Author: annie

Choose the Correct Tense

Quiz 2

chhose the correct tense

General English Quiz 1

Quiz 1

Quiz 1

Simple Past

In English we use the Simple Past to express the following:

An action started and ended in the past.

I took a long walk yesterday.

Negative: I did not take a long walk yesterday.
Interrogative: Did you take a long walk yesterday?

Yesterday I spoke to my mother, decided to visit her, but realized that my car wouldn’t start.

Negative: Yesterday I didn’t speak to my mother, I didn’t visit her, and I didn’t realize that my car wouldn’t start.
Interrogative: Did you speak to your mother yesterday? Did you visit her yesterday? Did your car start yesterday?

A duration that started and ended in the past.

I lived in America for 18 years. (What are the negative and interrogative forms?)
They watched TV all day yesterday.

A habit that started and ended in the past.

When I was a child I was afraid of the dark.
He always cleaned his car on the week-end.

General statements about the past.

Phone calls used to cost a lot of money.
She hated mushrooms before she moved to China.

The active / passive voice.

Active: The snake bit the man.
Passive: The man was bitten by the snake.

The Past

Mount Rushmore

Mount RushmoreBetween October 4, 1927, and October 31, 1941, Gutzon Borglum and 400 workers sculpted the colossal 60 foot (18 m) high carvings of U.S. presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln to represent the first 130 years of American history. These presidents were selected by Borglum because of their role in preserving the Republic and expanding its territory. Mount Rushmore is in South Dakota, in the USA.

The End of Jumbo Jets?

Boeing is producing fewer and fewer 747s and Airbus hasn’t had a new order for A380s in over two years. Is it the end of the large jumbo jets? Why do you think this is happening?

boeing-747-8i

a380-superjumboThese days Boeing and Airbus are having a hard time finding new buyers for their large 4-engine aircraft. The cost of purchasing such a large aircraft, combined with the fact that they’re relatively energy inefficient, makes them impractical. Jet-engine technology has improved, it is now safer to fly long distances with just two engines.

Vertical Manual Milling Machine

Vertical Manual Milling Machine

  1. Face milling cutter
  2. Spindle
  3. Spindle head
  4. Column
  5. Table
  6. Saddle
  7. Knee
  8. Base
  9. Spindle switch
  10. Spindle speed gear lever
  11. Spindle speed control lever
  12. Oil tank
  13. Table manual wheel
  14. Table lock bar
  15. Saddle automatic moving bar
  16. Saddle automatic moving control dial
  17. Saddle manual wheel
  18. Knee manual wheel
  19. Quick button

Explosion Rips Fuselage

UPDATE: This was NOT caused by an oxygen tank but by a bomb smuggled inside of a laptop. Are the authorities going to forbid laptops in the cabin now?
Accident: Daallo A321 near Mogadishu on Feb 2nd 2016, explosion rips fuselage open.

A Daallo Airlines Airbus A321-100, performing flight from Mogadishu (Somalia) to Djibouti with 74 passengers and 7 crew, was climbing out of Mogadishu about 5 minutes into the flight when an explosion was heard. The crew stopped the climb and returned the aircraft to Mogadishu for a safe landing about 20 minutes after departure. A large hole was seen at the right hand side of the fuselage above the wing.

The airline confirmed an explosion on board, the cause is under investigation, an oxygen bottle is being suspected. Passengers report at least one person was blown out of the aircraft. One passenger was missing after landing, the body was recovered near Balad about 21nm northnortheast of Mogadishu.

One passenger reported he saw the explosion occur inside the aircraft a couple of seat rows ahead of him followed by an air rush and sudden drop of cabin pressure, the seat belt held him in his seat. He saw two injured people around him, one an elderly man from Finland and another one being a young Italian. The elderly man was severly burned.

Engine explosion rips fuselage open

 

Accident rips fuselage open

Ripped Fuselage

Train in Colorado

Train in ColoradoThis is the Georgetown loop railroad. It runs between Georgetown and Silver Plume about an hour west of Denver. Fun thing to do with the kids, especially before Christmas, when you can find Santa on the train visiting with the kids!

Yes / No Questions

Most Yes / No questions start with an auxiliary

  • Do you like your new teacher? (Yes, I do / No, I don’t)
  • Can you help me? (Yes, I can / No, I can’t)
  • Have you been to England? (Yes, I have / No, I haven’t)
  • England: Have you got the time?  (Yes, I have / No, I haven’t)
  • America: Do you have the time? (Yes, I do / No, I haven’t)
  • Old construction: Have you the time? (Yes, I have / No, I haven’t)
  • Did you visit your cousin in New York? (Yes, I did / No, I didn’t)
  • Are your from France? (Yes, I am / No, I am not)
  • Is this common? (Yes, it is / No, it is not)

Practice

Let’s play 20 questions. I am thinking of something, try to guess what it is by asking me 20 questions. For example: Is it an animal? Is it mineral? etc.

Yes or No

Ask Me Some Questions

Ask Me Some Questions Based on the Following Statements

  • I go to bed at 10 PM.
  • My favorite food is cheese.
  • My dog doesn’t like cats.
  • I like to go to Spain on holidays.
  • You are reading a science fiction novel.
  • I take the metro to go to work.
  • My parents have lunch at 12 noon sharp!
  • They speak Spanish really well.
  • Susan goes to work every day.
  • He thinks smoking will not hurt him.

Question Everything

Saint Elmo’s Fire

“St. Elmo’s fire (also St. Elmo’s light is a weather phenomenon in which luminous plasma is created by a corona discharge from a sharp or pointed object in a strong electric field in the atmosphere (such as those generated by thunderstorms or created by a volcanic eruption).”

“Physically, St. Elmo’s fire is a bright blue or violet glow, appearing like fire in some circumstances, from tall, sharply pointed structures such as lightning rods, masts, spires and chimneys, and on aircraft wings or nose cones. St. Elmo’s fire can also appear on leaves and grass, and even at the tips of cattle horns. Often accompanying the glow is a distinct hissing or buzzing sound.” -From the wiki page.

 

Mistakes French Speakers Commonly Make in English

Incorrect Correct Why?
I have played tennis yesterday. I played tennis yesterday. You did it. It ended. You need the simple past.
I can’t play now. I do my homework. I can’t play now. I am doing my homework. You are still doing it. It’s continuous.
I live in London since last year. I have been living in London since last year. You are still living in London. It’s continuous.
I will tell you as soon as I will know. I will tell you as soon as I know. Time clauses introduced by “after”, “as soon as”, “until”, “when” do not take the future tense.

Why is it “I have been living in London since last year” and not “I live in London since last year”? Because with SINCE you have to use the Present Perfect: the action started in the past. In French you use the present in that case “J’habite à Londre depuis…” but not in English!

Mistakes French people make in English

Catching People’s Attention

To make a good impression in business, it is important to be able to answer these questions in 60 seconds or less. It’s called the “elevator speech”. Let’s practice!

1. What do you do?
2. What problem do you solve?
3. How is your product or service different?
4. Why should I care?

Elevator Pitch