Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and exercises for English for Secondary education

Understanding Personality Traits

• Sympathetic: Always listens to problems and understands.
• Charming: Good at making people feel good.
• Witty: Thinks quickly of something funny to say.
• Careless: Does things too quickly and makes mistakes.
• Intellectual: Possessing a high level of intelligence and knowledge.
• Pushy: Tries to force others to do what they want.
• Shallow: Doesn't care about anything serious or important.
• Pretentious: Tries to appear more important or knowledgeable than they are.
• Smug: Excessively pleased with oneself.
• Bubbly: Always happy and energetic.
• Cheeky: Shows a lack of respect in a playful or amusing way.
• Hypocritical: Gives advice but doesn't follow it themselves.
• Scatty: Forgetting and losing things frequently.

Mastering Verb Patterns

Verbs

Compound Sentence Structure

A compound sentence (sometimes referred to as complex in broader contexts) is one that has two or more predicates, forming multiple propositions. Compound sentences can be classified as:

• Coordinated
• Subordinated

Coordinated Sentences

Coordinated sentences are formed when two or more independent clauses are joined, showing no grammatical dependence between them. They are linked by coordinating conjunctions or locutions.

Example: We wanted to go, but we could [go].

Types of Coordinated Sentences

1. Copulative: These sentences join propositions together. They are related by conjunctions such as and, nor, or neither, whether the clauses are affirmative or negative.
   • I raised the issue and resolved it.
   • He worked and caused problems.

NTRO:

Hi X, How are things? Sorry to be so slow getting back to you but…--I was afraid that you were worried about your trip.-- What a great news, I'm glad to hear … that you're coming to Spain.

PARRA1:

In your letter mentioned…?—Well, if I were you..since…--besides, why you don’t…?—As well as that, you also wondered about…--I think you really should… because this way…

PARRA 3:

Anyway, I´ll be delighted to pay you a visit, count me!-- Let me know when it suits u so I can plan ahead—Final: well that's all 4 now, I hope this was helpful-------Dear Alex, / Many thanks for your message. It was great to hear from you! The first thing I want to say is that I completely agree with you about friends. I see some of mine almost every...

English Language Practice: Questions and Answers

Daily Life Questions

• Where did your friends go last Monday? They went to school.
• Were there a lot of people at the theater? Yes, there were.
• What film did your mother see? She saw a great film.
• Were there any volcanoes in Argentina? Yes, there were.
• What time does your sister get up on Sunday? She gets up at 12 o'clock.
• Is your father eating in the canteen now? No, he isn't.
• What are the students doing at this moment? They are studying English.
• Has Mafalda got any friends? Yes, she has.
• Was there a party at the school? Yes, there was.

Biography Exercise: Rick

His name is Rick. He was born on December 12th, 1956. He started primary school in 1960. He won a tennis championship in 1999. He didn't start university....

Irregular Verbs

be was/were been ser o estar

bear bore borne suportar

bear beat beaten vençer

become became become tornar-se

begin began begun començar

bend bent bent doblegar

bet bet bet aposta

bite bit bitten mossegar

bleed bled bled sagnar

blow blew blown bufar

break broke broken trencar

bring brougth brougth portar

build built built construir

burn burnt/burned burnt/burned cremar

buy bougth bougth comprar

catch caught caugth agafar

choose chose chosen escollir

come came come venir

cost cost cost costar

cut cut cut tallar

dig dug dug fer/cavar

do did done fer

draw drew drawn dibuixar

dream dreamt/dreamed dreamt/dreamed somiar

drink drank drunk veure

drive drove driven conduir

eat ate eaten comer

fall fell fallen caure

feed fed fed alimentar

feel felt felt sentir

fight...

First Conditional

Use: To talk about a result that will or won't occur in the future if a condition takes place.

Structure: [IF + PRESENT SIMPLE] / [FUTURE SIMPLE]

• If you study harder, you will pass your exams.
• If she eats less chocolate, she won't have so many spots.
• If we do more exercise, we will be fit.

Changing Clause Order

You can change the order of the clauses:

• You will pass your exams if you study harder.
• She won't have so many spots if she eats less chocolate.
• We will be fit if we do more exercise.

Important Punctuation

When the clause starts with IF, we put a comma after the condition.

• If she arrives early, we'll go to the cinema.
• We'll go to the cinema if she arrives early.

Second Conditional

Use: To talk about a hypothetical situation or to give...

English Grammar Fundamentals: Structure and Usage

Understanding Phrases in Grammar

Phrases (adverb or adverbial) act as an adverb, modifying a verb, adverb, or adjective. Kinds include:

• Prepositional Phrase
• Adjective Phrase
• Appositive Phrase
• Adverb Phrase
• Participle Phrase
• Infinitive Phrase
• Gerund Phrase

Key Types of Phrases Defined

1. Appositive: Is a noun or pronoun next to another noun or pronoun that identifies, renames, or explains it.

   Example: The teacher, Ms. Cifuentes, is a shit.

2. Participle: A verb form in present or past participle used as an adjective.

   Example: The boring class of Lourdes.

3. Gerund: Is the -ing form of the verb used as a noun.

   Example: Walking is a good exercise.

Sentence Complements and Their Functions

Complements: A word or group of...

Sentence Structure

Sentence: is a word or word group that contains a subject and a verb that expresses a complete thought. Ex. Tony the outstanding baseball player on the team, is my brother.

Fragment: Is a word or word group that is capitalized and punctuated as a sentence but does not contain both a subject and a verb. Ex. Tony the outstanding baseball player on the team.

Complete Subject: Consists of the simple subject and any words that modify the simple subject. Ex. The flowers in the vase are wilted.

Complete Predicate: Consists of the verb and all the words that modify the verb and complete its meaning. Ex. She has pasted the notice.

Understood Subject: In a request or a command, the subject is usually not stated. In such sentences, you is...

Exercise 1: Vocabulary Identification

• Issues
• Overpopulation
• Moreover
• Homelessness
• Famine
• Cheated
• Expelled
• Fell
• Subjects
• Sororities
• Diet
• Publicity
• Unfit
• Get involved
• Lose
• Creative
• Passionate
• Irresponsible
• Importance
• Tolerant

Exercise 2: Vocabulary Matching and Definitions

• Nation: national, country
• Folklore: culture
• Reception: host
• Color of skin: race
• Country of origin: nationality
• The condition of being a woman or a man: gender
• 8. Immigrants
• Armed conflicts: wars
• Illnesses: diseases
• Extreme weather conditions: climate change
• Displaced people: refugees
• Really cheap: bargain
• Reduction: discount
• Used: second-hand
• Wait in line:
• Coins and notes: cash
• Plastic money: a credit card
• Ask for money from a friend: borrow
• To give money on the condition of repayment: lend

Exercise 3: Verb Tenses