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

The Dawn of the Modern Age

The late Victorian era was marked by the decline of traditional Victorianism, characterized by agricultural and industrial depression and a profound crisis of faith triggered by Darwin's On the Origin of Species. This period saw a rebellion against Victorian morality, challenging hypocrisy and earnestness while embracing new perspectives on sexuality and the aesthetic movement of Art for Art's Sake.

Imperialism and Literary Voices

Joseph Conrad

Born in a Polish part of Ukraine to a nationalist family, Joseph Conrad faced early hardship, becoming an orphan at age 12. After moving to Marseilles and serving 16 years in the British Merchant Service, he settled in London as a British citizen. Though Polish was his mother tongue,... Continue reading "Modernism and Late Victorian Literature: Conrad, Kipling, and Hardy" »

1- The lottery is conducted on June 27th around ten o’clock. The titular lottery chooses one person from the town to be stoned to death every year for no other reason than tradition.

All the people of the town gather together and the heads of the extended families each draw one slip from the black box, but they do not unfold them until all the slips have been drawn. The one with the black dot on it goes to a second round of drawing to choose one household within the family. For the final drawing, one slip is placed in the box for each member of the household and the person with the black dot is stoned to death. In the story, this person is Tessie Hutchinson.

2- Old Man Warner responds to Mr. Adams who tells him that another village had given... Continue reading "Purpose and content of" »

Francois is awoken in the middle of the night by his sister, who calls him to the factory. There, he finds her husband dead, and she confesses to killing him. It is discovered that Helene had operated a machine that smashed down upon Andre's head and arm. Commissioner Charas, who is investigating the case, attempts to get an answer from her about what happened, but her only response to "why" is that she cannot say. Her actions land her in an insane asylum as the case is sorted out, where she spends her time catching flies and examining them closely. Regular visits from Francois and the Commissioner ensue, but to no progress. One day, Francois is talking to Helene's son, who explains about a fly Helene was obsessed with finding that had a white... Continue reading "The Fly: A Tale of Science, Obsession, and Tragedy" »

Life and Legacy of George Bernard Shaw

George Bernard Shaw was born in July 1856 in Dublin. As the youngest child of the family, he was first tutored by his uncle. Although his education was irregular and he was not a successful novelist, he became a highly successful playwright. Shaw was a dramatist, literary critic, and social propagandist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925 and died in 1950.

Plot Summary: Mrs. Warren's Profession

Mrs. Warren's Profession consists of four acts, with just a single scene making up each act. Miss Vivie Warren, an intelligent, strong, and confident young woman of 22, has just finished college and comes home to get acquainted with her mother for the first time in her life.

Conflict and Relationships

Her... Continue reading "George Bernard Shaw: Mrs. Warren's Profession Analysis" »

Event Vocabulary and Campaign Terms

• Publicize — publicity / DIVULGAR / PUBLICITAT
• Meet — meeting / CONEIXER / TROBAR-SE
• Organize — organization / ORGANITZAR / ORGANITZACIÓ
• March — march
• Donate — donation / DONAR / DONACIÓ
• Collect — collection / RECOLLIR / COL·LECCIÓ
• Protest — protest / PROTESTAR
• Volunteer — volunteer / VOLUNTARIS
• Support — supporters / SUPORT
• Sponsor — sponsors / PATROCINADORS
• Petition — petition / PETICIONS
• Ban — ban / PROHIBIR
• Boycott — boycott / BOICOTEJAR
• Campaign — campaign / CAMPANYA

Grammar: Future Forms and Conditionals

Will

Form: Subject + will / won’t + infinitive

EXAMPLE: Arnau will be an astronaut.

EXAMPLE: I won’t get married.

Present Continuous

Form: I’m / He, She, It is / You, We, They are +... Continue reading "Event Vocabulary and Future Tenses in English" »

Verb Infinitive with 'to'

agree offer refuse advise ask forbid warn admit recommended

instruct invite remind suggest

Verb Object Infinitive with 'to'

boast of insist on congratulate sb on insist propose request

suggest recommend advise

Verb Preposition Gerund

boast of insist on congratulate sb on insist propose request

suggest recommend advise

Verb Object Preposition Gerund

boast of insist on congratulate sb on insist propose request

suggest recommend advise

Verb That Should

boast of insist on congratulate sb on insist propose request

suggest recommend advise

pres perf(have/has)/pas simpl = past perfe(had)

past perfe=past perfe

have to /has to=had to

would=would

should=should

will=would

GLORY BE

can=could

Glory be to the Father,

and to the Son,

and to the Holy Spirit,... Continue reading "Verb Infinitive with 'to' and Verb Object Infinitive with 'to'" »

Infinitive          Past Simple          Past Participle

leave                left                                  left     

lend                  lent                                 lent

let                     let                                   let

lie                     lay                                  lain

lose                  lost                                 lost

make                made                             made

meet                 met                                met

pay                   paid                    ... Continue reading "Irregular Verbs in English: A Comprehensive Guide" »

People

Which / That

Use "which" or "that" to talk about things. Use "where" to talk about places. They usually come after the noun they refer to.

Omit "which" or "that" if they are followed by a personal pronoun or noun.

Second Conditional

Use the second conditional to talk about:

• Imaginary situations in the present:
  Example: If I were rich, I would live in a huge house.
• Improbable events in the future:
  Example: If he left home earlier, he would never be late for work.

Was I/he/she/it

Were you/we/they

Modal Verbs for Obligation and

Active and Passive Voice

Normal Sentences

• My father gets a good salary.
  A good salary is gotten by my father.
• The boss lent me one of his books.
  I was lent one of his books by the boss.
• He did not pay the bill.
  The bill wasn't paid.
• My neighbor is going to buy a new car.
  A new car is going to be bought by my neighbor.
• I had lost my umbrella when it began to rain.
  My umbrella had been lost when it began to rain.
• Alice was looking for her pencils.
  Her pencils were being looked for by Alice.
• I will hang a picture on the wall.
  A picture will be hung on the wall.
• Susan has not answered your letters.
  Your letters haven't been answered by Susan.
• Amy Winehouse broke an expensive picture at the hotel.
  An expensive picture was broken at the hotel by Amy Winehouse.
• Tom's