The verbs of the senses

Five are the verbs of the senses (or six if we choose to trust certain movie) used to express what we see, smell, feel, taste and hear.

Find out more and revise, as always, with the slides.

Verbs of the senses b2.1 from Míriam

The passive voice

There is little left to post in here this course! Here I bring you the slides for the passive voice with some activities to practice.

Passive voice from Míriam

Elementary, my dear Watson

Although the famous British detective never said this phrase, this is what comes to mind (mine at least) when I think about speculation and deduction.

How can we make logical deductions from the evidence we have? Or even from our personal view? This is what we are going to find out these next days, and this is what I bring you so you can start revising on your own.

Modal verbs for speculation and deduction from Míriam

(By the way, the picture depicts Benedict Cumberbatch on the awesome BBC series Sherlock, which I strongly recommend!)

What would happen if you didn't sleep?

The TED Talks are very interesting for various reasons: we learn new and fascinating facts, they help us improve our level, they cover a broad range of topics, and also they're always available with subtitles.

This time I bring you two of them, related to the topic of sleeping, but it would be a great idea if you set yourselves the goal of watching a certain number every week. You say it. Many of them are under 6 minutes, so they don't require a big amount of time.

The TED Ed website also offers you the chance to check your understanding with each of their videos: Think.

Also interesting if you like the topic: Why do we dream?

Are you used to...?

When I was a child, I used to play a lot. With my dolls, my cat, my brother... I was used to climbing trees. I loved it! I felt free and wild. Then I grew up... I don't usually climb that much ;)
With adulthood, we need to get used to a lot of different things: working, having responsabilities, living on our own... Now I'm not used to running, climbing, playing on the street, as I used to do, but being an adult also has great advantages!

How is your life different today to the one in the past? What moments in your life made your habits change? Leave your comments and share as I did here!

Used to; be used to; get used to from Míriam

Make sure to have further practice with these activities.

Gerunds vs. infinitives

Gerund or infinitive? Some verbs need only one of them, others make no difference, and other types of words like adjectives or fixed expressions require another. Make sure you revise them and use them, because their use it what makes them stick.

Gerunds and infinitives from Míriam

Have some practice on the Oxford website and with these extra activities.

Wishing

Related to conditional sentences, we can also make wishes. What things would we like to be different in the present? What regrets do we have about our past? These ideas can be expressed using I wish and If only, two easy structures that sure will come in handy.

Wishes from Míriam

What gets on your nerves?

Related to the survey done in class, and of which we'll see the results tomorrow, here you have some expressions to talk about annoying habits. 

You also have the chance to listen to the BBC podcast again about annoying habits at the office and try to spot the vocabulary used.

Dealing with conditionals

Difficult as they may seem at the beginning, they're not so. After practising them, it's easy to use them and see how they can be applied in real-life situations. Conditional sentences are very useful to express realistic, unrealistic, and imaginary or hypothetical ideas and their consequences. So make sure you revise them, and use them as much as possible to consolidate the structures.

In the first presentation, you'll find the zero and first conditionals, together with the use of future time clauses. The second presentation is a revision of the previous conditionals and the introduction of the second and third. Moreover, enjoy the fragments of The Big Bang Theory using the second conditional and the song If by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

Let me know if you know of any other songs with conditionals!

Zero & first conditionals from Míriam

Conditionals from Míriam