Mistake Monday: Top 5 Mistakes

Hello, and welcome to Mistake Monday! We've been looking at a lot of Common Errors over the last year or so, and I thought it would be a good idea to review a few of them. So, here is my "Top 5 Mistakes" list. This list is subjective, but these are the errors that I notice most in my classes. Some are related to grammar and some are related to vocabulary. All of the items contain links to an explanation on Sitzman ABC.

Sitzman ABC's Top 5 Most Common English Errors:

1. Question Word Order 

This is about question formation, and the way to order the words correctly.

2. Third-person verbs 

"Third person" refers to sentences with he, she, or it as the subject.

3. Using "have" incorrectly 

This talks about using "have" as both a helping verb and a main verb, and when to use the verb "to be" instead.

4. Use of say, tell, and speak

This post describes how to use these three words correctly. If you ever say things like "say me," "explain me," or "describe me," then this post is for you!

5. Incorrect Plurals

This talks about common irregular plurals, like man-->men, child-->children, etc.

What about you? Which errors do you find yourself making most commonly? If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please join in the conversation by leaving a comment.

Thanks for reading, and have a great week!

Verb Exercise Answers

Hello! Today I want to go over the answers from the Bryan Adams song on Monday (and last Friday, too!). I'll divide the verbs into two parts, regular and irregular. I'll also include:

1-the infinitive ("basic") form of the verb in simple present 

2-the simple past form of the verb 

3-the past participle

Remember that for regular verbs, 2 and 3 are the same (that's why they're called regular). For now, don't worry too much about the past participles. The song uses almost exclusively simple past verbs, and we'll focus on the participles and how to use them another day. 

So, here are the verbs from the song (in the order they appear in the song):

Regular Verbs:

play - played - played

try - tried - tried

look - looked - looked

seem - seemed - seemed

last - lasted - lasted

want - wanted - wanted

complain - complained - complained

wait - waited - waited

kill - killed - killed

need - needed - needed

guess - guessed - guessed

change - changed - changed

wonder - wondered - wondered

Irregular Verbs:

get - got - gotten/got*

buy - bought - bought

bleed - bled - bled

(to be) - was/were - been

have - had - had

quit - quit - quit

know - knew - known

do - did - done

spend - spent - spent

meet - met - met

stand - stood - stood

tell - told - told

hold - held - held

unwind - unwound - unwound

come - came - come

go - went - gone

think - thought - thought

Well, that's it for today! On Friday I'd like to continue talking about verbs, but I may do something different. Or I suppose I can make it a surprise, and you'll have to check back on Sitzman ABC on Friday to see!

Thanks for reading, and have a great night!

*As a past participle for the verb get, "gotten" is more common in American English, and "got" is more common in British English.

Regular and Irregular Verbs

Hello! Instead of a normal "Mistake Monday" post today, I wanted to continue the song activity from last Friday. If you remember, we looked at Bryan Adams' song "Summer of '69" and tried to find as many verbs as possible. Today we'll put the verbs into two categories: regular verbs and irregular verbs. But first, what are regular and irregular verbs?

To understand the difference between a regular and an irregular verb in English, you need to compare the verb's present tense with its past tense:

Regular Verbs 

To form the past tense of a regular verb, you simply add "-ed" to the end of the verb (or in some instances "-ied" or just "-d"). For example, the verb cook in the present becomes cooked in the past. Similarly, watch becomes watched, play --> played, change --> changed and try --> tried. Regular verbs are generally easy for most students to learn. Here is a BIG list of regular verbs, along with their Spanish equivalents.

Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs change from the present to the past form. Normally it's a small change in spelling, but it can also be a change in pronunciation or even a word that looks very different. For example, the past of sit is sat. When changing to the past tense, the verb write becomes wrote, eat --> ate, see --> saw, and drink --> drank. Some words change drastically (I am --> I was, but You are --> You were; and I go changes to I went), but others don't change at all (cut is the same in the past and the present).

Irregular verbs are obviously more difficult to learn, since the changes are unpredictable. Additionally, some of the most common verbs in English are irregular verbs. Unfortunately, they are difficult, but very necessary to learn and practice. Here is a list of irregular verbs, and here is a page with exercises to practice irregular verbs.

If you started to think that English past tense verbs were difficult, just look at this chart for a reminder that it's not that bad! And it doesn't even include the pretérito imperfecto forms, like corría, corrías, corría, corríamos, etc... (Image)

So, when you see a verb in English, how do you know if it is regular or irregular? Unfortunately, the answer is basically this: You don't know. That is, you need to basically practice and memorize the regular verbs, and when you recognize that a verb is irregular, you also need to memorize the past form of that verb. That sounds difficult, but don't worry; with some practice, you'll be OK!

Well, let's practice now!

Yes, that's Bryan Adams. Yes, I'm sorry. (Image)

Look at the Bryan Adams song again (you can go back to the post here, or follow the lyrics below). In the lyrics below, I'll put the verbs in bold print so you can see them more easily. Are the verbs in the present or past tense? Then, decide if each verb is regular or irregular and put them into two categories (you can use the links above for help). If the verbs are irregular, determine what the present and past form of each verb is.

For example, the first two verbs are got (the past of get) and bought (the past of buy); both of these verbs are definitely irregular. But the third verb, played (the past of play) is regular. So, do that with all the verbs. We'll check your answers on Wednesday.
(Note: there are a few grammatical constructions that are a bit difficult for this lesson, like "should have known," so for today, don't worry about them. Just focus on the past and present verbs.)

SUMMER OF '69 - BRYAN ADAMS

I got my first real six-string

Bought it at the five-and-dime

Played it 'til my fingers bled

It was the summer of ‘69

Me and some guys from school

Had a band and we tried real hard

Jimmy quit and Joey got married

Should have known we'd never get far

Oh when I look back now

That summer seemed to last forever

And if I had the choice

Yeah - I'd always want to be there

Those were the best days of my life

Ain't no use in complainin'

When you’ve got a job to do

Spent my evenings down at the drive-in

And that's when I met you yeah

Standin' on your Mama's porch

You told me that you'd wait forever

Oh and when you held my hand

I knew that it was now or never

Those were the best days of my life

Back in the summer of ‘69

Man we were killin' time

We were young and restless

We needed to unwind

I guess nothin' can last forever - forever 

And now the times are changin'

Look at everything that's come and gone

Sometimes when I play that old six-string

I think about you, wonder what went wrong

(repeat chorus)

WOW! Lots of verbs! Remember, a few of them are difficult, and a few of them (like "were killin") aren't actually in the simple present or simple past form. Again, don't worry too much, just try to determine if the verbs are regular or irregular.

We'll check your answers on Wednesday. Until then, thanks for reading, and have a nice week!

Common Error: "I" vs. "Me"

Welcome to Mistake Monday! This error is actually common among native English speakers, so it's probably a good one to look at. The question is, when should you say "I," and when should you say "me"? 

"I" is the subject; "me" is the object. (Image credit)

It seems like an easy answer: "I" is a subject pronoun and "me" is an object pronoun. But it gets a little more complicated when you are talking about more than one person. For example, we can say "Mark and I," but can we say "I and Mark"? What about "The audience was looking at Mark and I"? Here are some tips for both English learners and native speakers:

Common Error: "I" vs "me"
DON’T say this:	"Me and Paul are brothers." "That car belongs to Angela and I." "Miguel and me are going to go to a movie." "Her and I are in the same English class."
WHY?	As we mentioned before, "I" is a pronoun used for a subject, and "me" is a pronoun used for an object. The same is true for the combinations of "he" and "him," "she" and "her," "we" and "us," and "they" and "them." If you have more than one subject or object and don't know which word to use, try eliminating one of them. For example, in the sentence above, "Miguel and me are going to go to a movie," eliminate Miguel. Does the sentence make sense? ("Me are/is going to a movie"... no, it doesn't make sense). If not, then you need to use a different pronoun. In the other example, "That car belongs to Angela and I," eliminate Angela: "That car belongs to I"... hmm, this also doesn't make sense, so I should use "me" instead. Note: when using "I" or "me," it's usually more common to put your name second or at the end of a list, if you're talking about more than two people.
INSTEAD, SAY THIS:	-"Paul and I are brothers." -"That car belongs to Angela and me." -"Miguel and I are going to see a movie." -"She and I are in the same English class."

So, that's it for now. If you have questions or comments, please leave a comment or contact me. Thanks for reading, and have a great week!

English Conditionals: 3rd Conditional

It's hard to find pictures to illustrate grammatical concepts, so here's a nice flower.

Hello, and welcome to "Fun Friday" on Sitzman ABC! Today we'll talk about the Third Conditional in English.

"Wait!" you're possibly thinking, "That doesn't sound like fun!" Good point. I know that grammar can be difficult and complicated, but it's also very important to learn how to use grammar correctly, especially if you want to be an advanced English speaker. So, I'll try to make this post interesting, at least, but you'll have to forgive me if you don't think it's fun.

You might remember that late last year we talked about the 1st and 2nd conditionals in English, and I had meant to write a post about the 3rd conditional immediately after those. However, I had trouble finding a song I liked that used the 3rd conditional. Some English sites mention that Taylor Swift's song "Should've Said No" is good, and it does have some examples of 3rd conditional, but it's not a good song. I just don't like it, so sorry (you can still check it out here if you want). A few songs by artists like Meat Loaf and Rancid use a little bit of third conditional, but Meat Loaf's song only uses it once, and Rancid's song is difficult to understand and a bit too vulgar for a "family" language site like Sitzman ABC.

But then I finally noticed a Journey song that uses the 3rd conditional! You can listen to the song here and read the lyrics below, or you can go to the video's YouTube page to see the lyrics.

So, where is the 3rd conditional in this song? We'll identify that in a moment, but first let's do a quick review about when we use the different conditionals:

1st Conditional: real, probable situations

Example: "If I still feel hungry after dinner, I'll order a piece of pie for dessert." 

(In this case, there's a definite possibility that I will feel hungry, so I can use the first conditional.)

2nd Conditional: unreal, improbable situations

Example: "If I were a cat, I would sleep all day."

(This is obviously an unreal situation: I'm not a cat, and I'm not going to be a cat unless a science experiment goes terribly wrong.)

Now, for the 3rd Conditional:

3rd Conditional: unreal situations in the past

Example: "If I hadn't missed the bus, I could have arrived to class on time."

(This is how we can speculate about past events that could have happened differently. In this sentence, I missed the bus, but I'm imagining a different past condition and result.) 

The 3rd conditional is structured very similarly to the 2nd conditional, except that the 2nd conditional talks about the present and the future, but the 3rd talks about a fictional past. It also has two parts:

1. The "if" part (also called the "if phrase," "if clause," or "condition")

2. The "fantasy" part (also called the "would clause" or "result")

Let's look at another example:

If I hadn't come to Costa Rica, I might never have learned Spanish.

I can say this sentence in the 3rd conditional because I'm speculating about the past. I did come to Costa Rica, obviously, but I'm just imagining what my life might be like if I hadn't come to Costa Rica. We can usually invert the two parts, like in the other conditional tenses:

I might never have learned Spanish if I hadn't come to Costa Rica.

Both sentences mean the same thing, and the condition and result are the same in both.

Forming sentences in 3rd Conditional:  

The structure of a 3rd conditional sentence is very similar to a 2nd conditional sentence, with one important difference:

In the third conditional, the condition is written in a past perfect tense ("had / hadn't" + past participle), and the result is written using would / could / might / should + "have" + past participle. 

Here are some more examples:

If Shelly had known Mike was a vegetarian, she wouldn't have cooked steaks.

If Jim hadn't traveled to India, he wouldn't have met his wife in Bangalore.

If Ryan had thought this would be so complicated to explain, he wouldn't have written this post.

No one would have believed it if Costa Rica had won the 2006 World Cup.

We might not have had transmission problems if we had changed the transmission fluid earlier.

They probably wouldn't have gotten hypothermia while camping if they had brought warmer clothes.

In other words:

If (had/hadn't) + (past participle), (would/could/might) + (have) + (past participle) 

Notice that in many cases, like in the Journey or Taylor Swift songs, we often only say the result, and the condition is often implied or not mentioned.

Can you complete the following phrases?

Roger might have gotten a better grade on his exam if ___________ .

Elaine would have felt happy yesterday if ___________ .

If Timothy had read his email, he ___________ .
If the baby hadn't spilled its juice in the car, the parents ___________ a new car seat.

(You can find many more 3rd conditional exercises here, here, here, and here.)

For more practice, listen to the song again and try to find some phrases that use the third conditional (remember that in this song, it only uses the result, and not the condition). Here are the lyrics (I'll put the third conditional phrases at the end of this post so you can check your answers):

Journey - "It Could Have Been You"

We were so close yet so far away
I'd reach out, you'd be gone
Moments that still take my breath away
There's so much more to life than loving you
You don't need me, no...

I can't wait all my life, on a street of broken dreams
It could have been you my love (where are you now)
Oh I still wonder if you remember the night
It could have been you

Time washes over memories
I can't look back no more
Change has forsaken our promises
There's someone else for you to hold again
So please stop your crying

I can't wait all my life, on a street of broken dreams
It could have been you my love (where are you now)
Oh I still wonder if you remember the night
It could have been you

Remember, remember, girl I remember
I can't wait all my life, on a street of broken dreams
It could have been you my love (where are you now)
Oh I still wonder if you remember the night
It could have been you (where are you now)
Should have been you my love (where are you now)
It could have been you my love (where are you now)
remember...remember...remember

Aah! An 80s pop song about heartbreak, regret, and lost love... the perfect place to use third conditional! Any time you talk about a past action that you wish you had done differently (a regret), then the third conditional can be your grammatical weapon of choice!

So, what phrases did you find in the 3rd conditional? Yep, they're basically "It could have been you" and "It should have been you." So as mentioned before, we often only use one half of the third conditional. 

That's about it for today-- maybe it wasn't "fun," but at least you got to listen to some Journey!

As usual, if you have any questions or feedback, please leave a comment below or contact me.

Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!

Do German Words Have Sex??

Well, no, German words don't have sex, but the nouns do have gender. What does that mean, exactly?

In English, our nouns don't have gender, so this isn't really a problem. But it is a problem for people learning languages like Spanish or German, and it's something that I personally still have problems with in both of those languages.

Spanish is easier than German in this respect. For example, if a noun ends in the letter "o" in Spanish, like muchacho, libro, or carro, the word is usually masculine. Similarly, if it ends in the letter "a," as in casa, puerta, or chica, it's usually feminine. There are a few exceptions (like la mano, el idioma, or el planeta), and there are also nouns that don't end in -o or -a, which can cause problems. For some reason, I always forget if words like corazón (heart) and amor (love) are masculine or feminine, but generally it's not too difficult to just look in a dictionary or ask someone. 

German is a lot more difficult, though.

German has three genders, which a lot of people joke about. There is masculine, feminine, and what's usually called "neuter" or "neutral" in English. For some words, it's easy to determine if a word is masculine or feminine. For example, der Mann (the man) is masculine, and die Frau (the woman) is feminine. These make sense, since the noun gender matches the gender in real life. But there are definitely some weird ones, like das Mädchen (the girl); why is a girl neutral, while a boy (der Junge) isn't? And why do the words seem to end in all sorts of different letters? Isn't there a system?

In the 1990s the musician Prince changed his name to this symbol.
Maybe he was just trying to tell us that he's German. (Image Credit)

Not especially. There are some common patterns to German noun gender, and I'll include links to a site that's been highlighting those recently. But the sad truth is that if you are learning German, you simply have to learn the gender of every new noun when you learn vocabulary. This gender also affects adjectives; to compare with Spanish, you'd say "la casa blanca," not "la casa blanco," since blanca (white) needs to be feminine, since casa (house) is feminine. German is the same way, but it's more complicated, since the adjective endings change not only based on gender, but also depending on whether the noun is the subject, object, indirect object, or possessive actor in a sentence.

I won't go into much more detail here today, since other blogs focus a lot more on this (and most of my readers are here for English tips, not to learn about why German nouns are so depressing). If you are learning German, though, you should check out the Transparent Language German Blog. It's generally got good language and cultural information, and they've recently been doing a series on tips and patterns for determining German noun gender. At the moment they're on part 1 of the feminine nouns, but they've already posted a four-part series on German masculine nouns (click here for parts 1, 2, 3, and 4). It's got some really good information, so check it out!

Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!

English Conditionals: 2nd Conditional

Hello! A few days ago we talked about the use of the First Conditional in English, and today we'll talk about the use of the Second Conditional. I'll keep the format of these posts similar so it's easy to compare them. The last post had a video to help illustrate how to use the tense, and so will this one. Listen to this song by Beyoncé and see what you can understand (if you want, you can also follow the lyrics here):

This is a very popular song to illustrate the second conditional, and my students have used it in different classes. So, the big question: In the song, is there a real possibility that Beyoncé can become a man? No, definitely not. So in this case, we're talking about an unreal possibility. That's what the Second Conditional is all about:

The Second Conditional (Unreal, Improbable Possibility)

Second conditional phrases are used in situations that are not likely to happen. Similar to the first conditional, they have two parts:

1. The "if" part (also called the "if phrase," "if clause," or "condition")

2. The "fantasy" part (also called the "would clause" or "result")

For example, I can say:

If a day had 25 hours, everyone would sleep more.

Obviously, this is an impossible, unreal situation because a day always has 24 hours. But it's nice to imagine alternate realities sometimes, isn't it?

Like in the first conditional, second conditional phrases can usually be inverted:

Everyone would sleep more if a day had 25 hours.  

In both sentences, the "if" part expresses the improbable condition (a day with 25 hours), and the result expresses the outcome (everyone would sleep more).

In the second conditional, the condition is written in a past tense (past simple or past continuous), and the result is written using would/could/should/might + a base verb. Also notice that it's acceptable or at least common to use was or were with the "if" phrase:

If I found a million dollars, I would travel around the world.
If Jane had more friends, she might not be so strange at parties.
Tom would be a better basketball player if he were taller.
If Costa Rica won the World Cup, the entire world would be amazed.

In other words,

If (past tense), then (would + base verb) .

Can you complete the following phrases?

If I had a Lamborghini, ___________ .

Mary would feel happy if ___________ .

If Jake never had to work again, ___________ .
I might be better at English if ___________ .  

As a side note, it's important to mention that there are some situations where both the first and second conditional are possible. It often depends on the speaker's attitude or perspective.

For example, let's talk about an iPhone:

If I buy an iPhone, I will sell my old phone.

In this case I'm using the First Conditional, which indicates that there's a real possibility I will buy an iPhone. But what if I don't want to buy a phone, and I only want to speak theoretically? In that case, I would use the Second Conditional:

If I bought an iPhone, I would sell my old phone.

Notice that the sentences are very similar, so the conditional tense can often indicate the speaker's attitude about the possibility. If you want more examples and summaries of the second conditional, check out this page or this page. 

For more practice, listen to the song again and try to find some phrases that use the second conditional (there are a lot--remember that I would can be contracted to I'd). Here are the lyrics (I'll put the second conditional phrases at the end of this post so you can check your answers):

Beyoncé - "If I Were A Boy"

If I were a boy even just for a day
I'd roll out of bed in the morning
And throw on what I wanted and go
Drink beer with the guys
And chase after girls
I'd kick it with who I wanted
And I'd never get confronted for it
'Cause they'd stick up for me

If I were a boy
I think I could understand
How it feels to love a girl
I swear I'd be a better man

I'd listen to her
'Cause I know how it hurts
When you lose the one you wanted
'Cause he's taking you for granted
And everything you had got destroyed

If I were a boy
I would turn off my phone
Tell everyone it's broken
So they'd think that I was sleeping alone

I'd put myself first
And make the rules as I go
'Cause I know that she'd be faithful
Waiting for me to come home, to come home

If I were a boy
I think I could understand
How it feels to love a girl
I swear I'd be a better man

I'd listen to her
'Cause I know how it hurts
When you lose the one you wanted
'Cause he's taking you for granted
And everything you had got destroyed

It's a little too late for you to come back
Say it's just a mistake
Think I'd forgive you like that
If you thought I would wait for you
You thought wrong

But you're just a boy
You don't understand
And you don't understand, oh
How it feels to love a girl
Someday you'll wish you were a better man

You don't listen to her
You don't care how it hurts
Until you lose the one you wanted
'Cause you're taking her for granted
And everything you had got destroyed
But you're just a boy

How many second conditional phrases did you find? Many start with the phrase "If I were a boy," although she doesn't repeat the "if" clause or even the "I'd" for every result:

"If I were a boy...
-I'd roll out of bed in the morning
-(I'd) throw on what I wanted
-(I'd) go drink beer with the guys"


"If I were a boy, I think I could understand how it feels to love a girl..."

For some of the instances, the people involved change:

"If I were a boy, I would turn off my phone, (and) tell everyone it's broken so they would think that I was sleeping alone."


"If you thought I would wait for you, you thought wrong."

And in some of the instances, the "if clause" is actually not even included; that's common with second conditional phrases, especially in songs:

"...you'll wish you were a better man"

Many other songs use second conditional phrases-- do you know of any others? I like Barenaked Ladies' "If I Had $1,000,000" and "If" by Red Hot Chili Peppers (but neither have videos).

So, that's it for now! As usual, if you have any questions or problems, please leave a comment below or contact me.

Thanks for reading, and check back soon for information about the third conditional-- yes, there's a third one, too! Have a great day!

English Conditionals: 1st Conditional

To start today's post, watch this video and try to understand as much as you can
(If it's too difficult, or if you hate ice cream, you can also follow the lyrics here):

In this song, do you think there's a real possibility that the singer will run? The song's title is "If I Run"; when we use the word "if," we're expressing a possibility. Sometimes the possibility is real, and sometimes the possibility is unreal. Sentences with "if" are also called "conditional sentences" because they express an idea or a desire for the future, but they also mention a condition or requirement for the idea or desire to happen.

In the next few days we'll look at three common ways to use conditionals in English. Today we'll talk about the First Conditional:

The First Conditional (Real, Probable Possibility)

First conditional phrases talk about real, possible situations. These phrases have two parts:

1. The "if" part (also called the "if phrase," "if clause," or "condition")

2. The "future" part (also called the "future clause" or "result")

For example, I can say:

If you learn some grammar, your English will improve.

In this case, the condition is first, and the result is second. You can also generally reverse the order of the two parts (but remove the comma):

Your English will improve if you learn some grammar.  

In both sentences, the "if" part expresses the condition or requirement (you learn some grammar), and the result expresses what will happen (your English will improve).

In the first conditional, the condition is written in a present tense (present simple, present continuous, or present perfect), and the result is written in a future tense (will, going to, can, must):

If Ken misses the bus, he will walk home.

If Ken is learning English, he's going to learn conditional tenses.

If Ken hasn't eaten, he can buy a sandwich in the cafeteria.

In other words,

If (present tense), then (future tense) .

Can you complete the following phrases?

If I feel bored tonight, ___________ .

Mary will feel happy if ___________ .

If everyone in class passes the exam, ___________ .  

Now that you've learned a bit more about these phrases, listen to the song again and try to find some phrases that use the first conditional. Here are the lyrics (I'll put the first conditional phrases at the end of this post so you can check your answers):

Semisonic - "If I Run"
Morning comes and morning goes

Now it's me against the sun

The day goes by and darkness grows

And it's over before it's done

Well I know it'll be alright if I just get on the road

If I run I can free my worried mind

Yeah I know on the day I die I will lose my heavy load

But I wouldn't want to leave you behind

All my time keeps creeping on

Now I've grown into a man

But Mr. Child still wants to run

From the cradle to the van

Keep thinking it'll be alright if I just get on the road

If I run I can free my worried mind

Keep thinking of the day I die when I lose my heavy load

But I wouldn't want to leave you behind.

Did you find the first conditional phrases? They are:

"I know it'll be alright if I just get on the road"

"If I run I can free my worried mind"

Do you know other songs that use the first conditional? One that I like is Garth Brooks' "If Tomorrow Never Comes," but it's a bit more complicated because he also mixes in the second conditional (which we'll talk about in a few days). If you want more information about the first conditional, check out this page or this page.

So, that's it for today! If you have any questions or problems, please tell me. Sometimes it's difficult to make grammar interesting and easy to understand!

Thanks for reading, and keep checking Sitzman ABC in the coming days to learn more about second and third conditionals!

Two Recommended Websites For General English Practice

As I mentioned a while ago, I often have my students complete practice logs. It's a good way to encourage them to practice, and it's also a good way for me to find new language-learning resources that I can pass on to other students. 

This week my student Henry included two good websites in his practice log, and I wanted to mention them here. 

The first is apparently called Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab (although the URL is simply "esl-lab.com," which seems much easier). As the name indicates, it's got a lot of listening exercises with audio, partial scripts, quizzes, and vocabulary highlights. It's even got cultural tips in some of the sections, so the site is pretty great. The topics are very diverse, from pizza delivery to how to behave in a Japanese public bath. There seem to be between 200 and 300 different pages with different topics, and they're conveniently arranged according to difficulty. Check it out!

The second link my student visited was engvid.com. It's also got a self-explanatory name, as it's mainly focused on videos. If you scroll down on the home page, you'll see different topics like business English, grammar, pronunciation, and even my favorite, idioms. The grammar section alone has 105 videos, so there's plenty of material to keep you busy for a while! Check it out, and enjoy!

Thanks for reading, and if you have any additional suggestions for online practice, please leave a comment. Have a great day!

German and English: Similarities and Differences

A few weeks ago we were looking at loanwords from other languages, including German. I said that I wanted to mention some similarities and differences between German and English, since I teach both languages and I'm hoping to start teaching a German class soon. So, that's what this post is about. If you're not interested, that's OK; I'll try to put up another English-learning post later this week. So, here we go:

"March 18th Plaza," in Berlin.

SIMILARITIES: History, Vocabulary, and Verbs

Historically, German and English came from the same language family. In fact, English is considered a "Germanic" language (click here for a language map and here for a cool graphic with more information). That means that many common words are similar in both languages. Some quick, easy examples are house/Haus, man/Mann, here/hier, and good/gut. 

If you have a high level of vocabulary in English, you can also notice other similarities between the two languages. For example, the German word for "dog" is "Hund." That looks pretty different, but if you know that "hound" is another English word for "dog," then you can see the similarity. Similarly, "chair" is "Stuhl" in German; it looks very different, but it's pronounced quite similarly to "stool," a synonym for "chair." There are many more examples.

Another area where we notice both similarities and differences is grammar. In some ways, German grammar is horrible (trust me). Simply put, it's much more complicated than English grammar. Still, if you know that a verb is irregular in English, it's almost always irregular in German, too. For example, the English verb "to swim" is conjugated swim - swam - swum; in German, it's schwimmen - schwamm - geschwommen. That's obviously not exactly the same, but if you compare it to a Romance language like Spanish (nadar - nadé - nadado), then you can see English is quite a bit closer to German than Spanish.

Löschwassereinspeisung is a compound noun meaning "fire-fighting water feed-in."

DIFFERENCES: Grammar, Vocabulary, and Pronunciation

Before we look at the differences, I wanted to recommend a semi-famous article by Mark Twain called "The Awful German Language." It's a classic among German students, but even if you don't study German, it's pretty funny, and you can hopefully read it to appreciate the German language--while laughing a bit, also!

As you probably noticed, "vocabulary" was in the "similarities" category, too. That's because there are some similar words between English and German, but there are also many different words, as well as different word-forming patterns. As you can see in the picture above, German can sometimes have very long compound nouns. Some can get ridiculously long. Here's a fun one, since yesterday was Independence Day in the U.S.: Unabhängigkeitserklärung ("independence declaration"). Speaking of nouns, another characteristic of German is that the first letter in a noun is always capitalized; that's why Hund, Stuhl, and Unabhängigkeitserklärung are all written with a capital letter.

Another difference is definite and indefinite articles. These exist in English, but they're more complicated in German. The English definite article is "the," and the indefinite article is "a" or "an." But in German, the definite article can be der if the word is masculine, die if it's feminine, or das if it's "neuter." For example, Stuhl is masculine--don't ask me why, though!--so it's technically "der Stuhl," if the word is the subject of a sentence. If it's an object, it changes to den Stuhl. And it changes again if it's an indirect object and again if it's possessive. And that's just for the definite articles--the indefinite articles are a whole other problem! To make a long story short, there are between 6 and 12 ways to say the word "the" (depending on how you count).

And adjectives are even worse.

You're probably thinking, "Wow, that's horrible! Aren't there any good differences between German and English?" Yes, there is at least one area where German is generally considered easier than English: Pronunciation. English pronunciation is notoriously difficult to master, but German is much more phonetic, and if you can figure out how to read some of those ridiculously long words, you can also probably pronounce them without too many problems. German does have a few different sounds and letters (Ö, Ü, and Ä, plus the ß, which is basically the same as "ss"), but once you learn what they sound like, they always sound the same way, which is convenient. Then you just need to work on accent reduction!

So, I think that's all for now. I could talk a long time about all this stuff, so I hope it was interesting for anyone who's made it this far. I also hope I've not scared you away from German forever! It's difficult, but also sort of fun if you learn it with the right attitude. If you've got any questions about English, German, or anything else, please feel free to say hi in the comments section or contact me. 

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

German Corner: "The Dumb Fish Song"

So far, I've mainly stuck to talking about English on this blog, but I've been meaning to add more content about other languages, as well. I actually studied German and struggled for nearly a decade to learn it, so often it's actually more interesting for me to talk or think about the German language than it is for me to write about English.

On the rare occasions that people ask about German, they often ask, "Is it hard?" 

Short answer: Yes. 

Long answer: Yes, it is.

German pronunciation is easier than English, since it's phonetic and English isn't, but that's about it. The main killer of students who are trying to learn German is grammar. I remembered I'd heard the following song about 10 years ago, and believe it or not, it's actually a song specifically written to illustrate German adjective endings. You can feel free to watch the video, although only the song is original; the video was made by some junior-high schoolers as an extra-credit project, apparently, and the video quality seems to verify that fact:

Now, if you don't understand German, then it'll likely seem like a bunch of gibberish. If you do speak German, it'll probably still sound like a bunch of gibberish, because it basically is. I guess that's what you get when you write a song based on grammar. For example, the first line* is:

"Eins, zwei, drei / der gute Mann / ein guter Mann / der gute Mann / ein guter Mann / schlag den guten Mann nicht / schlag einen guten Mann nicht / schlag den guten Mann nicht... gib dem guten Mann einen Fisch / gib einem guten Mann einen Fisch"

That means:

"One, two, three / the good man / a good man / the good man / a good man / don't hit the good man / don't hit a good man / don't hit the good man... give the good man a fish / give a good man a fish"

Look at the English, and compare it to the German version. If you notice, there's a lot going on here. In the German, the definite article the appears to be either der, den, or dem, and the indefinite article a comes out as ein, einen, or einem. And it's true! The words "the" and "a" really can have that many variations (or a few more, if you count plurals and genitive/possessive words). And what about "good"? That comes out as gute, guter, and guten. The reason for these linguistic shenanigans? In German, articles and adjectives change depending on whether the noun they're referring to is the subject, object, or direct object of a sentence.

And the worst part of it is this: "Mann" (meaning "man," pretty obviously) is a masculine noun... and German has three genders: masculine, "neuter," and feminine. Plus, you also have to change the articles, the adjectives, and the nouns themselves when you make them plural. And in fact, that's what progressively happens in the following three verses of the song.

English does have quite a few similarities to German due to the two languages' partially-shared history and development, but luckily for today's English learners --and much to the frustration of today's German learners-- English didn't retain a lot of this grammatical complication, while German did.

So, whenever you're having difficulties learning a language, it's sometimes nice to realize that it could always be worse. And if you're struggling with German, remember this: at least it's not Finnish!

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

*This Turkish site has a kind of half-baked version of the lyrics (For example, it doesn't capitalize nouns, as is necessary in German), but I only direct you there for quick reference. For a better alternative, I suggest checking out Brad Yoder's website. I just realized two days ago that he wrote the song, and in a strange twist of fate, I actually met him in Pittsburgh in 2001. He's a good guy and deserves your patronage. Plus, he looks quite a bit like me, and he might even be my long-lost, evil-twin brother (or vice versa)!

Common Error: Using "Have" Incorrectly

Hello, and welcome again to Mistake Monday! I often hear my Spanish-speaking students make this mistake, but I've also heard native speakers of other languages saying these incorrect phrases, so it's a good idea to look at it:

Common Error: Using "have" incorrectly
DON’T say this:	I have 23 years. Tina has 10 months at her new job. I have hunger. This question has no sense.
WHY?	-Phrases like this may make sense in other languages, but in English we sometimes have to re-phrase them or use a different helping verb. -For example, in English a person doesn't "have" a number of years; instead, s/he is a number of years old: "John is 23 (years old)."* *Note: in this example, you can say "John is 23" or "John is 23 years old," but not "John is 23 years." -In the second incorrect example above, if you want to say how long something has been happening, generally you use a present perfect tense and the word for: "Tina has worked at her new job for 10 months" OR "Tina has been working at her new job for 10 months." -In the third example, we also need to use the verb "to be" as our helping verb: "I am hungry." (Notice that we change hunger to hungry, since "hungry" is an adjective). We generally use the verb "to be" with other temporary emotions like: (TO BE + __ ): hungry, thirsty, awake, asleep, tired, hot, cold, bored, annoyed, happy, etc. -Finally, in some languages things can "have" sense, but in English if something is logical we say "it makes sense," and if it's illogical or confusing, "it doesn't make sense."
INSTEAD, SAY THIS:	-"I am 23 (years old)." -"Tina has worked at her new job for 5 months." OR "Tina has been working at her new job for 5 months." -"I am hungry/thirsty/bored/excited." -"This question makes no sense." OR, more naturally: "This question doesn't make sense."

Well, that's it for this week--I hope it all makes sense! If you are confused or have questions or comments, please leave a comment or contact us. Thanks for reading!

English Link For Teachers, Advanced Learners, and Native Speakers

You may have noticed that someone named AnnaLisa has commented on this blog a few times. AnnaLisa is actually my cousin, and she's also a professional writer and the owner/operator of Sunny Words Writing Services. In connection with that, she also writes the blog Word-wise. The blog deals with writing skills in general, but also deals with common vocabulary, grammar, and punctuation problems that even native speakers confront.

So, it may be a bit difficult if you're just starting to learn English, but if you're a teacher, an intermediate or advanced English learner, or even a native speaker, then check out the site!

Common Error: Use of third-person verbs

It's "Mistake Monday" again, so let's look at another common error! This one is definitely common; in fact, it's probably one of the top three most common errors I notice with my Spanish-speaking students.

The technical name for this type of error would be "forgetting to conjugate third-person verbs," but if that's too nerdy for you, just remember that this problem comes up when you have "he," "she," "it," or a name as the subject of your sentence. Let's take a look:

Common Error: Use of third-person verbs
DON’T say this:	Costa Rica have many nice places to visit. She go to her mother's house every Sunday. Every time he see her, he bring her flowers.
WHY?	-This is a very common error, but just because it's common, doesn't mean it's OK. You have to add an "-s" or "-es" to the end of third-person verbs. -When you change a verb, you conjugate it. If you don't conjugate your verbs, people will probably understand you, but they'll know you're not a fluent speaker.
INSTEAD, SAY THIS:	-“Costa Rica has many nice places to visit.” -“She goes to her mother's house every Sunday.” -“Every time he sees her, he brings her flowers."

So, today's common error was very easy to correct, wasn't it? If you have any comments, questions, or other suggestions for common errors, please leave a comment below or fill out the contact form. Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

Common Errors Archive

Here is a list of the Common Errors we've talked about in the blog, in chronological order. I'll continue to update the list as I publish more common errors, and you can always come back to this list by clicking the tab that says "Common Errors" at the top of the blog.

24-Jan-2011: Confusing say, tell, and speak

24-Jan-2011: Confusing listen and hear

18-Jan-2011: Confusing borrow, lend, and loan

24-Dec-2010: Confusing see, look, and watch

12-Dec-2010: Question Word Order

Common Error: Question Word Order

This will be the first in a series of tips on dealing with common errors in English. I chose this one --Question Word Order-- because it's one of my students' most common mistakes, but it's also one of the simplest to identify and correct, if you pay attention to what you say:

Common Error: Question Word Order!
DON’T say this:	Why you were absent last Friday? When she’s coming on Friday? How you can correct these mistakes? Where you are? You are his brother?
WHY?	-In questions beginning with words like what, when, where, why, and how, put the verb before the subject like in most questions. -Use auxiliaries like do/did as necessary. -Your question may still be understandable with the wrong word order, but it will immediately sound wrong.
INSTEAD, SAY THIS:	Why were you absent last Friday? When is she coming on Friday? How can you correct these mistakes? Where are you? Are you his brother?

So there you have it. I developed this tip and many others at my previous job, and my students there said the tips were helpful. If you have any comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear feedback from you!

Good luck!