In English-speaking countries and communities, friends, family members, and even complete strangers are greeting each other today with the phrase “Happy New Year!”
A very merry Christmas And a happy New Year
Captions 9-10, Bon Jovi - Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
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Of course, the celebrations began last night, which is known as New Year’s Eve. It is common for people to attend parties to “ring in the New Year” together. Shortly before midnight they engage in a countdown to the new year, often counting off the last ten seconds aloud together. Adults will toast with champagne or sparkling wine. If children are still awake, they may be given sparkling apple cider.
On New Year's Eve we checked out the rings of Saturn.
Caption 15, Jason Mraz - Tour of Studio
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One year to go, countdown to kick-off
Caption 1, FIFA U-20 World Cup New Zealand 2015 - Meet the New Zealand 2015 host cities
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By today, many people will have already made a “New Year’s resolution,” which is a promise to do or not do something in the new year. Typical new year’s resolutions relate to learning a new skill (or perhaps a new language!), something related to health and exercise, or getting rid of a bad habit.
My New Year's resolution is to just, like, keep going at the gym.
Caption 7, Ashley Tisdale - Happy New Year!
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Further Learning
For more information, read this article, which provides some interesting facts about the history and traditions of New Year’s Eve.
You likely know the present continuous ("I am sitting at the table," "He is going to the grocery store"), but how familiar are you with the past continuous?
The past continuous is often used to set the scene and provide context when talking about the past:
I was working in the theatre in England.
Caption 13, Donald Sutherland - Talks Career and Hollywood
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A very typical structure with the past continuous and simple past tenses together occurs when one action or event in the past interrupts another action that is already in progress.
There she encountered an old woman who was sitting at a spinning wheel.
Caption 32, Fairy Tales - Sleeping Beauty
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In this example, it is clear that the woman already began doing what she was doing ("sitting at a spinning wheel") before Sleeping Beauty entered the room. In each of the following examples, one action was already happening when the other occurred:
But when the Princess opened her eyes the next morning,
she was surprised that a good-looking prince was standing there.
Captions 26-27, Fairy Tales - The Frog King
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I'm sorry, I was eating chips. What did you say?
Caption 12, The Ellen Show - Ellen Inspired Adele's New Song
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Further Learning
To get more context for the phrases, watch the videos above on Yabla English. Make sure you understand which action came first. For a thorough description with more examples, you can also refer to this page.
In English, the verb to borrow means to take or use something that belongs to someone else for a short period of time. The verb to lend is to give something to a person for a short period of time. These two words often get mixed up by non-native speakers, so let's look at some examples.
In the following example, Valentino lends the clothes and Sharon Stone borrows the clothes. In the end, she has to give them back.
So Valentino, the designer, lends me clothes to wear for appearances.
Caption 64, Ask Jimmy Carter - Another Interview with Sharon Stone
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The phrase "lend a hand" means "to help out."
I would not lend a hand
Caption 5, Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight
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In the following sentence, Richard Wiseman tells you to use your friend's money to play a trick on them.
Borrow a note from a friend. Ask them to place their hands palm down.
Caption 49, Richard Wiseman - 10 bets you will always win
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Of course, some people keep things for longer than they should...
You are so welcome to borrow her for the next, like, ten years or so.
Caption 5, Selena Gomez - Ramona And Beezus - Trailer
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So now you know that saying "Johnny borrowed me ten dollars" is completely wrong! You have to say either "Johnny lent me ten dollars" or "I borrowed ten dollars from Johnny."
Further Learning
Write some sentences that begin with "I recently borrowed..." and "I recently lent..." Re-write the sentences above from Yabla English so that they use the other verb and remembering to change the subject and object of the sentence accordingly.
English learners often have some trouble mastering when to use the present perfect tense and when to use the simple past tense. There are some instances where they are indeed interchangeable, but most often the choice between these two tenses is crucial for conveying the meaning of a sentence.
The present perfect is used when a situation, action, or state is not finished or concluded yet. Let’s look at the following two sentences from Yabla English:
She has lived an extraordinary life of public service.
Caption 36, Barack Obama - On Trump Presidential Victory
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And I lived on a boat for three and a half years.
Caption 8, Great Pacific Garbage Patch - Let's Work for Solutions
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In the first example, Barack Obama used the present perfect to indicate that Hilary Clinton has not finished serving the public and will continue to do so in the future. Her life of public service is ongoing. In the second example, the simple past tense makes it clear that the person speaking does not live on the boat anymore. If they used “I have lived” we would know that they are still living on the boat today.
One clue for knowing which tense to use is that certain words like "since," "ever," and "never" are only used in sentences with the present perfect, whereas "ago," "yesterday," "last week" and "last month" indicate finished periods of time that require the simple past tense.
We saw so many incredible places.
Caption 2, New Zealand 100% Pure - New Zealand, Home of Middle-earth
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They were the most persistent tigers I've ever seen.
Caption 30, The Marx Brothers - Capt. Spaulding's African Adventures
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In the second sentence above, Captain Spaulding means “I’ve ever seen in my life.” Because he is still living, and it is possible he may see tigers that are even more persistent in the future, the situation is considered unresolved and the present perfect is used.
For the next sentence, note that “this project made a huge difference” would mean that the project is finished, whereas how it is written makes it clear that it is, in fact, ongoing:
There's no doubt that this project has made a huge difference.
Caption 36, WWF: Making a Difference - Rhino Conservation
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In British English, the tenses are more interchangeable. For example, the present perfect is often used when talking about an event that is finished, but happened very recently.
I have just been to Buckingham Palace.
Caption 1, BBC News - Theresa May: First Speech as Prime Minister
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However, in American English, there are also cases where either tense is applicable. The following sentence is an example in which either tense could be used. This is because the mistake is a finished act, but the situation surrounding the mistake is ongoing.
You really think we made a mistake?
Since we already discussed the difference between their, there, and they're in a previous lesson, perhaps it is good to also cover another common point of confusion: the words it's and its. Even native speakers get these words mixed up, so master them and you will be ahead of the game.
We are used to recognizing possessives by the use of an apostrophe, for example, my mother's car or the teacher's classroom. However, the word it's is not possessive, but rather a contraction of it and is used for convenience. In the sentences below, we see shortened versions of it is amazing, it is really exciting, and it is the most important part.
And it's amazing, and they have one of the best sunsets in the world.
Caption 25, Visit Isle of Wight - Mark King of Level 42
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It's really exciting to know that I'm setting a good example for young people
Caption 26, peta2 Interviews - Vegan Surfer Tia Blanco
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That's how we know it's the most important part.
Caption 34, Rachel's English - How to Introduce Yourself - American English Pronunciation
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The word its helps us to describe how something belongs to, for example, an animal, place, or object. The sentences below are about the bear's fur, the garden's street performers, and the vest's container.
Its fur is almost silver with a blue sheen,
the perfect adaptation to its environment.
Captions 19-20, Nature & Wildlife - Search for the Ghost Bear
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Covent Garden is famous for its street performers.
Caption 3, Christmas in London - Places
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To use, pull the tab to remove the vest from its container
and then open the pouch.
Captions 69-70, Delta Airlines - In-Flight Safety Video
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So, as you can see, “it’s” with an apostrophe is the contraction for “it is” and is never a possessive, while “its” with no apostrophe can only be a possessive and is never the contraction for “it is”.
Further Learning
Take special note of examples of it's and its that you see while watching videos on Yabla English. Almost every video has one or both!
One common mistake made by those who speak English as a second language is confusing the words price and prize. This may be because they are very similar in their sound and spelling, but also because many languages only have one word with two different meanings. For example, le prix in French and der Preis in German can refer to either an award or the monetary value of an item. In those languages you simply have to look at the context of the sentence.
The price of something is the amount of money it is worth:
Well, the price ranges from twenty-five to a hundred dollars.
Caption 54, Groucho Marx - You Bet Your Life
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The price on this one was... three dollars!
Caption 51, Jessica - on books
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Price is also used metaphorically to talk about a sacrifice or consequence:
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
Caption 72, Barack Obama's Inauguration Day - Obama's Speech
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A prize is an award given to recognize an achievement. It can involve money (prize money or a cash award), but not always. The Nobel Prize is a prominent example of a prize given on an international level.
I smell the prize, I'm getting closer
Caption 14, World Cup 2010 - For the Love of the Game
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There's no prize money, Gillian.
Caption 6, Dream to Believe - aka Flying
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Further Learning
Find some aspect of the usage of these words on Yabla English that will help you remember which one is which. For example, remembering that "Nobel Prize" has a "z" might help you remember that a "prize" is a type of award. Or perhaps remembering that "cents" as in "dollars and cents" is spelled with "c" will help you remember that "price," which has to do with money, is spelled with a "c" as well.
In English, cardinal numbers (for example, "one," "two," or "three") refer to quantity, whereas ordinal numbers ("first," "second," or "third") refer to distribution. Ordinal numbers are used in dates and fractions. They are employed as adjectives to describe importance, position in a list, and placement in time.
Generally, ordinal numbers are created by adding -th to the end of the cardinal number. However, there are exceptions for the numbers one (first), two (second), three (third), five (fifth), eight (eighth), nine (ninth), and twelve (twelfth).
I've been nervous. I think you know it's my first video ever.
Caption 31, Adele - The Making of 'Chasing Pavements'
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It is the world's sixth largest country by total area.
Caption 3, Soccer World Cup - Australia
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On the twelfth day after Christmas, we have to take down all the decorations and the tree.
Caption 47, Christmas traditions - in the UK
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Starting with twenty, the ordinal numbers for multiples of ten (for example, thirty or ninety) are created by replacing the "y" with "ieth."
And we've got the one year celebration on the thirtieth of May.
Caption 30, FIFA U-20 World Cup New Zealand 2015 - New Zealand getting the word out
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This may seem like a lot to remember. However, for other numbers above twenty, only the last figure is written as an ordinal number:
English is the language of the twenty-first century.
Caption 8, Strothoff International School - Imagefilm
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They have a wonderful internet café on the forty-seventh... forty-eighth floor.
Caption 67, An Apartment - in Japan
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Further Learning
Memorize the ordinal numbers from one to twenty with the help of this extensive list of ordinal numbers and find more examples on Yabla English.
Homonyms are words that sound the same, but are spelled differently and have different meanings and usages. This can be confusing sometimes as one must rely on context to figure out which word is meant or should be used.
Even native speakers sometimes fail to use the homonyms "there," "their," and "they're" correctly. Here is a quick review of which one is appropriate for which occasion.
1) The word "there" is used to refer to a physical or abstract location.
When I flew in on the float plane, they were all there on the boat.
When I flew in on the float plane, they were all there on the boat.
Caption 4, Alaska Revealed - Endless Wave
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Also, it is commonly combined with a conjugation of “to be” or a modal verb to discuss the existence of something.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done.
Caption 28, Barack Obama's Inauguration Day - Obama's Speech
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I think there must be something wrong with me, Linus.
I think there must be something wrong with me, Linus.
Caption 9, A Charlie Brown Christmas - Opening
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2) "Their" is a possessive adjective used before a noun when the subject is "they." With "their," we are speaking about something that belongs to two or more people.
What are their names? -Their names are Naya and Alex.
What are their names? -Their names are Naya and Alex.
Caption 14, Caralie and Annie - Get to Know Each Other
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Their goal is a plan to finally help humanity reduce its carbon footprint.
Their goal is a plan to finally help humanity reduce its carbon footprint.
Caption 3, Green TV - What Is COP21?
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3) "They’re" is a contraction of "they are" used to refer to two or more people in the third person. It is especially useful for shortening sentences in the present continuous tense.
I think they're nice.
I think they're nice.
Caption 12, Comic-Con 2015 - Jennifer Lawrence
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They're playing a game on the lawn.
They're playing a game on the lawn.
Caption 10, Jessica - in Prospect Park
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Further Learning
Check out the examples above on Yabla English to get a better sense of the full context for the use of "there," "their," and "they're." Try to write a few sentences in which you use two or even all three of these words to solidify your understanding. An example would be: "They're not sure when they will get there. It depends on when their plane lands."
As we approach the end of December, many people are looking forward to having some time off. The “holiday break," “Christmas break,” or "winter vacation" observed by schools gives students up to two weeks off. Universities may have closer to a month of time off. Workplaces and offices close as well, although not for so long!
It is a time to relax and a time to spend with family and friends. If the weather outside is cold, there are some classic outdoor activities that people enjoy, although you may decide to simply stay nice and warm indoors.
And nowadays Rose and I do down-hill skiing primarily.
And nowadays Rose and I do down-hill skiing primarily.
Caption 73, Ask Jimmy Carter - Interview with Former US President Jimmy Carter
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She could only rest in a corner next to the fireplace,
She could only rest in a corner next to the fireplace,
Caption 11, Yabla Fairy Tales - Cinderella
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Many families take time to do activities like baking or cooking together, and also decorate to their homes.
And what's your favorite part of the Christmas dinner?
And what's your favorite part of the Christmas dinner?
Caption 13, Christmas in London - People
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But, up until that point we decorate our houses with lots of different things.
But, up until that point we decorate our houses with lots of different things.
Caption 6, Christmas Traditions - In the UK
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Many people are also preparing for the holidays and the tradition of exchanging presents:
I like getting presents and sending Christmas cards.
I like getting presents and sending Christmas cards.
Caption 13, A Charlie Brown Christmas - Opening
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...and then unwrap our presents and all the family will be there.
...and then unwrap our presents and all the family will be there.
Caption 12, Christmas in London - People
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Of course, the holidays can be stressful, especially if you are late with the preparations!
So they're looking for their last-minute presents for their loved ones.
So they're looking for their last-minute presents for their loved ones.
Caption 3, Christmas in London - People
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Our Yabla English team wishes you a lovely winter break and holiday season, filled with relaxation and the warm company of family and friends!
Further Learning
Go to the links listed above, or do your own search for Yabla English videos that reference holiday traditions. Another idea: look up the English words for the presents you are giving people this year if you don’t know them already.
Characters in the popular television series Game of Thrones often repeat that "winter is coming," but somehow it never actually arrives. The results of the recent presidential election in the United States, however, have left many liberals preparing for a political winter that could last for at least four years. Here are some Yabla videos dealing with common expressions relating to this coldest of seasons.
Welcome to winter time... right here.
Welcome to winter time... right here.
Caption 33, Jason Mraz - Tour of Studio
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The winter came and the lake froze over.
The winter came and the lake froze over.
Caption 37, Fairy Tales - The Ugly Duckling
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However, there's still a large difference between winter and summer.
However, there's still a large difference between winter and summer.
Caption 4, English with Lauren - The weather
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In this winter of our hardship ...
In this winter of our hardship ...
let us brave once more the icy currents,
let us brave once more the icy currents,
and endure what storms may come.
and endure what storms may come.
Captions 87-89, Barack Obama's Inauguration Day - Obama's Speech
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Instead of lush fields,
Instead of lush fields,
we would have long winters and sparse,
we would have long winters and sparse,
ice-covered landscapes in Europe.
ice-covered landscapes in Europe.
Captions 55-56, Nature Preservation - The Gulf Stream & Climate Change
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You will have your home prepared
You will have your home prepared
and winter-proofed in next to no time.
and winter-proofed in next to no time.
Caption 38, British Gas - Top Tips on Preparing Your Home for Cold Weather
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Further Learning
Watch the above videos in their entirety and search for examples of winter on Yabla English to see other related terms used in a real-world context.
A preposition is a type of word that express spatial or temporal relations. Here is a list of known English prepositions. There is no set of rules for learning prepositions, and the prepositions from one language often do not translate directly into another. It's best to learn English prepositions by getting used to using them in context. Today, let's take a look at the preposition "at."
The preposition "at" can be used to express the time of day:
And at three o'clock the Queen comes on and she gives her speech.
And at three o'clock the Queen comes on and she gives her speech.
Caption 24, Christmas Traditions - In the UK
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Or to indicate a place:
As you can see behind me, we are at Buckingham Palace.
As you can see behind me, we are at Buckingham Palace.
Caption 1, In London with Lauren - Buckingham Palace
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Or to indicate an activity or proficiency with something:
So I'm very good at working as part of a team.
So I'm very good at working as part of a team.
Caption 34, Business English - The Job Interview
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Or very commonly when mentioning an email address. The "at symbol" (@) in an email address is also called... at!
You can email us at...
You can email us at...
Caption 50, The Egoscue Clinic of Austin - Exercises for Lower Back Pain
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Further Learning
Search for examples of the preposition "at" on Yabla English to see them used in a real-world context.
The four seasons in English are winter, spring, summer, and fall. The season "fall" is also called "autumn." The name of the seasons are written lower-case. Different places and cultures have different ways of reckoning the dates of the seasons, but by scientific meteorological methods, winter in the northern hemisphere is from December 1 to February 28 (or 29 in a leap year). In the southern hemisphere winter is from June 1 until August 31.
In the winter it's very cold in New York. -Almost freezing.
Caption 7, Caralie and Annie - Get To Know Each Other
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Spring in the northern hemisphere is from March 1 to May 31, in the southern hemisphere from September 1 to November 30.
First, we have spring, when the leaves turn green.
Caption 19, Lydia Explains - Weekdays, Seasons and Months
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Summer in the northern hemisphere is from June 1 to August 31, in the southern hemisphere from December 1 to February 28 or 29.
The summer is especially beautiful this year.
Caption 2, Nature & Wildlife - Search for the Ghost Bear
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Fall (or autumn) in the northern hemisphere is from September 1 to November 30, in the southern hemisphere from March 1 to May 31.
Third, we have fall, or you could say autumn.
Caption 21, Lydia Explains - Weekdays, Seasons and Months
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Further Learning
Search for examples of the seasons on Yabla English to see them used in a real-world context.
There is a standard set of adverbs (words that modify verbs) that describe how often something happens, from not at all (never) to all the time (always). Let's see some examples from Yabla English.
I've never done that in my life.
Caption 70, George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four - BBC TV Movie
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I very rarely have a day off.
Caption 11, Ask Jimmy Carter - Another Interview with Sharon Stone
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Do you have someone who can ... take the air out of your tires occasionally?
Captions 40-41, Will Smith - Enemy of the State
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...I sometimes will write it on a piano.
Caption 27, Bee and Flower - Interview
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Whales feed at depth in waters that are often pitch dark.
Caption 19, Sustainable Human - How Whales Change Climate
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I usually leave it to simmer a little bit.
Caption 85, Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives - Pam's Trinidadian Caribbean Kitchen
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It is always held in Leicester Square.
Caption 25, In London with Lauren - Piccadilly Circus
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The adverbs are written in bold above in increasing order of frequency: never, rarely, occasionally, sometimes, often, usually, always.
Further Learning
Search for examples of frequency adverbs on Yabla English to see them used in a real-world context.
An infinitive verb is the plain form of a verb that is not conjugated and often has the word "to" before it. It is good to know the plain or base form of a verb, since that is the form that is typically the main listing for the word in a dictionary. You may hear the infinitive "to sit" conjugated as "sat" or "sitting," but the form of the word you will need if you care to look it up is the infinitive "sit." In standard usage, the infinitive will always be preceded by another verb.
An infinitive is often used in a sentence in combination with a conjugated from of "to be." In these examples, the subject "it" is used to make general observations:
It is going to blow up!
Caption 37, Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives - Pam's Trinidadian Caribbean Kitchen
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It's going to boil down.
Caption 6, Cooking with Aria - French Toast and a Berry Topping
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It is not enough to obey Big Brother.
Caption 15, George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four - BBC TV Movie
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"The world is watching. It's time to detox."
-Greenpeace: Detox How People Power is Cleaning Up Fashion
The infinitives are written in bold above: to blow up, to boil, to obey, and to detox.
Further Learning
Read this in-depth article on infinitive verbs, then search for examples on Yabla English to see them used in a real-world context.
An infinitive verb is the plain form of a verb that is not conjugated and often has the word "to" before it. It is good to know the plain or base form of a verb, since that is the form that is typically the main listing for the word in a dictionary. You may hear the infinitive "to sit" conjugated as "sat" or "sitting," but the form of the word you will need if you care to look it up is the infinitive "sit." In standard usage, the infinitive will always be preceded by another verb.
The Japanese tradition is to sit on the stool in front of the faucets
Caption 22, An Apartment - In Japan
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In the example above, the infinitive is "to sit." Infinitives preceded by "to" are called "full infinitives."
You can sit right here. -Thank you.
Caption 5, Jessica and Liz - In a Restaurant
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In this example, the infinitive is the verb "sit." An infinitive without the "to" is called a "bare infinitive."
It's really exciting to know that I'm setting a good example for young people.
Caption 26, peta2 Interviews - Vegan Surfer Tia Blanco
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You did well to tell me. We must know everything.
Caption 35, George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four - BBC TV Movie
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In the first example above, you see the full infinitive "to know," and in the second example the bare infinitive "know."
Further Learning
Read this in-depth article on infinitive verbs, then search for examples on Yabla English to see them used in a real-world context.
A gerund is a noun that has been formed by adding the suffix -ing to a verb. The gerund will often function as a verb within the clause, but in the context of the complete sentence forms a subject. Progressive active participle verbs also end in -ing, but retain verb form. Let's learn to tell the difference between a gerund (noun) and a progressive active participle (verb).
But believing ends in seeing
Caption 44, Katie Melua - A Happy Place
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You will be seeing them again.
Caption 37, George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four - BBC TV Movie
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In the first example, "seeing" and "believing" are gerund nouns. Try placing the definite article "the" before the words and see if the sentence still makes sense: "But the believing ends in the seeing." The fact that it works grammatically shows that both "seeing" and "believing" are gerunds. But in the second example, "You will be the seeing them again" would be grammatically incorrect, because in this case "seeing" is a verb.
I'd like your opinion about fast driving on the highway.
Caption 21, James Dean - Interview & Famous Drive Safely Spot
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I'm in a truck, we're driving through the bush.
Caption 23, Kiting For Conservation - Kenya
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In the first example, "the fast driving" works, so it is a gerund noun. In the second example, "we're the driving..." does not work grammatically, so it's a verb.
Further Learning
Try taking examples of some English verbs and adding -ing to the end of them to make the gerund nouns, then search for examples on Yabla English to see them used in a real-world context.
In the previous lessons, we saw how a regular verb conjugates into the past tense and past participle by simply adding -ed to the end of the infinitive: ask/asked, talk/talked, watch/watched, etc. Irregular verbs, on the other hand, each follow their own set of rules of conjugation. There are, however, some basic patterns that can help you remember how to conjugate some of these irregular verbs.
Some verbs with "ea" as the central vowels may (or may not) have an added -t at the end in past and past participle forms, but all of the past and past participle forms have in common that the "ea" is changes pronunciation. "I am reading a book" (pronounced "reeding"), but "I have read a book" (pronounced "red").
Many of the challenges that we are trying to tackle
can't be dealt with by individuals [sic] companies alone.
Captions 29-30, The British Monarchy - Global Sustainability
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You can finally live the life you always dreamt of.
Caption 10, Movie Trailers - Bruce Willis - Surrogates
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I meant what I wrote, shall we meet?
Caption 1, George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four - BBC TV Movie
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The father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people.
Caption 84, Barack Obama's Inauguration Day - Obama's Speech
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In all of the cases above, the present tense verbs "deal," "dream," "mean," and "read" have the long "ee" sound like "reed", but change in the past and past participles to the short "e" sound like "red."
Further Learning
Go back to the lessons for Irregular Verbs Part 1 and Part 2 and review some of the patterns that can help you learn English irregular verbs. Find examples of the verbs listed above in their past and past participle forms and learn them by searching for examples on Yabla English to see them used in a real-world context.
In last month's first part, we saw how a regular verb conjugates into the past tense and past participle by simply adding -ed to the end of the infinitive: ask/asked, talk/talked, watch/watched etc. Irregular verbs, on the other hand, each follow their own set of rules of conjugation. There are, however, some more basic patterns that can help you remember how to conjugate some of these irregular verbs.
Some verbs switch their central vowels to an "o" in the past and past participle, such as the verbs "to break" (broke, broken),"to choose" (choose, chosen), "to forget" (forgot, forgotten), "to freeze" (froze, frozen), "to get" (got, gotten), "to speak" (spoke, spoken), "to tear" (tore, torn) "to wake" (woke, woken) and "to wear" (wore, worn). Here is the verb "to steal" in the past and past participle:
Then they took you away, stole you out of my life
Caption 41, Lana Del Rey - Blue Jeans
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They've stolen my heart away.
Captions 49-50, George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four - BBC TV Movie
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Many verbs with "ee" as the central vowels change to a single "e" in past and past participle, and these are made easier in that the past and past participle forms are the same: "to bleed" (bled), "to feel" (felt), "to keep" (kept), "to lead" (led), and "to meet" (met). A few more examples using the verbs "to sleep" and "to feed":
The Frog slept all night and it was hardly light.
Caption 8, Fairy Tales - The Frog King
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They have fed quite well.
Caption 53, Nature & Wildlife - Search for the Ghost Bear
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Further Learning
Find examples of the verbs listed above in past and past participle and learn them by searching for examples on Yabla English to see them used in a real-world context.