Verbs followed by preposition

There are verbs which are followed by prepositions like in Spanish but sometimes it's different:

• I work with my computer      but      I listen to the news every morning

These prepositions may be dependant (you usually find them with that verb) or not as you could see in the previous examples. To see more details about this point you can go to this link. But if you want to see the main differnces between prepositional and phasal verbs, these are:

• I gave up smoking - I gave it up        I looked after the children - I looked after them

In the first example you use an adverb, the meaning is really different to just GIVE and the pronoun must be between the verb and the particle; in the other example the meaning is very similar (you look after the children to check they are OK) and you can't separate the particle from the verb. If you need more information, go to this link.

Most of these prepositions are fixed and there are no clear reasons for using one or another so the best way is to learn them by heart. You should practise a lot with exercise to learn them. Here you are some links to do exercises:

• exercise 1        exercise 2 (a long explanation and a list with exercises at the end)
• exercise 3        exercise 4         exercise 5        exercise 6        exercise 7

Apart from doing exercises you should practise these forms orally, that is, say aloud 2 or 3 examples of each of the verbs with preposition; for example, THINK ABOUT: Have you thought about what I told you yesterday? I'm thinking about going on holiday to Mallorca.

To finish with, here you are the links to practise how to write pargraphs; click here and then here

Used to versus Usually

In unit 7.1 we are working with the form USED TO + infinitive when you talk about a habit in the past you don't do any more. Pay attention to the forms:

• I used to play with my brothers (but not now)
• I didn't use to go to the theatre
• Did you use to have problems with your parents as a teenager?

Remember we use USUALLY for the present tenses: I usually go to the cinema on Sunday.

These links will help you to work with this form:

• explanation with exercises at the end; click here
• more examples; click here

If you want to revise what I explained about the other similar forms (to be used to + -ING, to get used to + -ING), you can use this link

Health Problems

In lesson 6.3 we speak about heath problems. Here you are some links to check and inprove your vocabulary:

• vocabulary with drawings; click here
• vocabulary about symptoms; click here
• vocabulary of problems
• a general link

Saint Valentine's Day

I can't help giving you some pages to know something about this special day. Let me remind you that in English speaking countries this is not just a day for lovers but for anyone who loves anybody in one way or another. Here you have some links to read about this day:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine's_Day: general info from wikipeida
• http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day: a page with a lot of topics connected to this day
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/saints/valentine.shtml: this is an article with many details; the language is a bit difficult but it's quite interesting

Happy Saint Valentin's day!

Next lesson we'll talk about health and you'll need to revise the vocabulary of the body; if you want to use the vieo we saw in class, click here

Using FOR and SINCE

The main difference between these two forms is:

• FOR is used to express a period of time while SINCE is used to indicate the starting point in which the action began; go to this exercise to see it clear; click here

If you go to this link, you'll see a good explanation of these forms and take this sentence to be learnt by heart:

Just remember this sentence "For a period of time, since a point in time."

If you want to practise with some more exercises, here you are some links:

exercise 1      exercise 2       exercise 3     exercise 4 

If you are not sure about the tenses, you should revise the difference between passt simple and present perfect, a previous entry in this blog or go to these links:

exercise 1      use of how long with present perfect or past simple; click here

To finish with, pay attention to the pronunciation of SINCE  /SINS/

Asking and Giving directions (unit 5.3)

This unit 5.3 deals with directions so let's start with the vocabulary. If you go to this link you'll find the main instructions: verbs and prepositions; click here

Here you are another link of BBC giving you some clues about how to ask for directions: typical questions and useful words.

Here you are some videos to practise. I hope you to enjoy watching them:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tRvWNld_t4
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5wPc_4bfbQ
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGDtIRNnCyQ