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

English Irregular Verbs and Spanish Translations

Verbs: L - P

• Lead: led - led - leading (guiar, conducir)
• Learn: learned - learned - learning (aprender)
• Leave: left - left - leaving (dejar, irse, salir)
• Lend: lent - lent - lending (prestar)
• Let: let - let - letting (permitir, dejar)
• Lie: lay - lain - lying (tumbarse, echarse)
• Lie (regular verb): lied - lied - lying (mentir)
• Light: lit - lit - lighting (encender)
• Lose: lost - lost - losing (perder)
• Make: made - made - making (hacer, fabricar)
• Mean: meant - meant - meaning (significar, querer decir)
• Meet: met - met - meeting (conocer a, quedar con)
• Pay: paid - paid - paying (pagar)
• Put: put - put - putting (poner)

Verbs: R - S

• Read: read - read - reading (leer)
• Ride: rode - ridden - riding (montar)
• Ring: rang -

1. Future Tenses

Present Simple

Used for:

• Scientific facts
• Arranged events (important)
• Schedules
• Transportation

Present Continuous

Used for personal arrangements/plans.

Example: I am visiting France this summer.

Be Going To

Used for:

• Personal plans. Example: I am going to start working out.
• Imminent actions. Example: He is so fast, he is going to have an accident.

Will

Used for:

• Predictions. Example: It will rain.
• Promises. Example: I will study more.
• Warnings. Example: You will get into trouble.
• Threats. Example: I will kick your ass.
• Conditional (1st type). Example: If you study just the day before, you won't pass the exam.
• Offerings. Example: I'll give you a lift.
• Instant decisions. Example: I'll call him.

Future Continuous

Used to describe actions in progress...

Infinitive          Past Simple          Past Participle

leave                left                                  left     

lend                  lent                                 lent

let                     let                                   let

lie                     lay                                  lain

lose                  lost                                 lost

make                made                             made

meet                 met                                met

pay                   paid                    ...

Forming Comparatives and Superlatives

Regular adjectives form comparatives with -er and superlatives with -est. Longer adjectives use more and most.

Irregular Comparative and Superlative Forms

• Good: better / best
• Bad: worse / worst
• Far: further / furthest

Expressing Comparisons

Common Comparative Structures

• Is as good as... / Isn't as good as...
• Is older than...

Intensifiers for Comparisons

Use these words to modify comparative statements:

• A little / A bit / Slightly: is slightly older than
• A lot / Much / Far: is much older than

Essential Adjectives for Description

General Adjectives

• Valuable
• Big / Small
• Tall / Short
• Old
• Beautiful
• Interesting
• Expensive
• Relaxing
• Exciting
• Dangerous
• Visited
• Great / Large
• Finest (meaning 'best')
• Enjoyable
• Professional
• Fascinating
• Surprising
• Stunning
• Amazing
• Cosmopolitan
• Famous
• Tiring
• Quiet
• Quite

Personal Stories and Interview Snippets

Unexpected Park Celebration

Yesterday, I arrived at the park in the afternoon for a walk. As I was walking along the path, I saw a group of kids playing football. They were very focused, but suddenly one of them fell to the ground and started laughing out loud. I approached, concerned, but he told me it was all a joke. When I looked around, I noticed there were balloons and a big banner that said, "Happy Birthday, Ana!". It turned out to be a surprise party for one of his friends. The kids started inviting me to join them, and although I hesitated at first, I accepted and ended up playing with them for hours. It was an unexpected and very fun day.

Classroom Birthday Prank

Yesterday, I went to school as usual....

Peace Speech

Imagine a World Without Conflict

Imagine living in a world without wars, fights… Now, are you happy? If you feel good, why don’t we have peace? In my opinion, we don’t have it because we don’t want to. We all think that peace will bring us happiness, but what if it doesn’t? I’m not saying that we have to have wars, I’m trying to tell you that without wars and fights the world will change a lot, but do we want that? I remember going to a party where peace was the leader, but the party was so boring. I’m not saying that I want problems, but doing something interesting would have been better.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Peace

Hi, I’m Nerea, and I’m going to talk to you about peace. A world with peace is a dream...

English Irregular Verbs Reference

My Son

I want to talk about my son. My son is now one year and eight months old and has brought enormous happiness to our family, although my wife and my parents-in-law always complain about how tiring it is to look after him.

He is really cute and adorable. He can now speak some very simple words, such as 'papa' and 'mama', but he can understand quite a lot of things, although he cannot express himself verbally. For example, he can recognize the personal belongings of each family member, such as my T-shirt, grandpa's eyeglasses, or my wife's bag. He also firmly protects his own personal belongings, such as his little chair, on which he sits for meals. He will drive you away if you attempt to sit on his chair.

I am always amazed at how fast he...

The Hunt for the Minotaur's Head

A family lives in a magical house, disconnected from the Web—a worldwide network of magical homes. In this house live a fairy, a magician, and their son, Victor, a half-blood born from their forbidden union. One day, the family helps a ghost who is in danger, fleeing from an ancient demon known as the Shadow and his henchmen.

The Shadow is chasing the ghost because she possesses the head of Asterius, the Minotaur of Crete. This powerful artifact would allow the Shadow to recover his full power and dominate the world. To help the badly injured ghost, the family must reconnect to the Web. However, this is a considerable risk, as everyone in the magical world is searching for Victor, whose half-blood nature can...

International Diplomacy and Global Affairs

Both the EU and the US pressed for a firm timetable for countries to “place their cards on the table” to avoid a repetition in Paris of the chaotic Copenhagen summit in 2009.

Public Health and Safety Alerts

The Department of Health is warning that a quantity of potentially dangerous licensed medicines may be in circulation on the black market.

Crime Report: Limassol Jewellery Heist

Police have arrested a 32-year-old Bulgarian man and an Iranian man and woman, aged 38 and 30, following a daring daylight robbery at a jewellery store on Wednesday morning in Limassol.

India-Pakistan Peace Efforts

India is prepared to give historic rival Pakistan “the benefit of the doubt” as the two countries strive for...