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

Common English Noun Phrases

• a piece of advice
• a large number of trees
• that bit of government
• a great piece of news
• a great deal of effort
• the amount of food
• a cash box
• an advice column
• an accommodation agency
• an interesting item of news
• a flight of stairs
• a sheet of paper
• a lump of coal
• a head of hair
• a slice of toast
• an information centre
• a luggage trolley
• a set of cutlery
• a single blade of grass
• by a clap of thunder
• a bread knife
• a spelling mistake
• a parking space
• a lightning conductor
• a cookery lesson

English Articles: A/An, The, Zero Article

Indefinite Articles: a/an

• Use with singular, countable nouns mentioned for the first time.
• Use when talking about jobs (e.g., He is an engineer).
• Don't use with uncountable nouns or plural countable nouns.

Definite Article: the

• Use

Topic 2: Reported Speech

Grammar Exercises (Page 2)

Exercise 3

1. Rita promised that she wouldn't disappoint me / us again.
2. He wondered how long I / we had been there.
3. My mum offered to drive me to school that day.
4. Nancy recommended reading that book. / Nancy recommended that I read that book.
5. The politician demanded that the reporter get away from his door.
6. Janet claimed that a policeman had hit her.

Exercise 4

1. Sally complained that there had been too many speeches at the event the night before / the previous night.
2. The reporter wanted to know how much money the charity had raised that year.
3. Gary suggested that we post the petition online.
4. Megan warned me not to tell anyone what she had done.

Exercise 5

1. Debbie insisted that she hadn't convinced anyone to sign

Nowadays, young people can contact parents at the minimum problem they have, making them increasingly, being always in contact. Does this mean that we've become slaves to our phones or can we still spend time without them?

On the one hand, we can all notice that people tend to have their first phone at a young age making them more dependent, distracted and antisocial. As an example, children of 7 or 8 years old should start meeting new friends trying new activities, hobbies, focusing on studies… instead of playing online games until midnight.

Moreover, adolescents steadily more need to be in social media to be accepted in society, to get popularity or basically, to get friends. A clear example might be when people believe that the more posts... Continue reading "The Impact of Technology on Young People" »

c/Gregal 7                 Grange Rochester,Hotel

1) 3,4,-,1,2

1: 60, bank
2: health, worse.
3: 4: swimming.

2) c, d, f, e, b.

3) Bruised, avalanches, snow shoes, parka, allergic

4) Opened, slow, chill, face, cut.

5) Should, if, suggest, would, thought

6) If, don't hurry: if, come; if wouldn't have asked; will go, unless; is had studied

7) 1: If lie in the sun too long, I will get sunburned. 3: If Karen has spoken Spanish, she would have gotten the job. 5: If we had known you were arriving today, we would have made a nice meal.

8) 1: Would, have bought, had won. 2: Feel 3: --, hadn't moved 4: Would eat, liked 5: Had gone.

9) Has, been / cheer, up / have / ---- / was skiing

10) F, a, c, d

11) Had, had happened 2: Liked, made, laugh 3: ---, important, ----.

Lord Jim

Captain Marlow, a professional sailor and amateur narrator, decides to tell the public all about the tragic story of Jim. Back in the day, Jim left his sinking ship, the Patna, along with other crew members. Although publicly disgraced, Jim found a sympathetic partner in Marlow.

After hearing Jim's whole, sad story, Marlow tried to help him over the coming years. Marlow found Jim jobs, but Jim always gave up and ran back in an effort to escape the humiliation and shame.

After Jim makes his way to the island of Patusán, he becomes a leader among local residents and even finds a girlfriend. Good times do not last, because a man named Gentleman Brown appears and wreaks havoc on the island, and Jim makes some bad judgment calls that result... Continue reading "Summaries and Characters: Joseph Conrad Novels" »

Face Masks and the Pandemic

Let's analyze some statements about face masks and their relation to the pandemic:

1. According to some, wearing a face mask can be beneficial. True (if we accept what some authors claim).
2. Distress has increased during the pandemic, acting as an alarm system. True (during the pandemic, distress has acted as an alarm system).
3. Taking off masks is recommended for everyone. False (those with certain conditions should avoid wearing masks in closed spaces).
4. If we continue wearing masks, we might appreciate the gift of living more. True (beyond the pandemic, masks might help us appreciate the gift of living).

Vocabulary: Synonyms

• Saying hello - greeting
• Anxiety, agony - distress
• Continue - remain
• Afflictions, dysfunctions - disorders

Grammar:

Syntactic Functions of Subordinate Clauses

Functional Classes

Nominal Subordinate Clauses

• More restricted than noun phrases
• No function as subject, object, complement, or prepositional complement
• Abstract
• Can be adjective complementation without preposition (e.g., I am not sure that...)
• Types:
  • That-zero that
  • Wh interrogative
  • Yes-no alternative interrogative clause
  • Exclamative
  • Relative
  • To infinitive
  • Ing
  • Bare infinitive
  • Verbless

Adverbial Subordinate Clauses

• Usually adjuncts, subjuncts, conjuncts, or disjuncts
• Adverb phrase or preposition phrase
• Types:
  • Time (finite adverbial, ing-until, to infinitive duration verb)
  • Place (where, wherever)
  • Conditional
    • Direct (if, unless)
    • Open or hypothetical
  • Concessive (though, while)
  • Contrast (while)
  • Rhetorical if (condition but obvious)