Our class 7

Phonetics

1.      [s]- sea, sleep, sand, best, last, cast, drinks, leaps, lips, misunderstanding, mischief, discount.

2.     [z] – bells, sands, disgusting, excuse, use, abuse, clothes, fathers, fathers and sons, basic.

3.     [∫] – shop, pressure, transmission, share, discussion, sure, percussion, sheep ship, missionary.

4.     [Ʒ] – pleasure, measure, leisure, visionary, treasure, disclosure.

5.     Ps – [s] – pseudo, psycho, psychology.

 

·         I saw Susie sitting in a shoe shine shop.
Where she sits she shines, and where she shines she sits.

·         Coy knows pseudonoise codes.

·         Sheena leads, Sheila needs.

·         Roofs of mushrooms rarely mush too much.

·         Scissors sizzle, thistles sizzle.

·         Six shining cities

·         Moses supposes his toes are roses,
but Moses supposes erroneously.
For Moses, he knows his toes aren’t roses,
as Moses supposes his toes to be.

 

Now, please, read the following tongue twisters aloud:

Does this shop stock shot silk shorts?
If she stops at the shop where I stop,
And if she shops at the shop where I shop,
Then I shan’t stop to shop at the shop
Where she stops to shop.

Stagecoach stops.
Stagecoach stops.
Stagecoach stops.

Strange strategic statistics
Strange strategic statistics
Strange strategic statistics

How many slim slimy snakes would slither silently to the sea if slim slimy snakes could slither silently?

Swan swam over the sea;
Swim, Swan, swim!
Swan swam back again;
Well swum, Swan!
Shy Sheep Some say shy shippers ship shy sheep

Adjectives in English

Adjective is a very important part of English language. We use it to describe things around us, events, to give more specific information. In this lesson we will learn all the important things we need to know about adjectives in English.

Now, please, do the following exercises:

 

Put adjectives into the correct order. Please, note that in real life we donnot usually put more that three adjectives together.

1. Mary wants a … coffee table. (wooden, round, red)

2. Yann took a … bike ride around the island. (1-week, tiring)

3. These are some … cupcakes! (big, raspberry, tasty)

4. Charlie has the best taste: she likes … furniture. (African, wooden)

5. My dog Voltaire gets very excited when he finds … bones in the garden. (chicken, white, little)

6. This is a very … book. Read it! (old, interesting, classic)

7. Yack! These are some … shoes! (beach, pink, plastic, ugly)

8. I got my mom a … vase. (porcelain, small, white, beautiful, Chinese)

There are many look alike adjectives which end with –ing or –ed. For example:

interesting vs. interested

Everybody says that this movie is interesting. So I am interested in watching it. (An interesting thing makes me interested in it)
Lola’s job is boring, so Lola is bored all the time.

Please, do the following exercise:

Complete the sentences for each situation as in the example. Use the word given + ~ing or ~ed.

E.g. 1. A city tour wasn’t as good as we had expected. (disappoint-)
a. A city tour was disappointing.
b. We were disappointed with the film.

1. John is a builder. It’s a very hard job but he enjoys it. (exhaust-)

2. It’s been so grey all day long. And it’s been rainig. I hate this weather. (depress-)

3. Nina is going to the Africa next month. She has never been there before. (excit-)

Complete the sentences using a comparative form (sometimes of an opposite adjective)

E.g. It’s too noisy here. Can we go somewhere quieter?

1. This tea is very weak. I like it a bit …

2. The pool in the hotel was surprisingly big. I expected it to be …

3. That restaurant was surprisingly cheap. I expected it to be …

4. The weather is too cold in this country. I’d like to live somewhere …

5. My life is a bit boring sometimes. I’d like to do something …

6. I was surprised how easy it was to pilot a plane. I thought it would be …

7. Your test isn’t very good. I’m sure you can do …

8. Don’t worry. The situation isn’t so bad. It could be …

9. I was surprised we got to the theatre on time. I expected the drive to take …

 

Complete the sentences. Use ~est or most … + a preposition.

E.g. It’s a very nice room. It is the nicest room in the house.

1. It’s a very cheap hotel. It’s … the town.

2. Last year was a very happy year. It was … year of my life so far.

3. She’s a very intelligent young lady. She … student in the class.

4. It’s a very valuable sculpture. It is … in the gallery.

5. Spring is a very busy time for all of the professors. It is … time of the year.

 

Remember that we can compare things using special schemes. Do the following exercises to practice them:

Complete the sentences:

1. I’m quite tall but Neil is taller. I’m not …

I’m quite tall but Neil is taller. I’m not _as tall as Neil.

2. My house is high but yours is higher. My house isn’t …

3. You know a bit about literature but I know more. You don’t know …

4. It’s still warm but it was warmer yesterday. It isn’t …

5. He doesn’t know much about cars. I know …

6. We were very excited to see the Eifel Tower. Nobody was …

7. She’s not a very good student. She likes to party too much. I’m a better student …

 

NB! Remember that with most of the adjectives we can use such words as very and a bit.

e.g. This is very exciting! Let’s do it again!
It’s a bit cold in here, don’t you think?

But there is a group of adjectives which are called non-gradable and they cannot have these two little words before them. You’ll see why – they are adjectives like married (you cannot be very married or a bit married 😄 ), empty, full, square, round, wooden, dead, upper etc.

NB! One more thing to pay attention to is this:

gold vs. golden
silk vs. silky
stone vs. stony etc.

Choose one of the words and put them into the gaps:
Gold, golden, silk, silky, stone, stony.

1. Her skin was irresistibly … as was her … hair.

2. This area is very ….

3. Don’t even try to move that. It’s an antique … armchair.

4. She won an Olympic … medal in Sochi.

5. You look stunning in that green … dress. It suits your ginger hair a lot.