ESL Grammar: Simpe Present

Forming Simple Present

Affirmative 

Subject  +  verb

Example: He eats chocolate

Negative

Subject  +  auxiliary verb  +  not  +  verb

Example: She does not drive to school.

Question

Auxiliary verb  +  subject  +  verb

Example: Do they study Spanish?

Uses of Simple Present

1. For repeated or regular actions in the present time period. I drive my car to work. She sleeps eight hours a day.

2. For facts. A dog has four legs. We come from Jamaica. The President of Mexico lives in Mexico City.

3. For habits. They wake up early everyday. Jimmy brushes his teeth everyday. We travel every summer.

Simple Present Conversation Questions

1. What is your morning routine?

2. Is teenage pregnancy a problem in your country ?

3. Do a lot of people study Spanish in your home country?

4. Who do you usually text on the phone?

5. Where are some places you like to visit in your city?

6. How do you relax after a stressful day?

Fun in the Miami Design District

When people think of Miami they probably think of South Beach because it is the area with the most popular beaches, clubs and also the most tourists. However, there is another area that is equally exciting named Miami Design District.

The transformation of the Miami Design District from being an area with tenantless buildings to a world class community was started in the 1980's by Craig Robins. The Miami born and raised man wanted to re-establish this forgotten part of Miami to the heights of its former glory days when it was common to see the nations's top designers. So, Craig Robins used his real estate development company Darca, to bring a rebirth of the district's culture and commerce.


Today, the Miami Design District boasts brand name stores such as Gucci, Prada, Dolce and Gabbana and other luxury stores. Culturally, the area hosts one of the most important displays of international artwork during the first week of December called Art Basel. Overall, the Miami Design District brings tourists and locals alike great experiences on a day to day basis.

Museum

The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) is a lively museum in the Miami Design District that was established in 2017. The building itself was designed by Aranguen & Gallegos architects and was constructed to mimic a "Magic Box", with its bright and geometric shape and texture. The museum stands three stories tall and has 20,000 square feet of gallery space. The museum houses special exhibitions, permanent collections and also sculptures in the garden behind the building.

The artwork in the ICA varies from new talent to very well known artists. For example, Sterling Ruby is a distinguished American artist who works in a large variety of media such as ceramics, paintings, sculptures, drawings, collages, videos and textiles. Sterling's artwork on display at the museum showed his ability to connect art with the larger story of society. Overall, the art exhibited at the museum was well crafted and thought provoking.

Film and Photography

The Miami Design District is designed in a very captivating way. Walking along 40th street  one can see a giant sculpture of an intimidating sumo wrestler, which is presented by the Markowiz Fine Art company. Across  39th street there is a huge dome with fiberglass spheres popping out named the Fly's Eye Dome, created by Buckminster Fuller. These unique pieces of art and details of the architectural design make the Miami Design District very alluring.

Due to this many Miami filmmakers and photographers enjoy capturing moments there for their work. A personal example was when my director in my film class decided to shoot at the location. We filmed a very intimate scene with an amateur male actor and a professional actress who works for the television network, Telemundo. Even though we were shooting a student film the project had a very professional look because of the ambiance and background of the Miami Design District.

Shopping

As mentioned previously, the Miami Design District is filled with luxury clothing and accessory stores.  Gucci, an Italian clothing store,  sells regular T shirts with their logo on them for over $150 USD. Louis Vuitton, another Italian clothing store, sells jackets and sweatshirts for over $1,000 USD. Keeping up to date with the latest fashion and most prestigious clothing stores can cost an arm and a leg.

The reason why you see so many people in this area flaunting their chic tastes and fashion nova looks is because a majority of them are very wealthy. If they are locals living near the Miami Design District than they would have to be making a minimum of a least $77,000 USD a year due to the calculations of regular living costs in Miami. Also there are many tourists with either deep pockets or who have been saving their earnings, waiting to spend it in Miami.

ESL Grammar: Future Progressive

Forming Future Progressive 

Affirmative

Subject.  +  will be  +  present participle

Example: I will be traveling to Jamaica.

Negative

Subject.  +  will  +  not  +  be   +  present participle

Example: She will not be coming to the parade.

Question 

Will  +  subject  +  be  +  present participle

Example: Will they be helping us host the party?

Uses of Future Progressive

1. The future progressive tense is used to describe an action in the future that overlaps another shorter action or time. She will be cooking, when her husband arrives home. At 3 pm, I will be teaching. 

2. The future progressive tense is used to describe an action in the future that happens only over a period of time. She will be guiding Sarah today. We will be painting from 3-5 tomorrow.

Future Progressive Exercises

Instructions: Fill in the blank with the verb given in the future progressive tense. 

1. I _____ (to eat) Vietnamese food for lunch.
2. Lola ______ (to help) her husband prepare for the dinner.
3. They _____ (to chase) after the criminal once they identify him.
4. We ______ (to go) to an exclusive all white party.
5. Jimmy _______ ( to emerge) victorious after tonight's game.

Instructions: Make the sentence negative.

1. She will be ending my whole career.
2. They will be drinking orange juice until the morning.
3. If my wife allows it, I will be golfing tomorrow with my friends.

Instructions: Ask your teacher a question with future progressive tense. 

1. to examine
2. to spy
3. to eat

Future Progressive Conversation Questions 

1. What will you be doing after you finish this Cambly conversation? 

2.  When will you be using English outside of class?

3. Where will you be spending your time next weekend?

4. Who will you be eating lunch with tomorrow?

5. At 3 pm tomorrow, what will you be doing?

6. Will you be reading any new books or magazines soon?

ESL Grammar: Simple Future

Forms of Simple Future 

Affirmative 

Subject  +   will   +   base verb

Example: I will eat rice tomorrow.

Negative 

Subject   +  will +  not  +   base verb

Example: Jessica will not marry Arthur.

Question 

Will   +   subject   +   base verb

Example: Will you buy a TV for Christmas?

Uses of Simple Future 

1. Use the simple future tense to predict the future. The sun will rise at 6:55 tomorrow. I think the next president of the United States will be Asian. 

2. Use the simple future tense in situations of a promise, request, refusals or offers. I will help you clean the house. He will not go the park with her. Will you lift the box for me? 

3. Use the simple future in sentences with a conditional feeling. If it doesn't rain tomorrow, they will go to the beach. Let's arrive early. That will give us time to relax

Simple Future Exercises 

Instructions: Fill in the blank with the verb give in the simple future tense.  

1. They _______ (to go ) to the store.
2. She ______ (to study) Italian next year.
3. We _____ (to jog) tomorrow.
4. He ______ (to improve) his behavior in the class.
5. I _____ (to design) a new type of doll tomorrow.

Instructions: Make the sentence negative.

1. They will go to the store, if it rains.
2. We will attempt to rob the bank tomorrow.
3. I will ask Lana for her phone number.

Instructions: Ask your teacher a question using the simple future tense. 

1. to date
2. to fly
3. to feel

Simple Future Conversation Questions 

1. Will crime increase or decrease in your country over the next ten years?

2. How will you use English in the future?

3. What country will you live in two years from now?

4. Will marijuana be legalized in your country?

5. When will you go to the beach ?

6. Will the divorce rate in your country increase or decrease over the next ten years?

ESL Vocabulary Exercise: Importance of Corporate Culture

ESL Vocabulary: Importance of Corporate Culture

Instructions: Choose the correct vocabulary word to fill in the missing blank. Some words may be used more than once. 

1. _______  culture encompasses values and behaviors that contribute to a unique social and psychological environment of a business. (A. Enticing, B. Inclusive, C. Corporate, D. Character)

2. In that time he has worked as a car salesman, automobile financial officer, and a _________ financing officer. (A. inclusive, B. mortgage, C. overwork, D. character) 

3. They try to set a culture that is more _______ to their employees. (A. enticing, B. character, C. overwork, D. assess) 

4. Keeping people ______ is important. (A. character, B. corporate, C. engaged, D. assess) 

5. To _______ a company's culture from the outside looking in would be difficult. (A. character, B. inclusive, C. overwork, D. assess) 

6. Today's culture is more about being _______ which includes everyone having their voices heard, different ethnicity groups in the office and different political affiliations. ( A. inclusive, B. enticing, C. character, D. overwork)


Vocabulary Word Bank

1. Corporate - adjective- a large company or group
2. Mortgage - noun - a legal agreement by which a bank or other creditor lends money at interest in exchange of the debtor's property; with the condition that the title becomes void after the payment of the debt
3. Enticing - adjective - attractive or tempting; alluring
4. Engaged - verb -  occupy, attract or involve someone's interest or attention
5. Overwork - verb - exhaust with too much work
6. Character - noun - the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual
7. Assess - verb - evaluate or estimate the nature, the ability or the quality of something or someone
8. Inclusive - adjective - not excluding any section of the society or any party involved in something

ESL Grammar: Present Perfect vs Past Perfect

Present Perfect vs Past Perfect

The present perfect is used to describe an action that began in the past and is completed in the present or may continue into the present.  She has finished her homework. They have started the project.

The past perfect is used to describe an action that began and was completed before another past action occurred. Paul tried to hide the vase because he had broken it. She ran out the store because she had stolen a necklace.

The Difference 

The difference between the present perfect and the past perfect is between the ending points of the two tenses. The present perfect will end or refer to the present. The past perfect will end or refer to a point in the past.

Present Perfect vs Past Perfect Quiz 

Instructions: Choose the correct answer A or B. 

1. _______ Brazilian food.
A. I had never had. B. I have never had.

2. She failed the test because she ______.
A. had not studied. B. hasn't studied.

3. We _______ the new English teacher yet.
A. hadn't met. B. haven't met.

4. ________ Brazilian food until my trip to Rio last month.
A. I had never had. B. I have never had.

5. They couldn't drive home because _______ their keys in the car.
A. they had locked. B. they have locked

6. By the end of the night, John _______ everyone at the party.
A. had talked. B. has talked.

7. Don't get the floor dirty, my mother ________ the house.
A. had just cleaned. B. has just cleaned the house.

8. You are working late again?! _______ overtime everyday this week.
A. You had worked. B. You have worked.

9. When I opened the refrigerator, I discovered someone _______ the last piece of cake.
A. had eaten. B. has eaten.

10. I had a great time on my date with Henry last week; but he ________ me since.
A. hadn't called. B. hasn't called 

ESL Vocabulary (Importance of Corporate Culture)

ESL Vocabulary (Importance of Corporate Culture)

1. Corporate - adjective - a large company or group

2. Mortgage - noun-  a legal agreement by which a bank or other creditor lends money at interest in exchange of the debtor's property, with the condition that the title becomes void after the payment of the debt

3. Enticing - adjective  - attractive or tempting, alluring

4. Engaged - verb - occupy, attract or involve someone's interest or attention

5. Overwork - verb - exhaust with too much work

6. Character - noun - the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual

7. Assess - verb - evaluate or estimate the nature, the ability, or the quality of something or someone

8. Inclusive - adjective - not excluding any section of the society or any party involved in something