We've been revising the uses of gerunds and infinitives in class lately and I thought it would be useful to include notes and activities to help you revise.
Some weeks ago I watched a funny video (thanks Paul Kelly for sharing) by "Weird Al" Yankovic called "Word Crimes" this video is a parody of the song " Blurred lines" by Robin Thicke and was recorded in 2013. All
Yankovic is really concerned about proper use of grammar and has
campaigned against bad use in songs, posters, ads and social media. He
considers himself a "grammar nerd"
In this video he mocks on line commenters, misspelling, abuse of numbers instead of letters, language on SMS, punctuation etc.
Watch the video and write down as many mistakes which are mentioned as you can.
After learning all different types of reported sentences, reporting verbs, linkers etc, it's time to have some fun practising a little.
1. Listen to a famous song by Suzanne Vega "Luka" and do the activities that follow
A) Explain what Luka tells you in the song; write at least five sentences. B) Write two examples of reported questions she says. C) Write two examples of conditional sentences.
This song is about child abuse; How did you feel when you listened to it? Why does Luka act this way? Would you do the same in that situation?
Now watch the video with the Lyrics and check your activity
2. "Fifty Ways to Leave your Lover" by Paul Simon: this is the ideal song to practise reported speech. A man a woman talk about the best ways to leave a lover and Paul Simon reports their conversation. Watch the video and complete the worksheet, you can also practise rhyming
We've been learning about modals recently, now that we know how they work and the different meanings they give, we are ready to enjoy them in some famous songs.
We'll listen to modal perfect to complain about things we didn't do and should have done or regret about things that could have been done or make deductions about what must have been.... Let's enjoy!
Roxette "It must have been love" (soundtrack of "Pretty Woman")
Listen to the song and fill in the blanks with proper past tenses
Now and then I think of when we __________(be) together
Like when you said you _______(feel) so happy you _________ (can) die
_________ (tell) myself that you were right for me
But felt so lonely in your company
But that was love and it's an ache I still remember
You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness
Like resignation to the end, always the end
So when we _________ (find)that we could not make sense
Well you ________ (say) that we would still be friends
But I'll admit that I was glad it was over
But you didn't have to cut me off
Make out like it never ____________ (happen) and that we were nothing
And I don't even need your love
But you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough
No you didn't have to stoop so low
Have your friends collect your records and then change your number
I guess that I don't need that though
Now you're just somebody that I used to know
Now you're just somebody that I used to know
Now you're just somebody that I used to know
[Kimbra]
Now and then I think of all the times you _____________(screw) me over
But ________ (have) me believing it was always something that I _______ (do)
But I don't wanna live that way
Reading into every word you say
You said that you could let it go
And I wouldn't catch you hung up on somebody that you used to know
[Gotye]
But you didn't have to cut me off
Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing
And I don't even need your love
But you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough
And you didn't have to stoop so low
Have your friends collect your records and then change your number
I guess that I don't need that though
Now you're just somebody that I used to know
Somebody
(I used to know)
Somebody
(Now you're just somebody that I used to know)
Now listen to a parody of the song, Does it make sense to you?
“Why did I have to learn this stuff? It has never come in handy,
never used it for nothing.”
1.On a scale from 1 (not at all) to 7
(completely agree), how much do you agree with the singer’s sentiment?
Why or why not?
2. What things you consider irrelevant in the educations you are getting?
* Some facts about the last song:
Millard Fillmore ( 13th President of USA)
Iambic ( type of metrical line in traditional English verse)
AP Bio ( Advanced Placement Biology)
The Scarlet Letter ( a novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne)
Cotton Gin ( machine which separates cotton fibre from its seeds)
Farside cartoon appropo ( opportune drawings)
SohCahToa ( mnemonics for sine, cosine and tangent of an angle)
We study conditionals in class doing lots of activities, translating, watching presentations and so on, but here you have some activities to enjoy them a bit.
Anyway, if you are interested, you can see my Prezi presentation clicking here.
The top ten
Conditionals Song Lyrics
Complete the sentences If I never had a cent... If it hadn't been for ......
If my true love was gone.... If I get locked up tonight... If I can't have you..... If you go... If you don't know me by now.... If I knew you were coming.... If I were a boy... If you leave me now...
More songs using conditionals
Conditionals with the Big Bang Theory
If you like music, here you have a list of songs to learn and enjoy
Songs for learning 1st conditional
Frank Sinatra / If You Go Away (lyrics)
Simply Red / If You Don't Know Me By Now (lyrics)
Cyndi Lauper / Time After Time (lyrics)
Beautiful South / I'll Sail This Ship Alone (lyrics)
