Non-Action Verbs Practice

Here is a nice explanation of non-action verbs at ESLGold.com:

(This website has a lot of ads, so you have to scroll down to look for the grammar lesson)

"Some verbs cannot be used in the progressive tenses. They are called non-action verbs. Non-action verbs indicate state, sense, desire, possession, or opinion."

This explanation is followed by a list of non-action verbs and examples of how to use these verbs in sentences.There is also a list of verbs that have both action and non-action meanings, such as have, look, and think. Often these verbs require a preposition when they are used as action verbs in the present progressive tense:

John is thinking about his girlfriend.
I am looking at a beautiful sunset.

My Suggestion: Read the short explanation of non-action verbs at the first link below, then click on the second link to try some exercises at a different website:

LINK: Non-Action Verbs Explanation at ESLGold 

LINK: Non-Action Verbs Practice Exercise

Deciding Whether to Use Present or Past Tense of "To Be"

Sometimes it's important to use the same verb tense for your whole paragraph. For instance, if you write a paragraph about your morning routine, use simple present tense in each sentence of the paragraph. Here is an example of a paragraph written completely in the simple present tense (verbs are typed in red):

Every morning I awake at 7:00. First, I take a shower and dress. Then I eat breakfast and brush my teeth. After that I drive to work. I arrive by 9:00 a.m. and work for four hours. At 1:00 p.m., my work day is over. Sometime I run errands before I drive home. 

In some paragraphs, however, you have to change verb tenses now and then. If you are telling about your life, you will probably write about events in the past as well as information about your present life. Here is an example (present tense verbs are typed in red, but past tense verbs are in green):

My name is Pedro. I come from Mexico. I was born in Mexico City and lived there for 30 years. I came to the United States five years ago. I work part time at a grocery store and part time at a nursing home. In Mexico, I didn't complete high school. I want to return to school, and I plan to be a nurse.

Try this exercise from Englishmaven.org. Decide whether to use the present or the past tense of the verb to be. How do you decide? Look for time words in the sentence that show something happened in the past, such as yesterday, last night, when I was young, etc. These words or phrases are clues that you should use the past tense of to be. Use the present tense of to be to state facts and to refer to things that happen regularly (like habit or routine). Time words such as now and today also tell you to use the present tense.

My suggestion:  Click on the link below and try the exercise on the past and present tenses of the verb to be.

LINK: Deciding Whether to Use Present or Past Tense of "To Be"

You can also click on the following link for more information on using present versus past tense when writing.

LINK: Using Present or Past Tense in Narration

What Do You Need To Practice?

Enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday, but do a little English language practice every day.

My Suggestions:

1) Listen to a VOA news story or short fiction story while you read the printed text. Click on unfamiliar words to see the definition. Or try some of the new English learning course videos on this page.

LINK: Voice of America         

2) Test your knowledge of irregular verbs, how to use verb tenses, vocabulary, or other basic English skills at the website Englishlearner.com. Try any of the quizzes in the "Beginner Grammar Exercises and Tests" section near the top of the page:

LINK: Beginner Grammar Exercises and Tests at Englishlearner.com

3) Learn some new idioms and practice using them with a native English speaker or someone who is more advanced, to make sure you are using the idioms correctly. Check out the lists of idioms at Englishhints.com, or watch some "English in a Minute" videos at VOA:

LINK: List of Idioms at Englishhints.com

LINK: English in a Minute at VOA

Ten Word Parts 1 (prefixes and suffixes)

Teacher Connie has made a new study list for the nine prefixes and one suffix in today's Ten Word Parts handout. Click on the link below to study the ten word parts in your handout, at her site at studystack.com:

LINK: Ten Word Parts 1 at Studystack.com

 

               unicycle                                                                  unicorn

On Thursday, Nov. 1st, we well meet at 10:00 a.m. at the lodge at Black Hawk State Park, 1510 46th Ave., in Rock Island. We will tour the Hauberg Indian museum (located inside the lodge). This is a fantastic little museum with life-size models of homes and seasonal activities of the Native America tribes (the Sauk and Fox) that once lived in the very area where the museum is located. Here is a map to show you how to get there:

LINK: Map to Black Hawk State Park, 1510 46th Ave., Rock Island, IL

Here is a picture of the map:

And below is a closeup map that shows the drive into the park and the parking lot:

Here is a link to the online closeup map shown above:

LINK: Closeup map of drive into park and parking lot

English Sentence Patterns

Sometimes students have difficulty picking out the subject and verb of a sentence. Reviewing basic English sentence patterns can help you recognize subjects and verbs. Below is a link to a page at the website eslgold.com with many useful charts that show different sentence patterns.

My suggestion: Click on the link below and study the English sentence patterns shown in the first chart. Below the first chart are examples of sentences that follow each pattern. Every day, choose one of the patterns and write five sentences that follow that pattern.

LINK: Sentence patterns at eslgold.com