BEING A TEACHER....

BEING A TEACHER IS A DIFFICULT TASK NOWADAYS, SO I DECIDED TO FOLLOW THIS PIECE OF ADVICE BY BRUCE LEE:

Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.

by Bruce Lee

domingo, 6 de marzo de 2016

Living in Mars: A reality, a dream or impossible?

"Neil Armstrong said he would have spent his summer holidays in Mars if he had known there was life on Mars (listening exercise, 6 Minute English). Well, this is not really true, but something is pretty sure (feeling jealous of Patricia and Andrea), I would have won the 2016 photo contest at our school if they had allowed teachers to participate. Do you remember the meme I made some weeks ago?", said Albert.

 

Forget about this fake situation I have just made up. It was just a way to present the IMPOSSIBLE or UNREAL CONDITIONALS, that is, the Third Conditionals. Click on the link and read about it. Then do the 5 exercises proposed. And here's another one.

By the way, have you seen the film 'The Martian' (Bring him home)? Would you like to spend some time on Mars if you had the opportunity? (HYPOTHETICAL CONDITIONALS) Apart from the 6 exercises just presented, here's another one


 

Anti-hunger campaign 'If' launches with call for G8 to act (The Guardian)

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NOTES ON THE CONDITIONAL SENTENCES (for further details visit my site)

To begin with, we have to differentiate between the 'IF-CLAUSE' and the 'MAIN CLAUSE'. If we put the IF CLAUSE first, you have to put a comma after it.
If we put the IF CLAUSE first, you have to put a comma after it.  (You have to put a comma after it if we put the...)
           IF CLAUSE                                             MAIN CLAUSE
- There are three main types of conditional sentences:
  1. REAL CONDITIONALS.- You are based on a real situation.
  2. HYPOTHETICAL CONDITIONALS.- You are based on a hypothetical (NOT IMPOSSIBLE) situation.
  3. IMPOSSIBLE or UNREAL CONDITIONALS.- You are based on past facts that cannot be changed at all.

REMEMBER THAT IN THE IF-CLAUSE WE DON'T USUALLY HAVE EITHER 'WILL' OR 'WOULD', WHICH IS A SIMILAR CASE TO THE TIME CLAUSES.

1. REAL CONDITIONALS

They are based on a real situation, so the main clause depends on the if-clause.
If + PRESENT SIMPLE......            >>> Future Simple  (we will have a barbecue in the garden)
If it is sunny,...                                >>> Modal verb (we can have a barbecue in the garden, we must moan the lawn)
                                                            >>> Imperative  (come to my house and we will have a barbecue in the garden)

ZERO CONDITIONALS

They are used when we refer to physical laws, rules.....    If + PRESENT SIMPLE...   >>> PRESENT SIMPLE

Example: Water freezes if it reaches a temperature of 0º C.

2. HYPOTHETICAL CONDITIONALS

They are based on a hypothetical situation, which may seem in many cases impossible, so you have to be careful. Just imagine the case of Pau Gasol when he was 4 and said: "I would play in the LA Lakers and the Chicago Bulls if I played in the NBA).
SITUATION: It is raining and the weather forecast is not very optimistic, so it is not very likely that it is sunny.
If + PAST SIMPLE......            >>> Conditional Simple  (we would have a barbecue in the garden)
If it were (was) sunny,...         >>> MIGHT & COULD are also possible
'WERE' used to be the only possible form in the if-clause, although nowadays both forms (was, were) are possible.

3. IMPOSSIBLE or UNREAL CONDITIONALS

They are based on impossible situations which we cannot change at all.
SITUATION: Kennedy was murdered.
If + PAST PERFECT......            >>> CONDITIONAL PERFECT
If John Fitzgerald Kennedy had not been murdered, he would have been a great president.   BUT he was murdered.

One extra exercise, similar to the one you will have in the exam:

CONDITIONALS. Complete the sentences with the appropriate tenses (___).
 
 1. "Your girl (BE) _______________ safe if you (FOLLOW) ________________ our instructions." said the hijackers.
2. We can go to the playground if the History teacher (NOT COME) ________________ today.
3. If we (STUDY) ___________________ more in the first term, we (PASS) __________________ our English exams.
4. I (PLAY) _________________ in the NBA if I (BE)  __________ taller.
5. If I had a Ferrari, nobody in Salobreña (DRIVE) _______________ faster than me.
6. If Indurain (NOT RETIRE) __________________________ so soon, he (PROBABLY WIN)  ____________________ the Tour de France for the sixth time. 

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However,

How scientifically accurate is The Martian? (The Guardian)

  



This might interest you >>> 

How Good Grammar Saves Lives and Other Reasons It’s Still Important (WizCase)



Let's go back to reality with LINGOHACK:

Episode 160302 / 02 Mar 2016   >>>  Expressions presented: dominated, warning & manned.

Pay special attention to the adjective 'manned'. Before you watch it, what do you think it means?

2 comentarios:

  1. In my opinion this is a strange and a very famous case at the same time, because many people talk about Mars, but, if somebody says that nowdays is possible to live in Mars, many people answer him, "No, you are crazy", I don´t belive in this, but, nobody can know this.

    A few weeks ago I road that curiosity, took photos of liquid water in Mars, until now we knew that Mars has poles like the Earth, and this is a very corious notice which brings us closer the live in Mars

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  2. It is easy to forget that Earth is not the only planet in the solar system. Of those planets, none of them are closer or more enchanting to the imagination than Mars.

    The Red Planet, as Mars is often called, is the fourth planet from the sun. In a lot of ways, Mars looks a lot like our home, but Mars has always had a red colour. This is due to a mineral called iron oxide that is very common on the planet’s surface. Mars and Earth are similar in many way, so can people live there?

    I think it is very difficult for people to live in Mars because Mars doesn’t have a protective layer of atmosphere like the Earth, so it cannot store heat from the sun. As a result, the temperature on Mars is of -82 degrees C in the winter and only rises -5 degrees C in the summer. The dust storms on Mars are very strong, some dust storms on Mars can cover almost the planet in just a few days

    Mars is an incredible planet. With mountains, craters and caverns like Earth and a rich history, we will learn more about the Red Planet f in the future!!Maybe my children will live there!!

    MARGARITA LLANES VENEGAS 4ºA

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