Essential English Vocabulary & Grammar Rules

English Vocabulary and Grammar Essentials

Key Vocabulary for English Learners

Nouns and Their Meanings

• Background: Coneixement
• Blizzard: Tormenta
• Degrees: Graus
• Drought: Sequera
• Flood: Inundació
• Forecast: Pronòstic
• Heatwave: Onada de calor
• Humidity: Humitat
• Lightning: Llamp
• Path: Camí
• Rainfall: Pluja
• Forecaster: Meteoròlegs

Verbs and Their Meanings

• Avoid: Evitar
• Chase: Perseguir
• Gather: Reunir
• Melt: Fondre
• Run (a company): Dividir empresa
• Shiver: Tremolar
• Slip: Lliscar
• Strike: Colpejar
• Sweat: Suar
• Witness: Testimoniar

Adjectives and Their Meanings

• Chilly: Fred
• Deadly: Mortal
• Ordinary: Ordinari
• Overcast: Ennuvolat
• Skilled: Expert
• Slippery: Relliscós
• Soaking wet: Mullat (completament)

Common English Expressions

• Back and forth: Enrere i cap endavant
• Bitter cold: Fred gelat
• Bitter wind: Vent gelat
• Heavy rain: Pluja intensa
• Heavy snowfall: Forta nevada
• Mild temperatures: Temperatures suaus
• Mild weather: Clima temperat
• Rather than: Més aviat que
• Scorching heat: Calor abrasadora
• Scorching temperatures: Temperatures altíssimes
• Severe storms: Fortes tempestes
• Thick clouds: Núvol espès
• Thick fog: Boira espessa

Adjective Collocations

• Bitter: cold, wind
• Scorching: heat, temperatures
• Heavy: rain, snowfall
• Severe: storms, weather
• Thick: fog, clouds
• Mild: temperatures, weather

Essential English Grammar Rules

Modal Verbs: Obligation, Permission, Probability, Advice

Haver de (Obligation)

• Present Affirmative:
  • Must (Obligació personal)
  • Have to (Obligació externa)
  • (He/She/It) has to
• Present Negative:
  • Mustn't (Prohibició)
  • Don't have to (No cal, no és necessari)
  • (He/She/It) doesn't have to
• Past:
  • Had to
  • Didn't have to
• Future:
  • Will have to

Poder (Permission, Ability)

• Present: Can
• Past:
  • Could (Per a accions repetides o habilitat general en el passat)
  • Was/Were able to (Per a una acció específica en el passat)
• Future: Will be able to

Probability

• Must (Certesa alta)
• May / Might / Could (Possibilitat)
• Can't (Impossibilitat)

Advice

• Should (Consell)
• Needn't + infinitive (No cal)
• Needn't have + past participle (No calia, però es va fer)

Connectors: Linking Ideas

• Cause/Reason:
  • Because, Since, As (+ frase)
  • Because of, Due to (+ nom / sintagma nominal)
• Result:
  • So, As a result, Therefore

Verbs Followed by -ING (Gerund)

These verbs are typically followed by a gerund (-ing form):

• Admit, Avoid, Can't stand, Consider, Can't help, Continue, Deny, Detest, Dislike, Enjoy, Finish, Imagine, Keep, Look forward to, Mention, Mind, Miss, Object to, Practise, Risk, Recommend, Smell, Spend, Suggest.

Also, consider these expressions:

• Be/Get used to
• Be worth
• Have difficulty in
• There's no point in
• It's no good/use

Verbs Followed by Bare Infinitive (without 'to')

The verbs make and let are followed by a bare infinitive:

• Example: She made me laugh. (Not "to laugh")
• Example: Let me go. (Not "to go")

Usage of -ING Form

• As the subject of a sentence (e.g., Swimming is good for you.)
• After prepositions (in, at, for, after, before, etc.) (e.g., I'm good at drawing.)
• Verbs expressing preference (like, love, hate, prefer) can be followed by -ing in general statements (e.g., I like reading.) or by infinitive in specific situations or conditional sentences (e.g., I'd like to read that book.).

Verbs with Different Meanings: Gerund vs. Infinitive

Remember / Forget

• -ING (Gerund): Refers to an action that happened in the past and you remember/forget it.
  • Example: I remember seeing him. (You saw him, and now you remember that action.)
• Infinitive (to + verb): Refers to an action you need to do or remember to do in the future.
  • Example: Remember to lock the door. (You need to perform the action of locking the door.)

Stop

• -ING (Gerund): To cease an activity.
  • Example: He stopped smoking. (He no longer smokes.)
• Infinitive (to + verb): To stop doing something in order to do something else.
  • Example: He stopped to smoke. (He paused his current activity to have a cigarette.)