Tag: English School Milan

The Power of Innovation: Shaping Tomorrow’s Landscape

In today’s ever-evolving world, innovation is prevalent, driving societies towards progress. It occurs to us that to fit new ideas in, we need not sacrifice the tried-and-true; instead, we can embrace out-of-the-box thinking to frame challenges as opportunities. However, this shouldn’t happen at the cost of the bottom line.

Thinking doable/viable innovations enables us to reshape industries and enrich lives. Collaborative environments, with diverse perspectives, further fuel innovative thinking, leading to inclusive and far-reaching outcomes. From revolutionary medical breakthroughs to sustainable energy solutions, innovation permeates every facet of our lives.

In conclusion, innovation emerges as the catalyst propelling us into the future. Our ability to embrace novel ideas, collaborate across diverse perspectives, and envision out-of-the-box solutions shapes the trajectory of progress. By fostering a culture of viable and inclusive innovation, we ensure a world where positive change is not just a possibility but a prevailing reality.

The Power of Innovation Quiz

Choose the correct words from the list below to complete the sentences. Some words may be used more than once.


GRAMMAR EXERCISE 1:

Rewrite the sentences using the present perfect:


GRAMMAR EXERCISE 2:

Formulate questions using the prompts:

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.

The Difference Between its and it’s

Finding the difference between its and it’s is a common very common challenge, even for English speakers.  But here’s an exercise and lesson that will help guide you through the process of using its versus it’s:

Its: Without the apostrophe, this word is a possessive pronoun, his or her, for objects/things without gender.

 

  • The word its is often used in reference to something owned by a person or thing previously mentioned in the sentence, such as:
  • The table made a sound in its legs when he put his plate down.

The word its can also be used in reference to a noun without a defined gender.   Choose its when you want to give something ownership, for example:

  • My mom yelled when the dog spilled its water bowl.

 

It’s: With an apostrophe, this word is a contraction, meaning it is or is has

 

  • It’s, happens to be a contraction meaning it is or it has.

 

  • It’s been two hours since he texted me back
  • It’s the relationship that I have with my students that really makes me happy

 

All in all, this process can be tricky, but with practice and reading, you will be on your merry way to mastering these two words.

 

It’s about time you figure out how to find the difference between it’s and its!  I know you can do it, even if your brain has its bad and good days.  Here are some exercises to help:

 

Difference Between its and it’s quiz

Fill in the blank for the following sentences: