Rules & Regulations

Wednesday 29^th April

Hello girls! How are you?

I hope Carmen is fine; as she didn’t come yesterday.

We have a long early weekend coming! This weekend is full of festivities. It’s International Labour Day. It’s Mother’s Day in Spain and it’s May Day in the U.K.

What did we do yesterday in class?

We checked your homework on first and second conditional. We talked about superstitions. It seems you aren’t superstitious. You like black cats and so do I. (me, too) but I don’t agree with you on one thing. You said you don’t mind walking under a ladder in the street. I do! If there’s a ladder in the street, there may be people working. And something (a tool, a stone, a brick, a part of the building etc.) could fall on your head! I’m not superstitious. I’m cautious! (I want to be safe; not to have accidents)

You told me about your memories on the ‘Tooth Fairy’ although it isn’t exactly the same in Spain. In here we have ‘Perez, the Mouse’. Have you ever visited the museum? It’s near Sol, in Madrid.

Then, we started talking about rules and regulations.

If you go out, most of you have to say your parents where you are going to and who you are going with. You mustn’t get back home after ten, in most cases. Don’t complain! You are under 16! What did you expect?

Laura’s brothers mustn’t (can’t) play football in the house. But they can play in the corridor. Of course, they could (possibly) hit something with the ball and break it!

	Affirmative	Negative	Question			Short Answers
Obligation (usually for rules  or laws)	I have to work long hours.	I don’t have to work long hours.	Do you have to work long hours?			Yes, I do. / No, I don’t.
HAVE TO	She has to wear a uniform.	She doesn’t have to wear a uniform.	Does she have to wear a uniform?			Yes, she does. / No, she doesn’t.
Permission	I can go out with my friends.	I can’t go out with my friends.		Can you go out with your friends?	Yes, I can. No, I can’t.
CAN / CAN’T	She can spend as much as she wants.	She can’t spend as much as she wants.		Can she spend as much as she wants?	Yes, she can. / No, she can’t.
Obligation (I MUST, when you impose the obligation yourself)	I must study (It’s my duty)
Prohibition		I mustn’t speak in class.

Exercises, must/ should Exercise modals for obligation - click in here!!!

And we finished the class with the song that Noelia prepared. Very well done, Noelia. She chose the song because it helps to revise ‘present perfect’.

It was great talking to you about different things: Manga, your school English lessons and rules. This is your score for homework, participation and attention in class.

GAME 3

Player 1	9
Player 2	5
Player 3	8
Player 4	---
Player 5	6
Player 6	7
Player 7	7

C.U. next Wednesday!

Have a nice weekend!

Would you Survive?

Wednesday 22^nd April

Hello girls! Ready for the weekend?

What did we do last Wednesday?

We started revising vocabulary on politics. And we talked about it for a while.

Then, we made the speech for our political parties. You presented your candidates and of course, your promises. After that we had a short debate in which we discussed - not argued. (Discuss in English means debate, exchange opinions. In Spanish, it means fight. This is what we call a ‘false friend’. False friends are words whose pronunciation or spelling is similar to words in other languages but they have a different meaning).

   I was the candidate for HFY which stands for Here For You. This was my programme:

If we win the elections, we will give a free laptop to all students aged 13 and above.

If we win the elections…

…we will reduce the car driving age to 15 and small motorbikes to 13.

…we will build more youth centres with skate parks.

….we will reduce the age for having tattoos to 13.

We believe you are old enough to decide!!!

But I didn’t persuade you! I didn’t have any votes! You put your vote cards into the ballot box. The people made a decision and cast their vote for PPP (Pink Political Party). Its candidates Noelia and Andrea, won the elections.

We used this election topic to finish the grammar point of first conditional.

And we started to work on the second conditional.

Would you survive?

1.    What would you do if you were in the middle of a river and a crocodile swam towards you?

Would you try to swim to the bank as fast as you could? Would you stay still and wait for the crocodile to go away? Or would you try to hit it in the face?

2.    What would you do if you were in a forest and a very big bear came towards you?

Would you climb up the nearest tree? Would you lie on the ground and pretend to be dead? Or would you run away as fast as possible?

3.    What would you do if you were in the middle of a field and a bull started running towards you?

Would you run? Would you throw something in another direction? Or would you shout and wave your arms?

As good Spanish people, all of us would survive a bull attack. But the only ones who would survive the three encounters with wild animals are Andrea and Noelia. Andrea says she watches nature documentaries. So, if you want to survive in the wild, watch animal documentaries! (That is a Zero conditional; it’s a fact, something real. Present, present)

We have studied Zero, First and Second conditional. Here is the summary:

·        Zero conditional. (Real situations/ facts)

We use if + present simple                            present simple

If you begin the sentence with “if”, you have to use a comma.

·        First conditional.

·        Possible and very probable situation

We use if + present simple                                     will / won’t + infinitive

If it doesn’t rain on Saturday, we’ll go for a walk.

·        Instructions

We use if + present simple                                     imperative

·        If you can’t attend to class, tell the teacher.

·        Second conditional.

·        Unreal situation

If + past simple ------------------ would / wouldn’t + infinitive

(Present conditional)

If I were you, I wouldn’t wear these shoes with that dress.

(You can use ‘were’ with all persons of the verb ‘to be’ in 2^nd conditional clauses)

·        Possible but very improbable situation

·        If + past simple ------------------ would / wouldn’t + infinitive

                                                  (present conditional)

·        If I a crocodile swam towards me, I wouldn’t remain still or pretend to be dead.

And that was all!

Don’t forget to do the exercises on the photocopies I gave you for next class. We’ll talk about animals and we listen to a song. I forgot who is going to prepare the song. I think it is Noelia but I’m not sure.

GAME 2

Player 1	7
Player 2	4
Player 3	6
Player 4	4
Player 5	6
Player 6	7
Player 7	4

C.U. next Wednesday!

Have a nice weekend!