It has been a long time since I last posted and it’s now almost the end of the year. I’ll tell you all about my usual Christmas in the U.K. in my next post but today we are going to focus on the last twelve months and that means using the present perfect; Arrggghhh! Oh No!
Get a free copy of my Easy Guide to the Present Perfect.
This year, what have we done? What have we achieved? Where have we been? Have we enjoyed it? Yes, they are all present perfect questions, because this year is still this year, 2016, it has (is) not finished.
I am looking back at my new year’s resolutions from January and my plan for 2016 to see if I was successful (by my own standards). Have I been running once a week? (present perfect continuous). Have I been more organized? Have I finished writing that book yet?
Well, the running has been successful for me. I started running just once a week but quickly increased to three then four times a week and by the end of February I was running almost every day. I really can’t believe that just by setting the simply target of one run per week I was able to be motivated enough to increase the frequency so quickly.
For a vocabulary list to accompany this post click here.
I decided to set a new goal of running in a 10km race and completing it in 40 mins as I am 40 years old now and 40 at 40 seemed like a good target and not so easy to achieve. In early November I ran in a race in Kladno and finished in 40:45.
Being organized? Well, that was a different story. I started the year well (as everyone does with new year’s resolutions) but by the summer I had abandoned (past perfect!) my organizational plan and fallen back into the old routine. Writing plans in my diary really did help to keep me on track and next year I promise I will come into the modern age by using the calendar app. on my phone. I have always preferred the old fashioned paper version.
The book is on hold for the moment as I decided to change tack (a nautical term Petr K) and turn the manuscript into a video script. The result is a video course that will be available at the end of January and will help you with many of the confusing things about English such as “Is it ‘make’ or ‘do mistakes’?”, “Everybody is or everybody are?”, “Do I use listen or hear here?”.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgCHjnJLVa4[/embedyt]
Sadly the calendar and the ‘text me a question” ideas have been shelved (present perfecr passive) for the moment. However, I will put a team together over the next year to make these and other useful things available to you to help with your English.
Overall, I have to say I am very happy with my year, what about you?. I definitely feel fitter and therefore have more energy. I have seen my baby daughter grow up so quickly that although she is only just over one year old, she is already walking (running) and seems to understand both Czech and English. My older daughter has made me a very proud father by learning how to read a map when orienteering and has climbed to the top of a HUGE climbing wall in Kladno.
So what were your goals for 2016? Have you achieved them? Have you been successful by your own definition? Have you enjoyed 2016? I’d love to know as we say goodbye to 2016.
(Jana, have you started to make money by doing things you enjoy? Ivana, have you got your Christmas crackers yet? Richard, have you started to go to bed earlier? Blahos, have you enjoyed your first term at university? )
Bye for now,
Richard.
