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Showing posts from 2018

Extra English Book Club

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My top 5 books. Kafka  On The Shore      Haruki Murakami Comprising two distinct but interrelated plots, the narrative runs back and forth between both plots, taking up each plotline in alternating chapters. The odd-numbered chapters tell the 15-year-old Kafka's story as he runs away from his father's house to escape an  Oedipal  curse and to embark upon a quest to find his mother and sister. [1]  After a series of adventures, he finds shelter in a quiet, private library in  Takamatsu , run by the distant and aloof Miss Saeki and the intelligent and more welcoming Oshima. There he spends his days reading the unabridged  Richard Francis Burton  translation of  One Thousand and One Nights  and the collected works of  Natsume Sōseki  until the police begin inquiring after him in connection with a brutal murder. No Samaritan By Sean Gunning Debut Poetry Collection. 48 poems about  loss, longing, remembrance, letting go, love, gratitude, homelessness, war

The Hunt For Blue Monday A Short Story

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRhJkVt096QL3uOs4CHpq2Q6uFFJDZK68XbHGuRP0nXfp1DtKdJWT5wcKfuTL-5WjjGnpV8f_qRPS_H/pub Click the above link to read a great short story by David Gunning.

Telling Porkies....Lies

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/football/46167481

English and Irish Idioms / Expressions

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A bird never flew on one wing. Expressing the need for a second helping. One is not enough you need a second one, for example, the 2nd drink.

More Idioms

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So…can we start a sentence with and?

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So…can we start a sentence with and?   So the heart of the ban on starting a sentence with ‘and’ or ‘but’ seems to lie in the fact that they are coordinating rather than subordinating conjunctions, and as such are typically used to link elements of equal status  within  a sentence. The argument against using ‘and’ or ‘but’ to introduce a sentence is that such a sentence expresses an incomplete thought (or ‘fragment’) and is therefore incorrect. However, this is a stylistic preference rather than a grammatical ‘rule’. If your teachers or your organization are inflexible about this issue, then you should respect their opinion, but ultimately, it’s just a point of view and you’re not being ungrammatical. If you want to defend your position, you can say that it’s particularly useful to start a sentence with these conjunctions if you’re aiming to create a dramatic or forceful effect. As the following examples show, the introductory conjunction gives more weight to the thought expres

Phonemic Chart Video For English Learners

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Improve your Pronunciation of the various sounds of English with this Phonemic Chart Video.

Tongue Twisters to Improve English Speaking Skills

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Tongue Twisters     F, W, Voiced Z Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear, Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair. Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t fuzzy, was he? Voiced V Vincent vowed vengeance very viciously. P Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, How many peppers did Peter Piper pick? SH, S and Z She sells seashells by the seashore. The shells she sells are surely seashells. So if she sells shells on the seashore, I’m sure she sells seashore shells. W, CH, and Final Consonants How much wood, would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? He would chuck, he would, as much as he could, and chuck as much wood as a woodchuck would if a woodchuck could chuck wood. W Which witch, wished which wicked wish? While we were walking, we were watching window washers wash Washington’s windows with warm washing water. If two witches would watch two watches, which witch would watch which watch? R Robe

A Squirrel chewing his nuts.

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 I like the way this photo highlights the changing of the season. The red berries give a splash of colour but the focus is on the squirrel resting on the branch while he chews his nuts. The word squirrel is a noun and a  phrasal verb  to put (something) in a safe or secret place especially so that it can be kept for future use.  The ripples on the surface of the water combined with the reflection from the bright blue sky and brown yellow leaves of the trees create a calm tranquil picture. The word ripple is a noun,   the ruffling of the surface of the water and an  intransitive verb   to flow with a slight rise and fall of sound or inflexion laughter  rippled  over the audience.

Kinks Lazing On a Sunny Afternoon

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Who would you like to meet?

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If you had the chance to meet any person in this world for 10 minutes whom would it be?

English And American Expressions and Idioms

English & American Expressions & Idioms English Means American Means “As good as gold” Reliable “Turned on a dime” Turned in a very restricted space “Six feet under” Dead “Dirt nap” Dead “Two bob” Worth very little “Beast mode” Aggressive “A1 geezer” High-quality man “Wallflower” Shy There are many more idioms we use in everyday English. How many do you know? 

Learning English

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Extra Englishclass.com   Private English Lessons What is the hardest part of learning English? 1. Speaking 2. Writing 3. Reading 4. Listening

Present Simple English Lesson.

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Learning Present Simple 

English Tongue Twisters

  Tongue Twisters are a great way to improve your spoken English. You may need to try them a few times.

The Longest Day

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Sunrise at Stonehenge.

Improve Your English Writing Skills

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grammarcheck.net/simple-writing… Improve your writing skills.

Tips For Writing A CV Cover Letter

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Use of Apostrophe

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Apostrophes We use an apostrophe ( ‘ ) to show either possession or that there is a letter missing (e.g. the apostrophe in ‘ she’s ’ shows that there is a letter missing in ‘ she is ’) We use apostrophes with people or animals to show possession. My sister’s house. The dog’s blanket. For things we use ‘ of ’ ( the front of the car, NOT  the car’s front .) The position of the apostrophe depends on whether the noun is singular or plural. look at these two examples. My friend’s house.  This is about one friend. My friends’ house.  This is about two or more friends who share a house. If a plural noun does not end in ‘ s ’ ( e.g. men, people, children ) we use  ‘s  to show possession. The children’s bedroom. A pair of women’s sunglasses. We also use an apostrophe in some time expressions. two weeks’ holiday ten years’ experience                                                                                             

Stephen Fry’s Great Leap Years – the stories behind inventions.

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http://www.stephenfry.com/greatleapyears/ A great audio about the history of inventions.

A difficult question

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What is higher than God Lower than the Devil What do rich people want and poor people have? Answer: Nothing.

Follow your dreams

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Follow your dreams; you may not make money, but will never be poor Follow other people's dreams; you can make money but will never be rich.

The Hunt For Blue Monday

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Dohar Delights    “I`ve done it, I booked my flight, I am flying to Qatar next week. I can`t wait! Do you think you and your fella will get a chance to come out and visit once I am settled?” “I dunno Frankie. I will try and speak to Phill soon. We could do with a holiday, he works too hard nowadays.” Mo replied. I often asked the advice of  my big sister Mo. She knows me better than I know myself.  Click here “You and Phill will love it there fantastic weather, a private pool, 5-star hotel. No pubs mind you but your other half could do with a few weeks of the beer anyway.” “I `ll run it by him but I can't promise anything. I must admit I fancy a few weeks in the sun away from London .” I didn't stay chatting with my sister long on the phone. I still had so much to sort out. She would only try and talk me out of it anyway. She has always been the sensible one in our family. Here I am now sitting by the pool in Dohar, Qatar, with a cold fruit juice in my hand and