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There, They’re, and Their

There, They’re, and Their

There are some words that are just hard to remember how to spell, and if they sound the same as each other, it simply compounds the problem. I’m all for using images to help myself remember stuff, so let’s be kind and do the same for our kids! Here are a few of the tricks I used with my students when teaching these three words.

The Contraction “They’re”

Here’s a visual that you could show your students. Point out that the two guys on the left are drawing attention to the two short people on the right. The sentence under the stylized word shows the relationship between “we’re” and “they’re,” both derived from a word combined with what used to be “are.” I shared the story in another blog about how contractions came to be. Maybe a quick brush-up of that story will suffice to drive this concept deep into memory! Notice that in the sentence, the “’re” and the “are” are both light blue to tie the two together.

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The Location Word “There”

Location words “here,” “where,” and “there” all have the word HERE in them. You can do a goofy sort of “who’s on first” using these words. Mom says “Come here and get your sandwich!” Child says, “Where?” Mom replies “There!” Note that in the picture, each here in the location words is light blue to tie them together in memory.

there

 

In order to help young children remember the -ere spelling, I would say that the location words all end with a sandwich. The e’s are the slices of bread and the r is the baloney in between the bread. You could teach this by drawing a simple crust around the e’s like this:

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The Possessive Word “Their”

For some reason my students always had a really tough time remembering how to spell “their” and remembering when to use that word versus “there” or “they’re.” When teaching “their,” I used a little sentence and the following mini story and drew the action on a white board. Worked like acharm! Here’s how the story goes…There were two kids, who one day discovered that there were little evergreens growing up all over their backyard. When they asked their father about it, he explained to them that the pinecones that fell from the trees made new little trees. The thing is, they’d not noticed before because the mower always got to the little trees before they’d had a chance to grow big. This time, however, the mower was broken and the grass hadn’t been mowed for a while. So of course the kids didn’t want Dad to mow down the cute little trees! But after a bit of discussion, a compromise was reached: kids would choose the nicest tree they could find and plant it in a safe spot in the yard. Then Dad would mow the lawn. And that is what they did. The kids watched over their fir tree carefully and after a while it grew to be much taller than they were! How proud they were! When other kids came over to play, they made sure everyone knew the fir was theirs. I pointed out to my students that “their” and “fir” both end the same way. As a matter of fact, if you take the words “the” and “fir” and put them side by side, then erase the ‘f’ at the beginning of “fir” you will have the word “their”! Try it! I promise it will work!

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http://child-1st.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/04/tips-for-teaching-there-theyre-and-their.html

 

RIHAM’S PROFILE

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Good news for all single students

According to a recent European Commission study, you are more likely to be able to improve your employment and career prospects by studying a foreign language. What is more, you are even more likely to get the job you desire if you have studied a foreign language such as English in England. The same applies for Spanish in Spain, German in Germany etc. The study examined the lives of more than 80,000 people who had participated in the Erasmus program and suggests that the experience of studying abroad has far reaching influences, such as giving people an international outlook. They also found that around 40% of people also went to live and work abroad. However it’s appreciated that it’s difficult to just drop everything and go to live and study abroad, so that’s why Skype lessons with a native speaker are the next best thing!
Studying via Skype is easy, fun and convenient. It fits with your time schedule, there are no travel requirements and you don’t need to take a break from work. What’s more, even if you do plan to visit foreign shores for language study purposes it’s a great way to prepare, then you can go and visit the UK and perhaps stay there for an extended time period in order to really start using your language skills.
You can read more about the impact of the Erasmus program and the opinions of the European commissioner for education & multilingualism Androulla Vassiliou on the BBC news website, but what really excited me about this story was the impact that learning a foreign language can apparently have on your love life!

Yes, it is true. According to the European Commission, statistics show that people who study a second language for any length of time are significantly more likely to settle down with a partner of a different nationality, around a third of Erasmus participants had met a long-term partner while abroad. Great news for all of my young, single students of whom there are many.

I can’t wait to share the good news with them that by learning English with me, they are also increasing their chances of finding love in the future.
I won’t hold my breath waiting for the wedding invitations to arrive though just yet.

 

Contact Rachel today > http://www.italki.com/teacher/1394345

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“THINK”- Phrasal verbs with about, of, and on

I recently had someone ask me about the difference between “think about,” “think of,” and “think on.” (Shout out to Benedito! Thanks!) As a native speaker, these phrasal verbs are not even a problem! But after studying the differences, I can see how incredibly confusing it can be. Below, I have described the most common ways to use phrasal verbs with “think.” So, let’s look at an easy way to remember the difference!

First we have:

Think about (someone or something)

Simply, this means to actively contemplate someone or something. 

However, if you “contemplate,” that means you are having a deep thought or pondering. “Think about” is not (usually) the same as pondering or meditating a deep thought. Here are some examples:

“Whenever I think about him, I get goose bumps.”
“I don’t want to think about that movie, its too sad.”
“What are you thinking about right now?”

See? Those were simple thoughts, not too deep and not too quick.

Exceptions include:
 ♦ Using "think about" to mean thinking of a deep thought.
"Sometimes I think about the meaning of life."
 ♦ Using "think about" to mean consider.
"I thought about moving to Spain." ("I considered moving to Spain.")
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Now, lets look at

Think of (someone or something)

Actually, the dictionary definition is the same for this phrase. HOWEVER- it is used in different contexts. Most commonly, “think of” is used as a fleeting thought/memory OR a fact that you know and would like to suggest to someone. For example,

[fleeting thought/memory]- “I think of you whenever I go to the restaurant where we used to eat.”
[fleeting thought/memory]- “I think of our old house sometimes.”
[fact/suggestion]- “Oh, I thought of an idea! We should go see a movie tonight.”
[fact/suggestion]- “I can’t think of any English examples for my lesson.”

Can you see how these thoughts were more quick? “Think of” ideas and short memories.

Exceptions include:
 ♦ Using "think of" to mean thinking of a deep thought.
"Sometimes I think of the meaning of life."
 ♦ Using "think of" to mean consider.
"I thought of moving to Spain." ("I considered moving to Spain.")

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Finally, we have

Think on/upon (someone or something)

This one is MUCH easier to understand! Any time you use “think on” or “think upon,” it is always with a deep thought. You are contemplating or reflecting on someone or something. When you “think on” something, you are focusing on that thought and nothing else. For example,

“I thought upon Abraham Lincoln and what a great man he was.”
“Son, you are being punished. Think on what you have done wrong.”
“I thought on all of the terrible things that had happened.”

Not so hard, right??

*Note: "Upon" is formal and less commonly used than "on."
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So, now that we have covered these 3 very similar phrasal verbs, are they more clear to you? See if you can answer these questions to test your knowledge:

“Think _______” is always used with deep thought.

I should use “think _______” if I want to mention an idea or suggestion to my friend.

Using “think _______” is good for most situations when my thought is not long, yet not quick.

And the most important question:

Are there exceptions to these rules?

The answer is YES! There will always be exceptions with English. They should have named it “Exceptionish” rather than “English.” But if you follow these basic rules, you will be understood and will be able to understand what native speakers are saying a little better when they are using these phrasal verbs.

*I will be writing a PART 2 post about the other phrasal verbs with “think.” Any feedback and/or questions are welcomed anytime! I am here to help make English easier to understand, if anything is unclear I am glad to fix it! Thanks for reading 🙂

 

 

KELSEY’S PROFILE

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Rarely will a person be able to explain such a thing!

Apparently, generally speaking, we invert subject and verb (or DO as auxiliary) when a (near-) negative begins the sentence:

Never/Rarely/Seldom have I seen such a sight.
Rarely/seldom do you see such beauty.

So that is why I have written ‘Rarely will a person…’ (Although in truth, to a native speaker, they won’t know this ‘rule’, it will just sound ‘right’)

 

Contact Rachel today > http://www.italki.com/teacher/1394345

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Reduce reduce reduce!

What am I talking about? – Reductions!

What are reductions? – These are shortened, combined, or ‘reduced’ forms of English words. For example gonna (going to), wanna (want to) and hafta (have to). There aren’t ‘real’ words in English and are not used in writing however they are frequently used in spoken and informal English, especially in movies and music, so it’s a good idea to know about reductions in order to understand these and to sound more natural when you are speaking with native English speakers.

So let’s have a look at some:

gonna – going to
gotta – got to
hafta – have to
hasta – has to
wanna – want to
whaddaya – what do you
howdya – how do you

Have a look to see if you can hear these the next time you listen to some English pop music. 

My favourite is ‘dunno’, which means ‘I don’t know’!

 

Contact Rachel today > http://www.italki.com/teacher/1394345

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“So” or “too”? Know the difference and why it matters!

One of the most common problems I hear with my students every day is the misuse of “so” or “too.” 

Wow, this is so much food!

or

Wow, this is too much food!

Do you know the difference?

Actually, changing that one adverb can make a neutral sentence a negative one. Let me explain 🙂

SO

meaning: to such a great extent.


I drank so much coffee yesterday!
= I drank a lot of coffee yesterday!
= I drank a great amount of coffee yesterday!


She speaks so quickly.
= She speaks very quickly.
= She speaks at a quick speed.

TOO

meaning: more than is desirable, permissible, or possible; excessively.


I drank too much coffee yesterday!
= I drank more coffee than I should have yesterday!
= I drank an unnecessary amount of coffee yesterday.


She speaks too quickly.
= She speaks excessively fast; I can’t understand her.
= She speaks at a quick speed that isn’t understandable.

As you can see, using “so” in a sentence just emphasizes the extent of the adjective you are describing (I drank SO much coffee). But using “too” actually means that it is more than necessary (I drank TOO much coffee). What are some examples in your daily life when you use “so” and “too”?

KELSEY’S PROFILE

 

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Do you know your colloquial pairs?

Many of my IELTS students make a point of studying their idioms and phrasal verbs, mostly as it’s a clear cut way to show fluency and develop a more natural and advanced way of speaking English. However, there is something else which can also help here. This is the use of colloquial pairs. You will surely all now about ‘pros and cons’  from learning how to speak about advantages and disadvantages, and this is indeed a colloquial pair, however what about others? 

What is a colloquial pair? Well these are pairs of words that have a special significance, such as idioms or slang. You must take care not to put them in the wrong order however, as while these pairs may be understood in a reversed order, they will sound incorrect to a native speaker.

  • prim and proper
  • to and fro
  • odds and ends
  • hard and fast
  • tooth and nail
  • pros and cons
  • by and large
  • down and out
  • length and breadth
  • safe and sound

So, can I give you some examples? Well, I’m very ‘prim and proper’ about my colloquial pairs so I must make sure I use them correctly! I believe that ‘by and large’ these are phrases which are essential to add to your vocabulary if you want to speak like a native, and there is nothing we can do to change that! I’m afraid these rules are set ‘hard and fast’ and we can’t make any exceptions. 

Why not look the other pairs up online and see if you can use them?

 

RACHEL’S PROFILE

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The Word Detectives

In the Scripps National Spelling Bee championship held in the USA, the joint teenage champions had to spell words such assdrucciola, holluschick, thymelici, encaenia, terreplein and stichomythia in order to win. Whether or not they understood the meanings of the words, it is an impressive feat indeed that they managed to spell words such as these correctly upon hearing them used only once.
 
Traditionally, especially when I was at school, spelling was taught by our teachers giving us a list of words on Monday, which was followed by a spelling test on Friday. This has been the case with spelling for many years, but I bet the teenage champions at the 2014 National Spelling Bee learned spelling in a completely different way.
Most spelling follows expected patterns, teaching how and why certain patterns are used helps you to develop your spelling. For example, various words containing the /ay/ sound are grouped by their spelling pattern into lists:
List 1 would contain the ‘ai’ words (rain, bait, brain, wait, grain, aim, aid…).
List 2 would give the ‘ay’ words (play, away, stay, pay, pray…).
List 3 would give the a-consonant-e spelling pattern (gate, trade, game, make, grade…).
List 4 would contain the single vowel ‘a’ spellings (rang, bank, thank, sang…).
List 5 would contain the ‘unexpected’ spellings of /ay/ (eight, weigh, great …).
 
Another way to investigate and understand the patterns is to group words beginning with the same letter. For example, the letter ‘C’ would contain words beginning with a ‘hard-c’ such as cat, or a ‘soft-c’ as in cell, and once these words are grouped together you will start to discover that ‘c’ is usually hard when followed by consonants and the vowels ‘a, o & u’ (cat, cot, cut etc…), whilst it is usually soft when followed by ‘i. e & y’ (circus, celery, cycle etc.).
 
There are always exceptions to these rules, but it’s a good way to learn spelling patterns which will eventually help amplify your vocabulary and improve your English!
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IELTS

I have a lot of students who are studying for the IELTS exams, both Academic and General. A lot of them come to me after they have already taken it once and only scored 5.5 when they really want 6.5 or 7 for visa requirements to go to other countries.

They don’t understand why they only got 5.5 last time.

So we talk, and I listen, and we discuss the last exam, I test them on their grammar and vocabulary and then confirm to them that they speak very good English. However what most them don’t realise is that the IELTS is so much more than a normal English test when it comes to the speaking. There are extra marks that you can pick up quite easily, and if you browse thoroughly through all the online IELTS advice they will confirm what I am telling you here. It is not the quality of the grammar, but the fluency and cohesion of your response, the style and essence of your argument, the ability to hold a discourse at a deeper level. Ok, you say. So what do I need to do? Easy, I reply. Show them that you know how to use 4 things;

  • Phrasal verbs – often seen as the poor relative of the posher and more intellectual Latin derived verbs in English, they are nonetheless essential to show true levels of fluency in English.
  • Idioms – an absolute must to be able to converse like a native.
  • Paraphrasing – to show the examiner that you not only understand but can explain in another way
  • Give examples in 3s – 3 adjectives, 3 verbs, 3 nouns, 3 anything… as long as you always talk in three. It shows that you can not only give an example, but in fact have lots of ideas.

IELTS candidates can also score highly by…

  •  Getting straight to the point
  • Using a range of tenses – past simple, present simple and present perfect – with great accuracy
  • Using a wide range of grammatical forms such as a conditional sentence (If I…) and a cleft sentence (All I need now is…)
  • Answering all parts of the question
  • Avoiding over-formality and using expressions such as actually and pretty that are appropriate to conversational style
  • Providing a summarising sentence to wrap up the response
Finally, what does it take to achieve this? Practice! Just practice!
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The 3 best ways to learn new vocabulary

Flashcards

Flashcards can be very effective as long as you are aware of their limitations and don’t overdo it so that it becomes a chore. Of course they work best with pairs of words that have a close correspondence between languages, typically basic nouns.  Single word flashcards will get you quickly up and running with some basic vocabulary, although in the longer term you will want to use whole sentences so that you understand how the words are used in context. Of course as you read, and listen, eventually you will just naturally absorb words after you have encountered them enough times. This is probably the best way, but is a bit more of a long term method. Also over time you learn to recognise parts of words with common meanings and patterns that make it easier to remember.

Notebook

1- Get a notebook and draw columns in it.
2- Write new words in the first column so every row starts with a new word.
3- Title the remaining columns as “day 1, day 2, day 3, week 1, week 2, month 1” etc, that indicates when you saw the word last time, for example “day 3” on 15/04/14, “week 1” will be on 22/04/14.
4- On the next page, write the meaning of each word.
5- In front of every word there will be 6 blank rows, if you remember the meaning of that word, fill in the blank with a ‘+’ sign, if not fill in the blank with a ‘-‘ sign.
6- You can refer to the next page if you don’t remember a word’s meaning and see its meaning again
7- You can also use a part of notebook for the grammar.

If you can remember the meaning of the word in “month 1” then you have memorised the word forever!

Post-it Notes

Use a wall to cover with word stickers! You may want to buy stickers of different colours (one colour for one part of speech, for example, of even one colour for one word, if you need to memorise the forms of one word, or phrases). You can then also play with it, creating sentences! You may even put stickers on objects, such as pieces of furniture to memorise the words for them. Although remember that in the long run you need to memorise not words but phrases, to find out how words ‘behave’ in different contexts. It’s particularly true for English because of the quirkiness of spelling verses pronunciation.

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