Young Learners, level 2: Basic Simple Past exercises

26th October 2022

A chance to review the simple past (verb 2).

I expect all students to be able to use the past tense by the end of the seminar.

infinite / present (verb 1) / past (verb 2)

1 to be am / was [I am / I was]

are / were [they are / they were]

2 to have have / had

3 to do do / did

4 to say say / said

5 to go go / went

6 to get get / got

7 to make make / made

8 to know know /knew

9 to think think / thought

10 to take take / took

11 to see see / saw

12 to come come / came

13 to want want / wanted

14 to use use / used

15 to find find / found

Past Tense Exercise

1. You (have) a test yesterday.

You had a test yesterday.

2. They (do) their homework last night.

They ——- their homework last night.

3. You (are) lazy last week.

You ——- lazy last week.

4. I (am) hungry yesterday.

I ——- hungry yesterday.

5. Sam (go) to Hong Kong last year.

Sam ——- to Hong Kong last year.

6. The man (make) tables and chairs yesterday.

The man —— tables and chairs yesterday.

7. Two weeks ago the boy (has) a new bicycle.

Two weeks ago the boy ——- a new bicycle.

8. In London I (know) many people.

In London I _______ many people.

9. I (get) 10 points in my English test.

I ______ 10 points in my English test.

10. I (want) to see a great film.

I _______ to see a great film.

Extra work for Top Cats

Corrections: Write in the past tense

I (am) born in Vietnam and (arrive) in Sai Gon in 2020. I (go) to school in District 1 because I (want) to work near my home. Last week, my friend (have) a party. She (dance) all night and I (hear) her singing. In the morning, she (have) a headache.

Please Note: All photos are taken from Google Images or free photo sites, and are used for educational purposes only. No copyright infringement or offense is intended. If I have used your photo or image, and you wish me to remove it, just ask. This site is not monetized, I run it on my own dollar. Thank you.

Albert Camus Quote

17th October 2022

Young Learners, Level 3: using new adjectives.

14th October 2022

The last two lessons focused on adjectives and their opposites, including:

big~ small // high ~ low // sharp ~ blunt //

easy ~ difficult // rough ~ smooth //

quiet ~ noisy // fat ~ thin // safe ~ scary

Complete the sentences with the correct adjective.

I can’t cut my hair, my scissors are __________

My puppy is so _______ however, my hedgehog is very _____________ .

The maths test was so _______ however the science test was so ________________ .

Be careful, Ms Thuy ! The man is very ______ .

Laurel and Hardy are so funny. One is very _____ however, one is very ______ .

Yoyoko is only _________________ however she is very ______________ !

Harold is climbing very _____

Oh, no ! Crocodiles have very ______ teeth.

Now … your turn

Get out your list of adjectives. Write THREE sentences with new adjectives.

To help, look at these photos:

Young Learners, level 1: let’s write a story

13th October 2022

Today you are going to write a short story about your favourite animal.

First, what animals do you like ?

A is for …. // B is for … // C is for … // D is for … //

E is for … // H is for … // L is for … ? // M is for … //

R is for … // S is for … // T is for … // W is for … ?

Then listen to this short story about a rabbit called Peter. The story is by Beatrix Potter.

You will learn some new words. Try to use them in YOUR story.

New verbs and adverbs: (use present tense or Verb 1)

underneath / squeeze / chase / catch / hide /

New adjectives:

naughty / lost / safe / friendly / happy / scared /

Now … your turn

Make four squares on your paper like this.

Think of a story. Start like this:

[Square 1] I will tell you the story of …

[Square 2] First … was naughty.

(what does your animal do ?)

[Square 3] Then … chase or squeeze …

[Square 4] Finally Mummy tells …

Draw and colour your story

EXAMPLE

I will tell you the story of Max the dog.

First Max was naughty. He sees a friendly cat.

Then he chase the cat in the garden. The cat is scared.

Finally Mummy tells Max to be nice. Max hides and the cat looks and catches Max.

Swedish Rock … and hej då to Stella.

4th October 2022

Ni Hao Stella ? How are you ?

Everyone allow me to introduce you to my favourite YouTuber, Stella, who has a channel dedicated to music :

As you can see from this screenshot, Stella discusses individual bands, favourite songs and genres of music, all in an educated yet very entertaining manner.

Her laugh is just about the cutest thing you will ever hear, as well.

I suggested Stella take a look at some Swedish rock and pop bands; not the global acts such as Ace of Bass, The Cardigans or Rednex (not to mention ABBA) but the lesser known bands, the indie rock of Stockholm, Gothenburg and my old stomping ground, Malmö.

KB music venue, 10 minutes walk from my old apartment in Malmö

What follows is the tip of the Nordic iceberg, a very mixed bag of styles and attitudes. I hope you find something of interest.

Tack så mycket (thank you very much)

To kick off, the first Swedish artist I heard, Thomas di Leva, and ‘Vi Har Bara Varandra.’ The title roughly translates as ‘We only have each other.’

Thomas was born in 1963, and achieved wide success in 1987, even being name-checked by David Bowie (the back blurb of a book on Di Leva). The main body of his work is from the mid 80s to the 90s, his last LP being released in 2013.

I think this song is so catchy, immediately infectious and memorable. I often sang it, along with the whole crowd, at festivals.

Next up is another band active from the mid 80s to the early 90s, Union Carbide Productions. My favourite song is the guitar-riff heavy ‘Golden Age.’ This one’s for you, Stella.

The band morphed into The Soundtrack of Our Lives in the mid 90s.

Now for one of Sweden’s biggest guitar bands, Kent. Here’s the video for ‘Dom Andra‘ from 2002:

The band, who broke up in 2016, released 12 albums. Lead singer and guitarist Joakim Berg also wrote for other artists, such as Lisa Miskovsky.

I saw Lisa at a free concert at the Malmö Festival, and she was amazing. This is a live version of ‘California Heart‘ from the 2006 ‘Changes’ album.

Staying in Malmö, Skilla is an all-girl band that I saw live on a few occasions. I once met Lisa, the guitarist, after a gig, and the lyricist Nina allowed me to interview her for a paper I was writing on linguistics. ‘Tragic Song‘ is from their debut album.

The next band, The Hives, had success outside of Sweden, an early album reaching number 7 in the UK charts. You may know this song, ‘Hate to say I Told You So,’ a great garage band thrash.

One Swedish band who apparently have quite a following in Japan is Mando Diao, and here’s the video for one of their early hits, ‘Sheepdog.’

Finally The Sounds, a band from Helsingborg, and ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll‘ from their 2002 debut album.

As mentioned, we have only scrapped the surface here, there are so many bands I omitted; Melody Club, First Aid Kit, The Mo, Alice in Videoland, Lisa Ekdahl, Weeping Willows, The Ark, Lykke Li, Veronica Maggio, Dolkows, Atomic Swing … I feel a Part Two coming on.

Hope you like this, Stella

Jingo Harleyman – ‘Hari Karachi & the Durango 4’ OST (Part 4)

2nd October 2022

Part 4 of the OST (original soundtrack)

‘Hari Karachi & the Durango 4’

The music was composed and performed by Jingo Harleyman, and is royalty-free; anyone may download the music or use it for non-profit purposes.

Furthermore, all the music is free to use for no-budget or low-budget projects. Please credit the composer:

Hari Karachi is a cybertective, notable for wearing crocodile boots.

In Part 4, the hero confronts the dark web Cicada 126, utilising all his cyberskills to bring down the evil organisation.

The Mai Tai Girls help Karachi get back to Asia, but from a different home base. But are the Durango 4 still on his trail … ?

Now, without further ado, the video:

Thank you to everyone who has watched the video. Your time and support is really appreciated.

Jingo Harleyman – ‘Hari Karachi & the Durango 4’ OST (Part 3)

26th September 2022

Part 3 of the OST (original soundtrack)

‘Hari Karachi & the Durango 4’

The music was composed and performed by Jingo Harleyman, and is royalty-free; anyone may download the music or use it for non-profit purposes.

Furthermore, all the music is free to use for no-budget or low-budget projects. Please credit the composer:

Hari Karachi is a cybertective, notable for wearing crocodile boots.

In Part 3 Karachi realises why the notorious Durango 4 revenge posse are hunting him; the cybertective has uncovered a hidden, nefarious dark website known as Cicada 126.

Seymore Green employs the Mai Tai Girls to get Karachi to safety, then Karachi can plan to destroy Cicada 126 … unless they get to him first.

Now, without further ado, the video:

The story (spoiler-free) will conclude in the next blog post, Part 4 of the OST.

Thank you to everyone who has watched the video. Your time and support is really appreciated.

Jingo Harleyman – ‘Hari Karachi & the Durango 4’ OST (Part 2)

22nd September 2022

from the ‘Hall of Yama’ sequence, an underground Berlin dance club.

Part 2 of the OST (original soundtrack)

‘Hari Karachi & the Durango 4’

The music was composed and performed by Jingo Harleyman, and is royalty-free; anyone may download the music or use it for non-profit purposes.

Furthermore, all the music is free to use for no-budget or low-budget projects. Please credit the composer:

Hari Karachi is a cybertective, notable for wearing crocodile boots.

In Part 2 Karachi, acting on a tip-off from Tiger Girl, flies to Berlin to meet an old accomplice, Seymore (sic) Green. The two talk in a pulsating, deafening underground nightclub, and Green organises a nightdrive to a safehouse … but for how long will the safehouse remain safe ?

The Durango 4 are approaching.

Now, without further ado, the video:

The story (spoiler-free) will continue in the next blog post, Part 3 of the OST.

Part 2 is dedicated to the memory of the British actor Seymour Green (1912 – 1998)

Jingo Harleyman – ‘Hari Karachi & the Durango 4’ OST (Part 1)

16th September 2022

Part 1 of the OST (original soundtrack)

‘Hari Karachi & the Durango 4’.

The music was composed and performed by Jingo Harleyman, and is royalty-free; anyone may download the music or use it for non-profit purposes. Furthermore, all the music is free to use for no-budget or low-budget projects. Please credit the composer:

Hari Karachi is a cybertective, notable for wearing crocodile boots.

Karachi has a small, intimate network of informers, enforcers and compadres: one stormy night he picks up a coded warning from Tiger Girl.