Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Baccalaureate

Mastering English Passive Voice

The passive voice emphasizes the action or the recipient of the action rather than the performer. Its general structure is: Object + Passive Verb + (by + Agent).

Passive Verb Tenses

• Present Simple: AM (not) / ARE (not) / IS (not) + past participle
• Past Simple: WAS (not) / WERE (not) + past participle
• Future 'Will': WILL (not) BE + past participle
• Future 'Going To': AM (not) GOING TO BE / ARE (not) GOING TO BE / IS (not) GOING TO BE + past participle
• Present Continuous: AM (not) BEING / ARE (not) BEING / IS (not) BEING + past participle
• Past Continuous: WAS (not) BEING / WERE (not) BEING + past participle
• Present Perfect: HAVE (not) BEEN / HAS (not) BEEN + past participle
• Past Perfect: HAD (not) BEEN + past participle
• Modal

Vocabulary for Urban Living

Neighbour: person living near you

Zip code: code of letters and digits added to a postal address

Post code: postal number for the area of the city where you live in

Parking lot: place where vehicles can be parked in

Car park: place where vehicles can be parked in

Elevator: small room that carries people/goods up and down a building

Lift: device that carries people/goods up and down inside buildings

Make a name for yourself: become famous/respected by a lot of people

Make a start on/get going: begin something

Get the picture: understand what you are told

Have something against: object to something

To do your utmost: do your best

Have no option (but to do something): not have the possibility to do something else

Make a list of:... Continue reading "Vocabulary for Urban Living: Neighbors, Parking, and Housing" »

Conditionals

Understanding and correctly using conditional sentences is crucial for clear communication in English. Here's a breakdown:

• Zero Conditional: If + present simple, present simple. (Used for general truths or facts)
• First Conditional: If + present simple, will + infinitive. (Used for real or likely future possibilities)
• Second Conditional: If + past simple, would + infinitive. (Used for hypothetical or unlikely situations)
• Third Conditional: If + past perfect, would have + past participle. (Used for unreal past situations and their hypothetical results)

Mixed Conditionals (less common, combining different types):

• If + past perfect, would + infinitive (Example: If I had studied harder, I would be a doctor now.)
• If + past simple, would have

VOCABULARY

REPORTED SPEECH

TENSE CHANGES

‘I love Thai food.’ → She said she loved Thai food.

‘They had already eaten when their dad arrived.’ → She said that they had already eaten when theid dad arrived. (past perfect doesn’t... Continue reading "Mastering Reported Speech & Essential Vocabulary" »

English Grammar Cheat Sheet

Past Simple vs. Present Perfect

Past Simple

Use for completed actions in the past.

Time markers: yesterday, last week, two days ago, when

Present Perfect

Use for actions that started in the past and continue to the present.

Time markers: never, ever, already, just, yet, lately, for, since

For negative sentences, use the corresponding positive tense.

Questions

Use the same tense as the original statement.

Structure: (wh + verb + subject + verb + rest of the sentence)

If there's only one verb, conjugate the verb 'to be' in the corresponding tense.

Question words:

• What - qué
• When - cuándo
• Where - dónde
• How many - cuánto
• Who - quién
• Why - por qué
• Which - cuál

Relative Clauses

Defining

No commas needed. If the relative pronoun is the... Continue reading "English Grammar Cheat Sheet: Mastering Key Concepts" »

Vocabulary Pricing

Penetration Pricing

When a company offers a limited-time discount and then raises the price. Examples: telephone agencies, insurance.

Premium Pricing

A strategy where a company prices its product higher than competitors. Examples: Apple, Ferrari.

Price Skimming

A strategy where a firm charges the highest initial price customers will pay and then gradually lowers it. Example: Apple lowers the price of previous iPhone models when they release a new one.

Captive Pricing

A strategy used for products with a core component and expensive accessories. Example: Printing machines are cheap, but the necessary accessories are expensive.

Predatory Pricing

The illegal act of setting prices low to eliminate competition.

Loss Leadership Pricing

Involves... Continue reading "Pricing Strategies, AIDA Model, Persuasive Techniques, and Advertising Appeals in Marketing" »

A Rainy Day Reunion

It had been a long and rainy day. Michael had been working all day and was very tired and hungry.

He decided to go and have dinner at a restaurant which was very near his office. He put his raincoat on, took his umbrella, and headed to the street.

The restaurant was full. So, he decided to sit at the bar and order some fish and chips. While Michael was waiting, he looked around and saw a familiar face.

Wow, he thought, that's Margaret. I haven't seen her for ages. Margaret had been his classmate at secondary school.

They both smiled at each other and Michael said hello. They talked about their lives.

To Margaret's surprise. Michael is engaged to Hanna. She was Margaret's flatmate when they were at university.

Job Interview Preparation:

ñ6Dear Sir or Madam,

I ordered a new tablet computer (a Gamma Pi 8 Pro at 187.50) from your website on 5th February. My order was placed at 18:30 and I received a confirmation email.The money was taken from my account the next day.

Unfortunately, when the tablet arrived it had been damaged and the screen was cracked. When I called your Customer

Help Line, I was told that I had to send it back.I sent it back immediately, but I still haven't received a replacement.

I would appreciate it if you could send a replacement or refund my money within one week. I have never had any problems using your website before and am disappointed

this has not been resolved sooner. I look forward to your reply and a quick resolution to this problem.

Tours faithfully

Maggie... Continue reading "jsjsjsjsj" »

Food Vocabulary: Adjectives and Nouns

Food Adjectives (1)

• Baked: Horneado
• Boiled: Hervido
• Fattening: Engordante
• Free-range: De corral
• Fresh: Fresco
• Fried: Frito
• Grilled: Asado
• Home-made: Hecho en casa
• Low-fat: Bajo en grasa
• Raw: Crudo
• Roasted: Asado
• Seasonal: Estacional
• Vegetarian: Vegetariano

Food Nouns

• Light meals: Comidas ligeras
• Main course: Primer plato
• Side dish: Acompañamiento
• Starter: Entrante
• Sweet: Dulce

Food Adjectives (2)

• Appetizing: Apetitoso
• Bland: Insípido
• Delicious: Delicioso
• Edible: Comestible
• Hard: Duro
• Revolting: Repugnante
• Soft: Suave
• Spicy: Picante
• Tasteless: Sin sabor
• Tasty: Sabroso
• Tender: Tierno
• Tough: Duro

Adjective-Noun Collocations

• National dish: Plato nacional
• Ready-cooked meals: Comidas preparadas
• Savoury fillings: Rellenos salados
• Staple diet: Dieta

• A class is a template used to create objects and declare data types and methods in a program.
• Public - Modifier used to declare classes and interfaces. Void - Method that returns no value. Main - Marks the start and end of program execution.
• Scanner class - Used to get user input for types like String and Int.
• Exceptions: Try-catch block, throw statement.
• Inheritance provides a powerful and natural mechanism for organizing and structuring software programs. It improves clarity in the design of classes.
• A subclass provides specialized behavior based on elements provided by the superclass. Using inheritance, programmers can reuse the code in the superclass many times.
• Reading and Writing to Files:
  1. Import java.io file.
  2. File inputFile = new File("input.