Saturday, September 30, 2006
Last week was quite a good week. It was the first week of Ramadan so I worked shorter hours. This schedule gives me more time for my hobbies at home. I had some nice lessons with my students. In one class I had a great time because I figured out how to make a picture on the Smartboard - that was fun! In another class we did a webquest about a journey and I think the students enjoyed that. On Thursday it was my birthday, but I didn't tell anybody! However, my friends at work remembered and everyone wished me a Happy Birthday. My team gave me a present, too. That was a lovely surprise. I didn't do anything special on my birthday because it was the end of the week and I was tired. However, on Friday I went to Dubai with a friend and we walked on the beach and went to a hotel. In the evening I went to a friend's house for coffee and had a good time talking with some interesting people.
Question
All the sentences are in the past except for the blue sentence above.
What tense is the blue sentence - and why?
About Ramadan
Ramadan is a very special month for Muslims all over the world. Muslims should fast from sunrise to sunset and in the UAE that means from about 4:30am to 6:00pm. In some countries it may be longer than that depending on the geographical location. Here it is quite difficult to fast because it is a very hot country. Fortunately, the working day is shorter. However, as a teacher this means that I must teach the same amount of items in half the usual time - and when my students are tired, this is a challenge! Another problem is that we need to be careful about the topics of the lessons in Ramadan, so we can't talk about food, entertainment, music and so on. I always try to think of a way to use the grammar or the topic of the chapter we are studying in a Ramadan situation. So, for example, this week with one class the topic was 'food', so the students told me about Ramadan food specialities, and with another class we practicised 'need to' and the students told me what Muslims need to do in Ramadan.
In Ramadan I always forget that offices close at lunchtime and it also seems strange to go to the Post Office at 10pm! I like going to the supermarkets at Iftar because the shops are empty and I can finish my shopping very quickly. I also like eating Iftar as the food is delicious and many restaurants offer wonderful Iftar buffets for very reasonable prices. One big problem in Ramadan is the traffic and, when the drivers are tired, they make crazy mistakes when they drive!
Now all my colleagues are making plans for the Eid holiday - I wonder how many days we will get!
Ramadan is a very special month for Muslims all over the world. Muslims should fast from sunrise to sunset and in the UAE that means from about 4:30am to 6:00pm. In some countries it may be longer than that depending on the geographical location. Here it is quite difficult to fast because it is a very hot country. Fortunately, the working day is shorter. However, as a teacher this means that I must teach the same amount of items in half the usual time - and when my students are tired, this is a challenge! Another problem is that we need to be careful about the topics of the lessons in Ramadan, so we can't talk about food, entertainment, music and so on. I always try to think of a way to use the grammar or the topic of the chapter we are studying in a Ramadan situation. So, for example, this week with one class the topic was 'food', so the students told me about Ramadan food specialities, and with another class we practicised 'need to' and the students told me what Muslims need to do in Ramadan.
In Ramadan I always forget that offices close at lunchtime and it also seems strange to go to the Post Office at 10pm! I like going to the supermarkets at Iftar because the shops are empty and I can finish my shopping very quickly. I also like eating Iftar as the food is delicious and many restaurants offer wonderful Iftar buffets for very reasonable prices. One big problem in Ramadan is the traffic and, when the drivers are tired, they make crazy mistakes when they drive!
Now all my colleagues are making plans for the Eid holiday - I wonder how many days we will get!
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Read the paragraph about my day and then check the notes about the verb tenses below. (THINK: What are the green, purple and red words?)
(1) Today was the first working day in Ramadan. (2) In Ramadan, opening hours for shops and offices change, and schools and colleges have a different timetable. For example, (3) I usually stay at college for about 9 hours, but now I am staying at college for 6 hours. I usually start classes at 8am, but at the moment I am starting lessons at 9am.
(1) This morning I got up later than usual and left my house at 8am. The roads were very busy. (4) As I was driving to work, I saw 2 accidents. (5) One of my students had an accident, so he couldn't come to class. Luckily he wasn't hurt. (1) The time flew by at work and the lessons seemed to finish very quickly. (6) One class looked at some funny pictures which the guys in another class had found on the internet last week. (1) I finished work at about 3pm. (7) When I was driving home, the traffic was moving very slowly so it (5) took me 30 minutes to get home. (3) It usually takes me less than 15 minutes!
NOTES
1. It is 7:30 in the evening. Today, this morning, my work time (at work), and 3pm are finished, so we use the past tense.
2. In Ramadan means every Ramadan and usually in Ramadan so we use the simple present tense (change, have).
3. We use the simple present tense (stay, start) when we talk about what usually happens. We use the present continuous (am staying, am starting) to show that something different is happening in the current time period, i.e., Ramadan (now/at the moment).
4. We use the past continuous when something was happening for a long time in the past - and we use the past tense when (suddenly) a short, quick action happened (in the middle of the long action).
5. Something happened or was happening in the past (cause) - had an accident, traffic was moving slowly - which had a result (effect) in the past - couldn't come to class, it took me 30 minutes.
6. Here two things happened in the past, but one action happened today (looked at some pictures) and the other action happened last week. So, we must use the past perfect (had found) for the earlier action and the past tense for the second (later) action (looked).
7. Two long actions were happening at the same time in the past (was driving and the traffic was moving slowly), so we use the past continuous for both actions.
Next time you write in English, please look at all your verbs carefully and think about which tense you must use.
(1) Today was the first working day in Ramadan. (2) In Ramadan, opening hours for shops and offices change, and schools and colleges have a different timetable. For example, (3) I usually stay at college for about 9 hours, but now I am staying at college for 6 hours. I usually start classes at 8am, but at the moment I am starting lessons at 9am.
(1) This morning I got up later than usual and left my house at 8am. The roads were very busy. (4) As I was driving to work, I saw 2 accidents. (5) One of my students had an accident, so he couldn't come to class. Luckily he wasn't hurt. (1) The time flew by at work and the lessons seemed to finish very quickly. (6) One class looked at some funny pictures which the guys in another class had found on the internet last week. (1) I finished work at about 3pm. (7) When I was driving home, the traffic was moving very slowly so it (5) took me 30 minutes to get home. (3) It usually takes me less than 15 minutes!
NOTES
1. It is 7:30 in the evening. Today, this morning, my work time (at work), and 3pm are finished, so we use the past tense.
2. In Ramadan means every Ramadan and usually in Ramadan so we use the simple present tense (change, have).
3. We use the simple present tense (stay, start) when we talk about what usually happens. We use the present continuous (am staying, am starting) to show that something different is happening in the current time period, i.e., Ramadan (now/at the moment).
4. We use the past continuous when something was happening for a long time in the past - and we use the past tense when (suddenly) a short, quick action happened (in the middle of the long action).
5. Something happened or was happening in the past (cause) - had an accident, traffic was moving slowly - which had a result (effect) in the past - couldn't come to class, it took me 30 minutes.
6. Here two things happened in the past, but one action happened today (looked at some pictures) and the other action happened last week. So, we must use the past perfect (had found) for the earlier action and the past tense for the second (later) action (looked).
7. Two long actions were happening at the same time in the past (was driving and the traffic was moving slowly), so we use the past continuous for both actions.
Next time you write in English, please look at all your verbs carefully and think about which tense you must use.
Saturday, September 23, 2006
This weekend I am having a very quiet, but busy, time at home. I'm doing all kinds of boring jobs like organising my paperwork, tidying my house and writing business letters. I'm also reading magazines, surfing the net, cooking and watching TV.
Question: Why did I write that paragraph in the present continuous (I am _____ing)?
Answer: Because the weekend is happening now, and I am doing these things now.
What else?
Yesterday I talked with a friend in Qatar on the phone and also I called my daughter who is studying in Scotland.
Question: Why is that sentence in the past tense?
Answer: Because it is about yesterday.
And finally... Today is an important day for all Muslims because it is the first day of Ramadan. I am going to ask my students to write about Ramadan next time.
Question: Why did I write that paragraph in the present continuous (I am _____ing)?
Answer: Because the weekend is happening now, and I am doing these things now.
What else?
Yesterday I talked with a friend in Qatar on the phone and also I called my daughter who is studying in Scotland.
Question: Why is that sentence in the past tense?
Answer: Because it is about yesterday.
And finally... Today is an important day for all Muslims because it is the first day of Ramadan. I am going to ask my students to write about Ramadan next time.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Last weekend was very busy and exhausting for me. After work on Thursday, I drove to Al Ain and checked into the Hilton. Then, I met a friend for dinner. We had a lovely meal and a long talk. Next morning, I got up late and had to eat my breakfast quickly because I had some meetings. The meetings were from 9:30 until 5pm. They were about plans for conferences for teachers which we are going to organise this year. Afterwards, I was really tired, so I had a quick swim to help me wake up and feel alive again. In the evening I met another friend and we had an Italian meal. It was delicious. On Saturday, I had another meeting in the morning. It finished at about 2pm. Then I went swimming and sat by the pool. As I was heading out of Al Ain, I stopped to have coffee with some more friends. I got back to Abu Dhabi at about 10pm.
Hi! I'm a teacher at a large further/higher education college in the UAE. I've never done any blogging before! I'm trying this now to encourage my students to write in English. All my classes are making blogs because I think it's more trendy than keeping a diary. My students are going to put profiles of themselves and information and pictures about things which interest them in their blogs. They are also going to write some small assignments for their course in the blog. The first assignment is to write about their last weekend - so, I am doing to do that assignment in my next post, too!
