Pronouns worksheet: Level 2

How far can this seemingly easy worksheet go smoothly for yo? Because it's getting upped a level, with more friendly pictures too.





Keep Learning English!

Pronouns worksheet: Easy

    There are a lot of cool worksheets that are entertaining to solve in my folder. I even left out the signature and kept the grading score, and judging by the difficulty, I probably will not upload the solution. They  are purely intended to look fun and encourage you to never forget the easy parts of English grammar.




 Keep Learning English!

Mid-Term Test

It is time for a test about the time! I will not post the answers until next week so that you can refine your answer and evaluate yourself. When learning English, you have to be honest with your own personal examinations like these. Without further ado, good luck in the test.



Keep Learning English!

The Simple Present Tense: Worksheet

Today, is an explanation of the rules on the simple present tense, and following it are some questions. Some of the sample questions are not affirmative sentences, so remember the rules for asking a question!






And of course, I have not forgotten the answer sheet, since after all this is a worksheet not a quiz. Just make sure that you do not cheat right off the bat, and actually attempt the questions. They are in no way challenging, and you will breeze through them.






Keep Learning English!

The Happy Prince and English Essays

Motivation is found anywhere, and the best place to motivate yourself to learn English is to read short fiction, or children's stories. The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde is such a story full of simple structured sentences, and a couple of long ones that do not use advanced prepositions, and many explanations of the scenery and the setting that would truly give anyone a head start on completing their homework. Here is another motivational quote I found from one of my old games: Yoshi's Island DS.

Keep Learning English!

Moral Lessons: Learn from others before it's too late

Sometimes we need to experiment in life to learn from our own mistakes. But this lady, who got into a car accident because she was using her phone while driving, decided to tell us to prevent ourselves from this learning experience.



Even if high schoolers will not drive until they are 18, or in other words Liz is an example far from our culture, but this video touched my heart in that she is brave enough to face the internet where her friends, who followed her because she was their role model, left her because they no longer needed her. Despite all of this, Liz aided us all with an important message.

Funny Puns

There are some funny pictures on the internet, and a funny Facebook service called Bitstrips which allows you to create creative comics, and I believe these will enhance your English and exercise it quite a bit.

  On their official Facebook page (not the app), they occasionally have caption contests. This particular caption was hilarious to me.

Keep Learning English!

Listen & Answer! Part 1

As I promised, here is the quiz based on an audio comprehension. No subtitles or extra help is provided, but if this has a high rating I might do a separate label for it.

Now, if you are wondering why you should do this in summer, well, because it's different than most of what you do in a vacation thus more entertaining for a change, and also, a different way to improve your English without actually picking up a textbook, pen or paper.

So sit back, and look at this Voki's audio then answer the questions below it:


Questions:



Literature, poetry Free game suggested from Quiz.biz

Keep Learning English!

Improve Your English Without Studying

   Are you enjoying the vacation after Eid? Well, during the middle of the vacation, we probably finished all the movies we vowed to watch after exams, and definitely, we do not want to study, right? I hear you students, but language subjects must never be abandoned. There are interactive games that can be played to revise vocabulary, and you can try a few on the sidebar of this website or from this link, but in the end, they do get tedious pretty quickly. The only real way to enhance your English without studying is having a conversation and hearing English.

   Recently on the internet, I found Voki, a teacher-student service. But what sets it apart are these audio cards:

Click on the play button at the bottom of the card.

    I found it extremely interesting, and I might do more, with different shapes and voices. Next time you watch Zack and Cody, make sure you pay attention to the English words pronounced and not the subtitles! Try to talk to your sister with full English sentences. Read out the dialogue in the textbook. Nothing beats a group activity like a conversation. Keep Learning English!

Ramadan Kareem

Ramadan Kareem everyone! I realise that this is a day late but that is because this Ramadan is special. This Ramadan is also in the Summer vacation, so you have no excuse not to finish reading the whole Quran this Ramadan! Make a commitment to become a better Muslim and really change your attitude towards others. Pray that you become a better person and Allah will reward you if you have faith that He will.

Keep Learning English!

Summer Short Story from Skyrim #2

Last time, I carefully chose a story from The Elder Scrolls to share with you. It received a lot of views in a very short time. While I am pleased with this, I wished I had shared a more appealing story. I will not share all the stories that I fancied, and definitely I do not plan to share all the stories in The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. Today I'd share yet another story that made me smile at the last line, even though thinking about it is nasty. Without further ado, dive in.

Surfeit of Thieves

Image from here

This looks interesting," said Indyk, his eyes narrowing to observe the black caravan making its way to the spires of the secluded castle. A gaudy, alien coat of arms marked each carriage, the lacquer glistening in the light of the moons. "Who do you suppose they are?"

"They're obviously well-off," smiled his partner, Heriah. "Perhaps some new Imperial Cult dedicated to the acquisition of wealth?"

"Go into town and find out what you can about the castle," said Indyk. "I'll see if I can learn anything about who these strangers are. We meet on this hill tomorrow night."

Heriah had two great skills: picking locks and picking information. By dusk of the following day, she had returned to the hill. Indyk joined her an hour later.

"The place is called Ald Olyra," she explained. "It dates back to the second era when a collection of nobles built it to protect themselves during one of the epidemics. They didn't want any of the diseased masses to get into their midst and spread the plague, so they built up quite a sophisticated security system for the time. Of course, it's mostly fallen into ruin, but I have a good idea about what kind of locks and traps might still be operational. What did you find out?"

"I wasn't nearly so successful," frowned Indyk. "No one seemed to have any idea about the group, even that that there were here. I was about to give up, but at the charterhouse, I met a monk who said that his masters were a hermetic group called the Order of St. Eadnua. I talked to him for some time, this fellow name of Parathion, and it seems they're having some sort of ritual feast tonight."

"Are they wealthy?" asked Heriah impatiently.

"Embarrassingly so according to the fellow. But they're only at the castle for tonight."

"I have my picks on me," winked Heriah. "Opportunity has smiled on us."

She drew a diagram of the castle in the dirt: the main hall and kitchen were near the front gate, and the stables and secured armory were in the back. The thieves had a system that never failed. Heriah would find a way into the castle and collect as much loot as possible, while Indyk provided the distraction. He waited until his partner had scaled the wall before rapping on the gate. Perhaps this time he would be a bard, or a lost adventurer. The details were most fun to improvise.

Heriah heard Indyk talking to the woman who came to the gate, but she was too far away to hear the words exchanged. He was evidently successful: a moment later, she heard the door shut. The man had charm, she would give him that.

Only a few of the traps and locks to the armory had been set. Undoubtedly, many of the keys had been lost in time. Whatever servants had been in charge of securing the Order's treasures had brought a few new locks to affix. It took extra time to maneuver the intricate hasps and bolts of the new traps before proceeding to the old but still working systems, but Heriah found her heart beating with anticipation. Whatever lay beyond the door, she thought, must be of sufficient value to merit such protection.

When at last the door swung quietly open, the thief found her avaricious dreams paled to reality. A mountain of golden treasure, ancient relics glimmering with untapped magicka, weaponry of matchless quality, gemstones the size of her fist, row after row of strange potions, and stacks of valuable documents and scrolls. She was so enthralled by the sight, she did not hear the man behind her approach.

"You must be Lady Tressed," said the voice and she jumped.

It was a monk in a black, hooded robe, intricately woven with silver and gold threads. For a moment, she could not speak. This was the sort of encounter that Indyk loved, but she could think to do nothing but nod her head with what she hoped looked like certainty.

"I'm afraid I'm a little lost," she stammered.

"I can see that," the man laughed. "That's the armory. I'll show you the way to the dining hall. We were afraid you weren't going to arrive. The feast is nearly over."

Heriah followed the monk across the courtyard, to the double doors leading to the dining hall. A robe identical to the one he was wearing hung on a hook outside, and he handed it to her with a knowing smile. She slipped it on. She mimicked him as she lowered the hood over her head and entered the hall.

Torches illuminated the figures within around the large table. Each wore the uniform black robe that covered all features, and from the look of things, the feast was over. Empty plates, platters, and glasses filled every inch of the wood with only the faintest spots and dribbles of the food remaining. It was a breaking of a fast it seemed. For a moment, Heriah stopped to think about poor, lost Lady Tressed who had missed her opportunity for gluttony.

The only unusual item on the table was its centerpiece: a huge golden hourglass which was on its last minute's worth of sand.

Though each person looked alike, some were sleeping, some were chatting merrily to one another, and one was playing a lute. Indyk's lute, she noticed, and then noticed Indyk's ring on the man's finger. Heriah was suddenly grateful for the anonymity of the hood. Perhaps Indyk would not realize that it was she, and that she had blundered.

"Tressed," said the young man to the assembled, who turned as one to her and burst into applause.

The conscious members of the Order arose to kiss her hand, and introduce themselves.

"Nirdla."

"Suelec."

"Kyler."

The names got stranger.

"Toniop."

"Htillyts."

"Noihtarap."

She could not help laughing: "I understand. It's all backwards. Your real names are Aldrin, Celeus, Relyk, Poinot, Styllith, Parathion."

"Of course," said the young man. "Won't you have a seat?"

"Sey," giggled Heriah, getting into the spirit of the masque and taking an empty chair. "I suppose that when the hourglass runs out, the backwards names go back to normal?"

"That's correct, Tressed," said the woman next to her. "It's just one of our Order's little amusements. This castle seemed like the appropriately ironic venue for our feast, devised as it was to shun the plague victims who were, in their way, a walking dead."

Heriah felt herself light-headed from the odor of the torches, and bumped into the sleeping man next to her. He fell face forward onto the table.

"Poor Esruoc Tsrif," said a neighboring man, helping to prop the body up. "He's given us so much."

Heriah stumbled to her feet and began walking uncertainly for the front gate.

"Where are you going, Tressed?" asked one of the figures, his voice taking on an unpleasant mocking quality.

"My name isn't Tressed," she mumbled, gripping Indyk's arm. "I'm sorry, partner. We need to go."

The last crumb of sand fell in the hour glass as the man pulled back his hood. It was not Indyk. It was not even human, but a stretched grotesquerie of a man with hungry eyes and a wide mouth filled with tusk-like fangs.

Heriah fell back into the chair of the figure they called Esruoc Tsrif. His hood fell open, revealing the pallid, bloodless face of Indyk. As she began to scream, they fell on her.

In her last living moment, Heriah finally spelled "Tressed" backwards.

Now that you read it, did you laugh at how you did not realise that Tressed was backwards as well from the beginning? But Indyk died just for intending to wait for her. Even if the ending is a little wicked, it was still fun to read.

Keep Learning English!

Reading in Summer

Reading English literature and stories is the most engaging educational method that you can use to maintain your flow of vocabulary while having fun. Fiction is popular among young teens such as yourselves, and I would recommend some books for you, such as The Famous Five series from Enid Blyton, but today, I'd rather share an exciting short story I read inside a video game. That's correct, video games are a good thing to do in your vacation, especially if they educate you. This story is from Skyrim, called The Ransom of Zarek. A ransom is the sum of money that kidnappers ask from the parents or guardian of the kidnapped. It should not be too hard to read, except that you is replaced by thou or thee. Don't feel embarrassed to open a dictionary, because the benefit of reading this is gaining vocabulary!

Jalemmil stood in her garden and read the letter her servant had brought to her. The bouquet of joss roses in her hand fell to the ground. For a moment it was as if all birds had ceased to sing and a cloud had passed over the sky. Her carefully cultivated and structured haven seemed to flood over with darkness.

"We have thy son," it read. "We will be in touch with thee shortly with our ransom demands."

Zarek had never made it as far as Akgun after all. One of the brigands on the road, Orcs probably, or accursed Dunmer, must have seen his well-appointed carriage, and taken him hostage. Jalemmil clutched at a post for support, wondering if her boy had been hurt. He was but a student, not the sort to fight against well-armed men, but had they beaten him? It was more than a mother's heart could bear to imagine.

"Don't tell me they sent the ransom note so quickly," called a family voice, and a familiar face appeared through the hedge. It was Zarek. Jalemmil hurried to embrace her boy, tears running down her face.

"What happened?" she cried. "I thought thou had been kidnapped."

"I was," said Zarek. "Three huge soaring Nords attacked by carriage on the Frimvorn Pass. Brothers, as I learned, named Mathais, Ulin, and Koorg. Thou should have seen these men, mother. Each one of them would have had trouble fitting through the front door, I can tell thee."

"What happened?" Jalemmil repeated. "Were thou rescued?"

"I thought about waiting for that, but I knew they'd send off a ransom note and I know how thou does worry. So I remembered what my mentor at Akgun always said about remaining calm, observing thy surroundings, and looking for thy opponent's weakness," Zarek grinned. "It took a while, though, because these fellows were truly monsters. And then, when I listened to them, bragging to one another, I realized that vanity was their weakness."

"What did thou do?"

"They had me chained at their camp in the woods not far from Cael, on a high knoll over-looking a wide river. I heard one of them, Koorg, telling the others that it would take the better part of an hour to swim across the river and back. They were nodding in agreement, when I spoke up.

"'I could swim that river and back in thirty minutes,' I said.

"'Impossible,' said Koorg. 'I can swim faster than a little whelp like thee.'

"So it was agreed that we would dive off the cliff, swim to the center island, and return. As we went to our respective rocks, Koorg took it upon himself to lecture me about all the fine points of swimming. The importance of synchronized movements of the arms and legs for maximum speed. How essential it was to breathe after only third or fourth stroke, not too often to slow thyself down, but not too often to lose one's air. I nodded and agreed to all his fine points. Then we dove off the cliffs. I made it to the island and back in a little over an hour, but Koorg never returned. He had dashed his brains at the rocks at the base of the cliff. I had noticed the telltale undulations of underwater rocks, and had taken the diving rock on the right."

"But thou returned?" asked Jalemmil, astounded. "Was that not then when thou escaped?"

"It was too risky to escape then," said Zarek. "They could have easily caught me again, and I wasn't keen to be blamed for Koorg's disappearance. I said I did not know what happened to him, and after some searching, they decided he had forgotten about the race and had swum ashore to hunt for food. They could not see how I could have had anything to do with his disappearance, as fully visible as I was throughout my swim. The two brothers began making camp along the rocky cliff-edge, picking an ideal location so that I would not be able to escape.

"One of the brothers, Mathais, began commenting on the quality of the soil and the gradual incline of the rock that circled around the bay below. Ideal, he said, for a foot race. I expressed my ignorance of the sport, and he was keen to give me details of the proper technique for running a race. He made absurd faces, showing how one must breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth; how to bend one's knees to the proper angle on the rise; the importance of sure foot placement. Most important, he explained, was that the runner keep an aggressive but not too strenuous pace if one intends to win. It is fine to run in second place through the race, he said, provided one has the willpower and strength to pull out in the end.

"I was an enthusiastic student, and Mathais decided that we ought to run a quick race around the edge of the bay before night fell. Ulin told us to bring back some firewood when we came back. We began at once down the path, skirting the cliff below. I followed his advice about breath, gait, and foot placement, but I ran with all my power right from the start. Despite his much longer legs, I was a few paces ahead as we wound the first corner.

"With his eyes on my back, Mathais did not see the gape in the rock that I jumped over. He plummeted over the cliff before he had a chance to cry out. I spent a few minutes gathering some twigs before I returned to Ulin at camp."

"Now thou were just showing off," frowned Jalemmil. "Surely that would have been a good time to escape."

"Thou might think so," agreed Zarek. "But thou had to see the topography -- a few large trees, and then nothing but shrubs. Ulin would have noticed my absence and caught up with me in no time, and I would have had a hard time explaining Mathais's absence. However, the brief forage around the area allowed me to observe some of the trees close up, and I could formulate my final plan.

"When I got back to camp with a few twigs, I told Ulin that Mathais was slow coming along, dragging a large dead tree behind him. Ulin scoffed at his brother's strength, saying it would take him time to pull up a live tree by the roots and drop it on the bonfire. I expressed reasonable doubt.

"'I'll show thee,' he said, ripping up a ten foot tall specimen effortlessly.

"'But that's scarcely a sapling,' I objected. 'I thought thou could rip up a tree.' His eyes followed mine to a magnificent, heavy-looking one at the edge of the clearing. Ulin grabbed it and began to shake it with a tremendous force to loosen its roots from the dirt. With that, he loosened the hive from the uppermost branches, dropping it down onto his head.

"That was when I made my escape, mother," said Zarek, in conclusion, showing a little schoolboy pride. "While Mathais and Koorg were at the base of the cliff, and Ulin was flailing about, engulfed by a swarm."

Jalemmil embraced her son once again.

This story really inspired me, and there are other great short stories out there just as easy to understand and enjoy. Here's a tip:

• Underline the phrases and sentences you liked and write them down. This will give you more ideas for tests and writing.

 Keep Learning English!

Motivation for the Last Exams of the Year

The exams are getting closer, and I know all my students are busy now, and they can do it. Go out there and make me proud! Get the marks to obtain the prizes from your parents! 

Keep Learning English!

Tips on Vocabulary

   Following vocabulary books, for example Barron's 1100 Words you need to know, is a great way to gain a lot of vocabulary, but if you do not use them, you will forget them. However, there is another approach which I keep telling my daughter about: dictionaries. 

    There is no shame in using the dictionary every time you see or hear a word that you are not sure of. Not only does this reforge your vocabulary, it also enhances your hearing skills. It's important to pick up the correct spelling just from hearing once, and recall the correct meaning. Use a dictionary every day, at that moment. When you use it thrice or more a day, you will see a huge difference in your learning speed, and you will wonder how you were learning without this good habit.

    As I mentioned earlier, listening to the word is important too. Reading is not enough. Which is why I recommend thefreedictionary.com as the best dictionary to use online. Even the home page has an interesting "spelling bee" corner which is challenging. I use it whenever I'm online, because of the audio pronunciation at two different accents.

  However, most of the time at school, without internet connection, or a laptop, I use this android application to find the exact pronunciation. It's advantages comparing to browsing the internet are: being fast, offline, having a vast variety of words than other android dictionaries, example sentences, optimal color contrast, and a few synonyms present. It also has audio pronunciation and other Latin-based languages. Being only 15MB, it's an offer not to lose.

  It may be spring break for my students, but the journey of learning never temporarily pauses. Keep Learning English!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day everyone! Did you call your mother today? Did you send her an e-card? Don't forget how important a mother's role is, and how in Islam the mother is what you must listen to after Allah and the Prophet (PBUH). 

Keep Learning English!

Happy Ticket improves learning

   This is a learning tool which I found to bear fruit in my classrooms. Unfortunately, I lost the original file for the high school, so I made a new one for the older students, who aren't convicted to so many rules.

   So, teachers, you might be wondering why a Happy Ticket would lighten up the mood of the classroom and increase their concentration. Well, based on my experience, all students like stickers. That's a fact, except for very slight differences, such as boys preferring color coding more commonly in learning than girls. 

   But to give a sticker there has to be an occasion, such as solving the homework correctly or excelling a quiz. However, what about the hard-working students who don't get the perfect marks? The Happy Tickets and Sad Tickets help to keep the classroom in shape and remain focused on having good manners and not disturbing others. The sad ticket is not with me at the moment, but below is the resource free to download and print. Make your classrooms more fun!



Keep Learning English!

Accessories

   Last week we were talking about furniture, and we learned naming different objects in the room, and identifying them with pictures. Did you think that wasn't an interesting topic? You're forgiven if you did, but the idea of picking up a theme and learning all the vocabulary inside it help boost your conversation skills. When stumbling upon a question such as "Where is my phone?" the answers "It's on the table." and "I saw it rolling behind the sofa." are two different things entirely. It's not good calling a sofa a chair nor a table a desk when it clearly isn't.

   But if you want to boost your vocabulary on more common - and fun - topics, then meet Mimi, an expert in matching accessories.

  But do you know the name of each ornament she is wearing?

  Let me see if you knew them correctly!

• Crown
• Bow / hairband
• Earrings
• Necklace
• Bracelet

Keep Learning English!

Possessive Pronouns vs. Verb Contraction

We may have finished this unit, but extra studying is very important. It's a vital topic, so study hard on remembering when to use "he's" and "his" - for example - since they sound the same but have very different meanings. Remember, the apostrophe usually is the one with the verb, while the latter is the possessive pronoun.




Quizz.biz : Literature, poetry Games engine

Keep Learning English!

Know Your Words - Fun Games in Vacation

Good resources for learning, or reinforcing, English language while not spending much time each day can be very hard to salvage on the internet, especially in vacation. Which is why today I brought to you a fun game for opposite words. It is very easy, and shouldn't take time. Good luck!



Keep Learning English!

Congratulations!

   Hello, girls, and congratulations for the vacation. I hope you are all enjoying it, as I am very pleased with the projects which you have sent me. I hope that, despite it being your right to celebrate, that you practice on the grammar of complete sentences in the present tense, because the next unit requires full concentration.

Keep Learning English!