Moving from the Yellow Level to the Green Level

How are you doing with the Yellow Level? We're almost finished with it, so if you haven't gone through all the lessons in that level, it would be a good idea for you to do that now. The grammar that you study in the Green Level might look similar to that which you have studied in the Yellow Level, but there's a big difference. In the Yellow Level you study perfect and continuous tenses. These tenses are often confused with the passive voice. Look at this example:

She has been cleaning the house. (present perfect continuous tense)

The house has been cleaned. (present perfect tense, passive voice)

In the first sentence, we know who is doing the action. In the second sentence, the person who is doing the action is not mentioned. Is it a woman? Is it a woman. Is it a man? We don't know. But look at how similar the verbs are. �

How have you been doing?

How have you been doing lately? Have you been studying your English? If you haven't been studying English lately, perhaps you've been doing other things. You could say, "I've been working a lot lately." Or, I've been doing a lot of gardening." Or, I've been helping my brother rebuild his house after the tornado tore his roof off."

As for your teacher, I've been doing a lot of things lately. Right now I'm enjoying a vacation from my regular teaching assignment. School starts up again in two weeks, so I have a little time off to do things that interest me. So, if someone asked me the same question I'm asking you, I'd have to say....

I've been riding my bike around town a lot lately.

I've been cleaning my basement. (It's really a mess.*)

I've been spending time with my kids.

I've been working on my website.

I've been fixing my house. (It's old and needs repairs.)

I've been planning on taking a trip to Chicago.

I've been taking pictures with my camera. The pictures are for my website. �

Perfect Modal Verbs

We continue to study modal verbs today by looking at perfect modal verbs. Perfect modal verbs look like this:

modal verb + have + past participle

When you use perfect modal verbs, you are describing some past action that did or didn't happen. Here is an example:

She should have done her homework.

The main verb in the above sentence, "do," is in the form of the past participle after the verb "have." She should have done her homework, but she didn't do it. This is an action that did not happen in the past. Let's look at some more examples:

I could have gotten a job at that company. (but I didn't)

She should have stopped at the light. (but she didn't)

If he had a car, he wouldn't have walked. (but he did)

To learn more, go to Lesson Twelve in the Yellow Level. �

make

The tenth lesson in the Purple Level gives of examples of how to use the verb "make."

What do you like to make for dinner? (make = cook)

They can't make the meeting. (make = go to)

What is this made of? (made + of = constructed from)

The verb "make" can be used with a variety of prepositions to create idioms. Here are some examples of "make out."

She needs to make out a check for her rent. (make out = write)

Two teenagers were caught making out behind the school. (make out = kiss)

I can't make out the teacher's writing on the chalkboard. (make out = understand )

take

When you go somewhere, you "take" things or people with you:

I took my kids to school this morning. (past tense)

She'll take a sweater to the park in case it gets cold later. (future tense)

Do you take your cell phone with you when you leave the house? (present tense)

"Take" is also used for medicine:

Is he taking anything for his headache? (present continuous tense)

Don't take medicine that is expired. (present tense, negative command)

And it's used for photography:

This new digital camera takes great pictures. (present tense)

You should take a lot of pictures of your children when they're little. (modal verb--should)

Ben Franklin

Yesterday in my intermediate level class we read about and discussed the life of Benjamin Franklin. He was an early American diplomat, inventor, philosopher--you name it, he did it. He was also a good writer, and his proverbs are well known in the United States 200 years later. Here's one:

Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.

What do you think that means? �

Present Continuous Tense / Passive Voice

Today's lesson is on the present continuous tense in the passive voice. Here's the formula:

Subject + (be) + being + the past participle

They are being punished because they were talking in class while the teacher was talking.

This is happening right now. The teacher is punishing them (the students). The main verb is "punish." It's a regular verbs so the past participle adds "ed" to the simple form of the verb.

punish / punished / punished

In the United States, punishment of a student takes the form of a detention. Students might come in after school and clean the room or the blackboards for the teacher. (We can't hit the kids here--which I think is a good thing!)

Past tense modals in the passive voice

Something should have been done before the situation got worse.

The above sentence is an example of past tense modals used in the passive voice. We use this to describe situations that did or didn't happen in the past.

My car should have been fixed yesterday. (but it wasn't.)

He could have been hurt in the accident. (He wasn't hurt)

The project might not have gotten completed without her help. (Or, her help wasn't necessary)

She would have been hired if she hadn't come to the interview wearing a nose ring.(She went to the interview wearing a nose ring; the interviewer didn't like her appearance, so he didn't hire her.)

For more practice, go to the ninth lesson in the Green Level. �

The Passive Voice with "get"

One interesting thing about the passive voice is that you can replace the verb "be" with the verb "get." What difference does that make? In my opinion, "get" is a little stronger than "be" and in some cases, its use might be a little more popular. You also must know how "get" changes in various tenses.

get / got / gotten

She gets paid on Friday. (present tense)

Did you get laid off from your job? (past tense question)

Have they gotten the package they were expecting? (present perfect tense)

My wallet will get stolen if I leave it in my car. (future tense)

For more practice with "get" in the passive voice, you can go to the Green Level on my website.

I'm now on Facebook. I'm not sure why it's important to be on there, but I put together a page and you should be able to find me under "Learn American English Online."

The Passive Voice -- Past Tense

Today's lesson is on using the passive voice in the past tense. Remember that the verb "be" determines the tense, so you have just two choices: "was" and "were," depending on the subject.

A tornado was reported in the area just an hour ago.

We were given one hour to take the test.

She was saddened by the bad news.

I was taught to say "please" and "thank-you" by my mother.

Well, it's only February, but it's time to start planning for the planting season coming up in April. Many of you who know me know that I'm a gardener and I like to grow as much of my own food as possible, so it's time to start looking through seed catalogs and make plans to buy seeds and other things for the gardens. This year I'll grow potatoes, tomatoes, green beans, asparagus, basil, cilantro, and carrots. There are some other things that can be added to the list later, but I haven't decided yet what they will be.

Growing your own food is good for the environment and good for your pocketbook! If you do it properly, it's also a rewarding experience in itself because it's so interesting to watch things come up out of the ground. Are you a gardener or a farmer? Tell me what you grow in an email or send me a picture of your garden. �

Sorry I haven't been posting much here. Entries appear every day on the regular blog.

The verb "have"

I want you to understand how the verb "have" is used in the present tense and the past tense before you learn about the present perfect tense in Monday's lesson on January 5 (Lesson 3, the Present Perfect).This is important because "have" is a main verb and it's a helping verb. Look at the examples below:

I have a new computer. ("Have" is the main verb in the present tense)

He has a big problem. ("Have" is the main verb in the present tense)

He doesn't have time . ("Have" is the main verb, negative, in the present tense)

We had fun yesterday. ("Have" is the main verb in the past tense)

They didn't have any bagels. ("Have" is the main verb, negative, in the past tense)

I have had Thai food. ("Have" is the main verb in the present perfect tense)

You haven't had Thai food. ("Have" is the main verb, negative in the present perfect tense)�