Punctuation is important to avoid misinterpretations like these ones:
Review the basics of punctuation HERE
Tag Archives: english
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Reported Speech
If we report what another person has said, we usually do not use the speaker’s exact words (direct speech), but reported (indirect) speech. Therefore, you need to learn how to transform direct speech into reported speech. The structure is a little different depending on whether you want to transform a statement, question or request.
When we are reporting things in the present, future or present perfect we don’t change the tense.
When we tell people what someone has said in the past, we generally make the tense ‘more in the past’.
- You look very nice. = I told him he looked very nice.
- He’s working in Siberia now. = She told me he was working in Siberia now.
- Polly has bought a new car. = She said Polly had bought a new car.
- Jo can’t come for the weekend. = She said Jo couldn’t come for the weekend.
- Paul called and left a message. = He told me Paul had called and had left me a message.
- I’ll give you a hand. = He said he would give me a hand.
However, when we are reporting something that was said in the past but is still true, it is not obligatory to make the tense ‘more in the past’. The choice is up to the speaker. For example:
“The train doesn’t stop here.”
- He said the train doesn’t stop here.
- He said the train didn’t stop here.
“I like Sarah.”
- She said she likes Sarah.
- She said she liked Sarah.
When we are reporting what was said, we sometimes have to change other words in the sentence.
We have to change the pronoun if we are reporting what someone else said. Compare these two sentences. In each case the person actually said “I don’t want to go.”
- I said I didn’t want to go.
- Bill said he didn’t want to go.
We have to change words referring to ‘here and now’ if we are reporting what was said in a different place or time.
Compare these two sentences. In each case the person actually said “I’ll be there at ten tomorrow.”
- (If it is later the same day) He said he would be there at ten tomorrow.
- (If it is the next day) He said he would be there at ten today.
Now compare these two sentences.
- (If we are in a different place) He said he would be there tomorrow at ten.
- (If we are in the place he is coming to) He said he would be here at ten tomorrow.
Match Questions and answers: Reported Speech
Match Questions and answers: Reported Speech 2
Complete sentences with Reported Speech
Hope it was helpful for you! Remember to leave a comment about what do you think about the sources we provide or even to provide feedback, we are really interested to know what you think!
GREETINGS
Days of the week ☺
The Cure is an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex, in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member.
The Cure first began releasing music in the late 1970s with their debut album Three Imaginary Boys; this, along with several early singles, placed the band as part 
of the post-punk and new wave movements that had sprung up in the wake of the punk rock revolution in the United Kingdom.
During the early 1980s, the band’s increasingly dark and tormented music was a staple of the emerging gothic rock genre.
Today I have this particular song “Friday I’m in love” for you to practice the days of the week ☺ Did you know? On this witty take on Rock’s traditional love of the weekend, Robert Smith expresses his desire for his lover on their weekly Friday night out but dismisses her over the rest of the week. He said of the song in Spin magazine: “‘Friday I’m in Love’ is a dumb pop song, but it’s quite excellent actually, because it’s so absurd. It’s so out of character – very optimistic and really out there in happy land. It’s nice to get that counterbalance. (http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=14988)
The Cure - Friday I´m in Love.
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☼►David Bowie◄☼
David Bowie is a music legend. He was one of the most original, innovative and influential rock stars in music history. He was also an actor, fashion icon, record producer, artist and art critic. He was born in London on the 8th of January, 1947 and died at the age of 69 on the 10th of January, 2016. His real name was David Robert Jones but he changed it because there was another David Jones singing in the 1960s.
David Bowie first became famous following his 1969 hit “Space Oddity”. This song was released just ten days before the first Moon landing. In 1972, Bowie became a leader of the glam rock movement. He wowed and shocked people with his make-up, dresses and flamboyant costumes. His Ziggy Stardust persona was the first of many different characters Bowie would use every time he changed musical direction.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Bowie continued to break new ground with his music. In 1975, he experimented with soul music and had a number one hit in the USA with the song ‘Fame’. He also helped to pioneer the electronic and new romantic movements in the mid-1970s. In the early-80s, he was one of the first artists to use videos to promote his songs.
Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Bowie continued to experiment with musical styles, including industrial and jungle. His fans thought he had given up making music after a ten-year break starting in 2003. He surprised the world by suddenly announcing a new album, ‘The Next Day’ in 2013. He released his final album days before his death. Many believe the album was Bowie’s goodbye to his fans.
Space Oddity
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Prefixes and Suffixes
Prefixes
A prefix is placed at the beginning of a word to modify or change its meaning. This is a list of the most common prefixes in English, together with their basic meaning and some examples. You can find more detail or precision for each prefix in any good dictionary.
A prefix goes at the beginning of a word. A suffix goes at the end of a word.
The origins of words are extremely complicated. You should use this list as a guide only, to help you understand possible meanings. But be very careful, because often what appears to be a prefix is not a prefix at all. Note also that this list does not include elements like “auto-” or ” bio-“, because these are “combining forms”, not prefixes.
| prefix | meaning | examples | |
|---|---|---|---|
| a- | also an- | not, without | atheist, anaemic |
| a- | to, towards | aside, aback | |
| in the process of, in a particular state | a-hunting, aglow | ||
| a- | of | anew | |
| completely | abashed | ||
| ab- | also abs- | away, from | abdicate, abstract |
| ad- | also a-, ac-, af-, ag- al-, an-, ap-, at- as-, at- | movement to, change into, addition or increase | advance, adulterate, adjunct, ascend, affiliate, affirm, aggravate, alleviate, annotate, apprehend, arrive, assemble, attend |
| ante- | before, preceding | antecedent, ante-room | |
| anti- | also ant- | opposing, against, the opposite | anti-aircraft, antibiotic, anticlimax, Antarctic |
| be- | all over, all around | bespatter, beset | |
| completely | bewitch, bemuse | ||
| having, covered with | bejewelled | ||
| affect with (added to nouns) | befog | ||
| cause to be (added to adjectives) | becalm | ||
| com- | also co-, col-, con-, cor- | with, jointly, completely | combat, codriver, collude, confide, corrode |
| contra- | against, opposite | contraceptive | |
| counter- | opposition, opposite direction | counter-attack, counteract | |
| de- | down, away | descend, despair, depend, deduct | |
| completely | denude, denigrate | ||
| removal, reversal | de-ice, decamp | ||
| dia- | also di- | through, across | diagonal |
| dis- | also di- | negation, removal, expulsion | disadvantage, dismount, disbud, disbar |
| en- | also em- | put into or on | engulf, enmesh |
| bring into the condition of | enlighten, embitter | ||
| intensification | entangle, enrage | ||
| ex- | also e-, ef- | out | exit, exclude, expand |
| upward | exalt, extol | ||
| completely | excruciate, exasperate | ||
| previous | ex-wife | ||
| extra- | outside, beyond | extracurricular | |
| hemi- | half | hemisphere | |
| hyper- | beyond, more than, more than normal | hypersonic, hyperactive | |
| hypo- | under | hypodermic, hypothermia | |
| in- | also il-, im- | not, without | infertile, inappropriate, impossible |
| also il-, im-, ir- | in, into, towards, inside | influence, influx, imbibe | |
| infra- | below | infrared, infrastructure | |
| inter- | between, among | interact, interchange | |
| intra- | inside, within | intramural, intravenous | |
| non- | absence, negation | non-smoker, non-alcoholic | |
| ob- | also oc-, of-, op- | blocking, against, concealing | obstruct, occult, offend, oppose |
| out- | surpassing, exceeding | outperform | |
| external, away from | outbuilding, outboard | ||
| over- | excessively, completely | overconfident, overburdened, overjoyed | |
| upper, outer, over, above | overcoat, overcast | ||
| peri- | round, about | perimeter | |
| post- | after in time or order | postpone | |
| pre- | before in time, place, order or importance | pre-adolescent, prelude, precondition | |
| pro- | favouring, in support of | pro-African | |
| acting for | proconsul | ||
| motion forwards or away | propulsion | ||
| before in time, place or order | prologue | ||
| re- | again | repaint, reappraise, reawake | |
| semi- | half, partly | semicircle, semi-conscious | |
| sub- | also suc-, suf-, sug-, sup-, sur-, sus- | at a lower position | submarine, subsoil |
| lower in rank | sub-lieutenant | ||
| nearly, approximately | sub-tropical | ||
| syn- | also sym- | in union, acting together | synchronize, symmetry |
| trans- | across, beyond | transnational, transatlantic | |
| into a different state | translate | ||
| ultra- | beyond | ultraviolet, ultrasonic | |
| extreme | ultramicroscopic | ||
| un- | not | unacceptable, unreal, unhappy, unmanned | |
| reversal or cancellation of action or state | unplug, unmask | ||
| under- | beneath, below | underarm, undercarriage | |
| lower in rank | undersecretary | ||
| not enough | underdeveloped | ||
Suffixes
A suffix is a group of letters placed at the end of a word to make a new word. A suffix can make a new word in one of two ways:
- inflectional (grammatical): for example, changing singular to plural (dog → dogs), or changing present tense to past tense (walk → walked). In this case, the basic meaning of the word does not change.
- derivational (the new word has a new meaning, “derived” from the original word): for example, teach → teacher or care → careful
A suffix goes at the end of a word. A prefix goes at the beginning.
Inflectional suffixes
Inflectional suffixes do not change the meaning of the original word. So in “Every day I walk to school” and “Yesterday I walked to school”, the words walkand walked have the same basic meaning. In “I have one car” and “I have two cars”, the basic meaning of the words car and cars is exactly the same. In these cases, the suffix is added simply for grammatical “correctness”. Look at these examples:
| example | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| suffix | grammatical change | original word | suffixed word |
| -s | plural | dog | dogs |
| -en | plural (irregular) | ox | oxen |
| -s | 3rd person singular present | like | he likes |
| -ed | past tense past participle |
work | he worked he has worked |
| -en | past participle (irregular) | eat | he has eaten |
| -ing | continuous/progressive | sleep | he is sleeping |
| -er | comparative | big | bigger |
| -est | superlative | big | the biggest |
Derivational suffixes
With derivational suffixes, the new word has a new meaning, and is usually a different part of speech. But the new meaning is related to the old meaning – it is “derived” from the old meaning.
We can add more than one suffix, as in this example:
derive (verb) + ation → derivation (noun) + al → derivational (adjective)
There are several hundred derivational suffixes. Here are some of the more common ones:
| suffix | making | example original word |
example suffixed word |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ation | nouns | explore hesitate |
exploration hesitation |
| -sion | persuade divide |
persuasion division |
|
| -er | teach | teacher | |
| -cian | music | musician | |
| -ess | god | goddess | |
| -ness | sad | sadness | |
| -al | arrive | arrival | |
| -ary | diction | dictionary | |
| -ment | treat | treatment | |
| -y | jealous victor |
jealousy victory |
|
| -al | adjectives | accident | accidental |
| -ary | imagine | imaginary | |
| -able | tax | taxable | |
| -ly | brother | brotherly | |
| -y | ease | easy | |
| -ful | sorrow forget |
sorrowful forgetful |
|
| -ly | adverbs | helpful | helpfully |
| -ize | verbs | terror private |
terrorize privatize |
| -ate | hyphen | hyphenate |
Note that the suffix -er can convert almost any verb into the person or thing performing the action of the verb. For example: a teacher is a person who teaches, a lover loves, a killer kills, an observer observes, a walker walks, a runner runs; a sprinkler is a thing that sprinkles, a copier copies, a shreddershreds.
source https://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/suffixes.htm
https://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/prefixes.htm
Christmas
Hello Everyone! as you may know Christmas is near our doors, How do you feel about it? Are you a X-mas person? if yes, tell us what is that you like the most about this Holiday; Do you travel to see your family, friends? How do you celebrate this amazing day? Please leave a comment with your answers, we would like to know about it!
Check the links below to Find out about Christmas Vocabulary and other interesting facts about it.
English words for Christmas things
15 of the best places to spend Christmas
In pictures: Christmas around the world
Christmas around the world, pictures
Are you ready to set your Christmas tree?
Happy Holidays to you!
Reading
Smiling happens without much thought. When you watch a friend do something silly or embarrassing, you smirk. When a police officer lets you off without a ticket, you grin. And when you are recognized for your top performance in academics or at work, you beam. Smiling is a very natural response that shares our happiness with others.
But did you know that smiling also triggers activity in your brain? Yep, there’s a serious mind-body connection there, in your left frontal cortex to be exact, which is—not surprisingly—the area of your brain that registers happiness.
How often do you smile in a day? Do you smile when you meet new people? When you see your friends? Around your co-workers? How about your significant other? Your face has 44 muscles in it that allow you make more than 5,000 different types of expressions, many of which are smiles. Read on for seven reasons why smiling is good for you, your health and your social life!
7 Things to Smile About
1. Smiling can make you happy (even when you’re not).
Remember that mind-body connection we were just talking about? Well, it turns out that the simple act of smiling sends a message to your brain that 
you’re happy. And when you’re happy, your body pumps out all kinds of feel-good endorphins. This reaction has been studied since the 1980s and has been proven a number of times. In 1984, an article in the journal Science showed
that when people mimic different emotional expressions, their bodies produce physiological changes that reflect the emotion, too, such as changes in heart and breathing rate. Another German study found that people felt happy just by holding a small pen clenched in their teeth, imitating a smile.
Just remember that the research goes both ways. When the people in the first study frowned, they felt less happy, and in the German study, people who held a pen in their protruding lips, imitating a pout, felt unhappy. So the next time you feel sad or upset, try smiling. It just might make your body—and therefore you—feel better.
2. Smiling can make others happy.
“When you’re smilin’, the whole world smiles with you.” Ever heard that song, made famous by Louis Armstrong? Well, it’s true. Research shows that smiling is contagious. Ever been around someone who just had something fantastic 
happen to him or her? Isn’t it almost impossible not to feel good, too? Studies show that something as simple as seeing a friend smile can activate the muscles in your face to make that same expression, without you even being aware that you are doing it. Crazy, right? But remember that this, too, can be for better or for worse. You know the expression “misery loves company”? Frowns act just like smiles, just with a negative reaction, so choose to smile and watch the world smile back!
3. Smiling makes you more attractive.
Ever wonder why are we always asked to smile in photos? Because people usually look their best—and happiest—when smiling. According to the 
American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, 96 percent of American adults believe an attractive smile makes a person more appealing to members of the opposite sex. So the next time you are about to ask someone on a date, smile. It’ll make them feel happier (see No. 2), and you’ll already be more attractive in his or her eyes!
4. Smiling can help you de-stress.
The next time you’re stressed about work or realize that your favorite jeans feel a little snug, don’t freak out. Take a few deep breaths and smile! Smiling may help to reduce symptoms associated with anxiety. When that smile signals to your brain that you’re feeling happy (even though you’re not really feeling happy…yet), your body will usually slow its breathing and heart rate.
Reducing stress is so important for health, too, as it can lower blood pressure, improve digestion and regulate blood sugar. Note that this works during
workouts, too! If you’re having a hard time getting through that last rep or getting those final 5 minutes in on the treadmill, smiling can do wonders!
5. Smiling can help you land a job.
If you’re about to go on a job interview, you may think that your appearance is just about wearing nice clothes. Wrong! You can’t just wear that suit; you have to wear it with a smile. In a study published in the December 2009 issue of 
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, people looked at full-body photographs of 123 people they had never met. The people in the photos had one of two expressions: neutral (think your passport photo) or a smile. And guess what? When observers saw the photos of smiling people, they were more likely to think that the person in the photo was likeable, confident, conscientious and stable. Sound like traits most companies want in an employee, right? So the next time you’re dressing to impress, make sure to take that beautiful, natural smile with you!
6. Smiling can lead to laughter.
Have you ever laughed without smiling? It’s pretty impossible to do. And it’s funny how a smile here and a smile there with friends can turn into a whole fit of hysterical laughter. Numerous studies have been done on the health benefits of laughing, including how it acts like a mini workout that burns calories and 
works the abs. Laughter also helps blood flow, lowers blood sugar levels, reduces stress and improves sleep. It may also raise the level of infection-fighting antibodies in the body, which helps boost your immune system. So the moral of this story is smile—and laugh—often!
7. Smiling just feels good.
Have you ever found that smiling just feels good? Go ahead, smile now. Doesn’t it feel natural? Make you feel happy to be alive? It sure does beat the heck out of a frown.
So the next time you’re feeling down or out of sorts, try a smile. If you can’t find a reason to smile, pop in a funny DVD, read the Sunday comics or call a friend. Heck, you may be able to even read the word smile and feel better. According to research published in Psychological Science, simply reading certain words may also have the same effect. Just like seeing someone else smile makes you smile, reading emotion verbs (like smile, grin, frown, etc.) can also activate specific facial muscles.
Isn’t it time you turn that frown upside down? Now say “cheese!”
Source: http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/wellness_articles.asp?id=1529&page=3