Tag: B1

First Conditional!

We use the first conditional when we want to talk about future events, conditions, or situations we think are real or possible. It is an important tense to use because there is always a possibility that a condition will or will not happen! Think of the first conditional like a statement with two parts – a hypothesis (the if statement), and a conclusion (the then statement). Some examples of the first conditional include:

  • If you don’t bring an umbrella outside, you will get wet!
  • If they are late again, I will be quite annoyed.
  •  If Dad doesn’t have dessert tonight, he definitely will eat something sweet tomorrow.
  •  What will you do if I miss the plane?
  • Who will call her if her phone breaks?
  • If he finishes school early, we will go to a restaurant for lunch.

 

Hint: Notice how the use of the first conditional typically
consists of “if” + present simple verb in the condition
clause and “will” + base form of the verb in the result
clause.

Now, you try!

First Conditional Quiz 1

Among these four options, choose the correct one to complete the sentences.

First Conditional Quiz 2

Fill In The Blank with the correct form of the verbs:

Now you can see the importance of the first conditional.
Though it may seem hard at first, It will become much
easier if you practice it more. See what we did there? A
little first conditional sentence to send you off on your
merry way. Keep up the good work!

Past Participle in Question Phrases

In today’s post we will be learning all about the past participle in question phrases! If you use the phrase “Have you ever…” it is essential to put the following verb in the form of a past participle. Here is an example of the difference:

  • Instead of saying:
    • Have you ever went to California before?
  • Say:
    • Have you ever been to California before?

The past participle normally accompanies another verb in this case the word “have”. The past participle is typically referred to as the third form of the verb and can often be made by adding on these endings : ed, d, or t.

For example:

  • Sleep : slept : slept
  • Jump : jumped : jumped
  • Wear: wore : worn
  • Be : was/were : been

As you can see, sometimes the past participle is exactly the same as the regular past tense but other times things can be more difficult if the verb is irregular! For that reason, it will be useful to look specifically at a list of verbs that are irregular in the past participle so that you can begin to memorize them:

Here is a long list of irregular verbs: https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/support-files/50_common_irregular_verbs_list.pdf

However below I have compiled a list of the top 10 most used irregular verbs where in the past participle is different from the regular past tense!

 

  1. Be : was/were : been
  2. Become: became: become
  3. Drink: drank: drunk
  4. Do : did: done
  5. Eat: ate: eaten
  6. Give: gave: given
  7. Write: wrote: written
  8. Wear: wore: worn
  9. Speak: spoke: spoken
  10. Sing: sang: sung

Let’s practice using some of these new irregular verbs!

Past Participle Quiz

Try and conjugate the following verbs into the past participle.

Polite English

In today’s blog post we will learn all about how to ask or request something in a way that is more polite in English by using a few verbal phrases and different conjugation strategies! This skill can be useful not only for navigating everyday life situations with ease but also at work when writing email to colleagues that you need to request information from!

Generally, in English, in order to be seen as more polite, it is a good idea to try and refrain from being to direct when requesting information or assistance. There are of course a group of polite words that we can tac on to the beginning or end of sentences to make them more polite:

  • Excuse me
    • This is great to use right before asking a question!
    • Ie: Excuse me, do you know how to get to the cafe in town?
  • Please
    • This is great to add onto the end of a sentence when you are asking for something in a short phrase.
    • Ie: I would like one brioche please!
  • Thank you
    • We use when someone has completed an action for us.
    • Here is an example based off of the previous scenario:
      • Waiter: Here is your brioche.e
      • You: Thank you so much!

We can use the auxiliary verbs would, could, and should instead of verbs like can and will. Here are some examples of all three:

Instead of saying: Will you bring my my luggage?

You could say:  Would you bring me my luggage?

*** if you wanted to make it even more polite you could use the verbal phrase “would you mind + verb  with gerund”. Would you mind means would you be willing to do this?

For example: Would you mind bringing me my luggage?

 

Instead of saying: Can I have a pizza?

Say: Could I have a pizza please?

 

Instead of saying: Brush your teeth more!

Say:  I think, maybe, you should brush your teeth more.

 

The fun of this is that you can combine a mixture of all of these strategies to make sentences extra polite! Here are some examples of some seriously polite senteces using combinations:

 

  • Go to bed earlier!
    • I think it could be a good idea if you went go to bed earlier.
  • Bring me my purse!
    • Excuse me, but would you mind bringing me my purse please?
  • Where is the metro?
    • Excuse me, but do you happen to know where the metro is?

      Polite English quiz

      Now try to pick the polite version of these sentences! Note that you can communicate these sentences politely in more than one way. However, in the options below there is only one polite sentence to choose!