Saturday, 21 May 2016
English Humour
To Absent Brothers
An Irishman walks into a bar in Dublin, orders three pints of Guinness and sits in the back of the room, drinking a sip out of each one in turn. When he finished all three, he comes back to the bar and orders three more. The bartender says to him, 'You know, a pint goes flat after I draw it; it would taste better if you bought one at a time.' The Irishman replies, 'Well, you see, I have two brothers. One is in America, the other in Australia, and I'm here in Dublin. When we all left home, we promised that we'd drink this way to remember the days we all drank together. 'The bartender admits that this is a nice custom, and leaves it there. The Irishman becomes a regular in the bar and always drinks the same way: he orders three pints and drinks the three pints by taking drinks from each of them in turn. One day, he comes in and orders two pints. All the other regulars in the bar notice and fall silent. When he comes back to the bar for the second round, the bartender says, 'I don't want to intrude on your grief, but I wanted to offer my condolences on your great loss.' The Irishman looks confused for a moment, then a lights dawns in his eye and he laughs. 'Oh, no, ' he says, 'Everyone is fine. I've just quit drinking!
An Irishman walks into a bar in Dublin, orders three pints of Guinness and sits in the back of the room, drinking a sip out of each one in turn. When he finished all three, he comes back to the bar and orders three more. The bartender says to him, 'You know, a pint goes flat after I draw it; it would taste better if you bought one at a time.' The Irishman replies, 'Well, you see, I have two brothers. One is in America, the other in Australia, and I'm here in Dublin. When we all left home, we promised that we'd drink this way to remember the days we all drank together. 'The bartender admits that this is a nice custom, and leaves it there. The Irishman becomes a regular in the bar and always drinks the same way: he orders three pints and drinks the three pints by taking drinks from each of them in turn. One day, he comes in and orders two pints. All the other regulars in the bar notice and fall silent. When he comes back to the bar for the second round, the bartender says, 'I don't want to intrude on your grief, but I wanted to offer my condolences on your great loss.' The Irishman looks confused for a moment, then a lights dawns in his eye and he laughs. 'Oh, no, ' he says, 'Everyone is fine. I've just quit drinking!
Thursday, 12 May 2016
Friday, 22 April 2016
Friday, 15 April 2016
Grammar
You'll find here some material on:
how to use Past Simple,
how to use Present Perfect and
what the difference between Past Simple and Present Perfect is.
Here are some exercises to check your progress!
how to use Past Simple,
how to use Present Perfect and
what the difference between Past Simple and Present Perfect is.
Here are some exercises to check your progress!
Friday, 8 April 2016
Monday, 4 April 2016
Grammar
The use of Simple Future
Use and Examples
Shall
"be going to"
The difference between "Will" and "be going to"
Use and Examples
Shall
"be going to"
The difference between "Will" and "be going to"
The Survey Results
According to the Survey results, English learners are:
Thank you for your help!
- absolutely confident in achieving good level of English!
- highly motivated
- PRONUNCIATION is an issue to everyone!
Wednesday, 23 March 2016
27th of March event
Unfortunately, this event has been cancelled by its organizer. Easter Sunday, I suspect. I suggest an event on Wed, March the 30th at 7pm (free) or Sun, April the 3rd at 3.30 (3€).
Happy Easter!
Happy Easter!
Friday, 18 March 2016
Our meeting on 27th of March
On 27th of March we meet at 3pm at GPO , going to Dublin Grammar Workshop. Cost is 3 euro.
Please confirm if attending (if you can to confirm)
Please confirm if attending (if you can to confirm)
Monday, 14 March 2016
Tuesday, 8 March 2016
Commonly confused words
Homonyms, Homographs, Homophones
"'Mine is a long and sad tale!' said the Mouse, turning to Alice, and sighing.
"'It is a long tail, certainly,' said Alice, looking down with wonder at the Mouse's tail; 'but why do you call it sad?'"
(Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)
There are three kinds of homonyms: those that sound and look alike (bank a slope, bank a place for money, and bank a bench or row of switches); homophones, that sound alike but do not look alike (coarse, course); and homographs, that look alike but do not sound alike (the verb lead, the metal lead)
A homograph is a word that is spelt identically to another word but has a different meaning. You will doubtless be annoyed if you tear your trousers while climbing over a fence. Indeed, you may be so upset that you shed a tear. As you can see, 'tear' and 'tear' are spelt identically, but they are pronounced differently and have entirely different meanings. They are good examples of a homograph. Many homographs are not even pronounced differently.
A homophone is a word that sounds exactly like another word, but has a different meaning and a different spelling. If you stand on the stair and stare at the picture, you have a good example of a couple of homophones...
"'Mine is a long and sad tale!' said the Mouse, turning to Alice, and sighing.
"'It is a long tail, certainly,' said Alice, looking down with wonder at the Mouse's tail; 'but why do you call it sad?'"
(Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)
There are three kinds of homonyms: those that sound and look alike (bank a slope, bank a place for money, and bank a bench or row of switches); homophones, that sound alike but do not look alike (coarse, course); and homographs, that look alike but do not sound alike (the verb lead, the metal lead)
A homograph is a word that is spelt identically to another word but has a different meaning. You will doubtless be annoyed if you tear your trousers while climbing over a fence. Indeed, you may be so upset that you shed a tear. As you can see, 'tear' and 'tear' are spelt identically, but they are pronounced differently and have entirely different meanings. They are good examples of a homograph. Many homographs are not even pronounced differently.
A homophone is a word that sounds exactly like another word, but has a different meaning and a different spelling. If you stand on the stair and stare at the picture, you have a good example of a couple of homophones...
Commonly confused words
There are many words in the English language that sound the same, but have very different meanings.
Bear feet or bare feet?
A stationery car or a stationary car?
A dessert island or a desert island?
A supermarket isle or a supermarket aisle?
A gorilla soldier or a guerrilla soldier?
Find out how to use these words correctly here.
Bear feet or bare feet?
A stationery car or a stationary car?
A dessert island or a desert island?
A supermarket isle or a supermarket aisle?
A gorilla soldier or a guerrilla soldier?
Find out how to use these words correctly here.
Monday, 7 March 2016
Grammar
Who and Whom
Who is that masked man? (“Who” / subject [subjective case])
The men, four of whom are ill, were indicted for fraud. (“whom” / object [objective case])
Who is that masked man? (“Who” / subject [subjective case])
The men, four of whom are ill, were indicted for fraud. (“whom” / object [objective case])
Punctuation jokes
A teacher writes on a chalkboard the sentence:
"A woman without her man is nothing"
The teacher then asks the boys to punctuate it properly, and they all write:
"A woman, without her man, is nothing"
The teacher asks the girls to punctuate it and they write:
"A woman: without her, man is nothing"
Panda
A panda walks into a caf�. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.
"Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.
"I'm a panda," he says at the door. "Look it up."
The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.
"Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."
"A woman without her man is nothing"
The teacher then asks the boys to punctuate it properly, and they all write:
"A woman, without her man, is nothing"
The teacher asks the girls to punctuate it and they write:
"A woman: without her, man is nothing"
Panda
A panda walks into a caf�. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.
"Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.
"I'm a panda," he says at the door. "Look it up."
The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.
"Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."
Jokes
English might be the most widespread language in the world but there’s still no ham in hamburger, no egg in eggplant and neither pine nor apple in pineapple.
Why did the boy eat his homework? Because the teacher told him it was a piece of cake.
Why is the number six so scared? Because seven eight nine!
If the plural of man is always called men, why shouldn’t the plural of pan be called pen?
If vegetarians eat vegetables then what on earth do humanitarians eat?!
Some writing tips:
Why did the boy eat his homework? Because the teacher told him it was a piece of cake.
Why is the number six so scared? Because seven eight nine!
If the plural of man is always called men, why shouldn’t the plural of pan be called pen?
If vegetarians eat vegetables then what on earth do humanitarians eat?!
Some writing tips:
- Exaggeration is a trillion times worse than understatement.
- Rhetorical questions, who needs them?
- When writing in English, contractions shouldn’t be used.
- Stop using exclamation marks!!!
Pronunciation
22 Common Words You’re Probably Pronouncing Wrong
Close vs. Clothes
It can be a little difficult to fit that “th” sound in there, so a lot of people just skip it entirely. If you have trouble with this one, don’t worry–after a few tries, you’ll get the hang of it.
Close vs. Clothes
It can be a little difficult to fit that “th” sound in there, so a lot of people just skip it entirely. If you have trouble with this one, don’t worry–after a few tries, you’ll get the hang of it.
Phrases and idioms
He did good vs. He did well.
Use “well” as an adverb (words used to describe verbs) and “good” as an adjective (words used to describe nouns). For example:
Use “well” as an adverb (words used to describe verbs) and “good” as an adjective (words used to describe nouns). For example:
- The dog runs well
- He is a good dog
Monday, 29 February 2016
Tuesday, 23 February 2016
Monday, 22 February 2016
Friday, 19 February 2016
Thursday, 18 February 2016
Vocabulary
The world's first thesaurus of colour shades!
What kind of yellow is an egg yolk?
And more of colour thesaurus...
What kind of yellow is an egg yolk?
And more of colour thesaurus...
Monday, 15 February 2016
Monday, 8 February 2016
Poem of English Pronunciation
Friday, 5 February 2016
Tuesday, 2 February 2016
Monday, 1 February 2016
Idioms
Have Your Cake And Eat It Too
MEANING This idiom can be used in two different ways: one positive and one negative. Let's start with the positive. 'To have your cake and eat it' means to do or get two good things at the same time, esp. things that are not usually possible to have together: I work at home so I can raise my family and still earn money. That way I get to have my cake and eat it too. However, the saying is often used with a negative sense: If you want more local services, you'll have to pay more tax. You can't have your cake and eat it too.
NOTE
The most popular form of this saying—"You can’t have your cake and eat it too"— confuses many people because they mistakenly suppose the word "have" means "eat", as in "Have a piece of cake for dessert." A more logical version of this saying is "You can’t eat your cake and have it too", meaning that if you eat your cake you won’t have it any more. The point is that if you eat your cake right now you won’t have it to eat later. "Have" means "possess" in this context, not "eat".
From http://www.englishblog.com/2016/01/idiom-of-the-day-have-your-cake-and-eat-it.html#.Vq8zxk0nyUk
MEANING This idiom can be used in two different ways: one positive and one negative. Let's start with the positive. 'To have your cake and eat it' means to do or get two good things at the same time, esp. things that are not usually possible to have together: I work at home so I can raise my family and still earn money. That way I get to have my cake and eat it too. However, the saying is often used with a negative sense: If you want more local services, you'll have to pay more tax. You can't have your cake and eat it too.
NOTE
The most popular form of this saying—"You can’t have your cake and eat it too"— confuses many people because they mistakenly suppose the word "have" means "eat", as in "Have a piece of cake for dessert." A more logical version of this saying is "You can’t eat your cake and have it too", meaning that if you eat your cake you won’t have it any more. The point is that if you eat your cake right now you won’t have it to eat later. "Have" means "possess" in this context, not "eat".
From http://www.englishblog.com/2016/01/idiom-of-the-day-have-your-cake-and-eat-it.html#.Vq8zxk0nyUk
Thursday, 28 January 2016
A, An or The
The 3 articles in English are a, an and the. Sometimes no article is needed.
“A” and “an” are used for singular nouns that can be counted.
“A” is used before nouns that begin with consonant sounds.
“An” is used before nouns that begin with vowel sounds.
Use “the” when talking about things both the speaker and the listener(s) know about.
“The” is positioned before a noun when the listener(s) can easily identify which person(s) or thing(s) are being talked about.
Use “the” when the thing being talked about is the only one that exists anywhere, like the sun, the Earth, or the Eiffel Tower.
Use “the” before superlative adjectives, like “the best,” “the smallest,” etc.
“A” and “an” are used for singular nouns that can be counted.
“A” is used before nouns that begin with consonant sounds.
“An” is used before nouns that begin with vowel sounds.
Use “the” when talking about things both the speaker and the listener(s) know about.
“The” is positioned before a noun when the listener(s) can easily identify which person(s) or thing(s) are being talked about.
Use “the” when the thing being talked about is the only one that exists anywhere, like the sun, the Earth, or the Eiffel Tower.
Use “the” before superlative adjectives, like “the best,” “the smallest,” etc.
Why is English so hard to learn?
I take it you already know
of tough and bough and cough and dough?
Others may stumble, but not you
on hiccough, thorough, slough and through.
of tough and bough and cough and dough?
Others may stumble, but not you
on hiccough, thorough, slough and through.
Monday, 25 January 2016
Thursday, 21 January 2016
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