PAST TENSE

Present Perfect

How to Learn English with Luke’s English Podcast

This should be a useful episode. I’m going to go through a whole bunch of ways that you can improve your English with Luke’s English Podcast. You’ll find a list of these points on my website. I’m going to expand on them here.
I’ll be talking about key areas: listening, reading, writing, speaking, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and discourse. Much of what I’m saying is written on my website. Just find the episode called “How to Learn English with Luke’s English Podcast”. I’ve written a lot of this down because it contains lots of specific bits of information which I wanted to make sure I included. I try not to do too many episodes in which I read things to you. I promise that the next one will be unscripted. Anyway, I’ll do my best to make this sound as natural as possible, which is an art in itself. Actually, you could use this script to help you practise your pronunciation, you could record yourself reading this too, and compare it to my version. What are the differences in your version and mine? What can you learn from that? Record yourself doing it again, and compare that to your first attempt. It’s bound to sound a lot better. In fact, I guarantee that you’ll sound more natural and convincing with each attempt. More on that later.
For now, here is a list of tips and advice for learning English with LEP.

Household Chore List

A clear household chore list is important to keep the household running smoothly and to keep everything tidy. Start with a Master List and then break it down into individual lists for each member of the family. In this way, all the chores are divided evenly and no one has an unfair amount of work to do to keep the home in shape.

The Master Household Chore List

A master list of household chores the place to begin. You can do this on paper or on a computer spreadsheet. On this list, write down every chore that needs to be done and how often it is needed. This should also include outside tasks as well as indoor tasks. If you would rather use a pre-formatted document instead of creating your own, click to download a free printable household chore checklist  created by LoveToKnow.
If you need help downloading the printable checklist, check out these helpful tips.

CAN/ BE ABLE TO

Zamiast "can" można stosować również zwrot "to be able to do sth" - często jednak "can" jest dużo bardziej naturalne w użyciu.

Zwrot "to be able to do sth" oznacza tyle co: być w stanie coś zrobić, potrafić coś, móc coś zrobić.
Can ma tylko dwie formy, tj. can-could- Ø. Dlatego też należy używać be able to do tworzenia czasów perfect lub innych konstrukcji gdzie wymagana jest tzw. trzecia forma:
I haven’t been able to learn how to cook yet.

Podmiot (subject) + odpowiednia forma czasownika to be + able to + bezokolicznik bez to (infinitive without to) + reszta zdania

We use could for general ability. But if we are talking about what happened in a particular situation, we use was/were able to ... or managed to  ... (not could).

a (an), the, -

- use (-) with plural and uncontable nouns when you are talking about things in general
- use a/an - with singular contable nouns when you are not talking about a particular thing, or when you mention something for the first time
- use the - with any type of noun when you and your reader/listener know which particular thing you are talking about, for example because it is unique or it has been mentioned before
- use the - with a singular contable noun or an adjective to talk about things in general
- use (-) - with most place names
- use the - in fixed phrases such as in .... 1960s, in ... beginning


indefinite article (a/an) 

- when it's not clear (or important) which one is being talked about
- when it is the first time something is mentioned
- in phrases of quantity of frequency

no article
- to talk about things in general
- for most continents, countries, towns, roads, stations, individual mountains and lakes

definite article (the) 
- when it's clear what is being talked about
- when something is unique 
- when something has been mentioned before
- + adjective or singular countable noun to talk about things in general
- for oceans, rivers, groups of islands/regions, deserts, mountain ranges, decades

wish, if only, should

use:

- wish + past simple

to talk about things you would like to be different in the present/future (but which are impossible or unlikely

- wish + person/thing + would + infinitive to talk about things we want to happen, or stop happening because they annoy us

(You can't use would for wish about yourself. eg. NOT I wish I would....)

- wish + past perfect  to talk about things that happened or didn't happen in the past and which you now regret.

You can also use If only instead of I wish with these teneses.

- should + have + past participle

Carbon Footprint

The carbon footprint shows how much carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases a person produces in everyday life.  It measures the amount of fossil fuels and electricity someone uses up as well as the carbon footprint of the products they buy.

When we use our cars or heat our homes with oil or natural gas, carbon dioxide and various other gases are set free.  These emissions lead to a denser atmosphere and global warming.

You can measure your carbon footprint by using a calculator that you can find on various websites. It shows you in which way your living habits damage the environment. The carbon footprint usually measured in tons of CO2 per year. In America for example, every citizen produces about 28 tons of carbon dioxide and other dangerous gases a year, in Great Britain the amount is about 10 tons.