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Tuesday 27 September 2011

WHAT TIME IS IT? (Telling the time in English)










Link: TELLING THE TIME
IN ENGLISH ORDINARY SPEECH, THE 12 HOUR CLOCK IS USED.


Use o'clock only at the full hour. Example: 7:00 - seven o'clock (but 7:10 - ten past seven)For times around midnight or midday you can use the expressions midnight or midday / noon instead of the number 12. 00:00 - midnight 12:00 - midday or noonTo make clear (where necessary) whether you mean a time before 12 o'clock noon or after, you can use in the morning before 12 o'clock noon, after 12 o'clock noon use in the afternoon. When to change to in the evening, at night depends on your sense of time.
Example: 3:15 - a quarter past three in the morning OR a quarter past three at nightMore formal expressions to indicate whether a time is before noon or after are a.m. (also: am - ante meridiem, before noon) and p.m. (also: pm - post meridiem, after noon). Use these expression only with the formal way of telling the time. Example: 3:15 - three fifteen a.m.It is not usual to use a.m. and p.m. with past/to. Example: 3:15 - fifteen minutes past three OR a quarter past three[American English
Beside past Americans often use after. Example: 06:10 - ten past/after six
But in time expressions with half past it is not usual to replace past by after.
Beside to Americans often use before, of or till. Example: 05:50 - ten to/before/of/till six]


TIMETABLES USUALLY USE THE 24 HOUR CLOCK. SPOKEN ENGLISH ONLY USES THE 24 HOUR CLOCK IN OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS (AIRPORTS, TRAIN OR BUS STATIONS...) NOT IN ORDINARY SPEECH.


Formal but easier way
Say the hours first and then the minutes. Example: 7:45 - seven forty-fiveFor minutes 01 through 09, you can pronounce the '0' as oh. Example: 11:06 - eleven (oh) sixMore popular way
Say the minutes first and then the hours. Use past and the preceding hour for minutes 01 through 30. Use to and the forthcoming hour for minutes 31 through 59, but .
Example: 7.15 - fifteen minutes past seven
Example: 7.45 - fifteen minutes to eight
Another possibility of saying '15 minutes past' is: a quarter past
Another possibility of saying '15 minutes to' is: a quarter to
Another possibility of saying '30 minutes past' is: half past
Example: 5:30 - half past five


- Practice with these clocks: What time is it in each one?


- Link to more practice on telling the time

Wednesday 21 September 2011

SPEAKING ENGLISH IN THE ENGLISH CLASS (&2)







Here are the images I've used in class to show and teach you some of the typical classroom expressions in an English class. For a more complete list of expressions look at a previous post in this blog from one year ago (Monday 20th September 2010) or under the label Speaking.

Video "CLASSROOM LANGUAGE":

Sunday 18 September 2011

WELCOME TO THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR 2011-2012

Having done the presentations last Friday, tomorrow Monday is the day we start the new school year 2011-2012, so we open up the blog once again. Welcome back, hope you come with lots of interest, willing to learn and to enjoy. Good luck!

Sunday 11 September 2011

9/11: 10TH ANNIVERSARY


No need for more words: REFLECT.

CREATE YOUR OWN STORY WITH "MY STORYMAKER"






Do you want to be the main character of your own story?


Go to My StoryMaker and you will choose your own story’s characters, settings and objects. You start by writing your name, then choosing your main character, the general theme of story (love, making friends, travel…) and a third variable (who the main character falls in love with, what the main character wants to find, etc.). It's great fun and a good way of learning, too. Have a try: write your own story!

Sunday 4 September 2011

SUMMER 2011 NEWS UPDATES: 23rd JULY- AMY WINEHOUSE DIED



Amy Winehouse was found dead in her house in Camden, London on Saturday, July 23rd. Here is how the news was covered at the BBC.

[From Wikipedia]

Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize. Her 2006 follow-up album, Back to Black, led to six Grammy Award nominations and five wins and made Winehouse the first British female to win five Grammys, including three of the "Big Four": Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
On 14 February 2007, she won a BRIT Award for Best British Female Artist; she had also been nominated for Best British Album. She won the Ivor Novello Award three times, one in 2004 for Best Contemporary Song (musically and lyrically) for "Stronger Than Me", one in 2007 for Best Contemporary Song for "Rehab", and one in 2008 for Best Song Musically and Lyrically for "Love Is a Losing Game", among other distinctions. The album is the biggest seller of the 2000s in the United Kingdom. Winehouse is credited as an influence in the rise in popularity of female musicians and soul music, and also for revitalising British music.
Winehouse was found dead on 23 July 2011, at her home in London. Police have said that the cause of her death is "as yet unexplained" and that the death was "non-suspicious". Winehouse's family and friends attended her funeral on 26 July 2011. In August 2011 her album Back to Black became the UK's best selling album of the 21st century.
Winehouse's final recording, a duet entitled "Body and Soul" with Tony Bennett, was released on 14 September 2011 to commemorate what would have been her 28th birthday. Proceeds from the song will go to the Amy Winehouse Foundation "to support charitable activities in both the UK and abroad that provide help, support or care for young people, especially those who are in need by reason of ill health, disability, financial disadvantage or addiction".

News video:

Video "BACK TO BLACK", Amy Winehouse:

"Back to black" lyrics:
He left no time to regret
Kept his d*ck wet
With his same old safe bet
Me and my head high
And my tears dry
Get on without my guy
You went back to what you knew
So far removed from all that we went through
And I tread a troubled track
My odds are stacked
I'll go back to black

We only said goodbye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to.....

I go back to us

I love you much
It's not enough
You love blow and I love puff
And life is like a pipe
And I'm a tiny penny rolling up the walls inside

We only said goodbye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to

We only said goodbye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to

Black, black, black, black, black, black, black,
I go back to
I go back to

We only said good-bye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to

We only said good-bye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to black

Video "REHAB", Amy Winehouse:

"Rehab" lyrics:
They tried to make me go to rehab but I said 'no, no, no'
Yes I've been black but when I come back you'll know know know
I ain't got the time and if my daddy thinks I'm fine
He's tried to make me go to rehab but I won't go go go

I'd rather be at home with Ray
I ain't got seventy days
Cause there's nothing
There's nothing you can teach me
That I can't learn from Mr Hathaway

I didn't get a lot in class
But I know it don't come in a shot glass

They tried to make me go to rehab but I said 'no, no, no'
Yes I've been black but when I come back you'll know know know
I ain't got the time and if my daddy thinks I'm fine
He's tried to make me go to rehab but I won't go go go

The man said 'why do you think you're here'
I said 'I got no idea
I'm gonna, I'm gonna lose my baby
so I always keep a bottle near'
He said 'I just think you're depressed,
this me, yeah baby, and the rest'

They tried to make me go to rehab but I said 'no, no, no'
Yes I've been black but when I come back you'll know know know

I don't ever wanna drink again
I just ooh I just need a friend
I'm not gonna spend ten weeks
have everyone think I'm on the mend

It's not just my pride
It's just 'til these tears have dried

They tried to make me go to rehab but I said 'no, no, no'
Yes I've been black but when I come back you'll know know know
I ain't got the time and if my daddy thinks I'm fine
He's tried to make me go to rehab but I won't go go go
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