Here are some chages we make when reporting what other people said:

DIRECT SPEECH – INDIRECT (REPORTED) SPEECH

Simple present – simple past

Simple past – Past perfect

Present perfect – Past perfect

Past perfect – Past perfect

Will – would

Is/Are going to – was/were going to

Can – could

Should – should

NOW… FOR YOU TO COMPLETE:

Today -

Tomorrow -

Next year -

Two years ago -

This/These -

Write your comment completing the items above.

Cheers.

Marcelo Elias.

Here are the quantifiers and their use.

Countable singular – every, each and no. Example: Each being on Earth has the right to live.

Countable plural – all, both, either of the, half of the, two-thirds of the, a lot of, many, no, hardly any, none of the, either of the, (a) few, some, several. Example: Some endangered species cannot be saved anymore.

Uncountable (always sigular, of course) – all the, a lot of, much, a good/great deal of, two-thirds of the, half of the, none of the, no, hardly any, (a) little, some. Example: A great deal of water is wasted when we do not close the tap while brushing our teeth or shaving.

I hope it helps.

Marcelo Elias.

Are you environmentally friendly? Why do you think so?

Click here and visit a page of Wikipedia with a list of environmental issues. You just visit the page, click on the links and read about the topics. Then, choose two or three and give your personal opinion about them.

Before writing, think of the following: Do you agree that the topics are relevant? Is the environment really in danger, or our planet goes through cycles and the effects we see today are just part of the cycle? Do we really have the power to change anything in the environment?

If you want, visit the site Climate Crisis, the official site of the documentary An Inconvenient Truth.

After collecting all this information, write your opinion of the topic.

Cheers.

Marcelo Elias.

Tuesday and Thursday group – April 15

Saturday group – April 26

Nowadays no company can ignore the fact that ecological issues permeate all areas of our lives and, hence all niche markets. Because of this, our branch manager wants to know what actions Cultura Inglesa can take to become more ecologically friendly.

Your job is to write a report to our manager analyzing several aspects which could contribute to improve our eco-friendliness and giving suggestions of actions we can take to be more ecologically correct. Please remember all the discussion we had in class and the structure of a report. After revising the text, I’ll hand the document to our manager.

Thank you very much for your contribution.

Marcelo Elias.

“Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.”

This is a very interesting quote and it has been cited for decades. Click here and add your opinion to a forum on Yahoo Answers. It’s your chance to participate in another environment on the net and use English.

“To me, Beauty is the wonder of wonders… It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances.” Oscar Wilde

“The greatest treasures are those invisible to the eye but found by the heart.” Author unknown

Above you have different points of views concerning beauty. What’s YOUR view?

Here’s another topic for you:

Click here and watch a very nice video by Dove. I’m not advertising their products or anything, but the video is quite provocative.

After watching the video, answer: Do the fashion industry and the media really influence the children’s standard of beauty? How positive or negative is this influence in our society?

Enjoy.

Marcelo Elias.

“Extreme sports people suck.Get a job,Stop sponging off your mom and dad,theyve got their own drugs problems to deal with.Go and live on a bad crime area and find out what living on the edge is realy all about. Better still why dont you all do what you do best,take a year out and go to hell and when you come back you can bore all your freinds for the rest of your lives,by saying this meal would cost 2 dollars… “

(comment posted on YOUTUBE about the video on extreme sports)

Your job is to write a text giving your opinion about extreme sports and the comment quoted here.

Happy Eeaster.

Marcelo Elias.

Sports are supposed to be a celebration of union among all the people. They are to be a celebration of peace and harmony. Nevertheles, this hasn’t been true in many aspects. Some sports became business, athletes became producs on sale and the primary aim of sports is lost.

Do you agree with this? What is your point of view?

We are a few months from the Olympic Games in Beijin, China and there’s been complaints against the violation of human rights in the country. This issue was supposed to be approached and the problem solved, but it hasn’t happened. Click here to watch a video in which Chinese woman talks about it.

Now… are sports really importat in our society? Why are they important? Click here to read someon’s answer and than you can post your asnwer on the site and comment here, in our blog.

Well… I’m sure you’ve got lots to think about, so let’s work.

Marcelo Elias.

They are really incredible creatures… the women. Intelligent, sensitive, energetic. They sure got a lot of stamina to do everything they have to do plus be sensual and seductive.

Click here to watch a tribute to all women.

One thing has always bothered me on Women’s Day… why is there a day to celebrate women? By the way, do you know the origin of the date. Check this out.

Now that you know how the celebration starte, back to my question… Do women have a day because they suffer prejudice? Watch the video above and listen to women talk about the subjects that affect them nowadays and write your comment.

Marcelo Elias.

Wow… this is a polemic topic. I did not think so until a student told me that honesty was relative, people have different standards of honesty depending on the relationship, on the situation, on the place… I had never thought of that.

What do YOU think, is honesty really relative?

Let’s surf the net and enjoy the topic a little bit. Bellow you’ll find links to two honesty quizzes. Access the sites, do the quizzes, find out how honest you are and improve your reading skills.

Quiz 1.

Quiz 2.

Now, write your comment on the topic. Answer the question above or comment on one of the quotes below.

It is hard to believe that a man is telling the truth when you know that you would lie if you were in his place.

Henry Louis Mencken

A half truth is a whole lie.

Yiddish Proverb

A truth that’s told with bad intent beats all the lies you can invent.

William Blake

Let’s work.

Marcelo Elias.

“It’s beauty that captures your attention; personality which captures your heart.” Author unknown.

“Women’s modesty generally increases with their beauty.” Friedrich Nietzsche

Click here to see the video for Beauty campaign.

Click here to see the video of the photoshoped model.

Do you think we have a very strong beauty standard in our society? Is it positive or negative?

Write about one of the quotes, or about the videos or answer my question.

Marcelo Elias.