Podcast: Stuff You Should Know

Good afternoon, and welcome to Fun Friday! Today's post is short but sweet. I want to recommend a podcast called "Stuff You Should Know." It's part of the site called "How Stuff Works," which has a large selection of podcasts, programs, and other interesting information. 

Every few days "Stuff You Should Know" posts a new program about a different topic. You can follow them through iTunes (that's what I do) or another podcast manager, their Facebook page, or you can also get the podcasts directly from the website. 

Some recent programs that I liked included one about tipping (definitely appropriate for people traveling to the US) and one about how dueling works. Check out the podcast and the site if you want listening and vocabulary practice.

Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!

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!

Common Error: Confusing "use," "used to," and "(to be) used to"

Hello, and welcome to Mistake Monday! As I mentioned in my previous post about Sitzman ABC's new publishing schedule, on Mondays I'll be focusing on errors and difficult parts of English. Today we'll look at an error that causes problems for many of my advanced students. The problem is that people often confuse the words "use," "used to," and "(to be) used to." Still, with a bit of practice, it's not so hard. Let's look:

Common Error: Confusing "use," "used to" and "(to be) used to"
DON’T say this:	Every year my family gets together for Christmas. We always used to eat tamales and cake. When I was younger I am used to exercising every day.
WHY?	-First of all, "use" can be a verb or a noun. When it's a verb, the "s" is pronounced like a "z," and when it's a noun the "s" is pronounced like an "s." (Click here to hear the pronunciation of both forms.) -The verb use is normally a synonym of "utilize," but "utilize" isn't very common. Both words are usually combined with an object that does a specific job: "Jenny used a hammer and a nail to hang the picture frame on the wall."  -The phrase used to normally indicates common actions completely in the past (they are not happening now). This phrase is followed by an infinitive verb: "Jenny used to be a good artist before she broke her hand. She used to paint wonderful portraits, but now she can't do that anymore." -If you add the verb "to be" in any form before used to, it indicates common actions in the present. These phrases are followed by a gerund (-ing) verb: "Jenny is used to working according to a strict schedule. Every day she wakes up at 5 am, exercises, makes breakfast, and works three hours... all before Ryan gets out of bed! Ryan is used to waking up around 9 am!" -The phrase "(to be) used to" can normally be substituted with the word "usually."
INSTEAD, SAY THIS:	-"My family gets together every year for Christmas. We are used to eating tamales and cake." OR -"My family usually gets together every year for Christmas. We usually eat tamales and cake." -"When I was younger I used to exercise every day." (finished common action in the past) OR -"Nowadays I am used to exercising every day." (common action in the present)

What are some things you are used to doing?
What are some things you used to do?

If you have questions or comments related to this common error or the blog in general, please leave a comment or contact me. Thanks for reading, and have a great week!

Common Error: "Thank God" vs. "Thanks God"

Hello, and welcome again to Mistake Monday! Today's error is small and technically, it's not actually an error some of the time. Still, it could cause some confusion. For example, sometimes my students say, "Thanks God!" To which I just reply, "I'm not God."
Why do I say that? Well, because I'm not God. But there's also a grammatical reason. Let's take a look:

Common Error: "Thanks God" vs. "Thank God"
DON’T say this:	Thanks God that we weren't in that earthquake! "Thanks God!" said Pete when he realized that the quiz was canceled.
WHY?	-As I said above, "Thanks God" isn't actually an error, in the right context. If you're talking directly to God, you could say something like, "Thanks, God, that was great!" -However, most of the time when people use this phrase, it's more of an exhortation (like a command, almost), and in that case, "Thank God" is generally considered correct. -In the same way, people would say, "Praise God!"
INSTEAD, SAY THIS:	-"Thank God we weren't in that earthquake!" -"'Thank God!'" said Pete when he realized the quiz was canceled. -"At church, the pastor could be shouting 'Praise God! Praise God! Praise the Lord!' over and over." "'TGIF' means 'Thank God It's Friday!'" BUT: -"Sean thanks God every day for his health." (Here "thanks" is a third-person verb) -"Thanks, God, for my good health." (If praying, since you'd be talking to God)

So, that's it for today. If you have questions or comments, please leave a comment or contact us. Thanks for reading!

HOW TO Start Your Own Blog!

Welcome to Part 2 of 2 in our "Start a Blog" series! If you're motivated to get blogging but you're not sure where or how to begin, then this post is for you. If you already have a blog, or if you're good with computers and technology in general, you can probably skip this post. If there's anything I can do to make the process easier to understand, please tell me.

There are quite a few different blogging services available on the internet, but today we'll focus on how to work with Blogger. Other sites such as WordPress can also be a great option if you want to start blogging, but to be honest, I'm simply not as familiar with how they work. The other advantage to working with Blogger is its integration with Google. If you have a Gmail account (or any Google account, for that matter), then starting your blog is even easier!

Step 1: Go to Blogger.com

Step 2: "Get Started" or "Sign In"

If you don't have a Google or Gmail account, then you'll want to click on the orange "Get started" button and move to Step 3.

If you do already have a Google account (like if you use Gmail, for example), then this process will be even quicker. In the circled box on the right, just enter your email address and password connected to your Google account and click "Sign in."

Step 2B: If you do have a Google or Gmail account, just follow the directions to add Blogger to your account

The process should be very quick and painless, but you can skip to step 4 if you're having troubles.

Step 3: If you don't have a Google account, fill out the form

This shouldn't be too complicated. You'll need an email address, but it can come from another service (I still use my Yahoo address to sign in to Google, for example). 

Most of the other information on the form is pretty basic, like creating a password (be sure to make it strong), providing your birthday, and choosing a display name.

It also gives you an option to receive Email Notifications, which you probably don't need.

After you finish the form, it will probably send a confirmation email to the address that you just provided. I've also had a few experiences with my students where it asked for their cell phone number to confirm that the person applying for an account was real. This may sound suspicious, but from what we experienced, the code was sent to their phone very quickly, and it was legitimate. Either way, if you go to the email account you provided while registering and click on the link in the email, it should take you to the following page, where you actually start setting up your blog:

Step 4: Name your blog and choose an address

The first thing you'll have to do is choose a name for your blog. (Sorry the picture is in Spanish, but since I live in Costa Rica, it stayed in Spanish. Don't worry, though, it's the same in English.)

In this screen, you'll give your blog a title and choose the blog address. For the address, try something that's short and easy to remember.

Step 5: Choose a design--but don't worry, you can always change it later

This screen will allow you to choose a basic design for your blog. Most of the designs have many variations and once you start blogging, you can easily change almost any element of the design. 

So, just choose the least ugly one for the moment, and remember that you can adjust or even completely change it later.

Step 6: Start Blogging!

When you get to this confirmation screen, click "Start Publishing," and you'll officially have a blog! Congratulations!

A Few Tips:

Once you have a blog, adding new entries to your blog is easy. Just click on "New Post," and you'll see a screen like this:

It's pretty straightforward from here. Give your post a "Title," and then just start typing in the big blank space. You can upload pictures or videos using their respective icons. Just play around with it a bit and don't worry; you can always delete or change things. When you've finished writing, click "Publish Post."

Another Tip: Use the "Dashboard" and "Design" Buttons

As you see from the circle at the top of the picture, almost anywhere in your blog you can click on "Dashboard" and you'll see a screen similar to the one on the left. You can see a preview of your blog, start new posts, change profile information, or adjust the blog's "Settings" and "Design." The "Settings" menu is more related to the way you and other people access and interact with your blog, and the "Design" menu is more about its visual aspects.

When you click on "Design," you'll see a screen similar to this one. You can make a LOT of aesthetic changes here, and you can also add different elements  to your blog's page ("Add a Gadget"). 

Once again, just play around with it a bit so you can see the possibilities. You can't really break anything.

A Quick Tip for Teachers:

If you're a teacher, a blog can be a great tool to keep in touch with your students. You can assign homework, post notes, provide links for additional practice, and help your students connect with each other.

The image above shows a blog that I created for one of my classes last year. It was a good way for me to remind students of homework and to post links, but even better, it allowed my students to express themselves in a new way. 

As you see in the red circle on the right, each student started his/her own blog. Each week, I would give them a blog homework assignment. Normally, they had to do some research, respond to a few questions, or write a few paragraphs about the week's class topic. Often, they also were in small groups of 3 or 4 students, where group members would read each others' blogs and respond to their partners' thoughts in the comment section. 

I got great feedback from my students about blogging in general, and I'm sure that you can find even more new and interesting ways to use a blog to help your students learn. If you have any tips for ME, then please tell me!

So, that's it for now. Once again, if there's anything that I can do to make this post easier to follow or more understandable, please be sure to tell me either in the comments section or send me an email. 

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!