NATURAL DISASTERS 

 

Natural disasters are part of the history of humanity,

tragedies have been the ones that shaped the history of humanity,

it is that ability of humans to get ahead and prepare for the awesomeness of nature

 

VOCABULARY/ NEW EXPRESSIONS 

1. tornado

2. hurricane/ typhoon

3. flood

4. landslide

5. drought

 ------------

evacuate

emergency

power outage

shelter

first-aid-kid

flashligth

non-perishable food  

GRAMMAR

INDIRECT SPEECH: IMPERATIVES

Did I seem a bit rude in the opening paragraph? Sorry, but I was using some examples of the imperative. In English the imperative often sounds a bit rude or aggressive. It is normally used by people in positions of authority like parents, teachers, police officers or bosses to give orders or instructions. So be careful not to use the imperative if you want to sound friendly! If we say please at the end of an imperative statement it still sounds like an order, but a more polite order.

 

When we change an imperative from direct speech into indirect speech we use the verbs told, ordered or commanded and we use the infinitive with to instead of the imperative.

Direct speech: Open the door!
Indirect speech: He told me to open the door.

 

When we change a negative imperative from direct speech into indirect speech we must also use the verbs told, ordered or commanded and put the word not before the infinitive.

Direct speech: Don’t close your books!
Indirect speech: The teacher told the students not to close their books.

 

 

INDIRECT SPEECH: SAY AND TELL-TENSE CHANGES

Use tell when you mention the listener. Use say when you don't

Maggie told her parents to stay home. (listeners mentioned) 

Maggie said to stay home. (listeners not mentioned)

 

When say and tell are in the past tense, the verbs in the indirect speech statement often change. Present becomes past. Past becomes past perfect. Will becomes would. Can becomes could.

They said, "The weather is awful." → They said (that) the weather was awful. 

Dan said, "We all had the flu."→ Dan said (that) they all had had the flu.

 They said, "There will be snow tonight." → They said there would be snow tonight. 

My husband said, "You can come with me." → My husband said I could come with him.

 

 CONVERSATION MODEL 

A: What's going on in the news today?

B: Well, the Times says there was a terrible storm in the South.

A: Really? 

B: Yes. It says lots of houses were destroyed.

A: What a shame!

B: But there haven't been any deaths.

A: Thank goodness for that!

 

 

CONCLUSION

Most communication in English is done in a polite way. We often express our ideas in a less direct way than in some other languages. So instead of using the imperative and saying

 

HERE A VIDEO 

 

 READING FOR PLEASURE 

Reading is one of the most enriching habits that can be had, 

when learning English it is very important to read several things

since this way we will enrich our vocabulary and learn more efficiently

 NEX EXPRESSIONS

1. Page turner

2. cliff hanger

3. best seller

4. fast read

5. hard to follow

6. trash 

GRAMMAR 

NOUN CLAUSES

What is a Noun Clause? A noun clause is a dependent clause 

that takes the place of any noun in the sentence, whether they are subjects,

 objects, or subject complements 

A noun clause functions as a noun, often as a direct object. A noun clause can be 

introduced by that.

I didn'tknow that he wrote this book

Did you forget that her biography was 500 pages long?

When a noun clause functions as a direct object, that may be omitted especially 

in speaking

I didn't know he wrote this book

In short answers, use so to replace a noun clause after the verbs think, believe,

guess and hope

A. Does Stephen King have a new book out?

B. I think so. / I believe so/ I guess so

NOUN CLAUSES: EMBEDDED QUESTIONS

Embedded or included questions are used in two main situations: when we 
ask for information indirectly or when we report questions. This is 
common in more passive, or softer English (“Do you know…”), for reported
speech (“She told me where…”) or to discuss a question without directly
asking it (“I don’t know why…”). Embedded questions are noun phrases, 
so they use regular word order. The following article will explain when 
and how to use them, and is followed by some exercises.  

YES/NO QUESTIONS

Did he like the article?   / I'd like to know if he liked the article

INFORMATION QUESTIONS 

Wh/questions 

When was it written?/ I don't know when ir was written

CONVERSATION MODEL

A: Have you read anything interesting lately?

B: Actually, I'm reading a thriller called Don't Close Your A: I've never heard of that one. 

Is it any good?

Eyes.

B: Oh, I think it's a great book. And it's a cliff-hanger. I highly recommend it.

A: Well, do you think I could borrow it when you're done? I love cliff-hangers.

B: Sure! I doubt I'll finish it before next week, though. A: No problem. I can wait. 

CONCLUSION

The noun clauses are complex grammatical figures that require attention

to the meaning of the sentence, but serve to address issues 

in a more courteous and open way. Noun clauses serve the same function 

as nouns in a sentence, they can be the subject of a verb:

 HERE A VIDEO 

 

 HEALTH MATTERS 

Health is a very important issue in people's lives,

we must always be aware of our body, it is preferable to avoid rather

than cure a disease, that is why we must have regular check-ups of our

entire body and use preventive medicine 

 GRAMMAR

DRAWING CONCLUSIONS WITH MUST

Use the modal MUST + the base form of the verb to draw a conclusion and indicate that you think something is probably true 

Example 

A. The doctor said I should come in next week

B. That's good. It must not be an emergency

 

WILL BE ABLE TO; MODALS MAY AND MIGTH

 

Will (won't) be able to + bse form:  FUTURE ABILITY

May/might ( may not/ might not) + base form: POSSIBILITY

CONVERSATION MODEL

A: Hello. Doctor Star's office. Can I help you?

B: Hello. This is Ann Webb. I need to make an appointment for a blood test. I wonder if I might be able to come in early next week.

A: Let's see if I can fit you in. How about Tuesday? B: Could I come in the morning?

A: Let me check ... Would you be able to be

here at 10:00?

B: That would be perfect.

A: We'll see you then.

B: Thanks! I really appreciate it.

 

 CONCLUSION

The analyzed modal verbs are of great importance in an everyday conversation, 

since they make a topic of conversation fluid and entertaining, conclusions 

can be drawn with probability and possibility based on future conditions.

 

 here a video 

 

 GETTING THINGS DONE  

 

The most important thing to deal with in this unit is the causative, 

these are sentences in which the subject makes another person

take charge of doing something, either because he pays him, asks him,

convinces him or forces him. The most important causative structure

is to have/get something done, which is also a way of expressing the passive voice.

NEW EXPRESSIONS 

1. You need something a.s.a.p  = it's really urgent 

2. You can see that someone is really busy= You've got a lot on your plate

3. There isn't a lot of time to do something= I won't keep you any longer

4. You want to assure someone that a request is no problem for you= no sweat

5. You want to express gratitude for a favor= You're a lifesaver 

6. You don't want to take too much of someone's time = I know this is last minute

 

GRAMMAR 

 THE CAUSATIVE 

we can also use the construction 'get + someone + to + infinitive'. 
Again, this means that you cause the other person to do the action, 
maybe by paying them to do it, or by asking them to do it, or by 
persuading them to do it.

• She gets her son to do his homework by promising him ice cream when he's finished.
• I got the cleaner to clean under the cupboards.

Sometimes, this construction has the feeling that we needed to convince someone to do something, while the other constructions on this page are neutral.

 

THE PASSIVE CAUSATIVE

The passive is used when the focus is on the thing instead of the person. When you combine them together, you are essentially saying someone caused something to be done (by someone).

The manager had the assistant write the report.

The manager had/got the report written (by the assistant). 

CONVERSATION MODEL

A: Could I have this jacket dry-cleaned by tomorrow?

B: Tomorrow? That might be difficult.

A: I'm sorry, but it's pretty urgent. My friend is getting married this weekend.

B: Well, I'll see what I can do. But it won't be ready until after 4:00.

A: I really appreciate it. Thanks! 

CONCLUSION

The use of the more informal forms of this structure is very common. 

For example, to say I cut my hair, one of the most common phrases is

 "I got my hair cut." More complex or formal forms,

 such as "I had my temperature taken by the nurse" have a much more limited use,

 and are usually seen only in very formal contexts or in literary texts. 

So if it still doesn't come easily to you, focus on the most basic form. 

It is probably the one you use the most. 

 

 

 HERE A VIDEO