Instituto Tecnolgico de Santo Domingo

Summary Units 8, 9, 10
Diana Messina 1065576
Robinson Espinal 1065483
Janel Nez 1065078
Lucas Pradel 1066845

Advanced English I
Teacher: Danny Parra

Section 01
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
10-09-2015

UNIT

8. Family Trends

Describe family trends

Family trends are the new tendencies or conditions in
the family nowadays.
Ex: Women are having more education, marrying later
and having fewer children.
Birthrates, life expectancy is shorter.

Discuss parent/ teen issues

Parent/ teen issues are problems or situations
developed in the relation father-son, mother-daughter,
etc.
Ex: Children, sometimes parents, being rude and
disrespectful. Staying out late without permission.
Becoming a troublemaker, etc.

Compare generations
Ex: Hairstyles nowadays and before; before women
used to use long and big hairstyles, now women use
hair as short as men and prefer it straight.
Some other examples: music, clothes, career choices,
age at marriage and childbearing, etc.

Describe care for the elderly

Is the attention and care of ancient/ old people
Ex: Elderly people are adequately cared for. The way
they have been cared for has been changing.
Sometimes they live in their own homes, sometimes

live with younger family members, or live in special

nursing homes. Etc.

PHRASES OR EXPRESSIONS
Get back together: being a couple again
Patched things up: forgive each other.
Didnt work out: didnt understand each other.
Acting up: revolting or causing disorder.
Well behaved: generally good manners.
Shape up: develop in a particular way.
I hate to say it: dont like to admit something.
I suppose, but: guessing.

GRAMMAR: REPEATED COMPARATIVES

AND DOUBLE COMPARATIVES
Repeated comparatives are use to describe
actions and things that are increasing or
decreasing.
The birthrate is getting
lower and lower.

More and more people

are marrying later.

By the end of the

twentieth century,
couples were waiting
longer and longer to
marry.

Fewer and fewer

children are leaving
school.
Its becoming more and
more difficult

Double comparatives are, used to describe a

cause-and-effect progress.

The more education

women get, the later
they marry. [Women are
getting more education,
so theyre marrying
later.]
Note: When be is
used in double
comparatives, it is
sometimes
omitted.
The better the quality of
health care (is), the
higher the life
expectancy (is).

The less children

studied, the more
slowly they learned.
[Children studied less, so
they learned more
slowly.]
Be careful! Dont
use continuous
verb forms in
double
comparatives.
The longer couples wait
to have children, the
fewer children they
have.\

NOT the longer couple are waiting to have children, the

fewer theyre having

MAKING COMPARISONS: SUMMARY

Comparative forms of adjectives and adverbs
show how two things are different.
John is taller than Rob
(is).
This movie was less
interesting than the
last one (was).

There is less corruption

in the government than
there used to be.

Superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs

show how one thing is different from
everything else.

She was the nicest

person I ever met!

Of all actors, she sang

the most beautifully.

That was the least

entertaining movie I
ever saw.
Comparisons with as as show how two
things are alike.
Tom is just as tall as
George (is).

My nephew now weighs

as much as I do.

She still sings as

beautifully as she did
when she was young.
Use as as with almost, about, and not quite
to show how things are similar, but not equal.
My nephew weighs
almost as much as I do.
[I weigh a bit more.]
The movie is about as
long as his last one. [But
isnt a bit shorter.]

This coat isnt quite as

expensive as it looks.
[Its actually cheaper.]

Use as as with twice, three times, etc., to

show that things are not equal at all.
A Linkus sedan is about
twice as expensive as a
Matsu.

My new computer is ten

times as fast as my old
one.

Other uses of comparatives, superlatives,

and comparisons with as as.

For emphasis
The Nile River is more
than 5.500 kilometers
long. [Emphasizes that
the river is very long. ]
The Dickens School now
has fewer than 900
students. [Emphasizes

that this is relatively

small number. ]
As many as 200 of
these animals are killed
every year. [Emphasizes
that this is a high
number. ]

The show progression

My son is getting taller
every day. [Hes growing.
]

The economy is
stronger now. [Its
improving.]

The show tendencies or preferences

We eat out more than
in. [We tend to eat out. ]

Sara likes been alone

more than socializing.
[She prefers to spend
time alone. ]

To clarify
Hes a lot friendlier
than you would think.
[You may think hes not
friendly, but in fact he
is. ]

The movies more

annoying than scary.
[You may think this movie
will be scary, but in fact
its just annoying. ]

Shes more of a singer

than a dancer. [People
may think shes mainly a
dancer, but in fact shes
mainly a singer. ]

It looks more like snow

than rain. [You may thin
its going to rain, but in
fact looks like its going
to snow. ]

VOCABULARY

Strict: closely agreeing with requirements or

principles; severe; demanding. Ex: I have a very strict
teacher who tolerates no jokes at all.
Lenient: not strict or severe; kind; indulgent. Ex: The
police officer was lenient, and let John go with a
warning.
Overprotective: to protect too much; coddle. Ex:
Carls parents are overprotective.
Rebellious: prone to or participating in a rebellion,
Characterized by or expressing resistance to or
defiance of authority or convention. Ex: This is a
rebellious teenager.
Spoiled: to impair or destroy the value or quality of;
ruin, to harm the character of (a child) by
overindulgence or leniency. Ex: Teens that are always
arguing with their parents are spoiled.
Disrespectful: having or exhibiting a lack of respect;
rude and discourteous. Ex: A Say bad word to your
parents is very disrespectful.

UNIT

9. Historys Mysteries

Speculate about the out-of-the-ordinary

To speculate is to conjecture, guess, surmise, suppose,
or theorize something that is not normal.
Ex: its 9:45 and the teacher hasnt arrived yet, there is
no question he is not coming.

Present a theory about a past event

Examples of some theories about The Nazca
Lines: they were crave by ancient people; with the

help of airplanes, they were craved in 1927; and aliens

created them.

Discuss how believable a story is

Debate the possibility that a story is true; testing the
person with direct questions, experiences, etc.
Ex: where you learned it? How you did it? How old were
you? Who was with you? What did you learn? Etc.

Evaluate the trustworthiness of news

sources
Is to evaluate or to proof the credibility of news (Radios,
TV programs, Social medias). Paying special attention
to the content, the sources cited in the news, the
evidence, the interpretation; if the main point of the
piece proven by the evidence, look for what is missing
and the knowledge of the person who is giving the new.

PHRASES OR EXPRESSIONS
Dont tell me you buy that story!: sarcastic way to
tell hint someone of a lie.
Youre such a skeptic!: someone who doubts things
too much.
Theres no question: fact that something must be
true.
Get out of here: go away.
You have such a wild imagination: dreaming of
something that might be not possible.
Seeing is believing: witness something to believe it.
Beats me: dont care.

GRAMMAR: INDIRECT SPEECH

MODALS
Remember: When a reporting verb is in past
form, the verb is in indirect speech
statement usually changes or backshifts.
I went to the store.
gone to the store.

She said [that] she had

Some modals also backshift in indirect

speech
Ill be there by six.
by six.

I said [that] I would be there

You must come on time She said [that] that they had
to come on time.
You have to pay in cash
had to pay in cash.

They told me [that] I

Some modals dont backshift in indirect

speech
You should hurry.
should hurry.

She told him [that] he

He might call tonight.

tonight.

He said [that] he might call

Perfect modals never backshift in indirect

speech
We must have forgotten.
have forgotten.

He said [that] they must

PERFECT MODALS IN THE PASSIVE VOICE FOR

SPECULATING ABOUT THE PAST

You can use may, might, could, must or had to to

speculate with different degrees of certainty
about the past. Use the passive voice in the
performer of the action is unknown or if you want
to focus on te receiver of the action.
Not certain
The dinosaurs might (or
may) have been killed
by a meteor.

The gold figures might

not (or may not)have
been lost.

The trees could have

been destroyed by a
fire.
Almost certain
The stone balls must
have been moved
using animals.

The drawings must not

have been discovered
until later.

Very certain
The crater had to have
been caused by a
meteorite.

The trees couldnt (or

cant) have been
burned in a fire.

Short responses with perfect modals in the

passive voice
Is it possible they were killed by a meteorite?
They may have been.
Do you think they were made by hand?
They had to have been.
I wonder if they could hav just been lost.
They couldnt have been.

Could they have been stolen?

might have been.

They

GRAMMAR FOR WRITING: OTHER

REPORTING VERBS
Writters use a variety of reporting verbs to
describe actions more specifically and accurately
Argue
Things are definitely
getting worse, argues
Charles Wilder, a leading
economic advisor to the
president.

Charles Wilder, a leading

economic advisor to the
president, argues that
things are getting worse.

Claim
Baylor was taking
bribes, claims the Daily
Sun.

The Daily Sun claims

that Baylor was bribes.

Declare
The mayor has been
doing a brilliant job!
declared the governor
on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the governor

declared that the mayor
had been doing a brilliant
job.

Explain
You should always
discuss dieting with your
doctor, Dr. Fish
explained.
Report

Dr. Fish explained that

people should always
discuss dieting with their
doctors.

The New York Times

reports, Obesity is a
growing problem in Asia.

Last year , The New York

Times reported that
obesity was a growing
problem in Asia.

State
The new CEO stated,
Things are going to
change around here.

The new CEO stated that

things were going to
change at the company.

SAY, ASK AND TELL: SUMMARY

Say and ask are the most common reporting
verbs in direct speech. Use say for
statements and ask for questions
I completely disagree with the president on this issue,
said the education minister.
Who do they think is in control of this government
asked the president.
Note the use of say, ask, and tell in indirect
speech
She said (to the press) that she completely disagreed
with the president.
She asked (the press) if they disagreed with the
president.
She told the press that she completely disagreed with
the president.

VOCABULARY

Believable: can be accepted as true because it seems

possible. Ex: The story he told me seems believable.
Debatable: not easy to prove because more than one
explanation is possible. Ex: The cause of the
malfunction is debatable.
Provable: can be shown to be definitely true. Ex: I
dont think his theory can be provable.
Questionable: uncertain, but more likely to be untrue.
Ex: The way he talks makes his version of the story
questionable.
Unsolvable: impossible to prove. Ex: The mystery
may be unsolvable.
Admit: tell the truth. Ex: He admits that he took the
book without permission.
Claim: say that something is true without proof. Ex:
The scientist claims to have discovered the Cleopatras
Tomb.
Evidence: information that proves that something is
true. Ex: The police are recollecting evidences of the
crime.
Fake: not real. Ex: This IPhone is a fake.
A forger: a person who makes things that arent
authentic, such as copies of famous paintings or money.
Ex: He is an infamous forger know around the country.
Fraud: the crime of telling a lie to gain money. Ex: The
fraud of this bank can be the fraud of the century.

A hoax: a story designed to make people believe

something that isnt true. Ex: She told that the Ana
Frank Diaries were a hoax.
Infamous: well-known for having done something bad
or morally evil. Ex: Bonnie and Clyde are two of the
most infamous characters of the USA history.
A skeptic: a person who doesnt believe claims easily.
Ex: he doesnt believe in magic, he is a skeptic person.

UNIT

10.

Your Free Time

Explain the benefits of leisure activities

Benefits of activities you do in your free time. They
could be benefits like: physically challenging (sports),
emotionally satisfying (video games, any hobby, raising
a pet), intellectually stimulating (chess, handicrafts), or
just for plain fun (video games).

Describe hobbies and other interests

Creative

Cheap

Different

Fascinating

Enjoyable

Unusual

Practical

Relaxing

Silly

Compare your use of leisure time

Sometimes our leisure time is taken by unuseful
activities, such as surfing in the net or sleeping. Some
activities that people should consider for their leisure
time are exercising, keeping in touch with friend by
mail or telephone, spending time with family, attending
cultural events, working on a hobby, etc.

 Discuss the risk-taking personality

Big T personality: is a risk taker. Uses expressions as
cant wait to, doesnt care me a bit, theres nothing
like, cant get enough of, is no sweat.
Small t personality: is a risk avoider. Uses expressions
as wouldnt dare, scares the life out of me, theres not
a chance, you wouldnt catch me

PHRASES OR EXPRESSIONS
This job is really getting to me: annoying or
stressful.
Are you kidding? American phrase for expressing
disbelief.
A Little R&R would do you some good: Rest and
relaxation.
I can catch up on my work: to reach to the point you
desire.

ORDER OF MODIFIERS
When a noun is modified by more than one word,
modifiers usually appear in a following order
1 Determiners: a,
an, the, this, my,
Judys
2 Ordinals: first, one,
thousandth
3 Quantifiers: one, a
few, some, many

4 Adjectives: (in the

following order)
5 Size: small, huge,
tall, wide
6 An opinion or quality:
beautiful, clear,
weird, obsessive

7 Age or temperature:
young, middle-aged,
antique, freezing
8 Color: black,
greenish
9 Origin: British,
handmade
13
My first
Czech crystal
14

15

10
Material: glass,
silk, metals
11
12
Nouns: student,
childhood, book,
teapot

few
beautiful antique
sugar bowls
4

INTENSIFIERS

16
Adverbs of degree, also called
intensifiers, modify adjectives and add
emphasis.
17
An intensifier goes before a modifying
adjective or series of modifying adjectives.
18
A really
interesting book

20

19
A considerably
large round orange

ADVERBS OF MANNER

21
Adverbs of manner show how is done or
happens. They usually go at end of a clause
when the adverb provides important
information in the sentence
22
He ate his
dinner slowly.

23
She sings really
well.

24
Adverbs of manner ending in ly can go
before the verb or verb phrase when they are
not the main focus of the sentence

25
I slowly opened
the door. [Focus is on
opening the door]
26
I opened the
door slowly. [Focus
is on how the door
was opened]

27
He angrily hung
up the phone. [Focus
is on hanging up the
phone]
28
He hung up the
phone angrily.
[Focus is on how the
phone was hung up]

29
Adverbs of manner can go before the
past participle in the passive voice
30

His report was very poorly written.

31
Be careful! Do not place an adverb of
manner between a verb and a direct object
32
He drank his
coffee quickly.

33
NOT he drank
quickly his coffee.

34
35

VOCABULARY

36
Games: an activity providing entertainment or
amusement; a pastime. Ex: I would like to play
table games.
37
Fitness activities: activities that keep the
body healthy and in good shape. Ex: I do karate as
my fitness activity.
38
Handicrafts: is any of a wide variety of types
of work where useful and decorative objects are
made completely by hand or by using only simple
tools. Ex: I will like to do a handicraft for my moms
birthday.
39
Hobbies: an activity or interest pursued for
pleasure or relaxation and not as a main
occupation. Ex: Her hobbies include stampcollecting and woodcarving.
40
Waterfall jumping: is jump from the top of a
waterfall as a sport. Ex: she does waterfall jumping
every month.
41
Mountain biking: is ride a bike all over the
mountain. Ex: he practice mountain biking.
42
Surfing: is a surface water sport in which the
wave rider, referred to as a surfer, rides on the
forward or deep face of a moving wave, which is
usually carrying the surfer towards the shore. Ex:
Hawaii is known as a surfing state.
43
Rock climbing: is an activity in which
participants climb up, down or across natural rock

formations or artificial rock walls. Ex: Rock

climbing is a dangerous sport.
44
Extreme skiing: is a kind of skiing in where
the people ski in a mountainous and irregular
terrain. Ex: Michael Schumacher had an accident
practicing extreme skiing.
45

Skydiving: is the action sport of exiting an aircraft

and returning to Earth with the aid of gravity, then
slowing down during the last part of the descent by
using a parachute.
Ex: I will love try skydiving.