Yesterday, today and tomorrow
Janotta, S. (2015) Woman, question mark, person, decision, thoughtful [Photo] Taken from http://bit.ly/1DGzgeY Consulted on March 14, 2017
You are very welcome to review and practice the use of frequency adverbs and phrases and time expressions. Some examples are: always, never, sometimes, on Monday, every morning, last month, next week.These adverbs are important when you talk about habits and social activities that you share with your friends and family, or when you are referring to present, past and future events.
To begin, you will hear a fun dialogue with the two main characters of this topic, Mary and Erik in which you will identify the adverbs of time. Then, you will benefit from a new vocabulary, listen to your pronunciation and learn grammar with three important rules for using adverbs and expressions of time. You will also find three practice exercises to help you improve your learning. In the activities you will read about Mary's experiences in Europe and you will listen to the second part of her dialogue with Erick
Finally, it will be your turn! You will tell us about yourself, your friends and family activities in the present, past and your plans for the future, through a voice narration and the writing of a brief autobiography.
Get ready for fun and learning!
Watch about two university classmates getting to know more about each other, while they are waiting for their next class outside their classroom. In their conversation, you will identify some adverbs of frequency and expressions of time. Pay attention.
Now read the video dialogue between Mary and Erik:
Did you recognize some frequency words and time expressions in the dialog about habits, past actions or future plans? Listen and read again if you want to.
Tumisu (2017) Establecimiento de metas, objetivo, destino, dart [Photo] Taken from http://bit.ly/2o5I8V5 Consulted on March 14, 2017
At the end of this topic you will:
Use the frequency adverbs and phrases, as well as time expressions, by describing relevant social and habitual situations with friends and family, to refer them in contexts of the present, past and future.
Do you remember Mary and Erick in the Powtoon? Do you make good friends like them? Everybody has a friend, or more than one, and we enjoy spending time together. How frequently do you meet them?
As you saw in the video, frequency adverbs and frequency phrases are words and expressions that modify actions that people do periodically in daily life. They express how intense or repetitive activities occur as part of a habit or a routine.
The following chart illustrates the adverbs from high intensity or repetition to a total absence of the action. Click on the arrows on the sides to review the information.
Swipe left or right
Extremely, intense
Frequency adverbs
Always
Really frequent
Frequency adverbs
Generally, usually, almost always
Very constant
Frequency adverbs
Often, frequently
Constant
Frequency adverbs
Sometimes, occasionally
Not frequent
Frequency adverbs
Rarely, seldom, almost never
Absence
Frequency adverbs
Never
Next, it is important to mention that adverbial phrases and time expressions are groups of words (usually 2 or more) that are used as common expressions to signal either the repetition of an action or the moment when an action takes place in present, past or future. Look at some of them:
| ADVERBIAL OR TIME EXPRESSION | MOMENT RELATED TO TIME |
| From Monday to Friday | Repetition |
| Yesterday | Past event |
| Tomorrow | Future Action |
| Saturday Morning | Routinary Present |
| At this moment | Momentary Present |
Let’s see some examples from Mary’s dialog and observe the position of the frequency adverbs with respect to the verb, and the position of the frequency phrases and time expressions in the sentence.
Public domain (2012) Ojo, mujeres, gracioso, vidrio. [Photo] Taken from http://bit.ly/2oCZCbyhttp://bit.ly/2oCZCby Consulted on March 14, 2017
Now you will practice the time adverbs and expressions that we have reviewed in this lesson.
Activity 1
Observe the following collage; now imagine how the frequency adverbs and the time expressions could tell the stories of those images.
García, M. (2017) Big ben. [Photo] Created on March 20, 2017
García, M. (2017) Tower Bridge. [Photo] Created on March 20, 2017
García, M. (2017) Cologne Cathedral. [Photo] Created on March 20, 2017
García, M. (2017) Social group. [Photo] Created on March 20, 2017
García, M. (2017) People. [Photo] Created on March 20, 2017
García, M. (2017) Notre Dame de Paris. [Photo] Created on March 20, 2017
García, M. (2017) Eiffel Tower. [Photo] Created on March 20, 2017
García, M. (2017) Stonehenge. [Photo] Created on March 20, 2017
What do you think of the collage? Amazing, isn’t it? The following text tells us the story of Mary and her daily life, her experience in Europe in the past and her plans to go back there in the near future. Notice how frequency adverbs, phrases, and time expressions signal the intensity and moment of her actions.
1. This is Marycarmen, a Mexican student at the Faculty of Architecture in University City in Mexico, UNAM. She studies Urban Passage Design at the oldest and largest university in Latin America, also ranked as the 4th best in 2016 by the QS University Rankings in Latin America.
2. She's 19 and she can speak three languages: English, French and Spanish. At the moment, she is sharing an apartment with three roommates near the University campus. She’s made a lot of friends, but she rarely hangs out with them because she’s doing a lot of activities after classes.
3. She studies German twice a week, she takes drama on Monday and Wednesday, and she is in the university contemporary dance group, too. Also, she has a job over the weekend: she teaches English and French to children and adolescents.
4. Last year, Mary took a year off to make a trip to Europe. She met young male and female friends from all over the world. They spent a lot of time together: they went to museums and restaurants, they saw art galleries of all sorts, they visited clubs and monuments. Sometimes they cooked together at Mary's place and ate typical food from their countries. It was great! She really misses them now.
5. Mary is finishing her second semester this May and she wants to make another trip next June. She is going to meet some of her friends back there in Hamburg, Germany and Bruges in Belgium. She will probably stay there for 3 or 4 weeks… if she saves enough money, of course!
Now you will answer a column relationship exercise, using the adverbs of time and you will demonstrate your understanding of the text
Activity 3
Listen to Mary and Erick again. Now they are talking about different moments of Mary’s present, past and future and they are using adverbial and time phrases to signal her social activities, as we have reviewed in the topic.
Belopitov, N. (2017) Rome, Architecture, Travel, Ancient, Roman Famous. [Photo] Taken from http://bit.ly/2nEsYXB Consulted on March 17, 2017
Lovcoff, E. (2014) Trevi Fountain, Fontana Di Trevi, Rome, Italy, Fountain [Photo] Taken from http://bit.ly/2nHQB3o Consulted on March 17, 2017
Gobman, S. (2016) Cologne, Dom, Building, Cologne Cathedral, Monument [Photo] Taken from http://bit.ly/2oq4a5A Consulted on March 17, 2017
Wikimedia Images (2005) St. Mark´s, Basilica, Venice, Italy, Church, Cathedral [Photo] Taken from http://bit.ly/2nExRQH Consulted on March 17, 2017
The Architectural Design professor is dismissing the class. Mary picks up her books to leave the classroom. Then she hears a voice calling her name... Listen to the audio.
After listening to the audio, click on Activity 3 to answer the exercise choosing the correct answer. You can only do the exercise once.
Activity 4
In the following exercise you will choose the correct answer for each sentence according to what has been reviewed in the topic and what you have understood in the audio.
Click on Activity 4. Then, drag and drop the correct words to complete the sentences.
Activity 5
When we talk about our past, present and future, we use adverbs of time to describe our activities, plans, stories and important events. This is part of what we reviewed in the topic. In the next activity, write a brief biography of your life. Follow this infography as a guide
Consider these characteristics:
Example:
Last Saturday I went to the supermarket. I usually do the groceries this day because I don’t have time during weekdays. I also go to the gym, I always do that. Next week, I will probably go to Guadalajara. I go there every time I can. It is my favourite city in Mexico. I have never gone to Colima, for example, which is very near from Guadalajara, but i may go if I have the time.
Read carefully the following checklist to include each of the aspects in these descriptions to obtain the highest score in every criterion. Tick them off as you consider them accomplished. You can do it excellently!
Activity 6
Pronunciation in the English language is very important. Considering what has been reviewed in the video in the content section, you will perform an activity in which you will record your voice.
Tell us about your social and daily activities with friends and family, as Mary told us in her dialogs in the listening and in the reading sections. Choose one topic to be developed:
Suggestions:
Record your audio using the free app vocaroo.com
When you have finished, evaluate your audio with this checklist Tick them off as you consider them accomplished. You can do it excellently!
Audio example:
You have done a great job during the activities in this topic. Now, you need to evaluate your own progress about frequency adverbs and phrases, as well as time expressions. This brief questionnaire has 15 questions, and you will only have two chances to solve them. Good luck!
English (2015) Senderismo, Motaña, Escalada motaña, Paseo, Trekking. [Photo] Taken from http://bit.ly/2nTDqMx Consulted on March 16, 2017
