Poetry:
This post is being published the last weekend of April, or in other words, the end of National Poetry Month! Like song lyrics, which we discussed a couple of weeks ago, poetry can be a fun way to practice pronunciation and build vocabulary. It's also another way to learn about history and discover culture.
The website for the Academy of American Poets, poets.org, is a great source of American poetry old and new. They have short biographies of important poets like Walt Whitman, whose book Leaves of Grass is considered a classic.
Their poem-a-day section includes recordings of the writers reading their work. Here, for example, is Alchemy Horse by Mojave writer Natalie Diaz. She included a lot of plus signs in the text. Why do you think she chose to do that?
Grammar:
While looking through a copy of Advanced Grammar in Use by Martin Hewings, I came across a term I hadn't heard of before: echo questions. When we repeat all or part of a sentence that we just heard and create a question with it, we are asking an echo question. We do this when we want to clarify or confirm what we have heard, or when we're surprised by the information. Intonation is important when doing this. Here are some examples:
A: I think she's doing her homework.
B: She's what? -- OR -- B: She's doing what?
A: We might be moving to Texas.
B: You're moving to Texas? -- OR -- B: You're moving where?
Fill in the blanks below to make echo questions in response to the statements. Note that the contractions It'll and Linda's (i.e. a proper name + 's to replace IS) are not usually written; this is how we speak. The answers to this exercise are at the bottom of the post.
1/ A: Linda's going to Portugal.
B: She's going __________? -- OR -- B: She's doing __________? -- OR -- She's __________?
2/ A: She's leaving in two weeks.
B: She's leaving __________? -- OR -- B: She's doing __________? -- OR -- She's __________?
3/ A: She'll be gone for two months.
B: She'll be away for __________? -- OR -- B: She'll __________?
4/ A: The entire trip will cost $7,500.
B: It'll cost __________? -- OR -- It'll __________?
5/ A: She sold her motorcycle to pay for the trip.
B: She sold __________? -- OR -- She did __________? -- OR -- She __________?
6/ A: She's going surfing in Nazaré.
B: She's going surfing __________? -- OR -- She's doing __________? -- OR -- She's __________?
Enrich Your Vocabulary | TOEFL Words: mettle (noun)
This week's high-level word means strength, endurance, or fortitude. It's pronounced like metal, and in fact, the two words are closely related. The website My Shakespeare quotes from the Bard of Avon's play Julius Caesar to discuss a play on words using mettle.
Can you think of a time when you showed your mettle?
What do you think is the secret to having mettle?
Phrasal Verbs -- turn into
Last week's phrasal verb was turn in. Now we have turn into!
What do the following sentences mean?
When the princess kissed the frog, he turned into a prince.
Three years in France have turned him into a wine connoisseur.
Click here for the Quizlet with TOEFL words and Phrasal Verbs that I've been putting together.
ANSWERS to echo questions exercise:
1/ A: Linda's going to Portugal.
B: She's going where? -- OR -- B: She's doing what? -- OR -- She's what?
2/ A: She's leaving in two weeks.
B: She's leaving when? -- OR -- B: She's doing what? -- OR -- She's what?
3/ A: She'll be gone for two months.
B: She'll be away for how long? -- OR -- B: She'll be what / what?
4/ A: The entire trip will cost $7,500.
B: It'll cost how much? -- OR -- It'll what?
5/ A: She sold her motorcycle to pay for the trip.
B: She sold what? -- OR -- She did what? -- OR -- She what?
6/ A: She's going surfing in Nazaré.
B: She's going surfing where? -- OR -- She's doing what? -- OR -- She's what?