Search results for 'tag:Present simple tag:Numbers' matching tags 'Present simple' and 'Numbers'

Re: grammar check!

AlpheccaStars — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 17:03:57 GMT

Ellisa:

This is a very long passage, and your other post seems to be even longer.

The editor at this web site makes it difficult to make corrections to long passages. Also, many teachers do not want to devote a long time working on a single post. If you post only one paragraph at a time, then different teachers can work on them and you will get your corrections faster.

Ellisa

Hello teachers!
I'm summarising a book which is about teaching methods.
I guess there are millions of errors.
Please ~~check those to right one~~ suggest corrections to my sentences.!
Thanks in advance!

13. Teaching grammar

There are two main ways to teach~~ing~~ grammar.(or you can say "ways of teaching grammar". The word "teaching" is a gerund, and must be used as a noun. In this example, it is object of the preposition "of")
One way is ~~both~~ planning grammar teaching in advance and relying on the coursebooks which can help us teach grammar. The other way is teaching grammar as a result of other work. In other words, it is ~~has~~ done as a peripheral activity. In this chapter, we will look at the various different ways to teach grammar. We will look at the range of activities which satisfy not merely efficiency but also ~~appropriacy~~ (not a word; you can use the adjective forms - a range of activities which are efficient as well as appropriate). . Lastly, we will discuss grammar books and their usages.

(You need to be consistent in using imperative versus declarative sentences)

A. Introducing grammar

The following ~~1 to 4~~ examples (, numbered 1 to 4,) are activities which represent a range of possibilities for introducing new grammar.

Ex1) It's making sentences using the present simple in the third singular. First, the teacher holds up a number of flashcards which are about a specific job. Then (? subject - the students )make sentences in ~~contained~~ present simple tense for ~~the~~ each pictures. It consists (or The exercise consists of) of three affirmative and three negative sentences. Then (? subject - the teacher )makes the students guess what kind of job it is. Once students are confident in ~~with~~ these sentences, the teacher asks them to think of one profession and make 6 sentences. Now, they can do activities guessing what profession is being described.

Ex2) It's using texts which contained (present tense) what the students are being taught (past simple irregular verbs). While the students read the text, they come across blanks that they must fill in with the past tense form of certain verbs. Then, (? subject - the teacher )makes them write these past tense verb forms down in the blanks and also write them phonetically using ~~which are shown~~ ~~their~~ phonemic symbols.

Ex3) This is aimed to show the differences between ~~reporting~~ direct speech and reporting things that were said in the past. The teacher draws ~~Draw~~ two people on the board. One, whose name is Jack, is holding a phone and smiling ~~whose name is Jack~~. The other is just standing. The teacher gives the ~~Give~~ students the information that Jack is talking to a girl who he met in the school canteen. Then, the teacher asks the students what Jack tells his friend while taking on the phone. The answers might be in the present form such as ' She says I'm really nice'. In this process, the teacher makes sure that the students understand how 'you' changes to 'I'. The teacher now tells the students that Jack is back home and he was spurned by the girl. He is telling to his mother that 'She said I was really nice' which is past form. The teacher can write both past and present forms on the board to help students.

Ex4) Here, the language which the students are ~~were~~ going to study is ~~was~~ embedded in the texts which they read. The teacher makes the students read the story first. After confirming that they ~~are~~ fully understanood the story by asking comprehension questions, the teacher asks them to make bad or insensible statements using the story. Then, the ~~get~~ students to come up to the board and write the sentences. ~~so that T~~he sentences have to use the modal auxillary "should," such as ~~ncluding~~ 'Should have p.p.' or' Shouldn't have p.p'.(especially here.)

grammar check!

Ellisa — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 14:12:49 GMT

Hello teachers!
I'm summarising a book which is about teaching methods.
I guess there are millions of errors.
Please check those to right one!
Thanks in advance!

13. Teaching grammar

There are two main ways teaching grammar. One way is both planning grammar teaching in advance and relying on the coursebooks which can help us teach grammar. The other way is teaching grammar as a result of other work. In other words, it has done as a peripheral activity. In this chapter, we will look at the various different ways to teach grammar. We will look at the range of activities which satisfy not merely efficiency but also appropriacy. Lastly, we will discuss grammar books and their usages.

A. Introducing grammar

The following 1 to 4 examples are activities which represent a range of possibilities for introducing new grammar.

Ex1) It's making sentences using the present simple in the third singular. First, the teacher holds up a number of flashcards which are about a specific job. Then make sentences contained present simple for the each pictures. It consist of three affirmative and three negative sentences. Then make students guess what kind of job is. Once students are confident with these sentences, the teacher asks them to think of one profession and make 6 sentences. Now, they can do activities guessing what profession is being described.

Ex2) It's using texts which contained what the students are being taught (past simple irregular verbs). While the students read the text, they come across the past tense form of certain verbs. Then, make them write these past tense verb forms down in the blanks which are shown their phonemic symbols.

Ex3) This is aimed to show the differences between reporting speech and reporting things that were said in the past. Draw two people on the board. One is holding a phone and smiling whose name is Jack. The other is just standing. Give student information that Jack is talking to a girl who met in the school canteen. Then, ask the students what Jack tells his friend while taking on the phone. The answers might be in the present form such as ' She says I'm really nice'. In this process, make sure that the student understand how 'you' changes to 'I'. The teacher now tell the students that Jack is back home and he was spurned by the girl. He is telling to his mother that 'She said I was really nice' which is past form. The teacher can write both past and present forms on the board to help students.

Ex4) Here, the language which the students were going to study was embedded in the texts which they read. Make student read the story first. After confirming that they are fully understood the story asking comprehension questions, ask them make bad or insensible statements using the story. Then, get students to come up to the board and write the sentences so that the sentences including 'Should have p.p.' or' Shouldn't have p.p'.(especially here.)

A myriad of grammar problems :(

Anonymous — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 11:10:23 GMT

A Myriad of Grammar Problems... :(

I have absolutely no idea how to do these, can someone tell me what's going on here, Ive looked up many pages on the web but still am stumped on these:

Exercise 9
Rewrite the following in the PASSIVE voice.

E.g. 1. My wife wrote the letter. --> The letter was written by my wife.

2. My father painted the house. --> The house was painted by my father.

3. The storm will destroy the harvest. --> The harvest will be destroyed by the storm.

4. He has knocked the fence over. --> The fence was knocked over by him.

5. The man in the black hat found the child. --> The child was found by the man in the black hat.

Exercise 10
Rewrite the following in the ACTIVE voice.

E.g. 1. This task can be done by small children. --> Small children can do this task.

2. The supermarket will be opened by the mayor. --> The mayor will open the supermarket.

3. The charge was made by the police. --> The police made the charge.

4. The drawings were done by a famous artist. --> A famous artist did the drawings.

5. The company has been taken over by the Government. --> The government was taken over the company.

Are these right, I have to get them 100% word correct...but I'm really not sure if their right.

For example, we can use the present continuous (also used to refer to the future when we make arrangements) to talk about what is happening now. The simple present is commonly used to refer to routines or habits and it can also be used to refer past and future events.

Exercise 1
Look at this example taken from a newspaper: 'Prime Minister unveils new policies'. Although it is written in the present tense, it refers to past time.

Look at the following sentences using present simple tense verbs and decide what time reference they have - PRESENT, PAST, or FUTURE.

E.g. 1. When you see her, will you say hello from me.	Future
2. Cantona passes to Giggs, who passes to Sharp.
3. She walks in, comes right up to me and says...
4. The train leaves at 10.30.
5. We'll phone as soon as we get there.

Number 2,3 I said was Present, and Number,4,5 I said was Future.
Exercise 2
Look through the following sentences and select the TENSE and the time reference used.

E.g. 1. If I won a lot of money, I'd travel the world.	Past Simple	Future
2. I wish I had more time to finish this exercise.
3. When you have finished, you can go home.
4. 'Major calls for peace summit' (headline).
5. I'm meeting some friends at the pub tonight.
6. We've got the next lesson in the language library.
7. I am to give a speech at the conference next week.

I have NO IDEA how to do the above 2 exercises, I can't even attempt them very well...can anyone relieve me of the stress I'm having with these?

Re: I do exercise on present simple and i need check it .

BeginStudent — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 17:43:33 GMT

Grammar Geek wrote:

Hello BeginStudent

BeginStudent wrote:

Hi ,

The exercise is :

Add the word or words in brackets to the sentence in each case:

1.She does her h.w after dinner.(usually)

(my answer) 1.she usually does her h.w after dinner.

Okay, but remember to start with a capital letter.

BeginStudent wrote:

Michal comes home at 6 o'clock.(on tuesdays)

Michal comes home at 6 o'clock on thesdays.

Tuesdays not thesdays. Fine, or "On Tuesdays, Michal comes..." // You on purpose are writing the word "On 'and' Tuesdays " in capital letter?(tuesday too ?) - some thing else , am i write the last line right?("you on purpose are writing" / "you are onpurpose writing ")

[I play chess.(several times a week)

I don't do that .

"There's no reason for you to not do this. It's no different from the Michal and Tuesdays. Try it again. "

- I dont do that because i dont know if i did well the exercise number 1 . ( is it correct what am i writing in blue mark ?)

but now i'm doing this : I play chess several times a week or Several times a week i play chess .

Thanks , I'm appraiser you help.

Re: Would have

Mister Micawber — Wed, 10 May 2006 11:48:15 GMT

Hello, Jack-- long time, no see. How have you been?

Actually, I would have chosen #3:

3. If we now redirect (present simple) the standard input of the wc -l command to come from user.lst, we will effectively count the number of users.

If the writer wishes to view it from the end of the redirecting process, then s/he might write:

3a. If we now redirect (present simple) the standard input of the wc -l command to come from user.lst, we will have effectively counted the number of users.

Of course, I don't really understand the topic of this sentence, so I may be wrong; still, I don't see any reason to use either would or would have, since the redirection is perfectly possible, I presume.

Re: present simple x continuous used for future

Clive — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 23:40:09 GMT

Hi Petulinka,

I leave tonight.

I'm leaving tonight.

I am not sure but I think that there is a difference that in the first sentence somebody could plan it for me and the second sentence can be that it's my decision. Is it right? Generally speaking, yes.

I'm going to leave tonight. I'm telling you about my plan.

I will leave tonight. Think of this as 'future with no plan'. It can cover a number of situations, eg a sudden, impromptu statement or a strong expression of determination, of will.

Best wishes, Clive

Re: tense of noun clause embedded in subjunctive

Anonymous — Sun, 20 Nov 2005 01:58:29 GMT

Paco2004 wrote:
OK, I'll give my question in another words.

     [1] I wish I could tell her I am a Japanese person.
     [2] I wish I could tell her I was a Japanese person.
           Which one sounds natural to you?

paco

Number two sounds correct.

Paco, I believe the issue here is about when and when not to use the unreal past. If you look at your examples you will notice we use the present simple 'tell' after 'could'. That's because 'tell' is an action. When we refer to a hypothetical action or happening we use 'could'/'would' + the present simple.

I wish I could play the piano.

If only she would call me.

If only he would help more around the house.

However, when we refer to a hypothetical state we use the unreal past, eg:

I wish I wasn't Japanese.

If only I had a car.

If only I lived in Spain.

Re: Get

Jussive — Mon, 07 Nov 2005 13:34:11 GMT

1. You must be pretty dumb if you get a bad mark.

This is fine. Itâs the first conditional: modal auxiliary verb + if + present simple

2. You must be pretty dumb if you got a bad mark.

This would work as the second conditional if you replaced âmustâ with âwouldâ. In such a case, the past simple âgotâ would refer to the future, and such a form would suggest that getting a bad mark is unlikely, improbably or just simply imaginary.

As it stands, this sentence only makes sense if the papers have already been marked and, therefore, âgotâ refers to the past. Iâm unsure of the precise terminology but I think itâs also categorised as 'the first conditional' as we are referring to a condition that is possible even though it is in the past. If someone disputes the term being used for this form then please say so.

3. You must be pretty dumb if you get a bad mark tomorrow.

This is the same as number one.

4. You must be pretty dumb if you got a bad mark tomorrow.

Now, this doesnât work as either the first conditional (âgotâ canât refer to the past because of âtomorrowâ) or the second conditional (âmustâ refers to a real possibility (a logical conclusion) whereas the past simple âgotâ doesnât).

If you replaced âmustâ with âwouldâ then you would have the second conditional:

âYou would be pretty dumb if you got a bad mark tomorrow.â

I am reading an interesting book this month. versus I have read...

Mowgli — Thu, 20 Oct 2005 09:50:22 GMT

Hello,

I want to make sure I understand the meaning of these sentences well:

I think both of them are grammaticly correct, arenÂ´t they?

1) IÂ´m reading an interesting book this month.

2) IÂ´ve read an interesting book this month.

-----------

If I say "IÂ´m reading an interesting book this month. (1)", it means: IÂ´m still reading it, I havenÂ´t finished it yet.

However, if I say IÂ´ve read an interesting book this month." (2), it means: IÂ´ve finished it or I doÂ´nt read it any more. Am I right?

----------------------

However, not always is the action expressed by a verb in present perfect simple a finished action. Am I right?: (However, I would say the usage of present perfect simple in finished actions is more frequent, isnÂ´t it?)

------------------

I mean for example in these cases:

3) IÂ´ve known him for 10 years. (I met him ten years ago, I knew him 10 years ago and I knew him also nine, eight....five... years ago and I still (!) know him now. (It is a different situation to me. I mean compared with sentence number two above. (X IÂ´ve read an interesting book this month.)

Similar is:

4) IÂ´ve had this car since 1995. (I still have it, ItÂ´s not finished. I still possess the car.)

5) IÂ´ve been in London for two years/since 2000. (It means: I am still in London. ItÂ´s not finished. X However, If I say: "IÂ´ve been to London." (IÂ´ve visited London, however, IÂ´m not there any more. ItÂ´s finished. Am I right? - So, it is similar to number two (IÂ´ve read an interesting book this month.)

(Is it also correct to say only: IÂ´ve been in London? - I think it isnÂ´t correct.)

6) What about if I say?: IÂ´ve lived in London for two years/since 2000.? (Do I still live in London or not any more? I would say - yes, I still live in London in those cases.

What about if I want to say: "I lived (was) in London for two years, or since 2000 and I donÂ´t live in London any more".

I suggest this: I lived/was in London for two years/I was in London since 2000, but IÂ´m living in New York now (or can I also say ...but I live in New York now. Grammar books usually say - I live in New York - ItÂ´s a permanent state and thatÂ´s why we use live - present simple. However, what about if I complete the sentence with now?)

Is there any genaral rule how to recognize if the actin expressed by the present perfect simple is a not finished action so that the student doesnÂ´t have to learn the particular sentences mentioned above? I suggest this: The present perfect express a not completed, a not finished action if there is are some expressions which tell us "how long?". In those cases we usally use present perfect continuous, however, we couldnÂ´t use it because itÂ´s an non progressive verb. - Is this rule OK?

Thank you Mowgli

Re: Past Perfect

Jussive — Fri, 07 Oct 2005 10:15:57 GMT

Jack112 wrote:

Sorry for my lack of understanding. Could you give me a few more examples as to how to distinguish between them?

1. I have never had more girlfriends than I have now. (Correct)

2. I have never had more girlfriends than I do now. (Is this one correct as well? How do I distinguish between a main verb and an auxiliary?)

Thanks

Hi Jack. Sorry I didnât reply to this earlier but Iâve been away.

Donât worry about not understanding. English grammar is not always clear-cut and neither is the teaching of it.

What you have trouble with is auxiliaries that also have a lexical form such as âdoâ or âhaveâ. In their auxiliary form they help to create tense (bar creating questions or emphasis). They are used in conjunction with lexical verbs. As you know, lexical verbs often take complements or objects, for example:

âI have homework.â

Here âhomeworkâ is the object of the verb and, obviously, as we only have one verb (âhaveâ) in this sentence (clause), it is, therefore, being used as a lexical verb.

âI have needed homework.â

âI have always needed homeworkâ

Bar some obvious exceptions such as when the predicate is a compound, two lexical verbs donât fit together in the same clause. (Donât confuse this with infinitives, participles or gerunds.) In other words, âhaveâ has to be an auxiliary as it is followed by the lexical verb âneedâ and varies its tense. âHomeworkâ is therefore the object of the verb âneedâ. âHave neededâ is what is traditionally known as a verb phrase, a verb consisting of more than one word. One thing which you need to see is that this does not change if we replace the lexical verb âneedâ with a verb which has both a lexical and auxiliary form:

âI have done my homework.â

âI have always done my homework.â

âI have had homework.â

âI have always had homework.â

There is a second verb so âhaveâ is the auxiliary, âdoneâ and âhadâ are lexical verbs and âhomeworkâ their object.

A. âI have done more homework than I do now.â

B. âI have needed more homework than I need now.â

C. âI have had more homework than I have now.â

These three are correct. Notice the lexical verbs in the first clauses match the lexical verbs in the second: âdoneâ and âdoâ; âneededâ and âneedâ; âhadâ and âhaveâ. Notice also that we are only comparing the past to the present and, other than that, we are comparing the same thing, for example, the homework I have done compared with the homework I do.

1. âHe does more homework than I do.â

2. âHe has done more homework than I have.â

3. âHe has done more homework than I do now.â

4. âHe needs more homework than I need.â

5. âHe has needed more homework than I have.â

6. âHe has needed more homework than I need now.'

7. âHe has more homework than I have.â

8. âHe has had more homework than I have.â

9. âHe has had more homework than I have now.â

All the above are correct. (If number three compares a past completed action with a single present continuing action then it makes no sense. It only makes sense if the past perfect refers to a period of time and the present simple refers to an habitual action (as with âAâ).

Notice (above) that when we are comparing different things or people there are more grammatically correct combinations. For example, the homework he has done compared with the homework I have done:

âHe has done more homework than I have.â

This sentence is elliptical because âhaveâ cannot be a lexical verb otherwise we would be comparing the lexical forms of âhaveâ with âdoâ (âhavingâ with âdoingâ). Have, in the second clause, only makes sense as an auxiliary whose lexical verb is implied. The sentence could alternatively read:

âHe has done more homework than I have done.â

It is nonsensical to compare the homework I have done with the homework I have done and therefore the sentence âI have done more homework than I have now,â is incorrect because âhaveâ (as explained in the previous example) has to be an auxiliary and therefore (1) we are comparing two identical things and two identical people with two identical tenses (2) ânowâ is nonsensical as you canât âhave doneâ something ânowâ.

âHe has had more homework than I have.â

In this sentence, âhaveâ in the second clause could be either an auxiliary or a lexical verb. âHadâ, in the first clause, is a lexical verb (as explained at the beginning) and we can compare the lexical forms of âhadâ with âhaveâ (âhavingâ with âhavingâ; first clause, second clause):

âHe has had more homework than I have (homework)â

âHaveâ, in the second clause, also works as an auxiliary because we are comparing two different things even if they are in the same tense:

âHe has had more homework than I have (had).â

Hope thatâs helped.

Jussive