Category: Class

Capital Letters

We use capital letters for the first word of a sentence and for a proper noun.

When to use a Capital Letter	Example	Example Sentence
At the beginning of a sentence		I will eat paella. She needs to rest.
People’s names and titles	Maria, Juan, Mr. Rios, Mrs. Fernandez	He likes Maria. I invited Mrs. Fernandez.
Names of places	Barcelona, Germany, Canary Island	I am in Barcelona. He is going to Germany.
Days of the week, months, and holidays	Monday, Tuesday, November, December, Christmas, New Year	She goes to school every Monday. He is on vacation in November. My favourite holiday is Christmas.
Institutions	Harvard University, British School of Málaga, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center	I am studying at Harvard University. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is the best hospital in California.
Acronyms	CIA, CDC,BBC, FBI	He works for the CIA. I like all BBC programs.
Titles	‘Money Heist’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘Don Quixote’	I love watching Money Heist. I like listening to Bohemian Rhapsody.

Rules:

1. Names of countries, cities, streets, planets, religions, companies are all proper nouns so you have to capitalise them.

The Earth has only one moon.

I live at 123 Birmingham Street.

2. Do not capitalise seasons.

Children don’t go to school in summer. They return in September.

3. Capitalise words that come from the names of places such as nationalities, languages and adjectives that refer to the people or things from a particular place. Adjectives and nouns that come from the names of religions must be capitalised as well.

Some Germans live in Spain.

Christmas is a special holiday for Catholics.

Cowboy boots are popular with Texans.

4. The most important words in film, music and book titles are capitalised. A person’s job title is also capitalised only when it is used before the name of the person.

Steve Jobs, the former chairman of Apple, died in 2011.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez arrived in Barcelona yesterday.

I am reading Pride and Prejudice.

Post author By Sarah
Post date 09/09/2023
Categories In Grammar
No Comments on Capital Letters

Ellipsis Clauses

Ellipsis in English grammar is when words have been intentionally left out to make the sentences more concise instead of having wordy sentences.

Despite the omission of words, the use of ellipsis should not affect the completeness and correctness of the sentence.

Examples:

A: Are you joining the meeting later? B: [I’m] not sure.

[Have you] Seen your friend lately?

The young lady [who was] performing onstage won the prize last year.

Two Types of Ellipsis

Situational Ellipsis

This type of ellipsis is mostly used in speaking in informal conversation.

We exclude grammatical words like articles, pronouns, prepositions, and to shorten responses to questions.

Examples:

A: [Is] She coming? B: [I] hope so.

A: How are you doing? B: [I] Couldn’t be better.

A: When [are] you leaving? B: [I’m leaving] Next week.

[Care for some] coffee?

[It’s a] Shame you have to go now.

2. Textual Ellipsis

This type of ellipsis is used in both speaking and writing. This choice of omission takes place since we can easily understand the context from the surrounding text. It is also more related to specific grammar rules.

a. After “and” and “but”

In coordinated clauses joined together by ‘and‘, ‘but’ and ‘or’, some words in the latter clause are often omitted since they have been brought up in the first clause.

Examples:

I went to the gym and then [I went] to the supermarket.

I asked for three thousand euros monthly salary, but they only offered me two [thousand euros].

Alex finished the race at 28.5 seconds and John [finished the race] at 32.75 [seconds].

b. Adverbial and Relative Clauses

To reduce adverbial clauses, textual ellipsis is also used. This is done by discarding the subject and the auxiliary verb after the conjunctions while, when, after, before.

When [you are] interrupting the speaker, you should at least be brief and straightforward.

She was doing the laundry while [she was] watching the TV series.

To reduce relative clauses, sometimes the relative pronoun and auxiliary verb ‘be’ are discarded.

The defendant [who was] indicted is a very influential man.

The property [which was] foreclosed was built in the 80’s.

Post author By Sarah
Post date 08/09/2023
Categories In Grammar
No Comments on Ellipsis Clauses

Test 338

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Post author By mae
Post date 08/09/2023
Categories In Test
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Test 317

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Post date 08/09/2023
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Past Continuous

The past continuous describes ongoing events or actions in the past.
Structure:

subject +	auxiliary “be” +	main verb
	was, were	present participle ( -ing )

Functions of the Past Continuous:
To describe the background of a story before telling more about what happened.

It was getting dark. I was walking down the street. Some people were gathering at a distance. Out of nowhere…”

To talk about an unfinished action that was stopped by another action or event.

I was having a nice dream when the phone rang.

They were watching TV when suddenly the power went out.

To talk about actions or events that were happening at a certain time.

At 8 o’clock yesterday morning, I was walking to school.

At 9 o’clock last night, I was studying.

Difference in meaning:

When my mother left home, I prepared my breakfast. – I started preparing my breakfast after she left.

When my mother left home, I was preparing breakfast. – I started preparing my breakfast before she left home.

Tips:
1. Always remember the form be + ing.

incorrect	correct
I was read a book.	I was reading* a booking*.
She was dance Flamenco.	She was dancing* Flamenco.*

2. Spell correctly.
If a verb ends in e, remove the e then add -ing.
live = She was living in Madrid.

If a verb ends in one vowel and one consonant, double the final consonant then add -ing.
sit = He was sitting down.

Exception: For verbs ending in w and y, do not double the consonant.
draw = He was drawing.
pray = They were praying.

Post author By Sarah
Post date 08/09/2023
Categories In Grammar
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Test 706

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Post author By katie
Post date 08/09/2023
Categories In Test
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Word Order: Place + Time

The way words are placed or arranged in a sentence is called word order. It is important to place these words correctly in order to express your thoughts and ideas. The word order also affects the meaning of a sentence.

In an English sentence, the basic word order is Subject + Verb + Object

Example:

Subject	Verb	Object
Maria	drinks	wine.
I	play	hockey.

When we want to tell more about the verb, we use adverbs. If more than one adverb is used, we have to follow the order of adverbs.

Structure:
Subject + Verb + Object + Adverb Of Place + Adverb Of Time
Place usually comes before Time.

Subject	Verb	Object	Place	Time
She	sees	Alberto	at the gym	every morning.
We	arrived		home	at 9 o’clock.
I	walk		to school	every morning.

The adverb of time can also be used at the beginning of a sentence.

Example:

Every Sunday, he goes to the park.

Today, I’m quitting my job.

Note: Time is placed at the beginning of the sentence but the rest of the sentence follows the word order (S+V+O).

Tips:

Place or Time should never be placed between the verb and the object.

Incorrect	Correct
I have in the bedroom the books.	I have the books in the bedroom.
They play every Monday football.	They play football every Monday.

Post author By Sarah
Post date 07/09/2023
Categories In Grammar
No Comments on Word Order: Place + Time

Complex Sentences (with more than Two Clauses)

A complex sentence is formed when an independent clause (simple sentence) is joined with one or more dependent clauses. This form of sentence is mainly used to provide more details to explain the main point. Usually, a comma is used to separate the clauses.

In most cases, subordinating conjunctions are used to link the independent clause to a dependent clause. They are placed at the beginning of a dependent clause or right after the independent clause.

Examples of subordinating conjunctions: although, like, because, even though, if, since, whenever.

The order of clauses is of no bearing when writing complex sentences. You can switch them as long as the sentence makes sense.

Structure:

Independent clause + dependent clause

Dependent clause (,) + independent clause

Examples of Complex Sentences with more than two clauses.

While they agreed to take part in the project, I don’t seem to see their enthusiasm, and whenever I brought up the topic, they try to downplay the issue. (4 clauses)

Since they started dating, everyone thinks they are a perfect couple, whereas they are actually just trying to maintain their public image. (3 clauses)

The home confinement measure was implemented in March 2020, and although it was supposed to last only until the end of June, it continued until the end of September. (3 clauses)

Tips:

The use of a comma depends on which clause the sentence begins with.

If the complex sentence starts with a dependent clause, place a comma between it and the independent clause.
If the complex sentence starts with an independent clause, no comma is required.

Example:

Incorrect	Correct
Now that he’s wealthy and famous, people tend to put up with his eccentricity, something he was not granted with in the past.	Now that he’s wealthy and famous, people tend to put up with his eccentricity, something he was not granted with in the past.