"I" or "Me"?

The two personal pronouns I and me are often used wrongly, usually in sentences in which I is being used with another noun. Here are some tips to help you get it right:

• Use the pronoun I, along with other subjective pronouns such as we, he, she, you, and they,when the pronoun is the subject of a verb:

He went to bed.

We waited for the bus.

Clare and I are going for a coffee.

In the last example, the pronoun I, together with the proper noun Clare, forms the subject of the sentence, so you need to use I rather than me.

• Use the pronoun me, along with other objective pronouns such as us, him, her, you, and them,when the pronoun is the object of a verb:

Danny thanked them.

The dog followed John and me to the door.

In the last example, the pronoun me, together with the proper noun John, forms the object of the verb follow, so you need to use me rather than I.

• Use the pronoun me, along with other objective pronouns such as us, him, her, you, and them,when the pronoun is the object of a preposition:

Rose spent the day with Jake and me.

Me, together with Jake, forms the object of the preposition with, so you need to use the pronoun me rather than the pronoun I.

An easy way of making sure you’ve chosen the right pronoun is to see whether the sentence reads properly if you remove the additional noun:

√ I am going for a coffee	X Me am going for a coffee
√ Rose and I went for a coffee	X Rose and me went for a coffee
√ The dog followed me	X The dog followed I
√ Rose spent the day with me	X Rose spent the day with I

Source: Oxford Dictionaries

Escolhi Estudar lá Porque...

Há um considerável tempo aprender um segundo (terceiro, quarto...) idioma já não é mais artigo de luxo e sim de primeira necessidade. Pois bem, com a inconstância do mercado com as vendas caindo, juros homéricos, compras se restringindo, demissões em massa, e tudo mais que um mercado caótico pode oferecer, estar atualizado e antenado no que este mesmo mercado exige é vital. 

Em Piracicaba, cidade na qual tenho o prazer de viver, existe um número bem abundante de escolas de idiomas e de professores particulares, com todos os perfis, preços, metodologias, equipes, diferenciais, etc. Sinto que este excesso de competição deixa o aluno (principalmente o iniciante) perdido. É muita informação, e mais, é sério e essencial saber escolher.

Você, estudante ou pai de estudante de inglês ou de qualquer outra língua, por que estuda onde estuda? 

Less, Lesser, and Least

Hi guys, how are you doing? Recently a student of mine asked me the meaning of lesser, and when to use it.

The word "less" and all of its conjugates should be used when discussing amounts that are grouped in a way as to be uncountable by traditional means. For example, "less sugar" or "less money," "fewer grains of sugar" or "fewer dollars." 

According to the Merriam Webster:

Less·er \ˈle-sər\ . adjective

: of smaller size

: of less strength, quality, or importance

Full Definition of LESSER

comparative of  little

:  of less size, quality, degree, or significance :  of lower status 

Examples of LESSER
1 The winner will receive $100; lesser amounts will be given to three runners-up.
2 A lesser man than he might have simply given up.
3 She agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge.

Related to LESSER

Synonyms

inferior, junior, less, lower, minor, smaller, subordinate

Antonyms

greater, higher, major, more, primary, prime, senior, superior

Lesser OR Least?
Lesser means "beneath." I. e., "A lesser position" or "lesser than that." 

"Least" means "the lowest," I. e., "The least favorable table" or "the least wanted position."

"Lesser" can stand alone, but "least" requires clarification.

The comic strip below is from 1988, but still very accurate:

Speechyard

Do you like movies? So here's a really cool app to help you learn while watching your favorite movies. 

For free download from your Apple Store, you can have Speechyard and watch movies or videos with subtitles in different languages. It's possible to pause the video, click in a word in the subtitle to listen to its pronunciation and see its meaning.

I just think it's worth having it. it's fantastic.

Let me know what you think about it after you've tried it.

Azar Grammar

Teachers meetings are not always painful. Last Tuesday in a teachers meeting, my coworkers Kátia Barella, whose English knowledge and desire to learn more are indubitable, suggested a website mainly designed for teachers, but that can also be used by students at all levels of English. 

azargrammar.com is surely a powerful tool with free sources for teaching and learning. Betty Azar is the author of this amazing website, and as all great thinkers and language collaborators, she proposes an exchange among English teachers spread worldwide. 

After being blessed with such an amazing tip, I feel pleased in sharing with you all.

Click in Like to follow the Facebook page and let's help our teachers allover the world to keep on building great English learners. You're brilliant, and you surely have great ideas to share. Just do it.

Hope you enjoy...and pay it forward!

Especially OR Specially?

Learners always have doubts when using specially or especially. Both words are very close in pronunciation and meaning, but have quite different uses. 

             

 

According to Inglês na Ponta da Língua and the Oxford Dictionary:

1) Especially means "particularly", "mainly", "exceptionally" and isn't used to start a sentence. 

• She loves all sports, especially swimming. 
• I especially like sweet things. 
• We chose this painting especially for you. 
• I would especially like to bring up one matter… 
• Chocolate, especially white chocolate, was João’s weakness. 
• We were especially happy to see you. 

2) Specially is closest in meaning to "for a particular purpose" and is often followed by a verb in the part participle, such as "designed", "developed", or "made".

• This course was specially designed to meet your needs. 
• She has her clothes specially made in Paris. 
• This glass has been specially made for use in cars. 
• The cake had been specially prepared for the occasion. 

It's important to highlight, however, that Oxford brings a note saying that in British English both specially and especially are used the same way, being specially less formal.

• I bought this especially/specially for you. 
• It is especially/specially important to remember this. 

Although some speakers say there's no big deal while using one or the other, proficiency exams and more grammatical observers may surely consider this slight difference in use of specially and especially. So, why not using it properly since ever?

Source: Oxford & Inglês na Ponta da Língua

New Headway - Online Practice

As a private teacher I've been using New Headway - Oxford Books for over 4 years. It was first introduced to me by my great friend Galaor Bortoletto, who has worked with this material for much longer. Year after year, Oxford has created new tools to help learners improve their abilities and find a way that best fit students' profiles. 

The 4th edition is full of fantastic digital tools for both students and teachers. One of them is the online practice that provides a huge number of exercises that are automatically corrected, giving the student instantaneous feedback. These exercises envolve grammar, vocabulary, everyday English, and much more. 

Even if you don't use this material, it's a nice recommendation for your students. 

Enjoy.

Debit or Debt?

Although both Debit and Debt are related to finances, they have slightly different uses and pronunciation. According to the Merrian-Webster Dictionary:

Debit \ˈde-bət\: an amount of money that is taken from an account. 

E.g. the bank mistakenly debited my account $200!

Debt \ˈdet\: an amount of money that you owe to a person, bank, company, etc. 

E.g. He's trying to pay off gambling debts.  

The company is has run up huge debts.

It's important to point out that, differently from Portuguese, the word "debt" is always used in the singular, as it follows:

• He is drowning in a sea of debt.  Ele está se afogando (em um mar de) em dívidas.

• He’s been working three jobs in an attempt to get out of debt. Ele está em três empregos para tentar sair das dívidas.
• The company was in debt but is now turning a profit.  A empresa estava com dívidas mas agora está começando a ter lucro.
• I am deep/heavily in debt. Eu estou atolado em dívidas.
• The family is over $50.000 in debt. A família está com mais de $50.000 em dívidas.
• More: The money a country owes another is called foreign debt.
• Source: Influx, Merriam-Webster

There Is/Are

How do you say "tem um carro em frente de casa"? 

This sentence is usually incorrect specially when translated by Brazilians. This happens because in Portuguese we use the ver "Ter" both to indicate possession or that something/ someone exists. In English, however, we use "have" to indicate possession and "there is/ are" to say that something exists. Thus, the sentence below would better be translated as "There is a car in front of my house." since I mean that exists a car in front of my house.

Here are a few other examples:

Affirmative: There is a black hat on the table.

Negative: There aren't any chairs available.

Question: Is there any milk left?

Being there is used for singular nouns, and there are for plural nouns. It's important to remember that, in affirmative cases it's possible to contract there is (there's), but there are isn't contractible. When used in short answers, use there is (E.g. "Yes, there is." and not "Yes, there's.")In the negative, you may see there's not or there isn't, and in the plural, there aren't. 

Click here for Online Practice or here and here for a worksheet.

-------------------- For Teachers --------------------

Teaching There to Be is always fun. Most books bring this grammar topic together with parts of the house, maps, and the like. So, I've been using a nice video to reinforce there is/ are. 

This video portraits a very nice bird house, which is quite similar to a human house. Here's how I make use of it in my classes:

1. Ask students to watch it for fun. After, I ask them what objects or rooms they saw.

2. I ask students some questions as "Is there a car in the video?", "Are there any flowers?", etc. 

3. I play it again and ask students to write down everything they see on it. I encourage them to observe the details.

4. After they've watched for the second time, I ask they to tell me what there is/ are in the video. Most of the times they come up with the structure automatically. If they don't, I paraphrase using there to be until they realize they must use it to describe a place.

5. Sometimes I display some words on the board/ TV to encourage students use both negative and affirmative. Obviously some of the words mentioned are in the video, others not.

It's fun. Try it. 

Superplayer

Conversando com minha querida amiga Roberta Ruschel (também aqui) , arquiteta de alta qualidade na cidade de Piracicaba com visão de mundo despojado, espontâneo, diferente e alegre, fui apresentado ao site superplayer.fm e fiquei embasbacado.

Há muito eu já pensava na utilidade de um site como este. Muito embora eu não seja dos mais musicais, este site que monta playlists com temas como "Arrumadinha na casa", "Focando no trabalho", "Rumo ao vestibular" e coisas do tipo, facilitando muito a vida de quem gosta de dar uma pitada de música pra fazer a vida mais alegre e empolgante mesmo no meio de tanto stress e confusão. As músicas tocam aleatoriamente uma após outra, dentro do mesmo tema.

Para minha felicidade, descobri que existe o aplicativo para Apple e Android, e é FREE!

É sabido que a música não só relaxa a mente como a estimula. Claro que isto não acontece pra todo mundo. De qualquer forma, atrapalhar a ausência de som e o excesso de stress com a playlist certa auxiliará o rendimento da maioria.

Dá pra deixar como som ambiente na sua loja, no seu escritório, no consultório, na sua sala, enfim, dá pra ser mais feliz! Quem não gosta de ser recebido por pessoas felizes?

Contra os padrões mais ortodoxos, fiz algumas experiências que, coincidentemente ou não, me mostraram bons resultados. No "pós-férias", durante uma avaliação de environment (ciências em inglês) e outra de inglês com alunos adolescentes que por motivos inerentes às próprias vontades haviam perdido a aula anterior que era uma revisão (revisão de um conteúdo bastante denso para environment) e que, no dia do teste chegaram com a adrenalina e "medo do fracasso" lá em cima já às 7:00, eu tive a brilhante ideia de provoca-los colocando uma das playlists com músicas do cotidiano deles bem baixinho, quebrando toda aquela tensão que a situação favorecia. Não era por menos que, durante a avaliação, enquanto pensavam sobre suas respostas, os que não estavam batendo os pezinhos no ritmo da música, estavam movimento os lábios cantando silenciosamente. Óbvio que eu deixei bem claro que se alguém se sentisse distraído, confuso ou atrapalhado por conta da música era importante que me falasse para que eu a interrompesse imediatamente, e que isso era importante para não se prejudicarem. Ninguém cogitou a interrupção, e então ao corrigir as avaliações confirmei a teoria: a música os ajudou na diminuição da ansiedade e os resultados foram muito melhores do que o esperado.

Sei que as opiniões dos educadores em relação sobre isso divergem, e mesmo como educador não sei exatamente como pensar em relação à isto. Só sei que, com estas duas turmas o saldo foi bastante positivo. Na outra aula, eles pediram BIS.