Monthly Archives: December 2013

Happy, happy Christmas!!!

General

Now , guys, here it comes again! This time of the year when I feel torn apart between my desire to celebrate all the good things life has given me and all the things life has taken away from me (shall I say “people”?).
So I can never guess what my mood is going to be like when I write my Christmas post ; sometimes it is a tearjerker ( most of the times) and sometimes I am just the biggest fan of these holidays.
But this year I feel  my mood is going to be quite festive and I have even promised myself I’ll try my hardest to wear my sweatpants only when going to the gym and to dress up in sequins whenever the occasion demands it ; to be nice , polite and kind towards everybody, to struggle not to speak my mind even though the occasion might require it and to try to understand  that though everybody has a table and chairs at home to rotate the family gathering , it is me everybody loves and that must be the reason why year after year everybody decides to celebrate all the gatherings in my blessed house where ,it goes without saying, my dear mother gently suggests that I use my best wedding presents to decorate the table even though she knows I won’t be able to put them in the washing machine and I’ll have to spend hours washing everything up!!
So, after so much giving and giving I’ve decided, these holidays, to treat myself to some getting and getting. (prompt… this is where you need to watch the video ) and this is where the photo of my kitchen window applies.

Christmas is a mere four days away and I want to wish you the best of Christmas and advise you to treat yourselves once or twice during these holidays. You deserve it, don’t you?
Happy, happy Christmas!!! And please, enjoy every minute because life … is just this!

Word of the Day: Selfie

Word of the Day

Did you know that the English language doesn’t have a Real Academia de la Lengua? Well, if you don’t know, it might be an excellent idea to read a post I published about four years ago on this subject. Here.

The word “selfie” has been chosen as WORD OF THE YEAR by Oxford Dictionaries. The word, research shows, has increased its frequency by 17,000% in the last year and it was added to the Oxford Dictionaries Online in August although you might not find it in any printed dictionary right now.

I am going to share a little secret with you. It was my birthday yesterday. I am not going to tell you how long I’ve been around (that’s a most private matter) but I feel good. I feeeel goood!!! Whoa-oa-oa!! Well, there might be “some” things ( to be honest, the word “some” falls somehow short) I’d like to change about me but, all in all, I am not complaining.
Now, to commemorate my birthday I wanted to upload a new selfie to my social networking site. I took like ten pictures with my mobile only to realize ( I was utterly devastated!!!  🙁 ) that even  though I might feel as fit as a teenager -in an adult’s body- sadly, my age shows on my face. As wisdom comes with age,  I have decided to stick to the one I uploaded in the summer. I know, I know … not so long ago but there’s a huge difference between a fresh image enjoying the warm open air and one taken under the freezing air of December. I am sure you’ll agree!

So, what’s a selfie?

Selfie is defined by Oxford Dictionaries as “a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website”.

Now, how often do you change your selfie ?

Speaking: Fashion and Trends

Pictures, Speaking, , , , ,

I’m really stressed now. Internet has been down for three days and I only had it serviced this morning after  countless phone calls to the company.

Preparing exams, marking exams, preparing classes, publishing…. this is all part of who I am and what I do for a living …. but listen!, catching up on  my email has been nothing short of a nightmare. Christmas is coming and it seems all the companies have got hold of my email address ’cause there were like 500 emails waiting for me. Most of them junk! Really, if I get one more email informing me that I can get a 40% discount in ( insert shop here) I am going to go postal.

Anyway, I am sure my students have been checking my site to see if I have published their last oral test as promised. Here it is guys! Sorry to keep you waiting !

The topic: Fashion and Trends

First of all, three nice pictures you need to use as an excuse to talk  about the given topic

and now some questions to talk about. Time to show off, guys!

A word on Grammar : Position of Adverbs in the Sentence and Confusing Adverbs and Adverbial Expressions

A word on Grammar, , ,

Exams are right around the corner and it is time to get down to some serious study and also time to pull your socks up. I don’t want any of you failing !

Learning the position of Adverbs in the sentence is one of the  areas of grammar where the students’ instinct as to what sounds right or wrong will probably be more useful than studying  the rules.

There are lots of adverbs that end in -ly; a useful tip  would be to, when in doubt, put adverbs not ending in -ly  ( even, just…etc) in mid -position  that is, before the main verb.

Watch this presentation to help you remember the position of adverbs in the sentence but be ready to rely on your instinct whenever you are not sure.

and now that we are on the subject, let’s have a look at some confusing adverbs and adverbial expressions. There is a post published some time ago, dealing specifically with the confusing expressions at the end and in the end . Click here to read it and do some exercises!!

Now, click on the image to see the pdf below