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

Senegal Adventure Update: Dakar, Palmarin & More

Dear Max,

We arrived yesterday in Dakar, Senegal. Tomorrow, we head south to Palmarin. Marco was quite puzzling:

We talked about “Robbison,” but he wants to keep it a secret for a surprise. We'll tell you more about that in our next update next month.

How's your leg? Good morning to the entire team at L'Ocean. Warmest greetings to everyone!

I received your drawings and photos, Emma; you look so pretty in your African robe! And Mar is great at trading with the marabout in town! But where were these photos taken?

The Stone Circles Mystery & Jungle Expedition

Julia: Mine were taken in the jungle. Two days ago, we went to do a story on the stone circles.

Marco: Yes, they are mysterious megaliths,...

a) Direct Speech

1. Jill said he had finished the letters she had asked him to write.
2. Susan exclaimed that they had never travelled by plane before, but the next day it would be their first flight.
3. Mum said I should wear warmer clothes.
4. She said it was raining hard that day.
5. Dad said it was time for bed, and ordered me to brush my teeth.
6. The librarian ordered me to the boys not to make so much noise.
7. The chef ordered me to put the cake in the oven.
8. She asked me where I would most like to make a film.
9. John asked Sam of he liked computer games.
10. Her friend asked her when she had arrived.

b) Indirect Speech

1. He invited her to come to his party.
2. She commanded him to drop his weapons.
3. He insisted on doing her work.
4. She suggested visiting Jane.
5. He warned her not to go

Core Language Concepts

Word Structure

Words: Lexeme + Morpheme. Lexeme: Provides the lexical meaning. Morpheme: Provides the grammatical meaning.

Lexical Family: A set of words that share the same lexeme. Words are grouped into fields where they relate to the same idea.

Semantic Field: A set of words that share meaning.

Denotative Meaning: The literal or objective meaning.

Connotative Meaning: The figurative or subjective meaning.

Hiatus: Hyphenation that differs when two members are together in one word.

Verb Characteristics

Person: 1st, 2nd, 3rd.

Tense (Tempo): Past, present, or future.

Number: Singular or plural.

Mode: Indicates the speaker's attitude towards the action expressed by the verb.

• Indicative: Real action.
• Imperative: Command or mandate.
• Subjunctive:

1. She is so funny! She always makes me laugh.

2. Sarah and Ed are such crazy people! I never know what they are going to do next.

3. James has so much money that he could actually buy that Ferrari.

4. Although most of the audience had never been exposed to such music, they thoroughly enjoyed the performance of the Tibetan folk choir.

5. The movie was so good that I saw it five times.

6. Terry speaks English so fluently that I thought he was American.

7. Most students never discuss such topics in class, but I think it is important to teach our children to question the media.

8. Jerry had never seen such high mountains. He thought they were spectacular.

9. Fred is such a clown! He is always telling jokes and making people laugh.

10. There was so little...

The Debate Over School Uniforms: Pros and Cons

Many educational institutions require uniforms, leading to a significant debate: some students are strongly in favor of this policy, while others are completely against it.

Arguments in Favor of School Uniforms

On the one hand, the idea of using uniforms has some advantages:

• Saves Time: If people wear uniforms, they won't waste too much time in the morning thinking about the clothes they are going to wear.
• Reduces Criticism: Furthermore, everybody will wear the same, so they cannot criticize one another's clothing.

Arguments Against School Uniforms

On the other hand, there are clear disadvantages:

• Lack of Freedom: You can't have the liberty to choose what you want to wear.
• Aesthetics: The majority of uniforms

Verb Classifications

• Main Verbs: Provide the core meaning of sentences.
• Auxiliary Verbs: Support main verbs.
• Modal Verbs: Modify the meaning of the main verb.

Modal Verbs Usage

• Ability: can, could, will be able to (capacity to perform an action).
• Possibility and Certainty: must, may, might, could, can’t + infinitive (describing degrees of certainty).
• Advice and Obligation: should, must (general obligations), have to (particular obligations).

Word Formation

discover - discovery, develop - development, operate - operation, prevent - prevention, suffer - suffering, treat - treatment, research, experiment, clone, cause, cure.

Phrasal Verbs: Health and Lifestyle

• Call on: To make a short visit.
• Cut down: To do less of something.
• Get over: To become well or

THE MUSEUM(the visitors are been shown the winning pictures by the museum. The winning pictures are been shown to the visitors by the museum). WILL YOUR BOSS (have you been promised a better salary?. Has a better salary been promised to you?) YOUR SISTER(jhon hadnt been sent the letter by your sister. The letter wasnt sent to jhon by your sister) THE YOUNG GIRL(the old man was offered a sit by the young girl. A sit was offered to the old man by the young girl)THEY HADNT TOLD(the thruth hadnt been told to me. I hadnt been told the thruth)

volunteers were... (the volunteers were giving out sandwiches to the homeless) Greta is... (Greta has an important role in the climate crisis) I'm sleeping... (I'm staying over at Jane's house) Sophie would....

The Schlegel Siblings

Margaret (Meg) Schlegel

Margaret is the eldest daughter of a German family. She is responsible, aristocratic, and initially unmarried before eventually marrying Henry Wilcox. At 30 years old, she is helpful, polite, educated, and down-to-earth.

Tibby Schlegel

At 22 years old, Tibby is wealthy and maintains a good relationship with his sisters. He prefers not to work and studies at Oxford. He is a relevant figure in the novel, notably when he informs Charles that Leonard is Helen's lover and when he attempts to help the Basts after discovering they were evicted. He is ill at the beginning of the novel, and Charles envies his wealth.

Helen Schlegel

Helen is the sister of Meg and Tibby. She belongs to the aristocracy, is an orphan...

Essential Vocabulary List: A-Z

1. Adulation – Excessive flattery.
2. Assert – To state a fact.
3. Befall – To have something bad happen to someone.
4. Burgeon – To begin to grow rapidly.
5. Contract – A written or spoken agreement.
6. Cumbersome – Large, heavy, or difficult to carry.
7. Demean – To cause a severe loss of dignity.
8. Digress – To leave the main subject temporarily in speech or writing.
9. Eminent – Famous or respected within a specific sphere.
10. Engross – To absorb all the attention or interest.
11. Facilitate – To make an action easy or easier.
12. Fastidious – Very attentive to accurate details.
13. Generalize – To make a broad statement by inferring from specific cases.
14. Grandeur – Splendor.
15. Hitherto – Until now.
16. Hypothetical – Supposed but not necessarily