See you soon!

There is no good in goodbye. But we have to. Time passes so quickly that we cannot believe that it is the right time to say it. We have to admit that it has been a pleasure to form part of all of you. This project has been really important for us in our development process as English philologists, and we hope that it has being also useful for all English learners. We can say that we have learnt how to prepare a lesson in order to explain it, how to look for exercises and how to make it easier in order to be understood, among other important technological issues. We realize as future philologists that using media is a powerful tool and there are only positive things in its use. We say goodbye, but having had a great experience.


Signed: Actions Galore Team.

TELL vs. SAY exercises

TELL VS. SAY

Gap-fill exercise

Fill in all the gaps, then press "Check" to check your answers. Use the "Hint" button to get a free letter if an answer is giving you trouble. You can also click on the "[?]" button to get a clue. Note that you will lose points if you ask for hints or clues!

She the kids such a beautiful story about a fairy yesterday.
I can honestly that I like your painting.
She that your are the one who stole a camera last night.
He me to buy him a coffee after the exam.
She us to go to the gym if we want to build some muscles.
What does the article about disabled children?

Gerunds and infinitives.

Hi everybody!! My lesson of today is about Gerunds and Infinitives, a difficult lesson because is difficult to know when to use Gerunds and Infinitives.  Well when one verb follows another, the first verb determines the form of the second.

  

We use gerund:  (verb + ing)

- After verbs.

- After preposition.

- As the subject of a sentence.

This is the list of the common verbs that are usually followed by the gerund:

Admit, avoid, can’t help, can’t stand, carry on, deny, enjoy, fancy, finish, give up, keep on, imagine, involve, mind, miss, postpone, practise, risk, stop, suggest.

For example:

I enjoyed living in France.

I fancy seeing a film tonight.

We discussed going on holiday together, I dislike waiting for buses.

We have finished preparing for the meeting.

I don’t mind coming early. 

He suggested staying at the grand hotel. 

We use infinitive with to:

- After verbs.

- After many adjectives.

- To show purpose.

The list of verbs which is followed by “to” and the infinitive:

Agree, appear, be able to, can’t afford, can’t wait, decide, expect, happen, have (got), help, learn, manage, offer, plan, pretend, promise, refuse, seem, teach, tend, threaten, want, would like.

She agreed to give a presentation at the meeting. 

I asked to leave early.

We decide to go out for dinner. 

He helped to clean the kitchen. 

He helped this flatmate to clean the kitchen. 

She plans to buy a new flat next year.

I hope to pass the exam.

We use infinitive without to:

-           After modal verbs.

-           After let, make, and sometimes help.

-           After some verbs of perception such as see, watch, hear, notice, feel, sense.

-          After expressions with why.

The list of modal verbs: Can, may, might, must, should, had better, and would rather.

I can meet you at six o’clock. 

The teacher let us leave nearly.

Why go out the night before an exam?

• Some verbs can be followed by either with no change meaning:

Begin, start, continue, like, prefer, hate, love.

Gerund: Generally---- Infinitive: Specific occasion.

• But some verbs that can be followed by either with a change of meaning:

1.       Remember + infinitive: Remember first, and then you do  something.

      Remember + gerund: You do something then you remember it.

2.       Forget + infinitive: You dind’t remember to do something.

      Forget+ gerund: You did something and you won’t forget it.

3.      Try+ infinitive: make an effort to do something.

     Try+ gerund: Experiment to see if something works.

Differences between TELL and SAY

The difference between TELL and SAY

The meanings of these two verbs, tell and say, are similar. The main meaning of tell is to "say or write something to someone." The main meaning of say is to "use your voice to express something in words." However, there are some clear and easy rules to follow about when to use these two words, as shown below.

 Rules for Tell and Say 

Tell is used only to instruct or inform, and when the receiver of the information is included as an object of the verb. Do not use it for quotes.

Examples:
.    Can you tell me what happened?

·         Has she told you the good news, yet?

·         She told us a story in which a cat could talk.

·         He told us to leave the room.

Say is used for exact quotes, and when the receiver isn’t mentioned in the sentence. It is also used to express opinions.

Examples:

• I just stopped by to say hello.
• I said three words before he interrupted me again.
• I wouldn't say that he's a great guitarist [=I don't think he's a great guitarist].
• They say that you should drink eight glasses of water a day.

This is a brief and easy explanation about the differences between tell and say but, if you still have any doubts about this matter, just ask me anything you want and I will be happy to give you a response!

Posted by: Francisco M. Alfonso Sánchez

Pronunciation Practice #5 - Homographs

Matching exercise

Match the items on the right to the items on the left.

Con'tent	??? In order to content her, I bought her the doll. Somebody has to record this. Don't try to convince me with those presents. There is a big record of all these letters. Do you have something to object? I don't want to present it to you. Can you see the contrast between the two? What is the content of that bottle? There is a strange object on the table. You should contrast opinions.
'Content	??? In order to content her, I bought her the doll. Somebody has to record this. Don't try to convince me with those presents. There is a big record of all these letters. Do you have something to object? I don't want to present it to you. Can you see the contrast between the two? What is the content of that bottle? There is a strange object on the table. You should contrast opinions.
Con'trast	??? In order to content her, I bought her the doll. Somebody has to record this. Don't try to convince me with those presents. There is a big record of all these letters. Do you have something to object? I don't want to present it to you. Can you see the contrast between the two? What is the content of that bottle? There is a strange object on the table. You should contrast opinions.
'Contrast	??? In order to content her, I bought her the doll. Somebody has to record this. Don't try to convince me with those presents. There is a big record of all these letters. Do you have something to object? I don't want to present it to you. Can you see the contrast between the two? What is the content of that bottle? There is a strange object on the table. You should contrast opinions.
Ob'ject	??? In order to content her, I bought her the doll. Somebody has to record this. Don't try to convince me with those presents. There is a big record of all these letters. Do you have something to object? I don't want to present it to you. Can you see the contrast between the two? What is the content of that bottle? There is a strange object on the table. You should contrast opinions.
'Object	??? In order to content her, I bought her the doll. Somebody has to record this. Don't try to convince me with those presents. There is a big record of all these letters. Do you have something to object? I don't want to present it to you. Can you see the contrast between the two? What is the content of that bottle? There is a strange object on the table. You should contrast opinions.
Pre'sent	??? In order to content her, I bought her the doll. Somebody has to record this. Don't try to convince me with those presents. There is a big record of all these letters. Do you have something to object? I don't want to present it to you. Can you see the contrast between the two? What is the content of that bottle? There is a strange object on the table. You should contrast opinions.
'Present	??? In order to content her, I bought her the doll. Somebody has to record this. Don't try to convince me with those presents. There is a big record of all these letters. Do you have something to object? I don't want to present it to you. Can you see the contrast between the two? What is the content of that bottle? There is a strange object on the table. You should contrast opinions.
Re'cord	??? In order to content her, I bought her the doll. Somebody has to record this. Don't try to convince me with those presents. There is a big record of all these letters. Do you have something to object? I don't want to present it to you. Can you see the contrast between the two? What is the content of that bottle? There is a strange object on the table. You should contrast opinions.
'Record	??? In order to content her, I bought her the doll. Somebody has to record this. Don't try to convince me with those presents. There is a big record of all these letters. Do you have something to object? I don't want to present it to you. Can you see the contrast between the two? What is the content of that bottle? There is a strange object on the table. You should contrast opinions.

Pronunciation Tip #5 - Homographs

(AUDIO TRANSCRIPTION) 
There are certain verbs which, depending on the context, can also function as nouns, so it can be quite confusing if you do not pay attention to the differences between them in terms of pronunciation. They usually vary with respect to the syllable where the stress is placed. Here are some examples (stress marked with an apostrophe):

Con'tent   (v.) vs.   'Content   (n.)

Examples: I content myself with passing the exam.

You'd better not know the contents of that box.

                    

Con'trast   (v.) vs. 'Contrast   (n.)

Examples: I always like to contrast the information.

There is a contrast between the two pictures.

Dis'count   (v.) vs.   'Discount   (n.)

Examples: They discounted 30 dollars off the price of the coat.

They are selling fridges at a discount.

E'ssay   (v.) vs.   'Essay   (n.)

Examples: The infant had essayed a few wobbly steps.

Essays often drive me mad

Ob'ject   (v.) vs.   'Object   (n.)

Examples: He objected that his motives had been good.

He is an object of affection.

Pre'sent   (v.) vs.   'Present   (n.)

Examples: I want to present my new project.

It is time to buy the Christmas presents.

Pro'ject   (v.) vs.   'Project   (n.)

Examples: It projected the slide onto a screen.

My new project is based on animal behaviour.

Pro'test   (v.) vs.   'Protest   (n.)

Examples: Thousands protested the election fraud.

Some protests are often followed by fights.

Re'cord    (v.) vs.   'Record  (n.)

Examples: She recorded her thoughts in a diary.

This has been the coldest day on record.

Re'ject   (v.) vs.   'Reject    (n.)

Examples: The manager rejected all requests for time off.

He is a reject from the varsity team.