MAQUILO'S BLOG

Saturday, July 15, 2017

WELCOME / SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

Hi my dear students of 8th grade.

Welcome to my BLOG in which you can find all the information we are going to work my English class. I hope you enjoy it and use it well, because it will be an useful tool in your learning process this year.

Please read, copy and study the below information for the next class.

SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

We use the present tense for:

1. Repeated or regular actions in the present time period.

· I take the train to the office.

· The train to Berlin leaves every hour.

· John sleeps eight hours every night during the week.

2. Facts.

· The President of The USA lives in The White House.

· A dog has four legs.

· We come from Switzerland.

3. For habits and routines.

· I get up early every day.

· Carol brushes her teeth twice a day.

· They travel to their country house every weekend.

4. Things that are always / generally true.

· It rains a lot in winter.

· The Queen of England lives in Buckingham Palace.

· They speak English at work.

5. Feeling and emotions.

· I dislike selfish people.

· she hates Reggaeton music.

Verb Conjugation & Spelling

We form the present tense using the base form of the infinitive (without the TO).

In general, in the third person we add 'S' in the third person.

Subject	Verb	The Rest of the sentence
I / you / we / they	speak / learn	English at home
he / she / it	speaks / learns	English at home

The spelling for the verb in the third person differs depending on the ending of that verb:

1. For verbs that end in -O, -CH, -SH, -SS, -X, or -Z we add -ES in the third person.

· go – goes

· catch – catches

· wash – washes

· kiss – kisses

· fix – fixes

· buzz – buzzes

2. For verbs that end in a consonant + Y, we remove the Y and add -IES.

· marry – marries

· study – studies

· carry – carries

· worry – worries

NOTE: For verbs that end in a vowel + Y, we just add -S.

· play – plays

· enjoy – enjoys

· say – says

Negative Sentences in the Simple Present Tense

To make a negative sentence in English we normally use Don't or Doesn't with all verbs EXCEPT To Be and Modal verbs (can, might, should etc.).

· Affirmative: You speak French.
Negative: You don't speak French.

You will see that we add don't between the subject and the verb. We use Don't when the subject is I, you, we orthey.

-Affirmative: He speaks German.

-Negative: He doesn't speak German.

When the subject is he, she or it, we add doesn't between the subject and the verb to make a negative sentence. Notice that the letter S at the end of the verb in the affirmative sentence (because it is in third person) disappears in the negative sentence. We will see the reason why below.

Negative Contractions

Don't = Do not

Doesn't = Does not

I don't like meat = I do not like meat.

There is no difference in meaning though we normally use contractions in spoken English.

Word Order of Negative Sentences

The following is the word order to construct a basic negative sentence in English in the Present Tense using Don't orDoesn't.

Subject	don't/doesn't	Verb*	The Rest of the sentence
I / you / we / they	don't	have / buy eat / like etc.	cereal for breakfast
he / she / it	doesn't	have / buy eat / like etc.	cereal for breakfast

* Verb: The verb that goes here is the base form of the infinitive without TO

Remember that the infinitive is the verb before it is conjugated (changed) and it begins with TO. For example: to have, to eat, to go, to live, to speak etc.

Examples of Negative Sentences with Don't and Doesn't:

· You don't speak Arabic.

· John doesn't speak Italian.

· We don't have time for a rest.

· It doesn't move.

· They don't want to go to the party.

· She doesn't like fish.

Questions in the Simple Present Tense

To make a question in English we normally use Do or Does

-Affirmative: You speak English.

-Question: Do you speak English?

Add DO at the beginning of the affirmative sentence to make it a question. We use Do when the subject is I, you, we or they.

- Affirmative: He speaks French.

- Question: Does he speak French?

When the subject is he, she or it, we add DOES at the beginning to make the affirmative sentence a question. Notice that the letter S at the end of the verb in the affirmative sentence (because it is in third person) disappears in the question. We will see the reason why below.

Word Order of Questions with Do and Does

The following is the word order to construct a basic question in English using Do or Does.

Do/Does	Subject	Verb*	The Rest of the sentence
Do	I / you / we / they	have / need want etc.	a new bike?
Does	he / she / it	have / need want etc.	a new bike?

*Verb: The verb that goes here is the base form of the infinitive = The infinitive without TO

Remember that the infinitive is the verb before it is conjugated (changed) and it begins with TO. For example: to have, to eat, to go, to live, to speak etc.

Examples of Questions with Do and Does:

· Do you need a dictionary?

· Does Mary need a dictionary?

· Do we have a meeting now?

· Does it rain a lot in winter?

· Do they want to go to the party?

· Does he like pizza?

Short Answers with Do and Does

Sample Questions	Short Answer (Affirmative)	Short Answer (Negative)
Do you like chocolate?	Yes, I do.	No, I don't.
Do I need a pencil?	Yes, you do.	No, you don't.
Do you both like chocolate?	Yes, we do.	No, we don't.
Do they like chocolate?	Yes, they do.	No, they don't.
Does he like chocolate?	Yes, he does.	No, he doesn't.
Does she like chocolate?	Yes, she does.	No, she doesn't.
Does it have four wheels?	Yes, it does.	No, it doesn't.

However, if a question word such as who, when, where, why, which or how is used in the question, you can not use the short answers above to respond to the question.

That's all for now guys, see you in class.

WELCOME / COMPARATIVES

Hi my dear students of 7th grade.

Please read, copy and study the below information for the next class.

COMPARATIVES

When we talk about two things, we can "compare" them. In this case We can use comparative adjectives to describe the differences between these two elements (not three or more things).

There are two ways to make or to "form" a comparative adjective:

· short adjectives: add "-er"

· long adjectives: use "more"

Short adjectives: add -er	examples
1-syllable adjectives	old, fast
2-syllable adjectives ending in -y	happy, easy
RULE: add "-er"	old → older
Variation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -r	late → later
Variation: if the adjective ends in consonant, vowel, consonant, double the last consonant	big → bigger
Variation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i	happy → happier

Long adjectives: use more	examples
2-syllable adjectives not ending in -y	modern, pleasant
all adjectives of 3 or more syllables	expensive, intellectual
RULE: use "more"	modern → more modern expensive → more expensive

With some 2-syllable adjectives, we can use "-er" or "more":

Clever → cleverer / more clever

Quiet → quieter / more quiet

Friendly → friendlier / more friendly

Simple → simpler / more simple
Friendly → friendlier / more friendly
Narrow → narrower / more narrow

Exception:

The following adjectives have irregular forms:
good / well → better

bad → worse
old → elder
far → farther / further

Often, the comparative adjective is followed by "than".

Look at these examples:

· John is 1m80. He is tall. But Chris is 1m85. He is taller than John.

· America is big. But Russia is bigger.

· I want to have a more powerful computer.

· Is French more difficult than English?

If we talk about the two planets Earth and Mars, we can compare them as shown in the table below:

	Earth	Mars
Diameter (km)	12,760	6,790	Mars is smaller than Earth.
Distance from Sun (million km)	150	228	Mars is more distant from the Sun.
Length of day (hours)	24	25	A day on Mars is slightly longer than a day on Earth.
Moons	1	2	Mars has more moons than Earth.
Surface temperature (degrees Celcius)	22	-23	Mars is colder than Earth.