5 EYES and a WHY - answer

Well, for those who couldn't find the answer, perhaps this will help:
i--i--i-i-i-y (5 "i"s and a "y"!).

Am I right, Mike?

And now, an English word containing 5 vowels, all joined together! This one's also from Mike. Thanks Mike.

FIVE EYES AND A WHY

This riddle was sent to me by Miguel "Mike".

What English word has five eyes and a why? Thanks Mike. Keep it up.
By the way, noone's answered my first riddle yet: "What did the big chimney say to the little chimney?"

The word-dominoes competition in the First Certificate group was won by Angel, who managed to connect 9 dominoes correctly. Well done Angel, you've won a CD. Keep it up.

QUESTIONS

Asking questions is a natural part of any conversation, whether it's social or business. What shampoo do you use? Have you met the new manager? When's the meeting? etc. However, it really is surprising to see students at ALL LEVELS continuing to make mistakes in this area. So, let's just look at a few rules.

IN GENERAL, a question starts with a question word (when we want information) or an auxilliary verb (when we want confirmation, i.e. yes or no).

QUESTION WORDS - WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHO, WHICH, WHY, WHOSE, HOW.
Very often, these question words are accompanied by other words that complete the information we require. For example: WHAT COLOUR, HOW MUCH, HOW MANY, WHICH ONE, HOW OFTEN, WHOSE CAR,ETC..
AUXILLIARY VERBS - AM, IS, ARE, WAS, WERE, HAVE, HAS, HAD, DO, DOES, DID, plus the MODALS: CAN, COULD, MAY, MIGHT, WILL, WOULD, SHALL, SHOULD, MUST, (and a few more complicated verbs, like ought to and need, which can act as auxilliary verbs). Here are some examples: ARE YOU....? IS THE NEW MANAGER...? CAN WE GO...? DID THE MEETING...? MUST WE...?

The BASIC order of a question is as follows:

For questions requesting information -
QUESTION WORD (INCLUDING ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REQUIRED) - AUXILLIARY VERB - SUBJECT - MAIN VERB - COMPLEMENT.
EXAMPLES: Why do you work there? Where did you put the document? How much does it cost?

For questions requesting confirmation - AUXILLIARY VERB - SUBJECT - MAIN VERB - COMPLEMENT.
EXAMPLES: Do you work here? Did you put the document in the desk? Does it cost much?
NOTICE THAT when you use do, does and did, or any of the modal verbs (can, could, etc.) the main verb is in the infinitive) MORE ON THIS IN MY NEXT ARTICLE.

EXCEPTIONS 1:
The verb "To be" is a curious verb. It can work alone, as the only verb in a sentence, AND it can work as an auxiliary verb, accompanying other verbs.
EXAMPLES:Are you a doctor? Where is the car? (You will notice that no verb is placed after the subjects "you" and "the car", and the verbs "are" and "is" go where auxilliary verbs usually go, i.e before the subject.)
Are you drinking beer? What are you drinking? (Here, the order is the usual one because there is an additional verb - "drinking")

EXCEPTIONS 2:
WHO and other question words, when they request information about the subject. Who wants an ice-cream? Which one is mine?
This is a little more complicated, so I will deal with it separately in my next article.
As with all other aspects of the language, the more you practise the better your English will become. GOOD LUCK and GOOD PRACTICE!

USEFUL LINKS FOR QUESTIONS:
http://www.curso-ingles.com/gramatica-inglesa/question.php
http://www.curso-ingles.com/ejercicios-ingles/questions.php
http://www.mailxmail.com/curso/idiomas/verbosingles/capitulo7.htm
http://a4esl.org/q/f/z/zz87mca.htm
http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs-questions_structure.htm
http://www.spotlight-online.de/CoCoCMS/generator/viewDocument.php?doc=2972&archive=1 http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/questiontext.htm
http://www.english4today.com/englishgrammar/grammarfaq/
THIS LAST ONE DEALS WITH FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT ENGLISH.

AND HERE'S A SONG - "THE MOODY BLUES" ASKING A VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION:
Video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrPGV452X6s&feature=related
Lyrics: http://www.allspirit.co.uk/question.html

MY BOOKS

Some of you may know already that I write in my spare time. Not just Blogs, but short novels also, especially for the younger readers and for teenagers. Some of the stories, however, are perfectly suitable for adults, as more than one reader has told me.

What you may not know, and is less easy to understand, is that I usually write in Spanish. I also write in English, of course, though I haven't finished anything yet. The reason I tend to write in Spanish is that most of the stories were originally conceived as bedtime stories for my grandson, who was born and is being educated in Spain. From there it was just a step before I converted them into novels.

I've set up a new blog to put them within reach of a wider public. The blog has been created, but it will be a little time before I manage to get over the technical problems of getting the books in there, so please be patient.
http://www.loslibrosdejoe.blogspot.com/

MORE READING MATERIAL..... and a SONG

I thought the following link would be particularly interesting for Pre-Intermediate students. Check it out, I'm sure you'll like the story. There are many more where this one came from!
http://younglearners.eslreading.org/stories/stories/prisonerofzenda.html

And here's the song, another one of my favourites. I'm sure you'll like it too.
Lady in Red by Chris de Burgh
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcWspfgk9c8
Lyrics: http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/americanpsycho/ladyinred.htm

READING

There's no doubt about PMP - Practice Makes Perfect!

Reading will help you recognise, revise and consolidate the structures you have studied. At the same time, it will introduce you to new vocabulary.

To do this effectively, however, it is a good idea to read books that are slightly (a little) below your own (personal) level. As your level increases, so will the level of your reading material.

Don't be tempted to aim (choose as an objective) too high. After all, the object is to enjoy, as well as improve, your English, not to spend all day looking up words in the dictionary!

Graded readers (books of varying levels) are there to help you do just that! Spending 5 or 10 minutes every day reading a relatively easy book can be much more beneficial than spending 1 hour once a week!

Useful links for students:
General:http://www.richmondelt.com/spain/english/resources/richmond_times.htm
Reading:http://www.richmondelt.com/spain/english/resources/PDF/richmond_times/2%20Ciclo%20Eso/Richmond12_low_18.pdf
Listening:http://www.richmondelt.com/spain/english/resources/audio/rt12/13.mp3

Other useful links for students:
http://www.macmillanenglish.com/readers/studentsite/bookclub.htm
http://www.short-stories.co.uk/
http://www.crimelibrary.com/
http://www.awesomestories.com/index.php
http://dewey.uab.es/pmarques/pdigital/webs/cmprimenglish.htm
http://www.cambridge.org/elt/elt_projectpage.asp?id=2500560

I shall be adding more links as and when I descover them. It's especially difficult to find easy texts!

Links for teachers:
http://www.marmaraelt.com/kategori/reading-texts/
http://iteslj.org/
http://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/eltblog/blog/labels/Reading%20activities.html
http://www.eoiburgos.es/ingles/websitesrecommended.htm
This last one is definitely one of the best I've seen!

MORE SONGS

Here's a song I'm sure you'll all like. Needless to say it's one of my favourites. The first line is pure poetry: Lay a whisper on my pillow...!"
Enjoy...
Video:
Lay a whisper on my pillow - Leave the winter on the ground - I wake up lonely, there's an air of silence - In the bedroom and all around - Touch me now, I close my eyes And dream away...
It must have been love, but it's over now - It must have been good, but I lost it somehow
It must have been love, but it's over now - From the moment we touched till the time had run out.
Make believing we're together - That I'm sheltered by your heart - But in and outside I turn to water - Like a teardrop in your palm - And it's a hard winter's day I dream away...
It must have been love, but it's over now - It was all that I wanted, now I'm living without
It must have been love, but it's over now - It's where the water flows, it's where the wind blows
It must have been love, but it's over now - It must have been good, but I lost it somehow
It must have been love, but it's over now - From the moment we touched till the time had run out

ENGLISH and SONGS (and the Second Conditional!)

Listening to songs in English is an excellent way of consolidating structures and improving both pronunciation and intonation. It also helps you acquire new vocabulary. However, you must choose your songs carefully because in many cases the lyrics (words) are just too poetic and can be difficult to understand.

Let me illustrate how useful this technique can be with a song that was popular in the sixties.
[It's from the West End musical, Pickwick, based on Charles Dickens' The Pickwick Papers. In the context of the stage musical, the song is sung by Samuel Pickwick when he is mistaken for an election candidate and called on by the crowd to give his manifesto.-Source Wikipedia]

The song 's title is "If I ruled the world". It's a very good example of the Second Conditional and is a really good opportunity to practise this relatively difficult grammatical structure (If I had a car I would drive to Rome)
Video:
Lyrics: http://www.lyricsdepot.com/tony-bennett/if-i-ruled-the-world.html

Now, compare it with "If I ruled the world" by Nas (Different song, much more difficult, rap style)
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMn2cCBwH18
Lyrics: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/nas/ifiruledtheworld.html

By the way, the first version is by Tony Bennett. Sir Harry Secombe's version is far better, but I can't find it anywhere. HELP!

While we're at it, What would Trini do if he had a hammer? and what would Topol do if he were a rich man? Answers below!
Video - Trini: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyTO5vcFWuw&feature=related
Lyrics - Trini: http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/trini_lopez/if_i_had_a_hammer.html
Video - Topol: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBHZFYpQ6nc
Lyrics - Topol: http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/fiddlerontheroof/ifiwerearichman.htm

If you found this method useful let me know by e-mail or by posting a comment below. I would then include some more songs.
Enjoy!

EASTER

When I was a child, a long time ago, an Easter tradition at home was the Egg Painting Competition.

My mother would boil some eggs. When the hard-boiled eggs were completely cold, my brother, my four sisters and I, and occasionally some friends, would get down to the seemingly impossible task of converting the dull, inanimate shells into miniature masterpieces. We used food colouring, mainly, which we carefully applied with cotton wool and brushes.

Our creations usually consisted of heads: bald heads, funny heads, sad faces, animal heads, etc. We did, however, produce the odd ship or farmhouse.

When the paint was dry, we would rub the egg with oil to make it shine and protect the paint.

On Easter Sunday, during lunch, the eggs were judged by our parents and relatives and the winner of the painting competition was allowed to keep the winning example. This was followed by the "egg tapping" game. The rest of the eggs were shared out and each player hit another player's egg with his/her own egg. The winner was the holder of the last intact egg. The losers got to eat their eggs while the winner of the game was also allowed to keep his/her egg.

I don't think I ever won a single egg painting competition.... but I did manage to eat dozens of colourful eggs!

CHESS

I wouldn't say chess is my passion, but it's definitely one of my main interests. I try and play three or four tournaments a year, especially during the summer. The picture is from the one-day Castelldefells tournament. I came second in my category. The youngish looking man in an orange T-shirt is my son Michael. He's much better than me and came third overall!

For those interested in this game here are the English names for the pieces:
Pawn = Peón
Rook = Torre
Knight = Caballo
Bishop = Alfíl
Queen = Dama
King = Rey

To check is Dar jaque.
Check mate is jaque mate.
Resign is abandonar
Offer a draw is ofrecer tablas.
To draw is hacer tablas.

From time to time I shall include short articles with some more vocabulary.

Interesting chess links:
This one's my son Michael's. It contains a number of recommended chess sites - http://mikerahal.blogspot.com/
The Catalan Federation -
http://www.escacs.cat/

SPEAKING (First Certificate Exam and Higher)

At these levels, examiners are not really interested in descriptions, they really want to hear opinions. The more varied the better.

You can of course play safe and use the standard "In my opinion" or "I think", etc.

But, how about being a little bit more daring and stun you listener with "If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say that...", or "From a purely personal point of view, I'd say that...".
Try "It's quite evident that..." or "It seems perfectly obvious that..." when the answer is quite clear.
When in doubt, you could venture :"I could be wrong, of course, but I'd say that...".
When absolutely certain of what you are looking at: "Well, I'd be prepared to bet my last farthing that..."

NOTE:
Speaking, contrary to popular belief, is not an intellectual activity. It's entirely Physical. It requires coordination between brain and vocal chords. Your brain sends a message to your vocal chords and they, in turn, perform the action. As in all other physical exercises, perfection requires practice. It's not enough to "KNOW" what you have to say, you ACTUALLY HAVE TO SAY IT...... AND SAY IT WELL!
Which means Plenty of REPETITION - Listen... and then Repeat.
REPEAT to improve your pronunciation.
REPEAT to improve intonation (Rythm and stress).
REPEAT to improve fluency.

GOLDEN RULE - REPETITION is the key to GOOD SPEAKING

The more = Cuanto más

To play safe = Ir sobreseguro

Daring = Osado, aventuroso

To stun = Abrumar

To hazard a guess = Aventurar (una Opinión), Atreverse (a dar una opinión)

Purely = puramente

To venture = Aventurar (una opinión)

To bet = Apostar

Farthing = Moneda de más baja denominación.

Brain = Cerebro

Chords = Cuerdas

Actually = De hecho

Today I had a fantastic opportunity to update and improve this blog. Raul, one of my PEC students, who is an expert in webpage design, spent over an hour explaining to me the secrets of this obscure but very necessary art. Thanks, Raul.

THANK YOU for visiting my blog

You're welcome to post a comment before you leave.