.: Coordenação da Escola :.

1. Happy holidays from the Smith's
2. Happy holidays from the Williams'
3. Happy holidays from the Smiths
4. Happy holidays from the Williamses
5. Happy holidays from the Smiths'
6. Happy holidays from the Williamses'
7. Happy holidays from the Williams family.

The first two examples are wrong for two reasons. First, the apostrophe makes the names possessive, and when we send greetings, the greetings are from us, not from something we own. The names "Smith" and "Williams" would need to be in the possessive case only if the greeting were from Jane Smith's hamster or John Williams's goldfish.

Second, they are wrong because they are singular. These greetings are supposed to be from an entire family, not from an individual, so the names need to be made plural. Yet when we place the apostrophe where we have it in sentences 1 and 2, we have made a singular word possessive rather than plural.

The middle two examples are correct because in both cases the words are plural but not possessive. To form the plural of any word that does not end in "s" or another sibilant (more on sibilants below), we simply add an "s." Thus the name "Smith" becomes plural when we add an "s" to make "Smiths."

"Williams" is a little tougher because it ends with an "s." Names (and all other words, for that matter) that end with the sounds "s," "sh," "ch," "z," or "x" (what we call sibilants) are made plural by the addition of "es." Thus the name "Williams" in its plural form is "Williamses." Here are some other correct examples of names that end in sibilants and are thus made plural by adding "es":

-- Happy holidays from the Bushes (plural form of the name Bush)
-- Happy holidays from the Birches (plural form of the name Birch)
-- Happy holidays from the Joneses (plural form of the name Jones)
-- Happy holidays from the Foxes (plural form of the name Fox)

The following names do not end in sibilants and are thus made plural simply by adding "s":

-- Happy holidays from the Berrys (plural form of the name Berry—notice that we do not drop the "y" and add "ies" to proper names)

Sentence 7, of course, skirts the issue by making the family name an adjective. In this case, it does not need to be plural or possessive.

TEST YOURSELF: How would each of the following names be made plural but not possessive?

Witches And Halloween

The Witches Caldron"Eye of newt, and toe of frog,Wool of bat, and tongue of dog""Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing""For a charm of powerful trouble,Like a hell-broth boil and babble""Double, double, toil and trouble,Fire burn, and caldron bubble"William Shakespeare

Witches have had a long history with Halloween. Legends tell of witches gathering twice a year when the seasons changed, on April 30 - the eve of May Day and the other was on the eve of October 31 - All Hallow's Eve.The witches would gather on these nights, arriving on broomsticks, to celebrate a party hosted by the devil. Superstitions told of witches casting spells on unsuspecting people, transform themselves into different forms and causing other magical mischief.It was said that to meet a witch you had to put your clothes on wrong side out and you had to walk backwards on Halloween night. Then at midnight you would see a witch.When the early settlers came to America, they brought along their belief in witches. In American the legends of witches spread and mixed with the beliefs of others, the Native Americans - who also believed in witches, and then later with the black magic beliefs of the African slaves.The black cat has long been associated with witches. Many superstitions have evolved about cats. It was believed that witches could change into cats. Some people also believed that cats were the spirits of the dead.

One of the best known superstitions is that of the black cat. If a black cat was to cross your path you would have to turn around and go back because many people believe if you continued bad luck would strike you.

Description: Comprehensive, challenging, and effective - the best of American Headway for upper-intermediate to advanced students.

Completely reviews all the major structures in American English. Students practice and master using the grammar for a wider range of communicative purposes.
An expanded three-CD audio program exposes students to real spoken English.
Up-to-date texts focus on international topics - everything from the impact of global tourism to the American sitcom Friends. The readings stimulate class discussion and provide the rich vocabulary input that students need at this level.
Two sections new to the course, "The Music of English" and "Spoken English," highlight stress and intonation patterns and focus on features of informal spoken English.
"Hot words" sections present and practice essential collocations.
Active analysis of grammar in "Test Your Grammar" and "Grammar Spot" activities helps students build and extend their understanding of English.
The Grammar Reference in the back of the Student Book gives clear, detailed rules and examples of form and use.
A writing syllabus at the back of the book provides a complete writing program for the level.

A metodologia do inglês instrumental tem como premissa básica levar o aluno a descobrir suas necessidades acadêmicas e profissionais dentro de um contexto autêntico, oriundo do mundo real. Portanto, o curso típico de inglês instrumental é elaborado a partir do levantamento de situações em que o conhecimento específico da língua inglesa permite ao aluno desempenhar melhor uma função lingüística específica.

No caso do funcionário que lida com clientes estrangeiros, para poder orientá-los devidamente, esse funcionário necessitará conhecer suficientemente ou o idioma nativo do cliente ou um terceiro idioma (geralmente uma lingua franca de projeção mundial como o inglês ou o espanhol) que o cliente também fale. Com o conhecimento básico dessa língua e a prática do vocabulário específico, o funcionário poderá se comunicar e fazer um atendimento significantemente melhor do que se o mesmo não tivesse esse conhecimento lingüístico.

Profissionais que trabalham com relatórios, pareceres, manuais, artigos e textos em língua estrangeira aprendem estratégias para facilitar a leitura e compreensão, sem que seja necessária a tradução na íntegra.

O módulo instrumental do curso de inglês da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco é desenvolvido por especialistas no ensino desse idioma para grupos de pessoas com necessidades similares. O material didático é desenvolvido a partir de documentos de trabalho ou de situações vivenciadas no dia-a-dia daquele grupo.

Dúvidas? Basta enviá-las para a escola.
Nossa equipe de professores fará o possível para respondê-las com o maior prazer.