Advanced. One of my favorite hobbies is gardening. I suppose I must have inherited the gardening gene, because, apparently, on my father's side, my grandmother had tremendously green fingers. That is what we say in England for someone who is adept and experienced at growing flowers and vegetables. In the United States, the expression is to have 'green thumbs'. Now that the seasons have changed and Winter is approaching, gardening mainly entails tidying up around the still-blooming Autumn flowers, raking leaves, digging up the last of the vegetables, and collecting seeds. The latter is my favorite. Seeds are everywhere, and what an incredible, potent piece of nature they are! If you are patient and selective, you can gather enough for next year to propagate a field full of color. You can actually become a designer of next year's garden. What a thrill! Grammar notes. Useful expressions: I suppose, apparently, mainly, actually, the former, the latter. What a thrill = it's a thrill. Gerund used as a noun, ie the gardening. Ex. I must get the gardening done. Other exs: the painting, the raking, the reading, the sewing etc. Beginners. I love to work in the garden. Being outside is both healthy and fun. The colors of the flowers and vegetables can be very beautiful. Now is Autumn, so many plants are producing seeds. They are small but very powerful things. I collect them. Why do I do this? Well, next year I will use them in my garden. I don't need to buy seeds if I have so many already in my back yard. My children will help me plant them. We will talk about the plants that will grow, and also how to look after them. This is a fun activity for the whole family. Grammar notes. Garden = yard (americanism) Color (americanism) = colour. Present continuous tense = verb to be + gerund. Exs: we are going, the tree is growing, I am leaving now, she is cooking. Questions. Use either do or does for general present tense non-continuous tense. Ex: Does he read magazines? Why do you shout? Do we need more milk? What do they do on Saturdays? etc.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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