As far as I can tell, everywhere in Ecuador is picturesque. If you want more without my face blocking your view, I recommend Google image “Ecuador countryside,” or “Ecuador mountains,” or something.
Ecuador, Land of Beautiful Views
All posts by Nathan Ruffing
English Lesson 2
Conditionals, Medium Difficulty
Place the following lyrics from the song on the conditionals classification sheet (click here for the workbook):
- If I were a boy, I would turn off my phone.
- If you thought I would wait for you, you thought wrong.
Barenaked Ladies – If I Had a Million Dollars
Place the following lyrics from the song on the conditionals sheet:
- If I had a million dollars, I would buy you a house.
English Lesson 1 Answer
Easy Answer
“The United States of America”
“The” is an article. In this case it means that there is only one country called “United States of America.”
“United” is an adjective describing “States” meaning that the states are together.
“States” is a noun. A state could be a thing, or a place, or an idea. It is only capitalized when used as part of the name of a specific place.
“Of” is a proposition. The prepositional phrase “of America” means the states are in America.
“America” is a noun. It is a place. It is always capitalized because it is the name of a specific place. “America” includes both continents, North and South America, but people from the USA are “Americans.” America!
Medium Answer
“I’ve been to Hollywood”
and
“I’ve been to Redwood”
are both present perfect. See this lesson.
Step #1: identify the verb.
“I’ve” = “I have,” therefore
In “I have been to…”
“have been” is the verb.
Step #2: match it to present perfect in your workbook, write the sentence, and underline “have been.”
Step 3: continue to enjoy the music!
“I crossed the ocean for a heart of gold.”
Step #1: identify the verb.
“Crossed” is the verb. The sentence is in the simple past verb tense.
Step #2: write the sentence and underline the verb.
Step #3: continue to learn by example!
More
Translate the song with Google Translate. Do it! Then listen to the song a few times until you can feel the meaning. Learn 30 words all at one time! Don’t worry too much about the exact meaning. Music uses poetic license!
Apoyo de las Victimas del Terremoto
Llegué aqui en Ecuador martes, 19 de abril, de la mañana. El miercoles de la mañana, encontré Luis y nos comenzamos a planear para apoyar las victimas del terremoto. Con Luis, su primo, Henry, esposa de Henry, y un otro amigo de Luis, nosotros cinco trajimos mucha comida, y artículos de aseo (el camión estaba lleno) a Perdenales. Luis y su familia tenían mucho voluntad a ayudar los otros Ecuatorianos. Condujimos en la madrugada desde 2AM el jueves, y llegamos en Perdenales a las 8AM. Nos entregado!
Ouro Preto e Belo Horizonte
Fui a Belo Horizonte e Ouro Preto. Era muito legal! Tenho que voltar de novo e ver mais!
English Lesson 1
Easy
Identify the part of speech of each of the following five words:
The United States of America
Medium
Neil Young – Heart of Gold (one of my favorite songs)
What is the verb tense of each of these 3 lines of the song? Write each sentence under a heading in the workbook.
- I’ve been to Hollywood.
- I’ve been to Redwood.
- I crossed the ocean for a heart of gold.
More
Translate the song using these instructions, then listen to the song until you can understand the meaning without translating.
Translate Music Lyrics, Step by Step Instructions
It´s easy:
- Go to YouTube and type ¨any song name¨ + ¨lyrics.¨ You can listen to the song and watch the words, like karaoke.
- Search the same words in Google for the song lyrics.
- Highlight the lyrics from the Google search and copy (Ctrl+c) and paste (Ctrl+v) into Google Translate.
- The translation is usually very good! Remember ¨poetic license¨ in music and poetry.
Ventures Update April 2016
695 Riverview Drive
This is the first quarter that I can say things are going as we expect at 695 Riverview Drive. All 9 units are occupied. All 9 tenants are current on their rent. The manager, Panzera Realty, produces a reliable, accurate report each month. The bottom line shows it as well. With reliable tenants and much of the deferred maintenance from the previous owner completed, we are saving for future improvements, or possibly cash for another purchase.
The following pictures are from the stairway maintenance project I completed in December.
Simple Kneads Gluten-Free Bread
Simple Kneads is really taking off. They are gradually adding retail and food service distribution and as of 31 March, they are selling bread directly from the website. The bread is selling fast and the vendors and customers are happy.
Kineomen
Nothing significant to report!
The Stock Market
I am still “all-cash,” and have been since December 2013. Per my previous post, I continue to watch 4 specific indicators. The first 2 indicators, Total Market Cap / GNP “Buffett Indicator,” and economist John Hussman, are hard-negative and I am therefore not looking into the market. I’ll wait for a better opportunity.
Click here for a recent commentary by John Hussman. He is very technical, and currently pessimistic, but he is consistent in his analysis and he makes sense. From week to week, he uses the same indicators week to week rather than chasing news headlines, and he uses only indicators that have a strong correlation to future results in the S&P 500 specifically. He has incorrectly predicted market crashes in the past, but he discusses these failures in his commentary. He doesn’t claim that there will be a crash. His claim is that because of overvaluation, the potential long-term upside is too weak to justify the exaggerated short-term risk of such extreme valuations.
Vino de Coco
I plan to visit the company in the Philippines in December–all business of course!
English Music!
Search any song on YouTube and write “lyrics” in the search. It’s a great way to learn.
Download and print the workbook:
Great, catchy English songs:
Neil Young – Heart of Gold (one of my favorite songs)
What is the verb tense of each of each of these lines of the song? Write the sentences in the workbook under the correct verb tense example.
- I’ve been to Hollywood.
- I’ve been to Redwood.
- I crossed the ocean for a heart of gold.
Conditional Songs
Write the following sentences in the workbook under the correct conditional example:
- If I were a boy, I would turn off my phone.
- If you thought I would wait for you, you thought wrong.
Cyndi Lauper – Time after Time
Write the following sentences in the workbook under the correct conditional example:
- If you’re lost you can look and you will find me, time after time.
Joan Osborne – What if God Was One of Us?
In the lyrics…
What if God was one of us?
…does she ever answer the question?
Barenaked Ladies – If I Had a Million Dollars
Write the following sentences in the workbook under the correct conditional example:
- If I had a million dollars, I would buy you a house.
Other great English songs:
The Cure – Friday I’m in Love
Ed Sheeran – Thinking Out Loud (translate for your girlfriend)
English Lessons: Most Difficult for Portuguese Speakers
Pronouncing the “-ed” ending.
This lesson is derived from www.grammar.cl
Prepositions: “in” “on” “at”
Quick lesson on these important prepositions: “in” “on” “at”
To use “the” or not to use “the”? The definite article in English
Lesson about using the definite article (“the”) from www.edufind.com
Nation / the adjective / a person: The United States / American / An American
I recommend this lesson from www.edufind.com
Choosing between present perfect and past simple verb tense.
I recommend this lesson from www.perfect-english-grammar.com