Poems...poems

Two famous poems by Constantinos Cavafis translated in English.

Ithaka

As you set out for Ithaka
hope your road is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
angry Poseidon-don’t be afraid of them:
you’ll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
wild Poseidon-you won’t encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.
Hope your road is a long one.
May there be many summer mornings when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you enter harbors you’re seeing for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind-
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to learn and go on learning from their scholars.
Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you’re destined for.
But don’t hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you’re old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you’ve gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.
Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you wouldn’t have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.
And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you’ll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.

Task
'The journey is more important than the destination' : Find phrases / parts in the poem to support this view. Do you agree or disagree with the above?

The City


You said: «I’ll go to another country, go to another shore,
find another city better than this one.
Whatever I try to do is fated to turn out wrong
and my heart lies buried like something dead.
How long can I let my mind moulder in this place?
Wherever I turn, wherever I look,
I see the black ruins of my life, here,
where I’ve spent so many years, wasted them, destroyed them totally.»
You won’t find a new country, won’t find another shore.
This city will always pursue you.
You’ll walk the same streets, grow old
in the same neighborhoods, turn gray in these same houses.
You’ll always end up in this city. Don’t hope for things elsewhere:
there’s no ship for you, there’s no road.
Now that you’ve wasted your life here, in this small corner,
you’ve destroyed it everywhere in the world.

Task
What does 'the city' stand for in the poem? Is it an actual place or not? Discuss your ideas.

The Present Perfect Continuous(or Progressive)

The present perfect continuous expresses an action that recently stopped or is still going on. It puts emphasis on the duration or course of the action.

 

Form of Present Perfect Continuous

	Positive	Negative	Question
I / you / we / they	I have been speaking.	I have not been speaking.	Have I been speaking?
he / she / it	He has been speaking.	He has not been speaking.	Has he been speaking?

 

Exceptions in Spelling

Exceptions in spelling when adding -ing	Example
final e is dropped (but: ee is not changed)	come – coming       (but: agree – agreeing)
after a short, stressed vowel, the final consonant is doubled	sit – sitting
l as final consonant after a vowel is doubled (in British English)	travel – travelling
final ie becomes y	lie – lying

 

Use of Present Perfect Continuous

• puts emphasis on the duration or course of an action (not the result)
  Example: She has been writing for two hours.
• action that recently stopped or is still going on
  Example: I have been living here since 2001.
• finished action that influenced the present
  Example: I have been working all afternoon.
  
  

   

  As with all continuous tenses remember: 

  Non-Continuous Verbs/ Mixed Verbs

  It is important to remember that Non-Continuous Verbs cannot be used in any continuous tenses. Also, certain non-continuous meanings for Mixed Verbs cannot be used in continuous tenses. Instead of using Present Perfect Continuous with these verbs, you must use Present Perfect.
  

  Examples:
  

  • Sam has been having his car for two years. Not Correct
  • Sam has had his car for two years. Correct

 

Key Words of Present Perfect Continuous

• all day, for 4 years, since 1993, How long,.......?, the whole week
 

 

Time for practice! 

Exercise 1 (test)

Exercise 2

Exercise 3 (present perfect simple vs present perfect continuous)

Source: http://www.ego4u.com/en

 

 

School and creativity

Creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson challenges the way we're educating our children. He champions a radical rethink of our school systems, to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types of intelligence.

 Let's hope that his ideas will someday be heard by the designers of the greek educational system. Especially the idea of 'human ecology' and how the 'system' only prepares students for a certain purpose.

Do not worry, the video presentation has got greek subtitles so everyone can watch.

Practice tense formation!

You can find a list of exercises to practice the formation of tenses here. You can choose level in each case.

Relative pronouns and adverbs (who, which...)

We use relative clauses to give additional information about something without starting another sentence. By combining sentences with a relative clause, your text becomes more fluent and you can avoid repeating certain words.

How to Form Relative Clauses 

Imagine, a girl is talking to Tom. You want to know who she is and ask a friend whether he knows her. You could say:

A girl is talking to Tom. Do you know the girl?

That sounds rather complicated, doesn't it? It would be easier with a relative clause: you put both pieces of information into one sentence. Start with the most important thing  – you want to know who the girl is.

Do you know the girl …

As your friend cannot know which girl you are talking about, you need to put in the additional information  – the girl is talking to Tom. Use „the girl“ only in the first part of the sentence, in the second part replace it with the relative pronoun (for people, use the relative pronoun „who“). So the final sentence is:

Do you know the girl who is talking to Tom?

Relative Pronouns 

Relative pronoun	Use	Example
who	subject or object pronoun for people	I told you about the woman who lives next door.
which	subject or object pronoun for animals and things	Do you see the cat which is lying on the roof?
which	referring to a whole sentence	He couldn’t read which surprised me.
whose	possession for people animals and things	Do you know the boy whose mother is a nurse?
whom	object pronoun for people, especially in non-defining relative clauses (in defining relative clauses we colloquially prefer who)	I was invited by the professor whom I met at the conference.
that	subject or object pronoun for people, animals and things in defining relative clauses (who or which are also possible)	I don’t like the table that stands in the kitchen.

 

 Subject Pronoun or Object Pronoun? 

Subject and object pronouns cannot be distinguished by their forms - who, which, that are used for subject and object pronouns. You can, however, distinguish them as follows:

If the relative pronoun is followed by a verb, the relative pronoun is a subject pronoun. Subject pronouns must always be used.

the apple which is lying on the table

If the relative pronoun is not followed by a verb (but by a noun or pronoun), the relative pronoun is an object pronoun. Object pronouns can be dropped in defining relative clauses, which are then called Contact Clauses.

the apple (which) George lay on the table

 

 Relative Adverbs 

A relative adverb can be used instead of a relative pronoun plus preposition. This often makes the sentence easier to understand.

This is the shop in which I bought my bike.
→ This is the shop where I bought my bike.

Relative adverb	Meaning	Use	Example
when	in/on which	refers to a time expression	the day when we met him
where	in/at which	refers to a place	the place where we met him
why	for which	refers to a reason	the reason why we met him

 

 Defining Relative Clauses 

Defining relative clauses (also called identifying relative clauses or restrictive relative clauses) give detailed information defining a general term or expression. Defining relative clauses are not put in commas.

Imagine, Tom is in a room with five girls. One girl is talking to Tom and you ask somebody whether he knows this girl. Here the relative clause defines which of the five girls you mean.

Do you know the girl who is talking to Tom?

Defining relative clauses are often used in definitions.

A seaman is someone who works on a ship.

Object pronouns in defining relative clauses can be dropped. (Sentences with a relative clause without the relative pronoun are called Contact Clauses.)

The boy (who/whom) we met yesterday is very nice.

 

Non-Defining Relative Clauses

Non-defining relative clauses (also called non-identifying relative clauses or non-restrictive relative clauses) give additional information on something, but do not define it. Non-defining relative clauses are put in commas.

Imagine, Tom is in a room with only one girl. The two are talking to each other and you ask somebody whether he knows this girl. Here the relative clause is non-defining because in this situation it is obvious which girl you mean.

Do you know the girl, who is talking to Tom?

Note: In non-defining relative clauses, who/which may not be replaced with that.

Object pronouns in non-defining relative clauses must be used.

Jim, who/whom we met yesterday, is very nice.

 

How to Shorten Relative Clauses? 

Relative clauses with who, which, that as subject pronoun can be replaced with a participle. This makes the sentence shorter and easier to understand.

I told you about the woman who lives next door. – I told you about the woman living next door.

Do you see the cat which is lying on the roof? – Do you see the cat lying on the roof?

You can do online exercises by clicking on the links above:

Exercise 1

Exercise 2(test)

Source: http://www.ego4u.com

The Present Perfect Simple

FORM

[has/have + past participle]

Examples:

• You have seen that movie many times.
• Have you seen that movie many times?
• You have not seen that movie many times.

Complete List of Present Perfect Forms

USE 1 Unspecified Time Before Now

We use the Present Perfect to say that an action happened at an unspecified time before now. The exact time is not important. You CANNOT use the Present Perfect with specific time expressions such as: yesterday, one year ago, last week, when I was a child, when I lived in Japan, at that moment, that day, one day, etc. We CAN use the Present Perfect with unspecific expressions such as: ever, never, once, many times, several times, before, so far, already, yet, etc.

Examples:

• I have seen that movie twenty times.
• I think I have met him once before.
• There have been many earthquakes in California.
• People have traveled to the Moon.
• People have not traveled to Mars.
• Have you read the book yet?
• Nobody has ever climbed that mountain.
• A: Has there ever been a war in the United States?
  B: Yes, there has been a war in the United States.

How Do You Actually Use the Present Perfect?

The concept of "unspecified time" can be very confusing to English learners. It is best to associate Present Perfect with the following topics:

TOPIC 1 Experience (=Eμπειρίες)

You can use the Present Perfect to describe your experience. It is like saying, "I have the experience of..." You can also use this tense to say that you have never had a certain experience. The Present Perfect is NOT used to describe a specific event.

Examples:

• I have been to France.
  This sentence means that you have had the experience of being in France. Maybe you have been there once, or several times.
• I have been to France three times.
  You can add the number of times at the end of the sentence.
• I have never been to France.
  This sentence means that you have not had the experience of going to France.
• I think I have seen that movie before.
• He has never traveled by train.
• Joan has studied two foreign languages.
• A: Have you ever met him?
  B: No, I have not met him.

TOPIC 2 Change Over Time(=Αλλαγές μέσα στο χρόνο)

We often use the Present Perfect to talk about change that has happened over a period of time.

Examples:

• You have grown since the last time I saw you.
• The government has become more interested in arts education.
• Japanese has become one of the most popular courses at the university since the Asian studies program was established.
• My English has really improved since I moved to Australia.

TOPIC 3 Accomplishments(=Επιτεύγματα)

We often use the Present Perfect to list the accomplishments of individuals and humanity. You cannot mention a specific time.

Examples:

• Man has walked on the Moon.
• Our son has learned how to read.
• Doctors have cured many deadly diseases.
• Scientists have split the atom.

TOPIC 4 An Uncompleted Action You Are Expecting(=Αναμενόμενες πράξεις που δεν έχουν τελειώσει)

We often use the Present Perfect to say that an action which we expected has not happened. Using the Present Perfect suggests that we are still waiting for the action to happen.

Examples:

• James has not finished his homework yet.
• Susan hasn't mastered Japanese, but she can communicate.
• Bill has still not arrived.
• The rain hasn't stopped.

TOPIC 5 Multiple Actions at Different Times(=Επαναλαμβανόμενες πράξεις στο παρελθόν σε διαφορετικές στιγμές)

We also use the Present Perfect to talk about several different actions which have occurred in the past at different times. Present Perfect suggests the process is not complete and more actions are possible.

Examples:

• The army has attacked that city five times.
• I have had four quizzes and five tests so far this semester.
• We have had many major problems while working on this project.
• She has talked to several specialists about her problem, but nobody knows why she is sick.

Time Expressions with Present Perfect

When we use the Present Perfect it means that something has happened at some point in our lives before now. Remember, the exact time the action happened is not important.

Sometimes, we want to limit the time we are looking in for an experience. We can do this with expressions such as: in the last week, in the last year, this week, this month, so far, up to now, etc.

Examples:

• Have you been to Mexico in the last year?
• I have seen that movie six times in the last month.
• They have had three tests in the last week.
• She graduated from university less than three years ago. She has worked for three different companies so far.
• My car has broken down three times this week. 
 

Key words: lately, recently, already, yet, ever, never, so far, since+point in time, for+period of time e.t.c.

Now try to do these exercises to practice on this tense!

Exersice 1
Exercise 2


(Source: http://www.englishpage.com)

Conditionals

1. The Zero Conditional (Type 0)

The zero conditional is a structure used for talking about general truths, or scientific facts -- things which always happen under certain conditions.

A zero conditional sentence consists of two clauses, an "if" clause and a main clause (note that most zero conditional sentences will mean the same thing if "when" is used instead of "if"). For example:

If the "if" clause comes first, a comma is usually used. If the "if" clause comes second, there is no need for a comma.

The simple present tense is the tense use in both clauses. Examples:

If you cross an international date line, the time changes.

Phosphorus burns if you expose it to air.

2. First Conditional (Type I)

The first conditional (also called conditional type 1) is a structure used for talking about possibilities in the present or in the future.Type 1: if + present + future.

Example:

If I have the money, I will buy this car.

If it's sunny, we'll go to the park.

Peter will be sad if Susan leaves.

If you cook dinner, I'll wash the dishes.

Among other variations the structure if + present + present is also possible. It is used when the results are habitual or automatic. Example: If a commodity is in short, supply prices tend to rise.

3. Second Conditional (Type II)

The second conditional (also called conditional type 2) is a structure used for talking about unreal situations in the present or in the future.Type 2: if + past + conditional

Example:

If I had the money, I would buy this car. (Since I do not have the money I cannot buy any new car). The action in type 2 is characterized by unreality.

If I were you, I would drive more carefully in the rain.

If dogs had wings, they would be able to fly.

Paula would be sad if Jan left.

4. Third Conditional (Type III)

The third conditional (also called conditional type 3) is a structure used for talking about unreal situations in the past. In other words, it is used to talk about things which DID NOT HAPPEN in the past. Type 3: if + past perfect + perfect conditional

Full form : If I had studied harder, I probably would have passed the exam.

Contracted form :If I'd studied harder, I probably would've passed the exam.

Example:

If I had had the money, I would have bought this Audi. (But I did not have it, and so did not buy).

If you had driven more carefully, you would not have had an accident. (You had an accident because you didn't drive carefully enough.)

If we had played a little better, we could have won the game.(We didn't play well, so we lost the game.)

The action in type 3 is characterized by impossibility.

While type 1 and type 2 focus on the present or future, the time in type 3 is the past and signifies a completed action in the past. The condition, therefore, cannot be fulfilled because the action in the if-clause did not happen.

Practice time!

Exercise 1 

Exercise 2 (Sentence completion)

Exersise 2: 1st&2nd type conditionals

Exercise 3: 2nd&3rd type conditionals

Sources:

www.nonstopenglish.com

www.englishpage.com

http://wwwedu.ge.ch/cptic/prospective/projets/anglais/exercises/

Learning English? Check this out!

Learning English can be an interesting and enjoyable process for all those involved.... teachers, learners and speakers. Watch these videos to understand what I mean...

                                          A scene from the greek movie 'Καλώς ήρθε το δολλάριο'

Correct pronunciation is indeed important so do not get angry the next time your teacher insists on a new word. Check out why!

             Practice makes perfect????

'We are sinking, we are sinking...' What a difference does a letter make!

Wanna be a translator???? Well, body language is not enough...

However, as the following video shows everybody can learn provided that he/she has got strong will (oh, yes, and if he/she does his/her English homework regularly!).

                                                  Zoumpoulia from 'Παρά πέντε' in action