English Grammar and Vocabulary Guide for Language Learners
Idioms
- Brought the house down (excited the audience) === hizo vibrar al publico
- Sang one’s heart out (sang with her full effort and energy) === cantó con todo el corazón
- Stole the show (was the outstanding performer) === robó el show
- Keep one’s feet on the ground (have a sensible attitude) === mantener los pies en la tierra
- Sweep the board (won all the major prizes) === llevarse todos los premios
Word Formation
Amazing, collection, international, visitors, different, movements, installations, significant, entrance, daily
Phrasal Verbs
- Brought out → Llevado a cabo
- Sign up → inscribirse
- Put off → posponer
- Success down
- Called off = cancelado
- Put sth down to → atribuir a
Prepositions
- Live on
- (This book is) out of (print)
- (He plays a gang leader) on (screen…)
- Charming in
- Was out of
- Centre of attention
Vocabulary
Amused performance, animated, appearing, applied, audiences, authentic, awards, backing, book (book tickets), box-office, broadsheet, film, career, closely, columns, combined, come, composer, convincing, copy, coverage, current, developed, documentary, download, earned, editorial, enhance, equipped, eye, facial, fields, forecast, gifted, glossy, greatly, headlines, highlights, integrate, interact, led, lines, morning, office, outstanding, production, recording, released, roles, satisfied ending, step, tabloid, top character, true style, viewing, virtual
Passive Voice
Subject + Verb + Object → Subject + Verb + Agent
Ex: G. Eiffel built the Eiffel Tower in 1889 → The Eiffel Tower was built by G. Eiffel in 1889.
- Present simple = writes → is written
- Present continuous = is writing → is being written
- Past simple = wrote → was written
- Past perfect = had written → had been written
- Present perfect = has written → has been written
- Future simple = will write → will be written
- Infinitive = has to write → has to be written
- Modal verbs = might write → might be written… BY + person…..WITH + instrument, material, ingredient
Impersonal/Personal Passive Constructions
Active: People expect that Adele will sing the song.
Personal passive construction: Adele is expected to sing the song.
Impersonal passive construction: It is expected that Adele will sing the song.
Causative
Structure: have/having/has/had + object + past participle
Ex: Jim is painting the living room → Bob is having the living room painted.
Active, Passive
- Present simple: tunes his piano → has his piano tuned
- Present continuous: is tuning his piano → is having his piano tuned
- Past simple: tuned his piano → had his piano tuned
- Past continuous: was tuning his piano → was having his piano tuned
- Future simple: will tune his piano → will have his piano tuned
- Future continuous: will be tuning his piano → will be having his piano tuned
- Present perfect: has tuned his piano → has had his piano tuned
- Present perfect cont.: has been tuning his piano → has been having his piano tuned
- Past perfect: had tuned his piano → has had his piano tuned
- Past perfect cont.: had been tuning his piano → had been having his piano tuning
- Infinitive: must tune his piano → must have his piano tuned
- -ing form: worth tuning his piano → worth having his piano tuned
- Modals: might tune his piano → might have his piano tuned
Wishes: WISH / IF ONLY
Usage:
- S + past simple / past continuous: I wish I was/were better at hockey (but I’m not). If only we weren’t all feeling so ill (To say we would like something to be different in a current situation)
- S + could + bare infinitive: I wish I could swim (To express a wish/regret in the present about a lack of ability)
- S + past perfect: I wish I had eaten fewer sweets when I was a child. (but I didn’t) If only I hadn’t given my tennis racquet away (but I did) (To express regret about something that happened or didn’t happen in the past)
- S + would + bare infinitive: I wish you would cook me dinner sometimes! If only you wouldn’t borrow my things without asking me (To express: a polite command, a desire for a situation or a person’s behaviour to change)
Reflexive/Emphatic Pronouns
Reflexive pronouns: We use it when the subject and the object are the same.
Emphatic pronouns: We use it when we want to emphasize the subject/object.
- I → myself
- it → itself
- you → yourself
- we → ourselves
- he → himself
- you → yourselves
- she → herself
- they → themselves
Nouns
- My pair of scissors doesn’t cut well.
- There are hardly any plasters left.
- I’ve been going to a gym for some time now.
- This recipe calls for a few drops of Tabasco sauce.
- Let me give you a piece of advice.
- I was waiting for a couple of hours.
- Twenty Euros was a reasonable price for a good shirt.
- My team are playing at their home ground tonight.
- So many people are joining gyms these days.
- The measles is a highly contagious disease.
- The police are still searching for the thieves.
- Jack wants a job in healthcare when he leaves school.
- My doctor said my heartbeat was strong and regular.
- David doesn’t have the self-care to keep to a diet.
- I give pasta and rice to the local food bank.
- A passer-by helped Sue when she broke her arm.
- I spend an hour on my exercise bike three times a week.