So we’ve created video to help you learn the present perfect.

Watch the video below, and then try the exercises.

Ok, so we learned there are 3 ways the present perfect is used in English. 

• For an action that began in the past  but still continues.
• For an action that happened in the indefinite past (no particular date) and is important to the current situation
• For an action that happened in the past but the time is not mentioned.

Which of the 3 different uses of present perfect are in the sentences below?

1. I have lived here since 2006.

2. You’re thinking about moving to Buenos Aires? I have lived there, and it’s nice.

3. I have been to 5 foreign countries.

4. I have worked here for 12 years.

5. You like the food at the new restaurant? I’ve eaten there, and I wasn’t impressed.

Write three sentences of your own, with each of the 3 ways of using the present perfect.

Write your answers in comments, and we’ll respond!

We’ve got more videos for learning English!

English Present Perfect Video with Exercise

Barack Obama making his historic statement on ABC News.

Last week, Barack Obama made a historic statement, at least for people living in the United States, when he told ABC News that he supports giving gay couples the same marriage rights as straight couples.

For now, this is just a statement of support, and does not change the law in the United States, but it is the first time a president has openly supported gay marriage.

Watch the short video below of the president making his statement, and then try to answer the listening questions.

1. ____ been going through an evolution on this issue.

2. What tense is Obama using in this sentence? Why?

3. ______ ____ Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.

4. What does the phrasal verb above mean? Do you know what Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is?

5. I ___ hesitated on gay marriage.

6. What tense does he use above? Why?

7. It is important for me to __ _____ and affirm that I think same-sex couples _____ be able to ___ married.

8. What do you think? Are gay couples are allowed to get married in your country? Do you think they should be able to?

Answer the questions in comments and we’ll respond.

Obama on Gay Marriage: English Listening Exercise

Recently I was watching this TED Ed video on the size of atoms and noticed that it had a lot of modal verbs, and a few phrasal verbs as well. It’s a really interesting video, with great animation. You can watch the video below, and then try to answer the questions in the exercise.

Fill in the gaps with phrasal verbs or modal verbs. You can put your answers in comments, and we’ll let you know if they’re correct.

1. You probably already know that everything is ____ __ __ little tiny things called atoms.

2. You _____ even know that each atom is made up of even smaller particles called protons, neutrons and electrons.

3. Let’s ____ __ each of the atoms.

4. You _____ remember the old pictures of atoms from your science class.

5. If you ______  ____ the blueberry and ____ searching for the nucleus, ___ be invisible.

6. So, if everyone on the earth _____ their own car, and they don’t, and you put all of those cars into your box, that _____ be about the density of a nucleus.

Reading questions

How big would the nucleus be if you made the atom the size of a football stadium?

What do you think the gorilla in the background is a reference to? (Hint, it is related to another scientific experiment).

Atoms, Modal Verbs and Phrasal Verbs: An English Listening Exercise

Watch the video below to hear Teauna’s explanation of the difference between these two words, and then try the English exercise on lend and borrow. You can write your answers in comments, and we will respond.

Lend or Borrow English Exercises

1. Can you ___ me your pen? Mine is out of ink.

2. He can ____ some money to Joe.

3. Can I _____ your car?

4. Did you ___ him your car?

5. We’re trying to get a ___ from the bank to by a new home.

6. This is a _____ car, mine is being repaired.

Write your answers in comments, and we’ll respond!

Lend or Borrow? Video with Exercises

The video below gives a very good explanation of the difference. After the video, try the exercise.

Fill in the gaps with other, others or another, and an article if necessary.

1. I don’t like this whiskey, I want ______ one, with the blue label.

2. These chocolates are great! Can you pass me _____ one?

3. This wine is good, but I think _____ is much better.

4. Bartender! ______ beer please!

5. These movies don’t look interesting. Do you have any _____?

Another, Other or Others? Video with Exercise

We make phone calls. For some reason.

In general, we use do with work. For instance: do a job, do homework, do work.

We typically use make to talk about producing or creating something new. For instance: make a cake, make music, make art.

Also, we typically do things with our minds (like math) but we make things with our hands (like a cake). Again this is typical, but there are plenty of exceptions.

The problem for people learning English is that there are a lot of expressions that use do or make, that break these rules. So here is a short list of them to help you.

Expressions with Make

make the bed, make food, make dinner, make coffee, make money, make a plan, make a living, make arrangements, make an excuse, make up your mind, make progress, make a suggestion, make a decision, make sense, make a call, make a promise, make a difference, make noise, make n effort, make an agreement

Expressions with Do

do a job, do a favor, do an assignment, do exercise, How are you doing?, How do you do? do business, do badly, do well, do housework, do the ironing, do the dishes, do an exercise, do something over

Do or Make? The Rules and a lot of Exceptions.

Teaching English spelling makes me feel like this guy... but it's still important!

I’ve just realized that one of the aspects of learning English we almost never write about here is English spelling. This also happens to be one of the most difficult parts of English, both for non-native and native speakers.

English, as I’m sure you know if you’re reading this, is not a phonetic language. So the words are not always spelled the way they are pronounced. There is some logic to the spelling though, as we’ll see with double consonants.

Look at these words with double consonants. Which is correct?

Acted or Actted?

Planned or Planed?

Here’s the rule. If the original word is just one syllable and ends with a consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) then we double the last consonant. So with the words above, the original words are act and plan. Both are one syllable, but act ends in two consonants and plan ends in CVC. Therefore we write acted and planned.

Now we will look at words with two syllables. Which is correct?

Traveled or Travelled?

Prefered or Preferred?

Once again, we look at the origin of the word. If it end in CVC, we only double the consonant if the stress, when pronounced, is on the second syllable. This is where it becomes important to take lessons with native English speakers, and practice your listening exercises, so you can hear where the stress should be. The roots of the words above are travel and prefer. In travel, the stress is at the beginning, in prefer the stress is at the end of the word. So we write traveled and preferred.

How was that? Any questions? Let us know in comments, or schedule a class and we can help!

English Spelling Advice: Double Consonants

“Would” is a very useful, and tricky, modal verb. Watch the video below to learn more about it, and then see if you can complete the English modal verb exercise.

Add “Would” to these sentences to make them more polite:

Pass me the salt.

When you come inside, take off your shoes.

Close the door.

If you’re going to the store, bring me back some beer.

Complete these 3rd conditional sentences:

If I ___ left the bar earlier, I _____ ____ gotten so drunk.

I _____ ____ been wealthy, ___ won the lottery last week.

If I ___ been able to visit Peru, I _____ ____.

Modal Verb Video 1

Modal Verb Video 2: Might 

Modal Verb Video 3: May

Modal Verb Video 4: Can

Modal Verb Video 5: Could

English Modal Verbs 6: Would

During a conversation about nuclear weapons in South Korea, Obama and Medvedev did not realize that a microphone was still on, and had a conversation that was meant to be private, but was broadcast over television.

Starting at about 43 seconds in the video below, you’ll see this conversation played several times. The clip below is from a U.S. comedy show called “The Daily Show” that makes comedy out of daily news events.

Watch the video, and then read some excerpts from it below.

What Medvedev actually said to Obama was “I transmit this information to Vladimir.” First of all, he should have had the modal verb “will” in the sentence, as in: “I will transmit this information to Vladimir.”

Beyond that, The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart points out that Medvedev’s wording makes his statement sound “sinister,” as if it had been said by Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers films. Or as if it should be spoken into a secret spy’s “shoe phone,” as Stewart says. The particular problem here is the word “transmit.”

Stewart points out “All he’s really saying is ‘oh, alright, I’ll tell him.” But the word transmit is a very technical, formal sounding word, that is typically used when we are talking about signals. Something about using this word that should only be used with radio, television, or shoe phone signals, makes the sentence sound sinister.

Medvedev could have made the phrase sound less formal, and less sinister, by using a phrasal verb. For example:

I will pass this information along to Vladimir. (to pass – something – along)

I will let Vladimir know. (to let – someone – know)

Or he could have just said: I’ll tell Vladimir.

I transmit this message to Vladimir.

So what can you learn from this? Well, don’t get too worried. While some silly people might have actually thought that there was something evil happening, most people realize that non-native speakers of any language sometimes miss subtleties like these. Second, this is a good reason to study your phrasal verbs. In a one-on-one situation, between two equals, as in Obama and Medvedev’s meeting, a phrasal verb would have created the perfect tone.

Finally, in the video above, after talking about this particular sentence, Jon Stewart wonders whether all of the past problems between Russia and the U.S. could have been caused by the way Russians speak English. He then gives three example sentence pairs, with a very normal sounding sentence, and another version that has the same meaning, but sound sinister. Listen to them and see if you can understand how he changes them.

What you can learn about English from Obama and Medvedev’s mistake

Watch the video below to study your modal verbs, then see if you can do the exercises below.

English Modal Verb Exercises:

1. What is the difference between these three sentences?

I should buy a new pair of shoes.

I could buy a new pair of shoes. 

I might buy a new pair of shoes.

2. Rewrite these sentences using ‘could.’

Maybe we can eat pizza tonight. 

It’s possible that she is sick.

He will maybe be visiting New York. 

Perhaps we will have another beer. 

English Modal Verbs Video 5: Could