Mastering English Grammar: Tenses, Verbs, and Essay Structure
Reported Speech
Direct speech: ‘I work in a bank,’ said Daniel.
Indirect speech: Daniel said that he worked in a bank.
Passive Voice
Passive: This house was built by my father.
Active: My father built this house.
Active and Passive Voice Example
Passive: A great deal of meaning is conveyed by a few well-chosen words.
Active: A few well-chosen words convey a great deal of meaning.
Conditional Sentences
I play the piano poorly if I don’t practice every day.
If Bill studies, he will pass the exam.
If I won the
Read MoreNever Let Me Go: Character Analysis
Characters
Kathy
The protagonist and narrator of the novel. A clone raised to be a donor whose organs will later be harvested until she dies. During her childhood, Kathy is free-spirited, kind, loving, and stands up for what is right. At the end of the novel, Kathy is a young woman who doesn’t show much emotion when looking back on her past. As an adult, she criticises people less and is accepting of the lives of her friends.
Tommy
A male donor, and a friend of Kathy’s. He is introduced as an uncreative
Read MoreMastering English: Tenses, Conditionals, and More
Past Tenses
We can use past tenses to tell a story or describe past events, including personal anecdotes.
-When I lived on the island, I enjoyed walking on the beach in the early morning with Bonnie.
Past Simple
We can use the past simple for actions that started and finished in the past, for example, a series of events in someone’s life. The past simple is often used in stories and dialogues.
-Nelson Mandela was born in 1918. He became the first black President of South Africa.
Past Continuous
We use
Read MoreSpanish-English Vocabulary: Food, Farming, and Grammar
Fruits:
- Apple: Manzana
- Avocado: Aguacate
- Banana: Banana
- Grape: Uva
- Mango: Mango
- Melon: Melón
- Pineapple: Piña
- Tangerine: Mandarina
- Peach: Durazno
- Pear: Pera
- Plum: Ciruela
- Raspberry: Frambuesa
- Strawberry: Frutilla
- Grapefruit: Pomelo
- Orange: Naranja
- Coconut: Coco
- Watermelon: Sandía
- Lemon: Limón
- Cherry: Cereza
- Starfruit: Carambola
Vegetables:
- Bean: Frijoles
- Spinach: Espinaca
- Watercress: Berro
- Zucchini: Calabacín, calabacita
- Leek: Puerro
- Green pepper: Pimiento verde
- Red pepper: Pimiento rojo
- Pumpkin: Calabaza
- Tomato: Tomate
- Potato:
Common English Grammar and Vocabulary Errors
- David has already left the office. He’s at home now.
- Thomas is upset because he lost his watch and can’t find it.
- When Donald went windsurfing for the first time, he couldn’t do it very well.
- They rented Big from the DVD store because Tim hadn’t seen the film before.
- In the 19th century, many people lived in awful housing conditions.
- Rory played tennis twice this week.
- Wendy just broke her watch.
- Has Sue seen the film yet?
- Gordon was doing his homework all morning.
- If it’s sunny, we could go for
Mastering English Grammar: Infinitives, Gerunds, and Phrasal Verbs
Infinitives in English Grammar
Infinitive with ‘to’:
- afford, agree, appear, ask, arrange, beg, care, decide, expect, encourage, fail, force, hope, intend, learn, manage, offer, order, plan, pretend, promise, refuse, request, seem, teach, tell, try, wait, want, warn, wish…
- After semi-modals: have (got) to, used to, be going to, be able to…
- Adjectives
- too/enough
- would like, love, hate
- Infinitives of purpose (to/in order to/so as to)
Infinitive without ‘to’:
- After modal verbs: must, can, could, will, would,