Hi everybody,
here again with the new school year. Some of you are new to this blog, some other are already familiar. Again, welcome! Stroll around, practice, write and participate.
Silvia
Welcome to the new school year
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Preparing the exam
SantJordi
On the 23rd of April we commemorate the death of 3 great worldwide known writers: William Shakespeare (1564), Miguel de Cervantes and Garcilaso de la Vega, who both died in 1616.
The first celebration, which became part of the celebrations of Sant Jordi, was made in Catalonia in 1923 honouring Cervantes. On this day, it was a medieval tradition for men to give roses to their lovers; from 1925 it also started the tradition for women to give books in exchange.
In 1995 UNESCO declared this day as The World Book Day, becuase of the Catalonian festival and the anniversary of birth or death of some great writers, apart from the three already mentioned.
As a curiosity, the coincidence of dates in Cervantes and Shakespeare’s deaths is not strictly precise. Cervantes died the 23rd of April according to the Gregorian calendar; however, England was still using the Julian calendar. The fact is that Shakespeare died ten days later than Cervantes due to this discrepancy of calendars.
Write your own poems, parts of the poem you like or quotation here.
Photo by: queropere
FutureForms
There is a new delicious posted in the Grammar Area, where you can review the future forms -will, going to and present continuous.
St. Valentine’s Day
On 14th February it is celebrated St. Valentine’s Day, known as a day when people give presents to the beloved one. The most common gifts are Valentine Cards, chocolates in red heart-shaped boxes, candies or even jewels. Cards contain the sweetest words to sound as romantic melodies in the ears.
But, what is the story of St. Valentine? Do you know its origin? Go to the reading corner and find out more.
Photo by Kiki the Cat
ParticipialAdjectives
The participial adjectives are those formed with the participle, either the present or the past, of some verbs. For example we have exciting or excited from the verb to exite. The present participle is formed by adding -ing, and the past participle by adding -ed. See more examples and exercises in the Grammar Area.
PresentPerfect vs PastSimple
The use of the verbs in English is not always easy to understand and use. Find some more exercises about this topic in delicious. see it in the Grammar Area.
So this is Christmas (war is over)
John Lennon together with Yoko Ono wrote this song So this is Christmas in 1971. They had spent a lot of time working to promote peace during the 60s and early 70s, and their wish with this song was to give an anti-war message to the world: war is over, if you want.
This video may hurt sensitive souls, as it shows the cruel reality of war and its consequences. Maybe it’s not the most Christmas-like video, but sure it will make you think of the reality around the world, a reality sometimes felt too distant. Even though it is Christmas and all of us consider that because of it there should be peace, don’t forget that many are still suffering from the results of long-lasting wars. Only living for peace, will struggling be avoided!
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You can read the lyrics of this beautiful song here.
Christmas Carol
Infinitive vs Gerund
A not-easy-to-understand grammar point: when should I use the infinitive instead of the gerund? Try the exercises in the Grammar Area.