(Yet to be edited) Source: Wikipedia (Believe it or not!)

Kinds of adverbial clauses

Here is some interesting an curious information about wedding traditions in different countries. Hope you enjoy it!

African Wedding Traditions:

Africa is a large and varied continent containing some of the oldest civilizations on earth. It is home to a wide diversity of religions and cultures, and this colorful diversity is reflected in its diverse and colorful weddings traditions.

If any one wedding tradition might be said to be indicative of the African continent it would be the importance of family. An African wedding is, more than anything, the bringing together of two people as a single family, or the combining of two families or even the mixture of two tribes into one family unit. The concept of family is one of the unifying ideas of the African continent.

Read this article at the source:

http://www.worldweddingtraditions.com/locations/african_traditions.html

American wedding Traditions
Generally in American weddings the tradition is that the best man would auction the garter. Another most common tradition is a wedding reel. Generally wedding guests form two separate lines and they pay dollar to newly wed for their dance.

Chinese Wedding Traditions
Red the color of prosperity, love and joy is used in a varied number of ways in traditional Chinese wedding. Before the wedding day the bride goes in complete seclusion with her friend as par the tradition. Astrological signs play a significant role in the Chinese weddings.

Indian Wedding Traditions
Like China, red plays a significant role in traditional Indian weddings. In traditional Hindu marriages, the boy and the girl exchange wedding vows. There are many customary rituals performed during the wedding ceremony. These are done to ward off evil spirits.

More on this topic  at the source:

http://travel.mapsofworld.com/wedding/wedding-traditions-around-the-world/index.html

Halloween, Dia de los Muertos, and All Saint’s Day

Holidays, festivals and celebrations by country: http://www.topics-mag.com/internatl/holidays/festivals.htm Birthdays: Birthdays in Australia When children are young they celebrate birthdays with their family members. They always have a birthday cake, which is a sponge cake that is iced with candles on top. If you are five you have five candles, if you are nine you have nine. Other foods that people have to eat include sausage rolls, tiny red sausages,bread with hundreds and thousands sprinkled on top, chips, twisties, fresh fruit, cheese blocks and lots of lollies!There is quite a range of foods that people eat and it often depends on an individual family’s food choices. Teenagers like to have barbecues or pizzas. Found more information on this topic here: (The source) http://library.thinkquest.org/10007/ Other Holidays: Independence/National Days Definition: Independence or National Days are perhaps the most important day for a country to commemorate as a national holiday. For many nations the date is the country’s day of independence, often in hard fought battles to claim their freedom. Some national holidays commemorate a significant day in the history of the country, or the birth of a national hero who helped establish the day the country’s independence was declared. The following list signifies the month each country listed below celebrates Independence Day, National Day or other significant day. January Camaroon – Independence Day January 1 Haiti – Independence Day January 1 Western Samoa – Independence Day January 1 Sudan – Independence Day January 1 Burma – Independence Day January 4 Chad – Independence Day January 11 Australia – Australia Day January 26 Nauru – Independence Day January 31 Source: http://www.kidsturncentral.com/holidays/glossary/holidaysgloss.htm

]]> http://freeenglishworld.wordpress.com/2009/10/15/holidays-around-the-world/feed/ 0 freeenglishworld http://freeenglishworld.wordpress.com/2009/10/15/past-form-of-regular-and-irregular-verbs/ http://freeenglishworld.wordpress.com/2009/10/15/past-form-of-regular-and-irregular-verbs/#comments Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:24:36 +0000 freeenglishworld http://freeenglishworld.wordpress.com/?p=67 ]]> Regular and irregular verbs

Pronunciation of Irregular Verbs

The difference between regular and irregular verbs is that they have different endings for their past tense and past participle forms.

For regular verbs, the past tense ending and past participle ending is always the same: -ed.

For irregular verbs, the past tense ending and the past participle ending is variable, so it is necessary to learn them by heart.

regular verbs: base, past tense, past participle

• look, looked, looked
• work, worked, worked

irregular verbs: base, past tense, past participle

• buy, bought, bought
• cut, cut, cut
• do, did, done

S: Can I help you, (sir/maam)?

S: How can I help you?

S: Do you see anything you like?

C: Could you help me?

C: I wonder if you could help me?

C: Excuse me.

C: Could I see (this one?/that one?/that one over there?)

C: What about (this one?/that one?/that one over there?)

F2 Refusing help:

C: I’m just looking, thank you.

C: I’m just window shopping, thank you.

C: I’m just browsing, thank you.

C: I don’t need any help, thanks.

F3 Asking if the shop has something:

C: Have you got any (rubies/silver bracelets)?

C: Do you sell (film/towels)?

C: Do you have any (beer/rubies)?

C: I’m looking for (a silver necklace/a map of Tachilek).

C: Do you have (any/one) in (blue/green)?

C: Do they come in a (larger/smaller) size?

C: Do you have a different (style/pattern/model/brand)?

C: Do you have anything cheaper?

F4 Responding when the shop doesn’t have something:

S: I’m sorry, we’re out of (them/that brand/that model/that design) at the moment.

S: Sorry, we don’t have that. You could try (that shop/over there).

S: Sorry, we don’t have any (beer/rubies).

S: I’m sorry, we don’t have any in stock right now.

S: I’m sorry, that’s the last one, sorry.

S: I’m sorry, that’s the last one we have in stock.

We won’t be getting any more in for weeks.

S: I’m sorry, that’s the only (kind/style/pattern/model/brand/size) we have.

F5 Asking the price:

C: How much is this?

C: How much does this cost?

C: What’s the price of (this pattern/that one)?

C: How much is this?

C: How much do you want for it?

C: I can’t afford that.

C: That’s too much.

C: Could you give me a discount?

C: Could you reduce the price a little?

S: It’s (120 baht).

S: I’m sorry, I’ll lose money on it if I sell it for that much.

S: Sorry sir, I can’t give it to you it for that much.

C: (Will/would) you take (100 baht) ?

C: What about (120 baht)?

C: (100 baht) is my last offer, take it or leave it.

S: I can’t let it go for less than (300 baht).

F6 Making suggestions:

S: You can wear this when you (dress up/need something casual/go out to dinner)

S: This one would be a nice gift for your (daughter/wife/mother/son/sweetheart/ girlfriend/fiance).

S: A (belt/necklace/ring) would go well with that.

S: Would you like a (belt/hat/ring) to go with that.

C: What goes well with red?

C: Do you have anything that goes well with red?

S: This would be a nice souvenir of your (trip to Thailand/visit to Tachileik).

S: This gift is just a little something to remember me by.

S: We also have one (in green).

S: This goes well with your (blouse/hair/eyes).

F7 Making a choice:

C: I’ll take this one, please.

S: How many do you want?

S: How many would you like?

C: I’ll take (one/five/a dozen) of these, please.

C: This is what I’m looking for.

C: I think I’ll leave that one for next time.

F8 Paying:

C: Altogether, how much is it?

C: Could you put it in a (bag/box) for me, please?

F9 Giving change.

S: Sorry, I don’t have any change.

C: This is the smallest I have.

S: Do you have anything smaller?

F10 Ordering or reserving something

C: Can I order it?

C: How long will it take?

S: It will take (two weeks/a month).

S: I’ll have to check with my supplier first.

S: You have to leave a deposit.

S: Here is your receipt.

S: Please sign here.

F11 Pickup and delivery of merchandise:

C: I’ve come to collect (my ring/my pants).

C: When will it be ready?

C: Can I pick it up later?

F12 Leaving the shop:

C: Thanks for your help.

C: Thank you, you’ve been helpful.

C: Thank you, you’ve been a great help.

S: Please come again.

S: Please stop by next time you’re in (Maesai/Tachileik/Thailand).

C: I’m not sure what I want yet. I may come back.

S: Hope to see you again.

Source: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/square/3472/index.html#roleplay

Download this chart here/Descarga esta tabla acá: (da clic sobre el enlace “Materials 1.0″)

Materials1.0

Just wanted to recommend these podcasts. Practice listening with them:

Colors and Materials:

http://linguavirtus.podbean.com/2009/05/20/look-ahead-program-25-colors-and-materials/

Comparisons in English:

http://linguavirtus.podbean.com/2009/03/01/mini-look-ahead-comparisons/

Clothing Vocabulary and Expressions:

http://linguavirtus.podbean.com/2009/03/01/mini-look-ahead-clothing/

I appreciate your comments!

Manny H.

The audio file for these expressions is here (copy and paste the address if it doesn’t open automatically):

AUDIO – AUDIO -http://linguavirtus.podbean.com/ (Audio for Listening) AUDIO – AUDIO

Click on “Telephone English Expressions”

Download as a pdf document:

Telephone Language1.0 PRINTABLE PDF DOCUMENT

Telephone Language

Here are some typical phrases that you can use in a telephone conversation.

Have a great day!

Personal Information:

1. Where are you from?

I’m (originally) from City/Country.

2. What do you do?

I’m a/an profession/occupation. I work for (name of the company).

3. Do you like working there?

Yes, I enjoy working there because (reason).

4. What time do you start work?

I usually start work at/around ________.

5. Is English or difficult for you?

Some aspects of English are easy for me; for example, I do well on reading comprehension but I  have a hard time with writing.

Family Life:

6. Do you come from a big family?

Yes, I come from a rather big family. There are nine people in my family; my parents, my six siblings and me.  OR No, I come from a small family. I am an only child.

7. Do they all live in this city?

No, only my parents live here. Two of my siblings live in another city and the rest live abroad.

8. What do your parents do?

My mother is a housewife and my dad is a retired high school teacher.

Doing well on an interview is just as important as doing well on the other sections of the exam, as this will not only raise your score, but give you an edge in the event the exam is linked to a job that requires you to speak in English!

Before the Interview:

1. If not already taking an English course, take a pre-test to determine your current level of English and what needs to be addressed as far as grammar, pronunciation, fluency, issues. Tip: Find an English teacher or a friend with an advanced level of English (even better if native) and ask him/her to interview you and provide you with feedback afterwards.
2. Write an introduction of yourself. In this introduction you should include relevant information about your past, present and future life: Family life, profession/occupation, hobbies, past experiences, goals for the future, etc.
3. Practice reading the previous description in front of a mirror. Make sure you look at the mirror every now and then, this way you can learn to keep eye contact. When you can do it well enough, do it in front of an English teacher or a person with a level higher than yours. Ask them to give you some feedback on it.
4. Convert the information from your description into questions and practice with a partner. Answer each question in a complete way. Make sure you include key information from the question in your answer. For example: What do you think you will have achieved by the end of the year? Possible Answer: By the end of the year, I think I will have gotten married.

On the day of the interview:

• Make sure you arrive at the testing center well before the test.
• Greet the interviewer and wait for instructions.
• If you miss part of the question, ask for a repetition.
• Maintain eye contact with the interviewer but don’t stare.
• Be mindful of your pronunciation and grammar, as well as volume and speed.
• Smile and maintain a pleasant attitude.
• Do your best!

Tips:

• Keep your nerves under control, take a deep breath and don’t panic!
• As soon as you hear each question take a few seconds to formulate your answer.
• Try to answer the questions in a natural way using simple language.

Warnings:

• Avoid asking the interviewer personal questions or not related to the interview.
• An interview is not the occasion to try you newly learned vocabulary.
• Don’t ask the interviewer to teach you new vocabulary or expressions.

Coming up: Sample questions and answers. I must-read!