-ing Clauses

 -ing Clauses

A clause is a part of a sentence. Some sentences have two or more clauses. E use -ing clauses when:

-2 actions are/were performed by the same person or thing.

 Brian is in the living room watching television. 
(He is in the living room and he is watching television.)

           He left the theater laughing.  
       (He was laughing as he left the theater)

-We also use +ING when one action happens during another action. We use +ING for the longer action:

He broke his leg skiing.

Do you eat breakfast standing up?

                                  Jim hurt his leg playing tennis

You can also use +ING after WHEN or WHILE: 

  

He broke his leg while skiing.

Be careful when cutting vegetables.

Consecutive events

When one action happens before another action, we use HAVING + Past Participle for the fist action:

 Having found a job, Matias celebrated with his wife to be.

Having finished the book, she turned off the light and went to sleep.

Note: You can also use AFTER Verb+ING, (se entiende como habiendo) .

studying hard, she passed her test.

After finishing her dinner, she had a shower.

If one short action follows another short action, you can use the simple +ING form for the first action:

Putting on his shoes, Mark opened the front door.

You can also use an +ING clause to explain something, or to say why somebody does something. 

The +ING normally comes at the beginning of the sentence:

Being disabled, she finds it hard to get around.
(because she is disabled)

Living by the beach, she constantly has a tan.
(because she lives by the beach)

Having already tried paragliding, he wasn’t scared to do it again.
(because he had already tried it)

Not having jobs, they can’t afford holidays.
(because they don’t have jobs)

Note: If the -ing clause is first (as in the second example), we write a comma (,) between the clauses.

 As you can see, -ing clauses are very common, and whe you use them you need to interpret them. 

Remember:

" El Inglés, tú y yo podemos ser amigos".

See you!!

 

Count and noncount nouns; some and any

 

Count and noncount nouns; some and any

Count noun

Count nouns can be separated into individual units and counted. They usually have both a singular and a plural form. Most English nouns are count nouns. Example:

pen, computer, bottle, spoon, desk, cup, television, chair, shoe, finger, flower, camera, stick, balloon, book, table, comb, etc.

 

 Tip:  A los Countable nouns los podemos contar por unidades, también los podemos pluralizar. 

• one phone, two phones
• one dog, two dogs
• one shirt, two shirts

Non-count nouns

Cannot be counted. They usually express a group or a type.

• water, wood, ice, air, oxygen, English, Spanish, traffic, furniture, milk, wine, sugar, rice, meat, flour, soccer, sunshine, etc.

Noncount nouns do not use the indefinite articles a/an.

 

Tip: A los Non-Count nouns NO los podemos contar por unidades, tampoco los podemos pluralizar.  

Do you want some coffe?

SOME


It is used in affirmative statements with countable and uncountable nouns

-They have some apples in the freezer.

-I want some pop corn.

Note: Sometimes, Some is used in questions for invitations (sólo lo podemos usar para invitaciones cuando tengamos el objeto que estamos ofreciendo):
 
Example:
          Do you want some cookies?
          Would you like some sugar?

ANY

It is used in negative statements with countable and uncountable nouns

-They don't have  any pears.
-We don't have any oranges.
-She doesn't have any money

ANY can bes used in questions statements with countable and uncountable nouns ( lo usamos cuando no sabemos si la persona tiene el producto o no):


                     Do you have any water?  
yes, I have some water // No, I don't have any water 
    yes, I have some // No, I don't have any

                     Do you have any carrots ? 
 yes, I have some carrots // No, I don't have anycarrots
      yes, I have some // No, I don't have any  

Para responder una pregunta puedes volver a mencionar el objeto por el que te preguntaron o puedes omitirlo.

IMPORTANT: Cuando ocupas some o any con cosas contables SIEMPRE los ocupas en plural, pues some y any no dan cantidades específicas:

She has some bananas in the kitchen.
We don't have any tomatoes for luch. 
 
As you can see, count and noncount nouns are easy, just identify if you can plurize the noun or not.


Remember:

" El Inglés, tú y yo podemos ser amigos".

See you!!

Simple Present

Simple Present

The simple present  is a verb tense which is used to show repetition, habit or generalization.

 We use it when we tal about likes, dislikes, routines and habits.  

Use the simple present to express the idea that an action is repeated or usual. The action can be a habit, a hobby, a daily event, a scheduled event or something that often happens. It can also be something a person often forgets or usually does not do. 

We form the present tense using the base form of the infinitive (without the TO). 

-I study English.

-We wake up early.

-You like to listen to music.

When we want to talk about third person (He, she it) in affirmative, rules change:

  Note; If you are talking about a third person and the verb finishes.

vowel + y

DO NOT change the letter y  

Example:

Say 

She says good jokes.

(Recuerda que cuando una Y "protege" a una vocal, la Y NO se cambia).
good jokes  

Simple Present examples in affirmative:

• I take the train to the office.
• The train to Berlin leaves every hour.
• John sleeps eight hours every night during the week. 
• I get up early every day.
• Carol brushes her teeth twice a day.
• They travel to their country house every weekend.

 

Negative Sentences in the Simple Present Tense

To make a negative sentence in English we normally use:

 

  Don't = Do not 
(I, You, We, They)
 
 I don't like meat = I do not like meat.




 
 Doesn't = Does not
(He, She, It) 

 She doesn't speak French = She does not speak French

There is no difference in meaning though we normally use contractions in spoken English.



Examples of Negative Sentences with Don't and Doesn't:

• You don't speak Arabic.
• John doesn't speak Italian.
• We don't have time for a rest.
• It doesn't move.
• They don't want to go to the party.
• She doesn't like fish.

Note: En una oración podemos ocupar más de un verbo, en ese caso, ocupamos TO para separarlos: 

I like to learn new words. 

They don't need  to talk more about their problems.

My sister wants to go to the beach.  (En caso de que la oración sea sobre una tercera persona en afirmativo, la S sólo se agrega al primer verbo).

He doesn't like to cook.

Questions in the Simple Present Tense

 To make a question in English we normally use:

   Don't = Do not 
(I, You, We, They)                

Do you speak English?
 yes, I do // No, I don't

 Doesn't = Does not
(He, She, It)
            
Does he speak French? 
yes, He does // No, He doesn't

 
Examples of Questions with Do and Does:

• Do you need a dictionary?
• Does Mary need a dictionary?
• Do we have a meeting now?
• Does it rain a lot in winter?

Tip to answer yes/ no questions:

 When you want to answer a yes/no question, you can follow the next structure:

Yes + subject pronoun+ do / does

No + subject pronoun+ do / does

*Do they want to go to the party? yes, they do //No, they don't                                                     

*Does he like pizza? yes, he does // No he doesn't

Para una respuesta corta jamás se utiliza el nombre de la persona.

**Do Juan and Pedro Practice soccer? 

INCORRECT: Yes, Juan and Pedro do
CORRECT: Yes, they do

 **Does Fernando Practice soccer? 

INCORRECT: Yes, Fernando does
CORRECT: Yes, he does
 

 As you can see, present simple is very easy, just identify who you are talking about.









Remember:

" El Inglés, tú y yo podemos ser amigos".

See you!!

Object Pronouns

Object Pronouns

We use the object pronouns in most situations when the pronoun is not the subject of a verb.  
1: We use them for the object of a verb.

• John knows me.
• Amanda kissed you.
• The dog licked him.
• David hugged her.

 Object pronouns are those pronouns that receive the action in a sentence  

INCORRECT: I give they cookies every week. 
CORRECT: I give them cookies every week.

Object Pronoun Examples

1. Bob took her to work Monday.
2. Will you please tell them to come in?
3. He told you a lie about where he was Saturday.
4. Our grandparents gave us candy and our teeth are just fine.

As you can see, it's easy to use object pronouns, Here you have some tips to remember when you have to use object pronouns:
 

1: We use them for the object of a verb.

• The teacher dropped it.
• The children love us.
• Luke helped them.

2: We use them after a preposition (including after phrasal verbs).

• It's important to me.
• Can the children come with you?
• Look at her!
• The chocolate is for him.

3: We use them after 'be'. (It's common in informal sentences.)

• Who's there? It's me!
• It's you.
• This is her.
• It was him!

 4: We use them with short answers.

• A: Who's there? B: Me!
• A: Who ate the cake? B: Him!
• A: I'm tired. B: Me too.

5: We use them after 'as' and 'than' for comparison.

• She is as tall as me.
• He is taller than her.

Sometimes we can feel confused about personal pronouns and subject pronouns, just you have to remember: 

The personal pronouns I, you, he, she, it, we and they are used as the subject of a verb in a sentence.

I have three dogs. – The pronoun I is the subject

 The object pronouns me, you, him, her, it, us and them take the object of the sentence.

My sister is very friendly. Everyone likes her.– The pronoun her is the object.

Remember: The subject of a sentence is the person, animal or thing that does the action shown by the verb.  The object of a sentence is the person, animal or thing that receives the action shown by the verb.

Here you have some examples to learn the differences.

 

As you can see, it's easy to uses object pronoun, just you have to define what is the object in your sentence. 

Remember:

" El Inglés, tú y yo podemos ser amigos".

See you!!

 

Definite and Indefinite articles

Definite and Indefinite articles

In English there are three articles: a, an, and the. Articles are used before nouns or noun equivalents and are a type of adjective.

The indefinite article (a, an) is used before a noun that is general or when its identity is not known. 

Examples:

  A book             An apple

 A banana           An car 

They can be used in longer sentences too:

1. He is a lawyer.
2. It is an ugly hotel.
3. He is a clever boy.
4. She is a good football player. 
5.  It is an empty bottle.






TIPS to use articles A / An: 

Uncountable nouns or nouns in plural DO NOT use indefinite articles.

INCORRECT: I need a sugar. 
CORRECT: I need some sugar.

INCORRECT: I want a cakes for my birthday.

CORRECT: I want some cakes for my birthday. 

The definite article (the) is used before a noun to indicate that the identity of the noun is known to the reader. 

TIPS of pronunciation of article THE: 

Use the definite article the with any noun (whether singular or plural, count or noncount) when the specific identity of the noun is known to the reader, as in the following situations:

• Use the article the when a particular noun has already been mentioned previously.

I ate an apple yesterday. The apple was juicy and delicious.

• Use the article the when an adjective, phrase, or clause describing the noun clarifies or restricts its identity.

The boy sitting next to me raised his hand.
Thank you for the advice you gave me.

• Use the article the when the noun refers to something or someone that is unique.

the theory of relativity
the 2003 federal budget

TIPS to use article THE: 

There are certain situations in which a noun takes no article.

Use no article with plural count nouns or any noncount nouns used to mean all or in general.

Trees are beautiful in the fall. (All trees are beautiful in the fall.)
He was asking for advice. (He was asking for advice in general.)
I do not like coffee. (I do not like all coffee in general.)

 TIPS  when DO NOT  use article THE:

Examples of the Use of Articles

I do not want a gun in my house (any gun).
The gun is in his closet (implies there is a specific gun).
I am afraid of guns (all guns in general).

She sent me a postcard from Italy (an unspecific postcard - not a letter, not an e-mail).
It's the postcard that I have in my office (one specific postcard).
Getting postcards makes me want to travel (any postcard in general).

I have a dog (one dog).
The dog is very friendly (the dog that I have already mentioned).
Dogs make great pets (dogs in general).

We are going to see the Statue of Liberty this weekend (the only Statue of Liberty).

As you can see, articles are easy, just you have to define if you are talking, in general or something specific.

Remember:

" El Inglés, tú y yo podemos ser amigos".

See you!!