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

Mastering Reported Speech in English

When transforming direct speech into reported (indirect) speech, several changes occur, primarily affecting verb tenses, pronouns, and time/place expressions. Here's a breakdown of common transformations:

Verb Tense Changes

• Present Simple: like → liked
• Present Continuous: am living → was living
• Past Simple: bought → had bought
• Past Continuous: was walking → had been walking
• Present Perfect: haven't seen → hadn't seen
• Past Perfect: had taken → had taken (no change)
• Future Simple (will): will → would
• Conditional (would): would → would (no change)
• Modal (can): can → could
• Modal (could): could → could (no change)
• Modal (shall): shall → would
• Modal (should): should → should (no change)
• Modal (may / might)

To Be

Present Past

I am (yo soy) I was (yo era)

You are (usted está) You were (usted estaba)

He is (él es) He was (él era)

She is (ella es) She was (ella era)

It is (eso es) It was (eso era)

We are (nosotros somos) We were (nosotros éramos)

They are (ellos son) They were (ellos eran)

To be (past) + verb (ing)

• Present Simple

- Affirmative: Personal Pronoun + Verb

Personal Pronoun + Verb + -s (3rd person singular)

- Negative: Personal Pronoun + do/hacer (does/hace) + not + Verb

Am and are = do; is = does

- Interrogative: Do/Does + Personal Pronoun + Verb?

• Past Simple

- Affirmative: Personal Pronoun + Verb (-ed or irregular)

Examples of irregular verbs: blow/blew, forget/forgot, understand/understood, tell/told, run/

Basic English Vocabulary

Days of the Week

• Monday
• Tuesday
• Wednesday
• Thursday
• Friday
• Saturday
• Sunday

Months of the Year

• January
• February
• March
• April
• May
• June
• July
• August
• September
• October
• November
• December

Simple Questions and Answers

1. When is your birthday? - ¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños?
2. Who is your best friend? - ¿Quién es tu mejor amigo?
3. What is your favorite color? - ¿Cuál es tu color favorito?
4. What is your favorite film? - ¿Cuál es tu película favorita?
5. Who is your favorite singer or actor? - ¿Quién es tu cantante o actor favorito?
6. What is your nickname? - ¿Cuál es tu apodo?
7. Who is Diego Forlán? - ¿Quién es Diego Forlán?
8. How old are you? - ¿Cuántos años tienes?
9. Maria is from Uruguay? - ¿María es de Uruguay?
10. Miranda is not 12? - ¿Miranda no tiene 12

My 21st Birthday Celebration

My 21st birthday party was a great time. I was surrounded by the people that love me, friends and family.

In the morning, I went to the beach with my friends. We played ping pong, card games, listened to music, and had a great time until sunset. We took a lot of photos and selfies. On the way home, we had some milkshakes; mine was Ferrero Rocher, my favourite!

The best time was at night because my family made me a special surprise. They reserved a private lounge in a new karaoke bar for us. We tried different food of all varieties, which was a new experience for me, for example, snails in spicy sauce, pigs' ears, etc. Then we sang a few songs, we danced, had some drinks and great cocktails like Mojitos, my favourite!... Continue reading "Memories of a Special Birthday and Island Getaway" »

Vocabulary

Crimes

Burglary: The crime of illegally entering a building, usually a house, with the intent to commit a crime, typically theft.

Robbery: The crime of stealing money or property from a place or person using force or threats.

Theft: The crime of stealing.

Murder: The unlawful and deliberate killing of another person.

Vandalism: The deliberate destruction or damage of property, especially public property.

Kidnapping: The unlawful act of capturing and holding someone by force, typically to demand a ransom.

Mugging: The crime of attacking someone violently in a public place to steal their money or belongings.

Shoplifting: The act of stealing goods from a shop while pretending to be a customer.

Blackmail: The action of demanding money or favors... Continue reading "Vocabulary of Crimes" »

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: