English is genial

  Have you ever entered a room full of people speaking English? Then, suddenly, you are confused: They are talking words you can understand but can't figure out the meaning of what they are saying. Imagine your co-worker telling you: "Don't  break a sweat   on that report! You can get it fixed if you  pull out an all-nighter . " Did you truly understand what she was trying to tell you? At that moment, you feel you need some coffee to sharpen your mind and think about what your co-worker just told you.  You are walking to the cafeteria and find yourself in trouble because there is a new coffee machine, and it looks complicated to make it work. Another co-worker passes by, and she says: "Don't worry,  right off the bat,  you can tell  is a tricky machine! " and offers to help you.  You accept the help but are clueless about what she said a minute ago: perhaps she wants me to hit it with a bat? You wonder.  That afternoon, you ride the bus to get back home,

Love is in the air! Valentine's is back. This time of the year, people across the U.S. celebrate love. We show appreciation for those close to us by going out to dinner, buying heart-shaped/gifts, giving candy, and sending roses. This holiday evolved from remembering the death sentence of an Italian Catholic priest called Valentine. He believed the ban on marriage imposed by the emperor Claudius II in 200 AD was unfair and started marrying people secretly. Of course, the emperor found out, sent him to jail, set his execution for February 14th, and the rest is history! Find the difference and the adjectives with   this fun activity!     It is a perfect noun/adjective game to catch words while playing and understanding the concept: an adjective describes the noun; it makes it more specific. The noun describes a person, place, or thing.  Nouns and adjectives make a lovely couple! Click on the image below; look at the drawings, and guess which piece is different by clicking on it, and

Christmas is here! This is the time of the year to celebrate with family and friends the birth of Jesus Christ while reflecting on the year ending: giving thanks for the good things lived and planning for the new year to come. Find the difference and the adjectives with   this fun activity !  This is a perfect adjective game to catch words while playing and understanding the concept: an adjective describes the noun; it makes it more specific.  Click on the image below; look at the drawings, and guess which piece is different by clicking on it, and the adjective will show up! How to identify an adjective? We have the noun "gift," and we need a word to describe it. How would you call it? "beautiful" or "colorful"; those are   adjectives   because tell  how the gift is :   beautiful gift   / colorful gift . Find here more winter adjectives.

Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday and reminds us to be grateful for the things we appreciate in life: family, friends, jobs, food, and health.  Every year, since the fall of 1621, we celebrate this special day with a great feast, and it is the time family, and friends get together to celebrate life. Find the difference and the adjectives with   this fun activity !   This is a perfect adjective game to catch words while playing and understanding the concept: an adjective describes the noun; it makes it more specific.  Click on the image below; look at the drawings, and guess which piece is different by clicking on it, and the adjective will show up! How to identify an adjective? Let's say we have the noun "apple," and we need a word to describe it. How would you call it? "crunchy" or "red"; those are   adjectives   because tell  how the apple is :    crunchy apple  / red apple . Find here  a compelling fall adjective list, including categories.

  Find the difference and the adjectives with   this fun activity ! This is a perfect adjective game for kids and adults and introduces them to the concept: an adjective describes the noun; it makes it more specific.  Click on the image below; look at the drawings, and guess which piece is different by clicking on it and the adjective will show up! How to identify an adjective? Let's say we have the noun "girl," and we need a word to describe her. How would you call her? "happy" or "pretty"; those are   adjectives   because tell  how the girl is :   happy  girl  /  Pretty girl . Find here  a compelling fall adjective list, including categories. Learn more about  me !

 The legend of Jack O' Lantern is a wonderful tale to practice vocabulary and understand why carved pumpkins pop everywhere in October.  This interactive tale is entertaining for kids and grown-ups; you can even play hangman while at it! If you are looking for more vocabulary, visit the Halloween adjectives page. Images credit: Background photo created by freepik - www.freepik.com / Halloween photo created by freepik - www.freepik.com / Background photo created by freepik - www.freepik.com

Adjectives describe the nouns, and a simple form to remember them is by recalling our five senses; you can use your sight, touch, smell, taste, and hearing to find words describing a person, place, or thing. Here is a list of some adjectives used to describe Halloween. These are nouns modifiers and have a direct effect on the noun. Scroll down to the bottom, and you will find interactive vocabulary cards! If you want to practice more about adjectives, visit my  Halloween interactive "find the difference" game. - Appearance adjectives: These adjectives engage in the sight sense. An appearance is helpful to describe how someone or something looks . ugly troll Old-fashioned      Abominable                                                 Ugly Dirty Somber                      - Color Adjectives: These adjectives also engage in the sight sense. They come in handy to make more specific descriptions. Red Orange Yellow Gray Black White         -           Condition Adjectives:

Find the difference and the adjectives with these two activities.  This is a perfect adjective game for kids and introduces them to the concept: an adjective describes the noun; it makes it more specific.  Click on the images below; look at the drawings, and guess which piece is different by clicking on them!   Activity one shows a zombie in a haunted graveyard. Activity two shows a haunted house with creepy things around it. How to identify an adjective? We have the noun "house," and we need a word to describe it. How would you call it? "black" or "haunted" or even "funny"; those are   adjectives   because they tell  how the house is :    black house / haunted house / funny house. An excellent way to engage my students is to challenge them to find the adjective each time they spot a difference. If they noticed a black cat, they should repeat: "this is a black cat" and adequately identify the adjective. Find here a compelling

Action verbs are words that describe mental or physical actions. They are called action verbs because they can help create a more vivid image in the reader's mind. For example, "She walked up the stairs" is an example of an action verb. The importance of understanding action verbs is to be able to read more efficiently and accurately. We should look for the subject and then look for the action verb when we read. Once we find these two things, we will know who is doing what to whom or what is happening in a sentence. How to recognize an action verb Look at the picture above, pause for a minute, and think about what you see. You can notice a person (subject) and then look at what this person is physically doing (runs). Here you have identified the subject (he) and the verb (runs) 

Action verbs are one of the eight parts of speech in English. They describe mental and physical actions. Sometimes, they can be used as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. Action verbs are important because they help the reader understand what is happening in the sentence.   Action verbs help create a more vivid image in the reader's or speaker's mind. They are called action verbs because they can show what the subject is doing. For example, "She walked up the stairs." These words often have a short vowel sound and end in "-ing." For example, "running" or "walking." Finding the action verb Look at this picture. Notice that a person subject (she) is doing a physical action (talks). The action "talks" is a verb because it is an action performed by this person.