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

Soap Operas

1. a) FALSE. “Each show will have several different storylines happening at once that continue over several shows.” b) FALSE. “And we should not forget Emmerdale, which is set on a farm in Yorkshire, in the north of England.”

2. a) The word “soap” comes from the early days of these programs. They were mainly for women, who watched them, probably while they were doing the washing. Because of this, the companies that made cleaning products advertised them when soap operas were being aired. That’s where the word comes from.

b) They magnify daily life, with lots of divorces, love affairs, and violent characters that kill other people; in a few words, a histrionic vision of real life.

3. Depict, At once, Continue, Happen.

4.

The main characters are three men: Peter Mason, Jackstraw, and Joss. They were working in a weather station in the Arctic when suddenly, they heard a huge noise. They left the weather station to know what had happened. They found out that the noise had been an accident of a plane. When they reached the plane, they fortunately found 10 survivors, but they also found several dead men, with one of them dead by a bullet, not the crash, so it was clear that there were some murderers among all of them.

The rest of the story runs on trying to guess who the murderers are. Peter Mason, Jackstraw, and Joss are men who are experienced in working in extreme conditions, but they have never managed a situation as described in the book. The leader of the three... Continue reading "Arctic Murder Mystery: Survivors, Scientists, and Secrets" »

1Condition: IF+PresentSimple , WILL+Infinitive

Mastering English Irregular Verbs

This comprehensive list provides essential irregular English verbs, their past simple and past participle forms, along with their Spanish translations. It is a crucial resource for English learners aiming to improve their fluency and grammatical accuracy.

• Arise, arose, arisen: surgir
• Be, was/were, been: ser
• Beat, beat, beaten: golpear
• Become, became, become: convertirse
• Begin, began, begun: empezar
• Bend, bent, bent: doblar
• Bite, bit, bitten: morder
• Bleed, bled, bled: sangrar
• Blow, blew, blown: soplar
• Break, broke, broken: romper
• Bring, brought: traer
• Build, built: construir
• Burn, burnt: quemar
• Burst: estallar
• Buy, bought: comprar
• Catch, caught: coger
• Choose, chose, chosen: elegir
• Come, came, come: venir
• Cost: costar
• Creep, crept:

Tick ✓ the Logical Sentences

1. My watch is waterproof so I can't go in the sea with it.
2. ✓ You can help yourself to more food. You don’t have to wait to be served.
3. The crowd cheered during the performance. They thought the singer was terrible.
4. ✓ This singer is famous worldwide. She has fans in many countries.
5. The student’s attendance is very low. He comes to every lesson.
6. ✓ I just deleted the document. Now I will have to rewrite it.
7. There isn’t enough awareness of environmental issues. Everyone knows about them.
8. ✓ Wendy is infatuated with Dan. She can’t stop thinking about him.

Replace the Words in Bold

Replace the words in bold with a suitable word or expression below. There are more words than you need. Make any necessary changes.

1. He

Johnny Depp - Jack Sparrow, is back in his fifth movie. He was born on board a pirate ship during a typhoon. Johnny wanted Jack Sparrow to be very weird, in a funny way. Jack always looks drunk, but he is like a real hero and the world's coolest pirate. He has a lot of tattoos, for example, a sparrow on his right forearm. He has a perfect pirate accent and decided to imitate Keith Richards' (of the Rolling Stones) London accent. Johnny read a lot about pirates to prepare for the movie and discovered that they were rock stars of their time, so he decided to copy the look of his favorite rockstar, Keith Richards. In the pirate style, he is the one who chose to put all the little objects in Jack's dreadlocks. He also wanted to have gold teeth.

1) I met Rachel two years ago - I have known Rachel for 2 years.

2) He sang for five minutes then they told him to stop - He had been singing for 5 minutes when they told him to stop.

3) I can't wait to meet you - I'm looking forward to meeting you.

4) The boy will be taller by the end of summer - The boy will have grown by the end.

5) Sue broke her arm during the hike - while she was looking.

6) This is his first acting role - He has never acted before.

7) I haven't heard from Charles in 2 weeks - The last time I heard from Charles was 2.

8) When did you start to work in the company? - How long have you been working here.

9) I got my driving license when I was 17 - I have had my driving license since I was 17.

10) I've eaten three pieces of cake. Now

Essential English Irregular Verbs for Learners

This comprehensive list presents common irregular verbs in English, including their base form, past simple, past participle, and Spanish translation. Mastering these verbs is crucial for achieving fluency and accuracy in English communication.

• be / was, were / been - ser, estar
• beat / beat / beaten - vencer
• become / became / become - llegar a ser
• begin / began / begun - empezar
• bite / bit / bitten - morder
• break / broke / broken - romper
• bring / brought / brought - traer
• build / built / built - construir
• buy / bought / bought - comprar
• catch / caught / caught - coger
• choose / chose / chosen - elegir
• come / came / come - venir
• cost / cost / cost - costar
• cut / cut / cut - cortar
• do / did / done - hacer
• draw / drew

Main Characters

1. Mary Lennox

Mary Lennox is a young, orphaned girl with blonde hair who is described as initially unpleasant. After her parents die of cholera in India, she is sent to live with her uncle, Mr. Craven, at Misselthwaite Manor in Yorkshire. Over time, her temper improves, and she becomes happier.

2. Martha

Martha is a kind servant at Misselthwaite Manor who befriends Mary. She is Dickon's sister and plays a significant role in helping Mary adjust to her new life.

3. Mr. Craven

Mr. Craven is Mary's uncle and Colin's father. He is a recluse who hates the locked garden because his wife died there. He has a crooked back and is often gloomy.

4. Mrs. Craven

Mrs. Craven is Mr. Craven's deceased wife who loved the garden. She taught Ben Weatherstaff... Continue reading "The Secret Garden: Character Guide" »