Ailments and Injuries

Fun vs Funny

Politeness

Comparative Adjectives

Superlative Adjectives

Still, Yet and Already

I (subject pronoun) vs Me (object pronoun)

Meet vs Get Together

The difference between Meet and Get Together

It’s Friday night and you have plans to have a drink with your friends.
So what expression do we use in English to explain that you will join with your friends at the bar at 10pm?

A. I will meet my friends at the bar.
B. I will get together with my friends at the bar.
C. I will meet up with my friends at the bar.
Correct answer: we use all three!

However there is a difference between sentence A and the other two (B and C).

Meet is normally used to say the place or the time you will get together with another person (or people).
Let’s meet at the library.
Let’s meet at 5 o’clock.

The other two (get together with and meet up with) both mean the same thing and expresses that you will spend some time with your friends in person.

Will you call your friends? No
Will you chat with your friends online? No
You will get together with your friends.
Many times, English learners say that they meet their friends on Friday night, which sounds like they are meeting (or knowing them) for the first time. (Not possible, you already know them otherwise they wouldn’t be your friends)

When you meet someone, it is usually for the first time.
That is why we say “Nice to meet you” the first time you are presented to someone.

You can meet a person for the first time OR
You can meet a person at a place
You can meet a person at a specific time

What they want to say is that they meet up with / get together with their friends.

Look at the response to this question: What do you normally do on the weekend?
I meet my family (incorrect – you already know them)
I get together with my family (correct – you plan to spend some time with them)

To meet = to reunite in a specific place (at a specific time)
I can’t leave work early, so I’ll just meet you at the bar.
To meet = to be introduced to someone for the first time.
Jack doesn’t want us to meet his girlfriend, so we don’t know if she’s real or imaginary.

To meet up = to make plans to be with someone in person
Can we meet up tomorrow to go over the new contract?

To get together = to make plans to be with someone and to spend time with them
I haven’t seen you for months! Let’s get together for coffee.
Olivia and Paul get together with their children every Thanksgiving.

There is also a noun form of To get together:

Get-together = (noun) a small informal meeting or social gathering
Let’s have a get-together at my place tonight.

taken from:
http://www.woodwardenglish.com/meet-get-together-difference/

Prepositions in Expressions of Time

Time phrases are words that show the verb tense we need to use

Note: We say at night when we are talking about all of the night:
Example: He sleeps during the day and works at night.

But we say in the night when we are talking about a short time during the night:
Example: He woke up twice in the night.

taken from:

http://languagelearningbase.com/88672/prepositions-in-expression-of-time-in-at-on-ago

Difference Between TO and FOR

To

Used to indicate the place, person, or thing that someone or something moves toward, or the direction of something, used to indicate relationship, used to indicate a limit or an ending point

For

Used to indicate the use of something, used to mean because of, used to indicate time or duration.

taken from:

http://languagelearningbase.com/87694/to-vs-for-a-very-simple-explanation

Conditionals 1, 2, 3

English Vocabulary - Talking about Shopping

Modal Verbs: Advice

When Not to Use an Article

House Chores

Modal Verbs

Modal verbs are superverbs, they are auxiliary verbs and are used to express various meanings yet, they can not be used alone, they must always be followed by a verb in infinitive.. The modal verbs include can, must, may, might, will, would, should. They are used with other verbs to express ability, obligation, possibility, and so on. Below is a list showing the most useful modals and their most common meanings:






Modal                        Meaning                                       Example
can                             to express ability                          I can speak a little Russian.
can                             to request permission                   Can I open the window?
may                            to express possibility                   I may be home late.
may                            to request permission                   May I sit down, please?
must                           to express obligation                    I must go now.
must                           to express strong belief                She must be over 90 years old.
should                        to give advice                               You should stop smoking.
would                        to request or offer                         Would you like a cup of tea?
would                        in if-sentences                               If I were you, I would say sorry.

Modal verbs are unlike other verbs. They do not change their form (spelling) and they have no infinitive or participle (past/present). The modals must and can need substitute verbs to express obligation or ability in the different tenses. Here are some examples:

Past simple:            Sorry I'm late. I had to finish my math test.
Present perfect:      She's had to return to Korea at short notice.
Future:                   You'll have to work hard if you want to pass the exams.
Infinitive:               I don't want to have to go.

Past simple             I couldn't until I was 3 years old.

                               I wasn't able to walk until I was 3 years old.
Present perfect       I haven't been able to solve this problem. Can you help?
Future                     I'm not sure if I will be able to come to your party.
Infinitive                I would love to be able to play the piano.

Modals are auxiliary verbs. They do not need an additional auxiliary in negatives or questions. For example: Must I come?

(Do I must come?), or:He shouldn't smoke (He doesn't should smoke) WRONG.

http://esl.fis.edu/grammar/rules/modal.htm

Brandy - Have You Ever (1998)

Listen to this song by Brandy and practice the Present Perfect tense by completing the lyrics below using the past participle of the verbs in parenthesis.




"Have You Ever?"

[Chorus]
Have you ever _______(love) somebody so much
It makes you cry
Have you ever _______(need) something so bad
You can't sleep at night
Have you ever ______(try) to find the words
But they don't come out right
Have you ever, have you ever?

Have you ever ______(be) in love
Been in love so bad
You'd do anything to make them understand
Have you ever _______(have)someone steal your heart away
You'd give anything to make them feel the same
Have you ever ________(search) for words to get you in their heart
But you don't know what to say
And you don't know where to start
[Chorus]

Have you ever _______ (find) the one
You've _______(dream) of all of your life
You'd do just about anything to look into their eyes
Have you finally _______(find) the one you've given your heart to
Only to find that one won't give their heart to you
Have you ever _______(closed) your eyes and
Dreamed that they were there
And all you can do is wait for the day when they will care
[Chorus]

What do I gotta do to get you in my arms baby
What do I gotta say to get to your heart
To make you understand how I need you next to me
Gotta get you in my world
'Cuz baby I can't sleep
[Chorus]

First Conditional

¨We use the First Conditional to talk about future events that are likely to happen. We use the first conditional to talk about something that will happen (the result), if a particular condition (which is likely to happen) is met. Notice that the “if” clause (condition) is expressed in the present and the result or consequence clause is expressed

in the future using “will”.

Example: 

                                  If it rains, I will stay at home.

We are talking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition or situation in the future, and the result of this condition. There is a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, it is morning. You are at home. You plan to play tennis this afternoon. But there are some clouds in the sky. Imagine that it rains. What will you do? Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. It is not raining yet. But the sky is cloudy and you think that it could rain. We use the Present Simple tense to talk about the possible future condition. We use will + base verb to talk about the possible future result. The important thing about the first conditional is that there is a real possibility that the condition will happen.

¨If (condition) Present Simple, will + base verb (result) 

Examples:
If we invite John, he'll be really pleased.
condition result/likely consequence
If you give me some money, I'll pay you back tomorrow.

If they tell us they want it, we'll have to give it to them.
If Mary comes, she'll want to drive.

The 'if' clause can be used with different present forms:
If I go to New York again, I'll buy you a souvenir from the Empire State Building. (Present Simple)
If he's feeling better, he'll come. (Present Progressive)
If she hasn't heard the bad news yet, I'll tell her. (Present Perfect)

¨The “if” clause and the “will” clause can change positions but “will” cannot be in the same clause as the “if” clause. 

Example:
If they do not pass their exam, their teacher will be sad.
Their teacher will be sad if they do not pass their exam. 

If it rains tomorrow, will you stay at home?
Will you stay at home if it rains tomorrow?

If Mary wins the lottery, she will buy a new car.
Mary will buy a new car if she wins the lottery.

Wrong:
If Mary will win the lottery, she will buy a car. X

Punctuation marks

Lend vs. Borrow