GRAMMAR

Comment Adverbs

May 18, 2023May 23, 2023 teacherjulietaLeave a comment

Adverbs are a type of word that provide more information about verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs in a sentence. They describe how an action is done, when it happens, where it takes place, or to what extent.

This lesson will focus on a specific group of adverbs called “comment adverbs.” These adverbs express the speaker’s attitude, opinion, or comment about the action or situation. They add more depth and emotion to a statement. Let’s explore some common comment adverbs:

Comment Adverb	Meaning	Example
Actually	Emphasizes truth or reality	“I thought it was expensive, but actually, it’s quite affordable.”
Amazingly	Expresses surprise or astonishment	“She sang amazingly well and impressed everyone.”
Apparently	Based on available evidence, seemingly true	“Apparently, he won the lottery, but I’m not sure.”
Basically	Simplifying or summarizing	“Basically, it means we have to start over.”
Clearly	Indicates something is evident or understood	“He explained the rules clearly, so we understood.”
Generally	Broadly or typically	“Generally, people enjoy going to the beach in summer.”
Hopefully	Expresses positive expectation or desire	“Hopefully, we’ll have a successful event tomorrow.”
Luckily	Something positive happened by chance	“I forgot my keys, but luckily, I found a spare set.”
Personally	Indicates a personal opinion or experience	“Personally, I think it’s the best movie I’ve seen.”
Obviously	Something is easily understood or apparent	“He didn’t study, so obviously, he failed the test.”
Sadly	Expresses sorrow or regret	“Sadly, she couldn’t attend the party due to illness.”
Surprisingly	Highlights something unexpected	“Surprisingly, the cake tasted better than it looked.”
Unfortunately	Something undesirable or negative	“Unfortunately, the concert was cancelled due to rain.”

The Position of Adverbs

Grammar practice 1

Grammar practice 2

Speaking Practice

Get into pairs or small groups.
Take turns being the speaker and the listener.
Spin the wheel to see a question.
Start speaking about the topic on the wheel.
Try to use a comment adverb every time you share your opinion.

GRAMMAR

Obligation and permission

May 6, 2023May 10, 2023 teacherjulietaLeave a comment

Modal verbs are important for expressing obligation and permission in English.

Here is a summary of some common modal verbs and phrases that are used to express obligation and permission:

Modal Verb/Phrase	Meaning	Example	Grammar Pattern
needn’t	no obligation	You needn’t come to the party if you don’t want to.	need not + base verb
must	strong obligation	I must finish this report by tomorrow.	must + base verb
ought to	strong recommendation (very formal)	You ought to apologize for your behavior.	ought to + base verb
should	advice/suggestion/ weak obligation	I should study for the exam.	should + base verb
can	permission	Can I use your pen, please?	can + base verb
be required	necessary	A valid passport is required to enter the country.	be + required to + base verb
be not required	not necessary	A tie is not required for the interview.	be + not required to + base verb
be allowed	permission	You are allowed to smoke in this area.	be + allowed to + base verb
be not allowed	prohibition	You are not allowed to smoke in this area.	be + not allowed to + base form
be supposed to	expectation/ weak obligation	We are supposed to arrive at 8:00 AM.	be + supposed to + base verb
be not supposed to	not allowed	You are not supposed to use your phone in class.	be + not supposed to + base verb
it’s illegal to	against the law	It’s illegal to park here.	it’s illegal to + base verb
it’s against the law	against the law	It’s against the law to steal.	it’s against the law to + base verb
it’s polite	socially acceptable	It’s polite to say “please” and “thank you”.	it’s polite to + base verb
it’s impolite	socially unacceptable	It’s impolite to interrupt someone.	it’s impolite to + base verb
it’s best to	advice/suggestion (positive)	It’s best to arrive early for your interview.	it’s best to + base verb
it’s best not to	advice/suggestion (negative)	It’s best not to eat too much junk food.	it’s best not to + base verb

Grammar practice

Speaking practice

Writing practice

Write some advice for someone who wants to visit your country. Think of at least 5 rules and customs and write them down.

VOCABULARY

Word Families

April 19, 2023 teacherjulietaLeave a comment

As an English learner, building a strong vocabulary is essential to improving your English language skills. One way to achieve this is by learning about word families.

What are Word Families?

Word families are groups of words that share the same root or base word, and often have a similar meaning. Understanding them can help you learn new vocabulary faster and more efficiently.

For example, the word family of “act” includes words like “action,” “actor,” and “react.” These words are related because they all come from the same root word, “act.”

Why are Word Families Important?

Learning word families is important for several reasons.

1 It allows you to learn multiple words at once that are related in meaning. This can help you to expand your vocabulary more quickly and efficiently.

2 Understanding word families can help you to understand the meaning of unfamiliar words. If you know the root word of a word you don’t know, you may be able to figure out its meaning based on its similarity to other words in that family.

3 Knowing word families can also help you to use words more accurately and appropriately in different contexts.

Examples of Word Families

Here are some examples of common word families in English:

Word Family	Example Words
act	action, actor, react, active
happy	happiness, unhappy, happily, unhappily
nation	national, nationality, international, nationhood
beauty	beautiful, beautifully, beautify, beautician
friend	friendly, friendship, unfriendly, friendliness

Learning and practicing word families is an important step in expanding your English vocabulary. By understanding the relationship between words, you can build a stronger foundation for reading, writing, and speaking in English. Keep practicing and reviewing these word families to improve your language skills.

How to learn new words easily using word families

Vocabulary Practice

Level of difficulty:

Click on the START button
Choose a number.
Look at the clue on the left side of the crossword. This clue will help you guess the word that fits into the puzzle.
Use the clues to fill in the words that match the number and direction (across or down) of the boxes.
If you’re not sure of a word, try to guess based on the other letters that you’ve filled in. You can also use a dictionary or the internet to help you if you need it.

Speaking Practice

Level of difficulty:

Complete the questions with a word from the word family list in the example section.
Click on FLIP to check your answers
Discuss the questions with your partner

Writing Practice

Complete the following table

Noun	Verb	Adjective	Adverb
	appear		apparently
	arrive	arriving
belief		believable
	build	built	–
	choose		choose wisely
criticism		critical
	decide	decisive
description		descriptive
	enjoy		enjoyably
exploration		exploratory
	fail		–
imagination	imagine
improvement		improved
		–	–
love		lovely
	move		–
reading	read		–
	think	thoughtful
usage	use
work	work	–	–

Complete the following sentence using the words from the table

The _______ of the building was stunning.
She will _____ at the airport tomorrow morning.
I _____that he is telling the truth.
He is _______ a new house on the outskirts of the city.
It’s important to _____ constructively in order to help someone improve.
I had to ______ between two job offers.
Her ________ knows no bounds.
Regular exercise can help you _______ your overall health.
I _________ spending time with my family and friends.
It’s important to ___________ carefully before making a decision.

Choose 10 words from the table and write your own sentences.

Share your answers in the comments below and I’ll share with you the answer key

FLUENCY

Collocations

April 11, 2023 teacherjulietaLeave a comment

What are collocations?

Collocations are combinations of words that commonly occur together in a language. These are more than just individual words or phrases, but rather they are a set of words that are used together in a specific way. Collocations are an essential aspect of language learning as they make your speech or writing sound more natural and authentic.

Why are collocations important?

Learning collocations is important for several reasons.

Reason 1:

They can help you to improve your overall fluency in the language, as using the correct collocation can make your speech or writing sound more natural and authentic.

Reason 2:

They can help you to express your ideas more clearly and effectively, as using the correct collocation can give your words a specific connotation or nuance.

Reason 3:

Collocations can help you to understand the language better, as they provide insights into how native speakers of the language use and think about words.

Here’s a table that summarizes the different types of collocations and provides examples for each:

Type of Collocation	Examples
Adjective-noun	heavy rain, bright future, hot coffee, bitter cold
Verb-noun	make a decision, take a break, have a shower, meet a deadline, do a double-take
Adverb-adjective	completely wrong, utterly ridiculous, totally absurd
Preposition-noun	in the end, on the other hand, at the same time
Verb-adverb	run quickly, walk slowly, speak clearly
Noun-noun	business partner, traffic jam, coffee shop

Note that these are just a few examples of collocations for each type, and there are many more that exist in the English language.

There are many online resources available that can help you to learn and practice collocations, such as collocation dictionaries, quizzes, and exercises. These can be a useful supplement to your regular language learning activities.

Ozdic is a great collocation dictionary that you can use to learn and practice collocations

Grammar Practice

Level of difficulty:

Drag and drop the correct word using your mouse or your finger

Level of difficulty: ⭐⭐

Level of difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐

Underline the collocations in the text below.

When I woke up this morning, it was raining heavily outside. I decided to take a break from my usual routine and make a cup of hot coffee. As I sat down to enjoy my coffee, I realized that I had a lot of work to do. I needed to make a decision about whether to accept a job offer that I had received yesterday. I knew that I had to do my best to make the right decision. I opened my laptop and started working on my tasks, making sure to complete everything on time. My colleague called me and we had a conversation about our project. We have been working together for over five years and we know each other very well. We always keep in touch and try to meet up whenever possible. I finished my work and decided to go for a run. However, I was running late for my meeting, so I had to hurry. I made a mental note to myself to plan my time better in the future.

Find the answers at the bottom of this page

Speaking Practice

Level of difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐

Answers: raining heavily, take a break, cup of coffee, make a decision, do my best, complete everything on time, had a conversation, keep in touch, running late, mental note.

GRAMMAR

Future (will/ be going to/ be + verb+ing)

March 3, 2023March 9, 2023 teacherjulieta1 Comment

INTRODUCTION

In English, we use different grammar patterns to talk about the future depending on the situation.

It’s important to understand what the situation is, so you can choose the correct grammar pattern.

Situations

These are the most common situations to talk about the future. Click on the arrow > to learn more.

Grammar Patterns

These are the different grammar patterns that you can use to talk about the future:

will + base form

be going to + base form

be + verb + ing

Click on the arrow > to learn more about future grammar patterns.

Grammar Practice

Level of difficulty:

Complete the sentences with the correct future form.

Drag and drop the correct word using your mouse or your finger

Speaking Practice

Level of difficulty:

Discuss each prediction with your group.

Discuss each decision with your group.

✍️ Writing Practice

Choose 1 card. Write a comment (reply) below 👇 with your answer. Give as many details as possible. Make sure you use the correct future form.

Temperature related words

November 8, 2021December 10, 2021 teacherjulieta1 Comment

In this mini lesson you will learn how to pronounce the following words:

temperature

degrees

degrees Celsius (°C)

degrees Fahrenheit (°F)

Kelvin (K)

You will also learn how to ask about the temperature of a place or a thing.

Practice time

What’s the weather usually like in your city?
How cold/ hot is it in your city today?
What units do people use in your country to measure the temperature?
Listen to the following song. Find the following phrase “200°F, that’s why they call me mister Fahrenheit” Type in the comments the second or the minute you hear it.