PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS

We have been studying when to use the 'Present Perfect Continuous' of verbs. If you still have problems, go to 'Grammar' to see, download and/or print a document with a more extensive explanation.
 

TENSE		USE	EXAMPLE
Present Perfect Simple	-	when the result of the action is important	I’ve written a play
Present Perfect Continuous	1	to describe how somebody or something has been occupying his/her or its time	I have been writing a play
	2	for repeated actions and actions of a continuous nature	I’ve been going to a new café a lot

And here you have some more practice!

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

Exercise 4

Exercise 5

Exercise 6

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS

This is the presentation we saw in class, now you can watch it again, why don't you have a look at it again? It will help you understand when and how to use the present perfect continuous.



Present Perfect Continuous - Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires;

THE PRESENT PERFECT IN FILMS

Why don't you watch these videos with short clips from films where the present perfect is used? Don't worry, they have subtitles! It's a good way to get used to the present perfect tense.




Video 2

PAST SIMPLE vs PRESENT PERFECT II

Why don't you watch this video to revise the use of the past simple and the present perfect in English? Remember that grammar has meaning! And that different grammar tenses are used in different situations or contexts and they carry different meanings.

And now, time to practise!

- Exercise 1

- Exercise 2

- Exercise 3

- Exercise 4

- Exercise 5

- Exercise 6

PAST SIMPLE vs PRESENT PERFECT - Grammar

Use

In British English, the use of Simple Past and Present Perfect is quite strict. As soon as a time expression in the past is given, you have to use Simple Past. If there are no signal words, you must decide if we just talk about an action in the past or if its consequence in the present is important.

Certain time in the past or just / already / yet?

Do you want to express that an action happened at a certain time in the past (even if it was just a few seconds ago) or that an action has just / already / not yet happened?

Simple Past	Present Perfect Simple
certain time in the past Example: I phoned Mary 2 minutes ago.	just / already / not yet Example: I have just phoned Mary.

Certain event in the past or how often so far?

Do you want to express when a certain action took place or whether / how often an action has happened till now?

Simple Past	Present Perfect Simple
certain event in the past Example: He went to Canada last summer.	whether / how often till now Example: Have you ever been to Canada? / I have been to Canada twice.

Emphasis on action or result?

Do you just want to express what happened in the past? Or do you want to emphasise the result (a past action's consequence in the present)?

Simple Past	Present Perfect Simple
Emphasis on action Example: I bought a new bike. (just telling what  I did in the past.)	Emphasis on result Example: I have bought a new bike. (With this sentence  I actually want to express that I have a  new bike now.)

Signal Words

Simple Past	Present Perfect Simple
yesterday ... ago in 1990 the other day last ...	just already up to now until now / till now ever (not) yet so far lately / recently

 Remember, you can go to "Grammar" to download as a document.

THE PRESENT PERFECT

Sometimes we, Spanish speakers, don't find it easy to use the present perfect in English because their use and ours sometimes differs. Surfing youtube I came into this video which I find to be a good one to learn how to form the present perfect in English and how to use it. I hope it helps!

BLACK FRIDAY

Today, 25th November 2016, is Black Friday, but what's Black Friday?

Black Friday is the day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, traditionally the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. On this day, most major retailers open extremely early, often at 4 a.m., or earlier, and offer promotional sales to kick off the shopping season, similar to Boxing Day sales in many British Commonwealth countries. Black Friday is not actually a holiday, but many non-retail employers give their employees the day off, increasing the number of potential shoppers. It has routinely been the busiest shopping day of the year since 2005, although news reports, which at that time were inaccurate, have described it as the busiest shopping day of the year for a much longer period of time.

The day's name originated in Philadelphia, where it originally was used to describe the heavy and disruptive pedestrian and vehicle traffic which would occur on the day after Thanksgiving. Use of the term started before 1966 and began to see broader use outside Philadelphia around 1975. Later an alternative explanation began to be offered: that "Black Friday" indicates the point at which retailers begin to turn a profit, or are "in the black".

For many years, it was common for retailers to open at 6:00, but in the late 2000s, many had crept to 5:00 or even 4:00. This has been taken to a new extreme in 2011, when several retailers (including Target, Kohls, Macy's, Best Buy, and Bealls) opened at midnight for the first time.

THANKSGIVING DAY

Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thrusday in November, so today 22 November is Thanksgiving Day. It's a tradition in the United States. Families gather together for a large meal or dinner and the main dish is turkey. But what are its origins?




This video also explains the history of Thanksgiving day but with subtitles.


If you want to know more about Thanksgiving click here

THE PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE

This is the PowerPoint we used in class. Now you can go through the slides again. And if you want a document to overview when to use the Present Perfect or the Past Simple, just go to Grammar to see, print or download a PDF document.

INGLES CON OXFORD

Oxford has just developed a ‘skill’ called inglés con Oxford, the first official skill by Oxford University Press launched in Spain to improve your English. It consists of five-minute episodes and it is updated daily from Monday to Friday. Each one of these episodes cover a different area (e.g. in a restaurant, giving advice, what's the weather like...). In each one of them you are given vocabulary, grammar and useful expressions.

To activate the skill you need to have an amazon account and Alexa installed on your device.

Amazon Alexa, known simply as Alexa, is a virtual assistant developed by Amazon.
It is capable of voice interaction, music playback, making to-do lists, setting alarms, streaming podcasts, playing audiobooks, and providing weather, traffic, sports, and other real-time information, such as news. Users are able to extend the Alexa capabilities by installing "skills" (additional functionality developed by third-party vendors, in other settings more commonly called apps such as weather programs and audio features).

You can download Alexa from the Google Play Store if you are an Android user or from the iTunes Store if you are an iOS user.

To start the skill once you have already installed Alexa and activated it for your device (Amazon will send a code to your mobile) you only have to open Alexa and say the words:

"Alexa, abre inglés con Oxford" 

Once the episode finishes, if you want to listen to another episode, you only have to say:

"Alexa, siguiente"

and if you want to listen to it again, say:

"Alexa, repite el último episodio"


Both, Alexa and inglés con Oxford are free! And the skill is intended for intermediate-level users so, what are you waiting for to improve your English? These are the links you need:

Download Alexa for Android

Download Alexa for iOS

Activate the skill 

MONEY VOCABULARY

Watch the videos below to revise and / or learn vocabulary related to money. Apart from enriching your vocabulary you will improve your listening skills! Remember you can activate the subtitles if you get lost!

VOCABULARY: Money

VOCABULARY: Prepositions related to money

KA-CHING!

Ka-ching! An imitation of the sound made by a cash register;  expression used when someone's action will result in more money; and also a song by Canadian singer Shania Twain.  

Here you have some facts about the song: 

- The song deals with America's consumer culture through the boom years of the 1990s and early 2000s. The line "all we ever want is more" is the general theme of the song.

- The music video for "Ka-Ching!" was shot in Mexico City and Madrid in January 2003.

This is one of five official videos of the song. Why don't you follow the video with the lyrics?  It's good practice for money vocabulary!



We live in a greedy little world,
That teaches every little boy and girl
To earn as much as they can possibly,
Then turn around and
Spend it foolishly
We've created us a credit card mess
We spend the money that we don't possess
Our religion is to go and blow it all
So it's shopping every Sunday at the mall
All we ever want is more
A lot more than we had before
So take me to the nearest store
Can you hear it ring
It makes you want to sing
It's such a beautiful thing, ka-ching!
Lots of diamond rings
The happiness it brings
You'll live like a king
With lots of money and things
When you're broke go and get a loan
Take out another mortgage on your home
Consolidate so you can afford
To go and spend some more when
You get bored
All we ever want is more
...

MONEY

 VOCABULARY:

- Crossword

- Wordsearch

- How important is money for you? Take this quiz

LISTENING:

- Listening 1 - Are you good at saving money?

- Listening 2 - Money love

- Listening 3 - Expenses

WRITING: DESCRIBING A PERSON

Remember you have homework, you have to write an email describing a person.

These are some tips to help you with your writing. If you want to get the whole task as a document, go to 'Writing' to see, download and/or print it.

PLANNING

Paragraph 1    age, family, work/study

Paragraph 2    personality (good side)

Paragraph 3    hobbies and interests

Paragraph 4    any negative things?


Useful language:

• He's quite/ very + adjective (friendly, extrovert, etc.)

• She's a bit + negative adjective (untidy, talkative, etc.)

• He likes/loves/ doesn't mind + verb+ -ing (he loves reading, he doesn't mind doing housework...)

• He's good at + verb + -ing (he's good at making new friends...)

When you describe someone's personal qualities you should support your description with examples and/or justifications. e.g.  

          Wayne is very shy - he finds it difficult to make new friends.

You can also describe someone's personality through their mannerisms by:

·          a) referring to the way they speak e.g. 

          He speaks in a soft voice as if he were whispering.

·         b) describing the gestures they use e.g. 

          She constantly uses her hands when she speaks.

·         b) mentioning a particular habit they have. e.g.

  

                Jason always bites his nails when he is nervous.

 

When you mention someone's negative qualities you should use mild language (seems to, can be rather,  a bit etc).For example, instead of saying Paul is lazy, it is better to say 

Paul can be lazy at times

 

Paul is a bit lazy

Paul can be rather lazy

PERSONALITY ADJECTIVES

Studying Zodiac signs and the personality traits that are associated with these signs is a great way to quickly improve your vocabulary related to personality. Each sign begins with a short overview of the main characteristics of the sign.

For Example:
Capricorn is the tenth sign of the Zodiac and associated with hard work and business affairs ...

This section is then followed by a listing of the positive and negative traits.

For Example:
Positive
Practical and prudent ...
Negative
Pessimistic and fatalistic ...

Here adjectives are paired up in synonym and related word pairs.

Start with your own sign, or read the Zodiac signs of your friends. By studying these signs you'll quickly increase your ability to describe other people's personalities!

Click on the image to go to the page

 

The descriptions used in this reference are taken from the Zodiac resource at Wikipedia.