Questions in the Simple Present

Listen to Mohamed explain how to make Yes/No questions with do and does.

Now try to do Exercise 28 in your book (pp. 74-75).

Finally, in this video, Paul explains the difference between negatives and questions with BE and negatives and questions with DO.

Main Verbs and Helping Verbs / Negative Sentences in the Simple Present

We use helping verbs to form different verb tenses and aspects.

DO and DOES
We use do to form negatives and questions in the simple present. (Remember, if the subject is 3rd person singular--he, she, it--use does.) The main verb after do/does is in the simple form.

Examples:
*Barack Obama does not live in Chicago now.
(In speech, you can contract does + not => doesn't)

*I do not understand Arabic.
(Contraction: do + not => don't)

*Where do you live?

*Does Mary attend classes at the University of Maryland?

DID
We use the past tense of do--did--to form negatives and questions in the simple past. 
We use did for all persons. The main verb after did is in the simple form.
The contraction of did + not => didn't.

Examples:
*Jack did not do his homework.

*Did the teacher write the homework on the board?

BE
We use be as an auxiliary verb to form the present and past progressive (continuous). Use the present form (am, is, are) for the present progressive. use the past form of be (was, were) for the past progressive. The main verb after any form of be is in the present participle (Ving) form.

Remember! Both do and be can also be main verbs.

Examples:
*The students do their homework.
*The students are in class every day.

In this video, Paul talks about the auxiliary verbs do and be and main verbs (3 minutes):

In the next video, he talks about do as a helping verb in the simple present (4 minutes):

These videos are a good review of Chart 3-9. Paul speaks very slowly and clearly.

Every day / Once a day / Three times a week

Today, we did not have time to learn Chart 3-3, "Other Frequency Expressions." Please listen to MohamedESL explain the lesson to you. Then do Exercise 7 (pages 58-59) in your book. Mohamed also reviews Chart 3-4 in the same video.

Simple Present Tense: Daily Routines

The first video has a lot of vocabulary for daily activities. Careful! It's British English, so some vocabulary is different. In the UK, children "have lessons," but in the US, they "take classes." This video is good for learning how to say the phrases.

You can review and practice the vocabulary in the next video. As you watch, look for 1 spelling mistake.  Can you find it?

Also, some phrases are incorrect:

• I take a shower (or bath). (British English: have)
• I go to the toilet.
• I read the newspaper.

Another daily routine video. We watched this in class today.

Finally, here is the MohamedESL video for Chart 3-1.

Song: Preposition

Review your prepositions of place and learn some new ones with this little video.

"Preposition, it's your ambition
To tell me, tell me, tell me exactly my position. . . ."

Song: A Better Place / Playing for Change

Playing for Change makes music with people from all over the world, like this one:

Freedom and Justice
Is the melody that let us shine on
If you feel it through the music
We can make this world a better place

Freedom and Justice
Is the melody that let us shine on
If you feel it through the music
We can make this world a better place

Live together, love forever
Is the only thing we can do
Hold my hand, by me stand
We are gonna make it through

Freedom and Justice
Is the melody that let us shine on
If you feel it through the music
We can make this world a better place

African or American, we are all the same
Asian or European, we are all the same
Hi, Salut, Salaam, Shalom
Black or white, red or yellow,
We are all the same
We are all children of God
We are all the same, we are all the same.

This, That, These, and Those; Questions with Who and What + BE

Today I found a YouTube channel with videos in English and Arabic, based on our book! Review the demonstratives (this, that, these, and those) with this video:

Now review questions with BE using question words who and what:

Do you like to watch gymnastics?

Do you like to watch gymnastics? The University of Maryland gymnastics team competes against North Carolina at Comcast Center Saturday, January 26 at 7 p.m. Admission is free, so come and support the Terps!



GO TERPS!

Have and Has

We are learning about the verb have.

1. Watch this video about yes/no questions with have.
2. Watch this video to review sentences with have and has.
3. Watch this video to learn about negatives with have and has.

This and That (a Country Western Line Dance)

Today we learned the words this and that. They can be adjectives (this book or that homework) or pronouns (I want this. or Please give me that.)

First, learn some fruit vocabulary with this video. Then, in this video, Jennifer and Natasha practice asking and answering the question What's this?

This and that are singular.  The plural of this is these. The plural of that is those.  Watch this funny video about near (this, these) and far (that, those). 

For fun, watch this country western dance lesson. The name of the dance is "This and That". This class is for women, but the steps are the same for men. Try it! 




The words to the song "Woman" are below. The singer is Mark Chesnutt.

Woman, I know you better,

Probably even better

Than you even know yourself by now.
Now woman, where do you think you're going?

You know you're not going

To get any further than your mama's house

Before you turn around and come running back.

I know this and you know that

You're just mad and there's a chance,

A really good chance that I'm wrong again;

I usually am.
But girl you know as sure as rain

I'm always right about one thing

No little fight can change.

I'm your man; you're my woman.

Woman, you know I'm sorry

For me being such a sorry

Lousy, inconsiderate so-and-so,
So woman, now that we've got that over,

How 'bout* we skip over                                  *about

The part where you leave me

Standing in your dust

And start making up,

Glad to have you back.

I know this and you know that

You're just mad and there's a chance,

A really good chance that I'm wrong again;

I usually am.
But girl, you know as sure as rain

I'm always right about one thing

No little fight can change.

I'm your man, and you're my woman.

I know this and you know that

You're just mad and there's a chance,

A really good chance that I'm wrong again;

I usually am.
But girl, you know as sure as rain

I'm always right about one thing

No little fight can change.

I'm your man. You're my woman.

I might be a pain, but still the fact remains:

I’m your man.You’re my woman.

Questions with BE

Yesterday and today, we learned to make questions with the verb BE. We learned 2 kinds of questions:

1. Yes/No questions, like Is Alaa from Kuwait? (No, she isn't.)
2. Information questions, like Where is Alaa from? (She's from Saudi Arabia.)

We learned to make short answers to yes/no questions (Yes, she is. or No, she isn't.).

Review questions with BE here (4 minutes) and here (9 minutes). 

BONUS

We like to ask people, "Where are you from?" In this Real English video, watch and listen as people answer this question.

Finally, learn or review numbers in English with these videos:

1. Lesson 12: Counting from 0 to 10
2. Lesson 13: How many?
3. Lesson 14: Counting from 10 to 20
4. Lesson 15: Counting from 20 to 100
5. Lesson 16: Hundred, Thousand, and Million 

Present Tense of BE (Review)

Wow! We have finished Chapter 1 in Basic English Grammar.  There is a quiz on this chapter on Wednesday, so you should study and review the chapter.  

How to Study for a Quiz

1. Study the charts. Read the examples and the rules.

2. Review the exercises. If you made a mistake, pay attention!

3. Practice writing the sentences again.

4. Watch all the videos on the blog again. Maybe more than one time!

Here are some more videos to help you review: 

In this video, Jennifer reviews affirmative (+) and negative (-) statements with be. It's about 10 minutes long.

The first quiz will also test (1) consonant sounds and small and capital letters, and (2) the 100 Words.

This 4-minute video for young children shows how to form capital and small letters (and numbers 1 - 10). Some are different from my letters (for example, small Q and small X), and the position of the letters on a line is not clear, but I think it will be helpful for you.

Negatives and Adjectives

Today, we learned how to make negative sentences with be. It's very easy! We just put not after the verb: 

I am not a doctor. 
The students are not engineers.  
Meshari is not an engineer yet. 

We learned these contractions:
is not --> isn't
are not --> aren't

Watch this video about negative sentences with be. You will learn to make questions with be, too.

We also learned how to make sentences with be + adjective. An adjective is a word that modifies (describes or changes) a noun or pronoun. For example, easy, tired, yellow, and good are adjectives.

Here is a silly song about adjectives. Enjoy!

K is for Kite

Ray Bethell is an old man. He's from Canada. He can fly 3 kites at the same time. He has one kite in his right hand and one in his left hand. He has one kite tied to his waist.

Mr. Bethell makes the kites dance together in the air. It is beautiful to see! Watch the dancing kites in this video. The beautiful music is by Leo Delibes.

If you enjoyed this video, leave a comment! Click on Comments below.

Pronouns and Contractions

Today, we learned the subject pronouns with forms of be. We made sentences like 

"I have 2 brothers. They are students."  and
"I have a sister. She is married." and
"We are students."

Review the present forms of be (am, is, are) with Jennifer and Natasha:

Review the subject pronouns and the verb be with Jennifer and Natasha:

You can review the contractions with LearnAmericanEnglish here. This teacher speaks very slowly and clearly.

Homework:

1. Reading Unit 3 packet (The 100 Words): Do exercises 5 and 6. 
2. Read the story, "The Lion and the Mouse." Underline new words. Write up to 4 new words on the lines below the story. Write the meanings in English or Arabic.
3. Study the 100 words on Spelling City. They will be on the quiz next Wednesday. Also on the quiz: Basic English Grammar Chapter 1: "Using Be."

Singular and Plural Nouns; Articles

Today, we learned about singular and plural nouns. To make a noun plural, we usually add -s or -es to the singular noun (book --> books;  bus --> buses). You can review this here (2 minutes).

We also learned that we always begin proper nouns with a capital letter. Common nouns begin with a capital letter when they are the first word in a sentence. Review here (3 1/2 minutes). Tess, the speaker on this video, is from Australia. Her pronunciation is a little different from mine.

We learned that a/an means 1. We use a/an before singular nouns. We use a before a word that begins with a consonant sound (a book). We use an before a word that begins with a vowel sound (an eraser). A/an is an article.  English has 2 articles. The other article is the.  When do we use a/an, and when do we use the? Watch this video to find out (5 minutes).

Finally, just for fun, this video is a rap song about nouns (2 minutes).

Homework for tomorrow:

1. Reading (Unit 3) packet (The 100 Words): Do exercises 3-4.

2. Grammar (Chapter 1) packet: p. 5, exercise 7: Write 14 sentences. 

For example: A bear is an animal.

The Alphabet and Spelling City

Today, we learned about letters and sounds, capital (upper case) and small (lower case) letters, vowels and consonants. Watch this video (Lesson 7) to review the alphabet. Lesson 8 is about writing capital and small letters. Lesson 9 reviews the alphabet and also talks about spelling.

Today, we also practiced reading, saying, and spelling the 100 most common words in English. Memorize these words! You can practice them at Vocabulary and Spelling City. Click on Find a List. Enter the search term nliakos. Choose Search by Username. Click on Search. This takes you to my home page. Under Vocabulary and Spelling Lists, Click on >001. There are 2 lists. Practice both of them. Click on each word. You will hear

• the word
• the spelling
• the word in a sentence
• the word again

Then play some games to practice. Choose these games:

• Missing Letter (very easy!)
• Word Unscramble (good for learning spelling!)
• Audio Word Match (helps your memory)
• Word Search 
• Hang Mouse

When you are ready, do Spelling TestMe.

Hello! How are you?

Learn English with Jennifer!  Watch the videos. Listen and repeat.

Lesson 1: Greetings

Lesson 2: More Greetings

Lesson 3: Greetings Throughout the Day