To be taken with a pinch of salt

 

Nowadays, everything is to be taken with a pinch of salt. If you listen to the listening exercise below (6 Minute English). There are so many fake news going around that you don't really know what the truth is.

 

Anyway, something is for sure: Can you tell me the peculiarity of the word 'doubt' regarding its way to pronounce?

 

"We wouldn't have probably had so many cases of fake news and doubts if Internet hadn't been invented". Here we have an Impossible or Unreal conditional based on two past facts that cannot be changed. 

 

Activities for my students in 3º ESO: Impossible or Unreal conditionals ( 1, 2 ) + Conditional sentences (mixed).

 

Would it have been possible if it hadn't been Nadal?

 Times when Rafa Nadal Refused To Lose  1   2 

 

 

 Here's my musical tribute to our eternal tennis: Thank you by Pentatonix. Here's a version with the lyrics for you to really understand the message! 

 

 

Road towards success in the new PAU (Selectivity exam).....

 

REPHRASING (Brand new material for new PAU exam 2025)

 

11. He made an effort to speak in English.   He tried

12. I spent my holidays in France .   ?

13. This is the man. His job is very dangerous.    This is

14. The engineer has repaired my television.    I’ve

15. She gave up going to French lessons.    She stopped

16. I regretted having hit the dog on the head.    I wish

17. I’m not as good at English as you are.    You

18. The policeman knew where the thief was hidden.   ?

19. I regretted having hit the dog on the head.    I wish

20. The children stayed at home because it was raining.    As

 

Solution to the exercises in the previous post

 

 

Rephrasing

1. She has been drinking too much alcohol for two years.

2. If I had a computer, I would be able to type the essay on English grammar.

3. Although she had been vaccinated, she caught flu.

4. The policeman said that they would arrest them for illegal entry in the country.

5. The pieces of the broken toy were glued by the teacher.

6. I may finish work earlier than usual today.

7. This is where we last had coffee together.

8. I wish I could speak German fluently.

9. His parents got angry with him because he hadn’t behaved himself.

10. The instructions must be read first.

Here are some activities for you to do:

• Real Easy English:   Talking about FUTURE PLANS  (BBC Learning English)
  

• 
  

  Learning English from the News: South Korea's martial law crisis  (BBC Learning English)

• Ask BBC Learning English: How to use prefer, would rather and prefer  (BBC Learning English)

• A listening exercise for you to do:   Can you trust ancestry DNA kits?  (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English)

   

   

 

 

Quizz: Complete the expression (BBC Learning English)

 

 

 

"All work and no play makes Jack/Jill a dull boy/girl"

Learn English with  Dua Lipa

 

 

 

Note: 'taken by a pinch of salt' means you doubt something is completely true. And the peculiarity about the word 'doubt', phonetically speaking, is that the 't' is silent.

A little gift for you (QUARANTINE: DAY 33)

Gifts are usually given on special occasions and today this a very special occasion because this is the post number 800 since we set off on this digital journey 10 years ago. So congratulations to everyone because neiher my students nor I have ever chickened out (almost 15,000 comments have been made). And now we see how useful it can be for our teaching-learning process of the English language, especially in these dramatic conditions. I also feel really proud of you all to participate in this DIGITAL PROJECT with your own blogs and sites!!!

Anyway, even if I'm getting old, I haven't forgotten about my little gift. Actually, it is a gift from Burlington Books (which we all thank). You have to click on GET YOUR FREE READERS and the code is just below.

Burlington Books is pleased to offer you FREE ACCESS to the complete Burlington Digital Readers Library until 31st August, 2020!

Quarantine Scoreboard

Posts uploaded:  22

Students participating:  about 80 out of 110 (73%)

Comments written and corrected: 420

Emails exchanged: about 1400

PASEN announcements & messages: more than 1600

Things handed in and corrected: almost 800

 

Visits to blog and site during quarantine: about 7,500 (Average of 300 visits per day)

Video lectures (ONLINE CLASSES):    3

 

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE QUARANTINE

 Friday, 17^th April

No homework for today as we have no classes on Fridays. 

 

However, here's a video on the comparatives for you to watch:

Comparatives grammar animation -- Mosaic

 

Here's another one:

How to Compare Things in English. Comparative Adjectives 

 

So you have to use comparatives and superlatives in your next comments!!!!!

 

Smart Planet Digital books

These are the tasks for today: 

• Unit 8 (Finish pages 82- 84)   

• Watch this video about the UNREAL OR IMPOSSIBLE CONDITIONALS in English

Learn English Grammar: How to use the 3rd conditional

 

And if you need some revision: Conditional Sentences in English with Emma in mmmEnglish

 

Listening exercise for you to do:  What's on your 'bucket list'?   (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English)

 

Do you know what a 'bucket list' is? Have a look at his previous post:

Bucket lists and time capsules

 

 

 

No homework for today as we have no classes on Fridays. 

 

 

 

At the end of this Coronavirus quarantine your English teacher may become like the master of Kung Fu, who was blind.

Kung Fu - S1 E1 King of the Mountain 

 

 

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR NON-BILINGUAL STUDENTS!!!!

MORE BREAKING NEWS >>>>> CONGRATULATIONS TO Mª José García and Andrea Gutiérrez (4º ESO) for obtaining their B1 in English in the Official Language School!!!! In September I'm sure we'll have again better news when the rest of the students who entered the exam and didn' t pass all the parts have a second chance. Et félicitations à tous ceux qui ont réussi aussi dans leurs examens de français à l'École Officielle des Langues. COME ON , YOU CAN !!! Allez, vous pouvez!!!

BREAKING NEWS  >>>  Again congratulations to our non-bilingual students in 4º ESO for their projects on Braveheart as they have just been published once again in the ESL Times Magazine. Have a look at it!!!

It is true that our non-bilingual students could have done much better, but the results are incredible, especially in the level of 4º ESO.

Here are my recommendations for the summer:

• SUMMER RECOMMENDATIONS for 2º ESO students   

• SUMMER RECOMMENDATIONS for 4º ESO students     

 

We have just finished our final exams, the Selectivity exams, the Official Language School exams in French and in English, our Music School exams.... and it is time to come to some conclusions. Express them by using IMPOSSIBLE OR UNREAL CONDITIONALS. Let's revise how we make them and the two exceptions will be analysing next year in 1º Bachillerato. For further information on the comparatives you can visit my site.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

3. IMPOSSIBLE or UNREAL CONDITIONALS

They are based on impossible situations which we cannot change at all.

SITUATION: Not all the students in the level of 4º ESO studied enough and did all the things they should have done.

If + PAST PERFECT......            >>> CONDITIONAL PERFECT

If Raúl had handed in his folder, some compositions and the projects of the readers he had to read, he would have clearly passed English in June.   BUT he didn't.

Exception number 2

Combination of a past fact that cannot be changed and a quality that you don't have, but that you could have (it is still not impossible)

Example: Rita said she would have passed English in June if Albert weren't so strict.

Exception number 3

Combination of a past fact whose effects are still permanent.

Example: Albert replied that she would not a have such a low level in English now if she had worked as hard as her friend María, but unfortunately she didn't.

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Listening exercise to do: How to prepare for an exam (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English)