You Need A Role Model - Talkers and Thinkers

A very brief overview on modal verbs. Follow the patterm.

modal verb - most common use - sample sentence(s)

can - ability, possibility, permission - "I can sing very well." (and that's true!)

may - permission, possibility - "May I ask you a question?"

might - remote possibility - "If he asks me out I might say yes... I might say no... well, we'll see."

will - a calculated possibility, a spontaneous decision - "I'll probably stay here for the weekend." / "You know what? I'll give you a call tomorrow. How about that?"

Use them to talk about the past (something that happened or didn't happen in the past)

could have done s.th. - hypothetical situation - "I can't believe you drove after all that beer you had. You could have crashed your car!"

should have done s.th. - criticism, regrets - "I failed the test. I should have studied harder."

might have done s.th. - remote possibility - "He didn't come back home last night. He might have slept over at his girlfriend's, or he might have fallen asleep at the bar... who knows?"

Overheard in NYC - Talkers and Thinkers

Three-year-old boy: Mommy, I want a little brother, let's get one.

Mom: You can't just go to the store to get a baby.

Seven-year-old girl: I know where babies come from.

Mom: Oh, man!

Three-year-old boy: From where?

Seven-year-old girl: God. God made everything, people and animals.

Three-year-old boy: Who's god?

Seven-year-old girl: I don't know, some dead guy who lives in heaven.

--Riverbank State Park

Overheard by: Darin

Please visit: http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/

Videos! - Anyone

A pretty cool site where you can watch short movies with subtitles in English or in Portuguese.

http://br.yappr.com/welcome/Welcome.action

Inside Out - Beginners

Qual a diferença entre "What's he like?" e "What does he look like?"???

Simples: o que você quer saber, sobre a personalidade ou sobre a aparência da pessoa?

Eu queria apresentar uma amiga minha de Brasília para um australiano que eu conheci no Rock in Rio. Na época eu morava em São Paulo. Ele estava lá passando férias. Combinamos com minha amiga de nos encontrarmos na Terra da Garoa para que ela pudesse conhecê-lo. No aeroporto, enquanto eu e o Jarrod esperávamos pelo vôo da Bárbara, ele me enchia de perguntas.

Jarrod: So, dude, what does she look like?

Bruno: Well, she's kind of short and average weight. She has brown eyes and long red hair.

Jarrod: Cool! And what's she like?

Bruno: She's a little shy, but she's a really nice girl. You're going to love her!

Got it?

The Flatmates - Talkers and Thinkers

Meet the Flatmates and have fun with their story.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/flatmates/2008/11/081125_flatmates_people_page.shtml

Practice Makes Perfect - Talkers and Thinkers

Let's take a quick look at the present perfect, shall we?

We tend to have trouble with that verb tense for two simple reasons: 1. we don't have anything like that in Portuguese; 2. we fear it! we dread it!

Yeah, admit it! You are too scared to use present perfect. And I'll tell you this, most of the times, so am I!

The good news is, it isn't as difficult as it seems, or as important. You'll see a lot of so-called fluent speakers avoiding it and yet communicanting effectively. Nevertheless, let's try to use it whenever possible. The more you use it, the more comfortable you'll feel by using it, the better you'll use it.

Present Perfect

You can use it to:

1. Talk about something that has happened. "When" is not important or you simply don't know, so you don't talk about it. You might, however, indicate a period of time. It's very common to use it to check preparations, tasks, and to talk about life experience. Check it out.

Mom: Have you done your homework (yet)?

Son: No, not yet. But I've already taken the trash out.

Husband: Have you packed everything you'll need?

Wife: I can't be sure. Let's see... I've packed my hair-straightener, my hairdryer, my make-up kit... oh, I haven't packed my Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus book!

Brazilian Exchange Student: Have you taken a shower today?

French Exchange Student: No, I haven't. But I've already taken a shower this week.

Bumper Stick (Adesivo de Pára-Choque): Have you hugged your child today?

John: Have you ever kissed a Lebanese girl?

Mark: No, I've never done that. Have you?

John: Yes, I have.

Mark: When did you do it?

John: Last night.

Perceba que no último diálogo o present perfect dá lugar pro simple past quando os caras entram em detalhes.

Voltarei a falar dos perfect tenses em breve.

Gotta go!

Is your wife in shape? - Thinkers and Talkers

This is not a joke (anymore).

Initially introduced as a joke in Finland, wife carrying has become a competitive sport in which male participants race through an obstacle course while carrying a female teammate. Carrying styles include piggyback, fireman's carry, and Estonian-style, in which the female participant hangs upside-down with her legs around the man's shoulders and her arms around his waist.

From http://www.thefreedictionary.com/