ESLgo.com home page About ESLgo.com Table of contents for ESLgo.com Email comments to jim@eslgo.com ESLgo.com's English practice message boards Links for English students Links for English teachers ESL and English learning products for students ESL and English learnin products for teachers Test your English grammar and vocabulary Free online English classes Activities for the ESL or EFL classroom

ESL go.com's present perfect active/passive class + conservation vocabulary

In this class we're going to look at World Parks, an organization trying to preserve nature. We'll look at some vocabulary and some grammar. Notice how the present perfect active and passive verbs are bold. We use the present perfect active to say that the subject has done something. The present perfect passive shows that something has been done to the subject. In both cases the action is a past action but no definite time is given. In addition, the action is important now.

Read this description of "World Parks" from http://www.worldparks.org/pages/donate.php

World Parks provides local conservation organizations around the world with the financial resources they need to purchase and protect critical lands for biodiversity conservation. Their projects target lands that conserve rare or endangered species, and are low in price, so that a minimum amount of funds protect high priority areas.

Since its founding in 1989, World Parks has raised over $2 million, of which less than 1% has been used for administrative and fundraising overhead. It has played a central role in the creation of new protected areas in several countries, including Peru, Mexico, Ecuador, Guatemala, Argentina, Chile and others, working with local organizations to purchase and conserve lands that are extremely high in biodiversity.

Grammar: "World Parks has raised over $2 million." This uses an active verb because the subject did the work. "Less than 1% has been used for administrative and fundraising overhead." This gets a passive verb; the subject, "less than 1% (of the money)" has not performed an action.

Here's a vocabulary test based on the reading. Try to type the letter of the correct definition into the box on the left of each word.

conservation A. monetary; having to do with money.
financial B. very important.
purchase C. aim for; try to affect.
critical D. different kinds of life.
biodiversity E. protection; trying to keep something the same.
target F. costs.
endangered species G. money.
minimum H. types of animals of which there are very few alive.
funds I. buy.
overhead J. as little as possible; least.



Practice talking about conservation on the nature message board.
Tell us about your favorite charity on the charity message board.
Or visit any practice English message board.

Return to ESL go.com's English class list.



Return to the top

ESL go home page

Comments to the site editor

Created by James Trotta. This page was last revised in January 2004. © 2004. All rights reserved.

Learn elementary, intermediate, or advanced English at ESL go.com! We make learning and teaching English as a second language and English as a foreign language easier.