Marks for the second test

Hello everyone,

First of all, a very happy and successful new to you all!

I must apologise, as I have been unable to come to the faculty as I promised to do, given the fact that I've been unable to shake off a very unpleasant dose of flu. Fortunately I no longer have a fever, but I still have awful headaches and I cough from the moment I wake up to the moment I fall asleep.

That being the case, and since the deadline for giving marks is rapidly approaching, it seems the best thing to do is to post your marks on this blog, so here they go in alphabetical order:

Abel Silva: 8

Ana Catarina Monteiro: 14

Bianca Jeremias: 17

Carmen Caldeira: 10

Celina Agostinho: 17

Clara Batarda: 12

Cláudia Silva: 15

David Oliveira: 16

Fay Ioannidou: 12

Flávio Murilhas: 12

Guilherme Neves: 15

Gustavo Lima: 14

Helena Carneiro: 16

Hugo Baptista: 12

Inês Lisboa: 14

João Grilo: 10

Jorge Victorinio: 16

Marcos Cravinho: 13

Maria Celeste Riacho: 11

Maria Madalena Filipe: 14

Marta Stebnicka: 15

Susana Simões: 14

Veronika Karimova: 13 

Since you all know the marking scheme, it should be easy for you to calculate your final mark, which I have to put on the Portal Académico by next Friday.

If anyone wants to see their test, all you have to do is ask and I'll find you next semester or send it by e-mail.

Let me finish simply by saying (to those of you who came regularly) that it was a genuine pleasure to work with such an active and creative group of students, and (to those who didn't come regularly) quite frankly you don't know what you missed.

I hope this course has been useful to you, and I wish you every success in the future.

Enjoy the Christmas Holiday

...because it will soon be over and we'll be back to the reality of your final marks...
In the meantime, at least it's not so cold here. In the UK there are parts where the temperature has been as low as -19ºC.

Harvard Referencing System

if it's a book:

Bloggs, F. (1980) How to write your name, Cambridge University Press

if it's an article in a review:

Bloggs, F. (2005) Complex sentences, Higher Education Review, 41, 305-357

if the main name is only the organiser:

Bloggs, F. (ed.) (2009) Complicated Grammar Exercises, Cambridge University Press

if it's on a website:

Office of National Statistics (2005) Social Trends www.statistics.gov.uk (correct on 12/12/2005)

the problem of prepositions, infinitives and gerunds

This is an issue which a lot of colleagues seem to have had trouble with during the test, so here is an eight-page handout on everything you need to know about the subject.

The basic rule is easy to follow:
if the expression is followed by "to", then the verb which comes next should be an infinitive;
if the expression is followed by any other preposition, then the verb which comes next should be a gerund;
if the expression is not foloowed by any preposition, then the verb which follows should be a gerund.

If in doubt, follow this general rule. However, there are so many exceptions it makes your eyes water. This handout covers all of the most common ones. Enjoy!

expression plus "to" plus infinitive; expression plus any othe preposition plus gerund

new image

I thought you might like to see this view of central London, with the sky in its usual colour.
If you feel depressed one of these days, remember that here at least the sky is usually blue...

Reference Systems for Academic Writing