The Missing Earrings; a detective story using the past tense

06, October, 2024

Episode 222: The case of the missing earrings

In this podcast, you’ll hear how the past tense is used in the context of a detective story. You’ll hear questions, negatives and affirmative statements.

Podcast: The case of the missing earrings

by English Podcasts | Podcasts in English

Welcome back to English-Podcasts In this episode we dive into grammar and in particular the past tense. Listen out as “the detective” asks Sue questions about the missing earrings. Prick up your ears for the negatives and the affirmatives phrases.

Notes

Some learners find the Past Tense quite tricky to learn but in reality it’s just a question of practice, and learning in context is the best way. So just sit back, relax and enjoy our detective story where the detective asks Sue some uncomfortable questions.

Listen out for the pronunciation of the regular verbs ending in “ed”. These appear easy on paper but can be challenging in spoken English because the verb ending is not always clearly heard.

What are the best ways to become comfortable with the past tense ? Well, reading stories, or preferably listening to stories, is a great way. You could also practice writing a daily journal which would naturally use the past tense.

If you don’t like reading, try a quiz…… we have many, many quizzes on our site which talk about history…. and the past tense.

Try the quiz below. Enjoy !

Recap & Takeaways

This episode not only provides a humorous and engaging story but also allows listeners to practice various ways of expressing the past in English in many different ways. The mix of comedy and thought-provoking elements makes it both entertaining and educational. Look out for the questions at the end to test what you have learned

https://english-podcasts.com/paris-olympic-games-then-and-now/

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What makes you laugh?

06, October, 2024

Episode 221: Do you like a good laugh ?

In this podcast, you’ll hear vocabulary about the many types of humour from slapstick to dry humour, and we ask if humour travels well.

Podcast: What makes you laugh?

by English Podcasts | Podcasts in English

Welcome back to English-Podcasts. In this episode we talk about what makes us laugh. People often say that the British have a good sense of humour, and we certainly enjoy a good laugh. How would you describe comedy styles in your country? Listen up and enjoy our “amusing” conversation packed full of great vocabulary for language learning.

Notes

Join us as we give our opinions on the different types of humour, we discuss;

Slapstick

Silly humour

Dark humour, sometimes known as “gallows humour”

Observational humour often seen in stand-up sets

Situational comedy, known as “sit coms”, such as Friends

Dry humour when someone says something in a dead pan tone, this is typically Irish

Wordplay, known as puns, often seen in Cristmas crackers

Sureal humour, we enjoyed this with Monty Python

Witty humour, the clever use of words

Parady and satire

Recap & Takeaways

We all agree that understanding jokes in a new language is one of the most difficult steps for language learners.

Understanding a joke doesn’t only involve undertanding the vocabulary and the grammar, but also the cultural context and subtle nuances.

It’s for this reason that humour doesn’t always travel well, and explaining a joke is really painful, especially when no-one laughs !

So, if you want to take your English learning to another level, you should listen to humourous TV shows and podcasts. Bear in mind that understanding the culture will go a long way to understanding the funny side of a situation.

Have fun and enjoy !