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

Essential English Irregular Verbs and Spanish Meanings

This table provides the infinitive, past simple, and past participle forms for common irregular verbs, along with their Spanish translations. The infinitive form is shown in bold.

Moby Dick as an Impersonal Force

In a sense, Moby Dick is not a character, as the reader has no access to the White Whale’s thoughts, feelings, or intentions. Instead, Moby Dick is an impersonal force, one that many critics have interpreted as an allegorical representation of God, an inscrutable and all-powerful being that humankind can neither understand nor defy. Moby Dick thwarts free will and cannot be defeated, only accommodated or avoided. Ishmael tries a plethora of approaches to describe whales in general, but none proves adequate. Indeed, as Ishmael points out, the majority of a whale is hidden from view at all times. In this way, a whale mirrors its environment. Like the whale, only the surface of the ocean is available for human

English Verb Tenses

Present Simple

• Positive (+): you work / he works
• Negative (-): you don't work / he doesn't work
• Interrogative (?): do you work / does he work

Usage:

• Routines, general facts, schedules, and programs.

Present Continuous

• Positive (+): you are singing / I am singing / he is singing
• Negative (-): you aren't singing / I'm not singing / he isn't singing
• Interrogative (?): are you singing / am I singing / is he singing

Usage:

• Actions happening at the moment of speaking.
• Plans for the near future.
• Actions occurring in a broader present.

Past Simple

• Positive (+): you finished (all forms)
• Negative (-): you didn't finish
• Interrogative (?): did you finish

Usage:

• Finished actions that occurred in the past.
• Descriptions of how things were in the past.

Past

Grammar Transformations

1. The last time I spoke to her was before she had her baby.
2. This is the first time I have eaten Greek food.
3. My nephew has been playing tennis since 2010.
4. It’s ages since he saw her sister.
5. I haven’t gone swimming for three months.
6. This is the biggest supermarket I have ever seen.
7. When I was younger, my parents didn’t let me watch much television.
8. Paula was made to wash up before she could go out.
9. Why aren’t we allowed to go to the party?
10. You don’t need to hand in the homework until next week.
11. I think you had better see a doctor.
12. Do you know what we are supposed to do for homework?

Key Vocabulary and Phrases

Supermarket Vocabulary

1. Out of town
2. Corner
3. Brands
4. Own brand
5. Convenience
6. Range
7. Foodstuffs
8. Value
9. Aisles
10. Trolley
11. Counter
12. Checkout
13. Till
14. Cashier
15. Receipt

Sports

Crimes Against the Person: Common Law Definitions

• Assault: A threat or attempt to commit a battery.
• Battery: The use of force against another resulting in harmful or offensive contact.
• Mayhem: Maliciously depriving another of the use of a limb (disablement) or injuring the victim to permanently change their appearance (disfigurement).
• Rape and Related Offences: Unlawful sexual intercourse with a female without her consent. Modern statutes often designate this as sexual assault. Statutory rape applies if the female is too young to give consent.
• False Imprisonment: The intentional, unlawful confinement of another person. The victim must be compelled by the defendant's use of force or threat to remain or go somewhere against their will.
• Kidnapping:

Modal Verbs: Usage and Meaning

Ability and Permission

• Can: Expresses ability in the present.
• Could: Expresses ability in the past.
• Be able to: Used for other tenses (e.g., future, perfect).
• Be allowed to: Indicates that permission is given.

Possibility and Deduction

• May, Might, Could: Express present or future possibility.
• May not, Might not: Express negative possibility.
• Can't: Used to state something is impossible.
• Must, Can't: Used for logical deductions.

Obligation and Necessity

• Must, Have to: Express obligation.
• Needn't, Don't have to: Express lack of obligation.
• Need: Primarily used in negative and interrogative sentences.
• Need to: Used in affirmative sentences to express a necessity.
• Ought to, Should, Shouldn't: Used for recommendations or advice.

Essential

Literary Profiles

Song of Myself: Walt Whitman (1819–1892)

There are two Walt Whitmans: the real person and the self he invented. The real Whitman grew up in Brooklyn and held many jobs. During the Civil War, he traveled to Washington D.C. to nurse his brother. The invented Whitman is larger than life.

What fact is enough for Whitman?

I'm Nobody: Emily Dickinson (1830–1886)

From Amherst, Massachusetts, she wrote 1,775 poems and became famous after her death. Are you nobody, too?

Me: Walter de la Mare (1873–1956)

By night, he wrote poems for adults. In Me, Walter compares his uniqueness to that of various trees and flowers.

Vocabulary Practice

• Accessory: She was wearing a beautiful leather accessory.
• Already: They have already finished the test.

Essential English Vocabulary

Remember: Always state the minutes and then the hour.

Example: It's twenty-five to five.

Modal Verbs

• Possibility
  • Can/Can't (to be able to/to know how to)
  • Could/Couldn't (was able to/could for formal requests)
• Advice
  • Should/Shouldn't (ought to)
  • Ought to (should)
• Obligation or Prohibition
  • Have to/Don't or Doesn't have to (must)
  • Must/Mustn't (to have

Essential English Phrases and Verbs

Expressions with "Get"

• Get the impression -> Tener la impresión de
• Get the wrong end of the stick -> Entender mal
• Get the chance -> Tener la oportunidad
• Get the joke -> Entender la broma
• Get to know -> Descubrir algo
• Get hold of -> Conseguir
• Get rid of -> Deshacerse de algo
• Get one's own back on -> Tomar revancha
• Get into trouble with -> Meterse en problemas
• Get out of the way -> Moverse al otro sitio / Quitarse del medio

Idioms with "Get"

• Get real -> Abre los ojos
• Get a life -> Haz algo útil con tu vida / Haz algo con tu vida
• Not getting anywhere -> No llegar a nada
• Gets on my nerves -> Me pone nervioso
• Get her act together -> Hacer las cosas como se debe
• Get on like a house