Welcome back. I hope you had a good summer. I hope too that you like the redesign of the web-site.
Where do British families go for a summer holiday? Nowadays, of course, many families fly to Spain or Greece or Florida, or to more exotic places. But the traditional British family holiday is a seaside holiday – a week (or, if you are really brave, a fortnight) in a caravan or a cottage or a small hotel close to one of the beautiful beaches around the British coast. Here are some of the things you can do on a seaside holiday:
exploring rock pools, and finding crabs and other little creatures in them
There are of course risks and dangers in a British seaside holiday! The most important are:
the weather – a British summer can be cool and wet.
sand, which gets everywhere – in your hair, in your clothes and shoes, and between your toes
jellyfish, which may sting you when you are swimming in the sea
the food in English sea-side cafes!
A British seaside holiday can be a lot of fun – but it helps if you know how to enjoy yourself in the rain!
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Look at the list of things you can do on a seaside holiday – paddling in the sea, climbing on the rocks etc. You can use the ”-ing” form of any verb in English as a noun, ie as a name for the action described by the verb.
The ”-ing” form of verbs can be used in several different ways.
Sometimes it is part of one of the continuous verb tenses eg “The man was running along the road”.
Sometimes it is a noun eg “Running is good for you”.
And sometimes it is an adjective eg “The running man stopped because he was out of breath”.
“But it helps if you know how to enjoy yourself in the rain” means “it will be easier to have fun if you know how to enjoy yourself in the rain”. Here are some more examples:
A visit to France can be very interesting, but it helps if you can speak a bit of French.
You want to watch your favourite TV programme? It helps if you turn the television on first!
If you have problems, it helps if you can talk to someone about them.
I can see that you are very upset – it would help if you could talk to me about your problems.