Explanation of "Should" and "Should not"

"Should" is a confusing word, because you can use it in different ways. Learn-English-Online.org describes several of them. Here is my version of the lesson on the website:

• To give advice or ask for advice ("You should always wear your hair like that--you look beautiful!" "Should I ask your brother to fix my car?")
• To communicate a strong opinion or instruction ("You should clean your bedroom right now!"). 
• To speak of things we regret doing or not doing (I shouldn't have become angry with my mother." "I should have helped my mother more."). 
• To speculate about (guess) what may or may not have happened ("Try calling your friend--he should be finished with his meeting by now.")
• To speculate about what may happen in the future ("It should rain tomorrow.").

My Suggestion: You can read the lesson about the different uses of should for yourself by clicking the link below:

"Should" and "Should Not" at Learn English Online

Quizzes Like the Celsa Test . . . Kind Of

Some of you want more practice for the Celsa grammar test. This week in class we worked together to choose the correct answer for missing words in single sentences. The Celsa test, however, requires you to read through longer paragraphs. Again and again, you must decide which choice in the box (a, b, c, or d) best completes a sentence. Before you choose an answer, you have to consider not only the grammar of each sentence but also the context (the words and sentences before and after the missing part).

It is difficult to find quizzes that have long paragraphs, rather than single sentences, and that require you to consider several points of grammar at once. In most quizzes, you only practice one or two grammar skills at a time. For instance, a quiz may ask you to do the same thing in each sentence-- choose between a simple present or a present continuous verb. Other quizzes may ask you to correctly match the person and number of the subject and the verb in each sentence, or to decide whether the missing word should be a subject or an object pronoun.

However, this page from www.manythings.org is pretty close to what we want. It has links to 102 quizzes based on VOA (Voice of America) programs. The readings are not as long as what you find in the Celsa, and you only look at one sentence at a time, but each reading is about one topic. Like the Celsa, these quizzes test your ability to correctly combine and use many different elements of vocabulary and grammar at once.

This should keep the "eager beavers" among you busy for quite a while (if you don't know what "eager beaver" means, look it up)!
http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/

My suggestion: Click on the link below, click on a subject that interests you, then click "Start" to begin the quiz. Even though you'll be reading through an entire paragraph, you'll only look at one sentence at a time.

Grammar Quizzes Based on VOA Programs

Simple Past Tense of Irregular Verbs

On Wednesday (9/23/15) in class we reviewed the material on possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns that I mentioned in my previous post. If you were not in class, read the online lesson and do the exercises. Here is the link to the lesson again (the link to the exercise is near the bottom of the page, under the green pronoun chart):
Lesson on Possessive Adjectives and Pronouns

We also began our study of the past tense of irregular verbs. We say that most English verbs are regular. We mean that the regular (usual) way to form the simple past tense is to add -ed (or -d if the base verb already ends in e) to the base form of the verb. The base form of a verb is the verb part of the infinitive ("to + verb")--to walk, to look, to save, etc. So the difference between present and past is only the verb's ending (although sometimes we have to make spelling changes at the end of the word, as we have discussed in class):

walk        walked
hug          hugged
save         saved
study        studied

However, irregular verbs do not follow this pattern. You cannot make the past tense by adding -ed. Instead, there may be spelling changes inside the word, not just at the end. The simple past form of some irregular verbs looks like a completely different word. An example is the verb to go. The base form used in the present tense is go, but the past tense form is went.

Below is a link to a chart that lists the most common irregular verbs and their principal parts--base form, past tense form, and past participle. We haven't yet studied the verb tenses that use the past participle.

My suggestion: Start studying these 50 most used irregular verbs and their parts. Then you will recognize them as we learn about the verb tenses that use them.

The 50 most common Irregular Verbs--Principal Parts

More Practice Tests With Questions Similar to Celsa Test Questions

Try this English Language Learners test. It's a beginner level test. If you have no trouble with the questions and answer most correctly, try another level test on this website (englishtag.com). Before you choose an answer, think about what reasons you would give for your choice to a classmate who believes a different answer is correct.

My suggestion: Click the link below, answer all 50 questions, and check your answers. Before checking the answers, take another look at questions you are uncertain about and try to explain the reasons for the answers you chose. Watch out for small differences. When must you use "a lot of" rather than "a lot?" When can you use "any" rather than "some" with a noun? After checking your answers, review the grammar structures you tend to make mistakes with.

English Level Test 

Review of Articles (a, an, the), Countable/Noncountable Nouns, and There is, There are

Today in class we reviewed countable and noncountable nouns. We also reviewed rules for using the articles a, an, and the with these nouns.

This lesson is connected to our review of There is and There are on Monday. You need to know whether a noun is countable or uncountable when you say, "There is milk in the refrigerator" as opposed to "There are two cartons of milk in the refrigerator." We don't say, "There is a milk in the refrigerator" or "There are two milks in the refrigerator," because "milk" is a noncountable noun. We have to speak of containers of milk, cartons of milk, bottles of milk, etc. before we can count milk. We can't count milk, water, food, salt, sugar, and other such noncountable nouns--we can't make them plural--until we provide a way to divide them or measure them in units (a cup of water, two pounds of flour, a couple of tablespoons of sugar, a few granules of sugar).

My suggestion: Review countable and noncountable nouns, using the articles an, an and the, and using the expressions There is and There are by clicking on these links:

Countable/Noncountable Nouns Explanation
Count and Noncount Nouns Quiz
 
Articles--The/A/An
Rules for Using A, An, and The
Definite and Indefinite Article Quiz
Spot the Mistake--A, An, The (page 1 questions, page 2 answers)

There is, there are; some, any (negatives, questions)--Quiz starts at bottomof page
Video About "There is" and "There Are" at ESLGold.com
"There is" & "There are" with Count/Noncount Nouns (1/3 of the way down this page at esl-lounge.com)
Dialogue (Conversation) Using "There is" and "There are"
Dialogue Comprehension Quiz--What's In Your Office?

Practice Using Prepositions of Time and Place: in, into, at, on. Also, BEWARE OF ADS!

The website esl.about.com offers many good explanations of grammar and many good quizzes. I don't like all the ads--they crowd out the grammar explanations and links to quizzes.

BEWARE OF THE ADS! Links that advertise things like "Essay Grammar Checker" and "Free Printable Workbook" are often advertisements for products that someone wants to sell to you. When you click on the link, you may find that "free" isn't really "free." If you see such phrases with a link to a website right below it, it's usually an advertisement. There are plenty of free resources on the internet for studying English--you don't need to spend money on what they want to sell you. However, the advertisements help pay for the free stuff you get on the website. That's how radio stations can broadcast for free--companies pay them to advertise products "on the air" (the idiom for a program that is being broadcast on radio or television).

The genuine links to information and quizzes are underlined, with no website address below. There are some good explanations and practice quizzes on prepositions.

My suggestion: Follow up the work we did in class today by reading the explanations of prepositions used with place and time and then doing the quizzes on these pages: IF YOU WERE NOT IN CLASS TODAY, YOU REALLY NEED THIS REVIEW AND PRACTICE!

Preposition Use - in / at / on - prepositions of time and date
Prepositions of Time and Date Quiz

Preposition Use - in / at / on - prepositions of place
Prepositions of Place Quiz

My Favorite English Learning Website (So Far)

http://a4esl.org/

I really like the a4esl.org website because:

• You can choose your level (easy, medium, or difficult) for learning grammar and vocabulary.
• The "Daily Page for ESL Students" link gives you daily quizzes, vocabulary words, listening practice, and pronunciation practice.
• There are links to bilingual quizzes (that is, quizzes in English and another language) contributed by speakers of many languages.. If you speak Arabic, there are English-Arabic quizzes. If you speak Burmese, there are some English-Burmese quizzes. Your native language may or may not be listed, but it's a fun place to explore.

My suggestion: Click on the Grammar - Medium level under Grammar Quizzes (at the top left of the page). Try some of the first quizzes for review of the indefinite article, the vert "to be," and possessive adjectives.

• Choose the Correct Indefinite Article ('a' or 'an')
• BE Verb - Present and Past 
• To Be: Past and Present 
• Possessive Adjectives

English Grammar Secrets

This website is a good place to review and practice verb tenses.

My suggestion: Choose a verb tense from the list on the left, click on it, read the explanation, and do the exercises.
 
http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/