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

Mastering Core English Grammar Concepts

This document summarizes essential English grammar points, including modal verbs, time expressions, pronouns, and imperatives, often contrasted with Spanish concepts for clarity.

1. Modal and Auxiliary Verbs

Modal verbs express necessity, possibility, ability, or desire. They are typically followed by the base form of the main verb (the infinitive without "to").

Modal Verb Meanings and Usage

• May: Expresses permission or possibility (poder por cosas).
• Can: Expresses ability or possibility.
• Would: Used for conditional statements or polite requests (often translated as gustaría when paired with 'like').
• Must: Expresses strong necessity or moral obligation (tengo que, obligación moral).
• Should: Expresses duty, recommendation,

English Sentence Transformation Rules

Time Expressions: Ages and Years

Rule: It is + ages + since + subject + past simple

• Direct: I haven't seen a good film for years.
• Transformation: It's years since I last saw a good film.

Giving Advice

Rule: Had better + infinitive (without 'to') is equivalent to If I were you + conditional

• Direct: You had better enrol on this course.
• Transformation: If I were you, I would enrol on this course.

Conditionals, Wishes, and Regrets

Key structures for expressing regrets, preferences, and conditional situations:

• Conditional 2 & Unless: Used for hypothetical situations.
• I Wish / I Regret:
  • Direct: I wish I had been more careful.
  • Transformation: I regret not being more careful.
• Superlatives with Ever:
  • Direct: I have never heard

Verb To Be

Positive Statements and Questions

Possessive Adjectives and Articles

• Possessive Adjectives: my, your, his, her, its, our, their.
• Example: "What's your name?" or "This is our house."
• Articles (A/An): Use a before consonants and an before vowels.
• Examples: A ticket, a newspaper, an apple, an English dictionary.

Questions and Negatives

Question Words

• What: What is his job? / What is her address?
• Where: Where are you from?
• Who: Who is she? / Who is he?
• How: How old are you? / How much is an ice cream?

Yes/No Questions and Negatives

• Yes/No: Is she young? Are they married?
• Negative: I'm not. He/She/It isn't. We/You/They aren't.

Possessive 's

Used to show ownership: My wife'... Continue reading "English Grammar Essentials: Verb To Be, Possessives, and Prepositions" »

Verbos con Doble Complemento en la Voz Pasiva

Ciertos verbos pueden tener dos complementos: uno de persona (Complemento Indirecto - CI) y uno de cosa (Complemento Directo - CD). Estos incluyen:

• Give
• Lend
• Offer
• Pay
• Promise
• Refuse
• Send
• Show

Ejemplo en voz activa: The company gave John (CI) a warm welcome (CD).

Existen dos formas de construir la pasiva:

1. El CI pasa a ser el sujeto (más común)

John was given a warm welcome.

2. El CD pasa a ser el sujeto (menos frecuente)

A warm welcome was given to John.

Omisión del Agente en la Voz Pasiva

El agente (quien realiza la acción) se omite en la voz pasiva cuando es evidente, desconocido o irrelevante. Esto ocurre comúnmente con:

• Pronombres personales de sujeto: I, you, he, she, etc.
  Ejemplo: You will be written

English Verb Moods

Indicative Mood

Used for all simple tenses to describe observable facts. Examples: "It rains a lot," "I live in Chiloé."

Subjunctive Mood

• Advice: I suggest he study.
• Desire: I hope she makes it.
• 3rd Conditional: Used for unreal situations. Example: "If I were you, I would study."
• Hypothetical: Used with "as if" or in progress sentences. Example: "If we won, I'd throw a party."

Imperative Mood

• Requests: "Open the window, please."
• Strong Suggestions: "Behave!"
• Instructions: "First, open the box."
• Commands: "Use the seatbelt," "Close the door, please."

Passive Voice

Used when the action is more important than the actor. Structure: Subject + Be + Past Participle + (by + Object).

• News: "A new robbery was committed."
• Unimportant Subject: "Coca-

Essential English Basics

Common Questions with 'To Be'

Am Questions

• Where am I?
  ¿Dónde estoy?

• Am I not fired?
  ¿No estoy despedido?

• Am I dancing wrong?
  ¿Estoy bailando mal?

• Am I not going the right way?
  ¿No estoy yendo por el camino correcto?

• What am I doing?
  ¿Qué estoy haciendo?

• What am I going to do?
  ¿Qué voy a hacer?

Are Questions

• Are you a doctor?
  ¿Eres un médico?

• Are you practicing a lot?
  ¿Estás practicando mucho?

• Aren’t we going to the university now?
  ¿No estamos yendo a la universidad ahora?

• Are John and Paul the famous rock singers?
  ¿John y Paul son los famosos cantantes de rock?

• When are you leaving New York?
  ¿Cuándo te vas de Nueva York?

• How are they going to buy that expensive car?
  ¿Cómo van a hacer para comprar ese auto costoso?

Is Questions

• Is

Enhance Your English Writing

PARA REDACCIÓN: To begin with, I would like to say that this is a controversial matter, and it is very difficult to give just one point of view. In fact, if we asked people what they thought about it, we would find a lot of different ideas. On the one hand, we can say that ____ has many advantages, for example: ___. However, on the other hand, we can also find some disadvantages, such as: ___. From my point of view:

IMPORTANTE:

• According to
• Instead (use this in its place)
• However (sin embargo)
• Whereas (mientras que)
• Since/For
• Although (aunque)
• In spite of (a pesar de)
• In fact (de hecho)
• Furthermore (además)

Verbs That Confuse

• Realized: to become aware of something; Noticed: something you see or hear.
• Raise: to lift an object;

English Verb Tenses

• Present Simple: I play, he plays (Yo juego)
• Present Continuous: I'm playing (Yo estoy jugando)
• Past Simple: I played (Yo jugué)
• Past Continuous: I was playing (Yo estaba jugando)
• Future: Going to (Voy a jugar), Will (Jugaré)
• Future Continuous: Will be playing (Yo estaré jugando)
• Present Perfect Simple: I have eaten (Yo he comido)
• Present Perfect Continuous: I have been eating (Yo he estado comiendo)
• Past Perfect Simple: I had eaten (Yo había comido)
• Past Perfect Continuous: I had been eating (Yo había estado comiendo)

Reported Speech

Common English Definitions

• Considered to be: Regarded as
• Mess around: Behave in a silly way or waste time
• Blame: Say that a certain thing is responsible for something bad
• Favouring: Giving somebody an advantage
• Get on with: Do without hesitation
• Hurry: Act quickly
• Countless: A great number of
• Chatting: Exchanging comments online
• Partner: A boyfriend or a girlfriend
• Come first: Are the most important things
• Blush: Go red with embarrassment
• Sincere: Honest, meaning what you say
• Cautious: Careful to avoid danger
• Nickname: Informal name used instead of your real name
• Something clicked: We got on well together
• Know someone inside out: Know someone really well
• Fierce: Strong
• Came up against: Encountered
• Opportunity: A chance
• Rare: Not common
• Turned into: Transformed