VALENTINE'S DAY

Picture of Anne Hathaway on "Valentine' s Day" (film)

Hi everybody! Valentine's day is coming! What about writing some Valentine's poems/ messages?
Write your poem/message (indicating your name, class and number) in the "comments" below and we'll publish it in the blog. Dare!

London

 London has hosted the Olympic Games on two past occasions, in 1908 and 1948, with a third one scheduled for this year; consequently, London will be the first city to have hosted the modern Games of three Olympiads.    
London is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world. It is famous for its:

-          Monuments

-          Royal Family

-          Royal ceremonies

-          Green parks

-          Cultural events:  art exhibitions, musicals, plays, opera and ballet  

-          Department stores

-          Football clubs

-          Markets

-          Underground  

But how much do you really know about London?   Take these quizzes and test your knowledge.

National Geographic ;  English-hilfen.com  ; Ego4u.com  ; About.com ; Quibblo. com ; Quizmoz.com 

Modal verbs

dal verbs are:

The modal verbs are:

CAN / COULD / MAY / MIGHT / MUST / SHALL / SHOULD / OUGHT TO / WILL / WOULD 

 A table with the different modal verbs

Modal verbs are special verbs

1. Modal verbs do not take "-s" in the third person,  e.g., He can  speak Chinese.

2. You use "not" to make modal verbs negative, even in Simple Present and Simple Past, e.g., He should not be late..

3. Many modal verbs cannot be used in the past tenses or the future tenses.

    Source: http://www.englishpage.com/modals/modalintro.html

    More Explanations in Portuguese

Try these exercises

http://www.englishpage.com/modals/modalintro.html

http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/modal-verbs.html

If clauses 3 / third conditional

The third conditional (also called conditional type 3) is a structure used for talking about unreal situations in the past.

 We talk about a condition in the past that did not happen. That is why there is no possibility for this condition. The third conditional expresses regret and sorrow about a past action.

e.g. If I had studied harder, I wouldn't have failed the exam.  ( I didn't study hard)

 See some  Rules

Now try these exercises:

http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/410/grammar/3cond1.htm
http://www.better-english.com/grammar/con31.htm
http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/thirdconditional/menu.php

Effects of technology

Watch the following video on technology and test yourself!

The message behind commercials

      We may not be aware, but advertising has a powerful impact on us. Everywhere we go or whatever we do, we can't escape its influence.

     Advertisers use many techniques to persuade us to buy a certain product/service or to recognize a certain brand.

     They try to create a series of associations in our minds; consequently when we look at or watch an ad/ commercial, we need to discover the message behind it.

     Be aware and don't let yourself be fooled.

Now look at the "Emmy 2011 best commercials nominnes" and  identify:

• the name of the advertisement
• the name of the trademark/brand
• the slogan
• the hidden message

Infinitive or gerund?

Students of a foreign language generally present some difficulties when dealing with the gerund or infinitive. You can find a tutorial and lots of exercises at  English Page.

Participate in the contest: Songwriters

Regulations- Regulamento  (google doc)

Happy New Year!

New Year's Resolutions are popular year after year.

Find examples of some funny and serious resolutions and create a list of your own.
Don't ever forget it!!!

New Years