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

Language Practice and Film Review

Practice Sentences

• India is poorer than Germany.
• That he didn’t know it.
• She wasn’t so busy; she could come to the party.
• I may call you on your birthday.
• Where is the nearest cinema, please?
• If he had revised for the test, he wouldn’t have failed it.
• She has her eyes tested by the ophthalmologist every year.
• The Da Vinci Code, which was written by Dan Brown, is a best-seller.
• Who goes swimming twice a week?
• I apologize for not remembering your birthday.
• He told us that we didn’t make so much noise.
• It is thought that Susan lives in London.
• This is the most interesting book I have ever read.
• Unless you hurry up, you won’t get tickets for the concert.
• When do you have to wear a uniform?
• I’m having my room painted

Unit 6: Reading in English

Developing Reading Skills

This unit explores effective reading activities that emphasize meaning and demonstrate how the printed word serves as a valuable source of language input.

Key Priorities in Reading and Writing Instruction

When teaching reading and writing, prioritize meaning, word recognition, and letter identification. Predicting pronunciation is also important. Children don't need to grasp every detail; understanding keywords and the general meaning is sufficient.

6.1. Beginning Reading

Children must connect what they hear with what they read. Learning to read in English is easier if children can already read in their native language. Two primary approaches facilitate English reading instruction.

Look and Say

The... Continue reading "Enhancing English Reading Skills in Young Learners" »

Ottawa (Description of a Place)

Holiday

English Grammar Cheat Sheet

Word Formation

Prefixes

• semi-
• under-
• over-
• re-
• co-
• inter-
• un-

Suffixes

• -ism
• -er
• -or
• -ly
• -able
• -fy
• -ty

Past Simple

• Positive: -ed or irregular verbs
• Negative: didn't + infinitive
• Questions: did + person + infinitive
• Specific situations in the past: last year; at 8:00; in 1990

Present Perfect

• Positive: has/have + -ed/irregular verbs
• Negative: haven't/hasn't + -ed/irregular verbs
• Questions: have/has + person + -ed/irregular verbs
• Have: I, you, we, they
• Has: he, she, it

Future Forms

Present Simple (for facts or generalizations)

• Positive: verb + -es/-s (3rd person)
• Negative: don't + verb + -es/-s (3rd person)
• Questions: do + person + verb + -es/-s (3rd person)

Present Continuous (for ongoing actions)

• Positive: am/is/are + verb + -ing
• Negative: am/is/are

Verbs: A

• Arise - arose - arisen - surgir

Verbs: B

• Be - was/were - been - ser/estar
• Be able - could - been able - poder
• Bear - bore - borne - soportar
• Be born - nacer
• Beat - beat - beaten - golpear
• Become - became - become - llegar a ser
• Begin - began - begun - empezar
• Bend - bent - bent - doblar
• Bet - bet - bet - apostar
• Bind - bound - bound - atar
• Bite - bit - bitten - morder
• Bleed - bled - bled - sangrar
• Blow - blew - blown - soplar
• Break - broke - broken - romper
• Bring - brought - brought - traer
• Broadcast - broadcast - broadcast - emitir
• Build - built - built - construir
• Burn - burnt - burnt - quemar
• Burst - burst - burst - estallar
• Buy - bought - bought - comprar

Verbs: C

• Catch - caught - caught - coger
• Choose - chose - chosen - elegir
• Come - came - come - venir
• Cost

Idioms with "Come"

Comes easily – not be difficult

Comes across – seems

Came off – happen successfully

Came across – find by chance

Coming down with – start feeling ill

Come along – arrive

Come under – experiencing something bad

Come up – a problem arises

Came up – an opportunity becomes available

Come to mind - occurred to me

Came first – win/be the most important

Comes across – seems

When it comes – on the subject of

How come? - why?

Idioms with "Take"

Take care of – look after

Taken to – started to like

Take them on board – accept them

Take time out – stop and rest

Taken on – agreed to

Take it from me – believe me

Take your time - don’t rush

Take note of – pay attention

Take things personally – be offended

Take your mind

Base form

• drive: drove, driven - conducir
• eat: ate, eaten - comer
• fall: fell, fallen - caer
• fly: flew, flown - volar
• forget: forgot, forgotten - olvidar
• give: gave, given - dar
• go: went, gone - ir
• grow: grew, grown - cultivar
• hide: hid, hidden - esconder
• know: knew, known - saber
• overcome: overcame, overcame - vencer
• ride: rode, ridden - montar
• ring: rang, rung - sonar
• run: ran, run - correr
• see: saw, seen - ver
• shake: shook, shaken - sacudir
• sing: sang, sung - cantar
• sink: sank, sunk - hundir
• speak: spoke, spoken - hablar
• steal: stole, stolen - robar
• swim: swam, swum - nadar
• take: took, taken - tomar
• throw: threw, thrown - lanzar
• understand: understood, understood - entender
• wake: woke, woken - despertar
• wear: wore, worn - vestir
• write: wrote, written - escribir

Vocabulary:

• Businessman/woman
• Chef
• Cleaner
• Dentist
• Hairdresser
• Journalist
• Mechanic
• Musician
• Nurse
• Photographer
• Pilot
• Student

Job Positions

• Full-time
• Permanent
• High-paid
• Short-term
• All year round
• Regular daytime hours

Professions by Industry

• Food and beverage (restaurant manager, waiter)
• Accommodation (concierge, hotel receptionist)
• Transportation (flight attendant, pilot)
• Recreation and entertainment (entertainer, outdoor adventure guide)

Executive Roles

• Executive chef (writes menus, instructs cooks and employs kitchen staff)
• Executive housekeeper (inspects rooms and manages cleaning staff)
• Food and beverage manager (plans and organizes the operation of a restaurant)
• Front office manager (responsible for the front desk operation, managing reception and dealing with guest

Mastering Irregular Verbs in English

What are Irregular Verbs?

Irregular verbs are verbs that do not follow the standard pattern of adding -ed or -d to form their past simple and past participle forms. Mastering these verbs is crucial for achieving fluency in English.

List of Common Irregular Verbs

This list provides the infinitive, past simple, past participle, and Spanish translation for each verb.

• Be (Was/Were) Been - Ser/Estar
• Give (Gave) Given - Dar
• Become (Became) Become - Llegar a ser
• Go (Went) Gone - Ir
• Begin (Began) Begun - Empezar
• Grow (Grew) Grown - Crecer/Cultivar
• Bite (Bit) Bitten - Morder/Picar
• Have (Had) Had - Tener
• Break (Broke) Broken - Romper
• Hide (Hid) Hidden - Esconder
• Bring (Brought) Brought - Traer
• Hit (Hit) Hit - Golpear
• Build (Built)