domingo, 23 de diciembre de 2012
EXÁMENES DE LA 1ª EVALUACIÓN
NIVEL INTERMEDIO 1 GRUPO A (TURNO DE MAÑANA):
MARTES 22 Y JUEVES 24 DE ENERO PRUEBAS ESCRITAS
MARTES 29 EXÁMENES ORALES.
NIVEL INTERMEDIO 1 GRUPO B (TURNO DE TARDE):
LUNES 21 Y MIÉRCOLES 23 DE ENERO PRUEBAS ESCRITAS
LUNES 28 EXÁMENES ORALES (PROBABLEMENTE HAYA QUE HACERLOS EN DOS DÍAS).
APROVECHEN LAS VACACIONES.
sábado, 22 de diciembre de 2012
LINKING WORDS AND CONNECTORS IN ENGLISH
Linking words help you to connect ideas and sentences, so that people can follow your ideas.
Giving examples
For exampleFor instance
Namely
The most common way of giving examples is by using for example or for instance.
Namely refers to something by name.
"There are two problems: namely, the expense and the time."
Adding information
AndIn addition
As well as
Also
Too
Furthermore
Moreover
Apart from
In addition to
Besides
Ideas are often linked by and. In a list, you put a comma between each item, but not before and.
"We discussed training, education and the budget."
Also is used to add an extra idea or emphasis. "We also spoke about marketing."
You can use also with not only to give emphasis.
"We are concerned not only by the costs, but also by the competition."
We don't usually start a sentence with also. If you want to start a sentence with a phrase that means also, you can use In addition, or In addition to this…
As well as can be used at the beginning or the middle of a sentence.
"As well as the costs, we are concerned by the competition."
"We are interested in costs as well as the competition."
Too goes either at the end of the sentence, or after the subject and means as well.
"They were concerned too."
"I, too, was concerned."
Apart from and besides are often used to mean as well as, or in addition to.
"Apart from Rover, we are the largest sports car manufacturer."
"Besides Rover, we are the largest sports car manufacturer."
Moreover and furthermore add extra information to the point you are making.
"Marketing plans give us an idea of the potential market. Moreover, they tell us about the competition."
Summarising
In short
In brief
In summary
To summarise
In a nutshell
To conclude
In conclusion
We normally use these words at the beginning of the sentence to give a summary of what we have said or written.
Sequencing ideas
The former, … the latterFirstly, secondly, finally
The first point is
Lastly
The following
The former and the latter are useful when you want to refer to one of two points.
"Marketing and finance are both covered in the course. The former is studied in the first term and the latter is studied in the final term."
Firstly, … secondly, … finally (or lastly) are useful ways to list ideas.
It's rare to use "fourthly", or "fifthly". Instead, try the first point, the second point, the third point and so on.
The following is a good way of starting a list.
"The following people have been chosen to go on the training course: N Peters, C Jones and A Owen."
Giving a reason
Due to / due to the fact thatOwing to / owing to the fact that
Because
Because of
Since
As
Due to and owing to must be followed by a noun.
"Due to the rise in oil prices, the inflation rate rose by 1.25%."
"Owing to the demand, we are unable to supply all items within 2 weeks."
If you want to follow these words with a clause (a subject, verb and object), you must follow the words with the fact that.
"Due to the fact that oil prices have risen, the inflation rate has gone up by 1%25."
"Owing to the fact that the workers have gone on strike, the company has been unable to fulfill all its orders."
Because / because of
Because of is followed by a noun.
"Because of bad weather, the football match was postponed."
Because can be used at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence. For example, "Because it was raining, the match was postponed."
"We believe in incentive schemes, because we want our employees to be more productive."
Since / as
Since and as mean because.
"Since the company is expanding, we need to hire more staff."
As the company is expanding, we need to hire more staff."
Giving a result
ThereforeSo
Consequently
This means that
As a result
Therefore, so, consequently and as a result are all used in a similar way.
"The company are expanding. Therefore / So / Consequently / As a result, they are taking on extra staff."
So is more informal.
Contrasting ideas
ButHowever
Although / even though
Despite / despite the fact that
In spite of / in spite of the fact that
Nevertheless
Nonetheless
While
Whereas
Unlike
In theory… in practice…
But is more informal than however. It is not normally used at the beginning of a sentence.
"He works hard, but he doesn't earn much."
"He works hard. However, he doesn't earn much."
Although, despite and in spite of introduce an idea of contrast. With these words, you must have two halves of a sentence.
"Although it was cold, she went out in shorts."
"In spite of the cold, she went out in shorts."
Despite and in spite of are used in the same way as due to and owing to. They must be followed by a noun. If you want to follow them with a noun and a verb, you must use the fact that.
"Despite the fact that the company was doing badly, they took on extra employees."
Nevertheless and nonetheless mean in spite of that or anyway.
"The sea was cold, but he went swimming nevertheless." (In spite of the fact that it was cold.)
"The company is doing well. Nonetheless, they aren't going to expand this year."
While, whereas and unlike are used to show how two things are different from each other.
"While my sister has blue eyes, mine are brown."
"Taxes have gone up, whereas social security contributions have gone down."
"Unlike in the UK, the USA has cheap petrol."
In theory… in practice… show an unexpected result.
"In theory, teachers should prepare for lessons, but in practice, they often don't have enough time."
EXERCISE ONE
EXERCISE TWO
EXERCISE THREE
martes, 18 de diciembre de 2012
lunes, 10 de diciembre de 2012
-ED / -ING ADJECTIVES
-ed' and '-ing' adjectives: describing feelings and things:
My holiday was relaxing. I felt really relaxed.'
Few, but common, adjectives end in either -ed or -ing:
worried/worrying, interested/interesting, excited/exciting
'-ed' adjectives
Adjectives that end in -ed are used to describe how people feel:
'He was surprised to find that he had been upgraded to first class.'
'I was confused by the findings of the report.'
'She felt tired after working hard all day.'
'He was surprised to find that he had been upgraded to first class.'
'I was confused by the findings of the report.'
'She felt tired after working hard all day.'
'-ing' adjectives
Adjectives that end in -ing are used to describe things and situations. Compare these example sentences to the ones above:
'Being upgraded to first class is surprising.'
The findings of this report are confusing.'
'Working hard all day is tiring.'
'Being upgraded to first class is surprising.'
The findings of this report are confusing.'
'Working hard all day is tiring.'
example table:
-ed and -ing adjectives tables | |
Feel '-ed' | describe '-ing' |
annoyed | annoying |
bored | boring |
confused | confusing |
depressed | depressing |
excited | exciting |
frustrated | frustrating |
frightened | frightening |
satisfied | satisfying |
shocked | shockin |
martes, 4 de diciembre de 2012
CAN, COULD, BE ABLE TO.
EXERCISE ONE
EXERCISE TWO
EXERCISE THREE
Can / Be Able To
Listed below are examples and uses of can / could / be able to for ability and permissionExamples | Usage |
He can play tennis well. She is able to speak five languages. They can come on Friday. Jack will be able to come next week. |
Use 'can' or 'be able to' to express an ability or possibility
NOTE: The future of 'be able to' is 'will be able to |
He could swim when he was five. | Could in the past means the general ability to do something. |
They were able to get tickets for the concert.
I was able to finish before 6. I couldn't come last night, sorry. OR I wasn't able to come last night, sorry. |
IMPORTANT: If someone was in the position to do something, or managed to do something, we use 'was/were able to instead of 'could'
In the negative,' wasn't able to' OR 'couldn't' are both correct. |
jueves, 29 de noviembre de 2012
MUST, MAY, MIGHT, CAN´T.
EXERCISE ONE
EXERCISE TWO
EXERCISE THREE
Some modal verbs can be used to express probability in the present and past.
Must / can't - to express probability |
||
Structure: modal + infinitive without to must be, must have, can't go, etc. |
||
We use must to express that we feel sure that something is true. |
They are really good, they must win. They must be very rich. Look at the house. |
|
We use can't to say we are sure that something is impossible. |
She can't be ill. I've just seen her in the shop and she looked
fine. It can't be true. I don't believe it. |
May / might / could - to express probability |
||
Structure: modal + infinitive without to may be, might do, could go, etc. |
||
We use may or could or might to say that it is possible
that something will happen or is happening. |
They may be arriving tomorrow. He might be away on holiday. He could be away on holiday. He might be offered the job. |
|
The negative of may is may not. The negative of might is might not. They both mean that it is possible that something will not happen or is not happening. We DO NOT use could not to express probability. |
He might not be offered the job. I may not pass the exam. I might not go to the match tomorrow. |
jueves, 22 de noviembre de 2012
MUST, HAVE TO & SHOULD
Modal Verbs of Obligation
We can use have to + infinitive, must + infinitive and should + infinitive to express obligation (something you have to do).Present | Positive | Negative |
have to / don’t have to |
strong obligation (possibly from outside)
|
no obligation
|
must / mustn’t | strong obligation (possibly based on the speaker’s opinion)
|
negative obligation
|
should / shouldn’t | mild obligation or advice
|
mild negative obligation or advice
|
Mustn't means it's not allowed, or it's a bad idea:
- You mustn't eat so much chocolate, you'll be sick
- I don't have to get up early at the weekend
(of course, if I want to get up early, that's fine, but I can stay in bed if I want
Past | Positive | Negative |
had to / didn’t have to | obligation in the past
|
no obligation in the past
|
must* | changes to 'had to' | - |
should have + pp / shouldn’t have + pp | a past action which didn’t happen: the advice / regret is too late
|
a past action which didn’t happen: the advice / regret is too late
|
* Remember ‘must have done’ is a modal verb of deduction or speculation, not obligation in the past. For example: Julie must have left. Her coat’s not here.
EXERCISE ONE
EXERCISE TWO
EXERCISE THREE
martes, 13 de noviembre de 2012
martes, 6 de noviembre de 2012
Forming Comparative and Superlative Adjectives
One-syllable adjectives.
Form the comparative and superlative forms of a one-syllable adjective by adding –er for the comparative form and –est for the superlative.One-Syllable Adjective | Comparative Form | Superlative Form |
---|---|---|
tall | taller | tallest |
old | older | oldest |
long | longer | longest |
- Mary is taller than Max.
- Mary is the tallest of all the students.
- Max is older than John.
- Of the three students, Max is the oldest.
- My hair is longer than your hair.
- Max's story is the longest story I've ever heard.
One-Syllable Adjective with Final -e | Comparative Form | Superlative Form |
---|---|---|
large | larger | largest |
wise | wiser | wisest |
- Mary's car is larger than Max's car.
- Mary's house is the tallest of all the houses on the block.
- Max is wiser than his brother.
- Max is the wisest person I know.
One-Syllable Adjective Ending with a Single Consonant with a Single Vowel before It | Comparative Form | Superlative Form |
---|---|---|
big | bigger | biggest |
thin | thinner | thinnest |
fat | fatter | fattest |
- My dog is bigger than your dog.
- My dog is the biggest of all the dogs in the neighborhood.
- Max is thinner than John.
- Of all the students in the class, Max is the thinnest.
- My mother is fatter than your mother.
- Mary is the fattest person I've ever seen.
Two-syllable adjectives.
With most two-syllable adjectives, you form the comparative with more and the superlative with most.Two-Syllable Adjective | Comparative Form | Superlative Form |
---|---|---|
peaceful | more peaceful | most peaceful |
pleasant | more pleasant | most pleasant |
careful | more careful | most careful |
thoughtful | more thoughtful | most thoughtful |
- This morning is more peaceful than yesterday morning.
- Max's house in the mountains is the most peaceful in the world.
- Max is more careful than Mike.
- Of all the taxi drivers, Jack is the most careful.
- Jill is more thoughtful than your sister.
- Mary is the most thoughtful person I've ever met.
Two-Syllable Adjective Ending with -y | Comparative Form | Superlative Form |
---|---|---|
happy | happier | happiest |
angry | angrier | angriest |
busy | busier | busiest |
- John is happier today than he was yesterday.
- John is the happiest boy in the world.
- Max is angrier than Mary.
- Of all of John's victims, Max is the angriest.
- Mary is busier than Max.
- Mary is the busiest person I've ever met.
Two-Syllable Adjective Ending with -er, -le, or -ow | Comparative Form | Superlative Form |
---|---|---|
narrow | narrower | narrowest |
gentle | gentler | gentlest |
- The roads in this town are narrower than the roads in the city.
- This road is the narrowest of all the roads in California.
- Big dogs are gentler than small dogs.
- Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the gentlest.
Adjectives with three or more syllables.
For adjectives with three syllables or more, you form the comparative with more and the superlative with most.Adjective with Three or More Syllables | Comparative Form | Superlative Form |
---|---|---|
generous | more generous | most generous |
important | more important | most important |
intelligent | more intelligent | most intelligent |
- John is more generous than Jack.
- John is the most generous of all the people I know.
- Health is more important than money.
- Of all the people I know, Max is the most important.
- Women are more intelligent than men.
- Mary is the most intelligent person I've ever met.
Exceptions.
Irregular adjectives.Irregular Adjective | Comparative Form | Superlative Form |
---|---|---|
good | better | best |
bad | worse | worst |
far | farther | farthest |
little | less | least |
many | more | most |
- Italian food is better than American food.
- My dog is the best dog in the world.
- My mother's cooking is worse than your mother's cooking.
- Of all the students in the class, Max is the worst.
Two-Syllable Adjective | Comparative Form | Superlative Form |
---|---|---|
clever | cleverer | cleverest |
clever | more clever | most clever |
gentle | gentler | gentlest |
gentle | more gentle | most gentle |
friendly | friendlier | friendliest |
friendly | more friendly | most friendly |
quiet | quieter | quietest |
quiet | more quiet | most quiet |
simple | simpler | simplest |
simple | more simple | most simple |
- Big dogs are gentler than small dogs.
- Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the gentlest.
- Big dogs are more gentle than small dogs.
- Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the most gentle.
PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINK TO DO THE EXERCISES:
EXERCISES 1
EXERCISES 2
EXERCISES 3
GRAMMAR EXPLANATION IN SPANISH
MORE GRAMMAR EXPLANATION IN SPANISH
lunes, 29 de octubre de 2012
PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE vs PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS
Form
Present Perfect Simple
|
Present Perfect Progressive
|
irregular
verbs: form of 'have' + 3rd column of irregular verbs
Example:
I / you / we / they have spoken
he / she / it has spoken
regular
verbs: form of 'have' + infinitive + ed
Example:
I / you / we / they have worked
he / she / it has worked
|
form of
'have' + been + verb + ing
Example:
I / you / we / they have been speaking
he / she / it has been speaking
|
Exceptions
|
|
Exceptions
when adding 'ed' :
Example:
love - loved
Example:
admit - admitted
Example:
travel - travelled
Example:
worry - worried
but: play - played
|
Exceptions
when adding 'ing' :
Example: come
- coming
aber: agree - agreeing
Example: sit - sitting
Example: travel - travelling
Example: lie - lying
|
Use
Both tenses are used to express that an action began
in the past and is still going on or has just finished. In many cases, both
forms are correct, but there is often a difference in meaning: We use the Present
Perfect Simple mainly to express that an action is completed or to
emphasise the result. We use the Present Perfect Progressive to
emphasise the duration or continuous course of an action.
Result or
duration?
Do you want to express what has happened so far or how
long an action has been going on yet?
Present Perfect SimplE
|
Present Perfect Progressive
|
Result (what / how much / how often)
I have
written 5 letters. / I have been to London twice.
|
Duration (how long)
I have been
writing for an hour.
|
Certain verbs
The following verbs are usually only used in Present
Perfect Simple (not in the progressive form).
- state: be, have (for possession only)
Example: We have
been on holiday for two weeks.
- senses: feel, hear, see, smell, taste, touch
Example: He has
touched the painting.
- brain work: believe, know, think, understand
Example: I have
known him for 3 years.
Emphasis on
completion or duration?
Do you want to emphasise the completion of an action
or its continuous course (how has somebody spent his time)?
Present Perfect Simple
|
Present Perfect Progressive
|
Emphasis on completion
I have done
my homework. (Meaning: My homework is completed now.)
|
Emphasis on duration
I have been
doing my homework. (Meaning: That's how I have spent my time. It does not
matter whether the homework is completed now.)
|
Result or side
effect?
Do you want to express that a completed action led to
a desired result or that the action had an unwanted side effect?
Present Perfect Simple
|
Present Perfect Progressive
|
desired result
I have washed
the car. (Result: The car is clean now.)
|
unwanted side effect
Why are you
so wet? - I have been washing the car. (side effect: I became wet when I
was washing the car. It does not matter whether the car is clean now.)
|
Time +
negation: last time or beginning of an action?
In negative sentences: Do you want to express how much
time has past since the last time the action took place or since the beginning
of the action?
Present Perfect Simple
|
Present Perfect Progressive
|
since the
last time
I haven't
played that game for years. (Meaning: It's years ago that I last played
that game.)
|
since the
beginning
I haven't
been playing that game for an hour, only for 10 minutes. (Meaning: It's
not even an hour ago that I started to play that game.)
|
Permanent or
temporary?
If an action is still going on and we want to express
that it is a permanent situation, we would usually use the Present Perfect
Simple. For temporary situations, we would prefer the Present Perfect
Progressive. This
is not a rule, however, only a tendency.
Present Perfect Simple
|
Present Perfect Progressive
|
permanent
James has
lived in this town for 10 years. (Meaning: He is a permanent resident of
this town.)
|
temporary
James has
been living here for a year. (Meaning: This situation is only temporary.
Maybe he is an exchange student and only here for one or two years.)
|
Signal words
Present Perfect Simple
|
Present Perfect Progressive
|
|
|
Exercises on
Present Perfect Simple and Present Perfect Progressive
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