Mastering English Grammar and Business Terminology

Describing Trends and Data in Graphs

Verbs and Adverbs for Trend Description

• Sales increased dramatically (Ventas aumentaron dramáticamente)
• Sales grew steadily (Ventas crecen constantemente)
• Sales rose sharply (Las ventas aumentaron drásticamente)
• Sales declined gradually (Ventas disminuyeron gradualmente)
• Sales fell gently (Ventas cayeron suavemente)
• Sales fluctuated (Ventas fluctuaron)

Adjectives and Nouns for Trend Description

• There was a dramatic increase in sales (Hubo un aumento dramático en las ventas)
• There was a steady growth (Hubo un crecimiento constante)
• There was a sharp rise (Hubo un fuerte aumento)
• There was a gradual decline (Se observó un descenso gradual)
• There was a slight fall (Hubo una pequeña caída)
• There was a fluctuation (Había una fluctuación)

Reported Speech (Indirect Speech)

Tense Changes in Reported Speech

1. Present Simple (e.g., is American) → Past Simple (e.g., was American)
2. Present Continuous (e.g., is living) → Past Continuous (e.g., was living)
3. Past Simple (e.g., went) → Past Perfect Simple (e.g., had gone)
4. Past Continuous (e.g., was working) → Past Perfect Continuous (e.g., had been working)
5. Present Perfect Simple (e.g., have eaten) → Past Perfect Simple (e.g., had eaten)
6. Present Perfect Continuous (e.g., have been studying) → Past Perfect Continuous (e.g., had been studying)
7. Past Perfect Simple → Past Perfect Simple (No change)
8. Past Perfect Continuous → Past Perfect Continuous (No change)

Reporting Questions and Commands

• "What is your name?" → Peter asked me what my name was.
• "Where do you live?" → Peter asked me where I lived.
• "Do you smoke?" → Peter asked me if I smoked.
• "Can you give me a hand?" → Peter asked me to give him a hand.
• "Open your bag." → Peter asked me to open my bag.

Relative Clauses (Pronouns and Usage)

• Who: Used for people. (Personas)
• Which: Used for things. (Cosas)
• That: Used for things, and sometimes for people in defining clauses. (Cosas, si va en cláusula definitoria puede ir con personas)
• Whose: Used to show possession. (Pertenencia)
• Who: Can follow prepositions like to, by, for.
• Where: Used for places. (Lugares)

Examples of Defining and Non-Defining Clauses

• A thief is a person who steals things. (Defining Clause - D)
• Picasso, who died in 1973, was a painter and sculptor. (Non-Defining Clause - ND)

SWOT Analysis (DAFO)

S - Strengths (Fortalezas)

• Good location
• Friendly atmosphere
• Professionalism of workers

W - Weaknesses (Debilidades)

• Few parking spaces
• Understaffed when busy
• Very disorganized areas of clothing

O - Opportunities (Oportunidades)

• Good opportunity to get a job
• Relation with different enterprises
• Size (potential for expansion or optimization)

T - Threats (Amenazas)

• Competition from surrounding stores
• No possibility of a bigger store