Grammar online drills (3ºB, C)

OMG, the exams are coming! Here you are extra online practice on tenses. Click on the links:

-Past simple in the negative (oh yes, you make many mistakes there)
-Past Simple/Past Continuous.
-Simple Past vs Present Perfect
-Simple Past vs Present Perfect(2)
-Past Simple vs Past Perfect 
-Present Perfect Continuous
-Present Perfect Simple vs Present Perfect Continuous
-Past Perfect Simple 
-A bit of everything (don´t do the drills on the Future)
-Irregular verbs forms 
-More irregular verbs 
-A crossword now.

Used to / be used to / get used to

Try this link to practise these tricky structures.

The Gift of The Magi spin-offs (3ºB,C)

So this is how O.Henry´s The Gift of The Magi should follow according to your classmates...

"While they were crying, Jim realised how much he loved Della because she was the only woman that made him forget the value of an object, his watch, to see the value of love. In that moment Jim knelt down in front of her and asked her if she wanted to marry him. (...) They decided to sell the combs and the gold chain to get money for the wedding. They would save up to obtain more money to be able to celebrate it, but for them the only important thing was to be together for ever. Six years later things had changed, Jim was now a very important businessman. One day, while he was going home he saw his watch in a shop window so without thinking it twice he bought it." (Andrea R.)

"(...) They eventually ended up losing their house and Jim was fired. In spite of all those tragic events, their love didn´t vanish, not even after passing away. The young couple starved to death on the cold streets of their small and lost town, but their love is still alive nowadays, even if their light is gone. 
Not even poverty or death could tear them apart; and that, my fellow reader, is the true power of love". (Laurentiu C.).

"Some months passed and Della´s hair grew back so she started using her combs, but suddenly she realized that Jim had sold his watch to buy her two combs so his present, the golden chain, was useless. Della had an idea: she had two combs, both pretty exensive, so she decided to sell one and buy Jim´s watch and give it back to him. (...) Years later, Jim became a very rich businessman and Della became a supermodel, they weren´t poor any more. Della always used her combs, remembering beautiful memories; and Jim always carried his watch and gold chain, which gave him a lot of luck. They also had a daughter, whose favourite story was the one in which her parents sacrificed their most valuable things to buy their loved one a gift for Christmas". (Alexandra D.)

"(...) Their lives kept going as usual but something was different since that day. Della had to leave her job because she was pregnant, which meant Jim had to work for two, in this case for three.(...) When the baby was born the family´s nightmare began not because of the child but because none of them had a job. In a desperate situation Della had to return to her mother so that she could help her, which meant she had to leave Jim on his own [to his own devices]. Della felt good at her mother´s but couldn´t sleep well because of the thought she had left the man she loved and that their son wouldn´t know who his father was". (Iulian D.)

"They both went for their dinner but for their surprise, the table was full of marvellous plates. Della, amazed, ate her dinner heartily. Then they both decided to go to their uncomfortable bed. James almost fainted when he saw his room. "This is definitely not a 8$ a week room", he said. Everything was covered in red silk and golden ornaments and there was a beautiful mirror from which three men emerged. They looked as if they were kings, wise old kings. The first one said he would like to bring them back their two favourite possessions, but it was not going to be easy. The second one told them that in order to get back Della´s hair and James´ watch, they would need to prove their love to their superior, God. The third one said he would teleport them to heaven.(...) The couple explained to God their story which proved their love. Two diamond chests appeared in front of each. James´contained his beautiful watch with the golden chain. Della´s contained a magic piece of bread and her beautiful combs". (Óscar R.)

"After Christmas, Della and Jim weren´t the same and their relation was getting colder and colder every day.(...) Years later, Jim got married to another girl but Della couldn´t forget Jim so she decided she wouldn´t get rid of the combs. (...) Many years later, Della was an elderly woman and she liked spending time in flea markets with old things and books. Now, while she was in a street market she saw something amazing (...) It was Jim´s watch. She bought it without thinking and immediately started to look for him. She found him, they met and when she saw him, without saying any words, opened her hand where she had the watch. Jim´s eyes were shining in excitement, telling her in tears that he had never stopped looking at the box where the chain was. From that moment on, they were good friends." (Patricia E.)

"One week later, when the lovers were in the living room, they were talking about selling the gifts that they gave each other because they couldn´t use them so it was better to get the money back and spend it on food and things that they were going to use.(...) [However,] Della was thinking of selling only the chain of the watch because she said that her hair could grow and she could use the comb but the watch was impossible to retrieve.  Della expressed her idea to Jim but he didn´t agree with her. Jim said: "If you aren´t willing to sell the comb, I won´t sell the chain because for me it was also a very valuable gift". After a week of fightings the lovers reached an agreement: to sell the gifts because the most valuable gift that they could have was the love between them". (Carolina B.)

"Some years passed, they were still poor. he was still in love with her, but she wasn´t any longer. She realized that, without money... nothing made sense. (...) So after some days thinking, she left the poor boyfriend to go with another rich man. The months passed and then someone knocked at the door. It was Della, beautiful as a princess, she was very well dressed up with a lot of jewellery. 
-Come in please, said Jim.
While they were talking she kissed him. She said to him that she had invented that story, that she didn´t love him, to go with someone rich and take all his money to give it to her truly love. From now on they would be rich". (Bea M.)

"(...) Della was about to leave the shop but something in the shop started shining, she immediately went towards it, it was a money box. She thought it wouldn´t be useful as they were poor but finally she exchanged the chain for the money box. She then inserted her dollar and 87 cents and a bill of 20$ appeared. She was surprised, every $1.87 she inserted into the money box a $20 bill appeared. She was about to call him, but suddenly she heard something from the money box; she went where the money box was and a genie appeared. From that moment on they were rich". (Marta V.)

"The following morning Della woke up and realised that everything had been a dream, since when she looked at herself in the mirror her hair was long. She felt really happy because she though she had learned a lesson: "The best gift is to have the person you love most beside you", and that the real Christmas message is not to buy the most expernsive presents but to spend time with your family and your loved ones.
That morning, Della decided to buy a little present for Jim with the money she had and she also prepared a modest dinner with beautiful Christmas ornaments. When Jim arrived Della put her arms warmly around him and he realised Della was the most beautiful valuable gift life had given him". (Sarai L.)

Great work.

The Last Leaf PQE quiz

Have you read O.Henry´s The Last Leaf yet? No? And what are you waiting for? Answer these questions about the story following the PQE method.

1. Why did the "art people" like living in Greenwich Village?

2. Why did Johnsy and Sue decide to set up a studio?

3. According to the doctor, is Sue likely to recover from pneumonia?


4. According to the doctor again, what is the most important factor in Johnsy´s recovery?

5. According to Johnsie, what will happen when the last leaf on the ivy vine falls?

6. Was Behrman a successful painter? 

7. What kind of flat did he live in?


8. Why didn´t the last leaf flutter with the gusts of wind?


Have it ready for next Wednesday.