Antonio's suggestion
Hi Ana Paula, and all my friends out there.
Antonio from Belgium has made a suggestion. He has suggested that perhaps we should actually taste cheese and fudge before we decide that it's disgusting. Clearly, Antonio is a more courageous man than me, but I suppose he's right. Later this afternoon, after I finish writing this blog, I'm going to go shopping at the local supermarket. I will buy some cheese, and I will buy some fudge, and I will eat a (very small) piece of fudge with a (very small) piece of cheese, and in my next blog I'll describe my cheese-and-fudge experience to all our readers. Are you satisfied now?
The concert was pretty good, thanks, but I stayed in my seat throughout the evening and didn't dance at all. My natural dancing ability is probably even worse than yours (if that's possible). In general, British men are probably the worst dancers in the world, but even compared to other British men I'm a terrible dancer. I think we should change the subject hastily.
Thanks for your answers to my nasty conditional questions, Ana Paula; I'm going to repeat my questions and your answers, so I can make some short comments about them.
2. BE / MORNING / OUT / TOMORROW / WILL / I / STAY / LATE / I / TIRED / TONIGHT / IF
'I will be late tomorrow morning, if I stay out tonight.'
This is a grammatically-correct sentence, but what about the word 'tired'? As several people wrote in their comments, the correct answer is: 'I will be tired tomorrow morning if I stay out late tonight.' (Of course, we could also do it like this: 'If I stay out late tonight, I will be tired tomorrow morning.' We can reverse all these example in this way.)
3. CHEESE / I / WITH / WOULD / FEEL / FUDGE / IF / PROBABLY / I / SICK / ATE
'If I ate cheese with fudge, I probably would not feel sick.'
I think I'll have to accept this as a good answer, although it appears an extra word has mysteriously appeared in the sentence. My original sentence was, of course, like this: 'If I ate cheese with fudge, I would probably feel sick.' I suppose I'll find out later this afternoon!
4. HAVE / INSTEAD / HAD / THE / BLOG / WALK / WOULD / GONE / IN / NOT / THIS / I / WRITTEN / I / FOR / TODAY / IF / A / PARK
'If I had not written this blog today, I would have gone for a walk in the park instead.'
This answer is bang on the money; well done.
However, I'm afraid we can't drop the subject of conditionals yet, because I noticed the following sentence in your most recent blog:
'If she were alive nowadays, she would never danced to Axe music.'
Can you find the mistake here, and correct it?
On Tuesday, you used some really good adjectives in your blog (for example, 'superb', 'unique', 'eclectic', and 'dizzy'), and you used them very well. However, on Wednesday I noticed a few adjective mistakes, and I'd like to point these out. The first two are spelling mistakes: 'fauvorite' should be spelled 'favourite' (maybe this is just a typo), and 'especific' should be 'specific'. There were also two grammatical mistakes related to adjectives. The first is this:
'a totally disaster'
'Totally' is an adverb, and we need an adjective here, so it should be 'a total disaster'. Secondly:
'in Brazilians dance'
We never add '-s' like this to adjectives in English, so this should simply be, 'in Brazilian dance'.
However, these are relatively small mistakes; in general, your writing is excellent, and it keeps getting better and better. Keep up the good work!
Before I go, I'd like to respond to some comments and questions from my last blog. Monica from Brazil asked if my 'weird' surname (Gooch) is English. Actually, Monica, it's Welsh. I'm sorry to say that I know almost nothing about the Welsh language, but I believe 'Gooch' comes from the Welsh word 'goch', meaning 'red'.
Sevinç from Turkey asked about the following sentence:
"If someone is good-natured, they have a nice personality."
Sevinç correctly noticed that 'someone' is singular, and 'they' is plural, and asked why. In fact, I could have written the sentence like this:
"If someone is good-natured, he or she has a nice personality."
However, the phrase 'he or she' is a little longwinded. In modern English, if we're writing about one person but we don't know if that person is male or female, we often use 'they' instead. Of course, if we use 'they', we have to remember to use 'have' instead of 'has'.
Well done to Melissa from China, who spotted a mistake in the example answer. I wrote,
'If the sun, shines I feel happy.'
Can you see the mistake? Yes, of course you can - I put the comma in the wrong place. The sentence should look like this:
'If the sun shines, I feel happy.'
Sorry!
Finally, Hyoshil's son is continuing to make rude comments about me, and I think he should be punished. Hyoshil, I suggest you make him eat some cheese and fudge. That should teach him a lesson.
Sorry I can't answer all your questions, but it's time for me to go shopping now.
All the best,
Alex
Vocabulary:
Courageous is a rather formal adjective, meaning 'brave'.
If you do something hastily, you do it quickly - perhaps a little too quickly.
In this context, the verb to spot means to notice.
'Bang on the money' is a very British slang phrase which means 'exactly correct'.
To drop the subject of something means to stop talking about this subject.
The noun typo is an informal abbreviation, meaning 'typing error'.
'Keep up the good work!' We use this phrase when someone is doing something well, and we want to encourage them to continue doing it.
Longwinded is an adjective which is usually used to describe a way of speaking or writing. It's a negative adjective, which means that there are too many words.
Comments
Hi, it's an interesting expression 'bang on the money'. Could you please give some more examples on how to use it.
Hi,Alex i got you!!! you have revealed you can't dance and dancing is the weakest point in you.i thought you are perfect but you exposed yourself that you are at least human being.Ana paula's blog asks us if we do dance.in my case i do dance but i can't dance. i thought i was a fantastic dancer because whenever i went clubbing with my friends.people who were in the clubs watched my dance with very respectable and admiring atitude.sometimes i got tipsy and my dancing was more and more wild.i took up the half of floor and did some arobats and the latest dancing.sometimes i couldn't understand why some of my frieds or collegues tried very hard to avoid eye contact with people after my dance.one day one of my best friends declared she couln't bear watching my ducking dance or club clown(class clown)
Sorry,Alex, but I'm afraid It can't be any cheese. It must be "Minas" cheese. The taste would be completely different from "Romeu e Julieta". Bye!
HI,Alex I have lost my comments while I was writing.My computer operated itself and the letter was disappeared.If my comments appeare on your blog I will finish my commens tomorrow.I have read your comment about the punishment to my son. He said he wouln't cange his mind or give in because Alex was NOT handsome and his face was superb .He was eyeballing your picture for a few moment and declared "bring it on". have a smashing day!!!Hyoshil
Hi Alex, I'd like to answer your question on conditionals. On Tuesday, in your blog, you explained about the third conditional. As you said; The third conditional looks like this: ['if' + past perfect] + ['would have' + third form of the verb] Or, ['would have' + third form of the verb] + ['if' + past perfect] as you see, this is not grammatically correct sentence 'If she were alive nowadays, she would never danced to Axe music.' so it should be like this: 'If she had been alive nowadays, she would have never danced to Axe music' I hope this is the correct answer.
Hi Alex. It's nice to read you, and it's the first time a write to you. Actually I don't write very much, but I enjoy reading both Ana Paula's blogs and yours. About your question, I think the answer is: "If she were alive nowadays, she'd never have danced Axe music". By the way I've never have tasted cheese with fudge, but what I have tasted is curd cheese with honey and it's delicious. See you.
hi alex reading ur blog everyday makes me happy... i have a sugestion if there were the pronunciation of the the new words ,it would be great..good luck
Hello,Alex,i am so proud of myself now because of your compliment.Thank you!Well I guess your cheese and fudge must be fabulously delicious.YUMMY!But recently i am confused about another word pattern which appeared a couple of days before.Stealth Marketing?Is it bang on the money? Well,I wish we can really get rid of the disagreement on CHEESE AND FUDGE,if you have had your cheese and fudge dish.Sound a bit longwinded when i mention it.Looking forward to your answer and hope to drop the subject of cheese and fudge!keep up on the good WORDS!
Hello, Alex. I would change your conditional sentences a little bit. Look at mine: 'You will be unhappy tomorrow morning, if you don't eat cheese with fudge tonight' or 'If you had tasted cheese with fudge yesterday, you would be happy today.' Thanks a lot for your idiom 'to bang on the money'. It's strange but I have a lot of good and very good, big and very big dicionaries and I haven't found that idiom in any of them. Is it very new or is it only used in some parts of Britain? Best regards.
Hi Alex! We are eagerly waiting for the result of your cheese-fudge experiment. In my view the correct sentence is "If she had been alive today, she would have never danced to AXE music." Bye! n take care...:-)
Hi Alex! We are eagerly waiting for the result of your cheese-fudge experiment. In my view the correct sentence is "If she had been alive today, she would have never danced to AXE music." Bye! n take care...:-)
Hi Alex! I would like to correct Adek's sentence If you had tasted cheese with fudge yesterday, you would have been happy today. is it 'bang on the money'? Bye..
hello, my teacher.could you help me ?i have a question to ask you?could you explain this sentence to me?"i"ll be asking people in British if they think they take after their mothers"why they use "be asking"? can i express it in this way"i"ll ask people in British...."? English grammar is often confused me and i always want to make every detail clearly.i don't know if it is a bad or good habit. thank you. Best wishes.
Hello,again I've found my comments on your blog.If you allow me to remind the comments of mine....One of my best frineds declared she couln't bear watching my dance any more.I was stunned and it hurt me.Anyway, I've had little time to go clubbing since I got married and time was a great healer.However, the other day I was listening to "Hips Don't Lie" by Shakira feat and I got into the music so much.I started dancing on the kitchen floor.My son was watching me a little and shouted at me "mum,stop dancing!" "it gives me headache!" Believe or not I carried on my performance until the song finished without any single audiance.So my answer for Ana Paula's question is I do dance but I can't since nobody wants me to dance. ta-ta(hope it sounds too rude)hyoshil
Dear Sevin Paul from ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Learning English here. I was asked to have a look at your original comments. Unfortunately I've been at a teachers' conference to make a presentation and have only been able to look at them today. Generally your comments have been fine and have't broken any house rules, so I've published them below. But I did need to make a couple of corrections. I hope you continue to enjoy reading and participating on the blogs and I look forward to reading more from you soon. Paul SEVIN'S MESSAGE hi Alex and everyone else, I have been following the blogs (both teacher and student) for a week. I'm interested in the blogs a lot. I beleive that the blogs will help my engilish skills to improve. the way you explain both grammar and meaning is very instructive. I would like to attract your attention on this conditional sentence; you say (write) in your blog, ‘If the Minas cheese wouldn’t be perishable, I would send a Fedex straight to Oxford Street… ‘ I think you perceived wrong Ana Paula's sentence or printing error. Ana Paula's sentence was like this; If the Minas cheese wasn´t perishable, I would send a Fedex straight to Oxford Street. (PAUL: Alex was referring to a mistake in a sentence in an earlier blog by Ana Paula. You refer to the sentence that Ana wrote as a correction after Alex had discussed conditionals) . Ana Paula's use of the grammar of the second conditional is exactly correct, in terms of both grammar and meaning as you may see. but, The second conditional is also structured like this; If the Minas cheese weren't perishable, I would send a Fedex straight to Oxford Street. of course, both of conditional structure of them are correct in terms of grammar and meaning. Here, that's the difference is; the former, to wit Ana Paula's structer, is informal, on the other hand; the latter is formal. best wishes sevinç Turkey Hi Ana Paula, in your every blog you choose so much interesting topic. I enjoy a lot reading your blog. I'm anxiously waiting for your writing. I have a wide range of musical taste.I can say that I like to listen all kind of music. I've never heard and tasted "CHEESE WITH FUDGE" . it should be delicious. If I got cheese with fudge, I would taste it. I love to taste previously untested. the thing which makes life is diversity, isn'it? Have a nice day. Sevinç Hi Ana Paula, I love to watch the people who dance. it is really amusing. But as for me, I have never managed to train myself related to dance. in the past once or twice I had taken part in dance courses, each time I would have let down... I love Turkish folk dance, which here in Turkey a wide range of types of folk dance have been performing. Turkey is very colourful country in terms of dance variety as well. I have been trying to develop my Engilish through ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ learning English the student and the teacher blogs. I have got many useful things even this much short period time. Will I give you a secret! I have been learning English on my own. I hope this time my comment will deliver you have a nice day sevinç
Hello ! How can I participate of this blog ? Tks Ólliver ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Learning English says: you just have! Well done and have fun!
Hello Mr Cutie Gooch, Antonio sounds like a wise man. As the saying goes, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. So hands to work and good luck in your cheese-fudge-experience.And if by any chance you don´t like it,something quite likely to happen ( sorry, Ana, but... I have to say that this mixture really sounds strange!!)Just in case here comes another suggestion. Try Gorgonzola( or any strong cheese) with Doce de Leite, "Sweet Milk" . It makes a quite interesting combination. It´s soft and luscious, really yummy!!! As for your dancing inability, I must say this should not be the reason to put you off shaking your body.Like you, I'm an awful dancer, but after two shots of whisky, just two, nothing stops me from dancing. Then I can dance whatever plays from Samba to Tango!!! But one thing is for sure, there isn't a better place for you to overcome your stifiness, inhibition or whatever than the beaches in The Northeast of Brazil. There you can "dance your hips off".So why not come to Brazil to improve your dancing skill? Cheerio, Monica
Hello once again. I haven't found a correct answer to your question about Ana Paula's sentence: 'If she were alive nowadays, she would never danced to Axe music'.I think it's strange because your explanation on conditionals is really good. The correct answer is: 'If she were alive nowadays, she would never dance (NOT danced) to Axe music'. Best regards.
Hi Alex, I'm very glad to see my comments in your blog. You are a very kind of teacher. I'd like to ask you some more question related to longwinded (by the way, I've frist time heard 'the longwinded'. your original sentence like this: In modern English, if we're writing about one person but we don't know if that person is male or female, we often use 'they' instead. That's the question; When someone knocks on the door, what to say; so such as; who is she/he or who is it? in fact, I knew the phrase like this 'Who is it? But now I'm confused of your writing; in this contex, when the door is knocked on by anybody? we could say,who are they, couldn't we?. I'll keep on following you Alex and Ana Paula's blogs. Both of you have been motivating me a lot. thanks.
Hi Alex,It's always informative to read your blogs about language. The mistakes you point out are the ones that we learners uaually make. The way you explain the points regarding grammar,it seems you have dealt with all sorts of learners of English.
how many adverb are there in english language
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