What makes a good questionnaire?

• Pictures to brighten it up and illustrate the questions.
• Do not be biased.
• Not too many answers.
• Make sure answer options do not overlap.
• Check you have included all the possible options and if not added an 'other' option.
• Stick to closed questions.
• Questions must be relevant.

Create the Past tense in French - Passe Compose

Past Participles
First of all you need to change your verb into a past participle.
As a general rule:

• ER verbs change their ending from er to é. e.g. manger to mangé
• RE verbs change their ending from re to u e.g. prendre to prendu
• IR verbs change their ending from ir to i e.g choisir to choisi
• There are some exceptions to this e.g faire to fait

Perfect tense with 'avoir'

One way of creating the past tense is shown below. 

1. Take the infinitive version of the verb. 

          e.g. choisir = to choose

2. Take the verb's past participle. See below for help.

          e.g. choisir to choisi

3. Put it with the verb 'avoir' and pronoun. 

          e.g. j'ai choisi = I have chosen/ I chose

4. Voila!


Avoir: 
J'ai
Tu as
Elle a
Il a
On a 
Nous avons
Vous avez
Elles/ Ils ont


Perfect tense with 'etre'
Some verbs do not go with 'avoir' they go with 'etre'. It is the same method with the pronouns and past participles just with a different verb. It doesn't translate quite as well. Whereas avoir can translate straight to 'I have chosen etc' which makes sense, this translates to 'I am stayed etc'.

All the verbs that apply to this rule are to do with movement and are shown below. We can remember them using 'MR V DREAMPANTS' or 'DR and MRS VANDERTRAMP'

DR and MRS VANDERTRAMP verbs meanings and past participles
Devenir = to become (devenu)
Revenir = to come back (revenu)
&
Monter = to go up (monté)
Rentrer = to return (rentré)
Sortir = to exit (sorti)


Venir = to come (venu)
Arriver = to arrive (arrivé)
Naîtir = to be born (né)
Descendre = to descend (descendu)
Entrer = to enter (entré)
Retourner = to turn around (retourné)
Tomber = to fall (tombé)
Rester = to rest (resté)
Aller = to go (allé)
Mourir = to die (mort)
Partir = to leave (parti)


Etre: 
Je suis
Tu es
Il est
Elle est
On est
Nous sommes
Vous etes
Elles sont
Ils sont


There we are!

Introduction to Hurricanes

What is a hurricane? Definition.

A hurricane is an area of intense low pressure. They are enormous, tropical storms, swirling air that's miles across. Some would describe it as a giant tornado - but that's not very technical - at all! To be a hurricane it has to have reached a constant speed of 74 miles per hour or more. 

A hurricane from space

How do they happen? Forming.

They form over warm, tropical seas when the  temperature is over 27 degrees C. They begin as  clusters of thunderstorms. Hurricanes happen over  warm, moist areas of water. As the moisture evaporates  it creates a swirling, heated mass that reaches high into  the sky. They circle counter clockwise North of the  equator or clockwise South of the equator. The  hurricane's source of power is the warm moisture. When  a hurricane passes over land or cool water it looses it's  source of power and the winds gradually slow down.

So what's a typhoon? Other names for hurricanes.

• Tropical Cyclones - South East Asia
• Typhoons - Asia
• Willy Willies - Australia

What do hurricanes do? Impacts.

Aftermath of hurricane Katrina

Every year hurricanes kill more than 20,000 people. Worldwide that is more than any other form of natural disaster. They can cause loss of lives, damage to buildings and businesses. Communities suffer destruction of churches, schools, hospitals and other community buildings. The storms can push waters onto land causing mass floods. These are called storm surges. Storm surges cause 90% of hurricane related deaths. 

When do they happen? Seasons.

Hurricane season is from about August to October. Although it varies around the world. 

How are hurricanes named? Names.

Hurricanes are named from a long alphabetical list. They go down the lists naming each hurricane as it happens. If the hurricane kills a person then the name is never used again for a hurricane. 

Path of a hurricane

The map above shows the path of hurricane Katrina. Hurricanes usually move Westwards once formed and polewards when they hit land. 


What other related sites are there? Interesting Links

• Track hurricanes across the world:  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26295161/ns/weather/t/hurricane-tracker/

New Blog

So this is my new blog. Here I am going to post everything and anything interesting. All my little pearls of knowledge and topics I just have to share with the world. There'll be everything here that I can't find on the web but I know should be there. Please tell me what you want to hear about. I suppose I better get on with my first proper post. I hope you enjoy. Bye for now. :)