FAMILY TRENDS

He Patched things up = repair a relationship repara las cosas

Split up=separate,separar

had a falling out = tuvo una pelea ,argued discutir

going downhill = yendo cuesta abajo, getting worse

hit the nail on the head = darle al clavo ,realized what the real reason was

fall apart= desmoronarse, get bad

behind their backs= a sus espaldas

REPEATED COMPARATIVES AND

DOUBLE COMPARATIVES

1.1 INCREASING

To indicate that something is increasing we can apply two structures: er

and er / more and more.

a) …….er and …….er

To form this structure we have to add “er” to the adjective to form a

comparative adjective. It is used with adjectives and short adverbs; such
as, closer and closer, longer and longer.

Examples:

She is getting closer and closer of her mother.

By the end of the twentieth century, couples were waiting longer
and longer to marry.

b) more and more

We can use this structure with long adjectives or adverbs ; for example,
more and more difficult, more and more slowly.

Examples:

It’s becoming more and more difficult.

He is going more and more slowly.

1.2 DECREASING

In order to indicate that something is decreasing we can use the following

structures: fewer and fewer, less and less.

a) Fewer and fewer

It is used with countable nouns.

Example:

Fewer and fewer children are leaving school.

b) Less and less

It is used with uncountable nouns and adjectives.

Example:

He needs less and less money everyday.

  WHAT ARE DOUBLE COMPARATIVES?

2. Double comparatives

Double comparatives describe a cause and effect process. Also, they are
written as a sentence with a comma separating the cause and the effect.
The structure to use them is the following:

the + comparative form] + (subject) + (verb), [the +

comparative form] + (subject) + (verb)] 

Examples:

The more education women get, the later they marry.

The less children studied, the more slowly they learned

 Singular Plural

I’m supposed to go We’re supposed to go

You’re supposed to go You’re supposed to go

He’s supposed to go
 She’s supposed to go They’re supposed to go

It’s supposed to go
Change the verb "be" to "was" or "were" to say that someone expected you to do something
in the past:
Singular Plural

I was supposed to go We were supposed to go

You were supposed to go You were supposed to go

He was supposed to go

"(be) supposed to" can only be used with the present and past tense forms
of the verb "be." The verb "be" indicates the tense.

When to Use Supposed To

To be supposed to is a common phrase that functions the same way a modal
verb does. Modal verbs, also called auxiliary or helping verbs, add meaning to
the main verb in a sentence by expressing possibility, ability, permission, or
obligation. Supposed to, like have to, can fall into the “obligation” category.

I have to be home by midnight or my coach will turn into a pumpkin.

I am supposed to be home by midnight or my coach will turn into a pumpkin.

It can also be used to indicate what a person (or thing) is likely to do or is reputed
to do.

It was supposed to rain today.

She is supposed to be the best poodle breeder in town.

Whenever it is used in either of these senses, supposed to will be preceded by a
form of to be and followed by a verb.

He is supposed to turn in his homework on Friday mornings.

Were we supposed to be here so early?

The Verb To Suppose

On the other hand, the verb to suppose means to presume, in theory, that

something is the case without certain evidence.

Max isn’t here yet, so I suppose his train was delayed.

The committee supposes that the decline in profits is due to a faulty product design.

As an imperative, it can mean the equivalent of what would happen if.

Suppose my coach really does turn into a pumpkin. What will I do then?

Supposed To, Have To, and Ought To

Some English language learners are easily confused by the modal verbs to be
supposed to, have to, and ought to. While all three function similarly in a
sentence, their meanings are subtly different.

To be supposed to do something implies that the subject is obligated and

expected to do the main verb’s action, although there is a possibility it won’t
happen.

The magician is supposed to pull a rabbit out of his hat.

Here, there is an expectation that the magician will be able to perform his trick
correctly, but there is always a chance that he won’t succeed. The sentence
conveys this expectation and the reader must now wait to see if that expectation
will be fulfilled.

Has to means the same as must; it implies that the subject has no choice about
performing the verb’s action.

The magician has to produce the rabbit to earn applause.

This sentence conveys that if the magician does not produce the rabbit, there will
be no applause. He simply must do it to get the result he wants.

Ought to is more of a suggestion. It conveys what would be best for the subject to
do, but the subject is not compelled to do it.

The magician ought to slip his rabbit a carrot before the show.

To ensure that he has a compliant, content rabbit in his hat, the magician should
give his rabbit a carrot, although no one requires it of him. It would simply be a
good idea.

If you only remember a single grammar factoid about suppose, let it be that you
can confidently expunge “I am suppose to…” from your literary repertoire
forever. That’s just how it is supposed to be. 

Past habits – 'used to', 'would' and

the past simple
ook at these examples to see how used to, would and the past simple are used.

They used to live in London.

I didn't use to like olives.
We would always go to the seaside for our holidays.
But one holiday we went to the mountains instead.

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

rammar explanation
When we talk about things in the past that are not true any more, we can do it in
different ways.

Used to + infinitive

We can use used to to talk about past states that are not true any more.

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

There didn't use to be a supermarket there. When did it open?
Did you use to have a garden?

We can also use used to to talk about past habits (repeated past actions) that
don't happen any more.

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

She used to smoke but she gave up a few years ago.

used to + infinitive should not be confused with be/get used to + -ing, which has a

different meaning. The difference is covered here.

Would
We can use would to talk about repeated past actions that don't happen any more.

Every Saturday I would go on a long bike ride.

My dad would read me amazing stories every night at bedtime.

would for past habits is slightly more formal than used to.  It is often used in
stories. We don't normally use the negative or question form of would for past
habits. Note that we can't usually use would to talk about past states. 

Past simple
We can always use the past simple as an alternative to used to or would to talk
about past states or habits. The main difference is that the past simple doesn't
emphasise the repeated or continuous nature of the action or situation. Also, the
past simple doesn't make it so clear that the thing is no longer true.

We went to the same beach every summer.

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

If something happened only once, we must use the past simple.

I went to Egypt in 2014. 

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.