Nov 28, 2010

Contact: Participial Phrases

This segment is great to help practice Participial Phrases, a very unattractive grammar point that can be fun with a movie segment.



I. Watch the movie segment. Then answer the questions in pairs.



1. Do you think that if humans actually received a message from another star, like Vega, such a commotion would happen? Would it be similar to the one in the segment?

2. What sorts of demonstrations did you manage to see?

3. What were these groups protesting against or claiming for?

4. Which of the groups would you join? Why?

5. Do you think humans will ever or have already made contact with people from other stars? Explain it.







II. Read the sentences below about the segment you have just seen and then underline the participial phrases, circle the participles, and draw an arrow from each participle to the noun or pronoun it modifies/describes. You may have more than one participial phrase in each item.


1. The reporter presenting the news announced that there have been several deaths in San Diego.
2. All TV shows being broadcast were talking about the message received from Vega.

3. The reporter announced that believers and non believers camping near the VLA facility in New Mexico have come to protest or pray, expressing their points of view.

4. There was a group of people holding antennas and wearing metallic clothes in order to make contact with Vega.

5. Intruigued by the manifestations, scientists riding a car saw various kinds of demonstrations.

6. The man waiting in a cannon was waving an American flag.

7. Neo Nazis holding banners supporting Hitler's ideas were being contained by the police.

8. A man playing the guitar pretended to be Elvis.

9. Singing Hail to Vega, the choir caught the scientists' attention.

10. Intimidated by the long haired blond preacher, the scientist shut the car window.



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Unfortunately, there isn't an answer key here because of the format of the answers, but they are on the worksheet.

Nov 21, 2010

Twins: Comparatives of Nouns, Adjectives and Quantity

This is an unforgettable classic, perfect to practice the use of comparatives.






GRAMMAR NOTE:



More/Fewer (Count nouns) or More/Less (Non Count nouns)



I. Complete the blanks with the words above, comparing quantities:




1. Julius has __________ fathers than ordinary people. He has 6 fathers.


2. He spent ____________ time on one island than anywhere else.


3. Julius's brother had _________ opportunities in life than Julius did.


4. Most people can speak _________ languages than Julius can.


5. Julius's brother showed _______ respect to people than Julius did.


6. Julius faced __________ problems living isolated on an island than his brother living in a big city.


7. Julius had ___________ information about the world than we probably do.




II. Now compare Julius and his brother. Use the adjectives below.




FAT - TALL - STRONG - HANDSOME - INTELLIGENT - NAIVE - RESPECTFUL


1 ...........................................................

2 ..........................................................

3 ..........................................................

4 ..........................................................

5 ...........................................................

6 ...........................................................

7 ...........................................................







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Answer Key:

I. 1. more, 2. more, 3. fewer, 4. fewer, 5. less, 6. fewer, 7. less

II. Answers may vary.

Nov 14, 2010

The Beach: Prepositions in a Relative Clause

Although many people didn't like this movie, I appreciated it. The plot is original and the circumstances the characters have to face can be very intriguing. The setting is beautiful Thailand, so we can always enjoy the landscape and photography. I took advantage of the dialogs in the scene to practice writing relative clauses with prepositions. It made the class much more interesting, since this grammar point is unattractive to most of the students. I hope you like it.


A. Rewrite the clauses below, using who, whom, which, where or that. Pay attention to the position of the preposition. Remember that when a relative pronoun is the object of a preposition, the preposition appears in the beginning of the clause in formal English. In informal English, the preposition usually appears in the end. Write both formal and informal versions of your answers.


1. Keaty only cared about cricket and Christianity.


The only thing ...


2. There were the Swedes, Christo, Sten and Karl. They only care about fishing and skiing.


The two things ...


3. The cook worries about rinsing his hands with soap and water because of the smell of fish.


One thing ...


4. Tourists are interested in visiting the beaches in Thailand.


One thing ...


5. Etienne is good at soccer.


One sport ...


6. He didn't like Bugs. He has disagreements with this person.


One person...


Answer Key:


1.
F - the only thing about which Keaty ...

I - The only thing which Keaty cared about was ...


2.
F - The two things about which the Swedes cared were ...

I - The two things which the Swedes cared about were ...

3.
F - The is one thing about which the cook worries is...

I - The one thing which the cook worries about is ...


4.
F - One thing in which tourists are interested is ...

I - One thing which tourists are interested in is ...


5.
F - One sport at which Etienne is good is ...

I _ One sport which Etienne is good at is ...


6.
F - One person with whom he has disagreements is ...

I - One person whom (who) he has disagreements with is ...


Nov 7, 2010

Up: Modal Verb for Suggestion - Could

This is probably the best animated movie I have ever seen. The story is great for both children and adults. The graphics are perfect and it has some touching moments that will make any sensitive viewer cry. Other moments are so funny that you will never forget them. I used two scenes for this blog. This first one is to have students practice modals for suggestions - could - in a contextualized manner.

A. Work in small groups. make a list of 5 things a young teen can do to help the elderly. Make sure you use the modal verb for suggestion - could - to express your ideas.

1 ...............................................

2...............................................

3...............................................

4...............................................

5...............................................


B. Now watch the segment and write down 3 suggestions the boy gives to help the old man in the scene.




1..........................................

2.........................................

3.........................................



C. Work in small groups again. Make a list of 3 things people could do in the following situations.



I. To protect the environment.


1..........................................

2.........................................

3.........................................



II. To help needy people at Christmas time.


1.........................................

2........................................

3........................................



III. To become more popular at school.


1.........................................

2........................................

3........................................





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