Showing 11 - 20 of 41
No, it didn’t’ happen, but what if…
Terry Fredrickson, Published on 10/03/2013
» The language of the past conditional seems difficult, but the concept is easy. Here are some video examples that you WILL understand.
Would you marry again?
Terry Fredrickson, Published on 09/03/2013
» A 3-minute video clip from a famous 1980’s US comedy provides one of the best examples of the use of conditionals for imagined situations that you can find anywhere – easy and very funny.
What would the Earth be like without people?
Terry Fredrickson, Published on 03/03/2013
» A Scientific American animation considers the question of what would happen if suddenly all humans disappeared from the Earth. There are many examples of the unreal (we hope) conditional.
What could have happened?
Terry Fredrickson, Published on 25/02/2013
» We know what has happened, but we don't know what caused it. We all have our own ideas about the cause and express them freely. In English, this is a perfect opportunity to use the past forms of modal auxiliaries.
I shouldn’t have done it.
Terry Fredrickson, Published on 23/02/2013
» English learners have little difficulty using the basic English modal auxiliaries like can, should, might, etc. , but things get more complicated when talking about past situations.
If looks could kill (another use of the passive)
Terry Fredrickson, Published on 17/02/2013
» “If looks could kill,” is an expression people use to describe when someone has given them an unfriendly, unpleasant or angry look. Six men in this funny video clip would be dead if that were true. Explain, using the passive voice.
Passive voice in slow motion
Terry Fredrickson, Published on 16/02/2013
» The difference between active and passive voice made easy through the use of super-slow motion.
The sleepiest baby: Time-switching activity
Terry Fredrickson, Published on 10/02/2013
» This very fuzzy video clip of an extremely sleepy baby is a big hit with both students and teachers. It is fun to talk about both before and after you see it, but you will have to be careful with the verb forms you choose.
Talking about the future: be + going to
Terry Fredrickson, Published on 09/02/2013
» There is no future tense in English, but there are many different ways of talking about the future. You'll hear one of the most common in a one-minute video about boiling spinach.
Mixing the past and present perfect
Terry Fredrickson, Published on 03/02/2013
» Famous TV commentator looks back over his life in his last essay for 60 minutes (CBS News). It's very clear and easy to follow and a great example of how we mix verb forms.