Present Perfect Simple, Present Perfect Continuous and Past Simple

Exercises about verb tenses

Click on the link below and do the following exercises. Check the answers after doing it.

http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbs7.htm

http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbs8.htm

http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbs6.htm

Vocabulary:House and Furniture

Vocabulary: House and Furniture

How much vocabulary do you know?  

Go to the link below and test yourself.

1. http://www.agendaweb.org/vocabulary/house-furniture-lowerintermediate-exercises.html (lower Intermediate level)

2. http://www.agendaweb.org/vocabulary/house-furniture-intermediate-exercises.html  (Intermediate level)

3. http://www.agendaweb.org/vocabulary/house-furniture-upper-intermediate-exercises.html (upper-intermediate level)

4. http://www.agendaweb.org/vocabulary/house-advanced-level-exercises.html (advanced level)

Past Simple or Past Continuous

Past simple or Past Continuous 

Both the past simple and the past continuous refer to completed actions in the past.

Most of the time when we are talking about such actions, we use the past simple. This is by far the most common way of talking about the past.

• I lived there for 6 years.
• I only found out a few moments ago.
• I asked her but she didn't know anything.
• I didn´t ask her to go home.
• Did you go home early yesterday?

Formula:

Affirmative:  subject + verb Past tense  

Negative: subject + didn´t + verb (infinitive)

Interrrogative: did + subject + verb (infinitive)

Only use the past continuous when you want to emphasize the continuity of the action.

• Everybody was talking about it all evening.
• They were really trying hard but couldn't do it.
• I was thinking about you the other day.
• Were you expecting that to happen?

Formula:

Affirmative:  subject + was/were + verb (ing)  

Negative: subject + was/were + not  verb (ing)  

Interrrogative: was/were + subject +  verb (ing) 

I, He, she it - was

we, you, they - were

When we use these two forms in the same sentence, we use the past continuous to talk about the "background action" and the past simple to talk about the shorter completed action.

• It was raining hard when we left the building.
• I was reading the report when you rang.
• He was going out to lunch when I saw him.
• The company was doing well when I last visited it.

Exercises

1. http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/pastsimpleorcontinuous/exercise1.html

2. http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/pastsimpleorcontinuous/exercise2.html

3. http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/pastsimpleorcontinuous/exercise3.html

4. http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/pastsimpleorcontinuous/exercise4.html

5. http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/pastsimpleorcontinuous/exercise5.html

6. http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/pastsimpleorcontinuous/exercise6.html

More exercises to practise: 

http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=734

reference: http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/pastsimpleorcontinuous/menu.php

FCE EXAMS

That´s a nice site for the ones who want to improve and practise for FCE examinations.  

http://www.tinyteflteacher.co.uk/index.html

Stative Verbs

Stative Verbs

Some English verbs, which we call state, non-continuous or stative verbs, aren’t used in continuous tenses (like the present continuous, or the future continuous). These verbs often describe states that last for some time. Here is a list of some common ones:

Stative (or State) Verb List

like	know	belong
love	realise	fit
hate	suppose	contain
want	mean	consist
need	understand	seem
prefer	believe	depend
agree	remember	matter
mind	recognise	see
own	appear	look (=seem)
sound	taste	smell
hear	astonish	deny
disagree	please	impress
satisfy	promise	surprise
doubt	think (=have an opinion)	feel (=have an opinion)
wish	imagine	concern
dislike	be	have
deserve	involve	include
lack	measure (=have length etc)	possess
owe	weigh (=have weight)

A verb which isn’t stative is called a dynamic verb, and is usually an action.

Some verbs can be both stative and dynamic:

Be

be is usually a stative verb, but when it is used in the continuous it means ‘behaving’ or ‘acting’ you are stupid = it’s part of your personality you are being stupid = only now, not usually

Think

think (stative) = have an opinion I think that coffee is great think (dynamic) = consider, have in my head what are you thinking about? I’m thinking about my next holiday

Have

have (stative) = own I have a car have (dynamic) = part of an expression I’m having a party / a picnic / a bath / a good time / a break

See

see (stative) = see with your eyes / understand I see what you mean I see her now, she’s just coming along the road see (dynamic) = meet / have a relationship with I’ve been seeing my boyfriend for three years I’m seeing Robert tomorrow

Taste

taste (stative) = has a certain taste This soup tastes great The coffee tastes really bitter taste (dynamic) = the action of tasting The chef is tasting the soup ('taste' is the same as other similar verbs such as 'smell')

Fonte: http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/stative-verbs.html

E-book

                    O que é e-Book?

       Conceitos e definições, comparação com livros impressos.



Leia mais em: http://www.tecmundo.com.br/educacao/1519-o-que-e-e-book-.htm#ixzz2ClGWTzpx

Por Fabio Eduardo Amaral em 6 de Fevereiro de 2009

Se você consegue estabelecer a diferença entre uma carta e um e-Mail, certamente sabe, por analogia, que livros e e-Books se encaixam no mesmo conceito. Termo de origem inglesa, e-Book é uma abreviação para “electronic book”, ou livro eletrônico: trata-se de uma obra com o mesmo conteúdo da versão impressa, com a exceção de ser, por óbvio, uma mídia digital.

Apesar de ardorosamente criticados por extremistas – que acreditam que um livro jamais deveria ser substituído por um e-Book –, o modelo eletrônico tem suas vantagens. Portabilidade é uma de suas principais características: uma obra chinesa pode ser adquirida no Brasil, e em questão de segundos. Quando o assunto é facilidade de transporte, então, nem se fala: enquanto milhares de e-Books podem ser levados para cima e para baixo com o uso de um dispositivo móvel (como um pendrive), carregar dois livros simultaneamente é complicado.

O preço é outro atributo a ser levado em consideração, já que e-Books, devido à sua facilidade de divulgação e ao seu baixo custo de produção, normalmente saem muito mais baratos que modelos impressos. E por falar em impressão, vale a pena salientar: se você preferir ler sentado confortavelmente em sua poltrona, pode imprimir o e-Book.

Os formatos em que essas obras são encontradas variam, sendo que os mais tradicionais são .pdf, .doc, .odt, .txt, .lit e .opf; devido a essa variedade de extensões, foram desenvolvidos programas específicos para a leitura de e-Books – softwares que são capazes de reconhecer todos esses formatos e apresentá-los em forma de texto. Se estiver procurando por um aplicativo do gênero, temos vários à disposição aqui no Baixaki (relacionados logo abaixo). Também escolhemos alguns programas que oferecem funcionalidades especiais a esse tipo de leitura, como um que recita “em voz alta” o que está escrito na tela. Agora é só escolher os que mais te agradam, pegar seu e-Book favorito e “olhos à obra”!

O eBook Reader (eReader), como por exemplo, o Amazon Kindle, é um aparelho portátil criado especificamente para a leitura de livros digitais. Possui uma tecnologia de iluminação da tela diferente dos outros leitores digitais, possibilitando ao leitor uma sensação mais próxima da leitura do livro em papel.

É possível obter ebooks gratuitamente em bibliotecas públicas online ou em outros sites que disponibilizam livros digitais, como por exemplo o Google Books. Os ebooks também podem ser adquiridos em diversos sites de vendas online.



Sites úteis

•  http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/20-best-websites-to-download-free-e-books/
• http://socialtimes.com/top-25-free-e-books-sites-the-definitive-list_b7595
•  http://www.idealdicas.com/site/categoria.php?cat=33
•  http://www.dicasdodia.net/2008/08/10-melhores-sites-para-download-de-ebook.html

Alguns videos no YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xX8hg60Qrjo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeFjXcqEJ40&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq2LCKDUcbM&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ux900WAadw&feature=related

  

Linking words

Linking words



Choose the best alternative for each sentence.


Contrast


1 The team haven't been playing too well. ......, they are expected to win this afternoon.


a. Nevertheless
b. In contrast
c. On the contrary

2 ........ in nearly every country in the world they drive on the right, in England they insist on driving on the left.

a. On the one hand
b. While
c. Nevertheless


3 ........ to the north, which will remain warm and sunny, the south will become cloudy during the early morning.


a. On the contrary
b. In contrast
c. Although


4 He couldn't get the machine to work ........ following the instructions carefully.

a. despite
b. however
c. while


5 I'm not tired at all. ........, I'm feeling full of energy.

a. However
b. In contrast
c. On the contrary

6 ........ the computer had recently been repaired, it still kept crashing.
a. Although
b. Whereas
c. In spite of


7 I know we agreed to raise the issue at the next meeting ........ we simply won't have the time to discuss it.

a. although
b. whereas
c. but

8 The man was arrested ........ claiming to have been nowhere near the scene of the crime.

a. whereas
b. in spite of
c. while
d. Addition

Addition

1 I overslept this morning. ........ , my car ran out of petrol on the way to work.

a. Not only that
b. Furthermore


2 The report is expected to be critical of the industry. ........, it is likely to recommend extensive changes to production.

a. What's more
b. Furthermore


3 The witness claims to have seen the suspect at the scene of the crime. ........, the police are in possession of video evidence of the man entering the building.

a. Moreover
b. As well as that

4 ........ the wonderful main meal we also had a delicious pudding.
a. In addition to
b. Besides


5 If you're going into town could you get me some shampoo? ........, we need some more bread.

a. Also
b. Furthermore


6 Payments to your account have fallen behind considerably. ........, on several occasions your credit limit has been exceeded.

a. Moreover
b. Besides this


7 It was a brilliant game. ........, we didn't have to pay to get in!

a. What's more
b. In addition



8 The meeting concluded without any agreement being reached. ........, several further issues arose.

a. As well as that
b. In addition


Cause and effect

1. Marijuana is less toxic than alcohol or tobacco. __________, some people believe it should be legalized.

A. So

B. Because

C. Due to

D. Therefore


2. __________ Canada has legalized hemp farming, we can expect to see pulp and paper produced from hemp very soon.

A. Due to

B. Therefore

C. As

D. So


3. Many species of wildlife are becoming extinct, __________ the rainforests are being destroyed.

A. therefore

B. since

C. consequently

D. so


4. Hemp was grown throughout history __________ its versatility; it can be used to make many different things.

A. since

B. because

C. due to

D. as a result


5. Hemp can be used to make paper, __________ it could reduce the need for logging.

A. due to

B. because

C. therefore

D. so


6. Hemp is related to the marijuana plant; __________, it is illegal in many countries.

A. s a result

B. because

C. so

D. due to


7. Hemp cannot be used to produce marijuana, __________ its low THC content.

A. consequently

B. because of

C. as

D. because