thankfully the hunting act has made this cruel bloodsport illegal and there is absolutely no desire among the general public to bring it back.’

The League Against Cruel Sports has also published a poll of 2,126 people suggesting that repealing the fox hunting ban would be deeply unpopular with the general public as 66% of those polled believed that the ban should stay in place.

Additionally, the Labour Environment spokesperson saidyesterday that there was “no place for animal cruelty in a civilised society”.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.
 

Present Perfect vs Past Simple

Present Perfect

One of the uses of the Present Perfect is to talk about a time in the past without specifying that time

Examples:

1. I have been to France twice

(From this statement, we understand that the speaker has visited France two times in their life before now. But, we do not know if it was in 2010, 2004, 1998…we do not know the exact date.)

2. The Government has promised to allow MPs a free vote on repealing the Hunting Act
(Again, we know that this happened at some point in the past before now, but not exactly when this took place…it could have been one week ago, 2 months ago, 1 year ago – the time is unspecified)

3. Hunt supporters have described the act as ‘failed’.

(Can you see here again that the past time is not specified?)

Past Simple

The difference between the present perfect and the past simple is that with the past simple we normally say the exact time that something happened

Examples:

1. I went to France last August

(Here, the exact time ‘last August’ is stated, so we use the past simple/preterite tense. In British English, it would be wrong to say I have been to France last August.

2. A Labour MP said yesterday that there was “no place for animal cruelty in a civilised society”.

(Here the exact time of the action happening is stated – yesterday, so we use the past simple.)

3. Around 250,000 people turned out for over 300 traditional hunts across the UK on 26 December.

(Can you see that again here the time is explicitly stated? – 26 December

December 26^th is a national holiday in the UK and its name is Boxing Day. It might have started around 800 years ago, but nobody is sure about the exact date. During the Middle Ages, the day after Xmas was when alms boxes (collection boxes in which people used to donate money to the local poor) used to be opened and all the money collected over the last year used to be be given to the poor. Boxing day also used to be called Offering Day.

The Romans brought this tradition of collection boxes to Britain. However, they didn’t use to collect money for charity. They used to bet the collected money in games that they played during their winter Saturnalia celebrations.

The earliest boxes didn’t use to be box-shaped. They were rounder in shape and had a slit in the top (like a piggy bank). They didn’t use to be made of wood as you may expect; they were earthenware pots. They could only be opened by smashing them. In the 17^th Century, it was traditional for apprentices to ask the customers in their shop to donate spare change in the run-up to Xmas. On Boxing Day, the apprentices used to eagerly smash open the boxes…and this is where the expression ‘having a smashing time’ comes from (this means ‘having a great time’)

In the recent past, retailers used to start their end-of-year sales on Boxing Day. This used to be the best day of the year in terms of revenue as young people epecially were desperate to get out of the house and spend their Xmas money. However, since the rise of internet shopping and the economic crisis of 2008, shops have started having their sales even before Xmas as they desperately try to win back customers.

So with the last minute shopping late into the night on Xmas Eve and an early start to the shopping orgy on Boxing Day, now there is only the 24-hour break on Xmas Day when you can avoid retail stress at Xmas!
 

Used to + infintive

Examples:
People used to donate money to the local poor
Boxing day used to be called Offering Day.
Retailers used to start their sales on Boxing Day
 
This tells us that a REPEATED ACTION (a habit) from the past has stopped now.
 
Boxing day used to be called Offering Day.
(It’s not called Offering Day anymore)

Retailers used to start their sales on Boxing Day
(Retailers don’t start their sales on Boxing Day now. This action stopped. Now they start earlier, before Xmas.)
 

Negative: didn’t use to + infinitive

The Romans didn’t use to collect money for charity
The boxes didn’t use to be made of wood

Notice that with the negative form, the ‘d’ is deleted from the end of ‘used’. However, the pronunication (when you say it) is exactly the same!!!
 
This is the same when you ask a question…

Interrogative:  did (subject) use to  +  infinitive….?

Did the Romans use to collect money for taxes?
Did the boxes use to be made of wood?
 

Listen to the same pronunciation of used to/use to in every form.

(positive) He used to have long hair when he was 16.
(negative) He didn’t use to have long hair when he was 12.
(question) Did he use to have long hair when he was a child?

Common Mistakes with ‘used to’

1. I used to live in Berlin since 2009. I still live there.
(This is wrong because ‘used to’ describes something in the past that has STOPPED. In this example, the ‘living in Berlin’ is still continuing. The correct way to say it would be with the Present Perfect/Present Perfect continuous, e.g. I have been living in Berlin since 2009.)

2. He used to driving to work every day when he lived in Oxford.
(This is wrong because after ‘used to’ when describing the past, you must use the infinitive.

If you say something like…
I am used to speaking German now after living in Berlin for 3 years
(to be  +  used to  +  -ing)
This means that you are happy/comfortable with a situation now…it’s not a problem for you anymore.

Unfortunately for the Brits, Xmas Eve (as we call Dec 24^th) is not as nice as that. We do have all the traditions that you have on the continent, but we we just do it later than them. As you probably know, for people in the UK (and in America and Australia) Dec 25^th, Xmas Day is much more important than Dec 24^th.
 
In fact, Xmas Eve is as normal as any other day of the year. Lots of people go to work and all the shops and supermarkets are open…and perhaps even later than normal. However, the stress of shopping is even worse than on other days, as thousands of people do their last minute Xmas shopping. The supermarkets are absolutely rammed full of people buying all the crucial ingredients to make the perfect Xmas lunch. It’s also very common to see men sprinting around Oxford St, or shopping malls on Xmas Eve, carrying loads of shopping bags full of presents, trying to remember the last essential gift that they haven’t bought yet…and can’t for the life of them remember what it was. (Even David Beckham was caught doing this today). Every year, lots of people swear that they will never do that again and be better the next year: they will buy their Xmas presents earlier in December, but it never seems to get any better. All of this means that for many Brits, Xmas Eve is more stressful than any other day of the year.
 
However, due to the unstoppable rise of internet shopping, the high street will probably see less action than in the past. Sites like Amazon.co.uk have made the whole shopping experience so much easier and less stressful than running around like a headless chicken at the last minute. But, there is still a catch even with that. As Amazon uses normal postal services to deliver their parcels and lots of people are out at work in the day, not at home to receive their packages then they have to go to their local post-depot to collect them. This usually means that everyone turns up on a Saturday morning. With last minute deliveries (come on, you didn’t think that people ordered their presents in October or November, did you?) this means that on Xmas Eve, at the last possible moment for collecting, the queues for missed deliveries are much, much longer than normal. So, you thought that you could avoid Xmas Eve shopping stress by being clever and using the internet and then you end up standing outside in the rain in the biggest queue of your life! Why not move to the continent all you Brits?
Or is Dec 23^rd, like this for everyone else? Let me know in the comments section.
However, Xmas Eve is great because Father Christmas comes at midnight and delivers all the presents!!
 

Comparatives

Adjectives with 1 Syllable

(long, nice, big):  + -er
e.g.
long > longer
 
big > bigger (Notice here that we have double ‘g’. This is because ‘big’ is an adjective where the last 3 letters are consonant(b)/vowel(i)/consonant(g). With these words, the last consonant, ‘g’ in this case, is doubled.)
 
nice > nicer  (Notice that the adjective here, ‘nice’ already has an ‘e’ on the end, so to get the –er ending, we just add an ‘r’)

Adjectives with 2 or more syllables

(normal, stressful, important): more / less  +  adjective
e.g.
important > more important

stressful > less stressful

Adjectives ending with the letter ‘y’

(easy, dirty, ):  delete –y and add  -ier
e.g.
easy > easier

Comparing Things

When things are the SAME

 
(as…as) Xmas Eve is as normal as any other day of the year
 

When 2 things are different

(not as…comparative…as) Xmas Eve in the UK is not as nice as Dec 24^th in continental Europe
 
(comparative + than)
In the UK we celebrate Xmas a day later than other European countries
 

2 Things Different, but we make it sound stronger

(much more + comparative + than) Xmas Eve is much more stressful than any other day of the year
 

2 Things Different, but we make it sound weaker

(less + comparative + than)

Internet shopping is much less stressful than last minute high street shopping

I had such a long and tiring day yesterday that all I could do last night was crash in front of the TV. Unfortunately, I got sucked into watching the X factor, a singing reality-show contest. It did not improve the opinion I had of it, but rather increased my annoyance of these reality shows, like Big Brother (which I blogged about here).

For anyone who cares, the X factor is a wildly popular show, which took over from Pop Idol, and is the brainchild of our very own Simon Cowell. It is so popular that the format has now started up in the USA. However, so much bad talent has come from this that you wonder how it is still going. Last night was the final between a guy from Liverpool, Marcus, and a teenage girl group, Little Mix. It was broadcasted live from Wembley Arena and it was so full of back-slapping and fake tears that it made you want to throw up.

What is even more sickening was that the winner, Little Mix, usually releases a cover of a great song for Christmas, and turns it into something unbearable to listen to. In the last few years Leonard Cohen / Jeff Buckley’s song “Hallelujah”, David Bowie’s “Heroes” and last night Damien Rice’s “Cannonball” have all been re-done. These are originally such great songs that it is a real shame they have to be ruined by a reality show. Last night was no exception because the finalists sung it so badly that I could not believe that the judges only gave them praise. The only benefit that I can see from this is the exposure that the original artists get from their songs being covered and the royalties that will come their way. The views for Damien Rice’s Cannonball on YouTube increased by over 50% after the final, so at least the public can see how much better it is. Coldplay was also on the show, and that was such a surprise I wondered if they were really that desperate for the exposure.

It is now normal for weekend TV during the latter part of the year to be dominated by the X Factor. I am just glad it is over for this one. Unfortunately it won’t be the last we will hear of it for this month because there is such big publicity that the Christmas No.1 song is now usually the winners of the show. After that who knows. With a few exceptions, there have been so many past winners of the show (particularly male ones) who are never heard of again. However, people think that Little Mix will be so popular that they could even be bigger than the Spice Girls.

It would be such a shame for the music industry if they were, so fingers-crossed that they won’t!

Here are the ‘pretty’ Little Mix singing with their mentor/judge, Tulisa. Do you really think that they will be bigger than The Spice Girls?

So / Such…that

So

We often use so / such…that to express a consequence.

• Use so + adjective / adverb:

It is so popular that the format has now started up in the USA

They sung so badly that I could not believe that the judges only gave them praise

• Use so much / so many + noun:

So much bad talent has come from this show (that) you wonder how it is still popular

There have been so many past winners of the show who are never heard of again

Such

• Use such a + adjective + single countable noun:

I had such a long and tiring day yesterday (that)…

• Use such + adjective + uncountable or plural noun:

These are originally such great songs (that) it is a shame they have to be ruined by a reality show

There is such big publicity (that)…

When most people in Britain think of Christmas they think of turkey, Christmas pudding and mince pies, but there have been some big changes to our idea of Christmas over the last 10 years.

If you had been in England in the last few weeks, you would have noticed wooden stalls and huts appearing in city centres: People standing around holding steaming cups of hot wine and eating sausages, sweets, gingerbread hearts, crepes, roasted almonds and pastries. If you’d been in Britain in 2000, it would’ve been hard to find these markets, but nowadays they’re in most British cities! But they aren’t actually British: these gatherings of Christmas cheer are actually German Christmas Markets.

This long-standing German tradition has become more and more popular in Britain since they first opened in Birmingham ten years ago. German companies realised that the Brits quite like the tradition of standing outside, surrounded by Christmas decorations, eating sausages (Bratwurst in German) and drinking mulled wine (Glühwein) and generally getting into the Xmas spirit. So the markets have been coming here every year to sell their delicious food and drink and help us get ready for Christmas.

Birmingham’s Frankfurt Xmas Market (as it is called), celebrating its 10^th anniversary this year, offers over 180 stalls of traditional handcrafted gifts, including old-school wooden toys, jewellery, candles and dolls. To add to the unique Xmas sounds and smells, there is also live music every lunchtime and evening from a traditional bandstand.

Looking for unusual Christmas presents in London is easy too. One of the biggest Xmas markets is on the Southbank, next to the famous London Eye. Again, it’s a typical German style, open-all-day market, full of wooden chalets and there is even a carousel (or a “merry-go-round” as we call it) for younger visitors.

Just like in Germany, they open in late November and run until Christmas Eve (24^th December), so you’ve still got a couple of weeks to experience Christmas German-style!

But don’t worry, you don’t have to wear Lederhosen to go to one of the English German Xmas markets!

PRESENT PERFECT vs PAST SIMPLE

Present Perfect Simple

In these sentences, the Present Perfect Simple is used to show past changes in a state which have a result in the present time. We are thinking about the past up to the present moment.

There have been some big changes to our idea of Christmas over the last 10 years.

Meaning – In 2000 the first German market opened. Between 2000 and 2011 people started to think differently about Christmas. We can see the results of that change now.

This long-standing German tradition has become more and more popular in Britain.

Meaning – The tradition wasn’t popular in the past. It grew in popularity. It is now much more popular than it was.

Form – subject + have/has + past participle + the rest of the sentence

e.g.   German Christmas Markets have grown in popularity over the last 10 years.

Past Simple

In these sentences, the Past Simple is used to show something started and finished in the past.

They first opened in Birmingham ten years ago.

Meaning – The first day of the markets (when they “opened”) was in 2000.

German companies realised that the Brits quite like the tradition.

Meaning – The act of “realising” was a point in time in the past (we don’t know exactly when, but sometime around the year 2000 when the markets first came to England).

Form – Subject + regular verb + ed / irregular past simple verb + the rest of the sentence

e.g. I visited the Christmas markets last week. / I drank a mulled wine.

If you have problems with the vocabulary, please see the definitions of the difficult words here.

Thousands of public sector workers are protesting in the streets today about the political row over pensions. The 24-hour walkout is being held after several unions combined forces to show their anger at government plans to reform pensions. The proposals mean that people will have to work for longer before they retire and also pay more to their pension contributions every month.

It is the biggest national strike for over 30 years and hospitals, schools, public transport and courts are all being effected by today’s walkout. Millions of children are having the day off school today as teachers and heads are picketing at school gates across the country, closing 75% of England’s schools for the day.

Heathrow airport was preparing for major disruption and were warning customers yesterday that they could expect a 2 or 3-hour wait in border queues. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said, “There are going to be queues, but we have contigency plans in place to lessen the impact of the strikes.” However, passengers landing there today said that border controls were ‘better than normal’. One regular passenger who arrived from the USA today said that getting through the airport was better than usual: “They were giving out free fruit and water, which they don’t usually do!” A spokesman for Heathrow said: We have over 400 additional customer services staff in our terminals. They are giving 24-hour support to passengers, providing information, food, drink and children’s activity packs.

What the main players said

• The leader of the biggest union, TUC told a rally: ‘The government are scrapping the bankers’ bonus tax and are replacing it with a teachers, nurses and lollipop ladies tax!’
• One of the government’s junior ministers called the strike-action unnecessary and said that the government was continuing negotiations with the unions.
• The General Secretary of the NASUWT teaching union said: The government is claiming publicly that they want to get round the table, when actually ministers have not called a meeting…that is misleading
• Another union leader said: People should be very proud of the stand they are making today, in contrast to the shame of the government.
• George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer said in a BBC interview: I’m not picking a fight with anyone. I’m trying to deal with this country’s debts that were racked up in the good years and unfortunately, now that we are in the difficult years, we are paying them off.

PROGRESSIVE FORMS

A Progressive form (to be  +  -ing)  can be in the past, present or future. We have to change the verb ‘to be’ according to when the action takes place.

e.g.

PAST: I was teaching yesterday, when suddenly the fire alarm went off

PRESENT:  I am writing an article now about grammar

FUTURE:  Tomorrow, I will be going for a walk with my dog in the forest.

Present Progressive

(am, is, are  +  -ing)

These actions are happening at the present moment, i.e. NOW. They started at some time in the past and they will stretch into some point in the future.

public sector workers are protesting in the streets today

Millions of children are having the day off school today

They are giving 24-hour support to passengers

The government are scrapping the bankers’ bonus tax and are replacing it with a teachers tax!

The government is claiming publicly that they want to get round the table

People should be very proud of the stand they are making today

I’m not picking a fight with anyone. I’m trying to deal with this country’s debts

Present progressive for future

We can also use the present progressive when we are talking about plans/expectations that will happen in the future.

There are going to be queues

Past Progressive

(was/were  +  -ing)

These actions/events were in progress (going on) at some specific point in past time.

Heathrow airport was preparing for major disruption and were warning customers yesterday that they could expect a 2 or 3-hour wait in border queues

They were giving out free fruit and water (earlier today)

Reported speech

This sentence is not the past progressive: it is reported speech of present progressive. When the Government minister actually spoke, he said: “The government is continuing negotiations with the unions.” This is an example of the present progressive as explained above. But, in reported speech, we step back from present to past with the verb ‘to be’. So we go from is continuing to was continuing

One of the government’s junior ministers called the strike-action unnecessary and said that the government was continuing negotiations with the unions.

NOT progressive

Just because a word ends with ‘ing’ and has the verb ‘to be’ before it, does NOT mean that this is a progressive case. In this example, misleading is an adjective. We could change that word for another adjective e.g. that is wrong. Now it looks much less like a progressive form, doesn’t it?

actually ministers have not called a meeting…that is misleading

The end of the world could’ve happened yesterday. What would you have done if you had known only a few hours before impact?

Ok, so this is an exaggeration. The asteroid 2005 YU55 safely passed the Earth at 11:28pm on Tuesday. It is 400metres in diameter and last night it was closer to the Earth than the moon. Maybe it was because I had just watched the film Melancholia (about a planet colliding into Earth with only a few hours warning), but I kept looking out of the window until 11:30pm. If the world was going to end, I wanted to know about it!

So the next day I wondered, “If I had seen the asteroid coming to earth, what would I have done in my last few hours?” I know, quite a morbid thought on a Wednesday morning. Anyway, to be honest, I’m quite a laid-back person so I wouldn’t have wanted to panic. I was also lucky because I was already with one person I loved, so I think I would’ve called my family and just watched the world end from my balcony. What about the other teachers?

Sarah, a relatively new teacher, was nice enough to respond to the question without thinking I was a weirdo: “If there had only been a few hours notice, I would’ve called all my friends to come over for one big end-of-the-world party!”

Roger, a distinctly older teacher replied: “I was washing the dishes a few hours before the asteroid passed. If I’d known it was going to hit Earth at this moment, I might’ve finished the washing-up. It depended on if I had wanted to die knowing that I had finished my chores.”

Bren said about last night: “If an asteroid was on target with the earth, I would make a bad joke like, “Well, don’t worry about it. It’s not the end of the world, is it?” And then I’d think about possibly asking for … from the nearest babe.”

Maria, my current co-teacher, responded with: “That was never going to happen. But if it had, I would’ve taken the first flight to Africa to spend my last hours in the country I love the most – Mali.” Even if she’d had 12 hours warning, she probably couldn’t have taken a flight at such short notice anyway. Good thing that this never happened!

Apparently the next time an asteroid gets this close to Earth will be in 2029 – and it’ll be the same one. So you have a long time to think, “What would you do if it was going to hit the world?”

2nd Conditional: If + past simple / past continuous, subject + would/wouldn’t + infinitive

Use to talk about hypothetical situations in the present and future.

You can use might or could instead of would for possibility

• If the world was going to end, I would want to know about it

• If an asteroid was on target with the earth, I would make a bad joke
  

3rd Conditional: If + past perfect, subject + would/wouldn’t / could/could’ve / might + have + past participle

We use to talk about hypothetical situations with a past consequence

You can use might have or could have instead of would have for possibility

• If there had only been a few hours notice, I would’ve called all my friends to come over for one big end-of-the-world party

• If I’d known it was going to hit Earth at this moment, I might’ve finished the washing-up

• If she’d had 12 hours warning, she probably couldn’t have taken a flight at such short notice anyway.

Today’s top global celebrity news is the verdict from LA’s Superior Court: Michael Jackson’s personal doctor, Conrad Murray has been found guilty of manslaughter. The jury’s decision came after 2 days and 10 hours of deliberation as the world’s media waited with baited breath. However, they won’t know how long he will spend in prison until November 29^th when Murray’s sentence will be handed down. He could be given up to 4 years jail time.

In the judge’s statement (sometimes called ‘the summing up’) the doctor to the stars was described as ‘a danger to society’. That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it? It’s not like he killed anyone…oh, hold on, according to the court’s ruling, he DID kill someone: and not just anyone. That someone happened to be Michael Jackson – everybody’s favourite one-time musical genius turned plastic surgery madman.

Michael Jackson’s family wept in court as the guilty verdict was announced and later, La Toya’s one-word tweet read a thousand words: VICTORY.

Outside the court, there were scenes of jubilation as the fans’ joy erupted into an impropmtu acapella version of ‘Beat It’. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), no recording of the fans’ singing exists.

Rules for ’s and s’ possessive

1. Possessive nouns with ’s or s’ are used instead of the:

The phone that belongs to Jim = Jim’s phone (NOT Jim’s the car, the car of Jim)

The books that belong to Sam = Sam’s books

The doctor of Michael Jackson = Michael Jackson’s doctor

2. After a plural noun (brothers, friends) the apostrophe (’) goes AFTER the s:

I’m going to the Jones’ house

The fans’ joy could be heard outside the court

3. Possessives are used to talk about people and animals, but not things:

John’s wife / Gavin’s blogs / Dan’s jokes / Josh’s class / Max’s friend / the judge’s statemnet

4. BUT with things:

The roof of my mouth (NOT my mouth’s roof)

The name of the film (NOT the film’s name)

5. You can use ’s after more than one noun:

John and Nicky’s party

Mr and Mrs Smith’s house

Spielberg and Lucas’s latest film

6. Some time words/expressions can also have ’s:

Did you read yesterday’s newspaper?

Tomorrow’s lesson has been cancelled

Today’s top celebrity news

Look at the verbs in bold. Are they present perfect (thinking about the past up to now) or the past simple (finished actions from the past)???

Justin Beiber has fathered a baby… oops hold on, that’s not right. A ‘fan’ has claimed that Justin Beiber has been a little bit naughty and fathered her child. Baby, I mean Bieber has denied the allegations that he is the proud daddy of Mariah Yeater’s son, Tragedy, I mean, Tristyn.

Yeater said that she got pregnant after Bieber had a one-night stand with her backstage after one of his ‘miming sessions’, I mean, concerts in LA. I didn’t know he had it in him! He’s only 12 years old, isn’t he?

Yeater and her lawyers filed the case against Bieber in San Diego’s Superior Court last week. Bieber’s representative declared that the fart, I mean, ‘star’ will take a paternity test to prove his innocence when he gets back to the US in a fortnight. Yeater’s lawyers responded by saying that, “A test is the only way to definitely determine who the father is. They added that they filed the paternity suit because they believed in it and that their faith would continue.

However, Bieber swears that he has never met Yeater and on Sunday he described the allegations as ‘crap’. He used a naughty word!

At the MTV awards in Dublin, after he excitedly collected a prize for “Best new Haircut in Pop” Bieber shouted, “There’s been a lot of crap talked about me on the internet lately, but I’ve pulled through.” He thanked his fans for helping him through his troubled week: “It’s been incredible, my fans are amazing.”

Well, perhaps some fans are more amazing than others, eh Justin?

On Monday, the singing midget was in London to turn on the Xmas lights in the two huge Westfield shopping centres. Thousands of screaming idiots, I mean, fans travelled from as far away as Norway and then queued up for 12 hours to see the manufactured puppet press a light switch. Bieber travelled by helicopter between the two sites, as he is allegedly scared of walking.

Look out for past simple use of the helping verb did throughout the article. Did appears in negative sentences and questions.

Yesterday the producer, director and lead actors involved in the new James Bond film held a press conference. It all looks very good for the future because the producer, Barbara Broccoli has chosen a classy director and a fantastic cast, including Javier Bardem, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes and Albert Finney. These big names from the actor world didn’t agree to do the project until they had seen the script. So, that probably means that they thought that this is going to be a killer Bond movie. Or as Daniel Craig said: “It’s going to be a Bond with a capital B”

However, I’m a bit disappointed that the producers didn’t choose me to be Bond this time round! Why didn’t they think I was right for the role? I’m English, I’m in shape, I can run fast, I can drive fast, I can drink martini shaken not stirred, I look good in a suit, I will happily accept any free gifts from Rolex and the ladies go crazy for me. Oh hold on…that’s where it goes wrong, isn’t it! Sh*t!

Anyway, the press conference was good for photos and soundbites, but they didn’t reveal anything about the content of the movie. They didn’t even say what the Bond girls’ characters will be called. Why didn’t they just give us a name…just one little name to whet the appetite of the excited fans? But maybe they have decided to make the famous film franchise grow up and get serious, because the director introduced the Bond girls as Bond Ladies!

They didn’t tell us the reason for the name of the movie, SKYFALL either. They only said that the title refers to ‘some emotional context’ in the film.

So what did they say? Well, they confirmed that Javier Bardem will play the baddie. And despite earlier press reports that they didn’t plan to have any action and only concentrating on the dialogue and serious drama, the director confirmed that there will be lots of action scenes in London, China, India and Scotland. For the female fans, the producer promised that Daniel Craig is going to be taking his top off in the movie!

Why did they pick Daniel Craig to be the world’s most famous secret agent, James Bond in the first place? Well, because they wanted to revamp the series and make the films closer to the true spirit of Bond from the original books by Ian Fleming. In those novels, he was an ex-military, tough b*%stard, without any super gadgets and Craig brought back that spirit to his first two Bond movies, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.

DID

In affirmative/positive sentences about the past, notice that we DON’T use the helping verb did. In a positive past simple sentence we only use the past simple of the verb.

Look at the first positive past simple sentence for example:

Positive: They held a press conference.

NOT:  *They did held a press conference

NOT:  *They did hold a press conference

Negative: They didn’t even say what the Bond girls’ characters will be called.

Question: What did they say?

Hugh Grant has had a child at the age of 51. However, he has refused to reveal the identity of the mother of his baby daughter.

The actor who has starred in some of Britain’s biggest ever comedies (Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill), is best known for playing quintessential, bumbling English gentleman roles and is said to be thrilled at becoming a father.

Hugh and the secret mother apparently have separated after a ‘fleeting’ affair and the baby was not planned, but they are said to be ‘on good terms and Hugh could not be happier or more supportive. They have discussed everything and are on very friendly terms’.

Hugh Grant has had several high-profile relationships before, notably with Elizabeth Hurley (now engaged to the legendary cricketer Shane Warne) and Jemima Khan. Despite the long-term relationships, he has never married and neither relationship resulted in any offspring. So, it was widely thought that he was trying to avoid the responsibility of fatherhood.

However, Elizabeth Hurley made Hugh the godfather of her son, Damian nine years ago and she has publicly said that he is ‘great with him’. Maybe this has made Hugh think twice about becoming a father before he really gets ‘past it’. In an interview in Vogue magazine in 2007, he said “As much as I adore myself, I’m quite keen to find someone else to care about more”.

His true thoughts on the matter are unknown though as throughout his career he has always shunned publicity and has rarely discussed his private life.

Recently, Grant has kept a low profile on the big screen and hasn’t appeared in anything since Did You Hear About The Morgans? in 2009. However, he has adopted

a high public profile recently by constantly attacking News International over the ongoing phone hacking scandal.

For those who don’t know, Tintin is a well-known character created 80 years ago by the Belgian artist Herge. The series is one of the most popular European comics of the 20^th century and centres around a young reporter named Tintin, along with his beloved dog Snowy. He’s a strange-looking, round-headed boy with a blond quiff (hairstyle). They go on many action-packed adventures and are joined by other characters, including the short-tempered Captain Haddock, the highly-intelligent but hearing-impaired Professor Calculus, and two incompetent detectives, Thompson and Thompson.

When I first heard that they were making a big budget movie adaptation, I didn’t really know how they would do it. However, as soon as I heard that Steven Spielberg would be directing and Peter Jackson producing, I knew it would be good. But is it?

It opens today but there is a lot of doubt about how good and how successful this will be. For one thing, it’s all computerised and in 3D, so it will be semi-realistic. Usually, audiences prefer a film with real actors, with CGI only being used for certain scenes (like Transformers), or a film totally computer-generated (such as Toy Story). This will be somewhere in the middle.  Secondly, the character isn’t as popular in America, which is half of the film’s targeted audience. So financially it may not do so well. Additionally, Americans are more familiar with their own world-famous heroes, like Superman or Spiderman.

Personally, I think this is a very good way of presenting the comic book. The characters are uniquely drawn and it would be quite difficult to translate that onto film. Or if it was a live-action film, fans might not have accepted or connected with them:  choosing the right cast is very difficult in these situations, when fans are so emotionally attached to the characters. The technology is also available to do this kind of 3D, even though it was probably very time-consuming. In any case, I am looking forward to watching this and I’m sure that it will be a ground-breaking success!

Compound Adjectives

Compound adjectives are adjectives that are made up of two or more words usually with hyphens (-) between them. Compound adjectives can be formed in a variety of ways such as:

Adjective / Adverb + past participle / noun + ed:

Much-loved

Well-known

Uniquely drawn

Round-headed

Emotionally attached

Noun / Adjective + verb-ing:

Strange-looking

Ground-breaking

Time-consuming

Noun + past participle / noun + ed:

Computer-generated

Action-packed

Hearing-impaired

Other

Highly-intelligent

World-famous

As of today, there are now about 500 people with over 100 tents. The general public are surprised by the amount of people who are taking part, while protestors are worried about overcrowding so are looking at other areas to occupy when there’s no more space. Even though it’s all been very peaceful, a spokesman for St Paul’s has said that they are now concerned about the situation.

Since it began, the revenue the cathedral makes has fallen by almost half from visitors paying to see inside. Tourists are frightened of all the people and police, so are avoiding the place. A wedding is meant to happen on Saturday but the couple are annoyed at the protestors because they now have to use a different entrance to get into the church.

Although I’m not keen on demonstrations, I do think it’s for a valid reason. This situation shows that a lot of people are interested in what happens to our economy and the recklessness of our bankers. However, whether or not camping outside St Paul’s Cathedral will make any difference, I don’t know. Regardless, I’m pleased with people at least trying to make that difference.

Prepositions with Adjectives

We often use prepositions with adjectives, the most common prepositions are in bold. Other, less common, ones we can use are shown in brackets ( ). Also, after prepositions, we use a noun, pronoun or verb-ing.

Unhappy with (about)

Fed up with

Good/bad at

Angry about (at) something

Upset about (by)

Surprised by (at)

Worried about

Concerned about (by)

Frightened of (by)

Annoyed at (with, by)

Keen on

Interested in

Pleased with (by)

Rooney has been banned for 3 games for next year’s European Championship. England qualified for the tournament last week by drawing with Montenegro but unfortunately England’s best player was given an immediate red card for kicking an opponent. As a result, he will miss the group stages of the tournament and will therefore only be available if England reach the quarter-finals.

He has always had a short-temper but it had been thought that he was now able to control that aggression. It was strange because during that game, it was not like the other player did anything unusual to provoke him – he was being blocked from getting the ball and then kicked him out of frustration. It was a stupid thing to do, but to be fair, he did not complain or argue about the decision, like he is usually known to do. UEFA, the European football governing body, described the incident as an ‘assault’ – which you could hardly call that incident.

Personally, it is unbelievable that he has to be forced to miss these amounts of games. Of course, for the other teams that will be in England’s group, its good news. They will definitely benefit and we will definitely struggle without him. What is even more frustrating though is that if a Spanish, Italian or French player did the same thing, I truly believe that they would have been given a less serious punishment. For me, even though Rooney is definitely not a passive person, he is being made an example of by UEFA.

He will certainly be missed during the opening games but I’m confident we have enough talent in the team to make it to the next stage. However, I’m not sure it will make any difference though because it is clear that the European cup is going to be won by Spain!

Passive: We use the passive when it’s not important or clear who does an action. If you want to say who did the action, use by.

Present Simple: is/are/am + past participle

He is usually known

Past Simple: was/were + past participle

England’s best player was given

Present Perfect: have/has + been + past participle

Rooney has been banned

Past Perfect: had +been + past participle

It had been thought

Present Continuous: is/are/am +being + past participle

He is being made

Past Continuous: was/were + being + past participle

He was being blocked

Future: will + be + past participle, is/are/am + going to + be + past participle

He will certainly be missed, 

The European cup is going to be won

Modal verbs: modal verb + be + past participle

He has to be forced

Past modals: should/would/could + have + been + past participle

They would have been given

1. He was half-Syrian and adopted. His biological parents met at university; his mother was American and his father, who he never met, was Syrian. A working-class Californian couple adopted him shortly after he was born.
2. He dropped out of college and was a Buddhist. He studied for one semester but gave it up to travel around India where he became a Buddhist.
3. He used to be the CEO of Pixar, the animation company. He bought the Toy Story animation company for $10million in 1986, which Disney would later buy for over $7billion.
4. He left and returned to Apple. Even though he set up Apple with Steve Wozniak, whom he met in 1970 through a mutual friend, he was fired because of low sales in 1985. His next company was taken over by Apple in 1996 that brought his return.
5. He was a pescetarian whose diet included fish and vegetables but no meat.

There are other interesting things about him, such as his personal wealth being over $8billion, but I think everyone already knew that he was incredibly rich. Additionally, his return to Apple pushed through the iMac and in particular, the iPod, that helped the company become this worldwide brand.

It is sad that he’s gone, because he had helped create so many technological gadgets (which) most of us have today. Even if you never use an Apple product, you know the logo and the name. So even though he may be dead, his influence will always live on.

Relative Clauses

Defining relative clause

• To give important information about a person, place or thing use a relative clause (relative pronoun + subject + verb)
• Use the relative pronouns who for people, which for things, and where for places. Use whose to mean ‘of which / of who’.
• You can use that instead of who or which.
• Who, which and that can be omitted when the verbs in the main clause and the relative clause have a different subject.

Non-Defining relative clauses

• If a relative clause gives extra, non-essential information (you can understand the sentence without it), you must put it between commas, or a comma and a full stop.
• You can’t leave out the relative pronoun
• You can’t use that instead of who / which

German police have been baffled for 2 weeks over the case of the English speaking “Woods Boy”. A 17-year-old boy, called Ray, appeared in a Berlin police station and claimed that he had been living with his father in the woods for 5 years. The strange thing is that he only knows a few words of German, but he speaks fluent English.

Berlin police have been interviewing the boy since September 5^th and trying to establish his true identity. They have been comparing the names and dates in his story to Interpol records to see if they can match him to any missing person records, especially any British children who have been missing since 2006.

The boy says that he began living in the Bayerischer woods in Northern Germany with his father after his mother died 5 years ago. All that the boy can tell them is that his mother’s name was Doreen and his father, Ryan. He claims that he cannot remember where his family originally came from.

Since showing up at Berlin City Hall in the first week of September, Ray has been under the care of a youth emergency centre after explaining that his father had died in the forest two weeks earlier. He buried him in a shallow grave covered with stones and then set off for Berlin. His father had always told him that if anything happened, he should follow his compass north and he would eventually arrive in the German capital. Ray said that he had been walking for 2 weeks before he reached Berlin.

This case mirrors the 2005 incident of “The Piano Man”, who was found on an English beach wearing a dripping wet suit and tie. He claimed he could only speak German and couldn’t remember anything about his life, but was mostly silent for almost half a year while investigations were being carried out. Despite Europe-wide appeals for months on end, nobody knew his identity. Eventually, he confessed that he was from Bavaria and had travelled to England on the Eurostar after he had lost his job in Paris. Despite media reports that he played classical piano recitals to nursing staff, the truth was that he would only play one note repeatedly for hours on end.

FOR vs SINCE

We use for or since to say how long something has happened for.

For

We use for when we give the length of time e.g. for 3 days, for 2 months, for 5 years

Since

We use since when we give the beginning of the time e.g. since Thursday, since yesterday, since 2009, since last week, since July

For vs Since

Ago

Ago goes after a time expression.       It’s September 19th now. I came back to Berlin 3 weeks ago. I’ve lived here for over 2 years, since March 2009.

By the way, this is a perfect example of a news story that will appear in virtually every national newspaper around the world. You can use these articles to practise your English. First read the news in your own language and then from a British newspaper. The advantages of this are explained here in my earlier blog

Post-2003, Londoners have been taking advantage of this system, and to prevent misuse of the Pay-as-you-go system (not a travelcard), you have to touch in and touch out of each journey, otherwise would have to pay the full amount of a 1-6 zone fare for a single journey – a massive £7.60. However, you can complain and get a refund by calling a telephone number (an expensive pay-per-min number, of course), and provide the Oyster card number and the relevant journey details, otherwise your claim is considered ineligible.

I’ve always been an anti-London transport user, but when I have to use the bus or tube, I’m definitely pro-Oyster because generally, it’s a quicker and more convenient. Before, it was a nightmare having to queue to get on a bus to buy a ticket, or to get in and out of the tube using a paper card. I particularly think tourists underestimate its value because once you pay a deposit you can get that back when you leave, or it can be used it again anytime in the future, as it lasts forever. Ex-students always tell me how good it is.

However, I have been charged incorrectly on occasion and when this does happen, it really de-values the system. So hopefully, when this new way gets going (there’s no exact start date ), it will definitely help us that little bit more. We wouldn’t have to worry as our journeys home would be prefixed!

Word Building: Prefixes

We always use hyphens with pro-, anti-, ex-, self- and non-. We never use a hyphen with un- or in-. With other prefixes, it depends on the word.

Sept 5th, or as it shall now be known, Freddie Mercury day was celebrated yesterday with a Google Doodle on what would have been the Queen frontman’s 65th birthday. He died 20 years ago, after enduring a lengthy and secret battle with HIV.

The doodle features several images of Freddie in instantly recognisable outfits and poses from his illustrious career, with the Google overlaid on to the photos.
When viewers clicked on the giant ‘Play’ button in the middle of the doodle, they were transported (by the wonders of the internet) into an animated concert with Queen performing live and Freddie centre stage, of course, at the piano.

Queen guitarist (and legendary clog-wearer), Brian May said: “Freddie would have been 65 this year, and even though physically he is not here, his presence seems more potent than ever. Freddie made the last person at the back of the furthest stand in a stadium feel that he was connected. (Wise words from the mulleted one, there)

I have to admit that it doesn’t really seem like 20 years ago since the most famous moustache in the world passed on. But, I wonder what the music scene would have been like, if he hadn’t died. Would there have been rap stars like Eminem, Jay-Z or Kanye West? Perhaps there wouldn’t have been room for incessant warblers like Christina Aguilera, Celine Dion and Mariah Carey.

Surely Freddie’s innate charisma and showmanship would have meant that these pretenders to his throne would have been simply swept aside. Or was he (and Queen) a spent force? Perhaps everyone would have forgotten about him, so it’s actually better that he died young (well, young-ish) and his memory was preserved for posterity.

I think it’s probably a case of the latter, rather than the former. Don’t you agree?

GLOSSARY

Frontman – the lead singer in a band e.g. Mick Jagger, Bono
illustrious – well known, respected, successful
to endure – to suffer
clogs – shoes with a thick wooden sole, popularly thought to come from Holland
mullet – a hairstyle in which the hair is cut short at the front and sides and left long at the back
potent – strong, having great power or influence
incessant – something that doesn’t stop
warbler – (slang) someone who sings with a quavering voice
innate – natural, something you are born with
charisma – natural attractiveness (perhaps not physical) that can inspire devotion in others
pretender to a throne – someone trying to be as good as someone (who is widely acknowledged as the best) who is clearly better than them
Spent force – someone who had power and then no longer has power or influence
preserved for posterity – something kept in a perfect condition so that future generations can enjoy it

WOULD HAVE BEEN

or…. Would + Have + Past participle (If you are a grammar freak, then you might want to call this “Conditional Perfect”)

We use this when we talk about something that might have happened in the past (but it’s too late now – the past has gone and is finished – We can’t change anything now from the past). Sometimes we call this an ‘unreal situation’

Ex:

Freddie Mercury would have been 65 today (Unreal situation – He is dead and nobody can change that fact)

Perhaps there wouldn’t have been room for incessant warblers like Christina Aguilera (Unreal situation – Freddie was not alive at the same time, so it is impossible to say if the situation was possible, or not)

A Twitter record was broken (with 8,868 related tweets per second) when Beyonce announced that she was pregnant, a week before she turns 30. Well, she has already developed her own global brand, headlined Glastonbury festival, got married to a multi-millionaire rap legend and eaten some fish and chips.

However, she probably hasn’t learnt to speak a foreign language like all the talented SGI students! As a lot of you are in your twenties and still a long way off turning 30, here’s a quick guide for landmarks to reach before officially becoming old.

1. Push your body to the limit

Climb Everest. Run the London marathon. Do a bungee-jump. Swim with a great-white shark. Have a threesome. You’d better have done something exciting and have some stories to tell so that you can talk about the good old days, once you are no longer capable of having them.

2. Fall in love

…preferably in summertime. Have a fun-filled fling with someone who’s got long hair from an exotic place with a name that you can’t pronounce properly. Then break up and heal your broken heart before you find “The One”. There’s no time for 2-month love affairs when you are trying to climb the career ladder and be all serious.
2 a) Do not have a baby with your summer love! Bad idea all round!

3. Drop out

Ditch your desk and escape the rat race before you get in too deep. Become a kite surf instructor, a Tibetan kung-fu monk or even an English teacher.

4. Learn to cook

After 30, you’re going to be doing a lot of entertaining at home. You’ll have the stories to tell (see no#1), but you’d better be able to serve up some nosh that’s going to impress, otherwise the atmosphere at your dinner parties will be as flat as a pancake. Men who can’t cook are never going to catch a hot babe – that’s soooo 20th Century.

5. Kill your friends

756 Facebook friends are unsustainable. Who are your real, true friends that you would love to go out with for drinks and catch up with? Get rid of the dead meat - cull, cull, cull!

GLOSSARY

• to headline – to be the star performer at a concert
• to turn (an age) – to become
• landmark to reach – an achievement to complete
• threesome – a group of 3 people involved in the same activity (normally sexual – very sexual!)
• fling – a short love affair (usually not serious and perhaps a bit wild)
• heal – repair, mend
• The One – the perfect person for you who is your ideal partner, your soul mate, the love of your life
• career ladder – the upwards, structured progression that someone has in their working life
• to ditch – get rid of, throw away
• rat race – the way of life in which people are competitive in a struggle for money and power
• to get in too deep – to become too seriously involved in something, so that change is difficult or unlikely
• nosh – (slang) food
• as flat as a pancake – not good, boring, unsusccessful
• soooooo – very, very
• dead meat – the bad things, things that are no good to anyone , useless
• to cull – kill things (usually animals) that are weak, injured or old

IMPERATIVE

Imperatives are like an infinitive without ‘to’

We use the imperative to tell people what to do i.e.:

• To give a direct command – Be careful! Stop doing that! Look out!
• To give instructions – Open your books on page 98, Take two tablets after every meal
• To make an invitation – Come in, Have some cake, Make yourself at home
• On notices and signs – Push, Pull, Use only in an emergency
• To give friendly advice – Talk to him about it, Get some sleep and you’ll feel better in the morning

Negative imperatives begin with do not, don’t or never.

Do not park here!
Don’t touch that!
Never forget to turn the oven off after you’ve finished cooking

We never use the imperative to ask for things politely (even if you use please)

Could you tell me the time? NOT Tell me the time, please

Expression: It’s imperative that you…(do sth) – meaning “It is essential that you…”

When do you use the past perfect or the past simple? Look out for past perfect (Italics) and past simple (Bold) in the article.

To deal with the 922 arrested people that have be put on trial because of looting in London  last week, Westminster Magistrates’ Court has been open round the clock.

One man tried to explain to Judge Elizabeth Roscoe, that he had gone into a PC World computer shop which had been looted the previous day because he was curious to see what had been stolen because he was a freelance journalist. This excuse amused various journalists who were reporting from the court, but Judge Roscoe failed to see the funny side. She told him that he faced a prison sentence. Fortunately, the accused pleaded guilty to the charge of burglary, which may result in him receiving a reduced sentence when he eventually receives his punishment.

The next to appear in the dock was a 17 year old girl who had handed herself into police after she had seen her picture in a national newspaper.  She had stolen 2 televisions from the Richer Sounds store in Croydon, which had had £190,000 of electronic equipment stolen from the premises.  As the judge arranged for her to appear in a youth court next week, she nervously chewed her nails, clearly showing regret for her actions.

Another woman had handed herself into police the day after she had stolen a £300 television from a shop in Enfield. The 24 year old had been on her way to McDonald’s when she saw that other people had broken into the store. Her lawyer said that she had gone to the police as she could not sleep through guilt.

In total, almost 100 people appeared at Westminster courts overnight and proceedings appeared to be passing smoothly without too many problems.

Past Perfect vs Past Simple

Use the past simple when you only want to talk about a finished action from the past.

But if you look back from a point in the past to say what happened before, use the Past Perfect.

In the article, every action relating to the day at Westminster Court is our ‘time point in the past’ (Which we use the past simple for).

Everything that happened before then (e.g. the looting and people giving themselves in to the police) is before our ‘point in the past’, so we use the past perfect for all those events/actions.

PAST PERFECT form:

had   &   past participle (e.g. been, finished, thought)

When we are telling a story about the past (e.g  Tuesday 9^th August) and then we want to talk about things that happened before this time (e.g. Monday 8^th August 2011), then we use the past perfect.

In other words, the past perfect is an ‘earlier past’, when we ‘go back’ from a point in the past to say what happened before that moment.

Yesterday, I got to the pub at 8pm, but my friends had left to go to the cinema at 7.30pm.

P.s.  There is a bit more help with the past perfect and other past tenses (including Simple Past) here.

A few chavs have been looting from shops and starting fires in London, which means that extra police are patrolling the streets, the Prime Minister is recalling Parliament, community groups are clearing up the mess left in their streets and the majority of people are hoping that they can travel home without any problems.

But the London 2011 beach volleyball competition is continuing without ever stopping to consider if there should be a reason to stop the party!

London 2012 is pressing ahead with the beach volleyball test event as preparations the Olympic Games, which are taking place next summer. Every day, a sell out crowd is filling the 15,000 seats of a temporary stadium in Horse Guard’s Parade, which has been constructed as a dry-run for next year’s event. To keep the party atmosphere going, between each point in every match, a DJ is blasting out killer tunes, while the spectators are topping up their tans in the glorious London sunshine.

I wonder if the crowd are turning up every day for the sunbathing opportunity or to take in the view of athletic women in skimpy clothes bashing a ball around.

Present Continuous/progressive

Present Continuous forms

Am / are / is    +    -ing

We use the present continuous (or present progressive) to talk about temporary actions/situations that are happening ‘around now’: this means before, during and after the moment of speaking.

I’m studying at SGI in London at the moment.

What are you doing?  I’m making a birthday cake for my sister.

Present progressive for repeated actions

I’m working late a lot these days

There’s a man in the street who is hitting the fence

Present Continuous for long lasting changes

The environment is heating up all the time because of greenhouse gases

Present continuous for talking about the future

The present continuous is often used to speak about future actions when the time and place have already been decided.

I’m seeing John on Friday night. We’re meeting at the pub if you want to come along.

What are you doing this evening? I’m washing my hair.

We’re flying to Australia next week. I can’t wait!
 

Verbs NOT used in the present continuous

Some verbs are not normally used in the present continuous even when the meaning is actually ‘around now’. These verbs are not ‘progressive friendly’

I love this song (NOT   I’m loving this song)

I believe what he said (NOT   I am believing what he said)

Common non-progressive verbs

MENTAL & EMOTIONAL STATES:

• Believe
• see
• understand
• love
• suppose
• think (have an opinion)
• hate
• remember
• know

SENSES:

• Feel
• see
• sound
• hear
• smell
• taste

COMMUNICATING & CAUSING REACTIONS:

• Agree
• impress
• promise
• seem
• surprise

OTHER:

• Be
• need
• depend
• belong
• include

Amy Winehouse has been pronounced dead after she was discovered by paramedics today in her North London home. The Back to Black singer was found at 3.54pm and her death is being treated as ‘unexplained’ by police. She was reported to be ‘beyond help’ when the emergency services arrived at her property. Two ambulance crews and a paramedic on a bicycle attended the scene after only 5 minutes, but it hasn’t been announced who actually made the 999 call.

The Metropolitan Police said: Police were called by London Ambulance Service to an address in Camden today, following reports of a woman found deceased. Enquiries are being carried out into the circumstances of the death.

Amy was seen earlier this week at the iTunes festival when she jumped up on stage as her goddaughter and protégé Dionne Bromfield was performing.

Amy Winehouse\’s last ever stage performance

Amy’s father, Mitch is currently on tour in America and is thought to be on a flight and has not been told the shocking news.

The unexpected news comes a month after she was booed off stage in Belgrade after giving an incoherent performance. She was clearly affected by some substance that night and her planned European tour was cancelled by her record company, to give her ‘as long as it takes’ to recover from her problems.

She was born on 14th September 1983, which means that she was 27 years old when she died today. This gives her membership to the notorious “Forever 27” club, which is a group of musicians who died while at the peak of their fame: Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and Brian Jones all passed away at the age of 27.

THE PASSIVE VOICE
Subject + be + past participle of main verb

We use the passive voice when:
1) we want to make the active object more important
e.g. My mouse Harold was eaten by a cat
(A cat ate my mouse is an active sentence. ‘My mouse‘ is the object of this active sentence. For me, Harold, my mouse is much more important than a strange cat from the street)

2) we don’t know/don’t care/ or it is obvious who the active subject is.
e.g. John Smith was arrested for murder today
(It is obvious that it was the police who were the people who arrested John Smith, so we do not really need to say this. However, if you do want to say who ‘did’ the action, then this is always introduced with the word ‘by’. E.g. Harold was eaten by my neighbour’s cat)

THE PASSIVE

David Beckham said yesterday that despite being one of the richest football clubs in the world, Manchester City will never be able to eclipse the history and achievements of Manchester United.

The former Man United player admitted that Man City are on the way up in European football, but he said that the Reds’ history will always mean that they will be the special team in Manchester. In an interview with Sky Sports, Beckham said, “They’ve got a lot of money behind them, so they’re going to improve, but they’re never going to be Man Utd I have always said that.”

“They will be threatening teams in seasons to come, but Manchester United have got the history and silverware over the last twenty years. I’m a Man United fan, I’m always going to say that – there’s only one team in Manchester – but Man City, I’m sure, will be a team to look at going forward.”

He added that if the Argentinian striker, Carlos Tevez leaves Man City, it will be a big loss for them and will also affect their chances of winning the Premiership title: “If they do lose him, it will be disappointing for the fans, but they are going to be able to afford to bring world-class players in, so if they continue to do that I’m sure their squad and team will be strengthened. But you need a lot of experience in the Premier League so we will see what happens.”

The most common ways to talk about the future are:

Will (or shall) + Infinitive

The team will improve next year (Used for information and predicting things)

Be going to + Infinitive

The team is going to improve next year (Used for future actions because of knowing something about the present i.e Man City are spending lots of money on great players, so we can see now that they are improving

e.g. She’s going to have a baby soon. I know this because I can see that she is heavily pregnant – i.e. She’s got a very big bump
e.g. We are moving to France next year. We are planning to do this – it is our intention to move in the future.)
In natural, quick speech, going to is said as /gənə/ and you can actually write it in informal writing as gonna

Present Progressive

The team is travelling around the Far East next week (Used for fixed plans and arrangements which have already been decided on)

Simple present

The team leaves on the 9am flight for China tomorrow (Used for talking about events which are part of a timetable or regular schedule)

Will (or shall) + Progressive infinitive

The team will be travelling around China this time next week (Used for referring to temporary situations in the future – entirely similar to how the past continuous is used)
If sentence with will: If he leaves the team, it will be a big loss for them (In an if sentence, we use will in the next part of the sentence to mean that ‘this will be the result in the future’)

 
By the way, when David said…

• “I have always said that”

…he was showing his prowess again with the present perfect, which you can learn more about here.

I have used several different past tenses in this article. Can you feel/understand the difference between the different uses? Don’t worry if you can’t, because there is a simple explanation of the past tenses at the end of the blog.

After a week of speculation, David Beckham has finally revealed the true reasons for the unusual name of his new daughter, Harper Seven. The author of To Kill a Mocking Bird, Harper Lee, was the inspiration behind the name. This is despite the widely held belief that Victoria has never read a book in her life. However, in an interview some years ago, Posh claimed that she had started books, but hadn’t had a chance to finish them due to her busy working life. David also claimed that his wife has always liked the name Harper because of its Olde English heritage.

Beckham also admitted that he has loved the number seven, ever since he played for Manchester United and England with that as his shirt number: “A lot of people have assumed it’s just because of my shirt number that I wore for many years and part of it is because I had so much luck around wearing that number… but that wasn’t the main reason. The other reason behind Seven was because it symbolises spiritual perfection, the Seven Wonders of the World, the seven colours of the rainbow and in many cultures it’s considered to be a lucky number.”

Victoria had tweeted about her joy at becoming a mother again the day before David revealed the reasons for the naming of their baby. She wrote, “Baby Harper is the most beautiful baby girl I have ever seen. I have fallen in love all over again!!!”

PRESENT PERFECT

- have & past participle (e.g. arrived, said, known)

There are different ways that we can use the present perfect, but they all connect the past up to now (the present) in some way.

He has finally revealed the reasons for the name

…she has never read a book in her life

…she has always loved the name

…he has loved the number 7 since he…

…a lot of people have assumed it’s because of my shirt number

…the most beautiful girl I have ever seen

I have fallen in love again

PAST SIMPLE

Regular verbs have –ed endings (e.g. wanted, called, started)

Irregular verbs do NOT have –ed endings (e.g. think – thought, see – saw, knew – know, say – said). Look in the back of any English textbook for a list.

We use the past simple for lots of types of past actions (short or long or repeated events) that are definitely finished… i.e. they do NOT have a connection to the present (like with the present perfect)

Harper Lee was the inspiration for the name.

He claimed that…

He admitted that…

…he played for Manchester United

…my shirt number that I wore for many years

…I had so much luck wearing that number

…he revealed the reasons

…she wrote that…

PAST PERFECT

had & past participle (e.g. been, finished, thought)

When we are telling a story about the past (e.g  June 2011) and then we want to talk about things that happened before this time (e.g. May 2011), then we use the past perfect

She had tweeted about her joy at…

…she had started books, but hadn’t had a chance to finish them…

There are 3 different ways to pronounce –ed endings:  /d/   /t/  &  /

Listen out for them as I read through the text. The rules about when you use the different –ed endings are below the article.

Pronounce -ed endings

David and Victoria Beckham welcomed their newborn baby daughter to the world on Monday morning and they have announced that they have called her, Harper Seven Beckham. David confirmed the news on his Facebook page and later, a spokesperson for the couple stated: David and Victoria are delighted to announce the birth of their daughter. Happy and healthy, she arrived at 7.55am in Los Angeles and weighed 7lb 10oz. Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz are excited to welcome their new baby sister to the family.

It has been reported that Victoria has always liked the old English name, Harper. However, there has been speculation that it was actually the Beckhams’ sons that decided on the name, Harper: it is the name of a character from the TV series Wizards of Waverly Place, which is the boys’ favourite show. Apparently, the boys also used to read the books and have even visited the set of the show.

Seven was David’s number when he played for Manchester United and England. It is considered to be his lucky number and he has always wanted to call one of his children, Seven.

As the news of the birth spread like wildfire around the globe via the internet, fans and bloggers pointed out that the Beckhams are not the first to think of the name, Seven. It appeared in an episode of the classic comedy, Seinfeld. The “idiot” George Costanza character claimed to have come up with the perfect name for a baby, which was Seven. He believed it to be ‘a beautiful name for a boy. Or a girl.’

The Beckhams have previously expressed their love for all things USA, but it’s not known if they are fans of Seinfeld. Brooklyn, their eldest boy, was named after the American state in which he was conceived.

Victoria has remained active throughout her pregnancy and worked on her latest range for her fashion label. Now she can look forward to putting her feet up and having a good rest, even though she was too posh to push and Harper was delivered by elective Caesarean.

-ed ending can be pronounced in 3 different ways

1. –ed is pronounced /d/ after voiced endings (sounds made using the voice box). There are more /d/ endings than other –ed endings (so maybe if you don’t know which ending to say, then it’s probably best to go for a /d/ ending sound. You’ve got more chance of getting it right!) e.g. arrived, changed
2. –ed is pronounced /t/ after verbs ending in these sounds: /k/ /p/ /f/ /s/ /ʃ/ /ʧ/
   These are unvoiced sounds (sounds which are made without using the voice box) e.g. worked, dropped, laughed, watched, passed, washed, watched
3. After verbs ending in /t/ or /d/, we pronounce -ed as /ɪd/ e.g. excited, decided

If you want more practice at listening to -ed endings, check out my earlier blog here

Look out for the different uses of yet in the article

Has it started raining yet? Well maybe not just yet, but perhaps you should put your sunglasses away and get your brolly out, because yesterday was the start of Wimbledon!

Wimbledon – Is it raining yet?

For the next fortnight, the world will be watching this little corner of South West London as the world’s premier tennis tournament takes place.

If you are studying at SGI over the next 2 weeks and you haven’t got a Wimbledon ticket yet, there is a very, very, very slim chance that you might be able to get one if you camp out overnight and join the mile long queue to get in every morning. Beware – there are 40,000 visitors every day. Anyway, if you do get in, you’ll get the chance to buy the traditional Wimbledon food of a punnet of strawberries and cream for around £10, or something ridiculous like that – it’s daylight robbery.

Andy Murray, the Scot, who is seeded 4th for the tournament, will be looking to go one better than his semi-final appearance last year. He got to the final of the 2010 US Open, has won minor tournaments like Queen’s and has been the World No#4 for some time and yet he hasn’t won a grand-slam tournament. This hasn’t stopped the media bigging him up though. As always at this time of year, the English press whip themselves up into a frenzy about the prospect of a British victory at Wimbledon: the last one being Fred Perry in 1936. But for Murray, winning this year will be his most difficult job yet, as Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are all in sparkling form.

I’m just watching a report from Wimbledon on the TV right now and it looks quite sunny and the grey clouds haven’t arrived yet. However, bad weather is forecast and it’s a certainty that the covers will have to be used at some point to protect the precious Wimbledon grass from downpours. Centre court has a secret weapon though: a £100m retractable roof! It was opened in 2009 to counteract the unpredictable British weather and reduce the number of interruptions or delays to the tournament and yet it has hardly been used since being built due to 2 very good years of sunshine. However, if you believe what the weathermen say about the rainfall for Wimbledon 2011, the best is yet to come!

WHEN DO YOU USE ‘YET’???

1. Yet is not normally used in positive sentences (but also see point 5 below).
The normal use is in questions and negative sentences. Notice that ‘yet’ normally comes at the end of the clause.

(+ve) I’ve already bought a ticket
(-ve) I haven’t bought a ticket yet
( ? ) Have you bought a ticket yet?

2. In a negative sentence, ‘not yet’ means that something that is expected but not happened at this moment.

My packet from Amazon.co.uk hasn’t arrived yet.

This also has a feeling of looking towards the future.

Andy Murray hasn’t won a Grand-Slam tournament yet.
(He is good enough to win one, and we are hoping that he will do soon)

3. In a question, ‘yet’ is thinking about the past, up to the present and shows that the speaker does not know the answer. Compare this with ‘already’

Have you seen Big Ben yet? (I don’t know if you have been there or not)
Have you already seen Big Ben? (I think that you probably have been there)

4. To make a contrast, ‘yet’ can be used to say that something is surprising when you think about what has just been said

Murray is the World No#4 and has been playing incredible tennis all year and yet he hasn’t won a major tournament.

5. ‘Yet’ can also be used after a superlative to mean ‘up until now’

This will be Murray’s hardest job yet.

Simple past

In the last few days, the British press didn’t only write one story about ‘Her Royal Hotness’ (as they have renamed her), but a seemingly endless stream of articles appeared. The newspapers are Pippa-tastic these days: Pippa at the French Open, Pippa running in a race, Pippa’s possible new job and even a piece about Pippa’s best friends. Where will it end? Pippa eats cornflakes for breakfast? Did the general public want to read about her all weekend? Well, if they did, they are probably sick of the Pippa-hype by now.

Did anybody know about Pippa Middleton 2 months ago? Did anybody care? No.

However, it’s not her fault; she didn’t do anything wrong. She didn’t employ a management team to promote herself like lots of Z-list celebrities do in the UK (Yes, I’m talking about you, Jordan), with endless staged photo opportunities to feed the tabloid newspapers’ desire for more celebrity shots.

Unfortunately, this Pippa frenzy is the modus operandi for the tabloids; they find a new ‘star’, build them up into a celebrity very quickly, and then try to destroy them when they make their first mistake, like wearing the ‘wrong’ dress, coming out of a nightclub drunk or having an affair (mentioning no names, Ryan Giggs).

So, did Pippa want the attention? Yes, she probably wanted some of the trappings of fame, but she probably didn’t expect it to be 24/7.

DID usage

• (Question)       Did she want the attention?
• (Negative)       She didn’t want the attention.
• (Positive)         She wanted the attention

Notice that in the Question and Negative, we use DID or DIDN’T and then the infinitive (want)

In the positive, we don’t normally use the ‘past’ helping verb (auxiliary verb) DID. We use the past simple of the main verb (want), which is WANTED in the example above.

• (Question)       Did she know she would be photographed 24/7?
• (Negative)       She didn’t know she would be photographed 24/7.
• (Positive)         She knew she would be photographed 24/7

(look out for lots of use of the past perfect in the text)

Past Perfect

On Saturday night, the world watched as the two biggest clubs in football battled it out for the Champions League trophy at Wembley Stadium in London. Expectations of a great match were high as Barcelona and Manchester United had met in the final two years previously, with the Spanish side easily winning 2–0. So, Manchester United were out for revenge and looking to repeat their historic European Cup win of 1968 at Wembley, only a few years after the Munich air disaster had decimated their team.

Both teams had already won their domestic league titles easily, so the media had promoted this match as ‘the final of the decade’.

Both managers had selected sides with some surprising omissions. Manchester Utd would be without Dimitar Berbatov who had scored 21 goals in the Premiership this season and Barca would be without their legendary defender Carlos Puyol, who had captained his side to so many victories before.

In 2009, Pep Guardiola’s men had demoralised Alec Ferguson’s side with an early goal from which they never recovered. To try and stop this happening again, Manchester United started strongly with lots of possession in the first 10 minutes. However, when Barca finally got hold of the ball, they kept it and never really let go.

The inevitable came after 27 minutes when Barcelona scored. The only surprising thing was when Wayne Rooney scored to make sure that it was 1–1 at half time. However, after the break, Lionel Messi did what he always does and scored Barcelona’s second goal, just like he had done in the 2009 final.

Eventually, the final score was 3-1, meaning Barcelona had won by a 2 goal margin, just as they had done 2 years before. If Sir Alec Ferguson had used different tactics, and if the magical Lionel Messi hadn’t scored, would Man U have managed to overcome the artistry displayed by this Barcelona side, that many are calling ‘the greatest team to have ever played the game’? Probably not!

Congratulations, Barcelona!

PAST PERFECT

We use the past perfect when we are already talking about the past, and then we want to jump even further back into the past to talk about an earlier past action.

PAST                                                             EARLIER PAST

I arrived at the pub 30 minutes late and my friends had already left.

Make the Past Perfect with   HAD + Past Participle

I watched a movie on TV last night, but after the start, I realised that I had seen it before.

THE PROFESSOR’S FAST MACHINE