Enjoy!

Difference between IF and WHETHER

If or whether?

de English Grammar Today

If and whether: indirect questions

We can use if or whether to report indirect yes-no questions and questions with or. If is more common than whether:

Call the bakeries around town and find out if any of them sell raspberry pies.

I rang Peter from the station and asked if I could drop in to see him before going back or if he’d meet me.

We often prefer whether in more formal contexts:

The teachers will be asked whether they would recommend the book to their classes.

[from a business meeting]

John read a letter that he’d written and the board discussed whether it should be mailed.

We prefer whether with or when there is more than one alternative in the indirect question:

After the election, we asked whether the parties should change their leaders, their policies, or both.

To express an alternative, we can use or not with if and whether. With whether we can use or not immediately after whether or in end position. With if we use or not in end position only:

I called Bill to find out whether or not he really did go to Afghanistan.

I called Bill to find out whether he really did go to Afghanistan or not.

I called Bill to find out if he really did go to Afghanistan or not.

We use whether and not if before a to-infinitive, often when we’re referring to future plans or decisions:

I was wondering whether to go for a swim.

Some financial decisions, such as planning a pension, need to be taken as early as possible. Others, such as whether to move house, can probably only be made much later.

Whether not if

We use whether and not if after prepositions:

Later I argued with the doctor about whether I had hit my head, since I couldn’t remember feeling it.

Not: Later I argued with the doctor about if I had hit my head …

The police seemed mainly interested in whether there were any locks on the windows.

Not: The police seemed mainly interested in if there were any locks …

I doubt if, I don’t know whether

We use if or whether to introduce clauses after verbs of doubting:

I don’t know if I can drive. My foot really hurts.

I didn’t prune the rose bush this year so I doubt if we’re going to have many flowers.(‘prune’ means cut back)

We’ll have plenty of photographs to show you but I’m not sure whether we’ll be able to learn very much from them.

See also:

• If
• If: reporting questions

If, whether: typical errors

• We use whether, not if, before to-infinitives:

I don’t know whether to buy the blue one or the red one.

Not: I don’t know if to buy the blue one …

• We use whether, not if, directly before or not:

Can you tell me whether or not you’re interested in the job.

Not: Can you tell me if or not you’re interested …

• We use whether, not if, after prepositions:

[talking about a trip to Australia for a year]

We’re not interested in whether we get great jobs and that kind of thing, we just want to have a good time.

Not: We’re not interested in if we get great jobs and that kind of thing …

Source: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/es/gramatica/gramatica-britanica/if-or-whether 

REPORTED SPEECH GAMES

GAME 1: Jeopardy! Click here.
GAME 2: Jeopardy! Click here.
GAME 3: Quiz! Click here.

Unit 8: Reported Speech

Revision: Active vs. Passive Voice

CLICK HERE TO PLAY!

Units 5B and 6A & B - Workbook, self-correction anwsers

As discussed in class, your task is to complete the exercises, then correct them with the help of these answers and hand in the workbook for a final check.
Remember to use any other colour to correct, rather than erase the answers. This will help you a lot to spot your mistakes and learn from them!
Here is the link to the answers.
Good job!

Passive voice lesson - English grammar tutorial video lesson

Rebecca, our reader for the second part of the year

First edition front cover

Rebecca is the story of a woman named Rebecca… oh wait. No. It's totally and completely not. It's actually the story of the rich, stylish and frightening widower (his wife had died), Maxim de Winter, and his fabulous country house (in fact, a very large property), called Manderley. 

The story is narrated by Maxim's second wife, known only as Mrs. de Winter, who finds herself living in the shadows of Maxim's first wife. And that's Rebecca!  However, we never meet her... Strange? 

It was published in 1938 and its author is Daphne du Maurier, who was born in Cornwall, a county in the southwest of England. (check the map). The novel was an instant bestseller and has never gone out of print.

Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier
in Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca

The novel has been adapted for the theater, the TV and cinema. Alfred Hitchcock's film based on the book won Oscars for Best Picture, and Best Cinematographer. The movie is a must-see, a classic piece of cinematic history. But, you'll probably enjoy it a lot more when you've devoured the deliciously disturbing novel on which it's based.

The best thing about this novel? It's both serious literature and guilty pleasure.

Why should I find it interesting?
Rebecca is a classic story of deception and betrayal. It's a serious look into the imperfections of upper class society and the war between good and evil within a single person. It will leave you thinking about the meaning of sacrifice, desire, and nostalgia... OK, ok... is this too serious? Try the following...

Hello, lovers of guilty pleasure! So, you love page-turners that you can fly through in hours? You're looking for something to read on a long plane ride? Rebecca is totally for you. This is a soap-opera crime thriller: the story of obsession and murder; old lovers and new lies.

Past Tenses revision 2

Active vs Passive Voice

Writing a book/film review

Follow these steps to write a book or film review.

Pre writing

Remember and take notes of the plot of the story. What impression did it produce on you?

Writing

• Introduction: give the title and author of the book. If you're reviewing a film mention the director or actors.
• Body:
  1. Summarize the plot in a few sentences.
  2. Mention the setting: the place and time of the plot.
  3. Say something about the main characters.
  4. Say something about the content.
• Conclusion:
  1. Comment on the book or film.
  2. Let others know whether or not you liked the book/film.
  3. Why do you like it? Why don't you like it?
  4. Is the author's style good or bad, is the book / film interesting or boring etc.
  5. Do you want to recommend the book/film?

Post writing

Edit your writing.

Useful Expressions:

  Title, Author / Director, Actors

The film is directed by
The film is produced by..
It is starred by...
The book is written by ...

Setting

The action takes place in ... (setting)
The action of the film is set in ...
The story takes place in...

Characters and Plot

The main characters are ...
The story is about ....
The novel tells the story of ...
In the course of the novel the action develops dramatically.
The novel / film begins with...
The novel has an unexpected ending.
The end of ... is ...

  Reaction  

I am impressed by
I think ....
The book is terribly / beautifully written
The film is terrible / exciting.
What surprised me is ...
What I liked is...
What I didn't like is...
I liked/didn't like the film / novel because ...

Past Tenses revision 1

Happy Winter Holidays!

But Was it Murder? - Chapters 17 and 18 - End of book

CHAPTER 17 Putting the pieces together
                     
1 Put the events in order.
a Amanda Grant told the police what she had done on Friday.
b Eliot started to think it was suicide, not murder.
c Micky, Eliot’s son, helped him understand something.
d Bowen checked her story and knew she was not guilty.
e Eliot thought that Amanda Grant was the murderer.

2. ‘Thanks, Micky, I understand it now.’ What do you think
Eliot understood?

CHAPTER 18 The truth at last

Complete the summary.
Wilvers phoned Forley on ............... to say he needed ...............
and wanted to ............... something, which explained the
............... on Forley’s desk. Also, Wilvers ............... about the test
results on Friday, saying Forley had a ............... ............... .
Wilvers knew about the ............... and was sure Forley would
............... himself. Wilvers knew Lisa was having an ...............
with Forley, but didn’t want Sam to grow up without a ............... .

Do you think But Was it Murder? is a good title? Make up a different title.

More on Can and Be Able To

Can and Be Able To 

Put the correct form of either "can" or "be able to" for each sentence. Only use "be able to" if absolutely necessary!

1. I haven't  concentrate recently at work. I don't know what it is.

2. My brother  cook very well. He is a chef in a French restaurant.

3. When he was only 2, my friend Lee  speak quite well.

4. I have to go to a business dinner tomorrow night so I  (not) come to the party. I'm very sorry.

5. Kevin lived in Italy for six years, so he must  speak Italian quite well. He will help you with your homework.

6. This telephone is terrible. I  (not) hear you at all.

7. When the car drove into the lake, one of the passengers  (not) open the door and had to be rescued.

8. Despite the arrival of the storm, they  finish the football match.

9. When I was very young, I used to  touch my toes, but I can't now!!

10. The house was totally empty all day yesterday and I  finish that book I was reading.

11. My mother tells me that her grandfather was one of the best musicians of his time in the city and  play the piano like a professional.

12. I hope to  speak English very well after this course finishes.

Can, could, be able to

Here are some extra exercises to continue practising the uses of Can, Could and Be able to.

But Was it Murder? Chapters 15 and 16

CHAPTER 15 Uncovering lies
                       Match the beginnings and endings.
1 Mrs Brook told the police that                      a going for a walk at the  time of Forley’s death.
2 Forley was with Catherine Crowther for       b Forley had visited Catherine Crowther on Wednesday.
an hour
3 Mrs Brook had once seen                            c that Forley had been having an affair.
4 Bowen discovered from the secret diary      d and looked very uncomfortable when he left.
5 The barman in the pub noticed                    e Ronald Crowther cleaning a gun.
Ronald Crowther

CHAPTER 16 Jealousy
1. Who ...
   a gave the gun to Forley?
   b were at the dinner party three weeks ago?
   c was surprised that Eliot wanted to ask more questions?
   d was having a secret affair with Forley?
   e was angry with Forley?
   f thought Catherine was finally telling the truth?

But Was it Murder? - Chapters 11 - 14

CHAPTER 11
                          True or false?
a Eliot slept through most of the football match.
b Bowen looked tired and stressed.
c Forley’s diary was not written in English.
d Wilver’s wife was relaxed and cheerful.
e The Wilvers’ sitting room was in an awful mess.
f The tests showed there was something wrong with Forley.
CHAPTER 12
                          Look at the words in italics. Who is he, you, she?
a He said he wanted my advice about something.
b And would you say he was a weak man, sir?
c She’s good-looking enough, but she obviously rules his life.
d Be careful with the women you choose.
e He’s hiding something from us too.
CHAPTER 13
1. Eliot needs answers to these questions:
   a Why were the Crowthers not telling him the truth?
   b Had Catherine Crowther been having an affair with Forley?
   c What had made her suddenly change her style of painting?
   d And did anyone visit Forley after Wilver had left on Friday?
   e And what had Forley been so worried about?
   What do you think?
CHAPTER 14
                          Complete the summary.
The pathologist’s report said that Forley had been killed by a shot
to the ............... and had died ............... . There were no other
signs of ............... . He had been in good ............... but had been
drinking. The time of death was between ............... and
............... Friday afternoon. Eliot now had to check who had an
............... for that time. Bowen was making slow progress on
Forley’s ............... as it was written in ............... and ............... .

Vocabulary - Unit 3B - page 30

English Modal Verbs - How To Use 'Can', 'Could' And 'Be Able To'

What's the difference between "for" and "since"?

Introduction - But Was it Murder? - Oral Activity

Intro - But Was it Murder? from Gisela Nair Bernareggi

Differences: afraid / scared - frightening / terrifying

afraid / scared / frightened There are differences in use and I shall try to illustrate these. But all these adjectives express roughly the same degree of worry or fear and can therefore be used interchangeably to some extent. Frightened suggests more sudden fear: All small children are afraid of / scared of / frightened of school bullies. Don’t be scared / afraid / frightened. I’m not going to hurt you. All three can be followed by of + -ing clause. Frightened cannot always be followed by of + pronoun or noun: He’s afraid of / scared of / frightened of flying in small planes. He’s a strict teacher. Everyone seems to be afraid of / scared of him. All three can be followed by the to + infinitive pattern: She seemed too scared to swim where there were such big waves. After such an experience she’s afraid to go anywhere near the sea. I was too frightened to jump in at the deep end of the pool. We can be scared by or frightened by something. We cannot useafraid in this way: She was scared by the hooting of the owl. They were frightened / terrified by the gunfire and the breaking of glass. Note that terrified expresses a stronger degree of fear. She’s terrified of / by large dogs and won’t go near them. afraid / scared / frightened - position in clause Note that afraid is one of those adjectives that cannot normally be used before a noun, but instead is used after a verb. Scared and frightened can be used in both positions: He seemed afraid. He appeared frightened. He was, without doubt, a frightened man. I’m afraid I / we / he / etc I’m afraid… is also used in another way, meaning: I regret that I have to tell you that…. It is used to introduce bad news in a gentle or polite way: I’m afraid there’s been an accident at the crossroads. Your son’s been knocked over on his bike. I’m afraid we shan’t be able to come on the skiing trip with you. John’s got to work. He’s done very little work, I’m afraid. He’ll have to repeat the course. I’m afraid so. / I’m afraid not. We can use these forms as short answers to confirm bad news: Will I really have to repeat the course next year? ~ I’m afraid so. Can’t you really come on the skiing trip with us? ~ I’m afraid not. frightened / frightening As a general rule, adjectives ending in -ed are used to describe how people feel. Adjectives ending in -ing describe the things or situations that give rise to these feelings. So, remember, frightened describes how you feel. Frightening describes the things that make you feel frightened: She looked very frightened when I told her she would lose her job. It was one of the most frightening films I had ever seen. It’s frightening to think that they are capable of producing nuclear weapons. terrified / terrifying Similarly, terrified describes you feel. Terrifying describes the thingsthat make you feel terrified. Terrified and terrifying express a higher degree of anxiety or worry than frightened and frightening: I was so much in debt. I was terrified I would lose my job when the restructuring was announced. It was a terrifying experience. I doubt he will ever recover from it. scared / scary Scary is the adjective relating to things or situations; scared the adjective relating to how people feel. Scary and frightening express similar levels of fear or worry: Being alone in a cave with five thousand bats was scary. I felt scared when night fell and I was nowhere near human habitation.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv335.shtml

JUST, ALREADY and YET with the Present Perfect Tense ►

PRESENT PERFECT vs PAST SIMPLE

☞ How to Write an Informal E-mail ☜

Extreme English!

Unit 2B - Speaking: How long have you...?

Personality vocabulary

We sometimes think of personality features as positive or negative, or even we may decide according to the situation.
Try to complete these columns with your own choices and then we will share and discuss different points of view in class!

HATE, LIKE, LOVE and PREFER

To my curious students... =)

We can use hate, like, love and prefer with an -ing form or with a to-infinitive:

I hate to see food being thrown away.

I love going to the cinema.

I prefer listening to the news on radio than watching it on TV.

He prefers not to wear a tie to work.

In American English, the forms with to-infinitive are much more common than the -ing form.

There is a very small difference in meaning between the two forms. The -ing form emphasises the action or experience. The to-infinitive gives more emphasis to the results of the action or event. We often use the -ing form to suggest enjoyment (or lack of it), and the to-infinitive form to express habits or preferences.

The -ing form is more common than the to-infinitive form after hate and love:

I hate decorating. I’d rather pay a professional to do it.

Would + hate, like, love, prefer

When we use would or ’d with hate, like, love, prefer, we use the to-infinitive, not the -ing form:

We would love to hear you sing.

Not: We would love hearing you sing.

They’d hate to cause a problem.

Not: They’d hate causing a problem.

I’d prefer not to give you my name.

Not: I’d prefer not giving you my name.

(“Hate, like, love and prefer” from English Grammar Today © Cambridge University Press.)

Source: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/es/gramatica/gramatica-britanica/hate-like-love-and-prefer

Unit 2A - Spend or Save? - Page 134 - Grammar

Introduction to page 16, ex. 5: GRAMMAR

Click here - Prezi: "Present Perfect and Past Simple"

How to Improve Your English Listening Skills

7 Ways to Better Understand English Speakers

Was this useful? Why/Why not? Post your comment here.

NUMBERS IN ENGLISH

We created this chart so that you can use it as a quick reference guide whenever you are writing numbers.

Remember that you need to use a hyphen (-) to join the two parts of numbers between 21 and 99.
(Though native speakers sometimes leave it out because they don’t realize it is needed)

You will notice I added some of the larger numbers too (hundred, thousand, million).
I recommend reading about the difference between million and millions and when you should (and should NOT) put an S at the end of the word. This same rules apply when talking about hundreds and thousands so make sure you know about it.

We have written more details about all numbers in English, both cardinal and ordinal numbers, as well as Fractions and Decimals here: Numbers in English

If you would like to practice these numbers then try the following games:

• Numbers from 1-100 in English
• Numbers Spelling Game

We also have a page about how to say telephone numbers in English.

I hope you find this useful.

Have a great day!

Source: http://www.woodwardenglish.com/numbers-from-1-to-100-in-english/

Unit 1B - Family Life - Extra Activity (Song)

OUR HOUSE

Madness

Unit 1A - Mood Food - Page 132 - Grammar

Introduction to page 7, ex. 6: GRAMMAR

Click here - Prezi: "Present Simple and Continuous - Action and Non-action Verbs"

Unit 1A - Mood Food - Page 6 - Speaking

Have a look at these strange restaurants!

1. What do you think of them?
2. Would you like to go to any of them? Why / Why not?

Unit 1A - Mood Food - Page 5 - Reading

Introduction to page 5, ex. 4: READING

Click here - Prezi: "Carbohydrates vs Proteins"

Unit 1A - Mood Food - Page 4 - Vocabulary

SPEAKING

1. Can you identify the different kinds of food that can be seen in the picture? 

2. What is your favourite fruit/vegetable/food?

3. Is there any food or drink that you couldn't live without? How often do you eat/drink it?

4. What do you think about vegetarianism? And about veganism?

5. Would you like to change your eating habits? Why / why not?