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

Mastering English Verb Forms: Gerunds and Infinitives

The Gerund (V-ing)

• As a Noun: Swimming is a good exercise.
• After Specific Verbs: Verbs like love, like, dislike, hate, enjoy, and prefer are often followed by the Gerund.
• After Phrasal Verbs and Expressions: Expressions such as look forward to, be/get used to, in addition to, and object to are followed by the Gerund.
• After Prepositions: Any preposition (e.g., about, at, after, before, behind) must be followed by the Gerund.

Verbs Followed Only by Gerunds (Examples)

Verbs like suggest and avoid require the Gerund (e.g., She suggested attending the meeting; Avoid walking alone.)

The Full Infinitive (To + V-inf)

• Purpose or Intention: Used to express purpose (e.g., I went to the store to buy milk.)
• After

MasterChef: The Iconic Cooking Competition

MasterChef is a world-renowned cooking program originally created by Franc Roddam in July 1990. In this competition, contestants must prepare various types of food to be evaluated by a panel of expert judges. The ultimate winner receives a significant cash prize.

Competition Format and Challenges

At the start of the season, we are introduced to the participants, their backgrounds, and their professional lives. Depending on the day, contestants are provided with specific ingredients and must create dishes using only those items. As the program progresses, viewers watch contestants cook under strict time constraints. If they fail to finish on time, they are disqualified. Once the time expires, the chefs... Continue reading "MasterChef History and the Benefits of Online Learning" »

Time Expressions and Verb Usage

You will have received an answer: by this time, at this time, while, at the moment, yet, in ages, soon.

Future Perfect and Continuous Tenses

By next summer, we: will have finished, will be visiting, are going to miss, will help, think, did you do, did they do, are you thinking about, have ever seen, didn't recognize.

Opinion and Present Perfect

What is his opinion of my: What does he think of my proposal?, She doesn't eat meat, She had never flown before, Sam was doing his homework when we arrived, I haven't completed my essay yet, Our team has never won before.

Alex Zanardi: Achievements and Actions

Alex Zanardi: has, finished, were, cheering, had completed, has been, last, didn't stop, participates, has won, will... Continue reading "English Grammar Exercises: Verb Tenses and Sentence Structure" »

English Phrasal Verbs and Irregular Verbs Vocabulary List

English Phrasal Verbs

• laugh at: reírse de
• leave out: excluir, suprimir
• let down: defraudar, soltar pelo
• look after: cuidar
• look at: mirar
• look down on: mirar mal, sentir superior
• look for: buscar
• look forward to: tener ganas de
• especular (contextual/notes) / look into: investigar
• look like: parecerse, que
• look out: ¡cuidado!
• look up: consultar, visitar, mirar arriba, mejorar
• look up to someone: admirar a
• make up: inventar
• pay back: devolver dinero, pagar con la misma moneda
• pay for: pagar por
• pick out: escoger, elegir
• pick up: recoger
• pull up: contenerse, detenerse, frenar
• put away: ordenar, guardar, aportar
• put down: poner abajo, poner por escrito
• put someone down: humillar
• put off: cancelar, posponer, desanimar
• put

My Summer Vacation Memories

My last vacation was longer, and I think I've learned to pass the time well. I enjoyed friends and family, and I met new people too, because I was in different places during the summer, and I wanted to meet people everywhere.

Adventures in Roses, Catalonia

The first place I visited was Roses, a town in Catalonia, because I was invited for a few days by a family member who has a house there. I went with my family, and we were there only five days, but it was long enough to want to return next summer.

We stayed on the beach for hours. In the morning, we just slept and slept so as to have energy for the rest of the days and nights. We danced, met people, and enjoyed walking near the beach while watching the moon in silence.... Continue reading "Summer Adventures: Catalonia, Disneyland, and Exchange Plans" »

Etymology

The origin of a word and the historical development of its meaning:

Example: ‘the etymology of the word ‘devil’’

Coinage

Coinage is the word formation process in which a new word is created either deliberately or accidentally.

Examples: Kleenex, Aspirin, Xerox

Borrowing

Process by which a word from one language is adapted for use in another.

Examples: croissant (French), yogurt (Turkish), piano (Italian)

Blending

Join two words together by taking parts of both words and combining them into a new whole.

Examples: Breakfast + lunch = brunch, Smoke + fog = smog, Motor + hotel = motel

Clipping

The process of cutting the beginning or the end of a word, or both, leaving a part to stand for the whole.

Examples: Prof (professor), Photo (photograph)... Continue reading "Word Formation Processes in English: A Comprehensive Guide" »

English Sentence Transformation Practice

Below are the corrected and transformed sentences based on the provided grammatical structures.

1. Passive Voice Example

   They say this tree is over 400 years old. (Passive)

   → This tree is said to be over 400 years old.

2. Reported Speech

   The man said to us: “Keep off the grass!” (Reported Speech)

   → The man ordered us to keep off the grass.

3. Passive Voice

   They didn’t tell me the secret. (Passive)

   → I wasn’t told the secret.

4. Modals (Deduction)

   I’m sure they are at home. The lights are on. (Modals)

   → They must be at home because the lights are on.

5. Conditionals (Third Conditional)

   I didn’t invite Beth. I had forgotten her telephone number. (Conditionals)

   → If I hadn’t forgotten Beth’s telephone number,

Recycling and Waste Management Around the World

Interesting Facts

• In Japan, plastic from landfill sites gets into the sea and kills 10,000 fish each year.
• The Zabaleen take away rubbish from people who live in Cairo.
• In Senegal, people use old paper to wrap bread and fruit.
• People in India think cows are special animals.
• New Zealand has some interesting ideas about...
• The best recycling state in the USA is California.
• If you are driving around Germany, you will see recycling bins at all shopping places.
• In Switzerland, recycling is free, but throwing away your rubbish is expensive.
• Finland pays people to recycle their bottles and cans.
• You cannot bring plastic bags into Zanzibar.
• Gardeners like to make compost from bits of old fruit and vegetables.
• Shakespeare'

Anne Frank -  The author of the diary. Anne was born on June 12, 1929, in Frankfurt, Germany, and was four years old when her father moved to Holland to find a better place for the family to live. She is very intelligent and perceptive, and she wants to become a writer. Anne grows from an innocent, tempestuous, precocious, and somewhat petty teenage girl to an empathetic and sensitive thinker at age fifteen. Anne dies of typhus in the concentration camp at Bergen-Belsen in late February or early March of 1945.

The Rise of Shakira: A Global Pop Icon

Many people know Shakira for being the artist who represents the pop musical genre. Her fame began at the age of 19, when she released the song "Pies Descalzos". However, she started recording when she was only 13 years old.

Shakira was born in 1977 in Barranquilla, Colombia. She was born into a middle-class family. From the age of 5, she showed her passion for music, demonstrating her talent for dancing and singing. By the age of 8, she wrote her first song, and at the age of 10, she appeared on a television program. As a teenager, she signed her first contract with Sony Music Colombia.

Thanks to all the views on her songs, she became a talented singer traveling around the world, and from there, she became... Continue reading "Shakira's Legacy, Family Traditions, and Healthy Living" »