Mastering English Grammar and Vocabulary: City Life & Conditionals

English Language Study Materials

Essential Vocabulary for City Life and Social Interaction

City Life Vocabulary

A collection of terms related to urban environments and municipal issues:

• Commute: viajar diariamente al trabajo
• Crime rate: tasa de criminalidad
• Gang: pandilla
• Graffiti: grafiti
• Green space: zona verde
• Homeless: sin hogar
• Litter: basura
• Low-income: bajos ingresos
• Mayor: alcalde
• Poverty: pobreza
• Residential area: zona residencial
• Slum: barrio bajo
• Suburb: suburbio (m), zona residencial (f)
• Traffic jam: atasco
• Unemployment: desempleo

Social Interaction Vocabulary

Phrasal verbs and adjectives used when discussing relationships and behavior:

• Considerate: considerado
• Feel left out: sentirse excluido
• Get along with: llevarse bien con
• In charge of: a cargo de
• Lend: prestar
• Pull one's weight: hacer su parte de trabajo
• Reach a compromise: llegar a un acuerdo
• See eye to eye: estar de acuerdo
• Sense of belonging: sentirse aceptado
• Share: compartir
• Take advantage of: aprovecharse de
• Treat: tratar
• Well-being: bienestar
• Willing to: dispuesto

English Grammar Structures

Conditional Sentences (Zero, First, Second, Third)

Review of the four main conditional structures:

1. Zero Conditional: IF + Present Simple … Present Simple (Used for facts and general truths).
2. First Conditional: IF + Present Simple … Will + Infinitive (Used for real possibilities in the future).
3. Second Conditional: IF + Past Simple … Would + Infinitive (Used for hypothetical or unlikely situations).
4. Third Conditional: IF + Past Perfect Simple … Would + Present Perfect Simple (Used for hypothetical situations in the past).

Time Clauses and Future Reference

Time clauses referring to the future follow the structure of the First Conditional (using a present tense verb in the clause). Clauses referring to general facts follow the Zero Conditional structure. Common conjunctions used instead of IF include:

• By the time: para cuando
• When: cuando
• As soon as: tan pronto como / en cuanto
• After: después
• Before: antes de (que)
• The moment (that): en cuanto
• Once: una vez que / en cuanto

Narrative: The Day of the Innocents Prank

Last week, at night, I was alone at home. It was almost night; my parents had gone out with some friends and I was watching my favorite television program.

Suddenly, the light was cut off. I went to the garage to get a flashlight. When I returned to my room on the second floor of the house, it was all flooded, and the water had covered the entire room.

At that time, I was just worried about how my parents would take it and how they would react. But there was something else that worried me, something strange: I was really sure I remembered to close the window while watching TV.

I was very scared. I went downstairs to pick up the phone. Upon arriving at the main floor, I stumbled and broke my left leg.

Suddenly, the lights came back on, and my parents and friends came screaming and asking me if I was okay. Although I was not really okay, I told them yes. And best of all... Everything had been a joke for the Day of the Innocents! It had been a very good joke, and the important thing is that they had a good time while I was scared.