The Eurostar.

You may have heard that hundreds of train passengers were trapped under the English Channel this weekend when the Eurostar they were traveling in broke down on its way from France to England.

Here's what the BBC had to say about this event.




http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8423780.stm

Simple Present (forms).

Using the verb "to work" as an example, here are the verb forms for the Simple Present verb tense.

Positive Form.

The first thing you will notice is the adding of the letter "s" to the verb for the third person singular.

I work
You work
He works
She works
It works
We work
You work
They work.

Negative Form.

With the negative form you will notice that the verb always remains in its infinitive. It is the auxiliary "do" which is conjugated. Notice the third person singular.

I do not (don't) work.
You do not (don't) work.
He does not (doesn't) work.
She does not (doesn't) work.
It does not (doesn't) work.
We do not (don't) work.
You do not (don't) work.
They do not (don't) work.

Question Form.

As with the negative form, it is the auxiliary which is conjugated while the verb remains infinitive.

Do I work?
Do you work?
Does he work?
Does she work?
Does it work?
Do we work?
Do you work?
Do they work?

Simple Present.

Some of the main uses of the Simple Present verb tense are:

- Repeated actions.
Simple Present is used to express that an action is repeated or usual. This can be a habit, a hobby, a scheduled event or a daily event.

Ex: I play golf.
She works every day.
They speak English.

- Facts or generalizations.
You can use the Simple Present to express that a fact was true before, is true now and will be true in the future.

Ex: He likes music.
It snows in Quebec City.

- Scheduled events in the near future.
Simple Present is used to express scheduled events such as;

Bus leaves at 5 o'clock.
The class starts at 3 o'clock.

A vs. AN.

Here are a few basic things to remember when asking yourself if you should use the indefinite article "a" or "an" when preceding a noun.

1- Use the indefinite article "a" before a singular noun that begins with a consonant sound.

A car
A table
A job
A bag

2- Use the indefinite article "an" before a singular noun that begins with a vowel sound.

An apple
An eye
An orange
An idea

3- Nouns that start with "H" and "U" can cause some confusion.

- If the "H" is silent, use the indefinite article "an".

An hour

- If the "H" is pronounced, use the indefinite article "a".

A helicopter

- If the "U" is pronounced as a vowel, use the indefinite article "an".

An umbrella

- If the "U" is pronounced as a consonant, such as in the sound "you", use the indefinite article "a".

A university


Here is a link to an exercise that might be of some use to you.

http://www.anglaisfacile.com/exercices/exercice-anglais-2/exercice-anglais-4547.php

ESL biography. Bob Dylan.

As I stated in my first post, this blog is a constantly evolving entity. One idea I had was the creation of a series of posts that would showcase the lives of certain artists, writers and personalities that I find interesting for various reasons.

So I'll take a moment to illustrate one such personality, Bob Dylan. Widely regarded as one of the leading artists of his generation, Dylan wrote some of the 1960's most memorable song lyrics.

This passage is from his song Like a Rolling Stone, written in 1965;

Once upon a time you dressed so fine
You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you?
People'd call, say, "Beware doll, you're bound to fall"
You thought they were all kiddin' you
You used to laugh about
Everybody that was hangin' out
Now you don't talk so loud
Now you don't seem so proud
About having to be scrounging for your next meal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?




Or how about this one from his 1963 classic, The Times They Are A-Changin'?

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.



If you're interested in learning more about Dylan, check out these links.


http://www.biography.com/articles/Bob-Dylan-9283052

http://www.bobdylan.com/

http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/bobdylan/biography

Using song lyrics to improve your English.

One way that an ESL learner, that's English as a Second Language learner, can build upon his vocabulary and increase his listening ability is by using lyrics. Lyrics are the words of a song.

There are loads of resources available on the web for those interested in trying this out. You can find the lyrics to pretty much any song ever written at the click of a mouse.

I have pretty much always been a fan of Pink Floyd, the British rock group. I've included a link to the lyrics as well as another link to a video of the song Wish You Were Here.

Try it out.

http://www.guntheranderson.com/v/data/wishyouw.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXdNnw99-Ic

Much vs. Many.

Well I guess that riding out out a snowstorm is as good a time as any to sit down and talk about the difference between the English words much and many.

Remember this

Whether to use much or many depends greatly upon the noun to be considered. For example: Should it be "there was much snow on the ground" or should it be, "there was many snow on the ground"?

Well, you use much with noun that are called non-countable nouns. For words such as sugar, snow and water.

You use many with nouns that are called countable nouns. For words such as car, chair and cup.

So it is "There is much snow" and, "There are many cars".