Midsummer

Midsummer is the magical time when the days are longest and the nights are shortest. This was when ancient peoples gathered to celebrate the sun.

June 21st is the longest day of the year. We call it summer solstice. December 21st is the shortest day of the year. We call it winter solstice.
On these days the sun seems to stand still in the sky for a few days. The word solstice comes from the Latin for sun + stand still – sol + stice.

In Australia the longest day is in December and the shortest day is in June.

We live in the northern hemisphere (north of the equator), and the Earth is tilted towards the sun in the summer and away from the sun in the winter.

Australia is in the southern hemisphere (south of the equator) and the earth is tilted towards the sun in the winter and away from the sun in the summer.

In Australia winter starts on June 21st. Strange, isn’t it?
Therefore they celebrate Christmas at the beach! <--- click here

People all over the world have held solstice celebrations for thousands of years.

For our ancestors, the seasons and the weather played a central role in their lives.

We still celebrate summer solstice with singing, dancing and bonfires.

In Stonehenge, England, people meet and celebrate summer solstice. You can see pictures here.

Vocabulary:

midsummer - Hochsommer, Mitte des Sommers
magical - magisch
ancient peoples - altertümliche Völker
to gather, gathered - versammeln, versammelten
to celebrate - feiern
summer solstice - Sommersonnenwende
winter solstice - Wintersonnenwende

from the Latin - aus dem Lateinischen
northern hemisphere - nördliche Halbkugel
southern hemisphere - südliche Halbkugel

ancestors - Vorfahren

a central role - eine wichtige Rolle
tilted - gekippt, geneigt, schräg, schief
towards - gegen, in Richtung
therefore - deshalb
bonfire - Feuer, Lagerfeuer, Freudenfeuer

Can you do this quiz on summer soltice?

But it is REALLY DIFFICULT !

Frank Osbert, the great magician

1 will not be able to help
2 we would be able to go swimming
3 so I was not able to get in
4 I would be able to do
5 so we will be able to go
6 was able to buy
7 Were you able to do
8 I am not able to come
9 I had to stay
10 will have to play
11 has to clean
12 had to clean
13 we will have to switch on
14 I will have to buy
15 Because I’m not allowed to.
16 Because I wasn’t allowed to.
17 Because he wasn’t allowed to.
18 Because it isn’t allowed to.
19 Because she will not be (won’t be) allowed to.
20 Because I have not been allowed to.




Starring:
Albert, Alexandra, Andrea, Anna F., Anna M., Armin, Bernhard, Chiara, Daniela, Julia, Mihriban, Nikolaus, Philipp, Samuel, Stefanie, Teresa

Past Tense - Questions with did

Hey Superstars,

Before you do the exercise, study these verbs carefully.

Irregular Verbs:
to see - saw - sehen
to write - wrote - schreiben
to have - had - haben
to get up - got up - aufstehen

to buy - bought - kaufen
to sit - sat - sitzen
to speak - spoke - sprechen

Regular Verbs:
to arrive - arrived - ankommen
to rain - rained - regnen
to walk - walked - gehen

Exercise - Question with "did"

Source:

Adele's ESL corner

Barnabybear

Why not try this game? It is funny !

Click here: Barnabybear - Information Finder

SWITCH ON THE LOUDSPEAKERS !

Source:

BBC

Past Tense Simple - Einfache Mitvergangenheit (Präteritum)

Bildung:
Es gibt für alle Personen nur eine Form, die bei vielen Zeitwörtern durch Anhängen von –ed gebildet wird.
I played – ich spielte
You played – du spieltest
He played – er spielte
She played – sie spielte
It played – er, sie, es spielte

We played - wir spielten
You played – ihr spieltet
They played – sie spielten

help – helped, live – lived, like – liked, hope – hoped, look – looked

Verwendung:
Die Past Tense Simple wird für Handlungen verwendet, die völlig vorbei sind und keinen Bezug zur Gegenwart haben.

Signalwörter:
yesterday - gestern
last weeek (month, year) - letzte Woche (Monat, Jahr)
in 2001
the day before yesterday - vorgestern
three days (minutes, weeks, months, years) ago - vor drei Tagen (Minuten, Wochen, Monaten, Jahren)

Es gibt aber auch Zeitwörter, deren Past Tense nicht durch Anhängen von –ed gebildet werden.
Diese nennt man Irregular Verbs (Unregelmäßige Zeitwörter)
to go – went gehen - ging
to have – had haben - hatte

Yesterday Jane went swimming. (ging schwimmen)
I had a wonderful birthday party last week. (hatte)

Exercise1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

Source: Herderschule, University of Victoria, Centre for Education and Training

Past Tense - was/were

My dear students,

I do hope that you wrote a a good test today.

Below you find the new piece of grammar that we are going to learn. You have to learn and practise the forms.

Past Tense - Verb "to be"

Infinitive

to be (is, am, are)

Past form
was, were

Singular - Einzahl

I was - Ich war

You were - Du warst

He was - Er war

She was - Sie war

It was - Er, sie, es war

Plural - Mehrzahl

We were - Wir waren

You were - Ihr wart

They were - Sie waren

Question:

John was at home. Was John at home?

They were late. Were they late?

Negation:

Sandy was at the cinema yesterday.

Sandy was not (wasn't) at the cinema yesterday

The children were in Vienna last week.

The children were not (weren't) in Vienna last week.

Signalwords:

yesterday - gestern

last weeek (month, year) - letzte Woche (Monat, Jahr)

in 2001

the day before yesterday - vorgestern

three days (minutes, weeks, months, years) ago - vor drei Tagen (Minuten, Wochen, Monaten, Jahren)

Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Exercise 3
Exercise 4
Exercise 5


Source:
ego4u
Englisch-Hilfen
esl
Herderschule