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

Vocabulary: Describing Personality

Ambitious: ambitious

Arrogant: arrogant

Bossy: bossy

Capable: capable

Clever/Intelligent/Smart: intelligent

Coldhearted: coldhearted

Creative: creative

Cruel/Mean: cruel/mean

Dishonest: dishonest

Easy-Going: easy-going

Funny: funny

Generous: generous

Greedy: greedy

Hard-Working: hard-working

Honest: honest

Ignorant: ignorant

Impatient: impatient

Kind: kind

Lazy: lazy

Moody: moody

Narrow-Minded: narrow-minded

Outgoing: outgoing

Picky: picky

Polite: polite

Punctual: punctual

Reliable: reliable

Romantic: romantic

Rude: rude

Selfish: selfish

Shallow: shallow

Shy: shy

Sociable: sociable

Stingy: stingy

Strict: strict

Stubborn: stubborn

Talkative: talkative

Thoughtful: thoughtful

Unreliable: unreliable

Warm-Hearted: warm-hearted

Well-Educated/Well-Read:... Continue reading "English Vocabulary and Grammar Cheat Sheet" »

Phrases to Begin

• Para empezar (To begin with)
• En primer lugar (In the first place)
• Como punto de partida (As a point of departure)
• La idea principal de (The main idea of...)
• El propósito principal de (The main purpose of; the goal of)

Phrases to Connect Ideas/Arguments

• Para continuar (To continue)
• Por un lado (On the one hand)
• Por el otro lado; por otra parte; en cambio (On the other hand)
• Mientras tanto (Meanwhile)
• Durante (During)
• Además (In addition; also, moreover)
• También (Also; too)
• Entonces (Then)
• Luego (Then)
• Después de + infinitive (After)
• Mientras (While)
• Y (And)
• Pero (But)
• Sino (But; rather)
• Sino que (But; rather)
• Sin embargo (Nevertheless)
• Aunque (Even though; even if; although)
• A pesar de + infinitive (In spite of)
• En realidad (In fact, in reality,

Writing:

Frases buenas: In spite of, due to, in order to, as well as, for instance, to be honest, perhaps we should also point out the fact that..,

Articles:

Siempre un titulo, Has been my best friend from that day when… Acabar con una pequeña broma si se puede. Introduccion presentando el tema y sobre que va a tartar el articulo, Segundo parrafo de porque me gusta (One of the cool thing about). Tercer párrafo (however) recomendación y porque, párrafo de cierre (in conclusión), una especie de resumen y preguntar al lector.

Reports:

si te pone you should mention (ese el nombre del titutlo). Tiene que tener titutlo, dividido en secciones, por ejemplo Introduccion-Free time activities (As a result, on the other hand)- Other facilities- Reccomendations... Continue reading "Effective Writing Tips and Techniques" »

English Connectors & Spanish Translations

• although: aunque
• also: también
• as: como / ya que / mientras
• as well: así también
• as well as: tanto como
• because of: a causa de
• both...and: ambos...y
• consequently: consecuentemente
• despite: a pesar de
• due to: debido a
• either...or: o...o
• even though: aunque
• for: por / para
• furthermore: además
• however: sin embargo
• in addition: además
• in fact: de hecho
• in order to: para
• in spite of: a pesar de
• moreover: además
• neither...nor: ni...ni
• nevertheless: sin embargo / no obstante
• not only...but also: no solo...sino también
• obviously: obviamente
• on the other hand: por otro lado
• or: o
• owing to: debido a
• since: desde / ya que
• so as to: para
• so that: para que
• therefore: por lo tanto
• though: aunque
• to: a / para
• too: también
• unfortunately:

Essential English Phrasal Verbs

Improve your English fluency by learning these common phrasal verbs, complete with their past simple and past participle forms, and Spanish translations. Understanding these verbs is crucial for natural communication.

Go on

• Past Simple: Went on
• Past Participle: Gone on
• Meaning: Partir / continuar

Carry on

• Past Simple: Carried on
• Past Participle: Carried on
• Meaning: Continuar

Carry out

• Past Simple: Carried out
• Past Participle: Carried out
• Meaning: Realizar

Come back

• Past Simple: Came back
• Past Participle: Come back
• Meaning: Volver

Come down

• Past Simple: Came down
• Past Participle: Come down
• Meaning: Descender

Come in

• Past Simple: Came in
• Past Participle: Come in
• Meaning: Entrar

Come out

• Past Simple: Came out
• Past Participle: Come out
• Meaning:

approach:hablar con..accurate:preciso autogrpah:autografo accuse of:acusar de apply for/to: solicitar arrive at/it: llegar a affluent:adinerado available:disponible access:acceso amount: cantidad avoid:evitar a breath of fresh air:un soplo a drop in the ocean:una gota en el mar bitter:amargo bright:vivo blind:ciego bodyguard:guardaespaldas ban:prohibir belly:vientre break down:averiarse romperse burglar:ladron bring up:criar crash:bloquearse crawl:gatear close up:primer plano carbon dioxide:dioxido de carbono charge the mobile phone:cargar crop:cosecha cut down:reducir carbon footprint:huella de carbono  consist of:constar de complain about/of:quejarse de catch a bus:autobus catch a cold:resfriado catch a fire:fuego catch one’s breath:aliento... Continue reading "English Vocabulary: Essential Words and Phrases" »

Used To vs. Be Used To

Used to / Didn't use to + Infinitive = solía / no solía

(Be) Used to + -ing = estar acostumbrado a * (Am/are/is/was/were/will be)

Prepositions in the Media

• ON: TV / The radio / The Internet / The web / Channel
• IN: The media / The press / The newspaper / Newspapers / magazines

THE NEWS – las noticias

• ON the news – un programa específico - Yesterday I saw it on the news.
• IN the news – las noticias de la prensa en general – Kobe Bryant’s accident is in the news.

All / Everyone, Everybody, Everything

• Every-one/body/thing
• Everyone/everybody –---------------------------- 3a pers singular!!!!
• Se puede sustituir por ALL THE PEOPLE ----- 3a pers. Plural!!!
• ALL nunca sustituye a EVERYTHING
• ALL solo se usa con oraciones de relativo

MODALES PERFECTO – TEMA 4

Los modales Perfectos se usan para conjeturas o comentarios relacionados con el pasado.

Sujeto (I, you, he) + Verbo Modal + have + participio pasado

Ellos deben haber Ido a la playa.

They must Have gone to the beach

En negativa se usa couldn´t have + participio

Ellos no podrían haber jugado al futbol

They couldn´t Have played football.

may have para conjeturas algo que tuvo lugar en El pasado

Él puede haber visitado a su familia

He may Have visited his family

Should have para quejas

Ellos deberían haber traído música a la fiesta

They should Have brought music to the party.

Must have comentario del pasado evidente

Mary debe haber comprado un coche nuevo

Mary must Have bought a new car

PRIMER, SEGUNDO Y TERCER CONDICIONAL –

English Grammar and Vocabulary Essentials

Zero Article

• Plural, uncountable nouns and general: hours, days
• Before languages and meals

A

• Countable: To describe what something is

The

• Specific, known places
• Superlatives

Some/Any

• Some: Used in positive sentences, offers, and requests
• Any: Used in negative sentences and questions asking for information

Third Conditional

• If + subject + HAD (past perfect), subject + would have + past participle

Complex Dependent Sentences

• Lack meaning on their own

Compound-Complex Sentences

• An independent clause + subordination + dependent + comma + FANBOYS + independent
• I went to class, even though I was sleepy, and I learned a lot.

Subordinating Conjunctions

• After - después
• Although
• As - como, a medida que
• Because
• Before - antes
• If
• Once

Common Spanish Phrases and Expressions

• Vivir separados - To live apart.
• Ponerse de moda - To become fashionable.
• A largo plazo - Long term.
• Llover a cántaros - To rain cats and dogs.
• Enfermo mental - Mentally ill.
• De milagro - By a miracle.
• Sino todo lo contrario - Quite the reverse.
• Seguir los pasos de - To follow the footsteps of.
• Alistarse en el ejército - To join the army.
• Poco después - Shortly afterwards.
• Una mosquita muerta - A wolf in sheep's clothing (not 'a candy ass').
• No cabe duda - There is no doubt.
• Así es la vida - This is the way of life.
• Querer es poder - Where there is a will, there is a way.
• Dar gracias a Dios - To thank one's lucky stars.
• Soportar - To put up with.
• Matar dos pájaros de un tiro - To kill two birds with one stone.
• Tranquilízate