Desparate noob!

[BeetleBum]

Hi all

Tis my first post, so please go easy on me if i have done something wrong or broken some protocol or other :?

I usually hate long winded explanations or stories, but in this case it might make it easier to explain where i'm coming from.......

After being in the grip of a deep depression for a while and asking myself the 'big' questions, i.e. 'Why am i here','what's it all about' and 'is there any point going any further' (friends tell me it's a mid life crisis), i decided to throw caution (not to mention stable employment and a secure future) to the wind and fulfil a lifelong fantasy of world travel.

After tons of research and saving, this trip will hopefully commence next spring (2010) and last for approx 3 years (min)
During all the research and looking at all the possible methods of employment that i could seek while staying somewhere for any length of time, a friend suggested to me that i should perhaps get a qualification to teach English as a second language. 'Excellent idea' i thought as i have a reasonable command of the English language.

I now have a pre-course interview on Friday for a CELTA course, and they sent me a pre-interview task to complete and bring with me. No worries i thought, i'm good at stuff like this.

:shock:

After struggling through most of the test i have realised i aint! Panic has now set in. After some feverish googling i discovered this site and thought if i cowered down and begged, some kind soul would throw me a bone!

I'm stuck on the following;

2. What would you say to a student who asked you the difference in meaning between these pair of sentences? Identify the verb form and explain the difference in meaning.

a. He’s always combing his hair.
He always combs his hair.

b. She speaks Spanish.
She’s speaking Spanish.

c. I had breakfast this morning.
I’ve had breakfast this morning.

d. She stopped to listen to the music.
She stopped listening to the music.

I think i can explain the difference ok, but i can't identify the verb form (even with the help of a grammer textbook)

Another question i have - Is this the the right course for me to be doing? are there any other ones out there that might be more suitable? Is the CELTA certificate highly regarded in far flung places or is one examining board as good as another?

Any help and advice would be extremely appreciated.

Ian

[Touhou]

My my, Ian. Such a story. I wish you the best of luck in all your endeavors.

For your first question, why don't you tell us the subtleties between the sentence pairs just for practice?
I'll give you the verb forms. Some countries use different grammatical terms. Let me know if these are different from the ones in your book.

A-1: Present progressive
A-2: Present indicative

B-1: Present indicative
B-2: Present progressive

C-1: Past indicative
C-2 Past perfect

D-1: Past indicative (this construction implies that she stopped for a moment with the intention of hearing the nearby music)
D-2 Past indicative

As for the second question, I'm not sure. Is any anyone else here?

Out of curiosity, what is your first language?

[BeetleBum]

Hi Touhou, thanks for your reply

I'm kind of embarrassed to say that my first language is English (i didn't pay a lot of attention when i was in school!)

I think the grammatical terms you have given me do differ from the ones in my book. I don't have any reference to progressive or indicative.
What i do have are terms like;
Past/present/future - continuous
Past/present - perfect continuous
Past present - simple passive

To name but a few.

My analysis of the first question is as follows;

A-1 This is something that happens often, at all times of the day.
A-2 This is something that happens regularly perhaps once or twice a day.

B-1 She has the ability to speak Spanish. (i think this implies that Spanish is her first language)
B-2 She is right now in the process of speaking Spanish.

C-1 I got a bit stuck on this one, i really can't see what the difference is between these two statements.
C-2

D-1 She stopped whatever she was in the process of doing to listen to the music. This happened in the past.
D-2 She was in the process of listening to the music but she ceased to do so. This happened in the past.

Thanks again

Ian