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

The Remarkable Life of Tererai Trent

Tererai Trent was born in 1965 in rural Zimbabwe, in a hut that had no electricity or running water. Although her culture did not believe in educating girls, Tererai was desperate to learn. She taught herself to read and write using schoolbooks that belonged to her brother, Tinashe, who was delighted to let her do his homework.

Unit 1: Media and Appearances

Public Appearances and Media

Appearance: An occasion when someone appears in public.

Broadcast: To send out a program on television or radio.

Piece: An example of artistic, musical, or written work.

Stream: To listen to/watch something on a computer, smartphone, etc., directly from the internet.

Creative Professionals

Comedian: Someone who entertains people by telling jokes.

Editor: A person who corrects or changes text, film, etc., or who is in charge of a newspaper/magazine.

Novelist: A person who writes books about imaginary people and events.

Programmer: Someone who writes computer programs as a job.

Media Terminology

• Bestseller
• Cast
• The Charts
• Classic
• Series
• Shoot
• Track
• Critic
• Producer
• TV Presenter

Unit 3: Personal Qualities and

A Personal Invitation

Dear Maria,

It has been a long while since I heard your news. I imagine that all that studying and your work hardly give you any time left at the end of the day. It is the same with me; as much as I try, I find very little time available for hobbies and friends.

I should like to make you a proposition! What would you think about spending a few days together, you and I, during this Easter break? My parents will let me have their log cabin, which is up in the hills near Ronda. It is situated 5 kilometres from the town on a hillside with wonderful views of the valley. It is very rustic, basic, and has no central heating, but it comes fully equipped, clean, and has a cosy fireplace.

I should think that as you live in the big city,... Continue reading "Personal Correspondence and Social Media Analysis" »

MODAL VERBS

He must be in love/ She could be working too hard/ He may not earn very much/ That must be very hard/ That can't be Claire's grandfather/ He must have sold his business for a lot of money/ They can't have had another argument/ we might have met before/ she can't have had a happy childhood/ She may have thought I'd be angry.

I might be able to give you a lift but../ I wasn't able to swim till last year/ I can see Sarah../ I've made the main course for dinner.. so I haven't been able to make the dessert yet/ When I was 14, I was able to run from my home../ Will you be able to speak Chinese../ I was able to go to last Saturday's../ my brother can usually fix the computer

LISTENING

Cave Diving

(size/explorer/challenge/darkness/problem-solving/... Continue reading "English Grammar and Vocabulary Exercises" »

Put the sentences into Passive Voice:

English Verb Tenses Explained

Present Simple

Para hábitos y cosas que son ciertas todo el tiempo o que vemos como permanentes.

• He often eats lunch at his desk.
• We play basketball every Tuesday.

Present Continuous

Para cosas que están pasando ahora mismo y situaciones que pensamos que no durarán para siempre.

• He is studying at university.
• I am making dinner.

Past Simple

Para expresar que una acción terminó.

• Tom stayed at home last night.
• I received the good news and immediately called my husband.

Past Continuous

Para expresar acciones que se estaban llevando a cabo en el pasado cuando otra acción las interrumpe.

• Caroline was skiing when she broke her leg.
• When the fire started, I was watching television.

Future with 'Will'

Para situaciones futuras no planeadas,

Analysis of the Heart and the Salamander

Fahrenheit 451 is currently Bradbury's most famous written work of social criticism. It deals with serious problems of control of the masses by the media, the banning of books, and the suppression of the mind (with censorship). The novel examines a few pivotal days of a man's life, a man who is a burner of books and, therefore, an instrument of suppression. This man (Montag) lives in a world where the past has been destroyed by kerosene-spewing hoses and government brainwashing methods. In a few short days, this man is transformed from a narrow-minded and prejudiced conformist into a dynamic individual committed to social change and to a life of saving books rather than destroying them.

Before you begin... Continue reading "Analysis of Fahrenheit 451: Themes and Characters" »

Cry Freedom is a story based on the life of the black people who lived in South Africa. The story begins with a journalist named Donald Woods, from the Daily Dispatch, who often writes about the hard life of the blacks. Moments later, a black doctor, named Mamphela (a woman), enters his office to talk to him about an article he had published about Biko's Black Consciousness. She tells Woods to go talk to Biko (a black boy who wanted to end race inequality), since he is confined. Then Donald Woods goes to talk to Biko, and they agree that Biko will show him how black people live. One of the places that Biko shows Woods is a poor area of South Africa where life is not life, and makes a comparison with the lives of white people. Woods decides... Continue reading "Cry Freedom: The Story of Black Struggle in South Africa" »

Essential English Irregular Verbs

Mastering irregular verbs is a fundamental step in learning English. Below is a comprehensive list of common verbs with their past and past participle forms.

• Learn: Learn - Learnt
• Shake: Shake - Shook - Shaken
• Bet: Bet
• Catch: Catch - Caught
• Feed: Feed - Fed
• Sweep: Sweep - Swept
• Drink: Drink - Drank - Drunk
• Shine: Shine - Shone
• Meet: Meet - Met
• Take: Take - Took - Taken
• Begin: Begin - Began - Begun
• Build: Build - Built
• Cost: Cost
• Buy: Buy - Bought
• Cut: Cut
• Dig: Dig - Dug
• Fall: Fall - Fell - Fallen
• Eat: Eat - Ate - Eaten
• Drive: Drive - Drove - Driven
• Sing: Sing - Sang - Sung
• Shut: Shut
• Make: Make - Made
• Run: Run - Ran - Run
• Hang: Hang - Hanged
• Freeze: Freeze - Froze - Frozen
• Get: Get - Got
• Grow: Grow - Grew - Grown
• Let: Let
• Wake up: Wake

Advanced English Sentence Structures and Usage

Examples 87–128: Grammar Points

The following examples demonstrate various complex grammatical structures, including conditionals, passive voice, reported speech, and modal verbs.

87. Causative Verb: I had my hair cut yesterday morning.
88. Relative Clause: This is the man whose dog bit my brother in the park.
89. Conditional Type 3: If my foot hadn’t hurt, I would have gone to the gym.
90. Reported Speech: The teacher said that we had to hand our papers in at the end of that class.
91. Conditional (Unless): Unless your boyfriend arrives before eight, we will have to leave.
92. Reason Clause: As it was raining, the children couldn’t go out to the playground.
93. Present Perfect (Duration): We have not seen that movie for six