Grammar. Tenses. Voices.

This is what a creative approach to homework looks like 😊 The student has illustrated the four cases of usage of Present Perfect. Well done, Karina! Love the pics ❤️🤭

I Good evening, everybody! I am impatient to share with you what I have come to know during one of my working sessions today. A student of mine is taking part in an Online English language competition called "BEST IN ENGLISH" tomorrow. The usual thing is that one says "international", you hear "IELTS/TOEFL". But this competition is within the EU. Surprisingly, it's powered (as their page states) by the Czech republic. Last year's statistics does impress. More than 24 thousand students aged from 14 to 20 from 34 different countries competed. This year the best ones win a 2-week trip to Canada. Worth a try, huh? What is even more shocking, the tasks are great. The paper consists of three parts: Use of English, Reading and Listening. The only thing I didn't like is that the last two listening tasks are both True/False, but it has to be admitted the tapes themselves have absolutely nothing in common. While helping the girl to prepare, spotted the three grammatical topics as her weaknesses. They are Complex Object (the 2nd group verbs "have/make sb do sth Vs. the 1st group equivalents "force/get sb to do sth"), Subjunctive Mood (the advanced Formal Subjunctive patterns like "It was suggested that the secretary do it at once") and Inversion in negative sentences (Under no circumstances should one do it). Now, once the grammar has been successfully brushed up on, I sincerely hope the student has every chance to win. Let us all wish her good luck! 🍀 Interested in your weak spots? Give it a try! There's the 2023 public test available on the website. The only thing you'll have to lie about your age when filling in the forms 😁.

GRAMMAR time 🖊️ CAUSATIVE To HAVE STH DONE means we don't do the job ourselves, but we ask someone to do it for us. As a rule, we use this construction to talk about paid services, such as hairdressing, cleaning, medicine, car service, etc. I am having my car serviced/fixed/repaired. We can build up negative or interrogative sentences by changing "have". Does your sister have her hair cut? TENSES I have my door painted. I am having my door painted. I have had my door painted. I have been having my door painted. I had my door painted. I was having my door painted. I had had my door painted. I had been having my door painted. I will have my door painted. I will be having my door painted. I will have had my door painted. I will have been having my door painted. There's a second meaning of the pattern. Take a look at the example below and write in the comments what it is. Jill had her purse 👛 stolen when she was away on holiday.

GRAMMAR SUBJUNCTIVE Other patterns one must know and incorporate in their speaking and writing are as follows: "...'d sooner/'d rather sb DIDN'T..." I'd sooner you DIDN'T smoke in here. We'd rather she DIDN'T go out with that Tom guy. "...'d prefer it IF sb WERE..." But I'd prefer it if, you know, nobody KNEW about it. "Imagine and Suppose" Suppose you WERE omnipotent, what would you do? "It's (high/about) time + a subordinate clause in a past tense" It's high time you WERE sleeping, kids! It's about time we BREATHED some new life into this place. "Formal subjunctive" (advise, suggest, require, it is essential/critical/necessary...) People do not DEMAND that a thing BE reasonable if their emotions are touched; It is ADVISABLE that the patient STAY in for at least three more days.), "LEST" Lest anyone DOUBT my story, I have brought documents to attest to its truth. "The formulaic subjunctive" Come what may... Long live the King 👑 ! Be yours a happy marriage! etc. Impressed?

GRAMMAR There's a grammatical topic I have been meaning to talk to you about for quite a while. It is SUBJUNCTIVE. The subjunctive mood (of verbs) is the form that expresses wishes, possibility or uncertainty. When asked, students have no hesitation in naming the conditionals (what we are interested in here is the 2nd, 3rd and mixed types: I WOULDN'T DO it IF I WERE you; If only you HAD SEEN the expression on his face when he heard the news; If they HAD GOT married, he WOULD BE a happy man now). A few go on to add complex sentences with "WISH" in the main part (We WISH she WAS here; He WISHES it WOULD BE hot 🔥 tomorrow; I wish she HAD never MET him). But is it really all that exists? Not in the slightest. To be continued...

GRAMMAR Quite often, especially at school 🎒, students are told that the verb "TO BE" can't be used in Continuous. In fact, that's a MYTH. When talking about one's untypical behaviour, we DO use "To Be" in Continuous Tenses. Take a look at the examples below 👇, please. I know I’M just BEING silly, but I still hope he'll pass the exam. Jane'S BEING so nice to me. I wonder what she wants. Stop mocking the poor boy! You ARE BEING rude! The children WERE BEING very naughty, so we sent them to bed.