SIMPLE PAST FORM AND USE

click here and verb up!

Click on the link, there are clear pictures illustrating the various uses for Past Simple

III & IV YEAR LIT: MONOLOGUES (CHOOSE ONE AND MAKE IT YOURS)

Be ready to perform the monologue of your choice (DUE DEC 15TH).... yes, commit it to memory, learn it by heart. NOTE: if you want, you can choose a male character if you are a female, and viceversa.

TODD: It’s my thoughts of what could be…the idea of you, what you have in you to be but not who you are right now….it’s clinging to hope, Sharon.  Clinging with all my strength.  That’s what I’m in love with…who you could be…That may sound childish or selfish…maybe I’m just a total asshole…I’m just trying to understand my feelings…


20 SECOND RANT
DREW: I really can’t stand when people have an opinion about things they have no knowledge about.  It’s the most annoying thing in the world.  The worst is when these same people go on and on getting all pumped up on their own self proclaimed wisdom.  You know those kind?  Always think they know better than you or more than you know, especially about your own field.  It’s like they buy their own sense of bullshit and expect everyone else to fall down at their feet.


FRAME OF MIND
MITCH: It’s a certain view; the way one thinks…that’s really it.  (pause.)  It’s the difference between a dumb man and a wise man.  You follow?  No?  Well, that’s okay.  To be more specific; the man who controls his own mind, controls the world, HIS world.  Everything in it, everything surrounding it.  His destiny.  His happiness.  It’s all a frame of mind, you see?  When you put things in perspective and keep them there, without emotion…that’s the skill set.


IT’S MINE:  Bring it.  I will out work you, out play you, out hustle you and out think you.  When you put in ten hours, I put in twenty.  I work until I can’t see straight, every single day because I want it more than you do.  I see it more than you do.  I taste it, breathe it, smell it..I am it. Until I die.  While you’re out there being the bitch that you are…I’m grinding hard, real hard, sweating and screaming and stressing and pushing…past the limit, past the breaking point.  You play it, I live it.  That’s why it’s mine.



ACTING DIFFERENT
CASSANDRA: You act different.  Whenever we are all hanging out, you put on this macho man type act.  You don’t act like you when you’re in front of your friends.  I don’t like it.  Why do you do that? (beat) You do!  You do!  You are so sweet and kind to me when we are alone together but as  soon as we are chilling out with your boys, you treat me different.  You tease me like you’re mocking me.
Just be you from now on because you make me feel like what we have together is a lie when you treat me like you don’t even care about me, in front of your friends.
Okay???



FALSE REALITY
VINCI:  It’s all about… all about looking into yourself…like trying to put your hand inside and pulling something out that means something more, you know?  That’s the problem, isn’t it, the truth seems to be covered in layers of smog.  It’s like we’re all after a false reality—I’m gonna escape it…don’t know what I’m gonna find but I do know that whatever I’ve been looking at, isn’t the real frikkin thing—there’s something more…





THE BEAR
I want to care less about caring so much…I think that’s been my biggest—well, one of my problems, anyway…there have been times in my life when I have been lucky to ‘let go’ completely and I’m flying but flying in such a way where it feels as though something greater than me is carrying me afloat; a connection to something higher, wider.  Does that sound corny?  (beat) It’s different.  I want that all the time, more rooted naturally within my inner self if that makes any sense, without all the fuss and mental shit that clogs me up, getting in the way.  The battles are exhausting. Sometimes, I get the bear and other times, the bear gets me…


SMALL TOWN
Sometimes I imagine myself living in a remote town somewhere in the middle of America. Just taking in nature and working the land to feed and support my life. Peace. Quiet. No T.V. No Internet.  No Smart Phone.  No one around for miles. A tiny little town I could venture into from time to time with just a market, a post office, a gas station and a hardware store.


ONE SHOT
JESSE:  Look, I’m gonna do everything in my power to help you.  But you know how it is…these things, when they happen, it can go either way.  Just go about your business, pretend nothing happened and I’ll find out more details in the upcoming weeks.  (beat)  Don’t make that face Maggie, it takes time, if you want this done right, it takes time.  Okay?  I want this bastard too.  But we need to do this the right way.  We only have one shot at this.


HOLD ME
CINDY:  You don’t hug me anymore like you used to, like in the beginning of our relationship.  Why is that?  I like feeling your arms wrapped around me, hugging me and holding me.  I love being in your den.  Don’t stop doing that and saying that it’s because you can’t sleep that way because we would go to bed like that all of the time.  Lately, I don’t know, you don’t seem to hug me as much.  (beat)  I want to be close to you at night.  I like feeling your body next to mine.  Can you hold me more often, please?


FACT OF THE MATTER
DIANE: (on phone) She’s been sick in the hospital for four days and NOW you call me to get the number???  What’s wrong with you?  This is your Mother, your Mother!  You have ONE Mother Benjamin…ONE.  You should be ashamed of yourself.  (beat)  I don’t give a shit where you were or what excuses with your phone you want to give me…the fact of the matter is that you knew about it DAYS ago and you waited until now to call me back.  No, no, stop, stop with your bullshit excuses Ben, okay?  I’m done with it….THE NUMBER IS 212-485-2214.  Did you take it down?  212-485-2214.  That’s it.  Call her NOW.



RESONANCE
Q:  It’s a chord.  Trying to find the chord that gives off the most resonance.  It doesn’t always come.  When it doesn’t there is this subtle emptiness that engulfs me within and leaves me gasping for breath.  I’ve learned to dwell in this abyss of quiet.  I wake in its calm.  Almost, almost as if we are dismissive enemies.






ENOUGH PEACE TO BREATHE
ARIAH: You know, I…look into your eyes and I…all I want to do is help you.  I connect with your pain…I don’t want to see you suffer like this anymore.  You know?  It’s just not right.  I don’t want to see you go through this anymore.
This life we live, it’s so damn short…we can’t keep spending it on stress and misery.  There needs to be a way to live happy within the dark.
Enough peace to breathe.
We need to continue doing what we’re doing but, we need to find a way to be content with the way things are, or else we’re going to go crazy.




THAT
MASON: I know, I know…you look at me like I’m a maniac.  Cause I am, I am a maniac.  I’m maniacal.  I am. (pause.) When you love something…so much…when you will go to the ends of the Earth for it, bleed for it, die for it…because you have to, you just have to…to others, you appear to be a lunatic because no one can fathom what makes you tick the way you tock.
Even you don’t know yourself but it’s this thing, inside of you, that you can’t shake, that you have to satisfy, this thirst, hunger, whatever you wish to call it…that, that’s what it’s all about man.
That.


(over phone in his office)
CARLSTON:  How can you say that stuff about me in the media, Jim?  I’ve known you for twenty-one odd years and you go and slander my name, my entire reputation on things that aren’t even fact checked?  How do you know?! How do you know if the allegations against me are true or false?  There is no leaked source, there is no solid data, there are no facts, Jim.
What you have is a deep desire to get your story out to the masses and hurt everything I’ve worked so hard for because it will make you shine and make you a rock star journalist.  Am I right?  Am I right?
Well, you blew it, pal.  I will take you for everything you are worth.  I will destroy you, the same way you have tried to destroy me.  And why? Huh?  Why?  Why me?  You know who I am, what I’m about.  Why me?!
You’re double-dealing, aren’t you?  Getting a big payoff from one of my competitors, is that it?  …Okay, if that’s the way they want to play ball, then that is the way we will play ball.
You know Jim, I actually liked you.  I thought you were one of the good guys and I’m usually a pretty damn good judge of character.  I am.  But this has all taken me for quite a loop.  Maybe I am losing my touch cause I didn’t see this coming.
But one things for sure Jim, it will be set right…

III & IV YEAR LITERATURE - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR DEC 15TH

VERB TENSES: FORM, USE, AND SPECIAL CASES: know when to use each!!!

PRESENT SIMPLE (including tag questions)
PRESENT PROGRESSIVE or CONTINUOUS
PRESENT PERFECT
PAST SIMPLE

STATIVE VERBS
FOR AND SINCE
BEEN AND GONE

3 PROVERBS by memory, then explained
1 MONOLOGUE by memory, better if ACTED

READ THE NECKLACE (La Parure, written in 1884 by Guy de Maupassant, responding to the late Victorian Age, you'll find it below in the blog) and be able to tell me what it's about OR a personal reaction to the story, in 1 paragraph.

Remember, there are older posts than what you see on the first page of the blog, make sure you access them
NO BEOWULF on the test

V YEAR LITERATURE TEST - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

V YEAR LITERATURE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR THE TEST

VERB TENSES: FORM, USE, AND SPECIAL CASES: know when to use each!!!

PRESENT SIMPLE
PRESENT PROGRESSIVE or CONTINUOUS
PRESENT PERFECT
PAST SIMPLE

STATIVE VERBS
FOR AND SINCE
BEEN AND GONE
TAG QUESTIONS in PRES. SIMPLE AND CONTINUOUS (all forms)

3 PROVERBS explained

READ THE NECKLACE (La Parure, written in 1884 by Guy de Maupassant, responding to the late Victorian Age, you'll find it below in the blog) and be able to tell me what it's about in a paragraph.

Remember, there are older posts than what you see on the first page of the blog, make sure you access them

III YEAR LITERATURE: BEOWULF SUMMARY

BEOWULF
Beowulf is an Old English epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative lines. 
The author was an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet, referred to by scholars as the "Beowulf poet".

King Hrothgar of Denmark, a descendant of the great king Shield Sheafson, enjoys a prosperous and successful reign. He builds a great mead-hall, called Heorot, where his warriors can gather to drink, receive gifts from their lord, and listen to stories sung by the scops, or bards. But the jubilant noise from Heorot angers Grendel, a horrible demon who lives in the swamplands of Hrothgar’s kingdom. Grendel terrorizes the Danes every night, killing them and defeating their efforts to fight back. The Danes suffer many years of fear, danger, and death at the hands of Grendel. Eventually, however, a young Geatish warrior named Beowulf hears of Hrothgar’s plight. Inspired by the challenge, Beowulf sails to Denmark with a small company of men, determined to defeat Grendel.

Hrothgar, who had once done a great favor for Beowulf’s father Ecgtheow, accepts Beowulf’s offer to fight Grendel and holds a feast in the hero’s honor. During the feast, an envious Dane named Unferth taunts Beowulf and accuses him of being unworthy of his reputation. Beowulf responds with a boastful description of some of his past accomplishments. His confidence cheers the Danish warriors, and the feast lasts merrily into the night. At last, however, Grendel arrives. Beowulf fights him unarmed, proving himself stronger than the demon, who is terrified. As Grendel struggles to escape, Beowulf tears the monster’s arm off. Mortally wounded, Grendel slinks back into the swamp to die. The severed arm is hung high in the mead-hall as a trophy of victory.

Overjoyed, Hrothgar showers Beowulf with gifts and treasure at a feast in his honor. Songs are sung in praise of Beowulf, and the celebration lasts late into the night. But another threat is approaching. Grendel’s mother, a swamp-hag who lives in a desolate lake, comes to Heorot seeking revenge for her son’s death. She murders Aeschere, one of Hrothgar’s most trusted advisers, before slinking away. To avenge Aeschere’s death, the company travels to the murky swamp, where Beowulf dives into the water and fights Grendel’s mother in her underwater lair. He kills her with a sword forged for a giant, then, finding Grendel’s corpse, decapitates it and brings the head as a prize to Hrothgar. The Danish countryside is now purged of its treacherous monsters.

The Danes are again overjoyed, and Beowulf’s fame spreads across the kingdom. Beowulf departs after a sorrowful goodbye to Hrothgar, who has treated him like a son. He returns to Geatland, where he and his men are reunited with their king and queen, Hygelac and Hygd, to whom Beowulf recounts his adventures in Denmark. Beowulf then hands over most of his treasure to Hygelac, who, in turn, rewards him.

In time, Hygelac is killed in a war against the Shylfings, and, after Hygelac’s son dies, Beowulf ascends to the throne of the Geats. He rules wisely for fifty years, bringing prosperity to Geatland. When Beowulf is an old man, however, a thief disturbs a barrow, or mound, where a great dragon lies guarding a horde of treasure. Enraged, the dragon emerges from the barrow and begins unleashing fiery destruction upon the Geats. Sensing his own death approaching, Beowulf goes to fight the dragon. With the aid of Wiglaf, he succeeds in killing the beast, but at a heavy cost. The dragon bites Beowulf in the neck, and its fiery venom kills him moments after their encounter. The Geats fear that their enemies will attack them now that Beowulf is dead. According to Beowulf’s wishes, they burn their departed king’s body on a huge funeral pyre and then bury him with a massive treasure in a barrow overlooking the sea.

WHAT ARE STATIVE VERBS

Some English verbs, which we call state, non-continuous or stative verbs, aren't used in continuous tenses (like the present continuous or future continuous). These verbs often describe states that last for some time. Here is a list of some common ones:

Stative (or State) Verb List

like	know	belong
love	realise	fit
hate	suppose	contain
want	mean	consist
need	understand	seem
prefer	believe	depend
agree	remember	matter
mind	recognise	see
own	appear	look (=seem)
sound	taste	smell
hear	astonish	deny
disagree	please	impress
satisfy	promise	surprise
doubt	think (=have an opinion)	feel (=have an opinion)
wish	imagine	concern
dislike	be	have
deserve	involve	include
lack	measure (=have length etc)	possess
owe	weigh (=have weight)

A verb which isn't stative is called a dynamic verb, and is usually an action.
Some verbs can be both stative and dynamic:

Be

be is usually a stative verb, but when it is used in the continuous it means 'behaving' or 'acting' you are stupid = it's part of your personality you are being stupid = only now, not usually

Think

think (stative) = have an opinion I think that coffee is great think (dynamic) = consider, have in my head what are you thinking about? I'm thinking about my next holiday

Have

have (stative) = own I have a car have (dynamic) = part of an expression I'm having a party / a picnic / a bath / a good time / a break

See

see (stative) = see with your eyes / understand I see what you mean I see her now, she's just coming along the road see (dynamic) = meet / have a relationship with I've been seeing my boyfriend for three years I'm seeing Robert tomorrow

Taste

taste (stative) = has a certain taste This soup tastes great The coffee tastes really bitter taste (dynamic) = the action of tasting The chef is tasting the soup ('taste' is the same as other similar verbs such as 'smell')

PRESENT PERFECT

                                                                 PRESENT PERFECT

 Unfinished Actions
1: We use this tense when we want to talk about unfinished actions or states or habits that started in the past and continue to the present. Usually we use it to say 'how long' and we need 'since' or 'for'. We often use stative verbs.
I've known Karen since 1994.
She's lived in London for three years.
I've worked here for six months.

                                                                          'Since' and 'For'
We use 'since' with a fixed time in the past (2004, April 23rd, last year, two hours ago). The fixed time can be another action, which is in the past simple (since I was at school, since I arrived).
I've known Sam since 1992.
I've liked chocolate since I was a child.
She's been here since 2pm.

We use 'for' with a period of time (2 hours, three years, six months).
I've known Julie for ten years.
I've been hungry for hours.
She's had a cold for a week.

Finished Actions
2: Life experience. These are actions or events that happened sometime during a person's life. We don't say when the experience happened, and the person needs to be alive now. We often use the words 'ever' and 'never' here.
I have been to Tokyo.
They have visited Paris three times.
We have never seen that film.

3: With an unfinished time word (this month, this week, today). The period of time is still continuing.
I haven't seen her this month.
She's drunk three cups of coffee today.
I've already moved house twice this year!
We CAN'T use the present perfect with a finished time word.
NOT:I've seen him yesterday.

4: A finished action with a result in the present (focus on result). We often use the present perfect to talk about something that happened in the recent past, but that is still true or important now. Sometimes we can use the past simple here, especially in US English.
I've lost my keys (so I can't get into my house).
She's hurt her leg (so she can't play tennis today).
They've missed the bus (so they will be late).


5: We can also use the present perfect to talk about something that happened recently, even if there isn't a clear result in the present. This is common when we want to introduce news and we often use the words 'just / yet / already / recently'. However, the past simple is also correct in these cases, especially in US English.
The Queen has given a speech.
I've just seen Lucy.
The Mayor has announced a new plan for the railways.

                                                                        Been and Gone
In this tense, we use both 'been' and 'gone' as the past participle of 'go', but in slightly different circumstances. We use 'been' (often when we talk about life experience) to mean that the person we're talking about visited the place and came back.
I've been to Paris (in my life, but now I'm in London, where I live).
She has been to school today (but now she's back at home).
They have never been to California.
We use 'gone' (often when we are talking about an action with a result in the present) to mean that the person went to the place and is at the place now.
Where's John? He's gone to the shops (he's at the shops now).
Julie has gone to Mexico (now she's in Mexico).
They've gone to Japan for three weeks (now they're in Japan).

STUDENTS AND ACADEMIC COURSES:

If your name should be here but isn't, MAKE SURE YOU LET ME KNOW

YEAR III:

SCIENZE UMANE III:
Viola
Melody
Leonardo
Stefania

LINGUISTICO III:
Leon
Andrea

SCIENTIFICO III:
Margherita

YEAR IV:

SCIENZE UMANE IV:
Viola
Melody
Leonardo
Stefania

LINGUISTICO IV:
Leon
Wendy

ARTISTICO IV:
Vittoria

SCIENTIFICO:
Margherita

YEAR V:
Wendy
Lavinia
Camilla

SIMPLE PRESENT VERSUS PRESENT PROGRESSIVE

SIMPLE PRESENT VS. PRESENT PROGRESSIVE

FORM

USE

In general or right now?

Do you want to express that something happens in general or that something is happening right now?

Timetable/Schedule or arrangement?

Do you want to express that something is arranged for the near future? Or do you refer to a time set by a timetable or schedule?

Daily routine or just for a limited period of time?

Do you want to talk about a daily routine? Or do you want to emphasis that something is only going on for a limited (rather short) period of time?

 

Biography of Guy de Maupassant

GUY DE MAUPASSANT biography

I found this link to Britannica Encyclopaedia online, but you are welcome to hyperlink forever!

THE NECKLACE

The Necklace

by Guy de Maupassant

She was one of those pretty and charming girls born, as though fate had blundered over her, into a family of artisans. She had no marriage portion, no expectations, no means of getting known, understood, loved, and wedded by a man of wealth and distinction; and she let herself be married off to a little clerk in the Ministry of Education. Her tastes were simple because she had never been able to afford any other, but she was as unhappy as though she had married beneath her; for women have no caste or class, their beauty, grace, and charm serving them for birth or family, their natural delicacy, their instinctive elegance, their nimbleness of wit, are their only mark of rank, and put the slum girl on a level with the highest lady in the land.

She suffered endlessly, feeling herself born for every delicacy and luxury. She suffered from the poorness of her house, from its mean walls, worn chairs, and ugly curtains. All these things, of which other women of her class would not even have been aware, tormented and insulted her. The sight of the little Breton girl who came to do the work in her little house aroused heart-broken regrets and hopeless dreams in her mind. She imagined silent antechambers, heavy with Oriental tapestries, lit by torches in lofty bronze sockets, with two tall footmen in knee-breeches sleeping in large arm-chairs, overcome by the heavy warmth of the stove. She imagined vast saloons hung with antique silks, exquisite pieces of furniture supporting priceless ornaments, and small, charming, perfumed rooms, created just for little parties of intimate friends, men who were famous and sought after, whose homage roused every other woman's envious longings.

When she sat down for dinner at the round table covered with a three-days-old cloth, opposite her husband, who took the cover off the soup-tureen, exclaiming delightedly: "Aha! Scotch broth! What could be better?" she imagined delicate meals, gleaming silver, tapestries peopling the walls with folk of a past age and strange birds in faery forests; she imagined delicate food served in marvellous dishes, murmured gallantries, listened to with an inscrutable smile as one trifled with the rosy flesh of trout or wings of asparagus chicken.

She had no clothes, no jewels, nothing. And these were the only things she loved; she felt that she was made for them. She had longed so eagerly to charm, to be desired, to be wildly attractive and sought after.

She had a rich friend, an old school friend whom she refused to visit, because she suffered so keenly when she returned home. She would weep whole days, with grief, regret, despair, and misery.

*

One evening her husband came home with an exultant air, holding a large envelope in his hand.

"Here's something for you," he said.

Swiftly she tore the paper and drew out a printed card on which were these words: "The Minister of Education and Madame Ramponneau request the pleasure of the company of Monsieur and Madame Loisel at the Ministry on the evening of Monday, January the 18th."

Instead of being delighted, as her husband hoped, she flung the invitation petulantly across the table, murmuring: "What do you want me to do with this?"

"Why, darling, I thought you'd be pleased. You never go out, and this is a great occasion. I had tremendous trouble to get it. Every one wants one; it's very select, and very few go to the clerks. You'll see all the really big people there."

She looked at him out of furious eyes, and said impatiently: "And what do you suppose I am to wear at such an affair?"

He had not thought about it; he stammered: "Why, the dress you go to the theatre in. It looks very nice, to me . . ."

He stopped, stupefied and utterly at a loss when he saw that his wife was beginning to cry. Two large tears ran slowly down from the corners of her eyes towards the corners of her mouth.

"What's the matter with you? What's the matter with you?" he faltered.

But with a violent effort she overcame her grief and replied in a calm voice, wiping her wet cheeks: "Nothing. Only I haven't a dress and so I can't go to this party. Give your invitation to some friend of yours whose wife will be turned out better than I shall."

He was heart-broken.

"Look here, Mathilde," he persisted. "What would be the cost of a suitable dress, which you could use on other occasions as well, something very simple?"

She thought for several seconds, reckoning up prices and also wondering for how large a sum she could ask without bringing upon herself an immediate refusal and an exclamation of horror from the careful-minded clerk.

At last she replied with some hesitation: "I don't know exactly, but I think I could do it on four hundred francs."

He grew slightly pale, for this was exactly the amount he had been saving for a gun, intending to get a little shooting next summer on the plain of Nanterre with some friends who went lark-shooting there on Sundays. Nevertheless he said: "Very well. I'll give you four hundred francs. But try and get a really nice dress with the money."

The day of the party drew near, and Madame Loisel seemed sad, uneasy and anxious. Her dress was ready, however. One evening her husband said to her: "What's the matter with you? You've been very odd for the last three days."

"I'm utterly miserable at not having any jewels, not a single stone, to wear," she replied. "I shall look absolutely no one. I would almost rather not go to the party."

"Wear flowers," he said. "They're very smart at this time of the year. For ten francs you could get two or three gorgeous roses."

She was not convinced.

"No . . . there's nothing so humiliating as looking poor in the middle of a lot of rich women."

"How stupid you are!" exclaimed her husband. "Go and see Madame Forestier and ask her to lend you some jewels. You know her quite well enough for that."

She uttered a cry of delight.

"That's true. I never thought of it."

Next day she went to see her friend and told her her trouble.

Madame Forestier went to her dressing-table, took up a large box, brought it to Madame Loisel, opened it, and said: "Choose, my dear."

First she saw some bracelets, then a pearl necklace, then a Venetian cross in gold and gems, of exquisite workmanship. She tried the effect of the jewels before the mirror, hesitating, unable to make up her mind to leave them, to give them up. She kept on asking: "Haven't you anything else?"

"Yes. Look for yourself. I don't know what you would like best."

Suddenly she discovered, in a black satin case, a superb diamond necklace; her heart began to beat covetously. Her hands trembled as she lifted it. She fastened it round her neck, upon her high dress, and remained in ecstasy at sight of herself.

Then, with hesitation, she asked in anguish: "Could you lend me this, just this alone?"

"Yes, of course."

She flung herself on her friend's breast, embraced her frenziedly, and went away with her treasure. The day of the party arrived. Madame Loisel was a success. She was the prettiest woman present, elegant, graceful, smiling, and quite above herself with happiness. All the men stared at her, inquired her name, and asked to be introduced to her. All the Under-Secretaries of State were eager to waltz with her. The Minister noticed her. She danced madly, ecstatically, drunk with pleasure, with no thought for anything, in the triumph of her beauty, in the pride of her success, in a cloud of happiness made up of this universal homage and admiration, of the desires she had aroused, of the completeness of a victory so dear to her feminine heart. She left about four o'clock in the morning. Since midnight her husband had been dozing in a deserted little room, in company with three other men whose wives were having a good time. He threw over her shoulders the garments he had brought for them to go home in, modest everyday clothes, whose poverty clashed with the beauty of the ball-dress. She was conscious of this and was anxious to hurry away, so that she should not be noticed by the other women putting on their costly furs.

Loisel restrained her.

"Wait a little. You'll catch cold in the open. I'm going to fetch a cab."

But she did not listen to him and rapidly descended the staircase. When they were out in the street they could not find a cab; they began to look for one, shouting at the drivers whom they saw passing in the distance.

They walked down towards the Seine, desperate and shivering. At last they found on the quay one of those old nightprowling carriages which are only to be seen in Paris after dark, as though they were ashamed of their shabbiness in the daylight.

It brought them to their door in the Rue des Martyrs, and sadly they walked up to their own apartment. It was the end, for her. As for him, he was thinking that he must be at the office at ten.

She took off the garments in which she had wrapped her shoulders, so as to see herself in all her glory before the mirror. But suddenly she uttered a cry. The necklace was no longer round her neck!

"What's the matter with you?" asked her husband, already half undressed.

She turned towards him in the utmost distress.

"I . . . I . . . I've no longer got Madame Forestier's necklace. . . ."

He started with astonishment.

"What! . . . Impossible!"

They searched in the folds of her dress, in the folds of the coat, in the pockets, everywhere. They could not find it.

"Are you sure that you still had it on when you came away from the ball?" he asked.

"Yes, I touched it in the hall at the Ministry."

"But if you had lost it in the street, we should have heard it fall."

"Yes. Probably we should. Did you take the number of the cab?"

"No. You didn't notice it, did you?"

"No."

They stared at one another, dumbfounded. At last Loisel put on his clothes again.

"I'll go over all the ground we walked," he said, "and see if I can't find it."

And he went out. She remained in her evening clothes, lacking strength to get into bed, huddled on a chair, without volition or power of thought.

Her husband returned about seven. He had found nothing.

He went to the police station, to the newspapers, to offer a reward, to the cab companies, everywhere that a ray of hope impelled him.

She waited all day long, in the same state of bewilderment at this fearful catastrophe.

Loisel came home at night, his face lined and pale; he had discovered nothing.

"You must write to your friend," he said, "and tell her that you've broken the clasp of her necklace and are getting it mended. That will give us time to look about us."

She wrote at his dictation.

*

By the end of a week they had lost all hope.

Loisel, who had aged five years, declared: "We must see about replacing the diamonds."

Next day they took the box which had held the necklace and went to the jewellers whose name was inside. He consulted his books.

"It was not I who sold this necklace, Madame; I must have merely supplied the clasp."

Then they went from jeweller to jeweller, searching for another necklace like the first, consulting their memories, both ill with remorse and anguish of mind.

In a shop at the Palais-Royal they found a string of diamonds which seemed to them exactly like the one they were looking for. It was worth forty thousand francs. They were allowed to have it for thirty-six thousand. They begged the jeweller not to sell it for three days. And they arranged matters on the understanding that it would be taken back for thirty-four thousand francs, if the first one were found before the end of February. Loisel possessed eighteen thousand francs left to him by his father. He intended to borrow the rest.

He did borrow it, getting a thousand from one man, five hundred from another, five louis here, three louis there. He gave notes of hand, entered into ruinous agreements, did business with usurers and the whole tribe of money-lenders. He mortgaged the whole remaining years of his existence, risked his signature without even knowing if he could honour it, and, appalled at the agonising face of the future, at the black misery about to fall upon him, at the prospect of every possible physical privation and moral torture, he went to get the new necklace and put down upon the jeweller's counter thirty-six thousand francs.

When Madame Loisel took back the necklace to Madame Forestier, the latter said to her in a chilly voice: "You ought to have brought it back sooner; I might have needed it."

She did not, as her friend had feared, open the case. If she had noticed the substitution, what would she have thought? What would she have said? Would she not have taken her for a thief?

*

Madame Loisel came to know the ghastly life of abject poverty. From the very first she played her part heroically. This fearful debt must be paid off. She would pay it. The servant was dismissed. They changed their flat; they took a garret under the roof.

She came to know the heavy work of the house, the hateful duties of the kitchen. She washed the plates, wearing out her pink nails on the coarse pottery and the bottoms of pans. She washed the dirty linen, the shirts and dish-cloths, and hung them out to dry on a string; every morning she took the dustbin down into the street and carried up the water, stopping on each landing to get her breath. And, clad like a poor woman, she went to the fruiterer, to the grocer, to the butcher, a basket on her arm, haggling, insulted, fighting for every wretched halfpenny of her money.

Every month notes had to be paid off, others renewed, time gained.

Her husband worked in the evenings at putting straight a merchant's accounts, and often at night he did copying at twopence-halfpenny a page.

And this life lasted ten years.

At the end of ten years everything was paid off, everything, the usurer's charges and the accumulation of superimposed interest.

Madame Loisel looked old now. She had become like all the other strong, hard, coarse women of poor households. Her hair was badly done, her skirts were awry, her hands were red. She spoke in a shrill voice, and the water slopped all over the floor when she scrubbed it. But sometimes, when her husband was at the office, she sat down by the window and thought of that evening long ago, of the ball at which she had been so beautiful and so much admired.

What would have happened if she had never lost those jewels. Who knows? Who knows? How strange life is, how fickle! How little is needed to ruin or to save!

One Sunday, as she had gone for a walk along the Champs-Elysees to freshen herself after the labours of the week, she caught sight suddenly of a woman who was taking a child out for a walk. It was Madame Forestier, still young, still beautiful, still attractive.

Madame Loisel was conscious of some emotion. Should she speak to her? Yes, certainly. And now that she had paid, she would tell her all. Why not?

She went up to her.

"Good morning, Jeanne."

The other did not recognise her, and was surprised at being thus familiarly addressed by a poor woman. "But . . . Madame . . ." she stammered. "I don't know . . . you must be making a mistake."

"No . . . I am Mathilde Loisel."

Her friend uttered a cry.

"Oh! . . . my poor Mathilde, how you have changed! . . ."

"Yes, I've had some hard times since I saw you last; and many sorrows . . . and all on your account."

"On my account! . . . How was that?"

"You remember the diamond necklace you lent me for the ball at the Ministry?"

"Yes. Well?"

"Well, I lost it."

"How could you? Why, you brought it back."

"I brought you another one just like it. And for the last ten years we have been paying for it. You realise it wasn't easy for us; we had no money. . . . Well, it's paid for at last, and I'm glad indeed."

Madame Forestier had halted.

"You say you bought a diamond necklace to replace mine?"

"Yes. You hadn't noticed it? They were very much alike."

And she smiled in proud and innocent happiness.

Madame Forestier, deeply moved, took her two hands.

"Oh, my poor Mathilde! But mine was imitation. It was worth at the very most five hundred francs!..."

ONGOING ADVICE

Keep a separate notebook as a glossary of all the familiar and unfamiliar words you encounter.
Use each word in a sentence.
Keep this glossary active as you listen to music, watch movies, read books.

50 proverbs

ASSIGNMENT: BE ABLE TO RECITE BY MEMORY AT LEAST THREE OF THE FOLLOWING PROVERBS 
and be able to explain all of them! You might enjoy relating them to similar proverbs in Italian.
You can bring me three (or as many as you can) NEXT WEEK and one new memorized proverb each week after that until the end of the year. This can help you in your grade, trust me.

FIFTY WELL-KNOWN ENGLISH PROVERBS
"If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself."
Don't trust other people to do important things for you. You have to do things yourself to control the quality of the results.

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch."
Your plans might not work out, so don't start thinking about what you'll do after you succeed. Wait until you've already succeeded, and then you can think about what to do next.

"You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink."
If you try to help someone, but they don't take your advice or offers, give up. You can't force someone to accept your help.

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder."
Sometimes it's good to be away from your partner, because it makes you want to see each other again.

"Honesty is the best policy."
Don't lie.

"A chain is only as strong as its weakest link."
If one member of a team doesn't perform well, the whole team will fail.

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
Don't do mean things to people.


"The grass is always greener on the other side of the hill."
People tend to want whatever they don't have.

"Two heads are better than one."
When two people cooperate with each other, they come up with better ideas.

"Don't put all your eggs in one basket."
Have a backup plan. Don't risk all of your money or time in one plan.

"Good things come to those who wait."
Be patient. Eventually something good will happen to you.


"You can't judge a book by its cover."
Things sometimes look different than they really are. A restaurant that looks old and small might have amazing food, for example.


"Familiarity breeds contempt."
When you're around someone for too long, you get tired of them and annoyed by them.

"A penny saved is a penny earned."
Save your money. Saving money is just like making money.


"Necessity is the mother of invention."
When you're really in need, you think of creative solutions to your problems.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
Different people have different ideas about what's beautiful.

"There's no time like the present."
If you need to do something, don't wait until later. Do it now.

"One man's trash is another man's treasure."
Different people have different ideas about what's valuable.

"If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."
When you try to change someone's behavior and it doesn't work, you might have to change instead. For example, if you're trying to get your classmates to focus on studying but they want to party, maybe you should just party with them.

"All good things must come to an end."
You can't keep having good luck or fun forever; eventually it will stop.

"Don't bite the hand that feeds you."
If someone's paying you or helping you out, you have to be careful not to make them angry or say bad things about them.

"Easy come, easy go."
When you get money quickly, like by winning it, it's easy to spend it or lose it quickly as well.

"Too many cooks spoil the broth."
When there are too many people trying to lead and give their opinions, it's confusing and leads to bad results. Jobs and projects should have one or two strong leaders.

"Practice makes perfect."
You have to practice a skill a lot to become good at it.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Don't try to improve something that already works fairly well. You'll probably end up causing new problems.

"Actions speak louder than words."
Just saying that you'll do something doesn't mean much. Actually doing it is harder and more meaningful.

"Beggars can't be choosers."
If you're asking for a favor from someone else, you have to take whatever they give you.

"A watched pot never boils."
If something takes time to finish, don't watch it too closely because it will seem like it's taking forever.

"Cleanliness is next to godliness."
Be clean.

"You can't always get what you want."
Don't whine and complain if you don't get what you wanted.

"God helps those who help themselves."
Don't just wait for good things to happen to you. Work hard to achieve your goals.

"You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs."
When you try to do something great, you'll probably make a few people annoyed or angry. Don't worry about those people; just focus on the good results.

"Never look a gift horse in the mouth."
If someone offers you a gift, don't question it.

"The early bird catches the worm."
You should wake up and start work early if you want to succeed.

"Discretion is the greater part of valor."
Sometimes it's important to know when to give up and run away, instead of always acting brave and maybe getting hurt.

"There's no place like home."
Your own home is the most comfortable place to be.

"There's no such thing as a free lunch."
Things that are offered for free always have a hidden cost.

"A picture is worth a thousand words."
Pictures convey emotions and messages better than written or spoken explanations.

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."
If you have an enemy, pretend to be friends with them instead of openly fighting with them. That way you can watch them carefully and figure out what they're planning.

"Birds of a feather flock together."
People like to spend time with others who are similar to them.

"Better late than never."
It's best to do something on time. But if you can't do it on time, do it late.

"Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst."
Bad things might happen, so be prepared.

"People who live in glass houses should not throw stones."
Don't criticize other people if you're not perfect yourself.

"Fortune favors the bold."
  People who bravely go after what they want are more successful than people who try to live safely.
"No man is an island."
You can't live completely independently. Everyone needs help from other people.

"When the going gets tough, the tough get going."
Strong people don't give up when they come across challenges. They just work harder.

"The squeaky wheel gets the grease."
You can get better service if you complain about something. If you wait patiently, no one's going to help you.

"When in Rome, do as the Romans."
Act the way that the people around you are acting. This phrase might come in handy when you're traveling abroad notice that people do things differently than you're used to.

"The pen is mightier than the sword."
Trying to convince people with ideas and words is more effective than trying to force people to do what you want.

"Two wrongs don't make a right."
When someone has done something bad to you, trying to get revenge will only make things worse.

Come si forma il "present continuous" inglese

Il present continuous di qualsiasi verbo è composto da due parti: il presente del verbo to be + il participio presente del verbo principale.
(Il participio presente si forma con verbo base+ing, ad esempio talking, playing, moving, smiling)

Affermativa
Soggetto	+ to be	+ base + ing
She	is	talking.
Negativa
Soggetto	+ to be + not	+ base + ing
She	is not (isn't)	talking
Interrogative
to be	+ soggetto	+ base + ing
Is	she	talking?

Esempi: TO GO, present continuous Affermativa Negativa Interrogativa I am going I am not going Am I going? You are going You aren't going. Are you going? He, she, it is going He, she, it isn't going Is he, she, it going? We are going We aren't going Are we going? You are going You aren't going Are you going? They are going They aren't going Are they going?  Attenzione: contrazioni negative alternative: I'm not going, you're not going, he's not going etc. CON TAG QUESTIONS:  You're going, aren't you? You're not going, are you? Funzioni del "present continuous" inglese Come per tutti i tempi in inglese, l'attitudine della persona che parla riveste la stessa importaza del momento in cui si svolge l'azione o l'evento. Il present continuous si utilizza per parlare di un'azione non ancora completata o terminata. Il present continuous si usa: per descrivere un'azione in corso mentre si sta parlando: You are using the Internet. You are studying English grammar. per descrivere un'azione che si svolge in questo periodo o una tendenza: Are you still working for the same company? More and more people are becoming vegetarian. per descrivere un'azione o un evento nel futuro, che è già stato pianificato o preparato: We're going on holiday tomorrow. I'm meeting my boyfriend tonight. Are they visiting you next winter? per descrivere un evento o una situazione temporanea: He usually plays the drums, but he's playing bass guitar tonight. The weather forecast was good, but it's raining at the moment. con always, forever, constantly per descrivere e sottolineare una serie di azioni che si ripetono continuamente: Harry and Sally are always arguing! You're constantly complaining about your mother-in-law!                                                       ATTENZIONE! Alcuni verbi non vengono praticamente mai usati alla forma progressiva Verbi che non sono generalmente usati alla forma progressiva (this is the material we started covering in class today) I verbi elencati qui di seguito sono GENERALMENTE usati al presente perché si riferiscono a uno stato piuttosto che ad azioni o processi: Sensi / percezioni to feel* to hear to see* to smell to taste Opinione to assume to believe to consider to doubt to feel (= to think) to find (= to consider) to suppose to think* Stati mentali to forget to imagine to know to mean to notice to recognise to remember to understand Emozioni / desideri to envy to fear to dislike to hate to hope to like to love to mind to prefer to regret to want to wish Misure to contain to cost to hold to measure to weigh This trailer contains the car.  This dress costs 400 euros. She holds first prize. "Sembrare/Essere/Avere"/Altro to look (=resemble) to seem to be (in most cases) to have(when it means "to possess")*  You look great. You seem a nice person. You are sensitive. John has a wristwatch. Eccezioni I verbi di percezione (see, hear, feel, taste, smell) sono spesso usati con can: I can see... Questi verbi possono essere usati alla forma progressiva ma cambiano di significato This coat feels nice and warm. (percezione delle qualità del cappotto) John's feeling much better now (la sua salute sta migliorando) She has three dogs and a cat. (possesso) She's having supper. (Lei sta cenando) I can see Anthony in the garden (percezione) I'm seeing Anthony later (Prevediamo di incontrarci)

 USES OF PRESENT SIMPLE

 

Il present simple si usa:

• Per esprimere abitudini, azioni generalmente valide, azioni ripetute o situazioni immutevoli, emozioni e desideri:
  I smoke (habit); I work in London (unchanging situation); London is a large city (general truth)
• Per dare istruzioni o direzioni:
  You walk for two hundred meters, then you turn left.
• Per esprimere un impegno prefissato, presente o futuro:
  Your exam starts at 09.00
• Per esprimere il futuro, dopo alcune congiunzioni: after, when, before, as soon as, until:
  He'll give it to you when you come next Saturday.

Esempi

• Abitudini
  He drinks tea at breakfast.
  She only eats fish.
  They watch television regularly.

• Azioni o avvenimenti ripetuti
  We catch the bus every morning.
  It rains every afternoon in the hot season.
  They drive to Monaco every summer.

• Per qualcosa di generalmente valido
  Water freezes at zero degrees.
  The Earth revolves around the Sun.
  Her mother is Peruvian.

• Per istruzioni o direzioni
  Open the packet and pour the contents into hot water.
  You take the No.6 bus to Watney and then the No.10 to Bedford.

• Per accordi prestabiliti
  His mother arrives tomorrow.
  Our holiday starts on March 26th.

• Per esprimere il futuro
  She'll see you before she leaves.
  We'll give it to her when she arrives.

Note sul present simple alla terza persona singolare

• Alla terza persona singolare, i verbi terminano sempre in -s:
  he wants, she needs, he gives, she thinks.
• Le forme negative e interrogative usano il DOES (= la terza persona singolare dell'ausiliare 'DO') + il verbo alla forma base.
  He wants ice cream. Does he want strawberry? He does not want vanilla.
• I verbi che terminano in -y: alla terza persona la -y diventa -ies:
  fly --> flies, cry --> cries
  Eccezione: in caso di vocale prima della -y:
  play --> plays, pray --> prays
• Aggiungere -es ai verbi che terminano i in:-ss, -x, -sh, -ch:
  he passes, she catches, he fixes, it pushes

Esempi

• He goes to school every morning.
• She understands English.
• It mixes the sand and the water.
• He tries very hard.
• She enjoys playing the piano.

il miglior modo di impararli è quello di coniugarli.... TUTTI, vecchi verbi conosciuti e nuovi verbi incontrati lungo le varie letture. Penna su carta.

THIS WEEK'S LESSON & Cheatsheet #3: Using Present Simple

CHEATSHEET #3





Affirmative
Winona shares a room with a friend.

Nagative
Winona doesn’t share a room with a friend.

Question, +
Does Winona share a room with a friend?
(Yes, she does. No, she doesn’t.)

Question, -
Doesn’t Winona share a room with a friend?
(Yes, she does. No, she does not/doesn’t)

Affirmative with tag question
Winona shares a room with a friend, doesn’t she?

Negative with tag question
Winona doesn’t share a room with a friend, does she?

I'm OK

Some of you might be wondering if I eventually collapsed yesterday afternoon. I didn't, and I'm much better now! I'm just happy that: 1) my headache/migrane/sword to the brain is over; 2) I'm alive; 3)I didn't suffer a stroke. I must confess I was terrified, however, and that is why I couldn't dismiss the class properly. I still had material to teach!
I will update on Saturday... in this case because my band La Maledizione di Quentin plays at the Circus pub* on Friday night probably after 10 pm. You are all of course invited, but you have NO obligation to go. Remember! No obligation! Just to have some fun!
I hope I don't get one of these migranes onstage.
Thank you for your kind support yesterday!

*via Isaac Newton 62, Scandicci - portate "qualche" euro se non siete portatori di tessera A.C.S.I., così vi fate velocemente la tesserina

Cheatsheet #2: Tenses with Explanations

TENSES WITH EXPLANATIONS

NON-EXPIRING EXTRA CREDIT

I'm hereby leaving you a great link : a resource of richer words to say what you need to say!
This is extra credit not only because I will identify any effort you make to incorporate these words in your vocabulary, but because it will really take your English to a distinguished level!

EXTRA CREDIT PRACTICE: EXPAND YOUR VOCABULARY

What I want you to do is go over each list a few times. If you want, listen to the audio as you read. Then do something else, go on with your day. Pick it up again at least three times a week. If you learn by writing, you can write a sentence using each and every synonym. This is like bodybuilding. It's... mindbuilding!

Cheatsheet # 1: ALL BASIC FORMS OF VERB TENSES

First things first: review your verbs! One tense at a time!
You can download this cheatsheet by clicking below:
CHEATSHEET #1: ALL BASIC FORMS OF VERB TENSES

Dear students:

Today was our first day of school. I'm very happy to have you, The Great Eight*, as my students!

We have a lot of work ahead of us, but I'm sure we'll enjoy it. I will be posting everything you need to know for your English class on this blog, so make sure you read it regularly.

Have a great week!

*or the Fine Nine, or the Zen Ten... we'll soon know for sure!