RELATIVE CLAUSES

Defining Relative Clauses give detailed information defining a general term or expression. 

Do you know the girl who is talking to Tom?

A seaman is someone who works on a ship.

Object pronouns in defining relative clauses can be dropped. 

The boy (who/whom) we met yesterday is very nice.

Non-defining relative clauses give additional information on something, but do not define it. 

Do you know the girl, who is talking to Tom?

Object pronouns in non-defining relative clauses must be used.

Jim, who/whom we met yesterday, is very nice.

How to Shorten Relative Clauses?

Relative clauses with who, which, that as subject pronoun can be replaced with a participle. This makes the sentence shorter and easier to understand.

I told you about the woman who lives next door. – I told you about the woman living next door.

Do you see the cat which is lying on the roof? – Do you see the cat lying on the roof?

EXERCISES

Exercise on Relative Pronouns

Subject Pronouns or Object Pronouns? 

Relative Adverbs 

Contact Clauses 

Non-Defining Relative Clauses 

Collaborative Book

 

You can read our recipe book here:

https://read.bookcreator.com/YxZgafmEO0P8dBEroFomQLz1f9Y2/JWlB6elBRTOZJnTjQ2Mlvg

APRENDER INGLÉS COMO PROPÓSITO PARA ESTE 2024

Con el año nuevo aparecen propósitos que a veces cumplimos y a veces no. Uno de los más populares es el de aprender inglés pero nos parece un proceso largo y difícil con lo que muchos abandonan. En este post te ofrezco unos consejos a tener en cuenta para que tu entusiasmo no decaiga. ¡Ánimo!

Hay que tener un objetivo

Es una respuesta a la pregunta ¿para qué quiero estudiar inglés? La respuesta puede ser de lo más variada: para viajar, como actividad en mi tiempo libre, siempre quise entender canciones, lo necesito para mi trabajo, etc. Esto será lo que mantenga tu motivación y te ayude especialmente en los momentos difíciles en los que el aprendizaje se te haga más cuesta arriba.

Tener clases que se adapten a tí

en la Escuela Oficial de Idiomas contamos con gran variedad de horarios y grupos flexibles. Lo mejor es hablar con el profesorado en caso de tener dificultades horarias debido al trabajo o cargas familiares. Recuerda que para aprender un idioma es esencial la práctica de la lengua hablada y en las Escuelas Oficiales de Idiomas se ofrece práctica de todas las destrezas por un precio más que asequible (al ser centros públicos) durante todo un curso académico.

Inmersión lingüística

Estudiar un idioma no es solo ir a clase; también son de mucha ayuda otras actividades que podemos hacer a lo largo del día. Aquí tienes algunas sugerencias:

– leer webs y blogs en inglés. Además se pueden encontrar muchos ejercicios y actividades para practicar.

– Busca grupos de conversación en tu zona y aprovecha todas las oportunidades que se te presenten para hablar en inglés.

– Ver películas y series en inglés si ya tienes conocimientos. Si usas subtítulos, éstos deben estar siempre en inglés.

– Escuchar música, la radio o podcasts en inglés.

– utilizar aplicaciones de móvil con las que practicar.

– cambiar la configuración de idioma del ordenador, móvil o tablet para aprender vocabulario. Y no solo el vocabulario relacionado con tu dispositivo sino que de esta manera también te aparecerá en inglés el vocabulario de las aplicaciones que te descargues.

Ser constantes

Para aprender idiomas resulta más efectivo ser constantes que dedicarle muchas horas en un momento puntual. Busca un hueco a diario o tres/cuatro veces por semana. No es necesario que sea mucho, esto va a depender del nivel. Repasa lo que has visto en clase, haz algún ejercicio extra u otra actividad que te guste pero siempre en inglés.

COLLABORATIVE STORY

 

Este relato ha sido realizado por todo el alumnado de inglés de la Escuela Oficial de Idiomas de Caravaca, desde A1 hasta C2.

Enhorabuena a todos los que habéis participado, de una manera u otra.

Enlace al relato https://read.bookcreator.com/2xxIj0ozEAYiPnJva1PsiKldvcx2/kHJdofvZQhCeCsMQYw8gUA

USED TO, WOULD, BE/GET USED TO

 

When we talk about things that happened in the past but don’t happen anymore we can do it in different ways.

Used to

We used to live in New York when I was a kid.

There didn’t use to be a petrol station there. When was it built?

We can use ‘used to’ to talk about past states ….

I used to go swimming every Thursday when I was at school.

I used to smoke but I gave up a few years ago.

… or we can use ‘used to’ to talk about repeated past actions

Remember that ‘used to’ is only for past states/actions that don’t happen now – we can’t use it for things that still happen now. Also, ‘used to + infinitive’ should not be confused with ‘be/get used to + ‘ing’ form’ – this is covered in a separate section.

Would

Every Saturday I would go on a long bike ride.

My teachers would always say “Sit down and shut up!”

We can use ‘would’ to talk about repeated past actions.

Often either ‘would’ or ‘used to’ is possible. Both of these sentences are possible.

Every Saturday, I would go on a long bike ride.

Every Saturday I used to go on a long bike ride.

However, only ‘used to’ is possible when we talk about past states.

We used to live in New York when I was a kid.

We would live in New York when I was a kid.

Past simple

We went/used to go/would go to the same beach every summer.

We can use the past simple in the same way as ‘used to’ and ‘would’ to talk about repeated past actions.

I had/used to have a dog called Charlie.

We can also use the past simple for past states.

I went to Egypt in 1988.

However, if something happened only once we can’t use ‘used to’ or ‘would’ – we must use the past simple.

be used to and get used to

Be used to means 'be familiar with' or 'be accustomed to'.

She's used to the city now and doesn't get lost any more.
He wasn't used to walking so much and his legs hurt after the hike.
I'm a teacher so I'm used to speaking in public.

We use get used to to talk about the process of becoming familiar with something.

I'm finding this new job hard but I'm sure I'll get used to it soon.
It took my mother years to get used to living in London after moving from Pakistan.
I'm getting used to the noise now. I found it really stressful when I first moved in.

Be used to and get used to are followed by a noun, pronoun or the -ing form of a verb, and can be used about the past, present or future.

Revision

https://www.grammarism.com/be-used-to-exercises/

https://www.grammarism.com/be-used-to-exercises/?qid=389675

https://www.grammarism.com/be-used-to-exercises/?qid=651823

https://www.grammarism.com/get-used-to-exercises/

https://www.grammarism.com/get-used-to-exercises/?qid=150993

https://www.grammarism.com/get-used-to-exercises/?qid=839129

PAST MODALS (DEDUCTION)

 

We can use modal verbs for deduction – guessing if something is true using the available information. The modal verb we choose shows how certain we are about the possibility. 

must have

We use must have + past participle when we feel sure about what happened.

Who told the newspapers about the prime minister's plans? It must have been someone close to him.
The thief must have had a key. The door was locked and nothing was broken.

might have / may have

We can use might have or may have + past participle when we think it's possible that something happened.


I think I might have left the air conditioning on. Please can you check?
Police think the suspect may have left the country using a fake passport.

May have is more formal than might have. Could have is also possible in this context but less common.

can't have / couldn't have

We use can't have and couldn't have + past participle when we think it's not possible that something happened.

She can't have driven there. Her car keys are still here.
I thought I saw Adnan this morning but it couldn't have been him – he's in Greece this week.

Revision

https://www.esl-lounge.com/student/grammar/4g3-modals-deduction-exercise.php

PERFECT AND PASSIVE INFINITIVE AND THE -ING FORM

 

The perfect infinitive has the following structure: (to) have + past participle. For example: to have missed, to have written, to have worked, to have left etc. The perfect infinitive often refers to things that might have happened in the past:

You seem to have annoyed him

But perfect infinitive can also refer to something that will be completed at a point in the future:

We hope to have finished the car repair by the end of May.

A perfect infinitive is an infinitive in the form of “to have + past participle”. It is mainly used after some verbs to emphasize that something happened in the past.

She seems to be very optimistic.

She seems to have been very optimistic.

The perfect infinitive also appears in the passive voice:

He is supposed to have met the American president.

Mia is considered to have been the best manager of the company.

The perfect infinitive continuous is an infinitive in the form of “to have been + verb + ing”. It is used after some verbs to emphasize that something happened in a particular moment in the past.

He seems to have waited for a long time.

When I saw him, he seemed to have been waiting for somebody.

She pretended to have been reading, but in fact, she was listening to their conversation.

The passive infinitive is used in some constructions of the passive voice and is common after modal verbs. We use the passive infinitive when we want to focus on the receiver, or when we do not want to mention the agent (the person who does the action):

The carpet needs to be washed.

These doors should be shut at night.

He is going to be interviewed tomorrow.

The passive perfect infinitive form is used to talk about the past.

The corporation may have been sold last week.
We should have been told about the dangers.

The passive -ing form is used to express a continuous action.

I don’t like being cheated.
He remembers being given the 

A passive gerund is a verb with -ing ending in the passive voice. It may appear in one of two forms: present (e.g. being shown) and past (e.g. having been shown).

I remember being taken to the hospital.
I hate being spoken to as if I’m a child.

He showed no signs of having been warned.
The notice, having been written in small letters, was not clearly visible.

Revision

http://passivecausality.weebly.com/passive-infinitives-and-gerunds.html

http://passivecausality.weebly.com/personal-and-impersonal-constructions.html

https://test-english.com/grammar-points/b2/gerunds-infinitives-complex-forms/

https://test-english.com/grammar-points/b2/gerunds-infinitives-complex-forms/2/

https://test-english.com/grammar-points/b2/gerunds-infinitives-complex-forms/3/