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

The Conflict Begins: Greasers vs. Socs

Ponyboy Curtis is leaving the movie theater when a group of Socs (Socials, boys from the West Side, the rich area) assault him. He manages to escape thanks to his older brother, Darry, who appears and drives them off.

Meeting Cherry and Marcia

The next day, Ponyboy and his friends go to a drive-in movie theater. They meet two Socs girls, Cherry Valance and Marcia. Ponyboy's friend Dally acts aggressively toward them, but Ponyboy and Johnny treat them kindly. Suddenly, Two-Bit Matthews appears.

When the movie ends, the girls have no way to get home because their boyfriends are drunk, so the guys offer to take them. Johnny and Ponyboy connect very well with the girls, realizing that the rich kids also face problems...

Semantic Change of Words

Words change their significado (meaning) over time. There are words that embody new meanings or lose meaning, virtually disappearing (e.g., farrier ["vet"] or alfayate ["tailor"]).

Causes of Semantic Change

Linguistic Causes

Sometimes, semantic change occurs by ellipsis, i.e., the omission of a term which transfers its significado to another. Other times, it is caused by the substitution of some words by others due to the use of metonymy.

Historical Causes

These changes are caused by various reasons: political, social, or cultural transformations; the evolution of science; the emergence of new realities; and so on.

Social Causes

These are, for example, those motivated by social class prejudice or when certain words, being deemed...

English Vocabulary: Music and General Terms (English to Catalan)

• Lyrics à lletra
• Ability to Focus à habilitat per concentrar-se
• Performance à actuació
• Memory à memòria
• Performs à actuar
• How You Exercise à com fas exercici
• Lead Singer à cantant principal
• DJ à DJ
• Sound Quality à qualitat del so
• Movement à moviment
• Audience à audiència
• Gig à esdeveniment / concert de música
• Support Band à teloners
• Sell Out à venut (Exhaurir les entrades)
• Your Dreams à els teus somnis
• Live Album à àlbum en directe
• Release à publicar
• Learning a Foreign Language à aprenent una llengua estrangera
• Tour à tour / gira
• Record à gravar / gravació
• Playlist à llista
• Hit à èxit
• Maths Ability à habilitat matemàtica
• Hip Hop à hip hop
• Classical Music à música clàssica
• Jazz

Common English Verb Patterns and Usage

Requests and Preferences

• Would you like to come with me? I'd love to.
• Would you mind not smoking in class?
• I regret spending so much money.
• I remember closing the windows.
• I regret to inform you that your father has passed away.
• I'm not used to getting up so early.
• I look forward to hearing from you.

Ability, Permission, and Commands

• He couldn't afford to buy a new car.
• He makes me repeat that twice.
• I won't allow you to do that.
• I advised them not to do it.
• She heard me enter.
• I wanted my friend to come to the party.
• He taught me how to press the button.
• She told me to stay.
• I want him to come with me tonight.
• I didn't tell her to go; I told her to stay.
• Did you ask your brother to come to the party?
• Did you want me to write

Irregular English Verbs: Base Form, Past Simple, and Past Participle

The following table lists common irregular English verbs with their past simple and past participle forms, along with Spanish translations.

A–B Verbs

• Awake / Awoke / Awoken (Despertarse)
• Bear / Bore / Borne / Born (Soportar, dar a luz)
• Beat / Beat / Beaten (Golpear)
• Become / Became / Become (Llegar a ser)
• Begin / Began / Begun (Empezar)
• Bend / Bent / Bent (Doblar)
• Bet / Bet / Bet (Apostar)
• Bid / Bid / Bid (Pujar)
• Bite / Bit / Bitten (Morder)
• Bleed / Bled / Bled (Sangrar)
• Blow / Blew / Blown (Soplar)
• Break / Broke / Broken (Romper)
• Breed / Bred / Bred (Criar)
• Bring / Brought / Brought (Traer, llevar)
• Broadcast / Broadcast / Broadcast (Radiar)
• Build / Built / Built (Edificar)
• Burn / Burnt /

The Memory of That Year: A Synopsis

The story begins with Carlos, now an adult, cleaning his room. Seeing an old poster triggers a powerful memory of events that happened long ago.

A Favor for Marga

The flashback focuses on teenage friends Dani and Carlos, who live in a luxurious development. They are trying to fix Dani's brother's bike but lack the money. They decide to ask Marga for help, relying on her usual generosity.

Marga agrees to lend them the money, but only in exchange for a favor.

As the class representative, Marga has been informed by the director that a new, troubled boy named Jorge will be returning to the high school. Jorge comes from a difficult background: his mother left with another man, and his father is currently in jail. Jorge...

English Idioms and Expressions

• By word of mouth: To spread news from person to person (boca a boca).
• To spread like wildfire: To circulate incredibly rapidly (extenderse como la pólvora).
• To be out of touch: To be isolated or disconnected from the world (aislarse del mundo).
• Chinese whispers: A game or situation where a message is distorted as it is passed on (teléfono escacharrado).
• To hit the airwaves: To be broadcast on radio or television (promocionar o transmitir algo).
• To break the news: To disclose important or sensational news (contar una última noticia).
• Megaphone diplomacy: Public negotiations or announcements aimed at influencing international relations (diplomacia de megáfono).
• To be in the spotlight: To be the center of attention (

Free Time Activities

FREE TIME: I am going to speak about the things that I like to do in my free time. One of my interests is to go out shopping with my friends every Saturday, because the truth is I am a bit addicted to buying. Another interest I have is to dance and to watch horror movies. Often I go with my brother to the discotheque. And finally, another one of my interests is to go to the beach when I am on vacation, because this way I can discover more places and meet more people or play with my dog in the sand.

About Alex

Alex: He is a tall and strong boy, with dark hair and a charming smile. He is a very social person and self-assured. He is always happy. In addition, he is a sporty boy; he plays on three soccer teams. The truth is I...

Effective Complaint Letters & Emails

Dear ________________,

Introduction

Choose one of the following opening statements:

• I am writing to complain about _________________.
• I am writing this letter/email because I would like to take this opportunity to express my __________ / opinion about _________________________.
• I am writing / We are writing this email/letter to express my/our agreement / disagreement _____________.

Body

Use different paragraphs and linkers to connect your ideas. Consider using the following:

• First of all,
• Apart from that,
• As well as that,
• Moreover,
• So,
• It is important to mention that,
• Besides,
• According to,
• Whereas,
• In fact,
• However,
• Due to,
• On the other hand,
• Finally,
• That is to say,
• Concerning,
• What's more,
• For instance,
• For example,
• Such as…

Conclusion