Spitting images

You stop at the traffic lights, look at the man in the car next to yours and... could it really be true? Prince Charles driving a van? Julia Roberts at the grocery store? And how about John Lennon at the gas station? Oh, wait... wasn't he dead?

Relax, they are just look-alikes, people who look a lot like some very famous people. In fact, some can be considered the spitting images of the 'original'. Would you like to try a game? Look at the slideshow in this post. Who do the people look like? Do they look different - perhaps they look older or fatter? Then click on 'comments' to check your answers.

Here are a few other activities to revise the use of 'look' and 'look like'. First, a simple grammar activity, followed by a quiz - are they the real celebrities or just their look-alikes? You can also try this listening activity - six people talk about whether they are shy or just look shy... And how about trying a slide quiz using Hollywood celebrities?

The pictures for this slideshow were taken from the Spitting Images website.

Grammar: For or Since?

Here are some grammar activities to give you further practice in the use of for and since. First, click here to decide whether you should use 'for' or 'since' with the time expressions. Then put the words in the right order to form sentences. Finally, read these questions and write the answers on your notebook. Then click on the boxes to see the correct answer. If you need help, check the explanations on this BBC website.

Grammar: question words

Here's a quick activity to revise the use of question words (who, what, where, etc.). Read each sentence and write the missing word(s) in the gaps. Then check your answers clicking in 'comments' on this post! How many did you get?

So or Because?

- He went to bed early because he was tired.

- He was tired so he went to bed early.

Revise the use of because and so - and other words that express cause and result - trying these activities, one at pre-intermediate and the other at intermediate level.

Vocabulary: travelling

Ready to enjoy your holidays? It's summer in the southern hemisphere, and here are some activities related to the world of travelling. How about doing some listening practice? Listen to a man talking about his family's travel preferences and match the people to the right places.

Looking for some vocabulary activities? Here's a simple crossword puzzle to revise some of the most common words, and a BBC quiz.

For advanced students, here's a gap-fill activity. Read the text and write te correct word in each box. You can use the 'hint' button for help. It's great practice if you are preparing for the CAE or CPE.

Next year I'm going to...

On the last week of the year a lot of people like to sit down and reflect on their lives, making plans for the next year. Do you ever make a list with your New Year's resolutions? Have you decided what you are - or aren't - going to do next year? According to different studies, people's lists tend to be remarkably similar in their general goals. Can you guess the top 10 list of New Year's resolutions in the US? Would the list be the same in other cultures?

If you want to have a go at making your plans for 2008, 43 things is a good place to start. After signing up you can share your ideas with the rest of the community and read other people's lists - there are some very interesting plans going on there!

And here's a quick activity to revise the use of 'going to' to talk about plans and intentions.

Try also
New Year's resolutions - a listening activity
Phrasal verbs activity

Revising prepositions: in, on or at?

The idea of recording a song to raise money for the people of Ethiopia started with Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in 1984. Geldof played in a relatively successful rock band, the Boomtown Rats, and was better known for playing the main role in the Pink Floyd movie "The Wall" (1982). Here is Bob Geldof's biography; decide which preposition - IN, ON or AT - best completes each gap in the text.

Many or much?

December is a very busy month, isn't it? We usually have many things to do, and not much time to do them! We want to buy Christmas presents to many of our friends and family, but sometimes we don't have much money... And, of course, there are many parties to go to (but remember, don't drink too much beer!). Do you remember when we should use many or much? Take a look at this quiz and choose the correct word to complete each sentence. A tip: think about whether the noun after the gap is countable or uncountable...

TOEFL: some grammar practice

If you are preparing for the TOEFL exam (and even if you're not...), here is an interesting activity. One of the four underlined structures in each sentence is incorrect. Decide which letter (A, B, C or D) is wrong and click on your answer - the 'hint' box will give you the grammar explanation according to your choice.

Past simple: a short quiz

Here's a nice quick activity to revise irregular past forms in English. Read each question and answer writing the correct past form of each verb. If the answer is correct, it will appear in the sentence. If it is wrong, the box will turn red and you can try again. If you need help, you can click on the HINT button (but they won't give you the answer!) or check the list of irregular verbs. Have fun!

Giving thanks at Thanksgiving

One of the most popular holidays in the U.S. is Thanksgiving. It began when the first pilgrims, who left Europe and arrived in America in 1620, held a celebration to give thanks for their harvest after a very cold and difficult winter. It is now celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November and it's the time when American families get together to enjoy a traditional dinner.

Here is a text about Thanksgiving with some gaps. Choose the best option to complete each one. Then try this fun quiz about the first Thanksgiving meal: unscramble the letters to find the answers. FInally, there's an interesting quiz to test how much you know about the holiday!

Do things yourself or have them done?

Are you a DIY (do-it-yourself) type of person or do you prefer to pay someone to do little jobs around the house? Do you like fixing things or would you rather have things done by a professional? Do you wash your car yourself or do you have it cleaned at the nearest car wash? Revise the use of "having something done" looking at some explanations and trying a matching activity.

Here's a scene from the movie "The Money Pit", with Shelley Long and a very young Tom Hanks. They've just bought the house of their dreams, but it does need to have a few things fixed! Tom Hanks is trying to do the work, but I guess he should have it done by an experienced worker... What do you think? What should he do about the staircase? What about the water pipes and the roof?

The world's number 1

What is the largest monkey on the planet? Who is the most tattoed person in the world? And what is the tallest rideable motorcycle ever built? These are just some of the records that the Guinness World Records show on their website, where you can find curious information about arts, science, sports and modern society. And how about testing your knowledge? This quiz checks how much you know about geography, and there's one about various records. And here's a good one to practise superlative forms and general knowledge at the same time!

Song: Moonshadow (Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam)

Our new song is Moonshadow, written and sung by Cat Stevens (who changed his name to Yusuf Islam after becoming a Muslim in 1978). Lots of "if" sentences!



See also:
"IF" sentences: activities

Murphy's Laws

If anything can go wrong, it will. And if there is a possibility of many things going wrong, the one that will go wrong is the one that will cause the most damage. Thoughts like these have made American engineer Capt. Edward A. Murphy and his Murphy's Laws famous worldwide. What makes these laws so interesting is that they really seem to work every time! Here are some more examples. Do you know any others? Write them in the comments area - it's easy! For example: If you are in a hurry, the other line will always move faster!

- If it works in theory, it won't work in practice. If it works in practice it won't work in theory.
- If a circuit requires n components, you will find only n - 1 components in stock.
- If the course you want to do has room for "n" students, you will be the "n+1" to apply.
- If you drop a tool or small part while working on a car, it will roll to the exact center underneath the vehicle.
- If you throw anything away, you will need it the next day.

Would you like more practise with "if" sentences? You can find explanations about conditional sentences here. There's also a matching activity, a quiz and two gap-fill activities, with one or two gaps.

Who? Which? Where?

Here is a selection of activities to revise and practise the use of relative pronouns in English (who, which, etc.). If you are a pre-intermediate student, there is a gap-fill exercise and an activity to re-order words to form sentences. If you are at intermediate level, you can choose between a matching exercise and a gap-fill activity with a text. More advanced students can try this BBC quiz!

Improving your accent

Here is Inspector Clouseau (Steve Martin, in the new movie version) trying to "improve" his pronunciation... You can also click on activities 1 and 2 to practise making requests and offers in English, or try a multiple choice activity to contrast like x would like.

What do you do to improve your pronunciation in English? Tell us in the 'comments' area!

What were you doing when...?

"I was driving back home. I was going down the bridge when, suddenly, the car in front of me disappeared. I braked and, luckily, the car stopped." That's what a witness told CNN reporters after a bridge over the Mississipi river collapsed in Minneapolis (MN) on Wednesday.
You may not remember what you were doing at 9 o'clock this morning, but we usually remember what we were doing when very important events happened. Look at the photos (click to enlarge) and tell us: Do you remember what you were doing when...

... Brazil won the World Cup in 2002?

... two planes crashed into the World Trade Center?

... John Lennon was killed in New York City?

... Princess Diana died in a car crash?

... the Berlin Wall fell?

Would you like more practice in retelling events? Click here for a matching activity and here to complete some texts about how famous couples met.

Make or Do?

You do your homework, you make a promise, a criminal does time in prison, some people make a fortune. It is often difficult to know whether to use 'do' or 'make', and it may be best to learn the expressions, without worrying about the grammar rules. Here are a few activities to help you practise:

• a multiple choice activity: choose 'do' or 'make' to complete each sentence;
• put the expressions under 'do' or 'make' and complete the sentences
• a quiz for upper-intermediate students.

Song: Another Day (Paul McCartney)

This is one of Paul McCartney's biggest hits with his post-Beatles band, Wings. It talks about the life of a girl. Listen to the song and choose the correct verbs in the lyrics (check 'comments' for the correct answers). Then try some pronunciation and grammar activities!



Every day she has/takes a morning bath, she wets/dries her hair
Wraps/Puts a towel 'round her as she's heading for the bedroom chair
I'ts just another day
Slippin' into stockings, steppin' into/puttin' on shoes
Dippin' in the pocket of her raincoat
It's just another day

At the office where the papers pile/grow she has/takes a break
Drinks/Makes another coffee and she finds it hard to stay awake
It's just another day It's just another day It's just another day

So sad, so sad, sometimes she feels/is so sad
Alone in the apartment she'd dwell
Till the man of her dreams comes/arrives to break the spell
Ah, stay, don't stand her up
And he comes, and he stays, but he leaves the next day
So sad... Sometimes she feels so sad

As she writes/posts another letter to the sound of five
People gather 'round her and she finds it hard to stay alive
It's just another day It's just another day It's just another day

So sad, so sad, sometimes she feels so sad...

Every day she has/takes a morning bath, she wets/dries her hair
Wraps a towel 'round her as she's heading for the bedroom chair
I'ts just another day It's just another day It's just another day