Introduction to Senses

Today I want to talk about words related to the senses, since they involve a lot of good vocabulary. We'll focus on one sense per week over the next few weeks, but for today's Fun Friday video I thought it would be good to have a short introduction to the senses, so that everyone knows what we're talking about.

I found this very good video on the internet that explains how we talk about the senses in English, and it also has text, so you can find new vocabulary, also. Check it out, and next week we'll begin talking about these words and concepts:

Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!

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!

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!

Common Errors: "Know" vs. "Meet," "See," and "Visit"

Good evening, everyone! Welcome back to Mistake Monday. This week's Common Error is actually really common, but it's also very easy to fix. The four words we'll talk about --know, meet, see, and visit-- are used in similar ways, but they're not 100% interchangeable. Let's look:

Common Error: "Know" vs. "Meet," "See," and "Visit"
DON’T say this:	I want to travel to France to know the Eiffel Tower. I have never known New York, but I've heard it's an amazing city. The Spring Social Meeting is a great way to know new people.
WHY?	If you know someone or something, it means that you have knowledge or information about them. If you meet a person, you see him or her for the first time. This situation can be called an introduction, since you introduce one person to another person. If you visit a place or person, you interact with them in some way. If you see a person or place, it's similar to visit; normally you interact with them, but you may just observe them.
INSTEAD, SAY THIS:	-"I want to travel to France to see/visit the Eiffel Tower."  -"I have never visited/been to/gone to New York, but I've heard it's an amazing city." -"The Spring Social Meeting is a great way to meet new people." -"Do you know Paul? He's a really nice guy." OR "Have you met Paul?" -"I don't know French, but I do know German."

So, hopefully you'll know what to say now if you meet someone new or visit a new place. If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave a comment or contact us. Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

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!