How does your family decide who does various chores around the house? Does your spouse do any housework? What about your children? Or do you hire someone to do these chores for you?
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For a lot of people, household chores is the least enjoyable part of their day. It takes a lot of work to keep your home clean and organized but it only takes a few minutes to make your home messy again. My least favorite chore is probably washing the dishes. I don't mind cooking but I hate seeing all the dishes in my sink after cooking! Sometimes after I enjoy my meal, I just want to rest and not worry about cleaning. What about you? What's your least favorite household chore? How does your family decide who does various chores around the house? Does your spouse do any housework? What about your children? Or do you hire someone to do these chores for you? Take this short quiz and see how well you know how to describe household chores
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Have you ever seen the movie UP? It is one of my favorite movies of all time! The characters are cute and the movie carries a lot of inspirational themes. One important lesson from the movie is that life is full of adventures, don't wait till it's too late. Sometimes life can bring you unexpected sorrow but it can also bring you unexpected people and opportunities. So be ready for adventure everyday! There is one particular scene in the beginning where Carl and Russell meet for the first time. This is what they say to each other: Russell: Good afternoon. My name is Russell and I am a Wilderness Explorer in Tribe 54, Sweatlodge 12. Are you in need of any assistance today, sir? Carl Fredricksen: No. Russell: I COULD help you cross the street. Carl Fredricksen: No. Russell: I COULD help you cross your yard. Carl Fredricksen: No. Russell: I COULD help you cross your porch. Carl Fredricksen: No! Do you know why the young boy Russell uses "could" instead of "can?" CAN We use "can" to talk about the present tense for ability (being able to do something or knowing how to do something) "I can read", "She can speak French", "Can you swim?" COULD "Could" has several functions: It can act as the past tense of "can" "Last year you could get a table with no reservation! It can also be used to talk about permission in the past or future. "Could I borrow your car tomorrow?" Russell in the movie uses "could" to express present possibility or options. "I could help you cross the street" "We could go for a walk after dinner" It is not definite but it is a suggestion. There is the option and possibility for now or the future. You could also look at a similar past lesson on modal verbs here Do you have a dream job? If you could have any career in the world what would it be?Or are you already living your dream life? Do you notice how "could" is used in this question? The modal verb "could" has many functions. One is to show that there might be a possibility of something happening, but there is also a possibility that it might not be possible and will not happen. Example: This rainy weather could ruin our road trip today. We don't know if it will ruin it 100% but there is a chance and probability. Whereas the modal verb "can" leaves very little possibility or chance. It's almost certain. Example: I can speak Spanish. It is certain that I can speak Spanish. Have you ever gotten confused over whether to use "the" or "a/an?" This is a very common problem with English learners. What causes this problem is usually because there is no such thing in many other languages. It can also get quite complicated and tricky to understand! If we cover everything in this topic it will just confuse you, so we'll begin with the basics of how to use "the." Take a look at the example above of the sun. The word "Sun" is a noun. It is a noun for one single thing (sun, chair, car). This is called singular noun. Singular nouns should always have an "article" before it to provide us with more detail of the noun. This is what "the" and "a/an" is. They are known as "articles," used before a singular noun. We can divide them into "definite" and "indefinite." (If you want to know the difference between "a" and "and," please refer to the previous lesson here.) When we are talking about one specific noun, we use "the". When we are talking about one noun in general, we use "a" or "an". This chart below should help you Still confused? Think about this: When you look at the sky, there are many many clouds but there is only one sun. So we use "the sun" because there is only one sun. It's always specific and clear which one it is! Be aware that there are also many times where a singular noun does not need an article like "the." For example, names. I never need to say "the Jenny." We can continue the next part of this topic some other day before you get more and more confused!
We use adverbs of frequency (always, usually, often, never) to show how often something happens or how often we do something. It is most commonly used with the present simple tense because it shows routine and repeated activities. Take a look at this scale below to understand what percentage each adverb means. These are just rough estimates to show the difference between each adverb. Some adverbs are very close to each other. For example, 'seldom' and 'rarely' are very similar. There are four positions we could place adverbs of frequency:
(1) If the sentence has a verb, we put the adverb after the subject and before the verb. " Peter rarely eats breakfast." The adverb (rarely) is after the subject (Peter) and before the verb (eats). (2) If the sentence has a 'be' verb (am, is), we place the adverb after it. "I am always a careful driver." The adverb (always) is after the 'be' verb (am). (3) If the sentence has more than one verb, the adverb should go before the main verb "He has never eaten Thai food" The adverb (never) is before the main verb (eaten) (4) If the sentence is a question or in the negative form, the adverb should go before the main verb. "You don't always carry cash, do you?" "My teacher doesn't usually give so much homework." The adverbs (always, usually) is before the main verbs (carry, give) So, regardless of the sentence, the easiest way is to remember that adverbs of frequency are usually placed before main verbs (eat, carry, jump, sit) and after 'be' verbs (am, are, is, was) Can you share with us how often you eat at a restaurant during the weekends? Related Lessons: Adverbs of Manner What Do You Eat For Breakfast? Order of Adjectives Since last year, I wanted to make an effort to eat healthier. I researched and collected a lot of recipes. Then I started to make them one by one. The problem was, every time I made a dish, I would forget the recipe the next time I made it. I would have to go back and look at the recipe again every time. But there was one particular dish I loved, a Korean dish which I probably made once a week and because I made it so frequently, I now no longer need to look at the recipe. This is the same with learning English. The more practice, the more you'll remember and soon it will be so natural that you no longer need to stop and think! A lot of students have trouble remembering the difference between 'a' and 'an.' These are known in English grammar as ARTICLES. They tell us something about a noun. Articles are very common in English and if you don't really speak or write enough in English, it's easy to forget these things even if it's something used so frequently. First look at how 'a' and 'an' are used below. What do you notice about the nouns used (underlined)? Are the nouns describing one thing or more than one? If I say, "I have an oven" or "I have a dog" it usually means I have just one. So both 'a' and 'an' are used with singular nouns (one tree, one eye, one bed). When we use 'a' and 'an,' they both also describe an unspecific noun. When we say 'a dog' we are talking about any dog, not one specific or particular dog. (To refer to a specific dog we must use 'the' instead of 'a' but I will talk more about this later this week). Then what's the difference between the two? Using the same example, take a look at the underlined letters below. Do you notice anything with the first letter of the left column (e,a,o)? They are all part of the English vowel! A, E, I, O, U ! So we use 'an' with singular nouns that start with a vowel. Now you probably know when we use 'a'- with singular nouns that does not start with a vowel (anything that is not A,E,I,O,U). The general rule is: Both 'a' and 'an' are used with singular nouns (a car, a burger, a phone) If the word begins with a vowel (A,E,I,O, U) then we use 'an' If the word begins with a letter that is NOT a vowel then we use 'a' There are a few exceptions however! If a letter makes a sound like sounds like it's a vowel then we use 'an' For example, 'hour' and ' honest' (even though the 'h' is not a vowel but the letter sounds like a 'o' in this word) If a letter makes a sound like a consonant then we use 'a' For example, 'user' and 'university' (even though the 'u' is a vowel but it sounds like 'y') Do some practice! Answers:
(1) a (2) an (3) a (4) an (5) a (6) a (7) an (8) a |
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