Online English Course - Pre-Intermediate 03 20 lessons based on real newspaper articles
Online English Course - Pre-Intermediate 03 20 lessons based on real newspaper articles. Reading, writing, listening, grammar and vocabulary. Over 110 activities and exercises - approximately 20 hours of online study. Lessons 2: Grammar - Quantifiers Quantifiers (quantity words) describe different amounts of things They say how much there is of something. A lot of and lots of have the same meaning. A lot of and lots of can be used with uncountable or plural countable nouns. Some or Any - Any is used in questions and negative sentences. Some is used in positive sentences. Some is used when we are making a request. We often use some when we are shopping. I d like some cheese please. Countable and Uncountable Nouns Countable nouns can be singular (a banana) or plural (many bananas). We can put a (or an) in front of countable nouns (an orange). Lessons 3-4: Grammar - Conditional First Conditional The first conditional is used to talk about something that may happen in the future and the result of this. If they ask me about my age, I ll tell them I am 30. (I think they probably will ask this.) If they ask me what I want to do next year, I ll say I want to travel the world. If they ask me what my biggest strength is, I ll say my enthusiasm. If is used to talk about things that might happen in the future; when is used for things that will happen. The first conditional is if + present simple, will + infinitive without to. The Second Conditional The second conditional is used to talk about an unreal or unlikely condition and its result in the present or future. If I were very rich, I would give away lots of my money to charity. (But I am not very rich.) If I won Lotto, I would have a very big party! (But I probably won t win Lotto.) The second conditional is if + past simple, would + infinitive without to. We often use were instead of was with the second conditional and I: if I were you,... if I were the king, etc. When we are speaking, however, it is common now to use was: if I was you,... if I was the king, etc. Lessons 5: Superlatives Adjectives in their comparative forms With three-syllable words, and longer, we do not add -er and -est, but use more than and the most. difficult; more difficult than; the most difficult With two-syllable adjectives the rules change. Sometimes -er and -est are used, and sometimes more and the most. easy; easier than; the easiest Adjectives ending -ly can be used either way: They look alike, but Sam is friendlier / more friendly than Paul. In some cases, both forms are commonly used. simple, common, stupid, handsome, clever, polite, sexy Lesson 7 & 8: Grammar The Future Who is the sexiest / most sexy man in the world? Will and going to Talking about offers, promises, future intentions and plans We use going to to talk about our plans - things we are going to do at a future time*. I m going to have a big party for my birthday next year. I m going to buy some new black shoes tonight. am/is/are going to + base form We also use going to when we can see something is going to happen. Something in the present shows us it will happen. Get your umbrella out. It s going to rain. We use I ll (I will) when we suddenly decide to do something. We use will when we make a decision now - while we are speaking. We re going to the beach. Do you want to come? Yes, please. I ll get my swimsuit and sunglasses. (I decide now I will come to the beach.) will + base form of a verb The negative is will not or won t. We use I ll (I will) when we offer to do something. I m really tired. Could you cook dinner tonight? Yes. I ll make spaghetti bolognese. (I decide now I will cook spaghetti tonight.) We use I ll (I will) when we promise to do something. Please let me use your Playstation. I ll be very nice to you. (I promise I will be nice to you.) Have you done your homework? No, I ll do it soon. (I promise now I will do it.)
Lessons 9-11: Grammar - The Perfect The present perfect simple is made with has/have + the past participle. She has used the money she gets from selling vegetables to help build a library. The present perfect simple has different uses. It is used to talk about an action which began in the past and continues to the present. It is used to talk about an action that happened in the past where the time is not mentioned. It is never used with time words like last week, last year, yesterday, five minutes ago, in 1998 etc. It is used with words like since, this week/year, for the last six months, today. These words describe an unfinished time. When talking about the length of time (duration), we use the present perfect with for + a period of time. When talking about a starting point, we use the present perfect with since + a point in time. Nearly 300 people have won awards since 1958. For + a period of time: for six years, for a week, for a month, for hours, for two hours. Since + a point in time: since this morning, since last week, since yesterday, since I was 12, since Friday The Past Perfect The past perfect simple is used for one action that happens before another in the past. The past perfect is used to show you which of two events happened first. He had stolen the keys before he left the classroom. She had talked in class 15 times, so the teacher told him to leave. He had not driven a car before he stole his teacher's car. The past perfect simple is had + verb-ed (the past participle). The past participle of regular verbs ends in -ed. You need to learn the past participles for irregular verbs. Lessons 12-14: Grammar - The Passive The Present Passive Wine is made from grapes. Wine is sold in supermarkets around New Zealand. The writer wants us to think about the product (i.e. wine) instead of who made it or sold it. The passive voice (is made) is often used to do this. Growers make wine from grapes. Retailers sell wine in supermarkets. The passive voice is often used in descriptions of how things are made or produced. It is also used in scientific writing or business when the writer wants us to think about what was done, not who did it. Passive: 1,000 bottles of sauvignon blanc wine are produced each year for the local market. Active: The company produces 1,000 bottles of sauvignon blanc wine each year for the local market. The present simple passive is formed using is/are + past participle of verbs. Remember: some verbs take -ed e.g. produce produced; irregular verbs have different forms e.g. grow grew. Present Simple Passive - Positive Present Simple Passive - Negative Present Simple Passive - Question This bottle is made of glass. This bottle isn t made of glass. Is this bottle made of glass? The Past Simple Passive The past simple passive is formed using was/were + past participle of verbs. Past Simple Passive - Positive Past Simple Passive - Negative This bottle of wine was produced in 1922. This bottle of wine wasn t produced here. Past Simple Passive - Question Was this wine produced here? When describing a process, we usually use the passive because we are more interested in the process than the subject. In active sentences the actor or doer (subject) comes at the beginning of the sentence: People are the actors or doers, but we are interested in People invented refrigeration in the 1870s. refrigeration. The passive is better. Refrigeration was invented in the 1870s. Lessons 15 & 16: Grammar - Modals Must / Should - Obligation & Advice Should is used to say what we expect or give advice; to say what we think it is the best idea to do. You should be careful when you go on a date. Shouldn t is used when we think something isn t the best thing to do. You shouldn t drink too much. When we tell someone that we have to do something, we mean that it is necessary for us to do it. We have no choice. I have to go home now - the last train is at 11.00 pm. Must is also used to say that it is necessary, BUT the pressure comes from ourselves. We do have a choice. It is not a law. I must be on time for my date. We do not say by people, because we know people invent things. The form is always the modal verb + infinitive of a verb without to. A modal verb never has an ending like s or ed. To make questions, reverse the word order. Must you make so much noise when you eat? Should I go out with him? Have to is different to other modal verbs because it can have other forms. Has to is used instead of have to with he, she or it. He has to catch the train home. Unlike other modal verbs, we use do/does with have to in questions. Do you have to go home now? Don t/doesn t is used to make negatives. We don t have to finish our drinks before the movie; we can take them in.
Lessons 17: Grammar - Articles the is called the definite article. a and an are called indefinite articles. When no article (a/an/the) is used, this is called the zero article. the can be used before any singular or plural noun. a is used before a consonant sound....when we are thinking of one particular thing. The doctor is nearly finished....when it is clear what we are talking about. What s wrong? The hospital is busy! (We know I am referring to where we are, the hospital we are in.)...when there is only one of something. The sun is a giant star. an is used before a vowel sound. an intern a nurse a or an are used before a singular countable noun which isn t clearly defined - any one is OK. I would like to get a tattoo. No article (zero article) is used before plural and uncountable nouns when talking about things in general. Health care may become lmore expensive in the future. Other Rules for Articles Definite Articles. with country names that have Republic, States in them etc: the Republic of Ireland, when the name includes of or Kingdom : the University of Canberra with rivers, oceans, lakes and seas: the Murray River, the Tasman Sea, with movies, radio, theater: I love going to the movies. Listening to the radio is something I enjoy. with restaurants, hotels, cafes, theaters, art galleries, museums: the Savoy, the National Gallery, the Berkeley Cinema, the Blue Bar, with some groups of people: the rich, the poor, the youth, the homeless, the French, the British with nationalities that end in ese: the Japanese, the Vietbamese Zero article We do not use a/an or the: with meals: breakfast, lunch dinner in these expressions: last week, this month, next Tuesday etc. with the names of towns, cities and most countries: Brighton, Paris, Shanghai, Bangkok, Singapore, Kenya with mountains: Mt. Vesuvius, Table Mountain with languages: French, Swahili Lessons 18: Grammar - as.. as Adverbs are words that modify verbs. (He typed slowly. - How did he type?) Adjectives describe nouns. (He made an interesting web site. - How interesting was the web site?) Adverbs often tell when, where, why, or how something happens. We use as + adverb or adjective + as... to say we are trying to do our best. He studied as hard as he could in prison. We use as + adverb or adjective + as to say 2 things are the same or equal. He wants to get out of prison as quickly as he can. He was as quiet as a mouse in prison. He could never sleep in prison as well as at home. Lessons 19: Grammar - So & Such So can be used with adjectives to show things that are "big" or extremes. This is often used in exclamations. Life is now so expensive! The kids are so young. His mother works so hard. Reading the letters can be so emotional. So + Many / Few + Plural Noun - I never had so many presents! So + Much / Little + Non-countable Noun - They have so little money - they are very poor! So + Much / Little / Often / Rarely - They get presents so rarely! Such can be combined with an adjective and a noun to show extremes. His mother is such a hard worker. Reading the letters can be such an emotional thing! Lessons 20: Grammar - Gerunds Gerund (verb+ing) A gerund is a verbal that ends in -ing and functions as a noun. A gerund often comes after a preposition. By logging on to Facebook and other social networking sites, users can choose people they do not want to see.... relatives that they don t feel like bumping into during their free time. * I believe in keeping my personal details private. * I don t feel bad for using Cloak. * I m interested in reading more about these apps. * I m worried about seeing my ex-boyfriend. * I m not very good at meeting old girlfriends.
Useful Vocabulary and Expressions from the Lessons: croissant egg toast milk butter orange salt orange juice apple cereal honey bacon What do I look like When we describe hair we can talk about length, type and colour. Adjectives go in this order: Length: Hair can be short, shoulder-length or long Type: It can be straight, wavy or curly. Colour: It can be dark or black, brown, fair, red, or grey. sugar bald - no hair fringe - hair that hangs down and covers the forehead clean shaven - a man who does not have a beard or moustache freckles - small brown spots on the skin from the sun moustache - hair that men grow below their nose wrinkles - the lines old people have on their faces laughter lines - marks in the skin around the eyes that appear when a person smiles beard - hair that men grow on their chin Personality Opposites outgoing - shy generous - stingy Going to the Movies Science Fiction - a film with space ships and aliens Action - a film with lots of exciting things like car chases Animated - a film where everything is drawn on computers Western - a film about cowboys Tragedy - a very sad film Comedy - a film that makes you laugh Romance - a love story snatching - taking something quickly and roughly ceremony - a time when you do something special and important hard-working - lazy quiet - noisy Musical - a film with many songs Plot - the story or things that happen in a film Setting - place where the story happens Special effects - Sights and sounds created by people to seem real, such as things disappearing, aliens, outer space etc. platform - a high place where people stand so that others can see and hear them passengers - people on a bus, train, plane, ship or in a car shootout - using guns to shoot at each other many times failed - not work, not successful Book Words people who work in a library - librarian things we do at a library - check out, return what we need to borrow books - library card when a book is late - overdue, fine To borrow books you will need a library card. The librarian will use your card to check out the books you want to borrow. Character - A person in a film; the person is not real. Books must be returned by the due date. If a book is late, it will be overdue and you will have to pay a fine.