English Grammar and Social Activism Vocabulary Reference

Social Activism Vocabulary

Campaigns

• For: Better education, disabled people’s rights, the environment, freedom of speech, healthcare, human rights, peace, public transport, wildlife conservation, and women’s rights.
• Against: Animal testing, bullying, child poverty, corruption, cruelty to animals, drugs, global warming, homelessness, nuclear power/weapons, pollution, public spending cuts, racism, street crime, vandalism, and whale hunting.

Activities

• Attended meetings
• Participated in a demonstration or protest march
• Donated money
• Signed a petition
• Took part in fundraising activities
• Worked as a volunteer

English Past Tenses

Past Simple

• Usage: Finished actions in the past (specific time).
• Time markers: Yesterday, last year, in 2004.
• Example: "I found a wallet in the street yesterday evening."

Past Continuous

• Structure: Was/were + verb-ing.
• Usage: Long duration actions.
• Example: "I was walking when I found a wallet."

Past Perfect Simple

• Structure: Had + past participle (-ed/3rd column).
• Usage: Finished actions before another past action.
• Examples: "After I had found the wallet, I went to the police officer," "He had studied for the exam," "He had read that book," "He had run many marathons."

Past Perfect Continuous

• Structure: Had been + verb-ing.
• Usage: Recent or long-duration actions (finished or unfinished).
• Example: "He had been studying for half an hour, but he still needed more time."

Habitual Actions

Used to + Infinitive

• Usage: Repeated actions in the past.
• Example: "I used to play with toys when I was a child."

Would + Infinitive

• Usage: Repeated actions in the past (cannot be used with state verbs).
• Example: "I would play with toys when I was a child."

Uses of "As"

• As well as: Apart from.
• Such as: Like, for example.
• As: When, while.
• As: Since (because).
• As soon as: Immediately after.
• As a...: Referring to a job or role.

Connectors

• Because of / As a result of: Used to show consequence.
• In addition to / Apart from: Used to add information.
• Instead of: Rather than.
• Except for: Not including.
• In spite of / Although: Used to show contrast.

Note: Connectors are followed by either an -ing form or a noun.

Example: "It was raining, but we went to the beach." / "In spite of the rain, we went to the beach." / "Although it was raining, we went to the beach."