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

What can we do about the environment?

Environment and climate change are one of those topics that are popular in the exams, so it's necessary to have a look at them. Also, it's never late to become aware of environmental problems to try to be greener 😉

Mind maps such as the the ones below are helpful to study and revise vocabulary, and also to make our ideas clear. Those were made by you, and here they are for you to keep them. 

By the way, thank you for your work!

Future tenses

Having revised the most basic tenses to express the future, it's necessary to know about the future continuous and future perfect. Make sure you revise the material uploaded and solve any doubts with me anytime.

Future tenses from Míriam

Monologues for the December test

As you know, on Monday 12th we'll start with the tests until Wednesday 21st. Every one of these days we'll have appointments for the speaking part, which will deal with the monologues this time. Although I've scheduled the appointments so you can come in pairs, the task is not meant to be a dialogue. You will prepare your own monologue at the same time, but the tasks are individually done.

For you to prepare, here you have the Monologues for December.

You'll see that Monologue 6 is about crime, but as we haven't covered this topic yet, we can ignore it, so this one won't appear on the exam.

You can check your appointment in this same post. I'll keep updating it if any changes are made.

Remember that we won't stop classes. You all have to be punctual at school at 5.30, when the speaking tasks are finished, to take the other parts of the exam and carry on with the lessons. Please, if you're coming for the speaking part, try to be there on time so as not to delay the exams.

And talking of exams, these days we'll also take the rest of the tasks as follows:

• Monday 12th: Reading.
• Wednesday 14th: Listening.
• Monday 19th: Writing.

Finally, remember to relax, do great and enjoy. Good luck to everyone!

Such great work!

This is so easy that I don't think it will cause much trouble, but anyway I always share the material with you, so here you have the slides. Make sure you check the onlie activities at the bottom of this post. There are many more on the internet, but I copy these ones for your comfort.

So & such from Míriam

• So vs such
• Quiz So & Such
• So vs such
• So / such exercises
• Using so and such

Adverbs and adverbial phrases

Once again, I upload the slides so you can revise them. Remember that by clicking the link below them, a new tab to the Slideshare will open, and there you can download and print the presentation.

The position of adverbs and adverbial phrases from Míriam

You can also have some extra practice on the Oxford website, both in the section of grammar and vocabulary.

Topics for the practice monologues

So the monologue preparation is on. If you don't know the topics which concern our B2 level, you can check the Candidate's guide available on the GVA website, or also check the summarised list here:

• Personal identification
• Home, residence and surroundings
• Daily activities
• Leisure and free time
• The media
• Family and social relationships
• Health and sports
• Education
• Shopping
• Food and diets
• Public services
• Language and communication
• Environment
• Politics and society

This is just a list with the titles of the topics, checking the Candidate's guide, you'll be able to see the details from each topic.

Moreover, you can download the exam sample of all levels on the same website and have a look at these Speaking tips and useful language that can help you create and perform your task. Good luck!

The Reader

First of all, I want to thank you for sharing your creations. You did some nice work with the stories and with your permission we all can benefit from them. So here they are! Read all the four stories as

they all contain valuable pieces of work.

The Reader

Once upon a time, there was an old man called Tom who could neither read nor write because he was illiterate.
One day, when he was talking with a librarian, she advised him to attend an adult literacy class. A few months later, when he had been able to tearn how to read and write, his passion for reading arised. He found out an author that he had been reading and who he admired.
Then Tom won a quiz about his favourite author, and the award was to meet the writer. He was so excited that he couldn't stop reading. It was the best moment of his life.

By Pepa, Carlos, Javi, Daniel and Sharon.


Cristopher Sánchez was bron in Cuba. When he was a child he couldn't learn how to read. One day, Cristopher went to a library asking for literacy classes. He had been attending the classes for a few months. After that, when he learned to read, he read all the books about his country. One day, when he was there, he realized that one of those books was written by an old friend. Then he started to discover his own story. The whole book was based on his life.
When he finished the book, he felt proud about his friend. Forty years later, they saw each other again.

By Antonio, Jose, Aina, Ximo and Jose Antonio.


Morgan was a 69 year-old retired man who one day decided to enroll in an adult literacy class. For him, it was a dream come true. That afternoon, he had been thinking about going to the library to pick up a book by his favourite writer. So he did that. He needed it to make his homework. There, he was reading a lot of books but he didn't find what he had been looking for. Then he asked the librarian for advice so that she would check on the computer of the book was at the library.
After she had been searching it for a long time, she finally found it. Since that day he started to work on his composition. He was reading the book with great interest, this way he could finish it.
The composition was so amazing that his teacher congratulated him.

By Juan Carlos, Raúl and Ana.


There was an adult literacy class in Brooklyn. An old black man who couldn't read decided to learn how to do it. When he retired, he applied for this adult literacy course.
He studied very hard, everyday you could find him at the library. He started to read easy books.
He used to go to the bookshop and showed his excellent marks to the shop assistant, so she recommended him a book about a true story. She told him that the writer would go to the bookshop.
He started the book, and read quickly. The following week, he went there and could meet the writer.

By Carolina, Pau, Jose Luis, Carmen, Mariví and Carla.



Once again, thank you for your work! Enjoy the film :)

Books to enjoy

Hi! What I present to you here is a list of original books that I have read and actually enjoyed a lot. Also, most of them are of no great difficulty and should be easy to follow. What I would recommend to you is check what they are about before actually choosing one (I like almost every kind of book, from fantasy to drama, so you'll find different styles on the list), and then start enjoying! However if you didn't like what you're reading, don't be afraid to leave it and pick a different option. You must have a good time when reading, and it mustn't be a sacrifice!

• Kiss, Kiss, Roald Dahl
• Tales of the Unexpected, Roald Dahl
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
• Shutter Island, Danis Lehane
• High Fidelity, Nick Hornby
• Enduring Love, Ian McEwan
• Wonder, R. J. Palacio
• Ready Player One, Ernest Cline (only if you're into videogames)
• The Book Thief, Markus Zusak
• The Forgotten Garden, Kate Morton (or any other title by this author)
• The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins
• The Help, Kathryn Stockett
• And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie
• The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair, Joël Dicker
• Peony in Love, Lisa See
• Stardust, Neil Gaiman
• These Foolish Things, Deborah Moggach
• Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
• Tokio Blues, Haruki Murakami
• After Dark, Haruki Murakami
• To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

So don't start too late and let me know which book you've chosen and if you like it! 

Enjoy this book-based short film. You'll feel like reading!

Present perfect tenses

Once again here I bring you the slides to revise and have some further practice.

Present perfect simple and continuous from Míriam

Making the most of auxiliary verbs

Here we are again, this time to bring you these (helpful, I hope) slides dealing with the special uses of auxiliary verbs. Feel free to download them, check them again and make sure that everything's clear.

Auxiliary verbs from Míriam

Questions and answers

Welcome everyone!

I didn't intend this to be the first post in our blog, but we'll take it and later on I'll update everything to give you the course information and so on.

You'll see that I'll upload any material seen or used in class, such as grammar slides, so you can have an extra look at home, or catch up with the rest if you've not been able to attend. So, here you have the slides from the first lesson and the activities that go with it. Remember to bring the exercises (click the link to open the document) done by Wednesday!

Question formation from Míriam