We are still practicing those questions with
like as a
verb and
like as a
preposition. So in our first lesson of the week students answered the question
What did you look like when you were 3 years old? Most students said they were a little plump like most young children.
We read a Thank you letter from a foreign student to a her host family in Australia. In the letter Soon/hee uses a lot of verbs followed by other verbs in various forms: sometimes in the infinitive:
I want to say, sometimes in the present participle:
I enjoyed meeting you all. Other possibilities, depending on the verb we are using first and also on the meaning with intend to convey are: verb+somebody+ infinitive (no to) as in:
they are letting me stay with them. It is only after a few verbs:
make, let, help, that we use this form.
We use another form when we want to report somebody's command, wish or intention regarding somebody else, following verbs like
want, ask, tell or invite. For instance:
my parents wanted me to follow a different profession. If we are reporting a negative command with the verbs
ask or
tell, it is the infinitive form of the verb that it will be negative as in:
she asked me not to make so much noise. With
want or
invite we'll say:
my parents didn't want me to follow a different profession. Or
he didn't invite to join them.
Students filled in a chart with the above verb forms. Then we listened to a recording in which a number of people used those verbs. Students had to identify the form of the verb. They also practiced their oral skill by explaining what they had heard.
There are a few verbs which can be followed by either an infinitive or a present participle; the meaning changes depending on that choice:
stop, try and
remember are good examples:
I stopped to visit my aunt and
I stopped visiting my aunt mean different things. The latter means that I never visited again.
We studied a number of adjectives to talk about food, towns and people.Some interesting words that I noticed most students didn't know are:
starving, wealthy, elderly, crowded.
Finally we listened to a recording of a couple being interviewed about their experience as New York residents and their opinions about the city. Some questions we didn't have time to work on and that are meant as a guideline for the listening are.
1.What do they think about the taxi drivers in NY?
2.How do they feel about the shops´schedule?
3. How long have they been in NY?
4.What do they like about NY?
5.What do they think about the people?
6.Have they made any friends? Is it easy to make friends in NY?
7.What do they think about the subway?
8. What do most people do for food in NY ?
9. What do they say about the working hours in NY?
10.Why do they think they will probably move back to London eventually?
Homework
Write a couple of paragraphs about a city. It could be a city you know very well or one you have visited for a short or long time. Use the questions above as a guide so you the kind of things you can talk about.