Unless you've got a couple of friends who are super-serious
about getting down to business, stay away from group study sessions
because they tend to get off-topic pretty quickly. Save the social time till after you've handed in your test.
2.
Create Your Perfect Study Area
The place where you study should be quiet, comfortable and free
from distractions. Go to your room, close the door and kill as many
distractions as possible - like music, television, and even the internet
and your phone. If you don't have your own room that you can sneak
away to, consider studying at the library instead.
3.
Get it All Out
Your study materials, that is. Before you dig in, make sure you
have all your books, notes, study guides and writing utensils in front
of you. Don't give yourself another excuse to get up and rummage
around.
4.
Turn Your Notes into Flash Cards
Now that you've got all your notes in front of you, open up a
pack of index cards. As you read through the important facts, rewrite
them in Q&A form on the cards.
5.
Snack Healthy While You Study
If you want to stay sharp while you study, stay away from junk food. Instead, snack on studying friendly foods like dark leafy greens, whole grains, peanut butter, milk and seafood. Feeling sluggish? Caffeine or energy drinks won't help you in the long run. Get your energy boost instead by eating a banana or an apple.
6.
Narrow it Down
If you try to study every single thing your teacher's ever
said, you'll go crazy. Instead, focus on the most important topics. If
you're not sure what those are, read the study guide
(if there is one -blog-), or ask your classmates. Once you've nailed down the
important stuff, if there's still time left before the test, you can
move onto the finer details.
8.
Put Yourself to the Test
Once you've got your set of flash cards,
test yourself with them. If you don't trust yourself not to cheat,
give the cards to your parents and have them test you. Don't stop till
you've made it through the whole stack without any mistakes. And be
sure to bring your flash cards to school with you on the day of the
test: you'll be amazed at how much more you can retain if you run
through the cards right before your teacher hands out the test packet.
9.
Get Some Sleep
You might be tempted to pull an all-nighter, but if you do,
you'll only be hurting your chances of getting an A. Get a full 8 hours
of sleep so your brain is in good shape on test day.
10.
Study All Semester Long
It's tempting to hold off on studying till the last minute,
especially if you tell yourself that anything you try to memorize
earlier on won't really stay in your brain. That's not true. Take some
time throughout the semester to review all of your notes and re-read
important passages in your text book. It might seem tedious, but it'll
really keep all those facts in your brain on test day.
When we use an auxiliary verb (have, will, must, might, could, would, can, etc.), the
adverb is placed between the auxiliary and the main verb. This is also true for to be.
Subject + auxiliary + adverb + main verb
She cansometimesbeat me in a race.
I wouldhardly everbe unkind to someone.
They mightneversee each other again.
They couldoccasionallybe heard laughing.
We can also use the following adverbs at the start of a sentence:
Usually, normally, often, frequently, sometimes, occasionally
Occasionally, I like to eat Thai food.
BUT we cannot use the following at the beginning of a sentence:
Always, seldom, rarely, hardly, ever, never.
We use hardly ever and never with positive, not negative verbs:
She hardly ever comes to my parties.
They never say 'thank you'.
We use ever in questions and negative statements:
Have you ever been to New Zealand?
I haven't ever been to Switzerland. (The same as 'I have never been Switzerland').
We can also use the following expressions when we want to be more specific about the frequency:
- every day - once a month - twice a year - four times a day - every other week
A preposition describes a relationship between other words in a sentence.
In itself, a word like "in" or "after" is rather meaningless and hard to
define in mere words.
For instance, when you do try to define a
preposition like "in" or "between" or "on," you invariably use your
hands to show how something is situated in relationship to something
else. Prepositions are nearly always combined with other words in
structures called prepositional phrases.
If you want to know more about prepositions, try the following link.
Here you will find the speaking rubric that you have to print and bring on Monday 19/01/2015.
You have to bring it all your classes up to you have your speaking assessment. Remember that the day of your exam will be at random so you have to be prepared since Monday.
The simple present tense in English is used to describe an action that is regular, true or normal.
We use the present tense:
1. For repeated or regular actions in the present time period.
I take the train to the office.
The train to Berlin leaves every hour.
John sleeps eight hours every night during the week.
2. For facts.
The President of The USA lives in The White House.
A dog has four legs.
We come from Switzerland.
3. For habits.
I get up early every day.
Carol brushes her teeth twice a day.
They travel to their country house every weekend.
4. For things that are always / generally true.
It rains a lot in winter.
The Queen of England lives in Buckingham Palace.
They speak English at work.
Verb Conjugation & Spelling
We form the present tense using the base form of the infinitive (without the TO).
In general, in the third person we add 'S' in the third person.
Subject
Verb
The Rest of the sentence
I / you / we / they
speak / learn
English at home
he / she / it
speaks / learns
English at home
The spelling for the verb in the third person differs depending on the ending of that verb:
1. For verbs that end in -O, -CH, -SH, -SS, -X, or -Z we add -ES in the third person.
go – goes
catch – catches
wash – washes
kiss – kisses
fix – fixes
buzz – buzzes
2. For verbs that end in a consonant + Y, we remove the Y and add
-IES.
marry – marries
study – studies
carry – carries
worry – worries
NOTE: For verbs that end in a vowel + Y, we just add -S.
play – plays
enjoy – enjoys
say – says
Negative Sentences in the Simple Present Tense
To make a negative sentence in English we normally use Don't or Doesn't
with all verbs EXCEPT To Be and Modal verbs (can, might, should etc.).
Affirmative: You speak French. Negative: You don't speak
French.
You will see that we add don't between the subject and the verb. We use Don't when the
subject is I, you, we or they.
Affirmative: He speaks German. Negative: He doesn't speak
German.
When the subject is he, she or it, we add doesn't
between the subject and the verb to make a negative sentence. Notice that the
letter S at the end of the verb in the affirmative sentence (because it
is in third person) disappears in the negative sentence. We will see the reason why below.
Negative Contractions
Don't = Do not Doesn't = Does not
I don't like meat = I do not like meat.
There is no difference in meaning though we normally use contractions in spoken English.
Word Order of Negative Sentences
The following is the word order to construct a basic negative sentence in English
in the Present Tense using Don't or Doesn't.
Subject
don't/doesn't
Verb*
The Rest of the sentence
I / you / we / they
don't
have / buy
eat / like etc.
cereal for breakfast
he / she / it
doesn't
* Verb: The verb that goes here is the base form of the infinitive = The infinitive without TO before the verb. Instead of the
infinitive To have it is just the have part.
Remember that the infinitive is the verb before it is conjugated (changed) and it begins with TO. For example: to have,
to eat, to go, to live, to speak etc. Examples of Negative Sentences with Don't and Doesn't:
You don't speak Arabic.
John doesn't speak Italian.
We
don't have time for a rest.
It doesn't move.
They don't want to go to the party.
She doesn't like fish.
Questions in the Simple Present Tense
To make a question in English we normally use Do or Does.
It
has no translation in Spanish though it is essential to show we are
making a question. It is normally put at the beginning of the question.
Affirmative: You speak English. Question: Do you speak English?
You will see that we add DO at the beginning of the affirmative
sentence to make it a question. We use Do when the subject is I,
you, we or they.
Affirmative: He speaks French. Question: Does he speak French?
When the subject is he, she or it, we add DOES at
the beginning to make the affirmative sentence a question. Notice that the
letter S at the end of the verb in the affirmative sentence (because it
is in third person) disappears in the question. We will see the reason why below.
We DON'T use Do or Does in questions that have the verb
To Be or Modal Verbs (can, must, might, should etc.)
Word Order of Questions with Do and Does
The following is the word order to construct a basic question in English
using Do or Does.
Do/Does
Subject
Verb*
The Rest of the sentence
Do
I / you / we / they
have / need
want etc.
a new bike?
Does
he / she / it
*Verb: The verb that goes here is the base form of the infinitive = The
infinitive without TO before the verb. Instead of the infinitive To have
it is just the have part.
Remember that the infinitive is the verb before it is conjugated (changed) and it begins with TO. For example: to have,
to eat, to go, to live, to speak etc.
Examples of Questions with Do and Does:
Do you need a dictionary?
Does Mary need a dictionary?
Do
we have a meeting now?
Does it rain a lot in winter?
Do they want to go to the party?
Does he like pizza?
Short Answers with Do and Does
In questions that use do/does it is possible to give short answers to direct questions as follows:
Sample Questions
Short Answer
(Affirmative)
Short Answer
(Negative)
Do you like chocolate?
Yes, I do.
No, I don't.
Do I need a pencil?
Yes, you do.
No, you don't.
Do you both like chocolate?
Yes, we do.
No, we don't.
Do they like chocolate?
Yes, they do.
No, they don't.
Does he like chocolate?
Yes, he does.
No, he doesn't.
Does she like chocolate?
Yes, she does.
No, she doesn't.
Does it have four wheels?
Yes, it does.
No, it doesn't.
However, if a question word such as who, when, where, why, which or how is used in the question, you can not use the short
answers above to respond to the question.
