ESL

Units of Measure

1000 millilitres = 1 litre
1000 ml = 1 l

355 millilitres = 355 ml = 12 fl. oz. = 12 fluid ounces, sometimes called 12 oz. = 12 ounces

The 'fluid ounce' is not the same as the 'ounce' used for weight: 1 pound = 1 lb. = 16 oz. = 16 ounces

SUSHI

ESL

Units of Measure

1 foot. = 1 ft. = 1' = 12 inches = 12 in. = 12"

I am 5 foot 2 (inches tall). = 5'2"

1 inch = 2.54 cm. = 2.54 centimeters

A normal piece of paper is 11 inches long and 8 1/2 inches wide = 8.5 by 11.

ESL

Units of Measure

The abbreviation for 'kilogram' is 'kg.'

The abbreviation for 'pound' is 'lb.' (plural 'lbs.')
This is Old English, and no one knows why it is 'lb.'

1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds

I weigh 154 lbs. or 70 kg.

ESL

ROMAN NUMERALS

Roman numerals are the numbers which were used in the old Roman Empire.
They are sometimes used in English to be fancy.
A lot of times, they are used in the "Table of Contents" of books.
They are kind of confusing.
They work like this:

I =1
II =2
III =3
IV =5 - 1 = 4
V = 5
VI = 5 + 1 = 6
VII = 5 + 2 = 7
VIII = 5 + 3 = 8
IX = 10 - 1 = 9
X = 10
XI = 11
XII = 12
XIII = 13
XIV = 14
XV = 15
XVI = 16
XVII = 17
XVIII = 18
XIX = 19
XX = 20
XXX = 30
XL = 50 - 10 = 40
L = 50
LX = 60
LXX = 70
LXXX = 80
LXXXI = 81
LXXXII = 82
LXXXIII = 83
LXXXIV = 84
LXXXV = 85
XC = 100 - 10 = 90
C = 100
CI = 101
CX = 110
D = 500
M = 1000

Roman numerals are often used to show the year at the end credits of a movie:

MCM = 1990
MCMI = 1991
MCMII = 1992
MCMIII = 1993
MCMIV = 1994
MCMV = 1995
MCMVI = 1996
MCMVII = 1997
MCMVIII = 1998
MCMIX = 1999
MM = 2000
MMI = 2001
MMII = 2002
MMIII = 2003
MMIV = 2004
MMV = 2005
MMVI = 2006
MMVII = 2007
MMVIII = 2008
MMIX = 2009

This is a Canadian mailbox. Let's mail a letter, shall we?

This is leftover yen from my trip to Japan.

-

Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson died today.

ESL

Tag Questions

It's hot, isn't it?

I'm smart, aren't I?
You're smart, aren't you?
He's smart, isn't he?
She's smart, isn't she?

We're smart, aren't we?
You're smart, aren't you?
They're smart, aren't they?

We don't say:
x I'm smart, amn't I?

University Avenue is the widest street in Toronto.

Toronto is 175 years old this year.

A garbage strike started today.

cute

かわいい

ESL

horizontal & vertical

horizontal - means a straight line that goes left and right, like the horizon

vertical - means a straight line that goes up and down

This is a closeup of the wall of a building in downtown Toronto.

ESL: "closeup" is an expression for a photo taken when the camera is very close to the subject.

This looks like a mountain, but it's really a sculpture.

ESL

Expression : "looks like" = MITAI NA

XXX looks like YYY.

This piece of art looks like a stack of quarters.

"Who let the dogs out?"

The Bank of Nova Scotia is one of the "Big 5" banks in Canada.

This is what I ate today: sushi from the Chinese store; but it is made by Japanese people.

KORE WA KYOU WATASHI GA TABETE MONO DESU.
CHUUGOKU NO MISE DE KAITE OSUSHI DESU.

ESL: "It"

It's a day off for me today. It's Saturday. It's humid and muggy today. It's about 20 degrees Celsius.


This is Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto. It's a concert hall.

Roy Thomson was a businessman from Toronto and he owned a lot of newspapers.

This is a special gate built in the old days to keep cows off the grass.

 

ESL

Passive Voice - Past tense

The Rogers Centre was built about 30 years ago,
but it was called the "Skydome" until recently.

ESL

The Passive Voice

Present: A picture is drawn.

Past: A picture was drawn.

Future: A picture will be drawn.

ESL

Verb Tenses (for the future)

1. Simple Future: I will play a record.

2. Future Perfect: I will have played a record.

3. Future Progressive: I will be playing a record.

4. Future Progressive Perfect: I will have been playing a record.

ESL

VERB TENSES (FOR THE PAST)

1. SIMPLE PAST: I went to city hall.

2. PAST PERFECT: I had gone to city hall.

3. PAST PROGRESSIVE: I was going to city hall.

4. PAST PROGRESSIVE PERFECT: I had been going to city hall.

This is the Royal Alexandra Theatre.

--

ESL

Verb Tenses (for the present)

Simple Present: I go to the theatre.

Present Perfect: I have gone to the theatre.

Present Continuous: I am going to the theatre.

Present Perfect Continuous: I have been going to the theatre.

 

This is the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX).
Some people say that the mural in the background shows a businessman with his hand in the pocket of a worker :)

ESL

COMPARISONS

HIM: XXX ME: XXX I ate the same number of oranges as him.

HIM: XXX ME: XXXX I ate one more orange than him.

HIM: XXX ME: XXXXX I ate a few more oranges than him. (2 or 3)

HIM: XXX ME: XXXXXXXX I ate many more oranges than him.



him: xxxxxxx me: xxxxxx I ate one less orange than him.

him: xxxxxxx me: xxxxx I ate a few less oranges than him.

him: xxxxxxx me: xx I ate far fewer oranges than him.

これは牛の彫像です。「ぞうです 。」

This is a statue of a cow.

---

ESL : 3 Tenses

1. Present Tense: I eat an apple.

2. Simple Past Tense: I ate an apple.

3. Past Perfect Tense: I have eaten an apple.

Past Participle: eaten

Most common verbs in English have irregular past participles.

Due to the high winds, windows in skyscrapers sometimes pop out of their frames and fall to the ground.

This is a memorial to Chinese workers who died building the railroad in Canada.

It was paid for by the Chinese community.

Chinese and Japanese workers were used as cheap labour in dangerous jobs in Canada.

ESL

ADJECTIVE -> COMPARATIVE -> SUPERLATIVE

1 Syllable:

green -> greener -> greenest

grey -> greyer -> greyest

1 Syllable ending in "e":

blue -> bluer -> bluest

white -> whiter -> whitest

1 Syllable ending in a vowel + a consonant:

red -> redder -> reddest

hot -> hotter -> hottest

2 Syllables ending in "y":

funny -> funnier -> funniest

happy -> happier -> happiest

2 or more Syllables:

interesting -> more interesting -> most interesting

boring -> more boring -> most boring

ESL: Superlatives

adjective of 2 syllables or more

"most" + adjective

example:

Glenn Gould is the most famous pianist in Canadian history.
This is a statue of him in Toronto.

We say "in history" because he is dead.
If he was alive, we would say: Glenn Gould is the most famous pianist in Canada.