Learn American English Online Blog

Here’s Word of the Day Quiz #61 for February 2017.

Students who are taking tests for the Red Level can find them here:

Test #1   /   Test #2

The answers for the tests are here.

Did you watch the Academy Awards ceremony last night? When it came time to announce the winner of Best Picture, they announced the name of the wrong film. Oops! Moonlight was the actual winner, but when the envelope was opened, the name on the card was La La Land.

I almost always watch the ceremony because I enjoy learning about the variety of movies released in the last year. There is also an interesting variety of famous people watching the event as part of a live audience.

If you are working on lessons in the Red Level this month, you should complete the Red Level review before taking the tests. Once you complete the review, you can find the answers here.

Please write you answers to the review in your notebook.

Americans use the verb "go" a lot, even when it’s not necessary. In Red Level Lesson Twenty-six, you find examples of "go" + a verb in the simple form.

  • Let’s go eat lunch.
  • John and Sue went to go see a movie.
  • You should go get a haircut.
  • The soccer players will go practice after school.

Red Level lessons 23 and 24 are important because you need to learn the difference between "used to" and "be used to," in addition to knowing how to use the word "use."

Look at and listen to these three sentences:

  • 1. I used to work for a large corporation.
  • 2. I am now used to working at a school.
  • 3. I used a bike to get to school yesterday.

The first sentence shows an example of "used to," which is commonly applied to a past situation. The past situation is long over and different from the present situation.

The second sentence shows how "be used to" can indicate a person’s willingness or unwillingness to accept a situation. If you are used to something, you live with it, whether you like it or not. I’m used to receiving a low salary for my work. I don’t like that, but I accept it because I have chosen to dedicate my life’s work to education, and I like being a teacher.

The third sentence simply shows what the verb "use" looks like in the past tense. You can apply "use" to many, many different activities, and if you aren’t using it regularly now, then you should start. Notice the pronunciation of the word "use" requires a "z" sound–not an "s" sound.

The word of the day is "slime."

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The word of the day is "refer."

The word of the day is "poke."

 

Here’s a new video on gerunds:

 

If you live in the United States, it’s important to know how people talk about money. A one-dollar bill, for example, can be many different things:

  • I need five ones. Do you have any ones?
  • The cash register is out of singles. We need more singles.
  • A cup of coffee at McDonalds costs about a buck.

The words one, single, and buck all refer to a one-dollar bill, the one that has a picture of George Washington on it.

You can learn more about American money in Red Level Lesson Twenty-one.

If you have trouble talking about numbers, go to Blue Level Lesson Twenty-one.

 

Red Level students continue to learn about pronouns today with a lesson on reflexive pronouns.

Red Level Lesson Nineteen: possessive pronouns

While it’s still a little too early, it feels like spring today is Minnesota. Read about spring in Red Level reading assignment #18.

The word of the day is "share."

Red Level Lesson Seventeen introduces infinitives in English. An infinitive looks like a verb, but it functions more like a noun in a sentence. Infintives are formed by the word "to" and the simple form, or the base form, of a verb.

  • I need to get some milk.

The main verb in the sentence above is "need." An infinitive, "to get," follows the main verb.

  • What do you want to do today?

The main verb in this question is "want," and "to do" is the object of the main verb.

It’s important to recognize when an infinitive is needed because if you don’t, you might make the mistake of not using the word "to," which is a small, but necessary word. It’s noticeable mistake.

Consider….

  • I need get some milk.
  • What do you want do today?

Clearly, these are mistakes you don’t want to make.

The word of the day is "ordinary."

There are many important words and expressions that are used when talking about time. There’s a list of them in Red Level Lesson Sixteen.

The word of the day is "nimble."

Conjunctions are used to join words, phrases, and clauses. You can learn about conjunctions in Red Level Lesson Fifteen.

When I was a boy, this was a popular short lesson on conjunctions that played between Saturday morning cartoons on TV:

 

 

The word of the day is "magnet."

The word of the day is "issue."

I tried using YouTube Live yesterday, and as you can see, I need much more practice with it.

 

The next lesson that I want you to complete in the Red Level is on how to form the future tense with the word "will." The word "will" is another type of modal verb.

This is a good time to review the use of helping verbs to form the present, past, and future tenses:

 

The word of the day is "normal."

I’ll be experimenting with social media and video this weekend, so pay attention!

The reading assignment for today is on the subject of raccoons.

Click here to learn about the use of some, a lot, and any. These are important words to know how to use when talking about amounts.

What’s the difference between using "a few" and "a little" when talking about amounts?

Use "a few" with count nouns:

  • I bought a few oranges at the store.
  • We need a few tomatoes.
  • There are a few people standing outside.

Use "a little" with noncount nouns:

  • She uses a little oregano in the sauce.
  • I had a little coffee before work this morning.
  • There’s a little ice on the sidewalk.

Learn more about "a few" and "a little" in Red Level Lesson Nine.

Red Level reading assignment #9: Patty invited some friends over for dinner.

There’s a new audio recording for the preposition in front of.

Here’s a video I made for the subordinating conjunction while:

 

Today you’ll learn about skyscrapers in Red Level reading assignment #8. If you live in a big city in the United States, you’ll see a lot of skyscrapers.

Your lesson for today is on the difference between much and many. If you don’t know the difference, I highly recommend you learn about this; otherwise, your English is going to sound kind of strange when it comes to talking about amounts or when asking questions about amounts.

 

Red Level students learn about special uses for the verb "do" when it’s used as a main verb.

Here’s your reading assignment: Carolyn recently lost her husband.

The word of the day is "front."

In Red Level Lesson Six, you will learn about object pronouns. An object pronoun receives the action of a verb and it replaces a noun.

  • I broke the chair. I broke it.
  • We hired Joe. We hired him.
  • The priest married Bill and Linda. The priest married them.

In the sentences above, the words it, him, and them are pronouns.

Today’s reading assignment: Matthew gets ready to go to work.

The word of the day is "elect."

Today is Superbowl Sunday in the United States. Coming at the end of the season, it’s the biggest, most important football game of the year. The Superbowl is almost a holiday because so much attention is paid to this one event, and the next day many people call in sick to work because they had a little too much fun celebrating.

Your lesson for today is on forming questions with the verb "do."

Your reading assignment for today is #5 – Luke and Sandra are going to have a baby.

The word of the day is "day." This is another simple word, but you should be familiar with the popular expressions that make use of it.

A farm is a great place to live – This is reading assignment #4 in the Red Level.

Commands (the imperative form) are important to learn about when you study English because they are used to give direction, give orders, or tell people what to do.

The important thing to remember about a command is that it does not include a subject. The subject is "you," but don’t include it when forming a command:

  • Come here quickly!
  • Do your homework.
  • Stop doing that.

In each of the commands above, the subject is "you." Click here to learn more about commands.

In Red Level Lesson Three, your teacher will go over some of the differences between the helping verbs "do" and "did."

Today’s reading assignment: These are Lisa’s children.

The word of the day is "clear."

Learn to make a present or past tense verb negative with the verb "do" in Red Level Lesson Two.

Today’s reading assignment: Donna and Bill had lunch together.

The word of the day is "burp."

Today students who have finished the Blue Level move on to the Red Level.

The first lesson in this level introduces the verb "do." This verb is used as a helping verb and as a main verb. It’s important to know the difference. Look at the sentences and questions below:

  • She does her shopping on the weekend. (The word "does" is the main verb.)
  • She doesn’t do her shopping during the week.
  • When do you do your shopping? (The word "do" is a helping verb and a main verb in this question.)
  • He does a lot of homework for school.
  • My students do a lot of homework for my classes.
  • How much homework do you do?

Click here to go to Red Level Lesson One.

The word of the day is "all."

Each course level on this website has a checklist. Print out and keep the checklist next to your computer, tablet, or phone and use it to track your progress as you move through the lessons:

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