Tuesday, January 22nd

A.  Do we 'do' or do we 'make'?

Do

We use the verb 'do' when someone performs an action, activity or task.

do a crossword 

         do an exercise
         do sports

do the ironing
do the laundry
do the washing
do the washing up

'Do' is often used when referring to work of any kind.

do your work
do homework 
do housework

do your job

         do a report

Note - these activities do not usually produce a physical object.

'Do' for General Ideas

Use the verb 'do' when speaking about things in general. In other words, to describe an action without saying exactly what the action is. This form is often used with the words 'something, nothing, anything, everything, etc.'

I'm not doing anything today.
He does everything for his mother.
She's doing nothing.

What are you doing today?

Important Expressions with 'Do'

There are a number of standard expressions that take the verb 'do'. The best solution is to try to learn them.

do badly
do business
do the dishes
do a favor do well
do your best
do your hair
do your nails
do nothing

do the shopping

do an exam

do some work

Make

We use the verb 'make' for constructing, building or creating

make a dress
make food
make a cup of tea / coffee

'Make' is often used when referring to preparing food of any kind.

make a meal - breakfast / lunch / dinner

Note - these activities usually create something that you can touch.

Important Expressions with 'Make'

There are a number of standard expressions that take the verb 'make'. The best solution is to try to learn them.

make an appointment
make breakfast

make a choice
make a comment
make a decision
make a difference
make dinner 
make an effort
make an inquiry 
make an excuse 
make a fool of yourself 
make a fortune
make friends 
make a fuss or a big deal
make lunchmake a mess 
make a mistake 
make money 
make a move 
make a noise 
make an offermake a payment 
make a phone call
make a plan
make a point 
make a profit 
make a promise 
make a remark
make a sound
make a speech
make a suggestion
make time 
make a visit
make your bed - (to prepare the bed for sleeping in)

Exercises:

1. What do people usually do to lose some weight?
2. What do you have to do before visiting a doctor?
3. When people are wrong, what do they usually say? Sorry, I....
4. What's the main reason people work?
5. What's one of the main objectives of a company?
6. When someone is not trying hard enough, you tell him/her to..........
7. You are in front of many people and you decide to tell everyone something.  You...... (a hard thing to do; it takes practice to be good at it)
8. When it is someone's birthday, there is always someone ready to ..............a cake rather than buy it.
9. When you do something for someone, it is to.............
10. I am typically ready to..............after having a good cup of coffer upon arriving to the office.
11. People at work are not very happy when someone does not ................ (perform her duty at the company)
12. I ....... a lot of sports during the summer.  I like the ones I can do outdoor.
13. On the weekend, if I am really tired, I like to .....................  That's relaxing.
14. When one moves to a new town, it is always hard to ..............new friends.
15. I have to .............  for my boss with all the information about the results of the pilots we conducted this week.

1	I think you're ______ a big mistake.
			making
			doing
2	We need to ______ a plan.
			make
			do
3	Harry is bringing something to drink and I'm going to ______ a cake.
			make
			do
4	You're more likely to ______ harm than good.
			make
			do
5	I'm going to ______ you an offer you can't refuse.
			make
			do
6	Can I ______ a suggestion?
			make
			do
7	You need to ______ some more work.
			make
			do
8	I hate ______ the housework.
			making
			doing
9	I hate ______ the beds.
			making
			doing
10	I like ______ the cooking.
			making
			doing
11	I think we should ______ an exception in this case.
			make
			do
12	Can you ______ me a favour?
			make
			do
13	He's not the sort of person you can ______ business with.
			make
			do
14	You must be quiet. You mustn't ______ a noise.
			make
			do
15	It's not what we want. We'll just have to ______ the best of it.
			make
			do
16	You're always ______ excuses for him.
			making
			doing
17	Thanks for ______ me a good turn.
			making
			doing
18	Do you mind if I ______ a phone call?
			make
			do
19	The company is ______ huge profits.
			making
			doing
20	You can't ______ much money as an English teacher.
			make
			do

B. Modal Verbs

Modal Verb	Meaning	Expressing	Example
must	to have to	100 % obligation	I must stop when the traffic lights turn red.
	to be very probable	good probability	He must be very tired after such enormous work
can	to be able to	ability	I can swim
	to be allowed to	permission	Can I use your phone please?
	it is possible	possibility	Smoking can cause cancer !
could	to be able to	ability in the past	When I was younger I could stay up all night and not get tired..
	to be allowed to	more polite permission	Excuse me, could I just say something?
	it is possible	possibility	It could rain tomorrow!
may	to be allowed to	permission	May I use your phone please?
	it is possible, probable	possibility, probability	It may rain tomorrow!
might	to be allowed to	more polite permission	Might I use your phone please?
	it is possible, probable	weak possibility, probability	I might come and visit you in America next year, if I can save enough money.
need	necessary	necessity	I need to buy a new car.  The old one broke down.
should/ought to	used to say or ask what is the correct or best thing to do	50 % obligation	I should / ought to see a doctor. I have a terrible headache.
	to suggest an action or to show that it is necessary	advice	You should / ought to revise your lessons
	to be very probable	good probability	He should / ought to be very tired after such enormous work

Modal Verbs: What would you tell them...

Please provide appropriate advice in the form of a short paragraph for the following use cases.  It's important that you use as many modal verbs as possible including should, can, must, need to, have to, could, etc.

1. A coworker asking for advise after being reprimanded by her boss for being late all the time?  
2. A person planning to drive to Montpellier to do the sales at Odysseum on Saturday afternoon.
3. Your parents for not calling or visiting them every weekend.
4. Cope and Fillon on the conflict with the UMP vote.
5. Anyone asking you advise about where to go for lunch near the office.
6. A person looking to improve his health.  Advice about diet, stress and exercise.
7. A person thinking about pursuing a career in science.
8. A college student on the best way to do well in school.
9. Coworkers on how to improve their presentation skills.
10. A friend from Paris asking your advise on what to do in Montpellier.

List 3 things that you can do, that you have not done yet but that you should do before the end of this year or beginning of next year

List 3 things that you must do but that you can't do for one reason or another

List 3 things that RC can do, should do but you think that won't be done soon

C. A new year with new challenges

It is always refreshing to start a new year and the perfect time to set some short and long term goals in your personal and professional life. Do you typically make resolutions for the year? What are your resolutions or if you didn't make any, what would they be for each of the categories below?  Please come up with at least 2-3 for each category.

• Job
• Exercise
• Health
• Hobbies
• Friends
• English
• Money
• Stress

Now, let's have some fun.  Come up with a resolutions for each of the following people:

• Boss
• Company PDG
• Your team
• Your wife
• Your kid
• Your best friend
• The president of France: François Hollande
• Gerard Depardieu

D. Food Waste

Listen to the following audio file and we'll discuss the information discussed.  You will prepare a short presentation discussing a possible solution to the food wasting issue talked about in the story.

Audio file: http://http-ws.bbc.co.uk.edgesuite.net/mp3/learningenglish/2012/08/120830_6min_global_waste_web_120829_6min_global_waste_audio_au_bb.mp3

Vocabulary and definitions

expired: come to the end of the acceptable time to eat

edible: eatable

blemish: mark, fault

nutritious: healthy, beneficial

imperfections: defects, faults

reliance: dependence

inefficient: badly organised, wasteful

rot: decay

take their toll: have a bad effect on

food for thought: provide motivation for thinking about something