English Grammar Essentials and Text Analysis
Prepositions
English Prepositions
- aboard
- about
- above
- across
- after
- against
- along
- amid
- among
- anti
- around
- as
- at
- before
- behind
- below
- beneath
- beside
- besides
- between
- beyond
- but
- by
- concerning
- considering
- despite
- down
- during
- except
- excepting
- excluding
- following
- for
- from
- in
- inside
- into
- like
- minus
- near
- of
- off
- on
- onto
- opposite
- outside
- over
- past
- per
- plus
- regarding
- round
- save
- since
- than
- through
- to
- toward
- towards
- under
- underneath
- unlike
- until
- up
- upon
- versus
- via
- with
- within
- without
Spanish Prepositions
- a bordo
- aproximadamente
- arriba
- al otro lado de
- después de
- contra
- a lo largo de
- en medio
- entre
- anti
- alrededor de
- como
- en
- antes de
- detrás
- debajo
- debajo de
- junto a
- además de
- entre
- más allá de
- pero
- por
- con respecto a
- considerando
- a pesar de
- abajo
- durante
- excepto
- excepto
- excluyendo
- siguiendo
- para
- de
- en
- adentro
- a
- como
- menos
- cerca
- de
- apagado
- encendido
- hacia
- opuesto
- afuera
- sobre
- pasado
- por
- más
- con respecto a
- ronda
- excepto
- desde
- que
- a través de
- a
- hacia
- hacia
- debajo
- debajo
- a diferencia de
- hasta
- arriba
- sobre
- contra
- vía
- con
- dentro de
- sin
Function Words
Articles: a, an, the
Demonstratives: that, this, those, these
Possessive pronouns: my, your, their, our, ours, whose, his, hers, its, which
Quantifiers: some, both, most, many, a few, a lot of, any, much, a little, enough, several, none, all
Conjunctions: and, but, for, yet, neither, or, so, when, although, however, as, because, before
Pronouns: she, they, he, it, him, her, you, me, anybody, somebody, someone, anyone
Auxiliary verbs: be, is, am, are, have, has, do, does, did, get, got, was, were
Modals: may, might, can, could, will, would, shall, should
Qualifiers: very, really, quite, somewhat, rather, too, pretty (much)
Question words: how, where, what, when, why, who
Reported Speech
Direct to Reported Speech Conversions
Simple Present Tense
When the direct speech is in the simple present tense, we must change all present tenses to the corresponding past tenses in the reported speech.
Example:
She said, “I am going.” – Direct
She said she was going. – Reported
Present Continuous Tense
While converting direct speech to reported speech, all present tenses in the direct speech are changed to the corresponding past tenses in the reported speech. So, present continuous tense becomes past continuous tense.
Example:
He said, “The king is waiting.” – Direct
He said that the king was waiting. – Indirect
Present Perfect Tense
While converting direct speech to reported speech, all present tenses in the direct speech are changed to the corresponding past tenses in the reported speech. So, present perfect tense becomes past perfect tense.
Example:
They said, “We have chosen.” – Direct
They said that they had chosen. – Reported
Present Perfect Continuous Tense
While converting direct speech to reported speech, all present tenses in the direct speech are changed to the corresponding past tenses in the reported speech. So, present perfect continuous tense becomes past perfect continuous tense.
Example:
He said, “I have been doing my work.” – Direct
He said that he had been doing his work. – Reported
Simple Past Tense
While converting direct speech to reported speech, the simple past in the direct speech becomes past perfect in the reported speech.
Example:
He said, “She went away.” – Direct
He said that she had gone away. – Reported
Past Continuous Tense
While converting direct speech to reported speech, past continuous tense in direct speech becomes past perfect continuous tense in the reported speech.
Example:
The woman said, “I was living there.” – Direct
The woman said that she had been living there. – Reported
Past Perfect Tense
While converting direct speech to reported speech, past perfect tense in direct speech stays unchanged in reported speech.
Example:
They said, “We had eaten.” – Direct
They said that they had eaten. – Reported
Past Perfect Continuous Tense
While converting direct speech to reported speech, past perfect continuous tense in direct speech remains unchanged in the reported speech.
Example:
She said, “We had been going there often.” – Direct
She said that they had been going there often. – Reported
Simple Future Tense
While converting direct speech to reported speech, simple future tense in direct speech becomes present conditional tense in the reported speech.
Example:
Sam said, “I will be in Paris tomorrow.” – Direct
Sam said that he would be in Paris tomorrow. – Reported
Future Continuous Tense
While converting direct speech to reported speech, future continuous tense in direct speech becomes conditional continuous tense in the reported speech.
Example:
Tony said, “I will be driving the car.” – Direct
Tony said that he would be driving the car. – Reported
Future Perfect Tense
While converting direct speech to reported speech, future perfect tense in direct speech becomes conditional perfect tense in the reported speech. Also, ‘this’ is changed to ‘that’.
Example:
He said, “I will have left by this time tomorrow.” – Direct
He said that he would have left by that time tomorrow. – Reported
Future Perfect Continuous Tense
While converting direct speech to reported speech, future perfect continuous tense in direct speech becomes conditional perfect continuous tense in the reported speech.
Example:
She said, “I will have been giving my exam at this time tomorrow.” – Direct
She said that she would have been giving her exam at that time tomorrow. – Reported
Writing Analysis
Headlines
These six headlines deal with social media companies’ problems with tackling their different problems related to fake content during election time. Most headlines use words such as “confront”, “shake” or “puts pressure”, which imply movement and tension. The language is formal and the intended audience seems to be international.
It is important to notice that the second headline is the only one which does not put the focus on social media sites or specific companies such as Facebook or Google, instead emphasizing the importance of fake content as a problem. However, it name-drops both Google and Facebook, showing the reader which companies are failing to deal with this problem. Additionally, it deploys the word “fake” to describe the information provided by both sites, similarly to headlines number four and five.
Headlines one and four are similar as they use “social media” as a pre-modifier for “companies” and “power”. However, from the content point of view, the first headline is pretty much similar to the second headline as both of them deal with the way social media companies are forced to cope with the problem of misleading information being published on their sites.
Next, headlines number three and six underline the importance of Facebook, which seems to be the most affected company. Expressions such as being “in the crosshairs” remark how Zuckerberg’s company is walking a fine line in spite of the fact that they try to defend themselves by claiming that people are free to say what they want, as we see in the sub-headline. The language in the sixth headline is almost demanding, more aggressive. Conversely, headline number four seems to be more positive. It can be argued that it is defending social media as it discusses its influence and power, which goes “beyond fake news”.
Finally, headline number five uses a get-passive, which implies that Google is partially held responsible for being fooled by misleading information. The sub-headline reinforces the idea that the company has failed to tackle the problem of “bogus information”.
Advert
This ad is for the “Kit-Kat” chocolate candy brand. The target audience could be practically everyone since it is a sweet that both children and adults like alike.
In the ad, it can be seen how a small part of what appears to be a large, almost infinite list of calls from the “Zoom” video conferencing application is represented. However, in between these calls (in the shape of a horizontal rectangle), two “Kit-Kat” bars have been inserted, simulating that they are two more “Zoom” “calls”. This, together with the slogan “Have a break. Have a Kit-Kat”, suggests that people need to take a break from time to time, as the daily routine can become exhausting and monotonous. It could also be interpreted that this routine can negatively affect the individual having, in this case, delusions (a couple of calls are confused with two pieces of chocolate), and that therefore breaks are so necessary.
Unlike other ads that use beauty as a lure (an attractive boy or girl sensually biting a candy), this ad opts for a “comical” lure. Without models or actors represented in it, you can simply see nothing more than a simple edit of a photo, something simple but effective. In addition, it must be taken into account that the advertisement has been placed on the marquee of a bus, a transport that a large part of society usually uses to, above all, go to work or study. A group of people with whom, what the ad represents, can be made familiar.
In conclusion, not all ads have to enter through the eyes; not everything has to be pretty faces or perfect bodies. Sometimes a meme or just a funny text or one that represents something everyday is enough to attract people’s attention.