PRESENT PERFECT FOR 8°

ACTIVITY

Write the participle form of the following verbs.

1. go → 
2. sing → 
3. be → 
4. buy → 
5. do → 

Complete the table in present perfect simple.

positive	negative	question
He has written a letter.
	They have not stopped.
		Have we danced?
She has worked.
	Andy has not slept.

Write sentences in present perfect simple IN ALL WAYS.

1. they / ask / a question - 
2. he / speak / English - 
3. I / be / in my room - 
4. we / not / wash / the car - 
5. Annie / not / forget / her homework - 

READING COMPREHENSION FOR 8

ACTIVITY

Read the text, then match the questions and answers. Put one letter into each space.

READING 1

Martin's Vacation

Martin had a terrible day yesterday. It was the day of his vacation to Spain but it was a nightmare. He left the house at 10 o'clock in the morning and caught a taxi to the airport.

Martin went to the check-in with his luggage. When the man who worked for the airline asked for his passport, Martin became very upset. Where was his passport? Martin realized he didn't have his passport with him. What a disaster!

He jumped back into the taxi and told the driver to take him home. The driver drove quickly and Martin arrived back at his house in twenty minutes.

He ran into the house and went into his bedroom. He found his passport on the bedside table and left the house again. But the taxi wasn't there! Where was the taxi!

Martin jumped up and down angrily. "I don't believe it. The taxi left!" he shouted. He ran down the street and looked for another taxi.

After a few minutes, Martin found another taxi and told the driver to take him to the airport as quickly as possible. The traffic on the roads was very bad and, unfortunately, Martin's taxi arrived at the airport late. His plane left for Spain at 11.30 and Martin missed it. He was very sad and went to speak to the airline. They promised to get him a seat on an evening flight and Martin went home on another taxi to wait.

A. The traffic was bad.
B. At the check-in desk.
C. In his bedroom.
D. 10 o'clock.
E. He was too late for his flight.
F. The taxi wasn't there.
G. Spain.
H. Another taxi.
I. By taxi.
J. Twenty minutes.

1. Where was Martin going on vacation?

2. What time did he leave the house?

3. How did he get to the airport?

4. When did he realize that he didn't have his passport?

5. How long did it take to go back to his house in the taxi?

6. Where was the passport?

7. What did Martin discover when he went back outside?

8. How did Martin get to the airport the second time?

9. Why did he arrive late at the airport?

10. Why did Martin go home?

READING 2

Clarkson Town

Clarkson is a large town. It has more than fifty thousand people living there. It sits next to a large river, the Clark River. Every day, people take the ferry from North Clarkson to South Clarkson to go to work.

Most people live in North Clarkson. There are many trees and the streets are very broad. When the sun shines and the children run and play in the safe streets, North Clarkson is a wonderful place to live.

South Clarkson has a lot of shops and factories. People don't live there, but they come in the morning to work. There is also a big stadium where the Clarkson Tigers play. On Sundays, many people go to watch their favorite team.

At the weekend, the people from Clarkson enjoy walking along the bank of the Clark River. They also sail small boats on the water and if there is a little wind, they fly kites in the large park.

Every year, Clarkson grows in size because a lot of people come to live there. The government builds more houses and the streets get busier. Maybe in the future, if the town continues to grow, it will become a city!

1. What is there near Clarkson?

a. mountains

b.sea

c. river

2. What is there in North Clarkson?

a. wide streets

b. factories

c. offices

3. Where is the stadium?

a. outside the town

b. near the river

c. South Clarkson

4. What do people in Clarkson do at the weekend?

a. go for walks

b. have barbecues

c. swim in the river

5. Which statement is true?

a. Clarkson is a city

b. Clarkson is a bad place to live

c. Clarkson is a popular town

READING COMPREHENSION FOR 7

ACTIVITY

Read about the special talented family, then put one word into each gap to complete the sentences in the exercise.

The Hodgsons Can!

The Hodgson family from Texas, USA are probably the most talented family in the country. Thomas is the father of the family. He's 52 years old and he can do everything. He can run for a long time. Every day, he goes running in his neighborhood for 40 minutes. He can also swim very well. He swims for his state's over-50 team! Thomas can't speak any foreign languages, but his wife, Judy, certainly can! She can speak French, Spanish and even Japanese. And she can teach them too. She works at the Pinewood Language Academy.

Thomas and Judy Hodgson have three children and they can all do many things too. Robbie, 23, can't run for long distances like his father, but he can run very fast. He can run 100 meters in just 11 seconds. That's very fast. He can also fly! Not like a bird, but using a hang-glider. He goes hang-gliding every weekend in the hills near the family home. The middle child is Janine, who is 19. She's similar to her mother and she loves foreign languages. She studies Italian and French and can speak both of them very well. When she's with her mother, they can speak French and nobody in the house understands them!

Clara is the baby of the family. She's only 9 years old. She can't speak French and she can't fly. What can she do? She can bake the best cakes in the world! And her parents and her brother and sister can eat them.

QUESTIONS

1.     The family lives in the American state of __________ .

2.     Thomas likes swimming and ________ .

3.     He  _______ speak any foreign languages.

4.     Judy speaks English and _________  other languages.

5.     Judy is a __________ .

6.     Robbie can't run far, but he can run ___________ .

7.     Clara can _________ very good cakes.

8.     Her family _________  the cakes.

9. Thomas goes running every day near his house.

a. True

b. False

10. Thomas runs for a local team.

a. True

b. False

11. Judy teaches her students to speak other languages.

a. True

b. False

12. The Hodgsons have two children.

a. True

b. False

13. Robbie can run 100m very quickly.

a. True

b. False

14. He also goes flying in a hang-glider every Thursday.

a. True

b. False

15. Janine is 19 and she is similar to her mother.

a. True

b. False

16. Clara is only nine years old and she can bake cakes.

a. True

b. False

FUTURE GOING TO

FUTURE GOING TO

Going to future expresses a conclusion regarding the immediate future or an action in the near future that has already been planned or prepared.

Form of going to Future

	positive	negative	question
I	I am going to speak.	I am not going to speak.	Am I going to speak?
you / we / they	You are going to speak.	You are not going to speak.	Are you going to speak?
he / she / it	He is going to speak.	He is not going to speak.	Is he going to speak?

Use of going to Future

§  an action in the near future that has already been planned or prepared

example: I am going to study harder next year.

§  a conclusion regarding the immediate future

example: The sky is absolutely dark. It is going to rain.

Signal Words

§  in one year, next week, tomorrow

ACTIVITY

Write sentences in going to future.

1. he / get up / early
   • Positive: 
   • Negative: 
   • Question: 
2. they / do / their best
   • Positive: 
   • Negative: 
   • Question: 
3. you / learn / Irish
   • Positive: 
   • Negative: 
   • Question: 
4. she / buy / a computer
   • Positive: 
   • Negative: 
   • Question: 
5. we / take / the bus
   • Positive: 
   • Negative: 
   • Question: 
6. she / watch / the match
   • Positive: 
   • Negative: 
   • Question: 
7. they / wait / in the park
   • Positive: 
   • Negative: 
   • Question: 
8. He / buy / bread / this afternoon
   • Positive: 
   • Negative: 
   • Question: 

COMPARATIVES FOR 8

Comparative Adjectives

When we talk about two things, we can "compare" them. We can see if they are the same or different. Perhaps they are the same in some ways and different in other ways. We can use comparative adjectives to describe the differences.

We can use comparative adjectives when talking about two things (not three or more things).

In the example below, "bigger" is the comparative form of the adjective "big":

A1   A2
A1 is bigger than A2.

Formation of Comparative Adjectives

There are two ways to make or to "form" a comparative adjective:

• short adjectives: add "-er"
• long adjectives: use "more"

Short adjectives: add -er	examples
1-syllable adjectives	old, fast
2-syllable adjectives ending in -y	happy, easy
RULE: add "-er"	old → older
Variation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -r	late → later
Variation: if the adjective ends in consonant, vowel, consonant, double the last consonant	big → bigger
Variation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i	happy → happier

Long adjectives: use more	examples
2-syllable adjectives not ending in -y	modern, pleasant
all adjectives of 3 or more syllables	expensive, intellectual
RULE: use "more"	modern → more modern expensive → more expensive

With some 2-syllable adjectives, we can use "-er" OR "more":

quiet → quieter/more quiet
clever → cleverer/more clever
narrow → narrower/more narrow
simple → simpler/more simple

Exception: The following adjectives have irregular forms:

good → better
well (healthy) → better
bad → worse
far → farther/further

Use of Comparative Adjectives

We use comparative adjectives when talking about 2 things (not 3 or 10 or 1,000,000 things, only 2 things).

Often, the comparative adjective is followed by "than".

Look at these examples:

• John is 1m80. He is tall. But Chris is 1m85. He is taller than John.
• America is big. But Russia is bigger.
• I want to have a more powerful computer.
• Is French more difficult than English?

If we talk about the two planets Earth and Mars, we can compare them as shown in the table below:

	Earth	Mars
Diameter (km)	12,760	6,790	Mars is smaller than Earth.
Distance from Sun (million km)	150	228	Mars is more distant from the Sun.
Length of day (hours)	24	25	A day on Mars is slightly longer than a day on Earth.
Moons	1	2	Mars has more moons than Earth.
Surface temperature (degrees Celcius)	22	-23	Mars is colder than Earth.

Although we use comparative adjectives when talking about two things (not three or more things), in fact one or both of the things may be a group of things.

• Mt Everest is higher than all other mountains.
•  

Here, we are talking about hundreds of mountains, but we are still comparing one thing (Mt Everest) to one other thing (all other mountains).