Job Discussion Forums

[tina20]

(edited due to TMI)

[Dedicated]

I'm a CELTA trainer and I'd be quite happy with your answers.

As for Grammar 3 , I suggest you put:

It's going to snow.

"Going to" is common when we predict the future by using the present evidence - when we can see that a future event is on its way, or starting to happen.

Then you can avoid "might" and explanation of modal verbs.
Also notice " advise" is the verb, "advice" is the noun =Please advise me/Please give me some advice.

Also in 1c : simple past is not necessarily long concluded. It is just any completed action (eg. I went to the bathroom 5 minutes ago, but it was dirty)

Good luck!

[johnslat]

Dear tina20,



1. I had been to France two years ago.

a) I went to France two years ago.
b) simple past tense
c) reference is to a past event that has long since concluded

(I think your "c" should be something to the effect that the past perfect can be used only when the action/state of being happens BEFORE a past time or action.)

2. I�ve been understanding you all along.

a)I've understood you all along
b) present perfect
c) This sentence expresses a past event that has present consequences. The event itself (in case the speaker�s �understanding� of the subject) though started in the past might not necessarily have been completed and hence could continue in the future. In this example, the speaker continues to understand the subject

(I think your "c" here could be simply that "understand" is a non-continuous verb. The present perfect continuous is usually used when an action began in the past and is going on now. Neither the Present perfect simple nor the present perfect continuous deals with future time.)

Regards,
John

[fluffyhamster]

I'll just comment on the points that others haven't covered or IMHO quite covered. (Meaning, the stuff I don't comment on I reckon Dedicated and John, or indeed you yourself Tina, have all covered pretty well! ).

Admittedly "I had been to France two years ago" may seema little odd and gets only seven hits on Google (all apparently from someone or some people studying English! ), whilst 'before' can sound better and increase the number of resulting hits, but "I had been there two years ago" gets over 70,000 hits, and "I had been there years ago" almost twice as many. (Then, there are more stative than dynamic meanings to be expressed by the like of "I had been there [for [n]] years"). I could understand objections to using Present Perfect this way, but Past Perfect would seem more flexible function-wise. Still, perhaps the person who designed and wrote this particular question-task simply used 'had' in place of 'have' by mistake?

Remember(ed) -ing and Remember(ed) to V can be tricky (or there's something possibly quite interesting that I recall seeing about it somewhere), so I'd want to have a quick read up on it before perhaps considering posting about it.

[Dedicated]

Fluffyhamster : to save you the time and effort checking out "remember + infinitive" or "remember...ing", there's a fairly simple rule.

Things people did : remember ...ing
eg. I still remember buying my first bicycle
I'll never forget meeting the Queen

Things people have/had to do : remember +infinitive

eg.Can you please remember to lock the garage door?

I hope this helps!

[tina20]

[fluffyhamster]

Thanks for the simple rule, Dedicated...I think I (we!) can live with that! And it has helped. (I mean, I remember taking my pills today, but did I actually TAKE them?! )

[fluffyhamster]

Heh, you're welcome, Tina!

Why would you find the noun and verb stress patterns for 'present' confusing though? (Make sure by the way that the noun answer has the unstressed syllable shown too - but you probably meant to type *O rather than just * for e), eh!).

Some words really don't show stress differences though - practise/practice, for example:
http://forums.eslcafe.com/teacher/viewtopic.php?t=9651

[Sashadroogie]

I love complicating rules!

I didn't remember to lock the door.

I didn't remember locking the door.

What's going on here?

[johnslat]

Dear Sasha,

"What's going on here?"

Well, an unlocked door and a very bad memory. At my age, I'd immediately suspect Alzheimer's.

Regards,
John

[Sashadroogie]

I remembered becoming unhinged.

I remembered to become unhinged.


Hic!

[nickpellatt]

present (n) Stress is first syllable

to present (v) Stress is second.

You can always check stress on dictionary.com if you are unsure, or want to double-check on any vocab you are going to teach. I have to say, great answers for a pre-course task! Good job! I would think you will be an outstanding candidate, and (as long as the teaching goes well) you'll do very well at the course and in EFL.

Good luck with it, remember to pop back and let us know how you got on!

[tina20]

I'll be sure to keep you guys posted.

[tina20]

EDITED!

[tina20]

EDITED