Noun Clauses #2

Posted on March 29, 2015 by mhardy3222

First, read my post Noun Clauses #1.

In Noun Clauses #1, we looked at how a Noun Clause can be the subject, the object, or the complement in a sentence.

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In this post, we will examine more Noun Clauses as objects, as they are the most common, especially Noun Clauses with the Marker ‘that‘; as well as Noun Clauses as object of the preposition and Noun Clauses as adjective complement.

The British singer/songwriter, Labrinth, sings a song called ‘Jealous’. Have a look at the chorus:

I wished you the best of all this world could give,                                                       And I told you when you left me there’s nothing to forgive;                                     But I always thought you’d come back, tell me all you found was heartbreak and misery.                                                           It’s hard for me to say,                               I’m jealous of the way you’re happy without me.

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∗ Object of the preposition: Labrinth is jealous of how she’s happy without him.                   

                                                    The song is about  how he thought she would return.

∗ Adjective complement:      He is unhappy that she didn’t come back.

                                                     He is upset that she is happy without him.

 The Noun Clause Markers used in the above sentences are: how & that.

Did you notice that the Noun Clause Markers are followed by a sentence?

… she’s happy without him.    … he thought she would return.                                           … … she didn’t come back.        … she is happy without him.

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Let’s have a look at the  Noun Clauses in the chorus:

♦ And I told you, when you left me, (that) there’s nothing to forgive;
  And I told you                                                         this.

 ♦ But I always thought (that) you’d come back, tell me all you found was  heartbreak and misery.
   But I always thought                                           this.

♦ It’s hard for me to say (that)  I’m jealous of the way you’re happy without me.
    It’s hard for me to say                                         this.

The Noun Clause Marker ‘that’ is the only marker that can be omitted, and it often is. Whether it is stated or not, it is always followed by a complete sentence:

… there’s nothing to forgive;
… you’d come back, tell me all you found was heartbreak and misery.
… I’m jealous of the way you’re happy without me.

So now, have a listen to this song, which Labrinth sings beautifully (and clearly). There is another Noun Clause in the song which I have not mentioned. Can you find it? There is a contact section under the video. If you want feedback, let me know what you think.

Click here for Noun Clauses #3

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Thank you for your response. ✨

 

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Posted in Advanced (Level 6+), Cambridge, Grammar, Intermediate (Level 4), Listening, Songs, Upper Intermediate (Level 5) | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Co-ordinating Conjunctions

Posted on March 22, 2015 by mhardy3222

Conjunctions are joining words. They join words, phrases,  and clauses. Some conjunctions can join words and phrases and clauses:

♦ Taylor Swift is beautiful and talented.  ∼  The conjunction ‘and‘ is joining the words ‘beautiful’ & ‘talented’.

♦ You can read about Taylor Swift on her website, or on Wikipedia, or on a post on this blog.  ∼  The conjunction ‘or‘ is joining the phrases ‘on her website’ & ‘on Wikipedia’ & ‘on a post on this blog’.

Co-ordinating Conjunctions

Co-ordinating Conjunctions connect Simple Sentences (independent clauses). Think of co-ordinating as balancing, like the two stones in the picture above. You can see two separate, independent stones, which are equal, but not the same. The object in the middle is balancing the stones. Co-ordinating Conjunctions are the objects (words) which balance two sentences. When two or more Simple Sentences are connected by Co-ordinating Conjunctions, they are called COMPOUND SENTENCES. You can remember the seven co-ordinating conjunctions by the ACRONYM FANBOYS:

F → for     A → and     N → nor     B → but     O → or     Y → yet     S → so

∗ The co-ordinating conjunctions for, nor, and yet are not used as often as the others. For is rarely used in conversation, being more suited to literary writing.

♦ Romeo would do anything for Juliet.                        He loved her more than life itself.

⇒Romeo would do anything for Juliet,         for       he loved her more than life itself.

♦ Taylor Swift has a great singing voice.                     She wrote many of her  hit songs.

⇒Taylor Swift has a great singing voice, and        she wrote many of her hit songs.

♦ When reading, you shouldn’t translate.                   You shouldn’t read too slowly.                                          

⇒ When reading, you shouldn’t translate,   nor      should you read too slowly.

♦ Learning English isn’t always easy.                                    It can be fun.

⇒ Learning English isn’t always easy,             but            it can be fun.

♦ You need to do revision within 24 hours.                         You’ll forget up to 70%.

 ⇒ You need to do revision within 24 hours,     or             you’ll forget up to 70%.

♦ Students want to improve.                                                  They forget to do revision.

⇒ Students want to improve ,               yet                        they forget to do revision.

♦   Hiro is a committed and talented student.                     He will be successful in life.

⇒ Hiro is a committed and talented student,      so          he will be successful in life.

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 ∗ Remember that these words (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, and So) are used in other ways. They are not always c0-ordinating conjunctions:

I haven’t finished writing this post yet. ‘Yet’ is not joining two clauses. Also, it does not have the meaning ‘but’. It is not a co-ordinating conjunction in this sentence.

I love travelling; so does my husband. ‘So’ does not have the meaning ‘result’. It is not a co-ordinating conjunction in this sentence.

Romeo would do anything for Juliet. ‘For’ is not joining two clauses. Also, it does not have the meaning ‘because’. It is not a co-ordinating conjunction in this sentence.

Click here for more information.   Click here for practice exercises.

Posted in Grammar, Intermediate (Level 4), Pre-Intermediate (Level 3), Upper Intermediate (Level 5) | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Noun Clauses #1

Posted on March 15, 2015 by mhardy3222

      The English language is full of Noun Clauses. A Noun Clause is made up of a group of words with a Noun and a Verb.

  • A Noun is the name of a person, animal, place, thing, (or state;  for example: happiness, excitement).
  • In other words, a Noun is the name of someone or something.
  • ‘Noun’ means ‘name’.
  • A Pronoun (it, she, you, him, this, etc.) replaces a noun. If you can replace a group of words with a pronoun, then that group of words is a type of Noun. In the following examples, the group of words is a Noun Clause.

A Noun Clause can be the subject, the object, or the complement in a sentence.

* Subject: Whatever Taylor Swift sings becomes a hit.                                      jk                                   It                              becomes a hit.            

* Object: Did you know that Taylor Swift is only twenty-five?                            jk              Did you know                          this?                 

* Subject Complement: Taylor Swift’s beauty and talent are what many girls dream of. m                                        Taylor Swift’s beauty and talent are                    this.

The Noun Clause can usually be identified by asking a question about the remainder of the sentence: (The answer to ‘What …?’ is usually a noun.)

Question:What becomes a hit?    Answer: whatever Taylor Swift sings         Question:What did I know?                  Answer: that Taylor Swift is only twenty-five?Question: What are Taylor Swift’s beauty and talent? A: what many girls dream of.

      There are many Noun Clause Markers. (Markers ‘introduce’ or ‘signal’ various grammar points.) Noun Clause Markers introduce Noun Clauses. ‘That’ is the only Noun Clause Marker that is optional.

Noun Clause Markers can be summarised as:

♠ that, if, whether,

♠ what, when, how, where,  and other wh… question words . Also:

♠ whatever, whenever, however, and other wh … ever words.

The Noun Clause Markers used in the above sentences are: whatever, that, and what.

There are various ways of learning about Noun Clauses, but for this post I’m just going to focus on a few in Taylor Swift’s song Blank Space. Have a look at the chorus; the Noun Clauses are in pink. Try replacing the Noun Clauses with a pronoun.

                       Chorus

So it’s *gonna be forever or it’s *gonna go down in flames.                            You can tell me  when it’s over  if the high was worth the pain.
(I’ve) Got a long list of ex-lovers.         
They’ll tell you I’m insane,
‘Cause you know I love the players, and    
you love the game.

* gonna = going to

♦ You can tell me when it’s over if the high was worth the pain.     Did you replace the Noun Clause with ‘this‘ or ‘it’? → You can tell me ‘this’.

♦ They’ll tell you (that) I’m insane,      Did you replace the Noun Clause with ‘this’ or ‘it’? → They’ll tell you ‘this’. (This line is an example of reported speech, which uses Noun Clauses.)

♦ ‘Cause you know (that) I love the players,      Did you replace the Noun Clause with ‘this’ or ‘it’? → ‘Cause you know ‘it’,

♦ ‘Cause you know (that) you love the game.    Did you replace the Noun Clause with ‘this’ or ‘it’? → ‘Cause you know ‘it’. ** There are two Noun Clauses in this part of the sentence:

1. ‘Cause you know (that) I love the players, 2. ‘Cause you know) (that) you love the game.  

 This is an easy chorus to sing and remember. Sing along a few times while watching the video, and you will soon be able to recall these examples of Noun Clauses. For a further explanation of Noun Clauses, click here for the Eslgold website. Click here and here for practice exercises. If you would like to practise forming Noun Clauses in indirect (embedded) questions, click here.

Click here for Noun Clauses #2

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Posted in Advanced (Level 6+), Cambridge, Grammar, IELTS, Intermediate (Level 4), Listening, Songs, TOEFL, TOEIC, Upper Intermediate (Level 5) | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

The girl effect: The clock is ticking

Posted on March 1, 2015 by mhardy3222

girleffect.org

Posted in Advanced (Level 6+), Intermediate (Level 4), Pre-Intermediate (Level 3), Reading, Upper Intermediate (Level 5), Videos | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Reading Skills: Skimming & Scanning

Posted on March 1, 2015 by mhardy3222

Skimming and scanning are important reading skills. We all seem to have the ability to skim and scan when we are reading something in our language. However, it doesn’t come naturally for students learning a second language. Students often focus on every word instead of reading for the general idea or story: very hard work and not much fun!

A colleague of mine has a wonderful website, digilearner.com,  in which she provides a lot of advice and information on improving English reading (and other) skills.  To see her DIGI LEARNER post ‘How to Skim and Scan’ Click here.

Posted in Advanced (Level 6+), ESL Teachers, IELTS, Intermediate (Level 4), Reading, Upper Intermediate (Level 5) | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Elastic Heart

Posted on February 22, 2015 by mhardy3222

Hello Everyone!

How are you all going? Enjoying your English journey? Do remember to leave a comment if you have any questions English-related.

Today, I want to share with you the brilliance of ‘Sia’, an Australian singer-songwriter-artist. Her music videos are a vocal and visual treat! Her latest song ‘Elastic Heart’ does not disappoint.

First, watch this video, with the lyrics, and enjoy! (This was the best video with lyrics that I could find. Unfortunately, some of the lyrics are wrong. If you want to check the correct ones, click here.)

Next, watch the following video; listen to Sia  singing ‘Elastic Heart’ while watching Urban Dance Camp dancing – that’s if ‘dancing’ is the correct term! They look like they have elastic bodies!

If you are interested in a forum discussing the meaning of the song and the video, click here .

Posted in Advanced (Level 6+), Intermediate (Level 4), Listening, Songs, Upper Intermediate (Level 5) | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Short stories by Vanda Vadas

Posted on January 11, 2015 by mhardy3222

I constantly encourage English students to read excellent authors in order to improve their reading, writing, and vocabulary skills.

How can you possibly acquire the skills you need for advanced level writing if you don’t read inspiring material?

Vanda Vadas is just such an author; her fabulous stories are beautifully written  and perfect examples of eloquent, descriptive English. Her latest novel will soon be available on Kindle, and she has kindly provided some of her short stories on-line free of charge. Check them out!

Posted in Advanced (Level 6+), Cambridge, Grammar, IELTS, Reading, Upper Intermediate (Level 5), Vocabulary, Writing | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Season’s Greetings!

Posted on December 24, 2014 by mhardy3222

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Season’s Greetings Everyone!!

I hope you all have a very happy Christmas!!

If you don’t celebrate Christmas, I hope you have a very happy holiday!!

If you’re not on holiday, I hope you have a very happy and prosperous New Year!!

Whoever you are, I hope you enjoy this humorous, little video and I’ll see you in 2015:

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Posted in Intermediate (Level 4), Pre-Intermediate (Level 3), Videos | Tagged | Leave a comment

A Song with Reduced Relative Clauses: #7

Posted on December 14, 2014 by mhardy3222

*There are a few ways in which we can reduce Relative Clauses. For now, I’m going to look at the Reduced Relative Clauses (bold print) in the song “Rolling in the Deep”  by Adele (subtitles in English). Can you work out which words have been omitted?

Song: ROLLING IN THE DEEP

There’s a fire starting in my heart/
Reaching a fever pitch;ADELE

It’s bringing me out (of) the dark.
Finally, I can see you crystal clear;  

Go ahead and sell me out and I’ll lay your ship bare.
See how I leave with every piece of you.
Don’t underestimate the things that I will do.

There’s a fire starting in my heart,
Reaching a fever pitch
And it’s bringing me out (of) the dark.

Relative clauses ‘relate’ (refer) to nouns and pronouns. Think of them as long adjectives. In this post, I am looking at Reduced Relative Clauses. For basic information on Relative Clauses and Relative Pronouns, I recommend that you first read my earlier posts.

Have you worked out that the omitted words are which is (or that is):

There’s a fire which is starting in my heart

(There’s a fire) which is reaching a fever pitch

We can delete (or leave out) the Relative Pronoun  with the BE verb  when the main verb in the Relative Clause is Continuous (Progressive): … is starting… / … is reaching… .

It doesn’t matter which tense the continuous verb is. The finite verb in the Independent Clause often indicates the tense. The Independent Clause in this song is: There is a fire. Here are some more examples:

  • The girl is gorgeous as well as talented.
  • The girl who is singing the song is gorgeous as well as talented.
  • > The girl singing the song is gorgeous as well as talented.
  •                          ↑        ↑        ↑
  •              Reduced Relative Clause
  • The people were really enjoying themselves.
  • The people who were singing along with Adele at the concert were really enjoying themselves.
  • > The people singing along with Adele at the concert were really enjoying themselves.                            ↑               ↑               ↑
  •                                             Reduced Relative Clause

Sometimes, it’s the meaning conveyed in the Reduced Relative Clause that indicates the tense. In the following example, ‘since 2008’, indicates that the BE verb in the present perfect tense has been omitted.

  • The singer is only 26 years old.
  • The singer, who has been writing music since 2008, is only 26 years old.
  • > The singer, writing music since 2008, is only 26 years old.
  •                                   ↑              ↑              ↑
  •                              Reduced Relative Clause

* I will be writing more posts on Reduced Relative Clauses. For now, listen to Adele singing ROLLING IN THE DEEP.  There are only two Reduced Relative Clauses, so you should be able to remember them! However, for those of you who want more information and practice exercises now, click here.

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Posted in Grammar, Intermediate (Level 4), Listening, Pre-Intermediate (Level 3), Relative Clauses, Songs, Upper Intermediate (Level 5) | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

English Dictation

Posted on December 6, 2014 by mhardy3222

Dictation is one way to check and improve your students’ listening level. However, it can be really boring for students.

Why not use a song for dictation? There’s a song I sometimes use for dictation in my English ESL class which is so good that the students enjoy the class even if it’s difficult.

You can show the Youtube video either at the beginning or end of the lesson, or not at all.  (Who knows, maybe the video will no longer be available when you want to show it.)

This version of the song, ‘Unchained Melody’ by Dan England performing on the TV Show Australian Idol  and just 1:45 minutes long, is perfect for a dictation for levels 3-5. For level 3, I pre teach some vocabulary: lonely; Verbs: flow, hunger, touch, Godspeed.

Here are the lyrics:

Lonely rivers flow to the sea, to the sea, to the open arms of the sea.

Oh my love, my darling,

I’ve hungered for your touch a long, lonely time.

And time goes by so slowly, and time can do so much.

Are you still mine? ……… I need your love.

I need your love.

Godspeed your love to me.

Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows that I recommend songs a lot. It really is one of the easiest ways to learn and remember English. Teachers, try this dictation and let me know how you go.

For English students who are reading this post, here’s my advice: Listen to the song and sing along. If you like the song, listen a few times. When you remember the song, you will   remember the grammar, the vocabulary, and the pronunciation. I’m sure that you will enjoy this modern version of a classic 60’s song.

Posted in Intermediate (Level 4), Listening, Songs | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments