PAST CONTINUOUS

 

Exercise 1: choose the correct option

Exercise 2: choose the correct option

Exercise 3: write sentences in the past continuous
Exercise 4: write questions
Exercise 5: write questions (more difficult)

FUTURE TENSES: WILL - BE GOING TO - PRESENT CONTINUOUS - PRESENT SIMPLE

 

GENERAL EXPLANATION

CONTRAST WILL /PRESENT SIMPLE EXPLANATION PLUS

PRESENT SIMPLE

Examples

Explanation

More examples

EXERCISES ON FUTURE TENSES

Exercise 1 (choose) will, going to and present continuous

Exercise 2 (choose)

Exercise 3 (choose) will, going to or -ing future

Exercise 4 (choose)

Exercise 5 (choose)

Exercise 6 (write) will, going to, simple present or present progressive

Exercise 7 (write) will future, going to or present progressive.

Alternative questions

 EXCLAMATORY QUESTIONS

An exclamatory question is characterised by the following:

            – They have an interrogative form

            – According to the meaning, they are an exclamatory assertion

            – They have a falling tone

There are two types of exclamatory questions according to the orientation of the question: a positive question or a negative question. However, both show a positive assertion (and they both have a falling intonation):

            A positive form indicates a positive assertion.

                        Am I hungry!

            A negative form also indicates a positive assertion.

                        Wouldn't it be lovely!

RHETORICAL QUESTIONS

Rhetorical questions have an interrogative form, but they do not demand an answer. Although they have the form of a question, they are used with the meaning of a strong assertion. Two types:

·     YES-NO rhetorical questions

   They are characterised because they have a rising intonation. They can also have a   different assertion according to the orientation of the question.

                  – A positive question has a negative assertion.

                             Is that a reason for despair?

                  – A negative question has a positive assertion.

                             Haven't you got anything better to do?

·    WH- rhetorical questions

They are characterised because they have a rise-fall tone or falling tone. They can also  have a different assertion according to the orientation of the question.

                        – A positive question has a negative assertion. It is equivalent to a statement in                           which the wh- element is replaced by a negative element. (Rising intonation)

                                   What SHOULD I do?      (There is nothing that I should do)

                                   Who KNOWS?      (Nobody knows)

ECHO QUESTIONS

Echo questions repeat part of what has been said. They do not have interrogative form, but they have a rise-fall tone. They are used in two main situations:

1.      When the speaker wants to show interpersonal involvement.

                        – I had to do three exams

                        – Three exams?

2.      For confirmation or clarification.

                        – Take a look at this

                        – A look at what?

Echo exclamations are also possible:

            – I'm going to London

            – To London!

Emphatic questions

 Adding a wh-word at the end of a statement to make a question

Spoken English:

In speaking, we can sometimes turn wh-questions into statement questions:

What’s today’s date? or Today’s date is what?

1-  Declarative 

We do this especially when we are checking information that we have already been given or when we want to quickly check a particular detail. These are less formal than full wh-questions:

You have a dog  -   You have a what?

Your dog is in the yard -  Your dog is where?

2-  Surprise.

  "Hi mom. I thought I'd give you a call to tell you I love you."

"Oh that's so sweet darling!"

"And to let you know I cut off all my hair."

"You did WHAT!?"

3- To clarify meaning

Wife: "Darling, where did you put the mrphmnm?"

Husband: "Where did I put the what?"

"I took your mrphmm."

"You took my what?"

DO versus MAKE

EXPLANATION IN SPANISH (+ two exercises)

EXPLANATION IN ENGLISH WITH EXERCISES

VIDEO EXPLANATION IN ENGLISH:

Adverbs of manner

 

OTHER EXCEPTIONS: LINK VERBS 

They link the subject with addtional information.

Verbs like look, feel, sound, smell, taste, seem are followed by adjectives because they describe the subject. These verbs are not actions.

Examples from their explanation:

• You look tired.

• The soup smells good. 

• That sounds interesting.

The idea behind the rule is essentially that these verbs work like “be.”

Example:

• The cake tastes good → The cake is good.

Verb	Example sentence
look	She looks good.
sound	This song sounds great.
smell	The roses smell beautiful.
taste	This sauce tastes awful!
feel	I feel weak today.

EXPLANATION (SPANISH)

EXPLANATION  + EXERCISES (ENGLISH. BRITISH COUNCIL)

YOUTUBE SEARCH:

Drive carefully Wait patiently, 

EXERCISE: SLOWLY or SLOW?

WORDWALL GAMES

EXERCISE: write the missing adverb

Punctuation: the use of commas and full stops

EXPLANATION 1: Purdue Online Writing Lab  - College of Liberal Arts     

EXPLANATION 2: University of Hull, with quiz.

EXPLANATION 3: BBC -  from basic to more complex, with fun video explanation (BBC)

EXPLANATION 4; with lists and explanation images

COMMA SPLICES       OVERLONG SENTENCES (University of Hull)