Teach English in WujiAhe Zhen - Tianshui Shi

GRAMMAR Conditionals: Sentences containing ?if? or ?when? which refer to past, present & future possibilities. There are two clauses: the ?if? clause & the main clause & either can come in the first part of a conditional sentence. i.e. If I had the money, I would buy a new car. I would buy a new car if I had the money. The ?if? clause contains condition that has to be satisfied before the action/state in the main clause can be realised. Can also think of main clause as expressing the consequence. In above e.g. the condition of my having enough money has to be satisfied before I can buy a new car. My buying a new car is the consequence. FIVE MAIN CONDITIONS: ZERO CONDITIONAL: FORM: If/when + present tense, present tense USAGE: It refers to actions & facts = irrefutable. Can use ?if? or ?when? with no change in meaning. When you boil water, you get steam. ?Condition: boiled water ?Consequence: steam Water turns to ice when you freeze it. ?Condition: freeze water ?Consequence: ice FIRST CONDITIONAL: FORM: if + present simple, will ?will? can be replaced by a modal verb i.e. may, might, can, should, must USAGE: Talks about a ?real? situation in the future that is possible, probable or even certain, once the condition has been satisfied. If she studies hard, she will pass the exam. Condition: hard study Certain Consequence: passing the exam She might buy it if she has enough money. Condition: having enough money Possible Consequence: buying it SECOND CONDITIONAL: FORM: if + past simple, would/could/might + base form When the verb ?to be? is used in the if clause it can be ?if I was ? or ?if I were? The last more formal. USAGE: Communicates a present or future ?unreal?, hypothetical situation that is presently not true & unlikely ever to be true. If I won the lottery, I would travel the world. If I had a time machine I could go back to the dark ages. THIRD CONDITIONAL: FORM: if = past perfect, would/could/might + have + past participle USAGE: Refers to hypothetical past action/non action & the hypothetical past consequence/result. As ?action? was purely hypothetical, the condition could never have been satisfied & therefore the consequence is/was impossible. If I had practiced the piano, I would have been better. (But I didn?t practice the piano) She would have been angry if she had seen me. (But she didn?t see me) MIXED CONDITIONAL: Sometimes combine a 2nd conditional clause with 3rd conditional clause. Most commonly formed as follows: If + past perfect, would + base form If I had listened to him, I would be in serious trouble now. ( I didn?t listen to him so I?m not in trouble) This mix refers to a hypothetical past action state & the hypothetical present consequence. Other less common mixes are possible. TYPICAL MISTAKES: Consider the problems that may arise from past tenses being used in the second conditional when it refers to the future ? as it always does ? along with the complex structures & you have the basis for endless mistakes with conditionals. Many students fin d it hard to see the difference in usage between 1st & 2nd conditionals. Same problems can arise with 3rd & mixed conditionals. TEACHING IDEAS: SPLIT SENTENCES: Take any conditional sentence & cut in half. Mix them up so students have to put together again. ?If you touch that dog you?ll be sick. ?If you don?t water the plants it will bite you. ?If you eat that they?ll die. COMPLETE THE CONDITIONAL: ?Give students half a conditional & instruct to complete with own ideas i.e. ?If I won the lottery??. ?If I could live in any country??. ??..., I would be very happy. ??..., I would be very angry. CHAIN CONDITIONALS: ?Students take turns to continue a conditional sentence. i.e. ?If I am ill tomorrow, I will stay at home. ?If I stay at home, I will watch TV. ?If I watch TV I will become brain dead. ?If I become brain dead, I will be very boring. WHAT A QUESTION! Give moral dilemmas in conditional form to discuss i.e. Would you be willing to murder an innocent person if it would end world hunger? NUCLEAR BUNKER ROKLE PLAY: There is going to be nuclear war but only room in bunker for one more person. Each student is assigned a role i.e. Dr, politician, actress, teacher, architect, scientist. They must persuade a judge that they are best candidate for last place in bunker. ?If I live, I will discover a cure for cancer. Etc. WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF? In groups students respond to different 2nd conditional sentences. ?What would happen if everyone was colour blind? ?What would happen if everyone was 5 meters tall? ?What would happen if everyone could read each other?s thoughts? Note this idea works well for 1st conditionals too. REPORTED SPEECH & DIRECT SPEECH: What are they? Look at following sentences ? a transcript of telephone conversation between Phil & Ken with Jim an anxious listener. Phil: ?How are you feeling after last night, Ken?? Ken: ?I?m feeling great today!? Jim: ?What?s he saying?? Phil: ?ken says that he?s feeling great today!? All these sentences are actual speech or direct speech BUT in Phils sentence addressed to Jim he reports what Ken has just told him ? bold. Phil reports in the present tense ? ?Ken says that?.? Consequently the tense of the speech he reports is in the present. He repeats words used by ken, except for the initial ?I?m? which had to change into ?he?s? i.e. with the meaning ?Ken says Ken is ???. He also added word ?that? = optional. Conversation Jim & Phil if two hours after phone call. Jim: ?What did Ken say on the phone?? Phil: ?Ken said (that) he was feeling great!? Alternatively ?Ken told me (that) he was feeling great!?) Phil is now obliged to report in the past tense since phone call is over. So he starts ?Ken said?.? Phil still changed Ken?s I to he, but has to change tense of verb used by Ken into past form ? present continuous into past continuous. So ??.he was feeling?.? When turn direct questions into reported ? indirect ? speech the following changes take place: Question word ? when, where, why, who, what, how etc. ? remains but form of verb changes into positive form, question mark left out in reported questions.. Verb say changes into ask, enquire?.etc. & tense of speech reported is same as reporting verb. i.e. Phil?s question was ?How are you feeling after last night Ken?? If reporting this it becomes Phil asked how Ken was feeling. If is no question word, if or whether is used: ?Is anyone there??, he asked becomes He asked if/whether anyone was there Note there are never quotation marks in reported speech as we not quoting exact words spoken. VERB TENSES: try ?reporting? these to somebody & note how verbs change.. 1.?I love it!? He said that he loved it! 2.?The rain has stopped? He said that the rain has stopped. 3.?I had breakfast earlier? He said that he had breakfast earlier. 4.?I have been waiting for 30 minutes? He said that he had been waiting for 30 minutes. 5.?I?ll be in London in July? He said that he will be in London in July. 6.?I was living in London in ?96? He said that he had been living in London in ?96. Note number of changes when reporter uses reporting verb in the past, such as said, told, asked etc. As help check changes with guide that follows: DIRECT SPEECH to REPORTED SPEECH Present Simple Past Simple Present Continuous Past continuous Present Perfect Past Perfect Present Perfect Continuous Past Perfect Continuous Past Simple Past Perfect Past Continuous Past Perfect Continuous Will Would Past Perfect Past Perfect Past Perfect Continuous Past Perfect Continuous Exception to rules: Example is a structure sentence i.e. He said that the sky is black today / He told me that rents are lower outside the city centre & other such instances when fact being reported is still true. PRONOUNS: Pronoun denoting who is spoken to can change depending on context i.e. ?I love you,? she said. Can become: She said she loved me. (talking to me) She said she loved you. ? talking to you She said she loved him. ? talking to him She said she loved her. ? talking to her She said she loved it. ? talking to her dog She said she loved us. - talking to both you & me She said she loved them. ? talking to both of them Events & ?things? take step backwards both in time & physical position. Usually, present becomes past ? referred to as backshifting ??this? & ?here? become ?that? & ?there? TIME EXPRESSIONS: Modified if backshifting. i.e. ?today? becomes ?that day? ?yesterday? becomes ?the day before? ? ?the previous day? ?tomorrow? becomes ?the next day? ? ?the day after? etc. Changes taught a student progresses through levels. Golden Rule: take each one at a time, do it slowly 7 thoroughly. See diagram pg. 7 TEACHING IDEAS: INTERMEDIARIES: Role Play ?one person says a sentence which is then ?reported? to a third husband & wife ? employer & employee disputes ? parent & teenager ? quarrelling neighbours etc. REPORTING VERBS: Higher levels ? make list of verbs that can replace the ?reporting? verb i.e. ?say? - check that contains all necessary for following: Each group/pair given selection of direct speech sentences then choose appropriate reporting verb & alter sentence accordingly. I.e. list may include ?to claim?, ?to deny?, ?to admit?. Direct speech sentence i.e. ?Okay, I did it ? it was me!? ? ?to admit? ? He admitted that he had done it. Or higher level students ?He admitted doing it. MEDIA INTERVIEWS: Often report third parties speech & students devise own based on current events.